The cold air-conditioning, the tapping sound from the rain, and the silence. One could feel the world going into a state of slow motion when he is alone. But as of now, he is certainly not.
"Young master, I apologize. We couldn't find the exotic species that escaped-"
The addressed male in black baggy hoodie sighed, only dismissing the sweating and panicking servant. He wasn't in any mood to care enough about the failures of his servants. Just when he thought he managed to get a relatively rare domestic cat... yet these people couldn't even take good care of it for one day.
The green-haired male carefully pulled up his hoodie to cover his striking green hair that stood out too much to his liking and wore a black mask to cover the lower part of his face. Bad moods aside, he wouldn't want to get caught by the paparazzi. He's not the kind of showoff like Eduan.
The café he was taking refuge in was a small yet cozy café just near the station, which he immediately purchased due to the outstanding skill of the barista. Whenever he went there, his bodyguards and servants will thoroughly make sure no one else was there in the café to disturb him.
Truly, the privilege of a VIP.
The heavy rain pouring did not deter his steps into the café as he carefully held his black umbrella close, and finally entered the café.
Usually, the owner of the café would've rushed to welcome him at the entrance, yet he was met with an unexpected scene of an entirely drenched female with a towel draped on her head, in her arms was an also drenched feline-
Wait, isn't that the Sokoke-
Before his bodyguard could scold the owner for his carelessness, Traumerei pulled back the servant of his and hid behind the nearest pillar to observe the situation.
Not even the servants who were most skilled in handling animals could tame the Sokoke, so why is it staying quiet in the woman's arms...?
Traumerei stayed quiet in order to observe what the owner and the woman was doing.
The woman, dressed in a somewhat old-fashioned hanbok, seemed to asked for something from the owner, which the latter surprisingly hurriedly obliged. While the owner was away for a while, Traumerei finally had a good look on the woman as she pulled down the towel on her head to wrap it around the rarest cat on Earth instead.
"-how unfortunate for both of us, hmm?"
What Traumerei saw was a woman- no, she's younger than what he perceived, perhaps around the same age- with long, straight brown hair and the most dazzling golden eyes. There was a luggage right beside her, indicating that she was maybe travelling before stumbling upon the Sokoke.
...?
The green-haired male clenched his beating heart. Why is it beating rather fast than before?
Soon, the owner returned with a box of first-aid kit which the girl accepted gratefully with the cat still bundled safe in her arms. The brunette then proceeded to treat the Sokoke's hand-
Ah, it was injured?
-and her own bleeding hands, obviously from scratch marks made by the cat.
After she was finished, the girl talked for a while to the owner for whatever Traumerei wasn't interested in. But he was definitely intrigued by the girl. After some thought and hesitation, Traumerei issued some orders to the servant he pulled before, and waited for the reaction of the girl.
From his spot, he could see the relieved expression of the brunette, perhaps knowing the cat had its own owner and the owner had come for it. Then, her expression turned into a troubled one before she handed the cat, holding up both of her hands in refusal of something. After a while, the conversation ended and the girl, seeing the cloudy sky almost dissipating- bowed once to the owner and Traumerei's servant before heading out, pulling along her luggage.
As soon as her figure disappeared from sight, Traumerei emerged from behind the pillar and his servant and the owner of the café bowed to him as a greeting.
"Young master, I am ashamed to say that the young lady refused the money for her help, as well as a checkup at the Po Bidau Private Hospital."
"...it's fine," Traumerei muttered, yet somewhere in his heart, he felt immense disappointment, as if he was just rejected. "This feeling..." he once again clenched his heart, "is new..."
"Should we follow her?"
Traumerei thought for a while before sighing. "No, it's fine... perhaps it wasn't meant to be."
"Pardon?"
"It's nothing."
Traumerei decided he would forget about the kind brunette girl who didn't even seem to be in the same world as him. Right, she was just a kind passerby who will go on her daily life without even knowing the young master of Lo Po Bia family had taken interest in her. Just a fleeting coincidence, no more no less.
That is, until he once again saw her- not just in the school he was attending, but in his own class.
The S Class.
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Since the ice cream after-school outing they had, it had become a common occurrence for the S Class to hang out together after school hours. At first, their hangout place would be the convenience store just a few blocks away from Aurene's apartment, then they would sometimes play around in the park nearby.
Now, Aurene was completely convinced that these dear classmates of hers weren't the typical arrogant rich kids she'd always see and hear about. Not only did they cancel their drivers' commitment to driving them home, but they also seemed to particularly like to hang around after school like any other normal students at these cheap stores. The acceptance they showed was a stark difference from her previous classmates, who would rather brag about their new bags or clothes from famous brands. One time, there's even the childish (and shameful) situation of Jahad and Eduan fighting with the kids from the neighborhood over the basketball court.
Another thing that changed the most was probably her relationship with Bloodmadder.
Before, there was an invisible line between her and the giant male, but now, they were as close as best friends- the man even urging her and the others to call him by his nickname.
"Well, um..." Aurene fidgeted as they gathered around her seat.
"Yes, Aurene?"
The brunette hesitated for a long time before she asked, "Are you sure it's fine to call you this way?"
The man only smiled. "Yes, of course. My family also calls me that," the man shyly scratched his cheek, as if he just revealed something embarrassing about his childhood.
"Why didn't you tell us this wayyyyy earlier, Maddy?" Yurin complained behind Aurene, who still pondered if it was okay to call him with such... nickname? It sure sounds like a name privileged only for close family members. "Your name is so long that I didn't know what to call you when we were kids!"
"Is that so?" Bloodmadder- well, Maddy sheepishly chuckled, looking a little apologetic. "I thought it would reveal my real background if I mentioned it, and I didn't want to lose the friends I made for the first time at the time."
