-Levi POV-
"This is horrible. Why would he do this to his own son?" Haruka mumbled, but I could hear his voice shaking.
"Mr. Auclair, are you crying?" I asked, touching his chin to raise up his face. Tears streamed down his cheek, and I was shocked. Why is he crying? This has nothing to do with him.
"Mr. Auclair, why are you crying?" I asked in panic. Did I make him cry?
"Why did the vice chairman do that to you? You don't even do anything wrong. He always acts like that towards you. You don't even deserve to be treated that way. You deserved better, sir." His tears keep streaming down. No one ever said that to me after my mother left me. He even cried for me. I wish I could kiss him right now, but I have to control myself.
"Mr. Auclair, stop crying. You don't have to cry because of me. It makes me even sadder, so stop crying. This is what I get when I say something unnecessary. I'm used to it, so don't worry. Still, thank you for worrying about me."
-Haruka POV-
"Mr. Auclair, stop crying. You don't have to cry because of me. It makes me even sadder, so stop crying. This is what I get when I say something unnecessary. I'm okay. I'm used to it, so don't worry. Still, thank you for worrying about me." Levi said that with a smile. He wipes the tears streaming from my eyes.
"You're going to ruin your pretty face, Mr. Auclair. So stop crying." He kept talking when I didn't respond.
"Are you sure you're okay? It looks like your father did slap you really hard." I put my hand on his cheek to look at it. Wait, what am I doing now?
"I'm sorry, sir, I shouldn't have done that." I tried to let go of his cheek, but then he stopped me from doing that.
"Don't worry. I don't mind. In fact, your hand on my cheek makes me feel even better. It doesn't feel that hurt anymore. But too bad, I need to attend a meeting right now." He said that while holding my hand on his cheek. Caressing his cheek with his eyes closed. I could feel my heart beating faster now.
"Then you should get ready to leave for the meeting, sir. Wait, let me apply a patch to your cheek. It could help reduce the pain." I moved my hand from his cheek, then went to my office table to look for the patch.
"Here. This should help you feel better." I put the patch on his cheek.
"Thank you. Btw, why don't you come with me somewhere after the meeting? That would make me feel even better." He said that with a smile.
"And may I ask, where to, sir?" I asked him.
"It's a secret. Well then, I'll take my leave now. Thank you for worrying about me. I really appreciate it." He said that with a smile and then left the room for a meeting.
Finally, he left. I'm really embarrassed right now. Why did I bother to caress his cheek? And not to mention, I even cried in front of him. OMG, this is really the worst. I'm not sure how to face him later. I'm sure he's going to make fun of me later. But still, he doesn't deserve to be treated like that. It's been three weeks, and now that he's the kid I met 24 years ago, I know he's actually a decent person. But what made him change so much? I always wanted to ask, but of course I couldn't. It will look weird for me to ask him that.
//SKIP//
Now here we are, at the place Levi mentioned earlier. He said it's a secret, but I didn't expect it to be the aquarium. If I'm not mistaken, this aquarium was the project that Ackerman Travel & Entertainment invested in.
"This aquarium is the project that Ackerman Travel & Entertainment invested in. Well, of course you should know that. This aquarium will be opened at the end of this month (August). They're inviting all of the investors to visit the aquarium today to try everything out. If there's any improvement needed, they will get it done before the opening." Levi explained to me. Ah, so that's why.
"So, shall we?" He said while extending his hand towards me.
"What are you doing, sir? We're not here for a date or something." I ignored him and walked first to the entrance.
"My, my. Here I am hoping this would be our first aquarium date." He catched up to me, and we entered the aquarium lobby together. Wow, it's beautiful.
"Mr. Ackerman. I've been waiting for you. The President said you'll be coming a bit late. The President is having a meeting right now. Would you like to wait for him or take a look around first, sir?" A man greets Levi. I guess he's the one in charge here.
