Lucien Klein
Weeks passed. Honestly, a lot of things happened.
I spent the whole day holed up in my condo, too lazy to drag myself to the office, convincing myself I'd be productive if I just finished all my piled-up paperwork at home. The day went by faster than I expected, and by the time I finally decided to crawl into bed, my phone buzzed. Normally, I would have ignored it, assuming it was just Jiro or Nathan.
But for some reason, tonight I felt an urge to check my inbox.
Is your door still open?
Can I come?
It was like someone dumped a bucket of ice water over my head. My grip on my phone almost slipped when I saw who sent it. For a moment, I just stared, blinking hard, eyes wide, hoping I'd read it wrong. But no, it wasn't just some random message from my friends or a stranger.
My chest tightened, breathing turning shallow as I tried to process those two simple messages. I was so nervous I couldn't even bring myself to reply right away.
Yes… Kaius Oziel.
The person I'd loved for so long had suddenly appeared in my inbox. I had no idea what to say, so when another message came in…
Is that a no?
I hesitated, took a deep breath, and finally replied.
Won't Julian be mad?
You can just tell me if you don't want to.
I shot up from my bed so fast I almost slammed into the wall. Seriously? Of all times I finally got to talk to Kazel, I had to mess it up now.
No!
I mean, it's not like that.
I scrambled to clarify, fingers trembling.
But it kind of is, isn't it?
Nooo
I'm just worried your boyfriend might come storming in here looking for me.
You know how it is hehe
I'm not exactly good at fist fights.
I added a laugh at the end, more for myself than for him.
As far as I remember, you punched him real hard.
He replied, teasing.
The last time we met, remember?
Do you really want me to fist fight with your boyfriend?
Then I'll take that as a no.
Sorry for the trouble.
No!
I mean yes!
Huh?
Damn.
[location]
Bring food, okay?
I let out a long sigh, already imagining Jiro and Nathan disowning me for real this time.
Flashback…
It wasn't even Saturday yet, but I somehow ended up at that café, not expecting anything, just craving a frappe. The sun was already low, and I didn't even know why I suddenly wanted a chocolate drink. Luckily, the café was open 24/7. I decided to linger a bit before heading home, but froze when I spotted someone familiar in the corner.
It was Julian… Kazel's boyfriend… with a girl.
I'm really not the type to cause trouble. Stuff like that should be none of my business. But after a few minutes, my simple stop for a drink turned into me quietly watching Julian deep in conversation with a girl who looked way too familiar and suspicious for comfort.
I couldn't deny that a part of me was secretly hoping this would be the reason they'd break up, so I'd finally have a chance with Kazel. Selfish as it was, yeah. But it felt like the only possible way for him to really see me, to acknowledge these stupid, hidden feelings I'd been carrying around.
I shook my head at myself. What are you even thinking, Lucien Klein?!
Hours passed. It was already dark outside, and still, nothing suspicious seemed to be happening between Julian and the girl. I gave up and took one last glance at them, when, to my surprise…
Did I just see Julian kissing her? Was I hallucinating?
No. I knew what I saw.
The anger hit me like a wave. My mind went blank, swallowed by rage. Yes, I'd wished for them to break up, but I never imagined fate would actually twist things in my favor like this.
I wasn't just annoyed. I was furious.
Kazel didn't deserve any of this. Just imagining him getting hurt was enough to snap something in me. Before I even realized what I was doing, I was already marching toward Julian and landing a punch right on his face.
He reeled back, shocked and pissed, glaring at me.
"Damn it, man! What's your problem?!" he yelled, wiping the blood from his lip.
My anger only burned hotter. I closed the distance between us, voice rising, sharp enough to turn heads. "Are you serious right now? You've got a boyfriend, and here you are, locking lips with someone else?! What the hell is wrong with you?"
My fists were clenched so tight my knuckles ached and my jaw tight with anger. "You think nobody would find out? Is Kazel just someone you throw away when it's convenient?" I didn't care about the people staring, the whispers, the phones recording. All I cared about was calling him out, making sure he knew just how pissed off I was.
Julian went quiet, clearly thrown by the fact that I knew about his relationship with Kazel. His jaw flexed as he clenched it, eyes darting around at the crowd watching the scene. Embarrassed and cornered, he could only glare at me, like he was wishing the floor would open up and swallow him.
"Juls?! What's the meaning of this?!" the girl shouted, voice trembling.
The pressure finally cracked something in Julian. "Why do you even care, fucker? Who the hell do you think you are, acting like it's your relationship?" His voice was raw, defensive, desperate.
The café buzzed with gossip and judgment around us, but all the noise felt distant. My head was buzzing too loudly with anger and frustration. I was ready to hit him again, to knock some sense into him, as if that could fix the hurt he'd caused.
Just as I pulled my arm back, ready to throw another punch at the shameless bastard…
"It was never his relationship but it was ours, isn't it?.. Or at least, it was supposed to be."
A familiar voice cut through the chaos like ice water. Kazel suddenly appeared at my side, stepping in just as my fist was about to fly. I froze, arm dropping uselessly to my side as I turned to him.
He stood there, steady, face unreadable. His voice was icy, but his words were razor-sharp. "Did I get it wrong? Because whatever this was, it's over. We're fucking done."
Julian went pale, blindsided by Kazel's sudden appearance beside me. Even I was thrown off, my heart pounding in my throat as I met Kazel's eyes.. red-rimmed, burning with a mix of pain and fury that he was clearly fighting to hold back. I could feel every tremor of anger, every unshed tear he refused to let fall.
Julian instinctively reached for Kazel's hand, maybe to apologize, maybe to beg. Kazel sharply pulled away, rejecting the touch like it burned. Instead, he reached for.. me.
His fingers slipped into mine, firm and deliberate.
Without another word, he tugged me forward, turning his back on Julian, on the girl, on everyone. He didn't look back, didn't explain, didn't justify.
For a moment, I just let him lead me. I didn't care where we were going. All I could focus on was the fact that Kazel was holding my hand. I had dreamed of this so many times, imagined it in a hundred gentler versions, but never once did I picture it happening like this.. raw, painful, terrifyingly real.
As we walked away together, the noise behind us began to fade. The whispers, the gasps, the chaos of the café all blurred into nothing.
All that remained for me was the storm inside my chest.. relief, heartbreak, guilt, hope.. and the warmth of Kazel's hand wrapped around mine, saying everything neither of us could bring ourselves to say out loud.