|Weak Hero| Reincarnated as the Villain's Big Brother!

Chapter 16

Devlin finished preparing all of the foods he needed for tonight. He had cut up some watermelon, fried some chicken, mixed a salad, and made some sandwiches. He packed it all into his backpack with a bottle of sparkling water, cutlery, and a picnic blanket.

"Can I come with you?" Donald asked in an innocent tone. "I'd like to meet your boyfriend,"

"Donald, you can't come with me to my date," Devlin refused. "Also, I can clearly see the shovel you're holding behind your back,"

"Damn it," Donald mumbled. "What are the two of you even going to do?"

"We're going to have a picnic and stargaze," Devlin answered. "He likes stargazing,"

"You're not taking a bus this late at night, are you?" Donald asked with concern.

"He has a car," Devlin informed. 'He makes enough money from Cheongang that he's able to afford a car. I'm kinda jealous, but it was my choice to leave. I have no plans to rejoin Cheongang anytime soon,' Devlin ruffled Donald's hair as he headed for the door. "I'll be back later tonight,"

"If you're not back by morning, I'm calling the police and saying that he kidnapped you," Donald deadpanned.

"Don't!"

XXX

Devlin unfurled the picnic blanket and set it down on the grass. He unpacked their meal and Devlin lit up the area around them with a jar of freshly captured fireflies. The two young men ate and watched the stars above. 

Devlin had done a ton of researching about stars and constellations after learning that Changhui loved stargazing. He checked the weather multiple times so that they'd be able to see the stars without getting soaked by the rain.

'This feels so surreal,'

Devlin leaned his head against Changhui's shoulder.

'It's as if I'm living in a dream,'

Changhui intertwined their fingers together.

'I can't believe I'm dating Changhui. I can't believe he actually loves me back,'

Devlin's ears immediately perked up when he heard the faint sound of a twig snapping under weight. He shot up and looked in that direction, but it was too dark for him to see if anyone was there.

"Is something wrong?" Changhui inquired.

"I thought I heard someone stepping on a twig," Devlin informed. "But maybe I was mistaken. Or if I did hear a twig snapping, it could've been a wild animal or something,'

"Do you want to call it a night and head back?" Changhui asked.

Devlin continued to glare in the direction he had heard the sound come from. "Yeah, I think it'd be better that way. I'd rather we be safe than sorry,"

They packed up the picnic and returned to Changhui's car. As Changhui drove towards Devlin's apartment, Devlin constantly checked to see if they were being followed but no other car or person was behind them.

"Maybe I was just being too paranoid since it's my first relationship," Devlin said. "Sorry for ending the date early, Changhui,"

"It's best to always trust your guts," Changhui advised. "And like you said, it's better to be safe than sorry,"

XXX

Changhui planned their next date. He brought Devlin to an expensive restaurant with various foods and a large array of wines and spirits to choose from. 

"This place is really fancy," Devlin commented.

"If the place makes you uncomfortable, we can dine elsewhere," Changhui offered.

"The place is fine!" Devlin quickly told him, not wanting to be rude. "It's just that the date I planned seems kinda lame in comparison to yours,"

"I actually liked our first date and would prefer to do that again," Changhui said. "You put a lot of thought into it since you knew I loved stargazing,"

"Are you saying that you didn't put a lot of thought into your date planning?" Devlin joked.

"I wanted to treat you to somewhere expensive," Changhui replied. "You've treated me to a lot of foods back at the tea shop. Now it's my turn to treat you to food,"

Devlin chuckled and scanned the menu. "Wow, my little brother's going to be so jealous that I get to eat these delicious foods without him,"

"We can bring order a chocolate cake to go after we're done eating," Changhui offered. 

"You'll definitely earn brownie points with him if you do that," Devlin smiled. "Maybe he'll stop wanting to hit you with a shovel,"

"Hit me with a shovel?" Changhui questioned.

"He thinks the shovel talk involves threatening or beating you up with a shovel," Devlin sighed. "I told him that it doesn't involve an actual shovel, but he seems really intent on using it,"

"He sounds like a bold kid," Changhui commented. "I'd like to meet him,"

As their meal arrived and they began to eat, Devlin felt as if they were being watched. He quickly shoved down the feeling so he could properly enjoy his time with Changhui. 'Nothing happened last time, so I was probably being paranoid and imagined things,'

XXX

"Donald, I'm home," Devlin called as he and Changhui entered his apartment.

"Welcome home, Dev," Donald greeted. His expression darkened and became cold when he saw Changhui. 

"Donald don't—"

Too late, Donald had rushed over to the closet and taken out his shovel. "So you're the guy who thinks he's good enough to date my big brother?"

"My name's Changhui Han," Changhui introduced himself. "I brought a chocolate cake," He held up the box. "Devlin told me that you like chocolate,"

"How do I know it's not poisoned?" Donald scoffed.

"Donald, I would never date someone who would poison my little brother," Devlin deadpanned. "You're overreacting. The cake's perfectly fine. I can take a bit to prove that it's not poisoned,"

"I'm not letting you take that risk!" Donald snatched the box from Changhui and retreated to the kitchen, where he dug in with a fork. His face lit up when he tasted the cake. "It's delicious!" 

"It's all for you," Devlin told him. "Eat up,"

"I'm glad that you're enjoying it," Changhui chuckled. "Does this mean I have your approval?"

Donald ate another bite and regained his composure. "It means that I find you acceptable for now. But if you are to ever harm my big brother..." He held up his shovel and glared with as much rage as he could muster. "I will personally deal with you myself,"

'I'm glad that they're getting along,' Devlin thought. 'Since there's no reason for Donald to form the Union, then there's no reason he'd clash with Cheongang. They're going to get along just fine,'

Word Count: 1042

Devlin...you should listen to Changhui and trust your guts.