On the following day, with a vivid day and a slightly frigid breeze from the air conditioning in the hall, that went along with the mood of Leansei as he walked to the tedious hall.
Leansei thought that it was the same feeling he felt back then when he and Tyvan were closer than friends. But he couldn't distinguish why he felt this way or if his sexuality was different than he thought it would be.
Leansei stopped when someone came near him with an unexplained expression. Corshe was flustered again, and it seemed like he saw something he didn't think it could be.
Leansei glanced away, and they walked together down the hall without someone talking between them. The silence was broken when Corshe started pulling his hair like a mental hospital patient.
"What's with you??" Leansei asked.
"Huhu Gavin, what should I do?" Corshe asked with a troubled tone of voice.
"What happened??"
Corshe clung to his hands around Leansei's arm and leant his head on Lean's shoulder. It was too touchy and clingy for Leansei to stand. He tried to shove him away, but it was no use.
"Okay, before I help you, please let me go." Corshe's troubled face immediately lightened up and he withdrew his hands away from Leansei and gave him a puppy face. "Tell me exactly what happened."
"W-well, yes, ahm, yes, we know, so hehe" Corshe said, mumbling and talking so fast that Leansei couldn't understand it. He smacked Corshe's arm, which made him come back to reality and calm down.
"Talk like a human," Leansei said, as he fixed his uniform and held the strap of his carry bag on his shoulder.
"So I almost rode my bike up to him and crashed into a wall. He apologized, which no one ever does. H-he helped me, treated my scratches and drove me home." A stuttering voice from Corshe, while gesturing to an action from what happened. It made Leansei entertained by how Corshe told the story.
"T-then--wait, why are you laughing??" Corshe pouted and puffed his lips.
"Sorry.. I never saw someone explain what happened with actions. But what happened next? "
"I haven't seen him in Levous City or in our city since then." The jovial face of Leansei suddenly faded away when he heard his hometown before. He glanced at Corshe and tried to disregard it.
"T-then today, I think I saw him!"
"Then what are you dazed about?"
"Well, I think he runs a shop in Lemous City. I might have seen a different person. " Leansei nodded, thinking it was the same as the only person he knew, the restaurant's owner. He glanced at the ceiling with a thought.
'I had no idea the cupcake he gave me would be the last time we'd see each other.'
Leansei snapped out of his thought, "Maybe you saw the wrong person, but there is a possibility he is that person too." Leansei said and took his phone when a notification popped out.
"What I mean is.. why does my heart raise whenever I think about him?" Leansei stopped and glanced at Corshe in surprise. He was surprised that he somehow felt aforesaid.
"M-maybe because he's handsome? Or did you adore him? " Leansei's uncertain response to Corshe's as he diverted his gaze away from him.
"He is good-looking, but this feeling is unusual. I should be feeling this way about girls instead of him. " Corshe said while scrolling through his phone.
"Well, I just hope you figure out what you're feeling right now." Leansei's advice.
Corshe glanced at him and asked, "Then what do you feel towards Xerchin?" Leansei flinched and looked at his phone instead.
"Oh, Xeilin messaged me, they are at the exit of the hall." Leansei said, changing the topic. He walked quickly towards the exit of the hall. Leansei never thought someone would ask him that way.
' I-I dont feel that way about that bastard! No way! I just adored his dashing face and that was all. ' Leansei said in his mind, defensively.
"Waitt for me, Gavin!" Corshe shouted behind him and trailed after him.
They reached the end of the exit, and Xeilin and Revin were in front of the exit. But instead of a jovial face, he saw a gloomy aura from the two of them.
Leansei minced and walked towards them. "Have you been waiting for us that long?"
Xeilin shook his head, "Not at all."
Leansei glanced at Revin, who was smiling at him. Leansei gave him a confused look, and he also felt weird when he saw him like that.
"What's with you, Revin?" Corshe asked with the same tone.
"Leansei, I'll treat you all today." Revin said and stood beside Leansei, which made Corshe push back.
"Hey, that's my place. You idiot! " Corshe said, annoyed, and kicked Revin's back. Xeilin and Leansei shook their heads, noting that they may have appeared troubled in recent days, but they are now back to their usual selves.
' Maybe I shouldn't worry at all. '
While Revin and Corshe were bickering at the back, Xeilin glanced at Leansei multiple times, as if he wanted to talk to him, but he hesitated. Lean noticed the action of Xeilin and asked him directly.
"If you want to ask something, you don't have to hesitate." Xeilin rubbed the back of his neck and hesitated to respond.
"I-if you have a friend and you have a long-time friend and they have a rough start like they are.. o-one night stand." Leansei glances at Xeilin, who has flushed cheeks.
"Well, it's their relationship; who they are with, whatever their decision is, and whether they are dating or not, they are still my friends, and I'll support them both." Xeilin looked at Leansei, who was calm and unbothered by the question.
Xeilin looked down and smiled when he felt relieved. He glanced behind them and saw that Revin and Corshe were still bickering with each other, being childish again.
"I saw Revin a while ago." Xeilin suddenly said. "He looked so bothered, but he looked like he had a final decision."
"I think we all have our own troubles." While staring at his feet, Leansei said.
"Yes, hey you two!" Xeilin called Revin and Corshe at the back, which made them stop and look in his direction. Revin and Corshe glared at each other before walking together with Leansei and Xeilin.
"I think let's set up a group bonding session!" Xeilin suggested. Leansei glanced at them, and he was surprised that someone would invite him to that kind of event. In his previous life, he never tried to have fun with friends, and having true friends alone is much more than he didn't had, not until now.
