Arranged... With Love...

26. Kick

BAAM

Oye was sent flying to the side. He had been trying to kiss Cade and had pinned the latter to the wall for the same. He believed that as long as they kissed, Cade would obey him like he used to in the past.

Cade had felt disgusted and had been resisting Oye with all his strength. But Oye was stronger than him and his efforts were futile.

Oye groaned in pain as his body crashed into the wooden cabinet, whose walls collapsed from the impact of the crash.

He hadn't gotten up from the pile of broken wood when the person who kicked him strode over to him and gave him another kick.

This time, the kick was even more painful as the kick was received on the same marred area from the previous kick.

Oye raised his head and looked at the man and didn't find him familiar. He wanted to ask who he was and why he was meddling in his business. Before he could, the man gave him another kick, this time on his belly.

The kick was so heavy that he howled in pain and tried to roll away. But the man didn't allow him. Just as he turned to face the sky, the man stomped heavily on his stomach, making him spit out blood.

A bunch of men dressed in typical rich man's bodyguard uniform rushed over.

"TAKE HIM AWAY!" The man commanded in Thai. That was the last thing Oye heard before passing out. He had no idea who the man was.

Raya glared at the unconscious man who was being dragged away by his underlings. He could kill someone now. But he couldn't, not in front of Cade.

When Raya heard that Cade wasn't going to the sauna with the rest of them, he had also lost interest. He decided to stay back at the hotel as well.

He had planned on explaining his situation to Cade and how everything that was messed up between them resulted from their parents' intervention. He also wanted to let Cade know that he was the same Hia he used to play with in the past and had never really intended to cause him hurt. He hoped to rebuild the bond they once shared.

That was when he got a call from his underlings saying that they had lost track of Oye.

Raya was the one who ordered his men to stir up trouble for Oye. The old scandals resurfaced and gained more popularity under his men's careful manipulation.

The scandals were just a way of ensuring that Oye got kicked out of the literature festival and wouldn't be able to linger around Cade any longer. It was also because they felt that if Oye got kicked out and was drowning in scandals, people might not think it was a big deal if he went MIA. 

Everything was in place until Oye escaped their radar in the afternoon. After having left the hotel, Oye had been very sneaky and hid himself well while waiting for Cade outside the venue. He knew that if someone from the staff or festival committee members saw him, they would definitely send him away or even get a restraining order.

When the situation was reported to Raya, he thought of Cade who was still in the venue and all alone. He smelled a rat and had rushed to the venue as soon as he could.

Thankfully he did.

The scene he saw when he got there was Oye trying to molest Cade. The sight made his blood boil. His limbs worked on their own and before he knew it, he kicked Oye.

Raya turned his head to look at Cade.

Cade who had been released from Oye's grip, lost all the strength in his body and had slumped to the floor, his back sliding down the wall. His face was extremely pale, and his eyes were blank.

Raya hurried over to his husband. The younger one's condition didn't look good. He crouched down next to his husband.

"Cade?" He called out softly.

Cade gave him no response. He stared right ahead with a blank expression on his face.

Raya cupped his face and called out again. "Cade? Cade, are you alright?" His heart was filled with worry seeing Cade's condition. He wished he had come over earlier. Then Oye couldn't have gotten a chance to hurt Cade. 

Cade felt the gentle warmth emitting from Raya's fingertips on his skin. A warmth that he didn't feel repulsed by.

His eyes refocused as they met a pair of black eyes that had a layer of deep concern over them. It took him a few seconds to realize who the person in front of him was and what had just happened.

As he realized that Oye was nowhere near him and he was safe, he instantly broke down into tears.

Cade threw himself at Raya as tears wailed.

Raya hugged him back tightly, rubbing his back, ensuring that it was all right. "You are safe now, Cade. You are safe," He kept saying in a gentle voice.

Cade was trembling at his fingers clenched Raya's jacket. His whole body was leaning against his husband's. He couldn't find any strength in himself as he had been completely terrified by this experience.

He hadn't felt this weak and helpless before. He had been thinking that he would be able to deal with a person like Oye by himself and today's experience proved him wrong.

Oye showed him that he was just a weakling who couldn't even protect himself.

"It's cold on the floor. Let's get up," Raya picked Cade in bridal style.

Cade didn't resist him and kept holding his jacket.

It was the end of March and the temperature in Busan had gone down to ten degrees Celsius as the night fell. For people who live in tropical countries, this drop in temperature could be easily felt. 

Raya gently placed Cade on the concrete bench nearby. His one hand was still wrapped around Cade's shoulders supporting him while he used the other hand to grab the bottle of water that one of his underlings had brought over.

He slowly fed Cade some water. The latter was dehydrated from all the crying and sweating.

Cade took a few sips of water. His wails had subsided and turned into sobs.

Once Cade was done drinking, Raya handed the bottle back to the guy. He wrapped the other hand around Cade enveloping the latter in a protective hug.

The couple sat in the same posture for over an hour.

Cade had finally calmed down and realized that his husband had been holding him in his arms all this while. Wiping his tears off his face, he sat up.

"You feeling better?" Raya asked. 

Cade nodded gently. 

"Come, let's go back to the hotel," Raya said.

"Y- you don't have to. I can go by myself," Cade said in a shaky voice. He didn't want to trouble Raya more.

Raya agreed without objection. He was expecting it. He removed his jacket and placed it on Cade's shoulders. 

Cade didn't refuse it. He was indeed feeling a bit cold.

He stood up. One of Raya's underlings had already brought his bag over. He took the bag and started walking back to the hotel.

Ray followed him slowly, keeping a constant one-metre distance between them.