"I never knew Genesis paints!," Yulia exclaimed. She could swear her jaw would've dropped to the floor had it been humanly possible.
These guys never really fail to surprise her!
She and Daniel were currently chosen to represent their school in a divisional quiz competition. With it commenced also an art exhibit. Talented artists were invited to showcase their works. However, seeing Genesis as one of the representatives wasn't something Yulia expected.
"His talents make up for his lack of brain," Luciel commented with a lazy grin. Genesis didn't argue and just pouted.
"It seems we'll be sharing a room, Yulia," Daniel excitedly sang.
"You wish, little shit," Luciel cut off Daniel's delusions. "You stay in the room assigned for Gen. We'll rent ours."
"The school provides enough for lounging and accommodation," Elijah joined in, unimpressed as ever. "Everyone who signed up for the competitions has their respective rooms."
"You're here, too," Yulia gasped.
"Are you guys skipping school?," Daniel asked. "Because it's supposedly Biochemistry class right now."
Luciel grinned darkly. "One more reason to not attend."
Their eyes shifted to Elijah, but he just sinply replied, "I don't really care."
"You won't fail anyway!," Daniel teased. "You don't even have to study at all. How nice must it be to be a genius."
Their youngest just heaved a deep sigh, closing his eyes for a second. "It's not."
"So humble, man," Daniel continued. He had never chatted with Elijah before so this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him. "You won't have to worry about being compared to your siblings. Imagine, always being the best and smartest one in the room!"
As if a chilling gush of air passed through, everyone suddenly fell silent. Elijah didn't seem to appreciate Daniel's compliments, not at all.
"What's so good about that?" he muttered in a low, unamused tone.
"Eli," Luciel stopped, knowing well enough what could happen if the subject was pushed further.
But Daniel being Daniel, his weakest trait would always be his inability to read the room. "What's so good? A lot will envy you, of course!"
Elijah looked him straight in the eye, the obvious shift in his mood clouding the atmosphere. This prompted Genesis to inwardly feel sorry for Daniel's lack of tact. The clueless guy had just gotten to Elijah's bad side.
"Your mindset is so shallow that you have the need to make others feel inferior to satiate your thirst for self-validation?"
Daniel stopped. "N-no, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that!"
Elijah's eyes wouldn't leave him, intense and unforgiving. He loathed that mindset all his life- the one that took Ezekiel away from him and ruined his relationship with Elias. "Then what are you trying to imply?"
"Tanghulu!," Yulia exclaimed, breaking the tension with her excited squeal. She took Daniel by the wrist and looked at the others apologetically. "Let's get some! I want something sweet."
But Yulia froze when Elijah called warningly. "Yulia."
She hesitantly turned to him, a familiar loud beating pattern spreading through her chest. "Yes?"
Elijah was silently telling her to let Daniel be and not to divert the attention, Yulia knew that, but she had always known Daniel's weaknesses since they were younger. Daniel couldn't control his mouth, but he was not a bad person.
He was just... tactless.
Her shoulders dropped. "He didn't mean to offend you. I think he just means it must be nice to be in your position."
"I never said I need you to be his spokesperson," Elijah uttered dismissively. "Your friend is quite opinionated, you don't need to babysit him every single time."
"N-no," Daniel panicked. He didn't think the situation would escalate that quickly and badly. "Please don't be mad at Yules."
Yulia sighed loudly. She would be lying if what Elijah said did not affect her. She was offended, of course! She was only trying to prevent distractions for Daniel.
"He has a name and that's Daniel. If you're done, excuse us. We still have a competition to attend tomorrow."
And with that, the two walked out of the meeting hall hand in hand.
♟
"Eli, you prideful-!," Yulia groaned in annoyance as she rolled back and forth on her bed, letting out a dragonish scream against her pillow.
She knew it wouldn't be easy for Elijah to do as he promised and treat her kindly, but how he responded to her a while ago was far from respectful. She doubted if he could even keep his promise. "He wasn't even trying- urgh!"
She must've already used all profanities known to mankind in her head. But she'd never say it out loud. If her mother was there, she'd take a good whooping.
But then, the competition was tomorrow. How could she be so unfocused? There was no time for her to play around and concern herself with trivial matters.
Gold.
First place.
Winning.
She needed to do it. She needed to win for the school, her parents, their reputation...
Eyes. There were eyes again, everywhere.
"Calm down, Yulia," she chanted to herself. "We'll be fine. We reviewed. We'll do well and Ma won't get mad..."
Negative thoughts started warping her mind, the pressure that she had been pushing to the back of her head making its presence known again.
Was she too complacent?
What if she fails?
No. First, she needed to calm down.
Luciel's hoodie.
Yulia gingerly donned it and snuggled into the warm fabric, sulking when she realized it did not smell like how it did when she first had it. It smelled of soft floral detergent and not the faint warm vanilla scent she had adored anymore.
The door quietly squeaked open and an absentminded Elijah entered the room.