"It's okay, I would like to take a look around first. I'll meet the President later. Btw, I brought my friend also." He introduced me without saying my name. Wait, a friend?
"Oh my, the second young master of the Auclair Family!" He suddenly said it with surprise. Wait, how could he know me? I haven't shown myself to the public for several years.
"Manager Durand, please keep it a secret about the second young master of the Auclair Family coming here today." Levi said that firmly. Did he not expect this too?
"I will. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say it out loud. I'm sorry, young master." He apologized to me and bowed. No, it shouldn't be like this.
"Please don't call me young master and raise your head. Don't worry about that. Just don't let anyone know, okay? And please just call me Mr. Auclair." I said that awkwardly.
"Will do, sir. Mr. Ackerman, would you like me to guide you around the aquarium?" Now, he turns his gaze to look at Levi.
"No, no need. We'll be looking around alone. I'll call you if I need anything." Levi replied with a flat tone.
"Alright, sir. Please have a wonderful time here." The manager replied.
"Thank you, Manager Durand. Mr. Auclair, let's go." Levi said that and grabbed my arm to follow him. Seriously, he shouldn't be doing that in front of the manager.
"I'm sorry. I didn't expect him to recognise you. If you're thinking I'm bringing you here on purp…" I cut him off before he could finish.
"It's okay, sir. I didn't expect him to know me, either. No worries. We're already here, so just let's enjoy looking at the fish, shall we?" I said that to him to avoid any misunderstandings.
"I'm glad you're not mad. Then, let's continue with our aquarium date. I'm going to tell all the fish names." He said that with an excited face. Telling me the fish name? But I'm not interested in knowing any of them.
"The way you said that looks like you know everything here." I responded to him.
"Of course I know a lot of them. Hmm, let's see. That one is the Sand Tiger Shark, the other one is the Giant Moray Eel, ah, the Arapaima fish is here too. Oh, and that one is Alligator Garfish, and it's coming, the Batoidea. It's really pretty." He keeps rambling while walking.
"You sure know a lot about fish, huh?" I said that to him, and he looked at me with a grin.
"Of course! It's not just fish. I know a lot about animals because I like them. My mother used to buy me animal books, and I memorised all of them." He said that happily.
"No wonder you were very excited when we went to the petting zoo in Australia last time." I responded.
"Right. I like it there, haha. I love animals so much. I even proposed the mini zoo to be built along with the Beach Resort in Pampelonne." He said that proudly. So, he's the one who suggested that. I was curious when I read the documents with Lucas yesterday. A mini zoo at the Beach Resort, haha.
"What's your favourite animal then?" I asked him for more. It's like I'm trying to get to know him better, actually.
"Well, I like cats the most. I wanted to have them when I was a kid, but of course my father wouldn't allow that. But it's hard to see them at the zoo, though. There's a lot of cat cafes here and there, but I never went there, not even once. Well, it feels a bit awkward if I go there alone, haha." He said that with an awkward laugh. Obviously he's sad about that. But I didn't expect him to like cats more. I thought he would prefer dogs.
"Which breed do you like? I do not know much about cats, but I do know British shorthair, maine coon, and Persian, I guess." I tried to keep the conversation going.
"They all are pretty cats. But for me, I like Nebelung the most. The breed is mostly male, and they're handsome just like me, haha." He said that with a chuckle. Is he trying to say he looks like a cat?
"Well, I never heard about that cat breed name before." I replied.
"Well, they are considered a rare cat breed, btw. They're the long-haired version of Blue Russian Cat. Grey-blue coats and mostly have green eyes, but there's some of them that might have beautiful grey eyes just like me." Again, he loves to mention himself too when describing the cat.
"I'll do some research later to see whether they look like you or not." I said that, pretending not to be interested in knowing more.
"Ah, there's one more breed that I like. The Ragdoll breeds. Do you know why?" He asked while looking at me.
"And why is it?" I replied.
"Because they have blue eyes and are pretty, just like you."
TO BE CONTINUED!!!