Short breath, heart racing, warm cheeks, and tingling palms and feet. Cedric wondered really hard about the possibility he's currently having a cardiac arrest.
In fact—knock on wood— he really hoped that what he's experiencing right now is just a symptom of an undetected medical condition. He is in a situation where he would call an ambulance to take him away rather than walk with an "old friend" whom he hasn't seen for years!
A very dark thought. He knows. But seriously, nothing and no one prepared him for this sudden reunion!
"Cedric! Let's stop by the convenience store and see if they have anything to help with your cheek. I didn't notice it earlier, but I see a little bruise under your cheekbones."
The brute, Dylan, effortlessly followed his pace.
This giant freak! It is already for Cedric to keep his feelings under control in this situation, yet someone here looks so comfortable and at ease despite his desperation to get away! Unreasonable, yes, but this flared Cedric's irritation more.
"I'm going home, okay? I have everything I need to treat my cheeks there. I don't need your help or your pity." Cedric's blatant passive-aggressive response.
Dylan pouted, secretly suppressing his lips from arching.
"Then, I will go home with you. I can assist you."
"No!" Cedric answered almost automatically. "I appreciate the concern, but don't let strangers inside my home."
"Oh! Is that so?" Dylan's mouth exaggeratedly formed a small "o."
"Yes!"
Cedric's irritation reached the sky at this point. Gosh! He knows that expression. He's super familiar with that face from 13 years ago. This damned Dylan Kim is making fun of him, and he will not let that slide!
"Can you stop following me, Dylan?" Cedric stopped in his tracks and pointedly looked at Dylan's face. "I don't get where you get the impression that I will invite you into my home just because we met each other in the street. If I ever sound inviting to you, I'm sorry. Please go and continue harassing kids. I heard the police station's air conditioning is great. Okay? Have a nice day! Bye!"
Without waiting for Dylan's response, Cedric turned his heels to walk away, but before he could even take a step, he heard Dylan's hearty laugh!
"Hahahaha!" Dylan's laugh echoed Cedric's ears. When the latter looks back, the former is arching forward, laughing like there's no tomorrow.
Cedric almost collapses due to hypertension.
"This is hilarious. Even after years, you never changed! You still act like that grumpy old cat we used to take care of. Did I really piss you off that much? I'm sorry for hitting you with a ball. I was checking if I still got the football skills."
Suddenly, Cedric felt Dylan put his arm on his shoulders. The writer went stiff.
"Let me make it up to you, okay? That is what I planned from the very beginning anyway." Dylan then lowered his head towards him. "We are best friends, anyway."
At that moment, Cedric felt his heart fall to the pits of his stomach. Best friends, yeah, right.
"Let me go, Dylan. We are in public. I don't want others to think I'm in any intimate relationship with you," Cedric said coldly. "Surely, you wouldn't want that too, right?"
Dylan let Cedric put a distance between them. However, he looked visibly confused. "What do you mean?"
Cedric took heavy steps ahead of Dylan, saying, "Since it seems like you forgot it after years of not seeing each other, let me remind you then. I am gay, Dylan. So, it's better if straight playboys like you avoid the likes of me."
He turned his head to glare at Dylan for the last time. "That's easy for you, right? You did it once, so it should be easy to do it again. Bye."
Just like that, Cedric walked away. He half-jog and half-run the street leading to the apartment building, silently chanting: "Hold it in! Hold it in!" as his eyes slowly turn red and glassy.
Meanwhile, Dylan stayed still like a statue. Then, as though he remembered something, he cursed out loud.
"Cedric, wait!"
But the other didn't stop and instead sprinted towards the entrance of the apartment building.
In an instant, the roles they played a while ago got reversed.
Too bad for Cedric, Dylan's legs are long, and coupled with impressive athleticism, his arm got caught before he could enter his building.
"We need to talk, Cedric. Dude, just a minute, okay?"
Cedric harshly whipped his head at Dylan. "Let me go!"
And just in time, the building's guard came to his rescue. "Sir, is there any problem here?"
Cedric quickly responded, "Please stop this man from entering the premises. Only tenants and their confirmed guests are allowed, and he's not one of them."