"You-"
"Uh..."
The two had already started a staring competition before they knew it, questioning each other's existence- or rather, their presence in the room.
However, the biggest shock to the girl wasn't his presence, but the hoodie he was donning, which looked the exact copy of hers.
"This... and that hoodie." Yulia could feel flames on her cheeks as her eyes widened in horror.
"Are mine," Elijah completed her sentence, avoiding her horrified stare. He could feel her embarrassment transferring to him. "Why are you here, and why didn't you lock the door?"
"This is my room," she quietly replied, avoiding his gaze. "And Dan said he'd come here so I left it unlocked. But he canceled last minute so I didn't have the chance to lock it yet."
Elijah sighed and locked the door behind him, the clicking sound echoing through the room. "Don't leave your door unlocked. What if a stranger comes in? And why would you be reviewing with Chen in a room?"
Trying to regain her composure, Yulia gestured him to freely sit on the mini sofa. She was supposed to be annoyed at him. "None of your business. And this isn't even your room."
"I thought this is ours. I knocked but no one answered so I opened the door."
"You're the careless one, then," Yulia argued. "If it's a stranger's room, they'd think you're a creep!"
The guy wasted no energy debating with her. He pulled out his phone and showed her Genesis's message. It indeed wrote her room number. "Gen, that rascal..."
"Say," Elijah interrupted. "Can I help you with your review?"
♟
There would always be that most unlikely thing that would suddenly happen so naturally. For Yulia, it was going out at 8 in the evening to the seaside to have a review session.
With Elijah.
Until now, she was still questioning what exactly they were doing as her feet steps on the damp sand. Fading waves occasionally swept through her ankles, making her smile through her eyes. It was warm.
Elijah was silent. He just walked before her, his hands tucked in his pockets.
"The water is warm," Yulia commented.
From the corner of his eyes, Elijah stole a look at their shadows. It seemed Yulia was walking rather abnormally.
No- she was following his footsteps and making sure hers step on his previous ones before they get swept away by the waves.
A small smile crept to his lips. "And why do you think that is?"
"Water's heat capacity?," Yulia tried, keeping her focus on Elijah's footsteps. "Uhm, the high heat capacity of water contributes to the slow process of heat release even after the absence of direct sunlight."
Elijah nodded. "But it cannot be a generalized statement. If you look into it deeper, water also has an elevated level of thermal conductivity, which means it can easily disperse heat through large bodies of water. Though correct, your statement is more applicable to beach sides like this one."
"I'll keep that in mind...," Yulia softly replied. Now, it really sounded like a review, but less stressful than the one she'd usually have.
"How about the tide?," Elijah continued, taking entertainment in watching Yulia follow in his footsteps.
"Gravitational pull from the moon," Yulia simply answered.
And so, one question came after another. Yulia lost track of how much she had responded to. Her answers were correct, but surprisingly, Elijah always had something to add.
It wasn't all that bad.
No, she was enjoying it- learning something new. They went from the waters to space, and to what lies under the land.
They shared thoughts and knowledge about wars, politics, philosophy, and culture. They tackled the past, thought of the present and made predictions for the future- all in the pretense of a little review under the moonlight.
"I mean flying cars are almost basically planes! I'm sure they're not impossible," Yulia kidded.
"Unless robots take over the world first," Elijah humored her in return.
"You believe in that, Eli?!"
"The possibility is small, but not zero," he chuckled. He took a step once again, his gaze softening when he heard Yulia complain about accidentally stepping on a seashell that he had also stepped on just seconds before. "Yulia."
"Hm?"
Then, Elijah stopped.
The absentminded girl bumped into Elijah's back, her eyes snapping wide open. That was when she realized that Elijah's last few footsteps had smaller gaps in them.
Did he do that on purpose for her to come closer? When did he notice she was trailing him?
Yulia looked up apologetically. "Sorry."
Her lips parted in awe when Elijah looked back, his dark hair lightening under the moonlight. Sighing deeply as if composing himself, he turned to face her.
So close.
It was only mere inches before their bodies touch, causing Yulia to yelp and instinctively step back in surprise. Warmth crept up her cheeks when thoughts she had been trying to forget resurfaced in her mind again.
"You have three over-the-top attractive guy friends, and you don't even fancy one?"
Just why would she think of that now?
"What is it?," Yulia gulped.
A small, helpless smile formed on Elijah's lips. "So clueless."
Yulia looked up to him, brows furrowing in confusion. "Huh?" Seeing as Elijah had no plans of explaining, her eyes wandered around the area.
Apart from the side washed off by the waves, their footsteps had only been walking around in one big circle. She was too focused she didn't even notice!
"You-!"
The mischievous guy just walked away while chuckling, ignoring Yulia's grumbles. "Come on, let's go back. It's past nine."
Before they returned, Elijah suggested dropping by a convenience store. He stepped in first, leaving the door fairly open for Yulia to come in after.
