Happy 200 Chapters to KOTH! Thank you, everyone, for supporting this book and for joining me on this journey. I really am thankful to all of you 💙
♝
"GAV! YOU'RE SOAKING! What happened?" Max shouts as soon as Gavriil enters the apartment. He wanted to ask what had happened to him, but then Gavriil suddenly grabbed him and gave him a tight hug.
Max was surprised, but he sighed and hugged Gavriil back without saying anything to him. Whatever Gavriil did, Max doesn't have to know about it for now.
"Leigh, please don't believe that your mother killed the Stepanov Clan. Not you. Anyone might blame her, but please not you," Gavriil then tells him, and Max instantly buries his head against the vice president's chest, closing his eyes to hear his heart beating fast.
"A strong storm might fall upon us someday, but the two of us will always be there to calm it," Max tells him. "The way you defend my mother when I can't even defend her myself...You have no idea how thankful I am to have you do that for me. I love you, Gav. I really, really do," he adds, and those words were enough for Gavriil to finally calm himself down.
"I love you too," he replies before giving Max a gentle kiss on the head.
After a couple of seconds, Gavriil finally pushes Max away from him and tells him, "Alright. I'll take a bath first, and then we can properly talk. You should take one too so you won't get sick."
Max nods his head, but before Gavriil can walk towards the bathroom, Max reaches out to touch the necklace that he was wearing before shyly asking, "Would you like to...t-take one together."
Gavriil's eyes widen upon hearing the question. And as he turns to look at Max again, he sees his lover's face turning completely red, instantly making Gavriil swallow the lump in his throat, his sanity almost leaving him in that instant.
"No..." Gavriil says with all his strength, and Max quickly looks away from him because of complete embarrassment from the rejection, making Gavriil chuckle. He approaches Max and forces him to look back at him. When their eyes were finally looking at each other, the vice president reached out to pinch Max's nose, immediately making Max push him away in annoyance.
"When did you become such a naughty brat?" Gavriil teases while Max touches his aching nose.
"I hate you," Max says, and Gavriil just grins and walks towards the bathroom. But as soon as he closed the door behind him, he immediately touched his chest with his eyes wide in disbelief.
"Holy shit...Leigh. I'm trying my best to comfort you here, and you say such a thing," Gavriil says as he slowly looks down at his pants. As soon as he saw what he was afraid of seeing, he aggressively brushed his hair in frustration before taking a deep breath.
"Now I really need that cold shower."
While Gavriil is 'calming' himself down, Max walks towards the sofa to hide from the shame of asking such a thing. He honestly didn't think much of it, but the words just came out of nowhere. He wasn't able to stop himself on time.
"It's official. I've seriously lost my mind. Who on earth would even think of asking such a thing when I was clearly having a mental breakdown just a few hours ago?" Max asks himself, grabbing a pillow from the sofa and covering his face with it.
While Max continues to think of things that he could say to Gavriil after he takes a bath, Max's phone suddenly vibrates inside his pocket. He pulls his phone out and sees messages from Marcus, asking him where he is and why he still isn't home. Another message came from their group chat with Ari and the others.
Before reading his friend's message, Max sent a reply to his brother first, telling him that he'll be sleeping over with Gavriil for the time being, which was obviously something that Marcus wasn't too thrilled about. But thanks to Étienne, he didn't really have much of a choice.
"Just send me a message if anything happens," Marcus replies, making Max smile.
Right after, he opens their group chat and sees a dozen of messages that mostly came from Keigo, reminding them of the hangout that they talked about that is scheduled for tomorrow.
Max wanted to tell them that he might not be able to go, especially after what he learned about his mother, but then Max realized that a normal get-together like this might actually cool his mind for a bit. Asahi and the others would be there too, and besides, they chose to do this on a Sunday because Max said he was not available today. It would be rude of him to ditch them after all that.
"Where are we going? Just send me the address," Max finally replies, and not even a second passes, and Keigo already sends a picture of where they'll be going. Max thought it would be some kind of bar or maybe a club, but it seemed like Keigo initiated to plan of the entire event, so the place he chose was...
"A ramen shop?" Max asks while staring at the picture.
The shop looked old, but it wasn't really much of a problem. Max has been in the business his entire life, so he knows that places like these serve the best ramen he's ever gonna taste.
"This is the shop I always go to as a kid. I decided to take you guys there as my official thank you for having me in the group," Keigo then messages, instantly putting a smile on Max's face.
"Are you sure you're thanking us, or do you just want to impress Kingston and the other pageant guys?" Ervin then asks. Keigo sends a gif of an angry cartoon character, making Max chuckle this time. And just like that, the growing anxiety that Max was feeling instantly vanished.
"Let's just meet up at..." Before Max can finish reading the text, Gavriil steps out of the bathroom and walks towards him, holding extra clothes for Max to change into.
