“Hey! Hey! You unruly child, wake up right now!”

A sharp and clear voice rang out loudly in the room. The yell, mixed with the cheery giggles of little children, cast a rather nostalgic atmosphere, one of safety and comfort.  

A small child lays skewed on the tiny bed, his bed sleeping postures reflects his wild and untamed nature. Roused awake by the yelling, the boy abruptly sat up, rubbing his eyes in a daze.

“Teresa.” A meek voice squeaked out of the boy, almost inaudible.

“That’s Ms. Teresa to you. What are you doing taking a nap? What about the tasks I give you this morning?” Across from the bed, a young woman stood with her arms folded, evidently not pleased.

The small boy was silent for a minute before squeaking out another sentence, “…I finished them. I was just tired…”

A gentle breeze flew past the window, tenderly caressing the small child’s raven hair and jade-like skin, making his bed-hair flutters ever so slightly, outlining a pair of delicate peach blossom cheeks.

[Guh!]

Ms. Teresa, who had the good mind to chew out the small child but a moment ago, was suddenly hit by this increadibly adorable scene. The harsh scolding words that were stuck to her throat could only be silently swallow back down, and she only secretly cursing herself for being so soft-hearted against this child.

“…A-ahem! Well, I supposed it’s alright if you’ve finished all your chores. You can take a nap this time since you’re tired, but don’t make it into a habit ok?”

The boy moved his gaze upward, his sparkling clear eyes filled with a watery red rim from rubbing too much, and his small hunched body clutching at a worn-out pillow twice his size, appears particularly vulnerable like a small wounded animal in need of protection. “...Ok…”

Ms. Theresa: !!!!!

[So, so…cute!]

Being hit twice in a row, the young woman was momentarily speechless. Her heart was beating madly while her mind was flooding with thoughts associating the child before her with all sort of tiny lovable woodland creatures. On her face, however, the woman remains rather expressionless, though her gaze on the boy was much more gentler than before.

“…Alright. Hurry up and go wash your face. Dinner is ready, and we’re all waiting for you.” The woman turns around and began walking away, when she suddenly thought of something and then stops, “When I asked you to do those chores this morning, I didn’t expect you to do them all by yourself. I’ve talked to the other children, and…”

After a pause, Ms. Theresa turns back to face the boy. Her face was refined and beautiful with an air of serenity and elegance, her long blonde curls shone like golden rays of sunshine on a midsummer afternoon.

“Heise, always remember, don’t be afraid to ask for help.”

 

 

 

 

In the early hours of the morning, Heise was woken up by the chirping of early birds.

*Blink*

[…What time is it?]

Opening his eyes, Heise stares blankly around the room for a moment before realizing that there’s no clock on the wall. Instead, underneath where the clock should have been is a lump of broken wood and mechanical parts protruding out the sides.

[Oh, yeah…]

Reaching for his phone to check the time, Heise saw that his phone was out of battery. Apparently, he was so caught up in his frustration yesterday, he had totally forgot to charge his phone!

Since the charger was still securely packed in his unopened luggage, and, too lazy to start rummaging through it now, Heise promptly decided to throw his phone aside and get up from bed anyway.

Peeling himself out of the comfortable sheets, Heise sluggishly made his way to the French windows leading out to the balcony before yanking open the curtains.

In an instant, light flooded the room. Bright rays of sunlight shone through the clear glass and onto the gold gilded furniture, creating an iridescent glow that illuminates the suite’s every nooks and crannies in luxurious splendor. Gem ornaments, jade sculptures, marble bas-reliefs and all kinds of other extravagant decorations seems to gleam and come to life in dazzling radiance.

Heise: “…...”

Why does he think that this might burn his eyes if he looked at it any longer?

As a habit, Heise finished his morning routine in an organized and speedy manner. His vacant morning stares has long been replaced with a sharp and lucid gaze. Dressed casually in a plain white shirt and dark colored slack, the young man appeared particularly handsome with a certain devilish charm.

Feeling the pangs of hunger creeping up, Heise decided to go look for some breakfast.

Early in the morning, all of the mansion was quiet. The door to the master bedroom was still tightly shuts, indicating that the master of the house had yet to rise. Stopping outside the master bedroom, Heise had an impulse to knock, but quickly reconsiders it and decides to head downstairs alone.

