I must have been so relieved that I passed out from exhaustion. Maybe it was because I hadn't had any good sleep at all. I had probably collapsed onto Eliam's lap, and the poor guy had to drag me back to bed.
I woke up in Eliam's bed around 9 PM. I must have slept like a rock for a solid 13 hours. Yikes, that was embarrassing. I looked to my right and saw Eliam fast asleep in a chair. I guess he was tired too, given the previous night... Whatever. I glanced over next to Eliam and spotted a tray of porridge on the table. It had gone cold, but I felt a huge sense of appreciation.
Wait, it might not be for me, though. I'll just check it out—
"That's for you, Leon."
My heart jumped, and I looked over at him, not realizing he was awake. "Oh really? Thanks... a lot, Eliam!"
I took the bowl of porridge in my hands. Until now, I had only eaten porridge from the store, so this was new.
"Why did you make this for me?" I asked, holding the spoon and shifting comfortably on the bed as I took the first bite.
"Well... you were burning up with a fever," Eliam said, twirling his soft hair as he crossed his arms.
I felt really thankful. I couldn't believe he was upset with me just yesterday. I guess he was just really observant. I looked down at my porridge and ate slowly. Man, I hadn't even washed up or changed out of my dumb, tacky clothing with the barfing fat cat. I should have done that before comfortably sleeping on his bed.
Wait. I'm on his bed... That means... I was sleeping on the same bed as...
"Hm?!"
I accidentally let out, almost spilling the bowl.
Eliam reacted, jumping slightly out of his seat. "Yes, Leon? Is there something in the bowl?"
"No... I just realized something, that's all... Hehe..." I nervously muttered.
"Don't worry, Leon, I changed the sheets," Eliam replied in a soft tone.
"W-what?! You knew?"
"Uh-huh. It's fine, though. I knew you would wake up from how aggressive that jerk was being."
His expression soured, seemingly at the thought of Jaehwa, before he turned back to me and smiled calmly. He leaned in closer all of a sudden, making my heart race faster. "Just rest."
"No... It's fine. I should probably get out of your bed—"
I said, but before Eliam could inch closer to me, the front door swung open, and a tall figure stepped in.
"Eliam. Where the hell were you at the hotel?"
Jaehwa spoke with a low, thundering voice that echoed through the hall.
Crap, this must be past the first chapter of the manhwa already, where Eliam and Jaehwa were supposed to meet up at some fancy hotel, but Eliam had to miss it because he was sleeping in the dorm due to exhaustion. This time, it was because of me. He was busy taking care of me, and I felt terrible. I knew that after this, Jaehwa would punish Eliam harshly tonight, tying him up and all that other stuff. I didn't want that to happen to Eliam.
I don't know what came over me; these characters weren't even real, and I had no reason to meddle in their affairs. But I spoke up.
"Jaehwa, Eliam is feeling tired. I think it would be best if you could speak to him tomorrow, after he's rested enough."
I asked, my voice trembling ever so slightly with each word that came out of my mouth.
Jaehwa approached me, looking down upon me with the same unreadable expression. Before he could do anything to me, Eliam pulled me back hard, and I didn't even have time to process what was going on.
The next thing that happened... I'm really not sure. My lips came into contact with Eliam's, right in front of Jaehwa, of all times. Eliam grabbed my collar to bring me closer, deepening the kiss.
His tongue slipped into my mouth, swirling around mine, before he finally let go, pulling out with strings of saliva still connecting our lips.
I backed away immediately, completely taken by surprise.
"Wha-?"
Eliam signaled me to stay silent, putting a finger to my lips.
"Sorry about that.. I'll be back to explain later."
He whispered quietly.
Then he turned to look up at Jaehwa, who was watching the whole time, the same blank look on his face, not staring at Eliam, but at me.
"Fine, I'll come with you."
Eliam replied flatly.
He followed Jaehwa as they both left, Jaehwa turning to look at me before he closed the door with a firm click, leaving me alone with a deafening silence in the room.
The hell was that. Why? Why did that just happen?
First thing, That was my first kiss. I know I'm alone, but most of all, Why?
Okay, my conclusion was that he was in danger from Jaehwa, so he had to save himself or something. It's okay, no big deal. Totally understandable.
Still.. I can't forget how... Interesting it felt. He was such a good kisser, I'm a bit envious of his future partner, which is probably Jaehwa or Daehyun. I'm just waiting for the time they turn into green flags, AKA a basic, decent human that respects boundaries.
If anything I'd report them to the police for like, a bunch of things, but the last time I remembered someone reporting both of them, Eliam shunned them due to Daehyun lying, and manipulating the poor girls actual intentions to Eliam, then Jaehwa took her fathers job or something. I know, It's insane. The author even villainized and antagonized her, so no thanks.
Whatever. I shouldn't make this a big deal. A kiss? So what. Eliam probably has a good reason. Plus, he's gonna fuck with Jaehwa again in that hotel.
I've only been in this world for a day and a half, it's biologically impossible for anything to be attached to me.
I should probably buy some food, I'm starving. At least that's the good part about being a richer Leon.
