Rowan's father, Steven, instantly recognized the distress in his son's voice. "My son, enough! Come home right now! If you stay there any longer, you'll hurt even more. Don't talk too much; I'll send someone to pick you up. Just come home now!"
Following his father's urgent command, Rowan left the hospital.
Later that afternoon, Lucian and Kai were preparing to leave. Despite Lucian's devastating promise, Kai seemed completely untouched, acting as if life was simply resuming its normal course.
As they stood outside, Kai asked casually, "Hey, Lucian, can we go on a simple dinner date today?"
Lucian, still mentally fractured by the morning's events, was only focused on Kai's critical health. "Hmm, Kai, you need to rest. First, go home. After a few days, when you're cured, we can go anywhere."
"Hmm, okay. I understand. You're still thinking about Rowan, right?" Kai asked, his eyes sharp.
Lucian's eyes widened in surprise. "Kai!"
"Ah, what? I'm speaking the truth! You just said that promise for nothing, didn't you? Am I right?" Kai pressed, his gaze piercing.
Lucian's composure snapped. "Kai!" he surrendered. "You want to go to dinner? Fine! Let's go!" He agreed instantly, his interest completely gone, fueled only by the exhausting need to manage Kai.
They went to a luxurious hotel. Kai ordered everything Lucian liked, but Lucian merely picked at his food, lost in thought.
"Hmm, Lucian, you've changed more," Kai observed.
"What... what? Me?" Lucian mumbled.
"Yes. You're literally just feeding yourself, but you haven't fed me at all! You've changed a lot. Is that because of Ro—" Before Kai could finish the name, Lucian scooped up some soup and fed it directly into Kai's mouth.
"Are you okay now? Just eat! Don't talk while eating," Lucian said, giving him another spoonful.
"Luciaaaaa!" A girl's voice called out. They turned to see Aerin.
The moment Kai saw Aerin, his body stiffened, and his hands began to shake—the familiar sign of his trauma and desire. Lucian instantly reached out and firmly held Kai's hand. Kai relaxed slightly, his expression silently signaling Lucian to handle the situation.
Lucian walked straight up to Aerin.
"Lucian, you said you only knew Kai for three months, but look at you both! You're so close today! Even at the club project, you both literally, literally... acted like boyfriends!" Aerin accused.
"No, no, no! We're not even close to that much!" A voice cut in from behind. It was Kai, who had followed Lucian.
Lucian's expression was panicked (Why are you here?!), but Kai's was controlled (It's okay, I'll handle this).
"Ah, actually, we're not boyfriends. Just friends," Kai confirmed, his voice smooth. Lucian's heart sank, hearing his devastating promise to Rowan confirmed as a lie.
"But I saw you both—" Aerin started.
"No, no, actually, whatever happened at the camp was all because of Rowan!" Kai announced dramatically. "Yes, he's a playboy. Everyone thinks he's a noble person—the university crush, great academics, and best athlete—but no! That's just a show-off profession from his dad's money. He's personally a very cheap person! He literally tried to trap Lucian, that's why I acted like that!"
"Enough!" Lucian erupted, his anger finally breaking through his restraint.
Just then, Aerin's phone rang. "Ah, my mom is calling!"
Lucian instantly seized the opportunity. He calmed himself. "Aerin, talk with your mom first. Kai and I need to go to the restroom." Lucian dragged Kai away.
Inside the privacy of the restroom, Lucian turned on Kai, his voice low and shaking.
"What are you telling her? Rowan is not—" Lucian started to defend the man he had just abandoned.
"Ah, I know you're never going to leave Rowan, don't you? Don't you ever think about my feelings?" Kai asked, the words dripping with victimhood.
Lucian sighed.
"I believe that you'll never mention Rowan again," Kai. said, testing the promise.
"Kai!" Lucian said, his eyes going wide with disbelief. "Didn't your mind go crazy whenever you saw Aerin? Even before, when I went to talk to her, you literally stumbled seeing her. So what are you going to do now, Kai?" Lucian demanded, wanting to know why he was risking his life for a lie.
"Lucian, I know I did a bad thing to you and Aerin, I regret that," Kai replied, suddenly earnest. "Whenever I see her, my mind went crazy, but right now, I'm decided: I'm going to pursue Aerin! As soon as I follow my crush, she'll definitely love me this time! Am I right, Lucian?"
Lucian's eyes filled with sudden, stinging tears. "Then what about me, Kai?"
"What about you?!!" Kai said, utterly lacking in self-awareness. "You're my friend. You'll stay with me as my lifeline. Whenever I get frustrated, you'll save me! Whenever I'm in love, I'm going to see Aerin! Is it good?"
"Yes. Amazing." Lucian laughed, a harsh, broken sound that masked the pain in his heart.
They returned to Aerin, who had just ended her call. "Ah, how did you both come here?"
"Ah, in a taxi," Lucian said, his voice flat.
"Ahhh, I have a car, Lucian! Come with me, we can drop Kai!" Aerin offered.
"It's okay, we'll both go in—" Lucian started, desperate for privacy.
"Ah, yeah, fine!" Kai agreed, cutting him off and accepting the offer from Aerin. Aerin looked confused, but Kai explained, "Actually, Lucian had some errands before he goes home, so maybe he'll take a taxi. If you're okay, I'll drive your car."
Aerin beamed. "Yes! Yes!" she exclaimed, thinking: OMG, if I get close to him, it will be easy to propose to him!
"Okay, bye, Lucian!" Aerin and Kai left together.
Lucian stood frozen. He paid the bill and, without taking a taxi, began walking toward his distant home.
Hours later, Lucian was still walking. His mind was in a terrifying loop: Kai is totally selfish. Yes, he has health issues, but his mental illness is rooted in his selfishness. He calls me his friend, but he doesn't even care about me—the person he hurt! He's pursuing Aerin, who he thinks he hurt, but he didn't even care about me, the one he actually destroyed! Why did I fall in love with this person? Why can't I forget him?
Suddenly, he remembered Rowan. He remembered Rowan's caring, the simple happiness he felt on the back of that bike, the protective promises.
I'm stupid, Rowan. I'm stupid! I'm sorry!
He looked up, tears streaming down his face, mixing with the rain that suddenly hit him hard. He closed his eyes, accepting the pain.
Then, the rain stopped. He opened his eyes and saw a large, protective umbrella.
He began to turn, and a familiar, caring voice spoke: "Didn't I tell you never to go out in the rain? It will make you ill! If you get a cold or flu, what am I supposed to do while seeing your pain?!"
It was Rowan.
Lucian turned fully and threw himself into Rowan's arms, sobbing uncontrollably. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm a bad person! I'm really sorry!"
"Hey, hey, first, we need to go home," Rowan said, holding the umbrella with one hand and Lucian with the other.
Suddenly, Lucian pulled Rowan's neck down and kissed him fiercely in the middle of the road, pouring all his pain, regret, and relief into the desperate embrace.