Lines in italics are dialogues that the character recalls from the past, not directly spoken.
A/n: I have tried to reduce the load of content related to side characters as much as possible. The following content is necessary for the plot, hope that you guys will not get bored. Everything related to Hall, Illus and Dream will be solved and ended in this chapter. Next chapters we can enjoy the trip of Chinzhilla and their boyfriends (yess I spoiled)
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"I used to dream of.."
Each wave of the sea gently curled and then gradually dissipated when rolling to the sandy shore.
".. sitting and relaxing"
The two bodies sat on the sandy shore, the sea water had soaked their shorts, and the crumbs of sand covered their feet.
"... by the beach with someone I love once in a lifetime"
Tinn tilted his head to look at the person next to him. Gun's hair was a little wet, causing his bangs to hang slightly, gently fluttering in the breeze.
It was only when Tinn saw the drop of water on Gun's bangs gently rolling to the ground and curling up in the golden sand that he was stunned to realize that he himself was now actually sitting and relaxing on the beach with the person whom he loved.
"There will be just the sand, the sea, the breeze..."
"And us" Gun finished his sentence.
Tinn smiled and was pleased to be interrupted.
The ripples on the surface of the sand were getting smaller and smaller, meaning the tide has gradually subsided.
Like everything will pass.
Gradually.
Slowly.
It might sound cheesy, but this is really the wish of a nerd like Tinn. He may have never been in a relationship with anyone and never loved anyone before, but he always had certain hopes for his love.
Anyway...
In another perspective...
He must have been in love many times.
With Gun...
"I'll tell you something" Gun dabbed wet sand on the tip of the nose of the person who was staring at him without blinking. "We've been to the beach together."
"Really?"
Tinn looked stunned, and even a little pissed off. He didn't expect that his long-standing dream would be fulfilled first by himself .
"Long ago."
Gun laughed at Tinn's pouty look and dabbed more sand on his cheek. Now his boyfriend looked exactly like a dirty puppy.
He slightly bent down and shook his head to let his hair dry out. Leaving the sea for a while, he felt a bit cold as the salty sea breeze was non-stop blowing. Gun had yearned to return to the sea with Tinn ever since he came to the aquarium. He wished to let the crashing waves down there wash away his troubles.
Tinn brushed his sandy hand on his pants and lightly stroked Gun's bangs.
Gun slightly moved away from his hand, muttering that the reason was because his hands were dirty. In fact, he just wanted to avoid Tinn's eyes and let out a deep sigh. He realized that the biggest difference between them is that Tinn is always focused on the present, yet Gun is always worried about the past and the future. He regretted what has passed and afraid of what has not happened.
Now, Tinn can be filled with happiness lying on the sunny sands with the one he loves, as if what happened in the past week had nothing to do with him.
Gun's fingers were drawn on the sand, his eyes were far away, thinking about nothing.
It's only been a week, but the wheel of their fate has turned in a completely different direction.
_______
Half a week ago...
Dream slowly walked into the restroom and leaned back against the door. The smell of clean disinfectant was everywhere. She staggered toward the sink, letting the light from the mirror reflect on her face.
Even the restroom in this hospital is clean and white without a single speck of dust. Dream looked at her own red eyes in the mirror, feeling the cleanliness of this even more revealing her vile stupidity.
She propped her hands on the edge of the sink and stared into herself.
Because from the moment she crossed the threshold, there was always a pair of eyes watching her back.
"Sorry..." the other said first, smiling calmly. "...if it makes you uncomfortable. You're so pretty that I cannot take my eyes off you."
Dream retracted her confrontational gaze, nodding briefly at the other person.
The other girl placed a small bag of tissues on the edge of the sink and comforted her softly.
"Don't be sad. Your loved one will get well soon."
When that girl left, Dream was able to shed her gentle and friendly appearance.
Yes, her loved one will definitely get better, because what they want her brother to receive is a lesson, not death.
Illus' surgery went well that night and the doctor said he would wake up soon. The accident left him with several broken ribs and an arm, along with minor injuries to other areas. She had heard the nurses exclaim that this was a very fortunate case, as the patient had no internal bleeding but only surgical injuries.
It is said that after causing the accident, the driver calmly took the initiative to call an ambulance and specifically informed Illus's condition, then offered to pay the entire hospital bill for him. In addition to the fact that the driver is a good person, only professional criminals know how much pressing the accelerator is enough and can determine the extent of the victim's injuries just by looking at the scene.
Well, in a perfect crash, Illus' injuries weren't severe enough for the driver to be criminally prosecuted, but enough to get Illus himself the proper punishment.
Is this a friendly warning?
What kind of fight he engaged in that makes a high school student Illus get this kind of warning punishment?
Is it something related to the basketball tournament...
Or the thugs that her brother hangs out with?
At first, Dream was still half-credulous with her own judgment, until she ran into the driver who caused the accident at the hospital billing counter.
"Your brother shouldn't have been like that."
"If only he hadn't been dragged in by his friend to serve as a meat cushion."
The recording from the car's dash cam was discreetly placed in Dream's hand when the two passed each other.
Dream wanted to give this memory card directly to the police, but her sense held her back.
There is no way that an accident driver would give the most valuable evidence to the victim's tenth grade sister instead of submitting it to the police to prove the force majeure situation.