"Who are you messaging? You have such a sweet smile on you that I might end up getting jealous," Gavriil teases while Max grabs the pajamas from his hand.
"Just my friends. We're planning to hang out tomorrow with the other guys from the pageant. Would you like to come?" Max asks as he places his phone on the table before standing from the sofa.
"I'd honestly love to, but I don't want to get in the way. I want you to have fun, but I'd lie if I said I'm not worried. Leigh, are you sure you're okay? Earlier, you were—"
"I'm fine now," Max quickly says, walking closer to Gavriil to hold his hand. "And I think it's best if I don't worry about that for now. You were right, I should think about this first before believing that my mother could do such a thing. Being with my friends might cheer me up."
"Am I not cheering you up enough?" Gavriil then asks.
Max chuckles and pulls him closer to him before giving him a soft kiss on his lips. "You do more for me than just cheering me up," he says, instantly putting a proud smile on the vice president's face.
"Alright, I'll go take a quick shower so we can eat. I haven't touched the food yet because I wanted us to eat together," Max says, and Gavriil walks to the dining table and finds the dishes he made still untouched. He removes the cover, and then he smiles and looks back at his boyfriend.
"Okay. Let me just reheat this first."
...
"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you to your house? Your brother might actually kill me if he finds out you still haven't returned home," Gavriil says as he stops the car beside a park that Max asked him to go to.
"It's fine, I already texted him earlier. Besides, it would be a waste of time to head back home. Keigo said that we'd meet up here at this hour. I might as well just go here directly," Max answers while unbuckling his seatbelt.
"Why would you guys meet up at a park this early in the morning anyway?" Gavriil then asks, and Max just shrugs his shoulder before looking back at the vice president.
"I'll message you if I'm already with the others. You should go straight back to your apartment. I saw the piles and piles of Elites' documents in your room. I know you're busy," Max says, and Gavriil leans towards him and gives him a long kiss before pulling away.
The two of them catch their breath as Gavriil leans his forehead on Max. "We'll talk again about your mother when you're ready, okay?" He then whispers to him, and Max nods his head and finally pulls away before heading out of the car.
"Drive safely," Max says, and Gavriil waves goodbye to him before finally driving off.
As soon as he left, Max immediately put on his black shades and wore the baseball cap that he borrowed from Gavriil so he couldn't be recognized. After putting on the disguise, he walks toward the crowd and naturally blends in with everyone. He doesn't know why Keigo would want to meet up here, but at least there are a lot of people. If anything were to happen to him, there would be a ton of witnesses.
"Now, where on earth could they be?" Max then asks, sitting down on one of the benches and pulling his phone out to check his messages.
While Max was scanning through his phone, an old man, around 80 years old, suddenly sat beside him on the bench, holding a newspaper and a cane. Max ignores him as the old man starts reading the paper, but while he's reading, Max suddenly sees the headline, instantly making his eyes widen in shock.
"J.S High's Annual School Convention has ended, gathering a total of 120 heirs from all over the country," the headline read, surprising Max because he wasn't expecting to see it in the headlines. He almost forgot that their school was worthy enough to get into the public newspaper. Well, he wouldn't really know since he usually avoids it.
"Want to read it? I can let you have it when I'm done," the old man suddenly says, noticing that Max has been staring at it.
"O-Oh, no. My apologies," Max quickly says, pulling away from the man so he wouldn't disturb him.
"It's alright. I understand the enthusiasm when it comes to news about elite schools. Believe it or not, my grandson even wants to enter J.S High!" The old man suddenly shares before laughing out loud. "I reminded him that it's invite only. And even if it weren't, we wouldn't be able to afford it. Regular folks like us don't stand a chance."
"You don't know that," Max suddenly defends. But when he saw the way the old man reacted, he awkwardly laughed before adding, "I mean...maybe one day...your grandson could enroll. S-someone...someone out there might make that a reality."
"Maybe, but I probably wouldn't agree to it either way. Those rich and bratty kids would only corrupt him. Kids who grew up with everything don't know how the real world works. They probably haven't even worked their entire life," he then says. And even though Max wanted to defend that statement, he knew that he couldn't because there was some truth to it.
Even after everything they have experienced, Max grew up with great privilege. He'll never be able to understand what the other kids go through.
"I guess you're right," Max whispers under his breath.
"But I do kinda pity them," the old man then says, making Max look back at him.
The old man adjusts his glasses and looks at the kids running in the park before telling him, "Those kids probably go through a lot of pressure by simply carrying their family's name. Imagine being the daughter of the Lin family or maybe even the Sinclaires! Those kids must go through so much by simply being born."
"You think so?" Max asks back, surprised to be hearing such honesty from a stranger like him.
"I know so. After all, whether they're millionaires or from middle-class families..." The man pauses and looks straight back at Max before saying, "They're still just...kids. For them, life hasn't even started yet. And as adults, we should be able to let them start living the way they want to live. But I don't know. I'm just an old man enjoying the rest of my retirement sitting in a park and talking to strangers."
