"So, brother, what did you call me for, really?" Ian asked, very curious as to the reason why his brother would call for him as the former rarely ever did so.
"I'll be heading out on a business trip in two days' time and this time it might take me a few months to come back," Angus said to Ian, causing Ian to frown. Ian wasn't sure if this business trip had happened in his last life, and because of that, Ian felt a bit restless.
Angus continued, "Because the business trip this time is going to take a while to finish, and I'm worried about you staying here alone, I decided to let Levi stay here to watch over you. Levi, you can come in now."
From the other door in the study, a different one from which Ian entered through, a figure appeared. Gliding forward like a swallow with the flutter of his long robes and long untied naturally gold-colored hair pulled into a small bun on top wrapped in a jade hair crown—he was Levi.
The wind seemed to blow into the room at this moment, causing individual hair strands to flutter like gold dust in the air. A thick spread of slightly dark-golden bangs covered his left eye which was narrowly slit like his right eye, looking as though they were closed. When a breeze passed by, the long bangs hanging by his ear moved forward slightly to reveal green earrings in the piercings on his right ear. When he smiled, sharp and unusually long canine teeth would peek out from his mouth.
Born naturally with a sly-looking face, Levi seemed untrustworthy and prone to betraying his allies.
Ian's eyes widened.
Levi?
"...Master…" A light sound like sigh slipped out of Ian's mouth.
Time stopped and it was like Ian was taken back to the distant past.
In his previous life, Ian and Levi did not get along, mostly because Ian did not have a good feeling towards Levi who was his brother's right-hand man and strategist. Since birth, Levi had been gifted with a sly-looking face that made others think he was a deceiver and trickster. He would often get accused of doing things he never did by others. Never mind his own personality that frequently aimed to tick others off with his comebacks and misleading words, making Angus have to drag him back and persuade the other party in the conflict that it wasn't Levi's doing.
It was a common occurrence back in the days of their school years.
Ian particularly did not like Levi because the latter constantly teased him and provoked him since young.
Angus and Levi had known each other since they were in diapers. Both their parents were in the same business and were close partners and friends, so naturally Angus and Levi grew up closely together. They went to the same elementary, middle, and high school as well as university. If not for Levi's parents' accident that year in middle school, Levi would have taken over their company and assets instead of working for Angus.
Truthfully, Levi could have waited a few years until he graduated high school to take over his parents' company, however, Levi, for a reason nobody knows, handed the entire company over to Angus, which eventually merged with Angus' parents' company making the corporation even bigger and its profit to multiply manifolds.
After his parents' death, Levi started wearing long robes like an ancient person from history, walking with an elegant and literary gait, and a pretentious fan. Ian assumed it was because before their death, Levi's parents had been stark against Levi's love of ancient long clothing which they thought was ridiculous and weird to be worn in this day and age, so after their departure, Levi's love and obsession finally had room to expand outside of his heart.
Even before graduating university Levi started working for Angus's parents' above-ground organization called "Everett Touch, Inc.". Levi was eventually promoted by his own efforts to be the secretary of the newly anointed president and chairman, Angus Everett. The company was the only place Levi did not wear his ancient costumes to, and this had severely irked Levi. Ian knew because he had been constantly annoyed by Levi's complaints to his brother Angus because of this issue, causing the baby him at the time to cry out in frustration, thus ending Levi's whiny long rant. At least that's what his brother told him.
This was also one of the points Levi would poke Ian with, that he was a crybaby when he was two years old. When truly, it was all Levi's fault.
Once he grew older and his parents were no longer there, Levi began to visit their house less and less when in the past he would come every single day without a break and most times stay for the night. This was entirely Ian's fault.
Because whenever Ian and Levi encounter each other, sparks would fly and drums of war would beat. Every time Levi said something, Ian couldn't resist saying something back. Back and forth, it would eventually become an argument, worse, an unreasonable quarrel. They would both force Angus to take a side. And if Angus didn't take Ian's side, Ian would give him the cold shoulder for days. While if Angus took Ian's side, Levi would whine and sulk for days whenever and wherever, doesn't matter if it's during work or not, causing Angus a headache.
Angus couldn't offend either of the two treasures.
So in the end, Angus decided that it's for the best—for his mental state—that Ian and Levi do not meet each other if possible.
At the time in his first life, Ian really did treat Levi as a mortal enemy. For the reason that Levi did not look trustworthy, which Angus had tried to tell Ian that appearances were deceiving but Ian wouldn't listen and was too spoiled and sheltered to understand. To the Ian of that time, the world was only black and white. If something looked bad, it was bad, doesn't matter if it only looked bad.
Ian had thought Levi to be a liar and deceiver by his brother's side. Adding further to Ian's misconception was his irritating tit-for-tat personality and unreliable and sometimes crazy appearance.
Levi loved to act mysterious and deep, but to others, he appeared more like a scammer than anything else.
Which was exactly how Ian saw him. Ian had always thought up till a time that Levi was bound to betray his brother some day.
How dead wrong he was. It was only in the most trying and heartbreaking of times that he realized that if anyone were to be born with contrasting appearances and character, Levi would be the most extreme. However deceitful Levi's appearance appeared was how trustworthy and loyal he truly was.
The day that his brother died and the entire gang was cut down by the enemies and the corporations stolen, Levi took him by the hand and ran.
They ran and ran.
They ran for so long that Ian couldn't remember the places they had passed and the reason why they were running.
Ian was like a lifeless doll, doing everything Levi told him to do. If Levi said to run, Ian would run. If Levi said to hide, he would hide.
Until, in the midst of their escape from the relentless, preying hunters, Levi held Ian's shoulders and made Ian look at him with his blank eyes.
"Look at me, Ian. Look at me.
"We're the only ones left." Levi's face betrayed the pain in his heart.
"Trust me, I will protect you. I will never betray Angus's, your brother's, trust." As Levi said this, his narrowed eyes widened and for the first time ever, Ian could see his eyes. A clear jade green. It shone with bright and burning flames of determination and unyielding persistence that seemed to catch Ian on fire as well. It spread from Levi's eyes to his arms to Ian's shoulders into Ian's dull eyes.
It burned so hot and so fierce that it burned Ian.
It was in that moment that Ian understood something that he couldn't before.
Appearances were deceiving.
And he realized too late.