[Would it be rude if I ate first, before the homeowner even wake up?] Heise pondered as he slowly descended the staircase. [But, knowing it’s him, he probably won’t care, right…?] Ultimately, despite certain hesitations, Heise decided that his belly was more important than his face.

Heading toward the kitchen, Heise could vaguely make out the clanking of pots and pans.

[So noisy so early in the morning. Is it the housekeeper? But I didn’t see anyone here yesterday?]

Approaching the kitchen doorway, Heise leaned inside to take a peek. He saw the back of man, tall and lean, wearing an eye-catching T-top with two exposed arms nimbly moving about.

[That’s the chef? He looks more like a professional athlete than some cook…]

Almost as if he could hear Heise’s thoughts, the man turns around abruptly, his hands holding a large bubbling pot.

Heise: “………”

The man: “……...”

The two pair of eyes crossed each other, and for a moment, Heise could felt something strange gripping his chest. Thinking that it was the hunger getting to him, Heise quickly retracted his gaze, slightly shook his head, and carefully take a closer look the stranger before him.

Truth be told, this “cook” was rather good-looking.

A little too good-looking.

The man’s face had stunning features and a set of striking blue eyes, like a bright beacon in the middle of the darkness, captivating and mysterious, luring in all the secrets of the depths. His bright golden hair, combed in a messy carefree way, contrasted with his honey buck-wheat skin, cast a majestic and youthful aura. His heroic statures, complete with tone and chiseled muscle lines, bulging through the thin cloth, untamed and wild, radiates a powerful and oppressive luster, commanding onlookers to bow down in worship.

*Gulp*

In the bustling early morning kitchen, the sound of saliva swallowing was surprisingly audible.  

[Damn. He’s just a cook, does he need to look like some kind of male god?! Seriously! While I tried so hard every day…]

While Heise was busy stewing in his own self-loathing and seething envy, the man took a step forward and took the initiative to break the silence, “Hello.”

Facing the floor and lost in thoughts, Heise did not sense the other’s approach until the corner of his eyes catches a pair of high fashion loafers standing right next to his foot. Still in daze, he unconsciously raised his head only to be met with a deep blue color, a clear and tranquil ocean, warm and inviting. Without even realizing it, Heise’s face was mere inches from the stranger’s, a warm moist breath lightly brushes against his skin, a tingly sensation turning his cheeks red.

Heise felt suffocated.

A most sweet suffocation that left him breathless.

Each and every features of the man’s face—the eyes, the nose, the chin—were like priceless treasures that can ensnare the senses and engulfs the mind, sapping away what little rationality Heise has left. And those thin delicate lips, as if moistens by drops of heavenly nectar, glistens ever so delectable…

“Ouch!!!”

A searing pain shot up from Heise’s fingers, instantly snapping him awake. Stumbling backward, he took a glance at his hand, only to realize that he’d been burned by the scolding pot that the man was holding. The injury on Heise’s hand was turning more and more red by the minute, but, unfortunately, these terrible burns weren’t even on his mind right now.  

[Fuck! What the hell am I doing?! What is going on here? If it weren’t for that pot, I’d…]

“Are you alright? Is it burned? Let me see, I’ll help you.” Putting down the pot onto a nearby table, the man reached out and gently scooped up Heise’s injured hand. “It’s not good to leave it like that, you know. Let’s go over there and rinse it first.”

“N-no! Wait!” Like a frightened cub, Heise instinctively tries to retract his hand. However, no matter how hard he struggles, he was unable to shake off that steel-like grip and only ended up making the pain in his wound worse, sending tears to his eyes. Frustrated, Heise used his remaining hand to hastily and roughly wipes his eyes, leaving a red tinge on the rim. Resigned to his fate, Heise could only glare at the man currently running cold water over his wound.

“There, it should be better now. Do try to be careful in the future, won’t you?” The man turns around and, with utmost care, gently dry Heise’s hand with a clean towel. Seeing the man’s face, Heise remained silent and glared even harder at the man, his gaze full of spite and indignation. Unfortunately for Heise, his big round watery eyes with puffy red rims, similar to that of a small pitiful animal, did not seems to convey his message. Instead, they seem to be producing a certain particular adverse effect…

For a fraction of a second, the man’s eyes flashed a dangerous glint.