"I love that idea! What if before you and Gavin become busy next week, why not let's go to the mall and such??" Corshe said excitedly.
"Mm.. then let's go!" Revin said.
They all glance at Leansei, waiting for his reply. Leansei smiled at the back of his mind and nodded. "Let's have fun." He said.
"Hooray!" They said it all at once, aside from Leansei, who had his usual face (he still doesn't know how to socialize that much).
When they finally arrived, they heard tumultuous voices from the main cafeteria. The four of them glanced around and saw that almost all the tables were occupied by students.
"What is happening? Is there a zombie? " Corshe said while looking at the crowd in front of the counter where they were buying their food.
Revin walked backwards and ran to Corshe's back to kick his back too. "That's for the past, stupid. If there was a zombie, they should be running away from them instead of the crowding. " Revin said and walked immediately beside Leansei.
Corshe glared at Revin and was about to attack him when Xeilin put his hand on his shoulder. "Would you two stop squabbling for a few minutes?" Xeilin said, using his voice as the President of SSC. Corshe pouted and glared at Revin, who was glaring at him too.
"Well, me and Revin will look for an available table." Xeilin said, pulling Revin's ear away from Corshe and Leansei.
"Aw! Stop pulling! " Revin said, groaning in pain.
Corshe gave Revin a silly smile and stuck his tongue out to tease him. Leansei glanced at Corshe and pinched his cheeks so hard it made him pout.
"Couldn't you two stop fighting over trivial matters?" Leansei said, and walked towards the crowd.
Corshe gently rubbed his cheeks to lessen the pain from pinching. "No way! He's been annoying since I met him! " And he pouts.
Leansei tiptoed and he really couldn't squeeze into the girls, who look like wild wolves who are hungry for food. It was the most scary thing to encounter.
"Everyone, please fall in line. There are a lot of students behind your back. " A familiar voice that Leansei and Corshe heard. Lean stopped and tried to disregard what he heard. He glanced at Corshe, who was looking at the counter with a stunned look.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Leansei asked.
"I-I.. it's the same voice, Gavin." Corshe said, twinkling his eyes in excitement. "It was the same voice that made me feel unusual."
Leansei looked at Corshe and felt an unexplained emotion. He had never seen Corshe like this nor twinkled his eyes just because of the voice, which they really couldn't see his face.
The girls do as the guy commands and fall in line. It was half of the girls when Leansei and Corshe stepped into the line to order food.
"Thank you. Come again." A familiar voice made him stop since it was really clear to him who that voice was from. It was the voice he had been longing to hear for the last time. He wanted to apologize and thank him.
' I-It's impossible for him to be here. He won't leave his valued restaurant, and what should I do if I see him? I couldn't just say hi to him, right? Since I'm not Leansei here but Kean.'
When the herd was clear, Leansei and Corshe stopped walking and looked at the guy who was serving the students food.
Leansei felt his chest compressed with warmth and shaky. He couldn't express if he was happy or nervous about seeing the same person he had been longing for. Leansei clenched his fist as he felt a sting in his heart. He couldn't handle the excitement and missed it.
He felt his chest was out of air and heat from his eyes. He never thought that he would ever see the first person who helped him ever again. He stared at Tael, who had a kind face while serving the students with their tray of food. Leansei felt somehow nostalgic and euphoric when he saw him wearing a white apron and cap. He was somewhat exhilarated to see him holding a ladle instead of a cigarette like he always does.
Tael served them and accidentally glanced a few meters away from two guys who were looking at him. He glanced back again when he saw a familiar face and the familiar eyes that he was longing for. He stopped when he felt like his sorrow had changed in an instant.
' Those eyes... they were the same eyes.. but it was impossible. ' Tael said as he flinched when a student called for him. Corshe smiled and felt beatific when he saw Tael again.
He glanced at Leansei to tell him that he was the man he was talking with, but his smile faded away when he saw the tearful eyes of Leansei while looking at Tael.
' Did they know each other, or rather, did Gavin know him? ' Corshe said in his mind.
Leansei intently looked at Tael, who was looking at him. Lean whispered, ' Owner.. '
Tael looked at Leansei when he read his lips. He was startled that he called him owner or if his reckoning was right. Tael was in disbelief and confused at the same time.
' That's really impossible! I might have read it wrong. ' Tael said in his mind.
Leansei flinched when Corshe pulled his hand towards the counter and gave him the two trays from Leansei and two trays for him too. He looked at Tael with a jovial face when their eyes met. While Leansei was quietly staring at Tael's face with disbelief,
"It's you. It's nice to meet you again. " Tael said as he poured the rice into the trays. "Oh, you have four trays?"
"Nice to see you too again. It's for our friends. " Corshe said, and glancing at Leansei, Tael nodded and put a piece of food in Corshe's trays.
Leansei glances at Tael, and Lean immediately diverts his eyes.
"Do we know each other by chance?" Tael asked, Leanse was stunned with Tael's question.
' Did he recognize me? b-but how? '
"He got amnesia. He might have seen you somewhere. The other
tray should be an omelette with fried pork. " Corshe said and glanced at Leansei with concern.
' Hayy.. Thank God I was saved by Corshe. ' Leansei said and looked at the foods when he couldn't see his favorite dish again.
"Oh it's you, Kean. Oh we can't cook chicken curry today, but since we have a new chef today, he will definitely cook it, so buy often!" The jovial faces of the other staff.
Leansei nodded at her, but Tael looked at Leansei with a stunned expression. It was too late when Leansei realized that Tael knew that he liked chicken curry from his past life.
' Shit.. '
_______