Captivating Presence.

Chapter 8

4 Days, 4 boring and suffocating days went by as Cale only stayed in his room while he also occassionally went to the Henituse mansion's garden area to get some fresh air. The garden was the only place where he can breathe easily, it was a place where he and his mother frequently play or have tea together. A place of good memories.

Today, he is sitting under the tree within the garden. His eyes are closed as he relaxed under the tree's shade, it was as if he is, temporarily, at peace. No one was there to disturb him, just him, alone, enjoying the tranquility.

He opened his eyes. During his days in the mansion, his family, as usual, didn't interact with him, apart from Violan. The redhead noticed that she was trying to come up and talk to him, why? There's no reason for her to do so. Not just her, but Basen and Lily are doing the same as well.

Why? Are they reaching out to him? If so... why now?

But what Cale doesn't know is that Violan is trying to have a talk with him regarding her and a rumor that Deruth mentioned in the first day. She was surprised to learn that Cale is dating someone, let alone a man! Violan wanted to speak with his stepson regarding that, but at the same time, she wanted to apologize to him about her faults as a mother as well.

How she didn't approach him in his time of need, how she thought that by giving him space, he will eventually get better but he sadly did not, how... she gave Basen and Lily her attention while Cale was left alone.

She was a failure as a mother for not giving her stepson the attention that he needed, and for not trying to stop him from going down the wrong path. This time, she will right her wrongs and approach Cale instead of letting him be any longer.

Basen and Lily, unlike the past where they avoided the redhead, wanted to be closer to Cale, to their older brother. They saw how Cale looked... lifeless during lunch, the two wanted to reach out, get to know him and finally make him happy...

Seeing that their mother is doing the same, it gave them the motivation to do so. But due to how Cale is avoiding them easily... it was difficult, but nonetheless, they won't stop until they finally reached him out.

_____

Meanwhile with the merman, he is laying on his bed feeling bored and lonely... with Ellis there accompanying him apparently.

Jung Soo is lying on the bed while staring at he the ceiling lifelessly. Ellis is just sitting on a random chair staring at the dull merman.

Basically, Jung Soo called Ellis if they could hang out, the latter obliged since he's on his day off. Ellis originally thought they would be doing something fun as watching movies, but no. Sadly no. He was called as a fill-in for Cale's absence.

'Aigoo... there goes my day off.'

Aigoo indeed.

The merman thought this was a good idea! But no, he still feels empty.

The brown-haired scientist sighed. Jung Soo is very lovesick right now, to the point that it's annoying and awkward to look at.

Letting out a sigh once more, he decided to speak about a topic. It's regarding the merman and the redhead feelings.

"You must really love Mr. Henituse, don't you?"

The merman flinched, he sat up from the bed to face the brown-haired scientist, his face is a bit florid. Jung Soo placed a hand at the back of his neck and turned away from Ellis a bit, his lips formed into a fond smile.

"...Mm, I really do."

"..."

Ellis... was a bit surprised. He didn't expect for Jung Soo to admit it that easily, but he digresses. He was expecting Jung Soo to be flustered about it, but seeing as the merman has the look of fondness on his face, the brown-haired scientist smiled.