I locked the front door as I walked out. No one was there anyway. Not for tonight. I've decided I'd go to the hotel that Leon stayed in. I managed to find a card for 'Celestial Haven Hotel.' Only problem was, It was near central Seoul.
I pulled out my phone hurriedly, opening the GPS app.
20 kilometers isn't that bad. Plus Seoul has good transportation, unlike the nightmare that is the capital of my country.
In the train heading to Gangnam, I contemplated possibly unaliving myself to wake up, but I would be totally fucked if this wasn't a dream, and plus I can feel everything, and it would hurt real badly. Nevermind. I can at least appreciate the architecture of the city through the train window. One thing good about being here, is well, being here. I'd never thought I'd see the day I'd explore east asia so soon. I better try some of the food here. God, I wish even one of my best friends were here with me to explore.
I miss you, Sam, Chanelle, Mari. Heck, I even miss my family, which I normally don't. Not an hour goes by where I don't feel like breaking down at the thought of possibly never seeing any of them again. I never even said goodbye, and now I'm in Seoul, a dream destination my friends and I were all meant to visit together. God knows how much I want this to not be real. I better see that damn lamp from that one guy's post about a dream that lasted a decade, if you know what I'm talking about.
After an hour of exploration in the city center, I ate a bowl of noodles, which were surprisingly more expensive here, at their origin, than in my home country. Something I also want to do one day is fly back to my country. Would I see the people I know? Or has everything changed in this world, and no one I know exists here?
Anyway, I saw the hotel across the intersection. It was a tall, 40-story glass building, adorned with the shiny words, '씨.하.하' (C.H.H). I wasn't sure why Leon would come so far just to stay here every night, but he must have had his own car, which I don't know about.
I pushed open the heavy glass door and entered. I approached the reception desk and the girl standing there.
"Hello, welcome to Celestial Haven Hotel! Would you like a room?"
"Uh… Sure." I pulled out the card from my wallet and handed it to her.
I watched as her eyes widened, and she quickly gave the card back to me. "Would you like me to direct you to your property, Mr. Yanse?"
"Uhm, sure?" I wasn't sure why she had that reaction. I followed her anyway to my 'property'. I looked closer at the brown card. It said Celestial Haven Holder in cursive, with my name, but as soon as I looked at the back, I realized: 'Run by the Yanse Corporation™'. Wow. I really was rich. Something I had never had enough of was money back then, so this is fascinating, but also kind of… exciting. I'm not going to spend much of it, of course, but I like looking at money I've saved. Well, more specifically, the money my dad in this world had for me.
"Just press your fingerprint here, Mr. Yanse." She said, bowing down literally 90 degrees. Do rich people deserve to be respected that much? Well, I guess my dad must be paying her good money.
I checked the front door made of reinforced wood lined with marble. It had an advanced security system, with a keypad and a fingerprint sensor. I pressed my thumb on it, and it activated, opening up for me. I really am still the Leon of this world. I think I replaced him when I entered this world somehow; otherwise, I would have seen him at some point. That would be terrifying though.
I made my way into the luxury penthouse. It was incredible. Was I really this wealthy? Is this some alternate world where my family was actually successful and moved to Korea?
The floor was all marble, and there was a giant two-story living room, a hall leading to two bedrooms and two bathrooms. The counters were obsidian and marble too. A giant glass window covered the entire wall. I could see the entire city skyline across the Han River, all lit up with lights. That reminded me of when I was at that rooftop café in a famous mall next to the city river with my friends. We could see everything from that height. But we almost set the entire table on fire with those alcohol things, all because of Mari, hehe. Man…
Well, at least I know where to go to avoid anything in the dorm that goes bump in the night, quite literally. I guess a little stroll near the Han River wouldn't be so bad. I should probably buy some new clothes along the way, because I still haven't changed out of these stupid clothes making me look like a total idiot. Plus, I didn't have any clothes because the dorm closet and even the penthouse closet were completely empty. I guess this wasn't technically where Leon stayed and kept his other belongings.
As I walked through the red carpeted halls, I reached the elevator. I finally could try to be fashionable, now that money wasn't an issue. I mean, If I go back, this would all disappear, so I better just make the most of it I could.
Oh and did I say I wasn't gonna spend much? Nope, I don't remember!
I guess I could set aside a few hundred bucks.. I just want to spoil myself okay.. I haven't done that since elementary school with the birthday money from Sam.
A few hundred bucks is nothing compared to this multi billion dollar empire my dad has built. I guess that's why I was sent to such a fancy boarding school.
The elevator opened for me, And I stepped inside, the elevator covered from side to side with mirrors. I looked at myself again. I looked a lot more exhausted than before, And my messy hair was so freaking oily. If I don't shower after buying new clothes I think I'd cry. I can't stand being dirty for a long period of time.
This tower was so tall, my gosh. It was taking forever to reach the ground floor. I decided, looking at the mirror in front of me, It would be safe to dance around a little, I mean there's nobody. Yeah, now I feel like a real professional trainee.
And that's what I did, until the elevator door opened.
The next thing I saw made me want to blow my brains off and just die in that very spot. It was him. AGAIN. The moment I thought I was safe.