“…Um, thanks, I guess.” Grabbing back his hand, Heise turns back and quickly flee from the kitchen. On the way, he didn’t forget to say, “Actually, I’m pretty hungry. If there’s anything to eat, please bring it out into the dining room. I’ll just wait there, out of your way.” The last part of his sentence trails off as his body disappears from view, leaving behind the man alone in the kitchen.

Dashing into the dining room, and plopping his butt down to the nearest chair, Heise let out a deep breath, seemingly able to breathe again.

[Man, that was close. Guys like that sure has it good, huh. It’s best if I stay away from him as much as possible.]

Being a well-literate man, Heise had long heard of many kinds of legends. Among them, there are many legends about faces so beautiful they caused the downfall of cities and civilizations. And to think, that today he’d actually fucking met one!

[Sure enough, beautiful things are dangerous. The more beautiful and more dangerous.]

After some time has passed, while Heise was still overworking his brains finding a way to avoid the “trouble” in the kitchen, the source of his trouble actually came to find him,

“Here you are. Breakfast is served.” The man lays down a silver tray in front of Heise before laying down two more identical trays.

Glancing down, Heise found that the tray contains a heap of sizzling steaks, steaming breads, along with a big bowl of fragrant and creamy soup. Though the food looks particularly amazing and delicious, it was not what Heise had expected of as a traditional breakfast, and he couldn’t help but wondered where did this male god came from that he’d considered this breakfast?

[Oh well, who cares where he’s from anyway. I’m super starving, so let’s do this. Hehe.]

Picking up a piece of steak with his fork, Heise was about to put the whole thing into his mouth, when he heard a slight shuffling in the dining room entrance. Looking up, Heise saw a man in pajamas walking over towards the dining table. His messy silver hair sways seductively over his shoulders while his half-opened eyes scan the room for a moment before settling on a target.

“Alvy.” The silver haired man quietly walks over to the male god, grab his arm, and lean his head on the male god’s shoulder in a most lazy and intimate manner. More than a person, Vali looked more like a silver cat.

Alvy, with a helpless look in his eyes, can only slowly pulls the silver cat down to a chair, urging, “Come on, it’s time to eat, yeah? You’re hungry, yeah? Look over there, look at how well your guest is eating.”

Not paying any attention to what was said to him, Vali merely look down at his tray and reluctantly picks at his food.

“You’re Alvy?” Heise vaguely remembers the conversation at last night’s dinner, “so the food yesterday was your cooking? It was pretty good. You’re pretty talented at this.”

“Well thanks,” Alvy also sat down, “it’s nice to finally have someone appreciate my food. Say, we haven’t been properly introduced yet, have we?”

Heise put down his fork, one mustn’t forget manners at a time like this. “My name’s Heise. I’m with G.B. Financial. Val—Mr. Stomford invited me here to look at some accounts for him. It’ll take some time so I will be staying here over the weekend. I’ll have to trouble you over the next few days.”

At this, Alvy let out a slight chuckle, his voice sounds upbeat and inviting, “Why, it’s no trouble at all. Please make yourself at home, our home is not much but if you need anything please just ask. And please, don’t worry about the food, I’d dare say I typically makes enough to feed a village anyhow.”

“Haha yeah,” With introduction out of the way, Heise felt relieved and was about to pick up his fork when he caught on to something. Turning the fork in his hand, Heise hesitantly asked, “Um, if you don’t mind me asking, what is the relationship between the two of you? You certainly don’t seem like a cook.”

Alvy suddenly paused, his eyes swept over Heise in a meaningful manner. With one hand stretched around Vali’s shoulder, he spoke in a serious tone, “You’re right, I’m not the cook. Actually, I’m his a---”

“Lover!” Before Alvy finishes his words, Vali’s sharp voice cuts in mid-sentence.

The sharp yell startled Heise, and when he glanced at Vali, he was even more shocked.

Perching on lavish dinning chair, the once lazy silver cat had disappeared, and a ferocious cunning beast now lays in its stead. For the first time since meeting him, Vali sat up straight, presenting an imposing and dignified posture, his eyes like sharp daggers cutting all he gazes.

“He’s my lover.”