As soon as Max heard what the man had said, a tear suddenly fell from his eyes. Thankfully Max was wearing shades, so he instantly looked away from him before casually wiping them away.
"I guess you're right about that too."
Max wanted to continue talking with the gentleman beside him, but a familiar car suddenly arrived at the park, a car that belonged to the Campbell family.
"Looks like I have to go," Max tells the old man as he stands from the bench. The man smiles at him and nods his head as a farewell, but before Max can even take his leave, he stands in front of the man, touching his chest before respectfully bowing to him.
"Thank you for what you said. You have no idea how much I needed to hear that," Max says, making the old man furrow his brows in confusion. "Take care," he then finishes, slightly adjusting his shades before joining Felix Campbell, who just got out of his car, looking annoyed because he had to wake up early for this so-called gathering.
"I can't believe I woke up this early just to eat ramen," Felix says in annoyance. But as soon as he saw Max approaching him, a bright smile instantly appeared on his face. "Max!" He shouts, running towards Max and giving him a tight hug. "I can't believe you actually came. For a second, I thought I was gonna be stuck with Aristotle and the others."
"Are you really worried about hanging out with Ari, or are you just making excuses to make it seem like you're not excited about this gathering too?" Max teases, immediately making Felix let go of him.
While the two were talking, two other expensive-looking cars arrived at the park. This time, it was Ari Faulkner, who was wearing his usual 'neat' attire, and then Ervin Walker, who was also with his brother, Edward.
"Look at us! It's so strange how we're all meeting at such a place and not wearing our school uniforms," Ari says as he approaches Felix and Max.
"It's not like we haven't hung out before," Ervin then replies before gesturing at my brother. "And you know my brother, Edward. He wanted to stay at home all day and study, so I dragged him with me."
"H-Hello," Edward awkwardly greets them, making Max smile and wave at him.
"It's good to have you join us today," Max says.
"Don't worry, we'll teach you how to fight those bastards back at your school so they'll never touch you again," Ari then says, instantly making Ervin hit him.
"How about I teach you how to dye your hair properly first?" Ervin asks back, and this time, the sudden comeback makes Felix and Max start laughing.
"Ouch, that was too personal, man. Straight to the heart," Ari sarcastically says.
Max looks at his friends with a warm smile. He wanted to open up about speaking with Jontell's mother yesterday, but he decided that this wasn't the perfect time or place to open such a dark thing. When it's in the right moment, he'll definitely tell them about it.
Eventually, the others arrived at the scene. First, it was the white uniforms, Nox and Nicholàs. And then Asahi also came with two guards, causing the people at the park to finally stop what they were doing to look at them.
Soon after, the famous Li Gengxin makes his appearance, and then the ever-so-charming Magnus McKay. Finally, driving a red sports car that instantly got the others staring was Kingston Creed, whose appearance alone instantly made the park-goers put their phones out to take photos.
"Wow, you actually came," Max says as Kingston joins them.
"Magnus wouldn't really shut up about it, and I didn't have anything better to do anyway, so I might as well join in," Kingston states with a smug look on his face, making Max chuckle.
"You didn't have anything better to do, or you just didn't have friends to invite?" Max then asks, almost making Kingston grab his collar. But before the two of them can even start a fight, Ari stops them and says, "I'd love to see you all brawl again like what you guys did at Mr. Brains & Brawn, but people are starting to gather around us. Soon after, they'll recognize Max, and the next thing we know, the media is already on our asses."
"That sounds alright with me," Magnus says, making Gengxin sigh and roll his eyes in annoyance.
"Honestly, I'm more surprised Gengxin came," Nox then says, looking at Gengxin, who wore clothes that are fit for a business meeting rather than a casual get-together.
"You do know that we're just eating at a ramen shop and not at a five-star restaurant, right?" Ari explains, looking at Gengxin from head to toe.
Gengxin sighs again, but instead of addressing the judgment they have against his choice of clothing, Gengxin looks at Max and asks him, "What Faulkner said is right. If we don't leave now, the press is definitely going to come. Where the hell is your friend that organized this whole thing?"
Max wanted to answer them to tell them that he didn't know where he was either, but right on time, their dear friend Kawanishi Keigo finally arrived at the scene, riding a motorcycle.
"I'm so sorry I'm late!" He shouts, removing his helmet and stepping down on his bike before joining the others.
"Where the hell have you been?" Ervin asks, and Keigo smiles at them widely before answering, "I had to prepare for our trip."
"Trip? Didn't you say that we were only going to eat at that old ramen shop you sent?" Felix confusingly asks.
"We are. I told you guys that we were eating at the place I usually go to when I was a kid, right? Where do you think I spent most of my childhood?" Keigo then asks, and as soon as Max and the others realize it, they instantly look at Keigo in disbelief.
"We're going to Japan?!"
- END -