Now, Yulia had rarely been to convenience stores before. She whined in embarrassment, remembering she had left her cards at home.
"What are you getting?," Elijah asked, seeing how quiet the girl was.
Yulia nervously fiddled with her fingers. "I already ate before I went to my room a while ago."
Elijah just nodded and proceeded to the counter.
♟
"You won't come in?," Yulia asked when Elijah stopped in front of her door. He only shook his head and handed her the paper bag.
"It's fine!" Yulia tried returning it despite her stomach's protests. "I've already eaten. You bought this!"
"Just take it in case you get hungry later or tomorrow morning," Elijah replied. "Ciel will get worried if you go out alone to buy something."
He was right.
Yulia might receive some scolding if Luciel's older brother senses get triggered. "Thank you, Eli. Goodnight."
Now it made sense- what Genesis meant when he said Elijah was only the quiet type, but he had his own ways to help.
Locking the door, she made her way to the sofa and opened the paper bag. There were sandwiches, candied fruits, and milk. "He bought a lot..."
Yulia's phone pinged.
● Elijah Xia
Don't stay up too late to review. Set an alarm and study at 4-6 am instead.
📎 File attached
Here's something that might help a little.
"No way," Yulia whispered to herself. She quickly tapped open the file and true to his words, it contained a 10-page reviewer. The questions were more advanced than the ones she'd usually study, like an international quiz reviewer.
On the very last page wrote 'by Elijah Xia.'
She hastily returned to her messaging app, her panicked fingers accidentally tapping the call button. "No no no...!"
"Yulia?"
"Uh hello," she squeaked, wishing the ground would swallow her at that instant. "Thank you for this."
"Drink the milk so you'll be able to sleep easily," Elijah reminded. For some reason, Yulia found herself calming down at the sound of his voice. She did not expect that Elijah could ever sound so concerned.
"But what if I don't get up on time tomorrow?," Yulia was not the type to sleep with her business unfinished so it worried her. What if she overslept?
The other line was silent for a moment before Elijah spoke again. "I'll set an alarm and call you."
What was it with him and these sudden efforts? Was he trying to make up for what happened a while ago?
Yulia had no choice but to agree, she did not wish to complicate the matter further as it might embarrass both of them. Maybe he had his reasons.
"Is this what you used to do when you compete?," Yulia asked in a soft tone. She brought her knees to her chest, feeling somewhat vulnerable as they talked. However, there was an odd sense of comfort in knowing Elijah was there.
Elijah hummed. "It prevents me from feeling restless and having a mental overload. And, the food I got you were easy on the stomach so you won't have to worry about stomachaches for tomorrow."
So he wasn't just a genius who could easily answer this and that if he wanted to. It seemed he took good care of himself and valued his condition for the competition. And Yulia thought he was rather humble for that.
The girl propped her head on her knees, speechless.
"I won't keep you up," Elijah continued after hearing no response. "Go to sleep."
"Eli," Yulia mumbled softly. "Thanks for tonight. I'll see if I can win tomorrow."
"You will," he assured in the simplest way could. "Goodnight."
♟
"What a feat!," exclaimed the overjoyed organizer as he beckoned Yulia to come closer. "Miss Yulia Lim of the third division singlehandedly won all golds in every category. Just what type of air are you breathing in your school, Miss Lim?"
It was over?
And she won?
Yulia was only starting to get into it. For some reason, the competition flew out of her head the moment it commenced. She was simply answering the questions, plain as day. She might not know every single one, but she found the challenge in thinking.
It was fun.
There were no eyes, no pressure. Just... the things she knew and those yet to be known.
"Someone finally broke our long-time record," another teacher chuckled in delight. "It's been ten years, hasn't it?"
"Long time record?," Yulia queried, the results slowly sinking in.
"Ah yes," the organizer smiled. "You just defeated a record made here ten years ago. It was also someone from division three if I'm correct."
"Yulia! You monster!" Genesis ran to her excitedly and ruffled her hair to release his excitement. "What a genius!"
"Congratulations," Luciel greeted smugly, holding out a blue bouquet. "You really inherited my brain."
"When did you get this, Ciel-ge?!," the elated girl gasped. The organizers exchanged looks and smiled. It seemed Yulia Lim was more fond of her friends than the gold medals.
The smug expression he had on intensified. "Well. Halfway through the competition, Eli already predicted you'll win so we prepared this beforehand."
"Eli?"
Elijah looked up from his book. "Well deserved." And resumed reading, as if it did not concern him at all.
But those words...
Luciel and Genesis found themselves smiling at each other, knowing their youngest wasn't fond of sending out congratulations or flattery. What he said was just the truth.
Elijah thought she earned it, fairly and deservingly.
"What in the world." The organizers started to gush and whisper among each other. "Isn't that... him?"
What was the record setter doing with the record breaker, eh?
"I think it's time to celebrate!," Genesis interrupted, sensing the impending questions of the academe who had finally recognized the other genius in the group.