"No problem! Let me introduce you guys. Willow, this is Claude. You guys are childhood friends, but his family had to moved to France. He also has a sister, Louise. You were practically inseparable before!"
"I remember, when he had to go abroad, you were so sad. You threw tantrum for 3 whole days and cried as you clutched his leg, refusing to let go-"
"I also didn't want to leave, uncle," Claude interjected softly.
"Ah, yes! But what could be done, you guys were too young at that time."
Claude nodded, "Yes...But now, I'm back, Will!"
He grinned enthusiastically at Willow, "We used to have so much fun. We can be like that again! Best friends!"
With an expression full of melancholy, Claude reminisced, "We used to eat together, play together and sometimes even slept together! We can be the best friends like we were again, right?-"
"I don't believe that's quite appropriate," A cold voice sounded from behind.
Every eye turned to the quiet person at the back of the room.
Claude's expression twisted at being interrupted, but he quickly masked it with a smile. "Oh, and who might you be?" Although his words were polite, they were basically the formal version of 'Who the hell are you to interrupt me?'.
Walking up to him, Charlie grasped Willow's shoulder lightly. In an authoritative voice, he declared, "I'm his 'present' best friend."
Claude fixed Charlie with a hostile glare. Still, since Willow was here, he quickly put on a friendly expression. "Oh, so it's like that. Then, I hope to get along with you in the future."
He smiled and reached out his hand. Charlie stared at the outstretched hand for a moment before grabbing it sourly. He couldn't appear hateful in front of Willow, after all. Right now, if he expresses his anger, he'll look like a spoiled brat throwing tantrums and the only one acting out of line. If this was how blondie wanted to play, then so be it.
Squeezing his hand in his, Charlie also copied the fake smile. "Oh, me too, Mr. Claude."
Dazzling smiles were plastered on both of their faces, although neither held genuine happiness. Even though they were shaking hands, their eyes looked like they'd like nothing more than to kill each other right away.
'Will Will Will!' Adelia shouted in the mind channel.
Willow flinched at the sudden noise. 'What is it?'
'It's confirmed. It's confirmed. It's confirmed-'
'Calm down for a second. What's confirmed?' Willow asked doubtfully. Learning from experience, he knew that Adelia's excitement could never mean anything good.
'This guy, Claude. He's the second male lead!'
Willow was silent for a moment. He looked at the blond man who was still glaring daggers at Charlie. It did seem like there was some rivalry between them, but how could Adelia be so sure?
'How do you know?'
'Well, dumbo, listen. They aren't exactly on good terms with each other. Charlie has no reason to be so hateful to someone he just met unless he knows the other guy is his rival in love. And besides, he returned from abroad.'
'So?' Willow asked, confused. Sure, he understands that their hostile stares can be a hint, but what has him returning from abroad got to do with this?
'Naive as ever, Will. He's the second guy. The one who always cares about the girl. The one responsible for making the male lead jealous and to progress the story. He always returns from abroad. There's a 90 percent chance he's an old childhood friend. All signs are practically screaming it's him!'
'...Alright, whatever you say,' Willow didn't argue with her. It's not like he could understand what was going in that head of hers anyway. Since following her mindless ideas did seem to get them points, he accepted whatever she said. This world was simply too bizarre for him to even understand anyway.