She decided to watch that recording.
At first, the dash cam of the car still showed the image of traffic on a gloomy street, until two figures of two boys turned out from the alley, their faces smeared with dirty clothes stained with blood.
Dream was able to recognize one of them as her brother.
The other one, perhaps some member of that gang of thugs.
Both started crossing the street.
The owner of the car pressed the accelerator. From this angle, Dream can be sure that the driver's target is not her brother but the other one.
That person startled and pulled Illus back as a reflex.
Illus's body crashed into the car, rolled onto the front glass, and fell onto the road.
After making Illus his replacement, he quickly fled.
The image moved to the scene where the driver left the car and called an ambulance.
Dream let out a breath.
If it was about the thugs, Dream doesn't have many names in her mind, except for the one who asked Illus to take advantage of her to contribute to his crimes.
Hall – the leader of Chimera band.
For short, Hall got into some trouble and got revenge, but he pulled Illus into his stead. Looking at Illus' appearance and clothes as he walked out of that alley, Dream did not believe her brother was completely innocent in this matter.
And she still kept that memory card.
_______
"What will Pa Tinn feed me today?" Gun's glittering eyes were fixed on the cage in Tinn's hand, as if he'd been starved for a year.
Recently, in addition to visiting Dream and asking about Illus's situation, Tinn also held the position of serving Gun with meals, even though the person who has been hospitalized is not him.
And even the hospitalized guy mentioned here, Win, didn't even bother to eat with his pals but ran up to the VIP room to eat with someone else.
Probably because the VIP room's menu is better than the canteen's.
But it can't be compared to Pa Tinn's meals.
The food in the hospital canteen seems to be very suitable with the favor of Pat and Yo, who, aside from sitting in the patient's family room to play games, always wait until lunch time to eat.
But our Gun is different.
He has his own chef, Tinn, who always follows his father's footsteps to learn how to cook new dishes for Gun.
For example, today is...
"Your special tomyum is serving, Mr Gun"
The rich aroma of seafood soup spread everywhere right after the cage bag was just opened. Gun blinked as the heat of tomyum wafted over the tip of his nose as if invitingly.
"Pa Tinn is the best. I will eat well."
His fingers wandered to the stainless steel spoon next to him, and Tinn tapped the back of his hand with a chopstick.
"Go wash your hands first"
Gun retracted his hand reflexively. Tinn's blow didn't hurt at all, but it still made him roll his eyes in protest.
"No." Gun hid his hand behind his back. "I'm not going to wash my hands. I want you to feed me."
Tinn put his hands on the table and pressed himself against Gun.
"Okay. Then after I feed you, you must also feed me."
Gun still undeterred, but cocked his face and asked.
"If I eat all of this, what are you going to eat?"
Tinn's mouth curled slightly, and his eyes darted from the top of Gun's head down, stopping at his pouty lips.
"You guess?"
Gun pulled Tinn aside and raced out the door as his cheeks heated up from flushing.
Even though he was officially in a relationship with Tinn, Gun was often blushed by him to the point that he wanted to turn into mud. If it was like before, then Tinn should have been the shy one. This loop is too unfair to take away Gun's only weapon against Tinn.
The teasing courage.
Gun told himself that he must fight back and tease Tinn to the point where he blushed red to be satisfied.
Gun clenched his fists to show his determination in front of the mirror.
The hand washing task was over, Gun could now leisurely return to enjoy the tomyum Tinn had made for him, with the certainty that the patient's family room was tidy after being cleaned by Tinn.
Really, if it weren't for Tinn to clean up every day, Chinzhilla's room would be a mountain of trash. Normally, Por is the cleanest of the bunch and often reminds them to clean up. But after the rest of the student council work ended, Tiw quickly kidnapped Por from them to enjoy beautiful dates at the barbecue restaurant.
Gun wiped his hands on his pants and walked out of the restroom, secretly feeling that the hospital's restroom was incredibly nice, bright, and clean.
But his joy of eating delicious food did not last long when as soon as he stepped out the door, he heard a loud scream from the opposite side.
_______
"P'Tinn..."
Dream gradually remembered the scene when she talked to Tinn at the end of the hallway. It was nearly a week after Illus passed the surgery. Since then, Tinn has visited her twice a day to reassure her as well as help complete the procedures as much as possible. And she still couldn't look him in the eye.
"Don't worry," Tinn comforted her in an affirmative voice. "He'll wake up soon."
It's always been like that. Tinn's attention was never placed on other people's faults.
Tiw once told her that Tinn will enlarge his own mistakes to always rigorously reflect on himself and shrink the mistakes of others so that he can be more tolerant of them.
"Even though he was already tolerant like a god."
Dream never questioned Tiw's comment, but she also never questioned how tolerant Tinn could be. After all, she was always an excellent member of the student council and never let Tinn down.
But this time it's different.
"P'Tinn... I know" Dream tried to state clearly, "P'Kajorn has told me everything."
Kajorn came to see her the morning after the surgery. She has always been Kajorn's favorite junior, and no matter what happens, Kajorn will still show her a greater tolerance.
Like the way Tinn treated him.
Kajorn didn't say much other than instructing her to stay healthy to take care of her brother. It was she who had pulled him back to ask for details.
She had a certain surmise in her heart, but still needed an affirmative answer.