The guard blinked his eyes twice, confused. "But I thought he's your friend, Sir?"
Not correctly understanding what the guard meant, Cedric became slightly angry. "Am I the only one unaware that I am friends with this brute? Whatever, just don't let that man enter the building."
Cedric proceeded without looking back, leaving the guard confused.
He angrily pressed on the elevator. Thankfully, it is not in use, so it immediately opened.
Cedric only took one step when suddenly, a pair of big hands grabbed both his shoulders before shoving him inside. "What the—"
The 29-year-old writer no longer needed to look to see who the blasted human being was because he could clearly see it in the reflection.
"Dylan!"
Cedric tried to shake off the man's grasp, but Dylan was too strong for him. Instead of breaking free, the man pinned him against the elevator. For the nth time, the box of rice cakes dropped to the floor.
"You're such an asshole, you know that? You're not allowed to be here because…"
Dylan quickly finished Cedric's statements, "Only tenants and their guests are welcome here. I know."
"Even if you burst into my apartment, I swear, I will call security on you!"
"Of course, you would. You hate me, and as the landlord, you could even call the police to send away the trespassers."
Cedric's heart jolted. "How did you know?"
Dylan didn't answer and only cocked his eyebrow at Cedric.
Cedric watched incredulously as the brute pressed the elevator button on the side. The floor? Eighth floor. Exactly where his apartment is.
"You! Did you do a background check on me? Like, hired a private detective to find me. Why? To mess with me?" Cedric fired one after another. Excuse his baseless accusation, but as a writer, he could imagine many scenarios based on the suspicious actions Dylan had taken thus far.
"This asshole! You must have deliberately kicked the ball to my face! I can remember the many times you did that to me when we were younger! You always knock my book with balls whenever I am walking and reading! This sneaky bastard. You never changed!"
"I can't believe I fell for your tricks and ran after you! Shit, let go of me." His loud voice echoed inside the elevator, and Dylan just ignored all the accusations.
Cedric struggled more to push away Dylan. But after multiple fruitless attempts, Cedric grew tired. His body isn't built to overpower anyone, let alone the tall and jacked Dylan.
"As expected of a writer, you already pieced everything together. Too bad, not all of them are correct." Dylan said, his hooded eyes directly looking down on Cedric.
The 29-year-old writer shifted uncomfortably as his heart thundered against his chest.
Cedric lost all the words he was supposed to hurl at Dylan, and all he could do was bite his lower lips. Dylan's unexpected domineering appearance suddenly made him feel weak.
"Cedric…" Dylan trailed off in a low voice. An imperceptible emotion flashed as he saw Cedric's meek expression. He doesn't want to frighten Cedric, so he quickly makes a decision.
"You and I will talk… some other time." Ting! The elevator door opened, and Dylan got off first. His eye contact didn't stop as he took successive backward steps away from Cedric.
"I don't want to sort out our problems by pressuring you. I want us to talk when you're no longer heated. But before we separate, I want you to know I didn't resort to sneaky methods to find you. Like before, you just came on my way, and I used that opportunity to get close to you."
As though black magic is cast on him, Cedric finds it unable to move or tear away from Dylan's gaze. He stood inside the elevator watching the man as he put distance between them.
He knows that he should be questioning Dylan as to why he seemed too confident that they will meet and talk again after this, why he looked so natural when he opened the digital lock of Cedric's neighbor and entered the passcode, and if this is reality.
However, Cedric was tongue-tied as his brain answered his questions.
"Fuck! What's going on in my life?" Cedric grabbed and pulled his hair as he asked himself this question.
His new tenant is Dylan Kim! Fuck!
He remembered the guard's words earlier. "I thought he was your friend, sir…"
Friend… Because he alluded before that the person who helped him go home last night was his friend, and he thought that friend was the new tenant. Who is the new tenant? It's Dylan Freaking Kim!
The elevator closed the exact moment Dylan's back disappeared from Cedric's sight.
"Shit! What kind of sick joke is this?!" Now, Cedric no longer needs to chant a prayer to stop himself from tearing up. His tears were too shocked at the development of events to even come out.