A certain blue-haired male snorted. "LOL, you were worried about that? Heck, it doesn't even match your image."
Aurene silently smacked the back of Eduan's head as she smiled at Maddy, finally understanding more and more of this classmate of hers.
"I see then, I hope we get along well from now on, Maddy!"
Maddy grinned in return. "Yeah!" The others smiled happily at the interaction, only Eduan grumbling in dissatisfaction. Aurene realized that no matter how much of a giant Hendo Lok Bloodmadder seemed, he was actually quite the softie inside.
Now that she thinks of it, did she already add everyone into her contacts?
Let's see... Blossom, Hana and Yurin are already there and they even had their own group chat. V, Han and Gustang are necessary if she wanted to survive and stay sane, Hon gave her his number quite a while ago, Maddy just gave his just now- wait, since when did she had Tperie's number? Did he hack into her phone? Now, the only one left are...
Aurene's head automatically turned to the back of the class where Jahad, Hon and another one of their classmates were seated. It seemed as if they were content with staying away from the rowdy crowd.
Right, I haven't gotten his yet.
After much contemplation inside her head, Aurene steeled her determination and walked towards the back of the class while holding her phone, unknowing of the eyes trained on her figure (especially Eduan's wary eyes).
Jahad, seeing Aurene's approaching figure silently gulped, as if he had been waiting for it. Under his desk, he clenched his poor phone, wondering when would be the right time to pull it out. Right, he shouldn't look too excited. She should be the excited one, begging for his number even!
"Hey-"
Yes, ask him! Ask for his number!!
"Lo Po Bia... was it? I don't think I have your number yet, can I have yours?"
It was only when she finished her sentence did she notice the crestfallen expression of Jahad's beside the green-haired male, who even had his mouth wide open. Suddenly Aurene felt aware of everyone's eye on her.
"What- is it weird for me to talk to him?" Aurene muttered, trying to cool down her suddenly warm face.
Gustang was the first to break the silence, lightly pushing back his glasses. "Well, that's too, just..."
Slam!
"Traumerei! Doesn't! Have! A phone!" Jahad shouted one by one in frustration after slamming his hand on his desk, then bolting from the classroom right after.
To say all of them was taken aback was a given, having never seen Jahad losing his temper without a reason. All that was left in the classroom was an awkward silence and incredulous looks from various people like Yurin and Eduan.
"Well... you don't? Ahaha..." Aurene tried to break the awkward tension, the referred person only nodding his head with an almost silent 'Yeah.'
Thankfully, their conversation (if Aurene could even call it one) was cut short as Mr. Shin entered the class, who only clicked his tongue when he noticed one brat was missing.
"Someone go out and bring back Jahad. I saw him running through the hallway like a rabid dog."
Both V and Aurene sighed at the irrefutable command.
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"In the first place, what kind of person is Lo Po Bia?" Aurene finally opened up as her circle sat around the tables in the convenience store. The only ones missing were the pouty Jahad who insisted he would go straight back home, and of course the male in question, Lo Po Bia Traumerei.
The mysterious boy who always donned a black mask which usually covered the lower part of his face.
Nibbling her sandwich, Hana showed a troubled face. "Hmmm, even if you ask that..." Aurene raised one eyebrow in question.
"Even for us," Blossom yawned, Aurene unconsciously covering the petite girl's mouth, the girl using Aurene's hand as a pillow right after.
"He is quite mysterious too," Han finished for Blossom, earning a few nods from the others.
"I know! His name is long!" Yurin exclaimed while munching her croquette.
"Isn't that what you said about me, Yurin?" Bloody sweat-dropped, carefully unwrapping his rice ball.
"If it's Traumerei, then the one who's known him longest is Gustang, then Jahad and Hon, right?" Eduan added while slurping his grape juice. "Just buy the information from them."
"Your way of saying that..." Aurene sighed.
All eyes turned to the brunette who only sighed at the unwanted attention. He crossed his arms while huffing, "It's only because our parents are close, but to be honest, I've never properly spoken to him until all of us met. He's the typical young master that you see in those dramas, with all his servants doing everything for him. That's why he doesn't even bother to keep a phone. What a troublesome rich boy he is..."
Is that what you should be saying, Gustang? Everyone had the same thought.
"I see," Aurene sighed. "It seemed he blended in quite well with all of us though, when we were on the case. He even cooperated well, didn't he?"
"That's it," Hon spoke up, the others looking at him at the unexpected reply. "He blends well, but not in a one-to-one situation, perhaps."
"Maybe he's actually shy?" Tperie quipped, not taking his eyes away from his tablet even once.
Gustang snorted. "You should see how he give orders to his servants if you're calling him shy."
V hummed. "But I think I only ever see Jahad properly talking to him."
They were once again falling into contemplation.
Eduan sighed, shaking his already empty juice box as if it was a wine glass. "Why are we even talking about some guy now...?" the blue-headed leaned towards Aurene. "Why do you even care so much about him anyway? Am I not good enough for you-"
Before Eduan could inch his face closer, Yurin already slapped his face away, as if she already expecting the incoming flirt.
Ignoring the start of bickering in the background, Aurene carefully chose her words. "Well, I just thought it would be nice for all of us to get along as a whole class, without anyone left out. I didn't expect he didn't have a phone. "
"Aurene..." Hana smiled, covering her mouth in admiration. V nodded in satisfaction, as if to remind everyone that he was the one who chose Aurene to be the vice president, and Han hummed in agreement. Even Maddy seemed to wipe a tear or two behind them like a proud father.
"Should we get him one, then?"
Aurene frowned at the nonchalant suggestion from Gustang. Right, they were still the rich kids, after all...
"No, it's not like he couldn't afford one with his daily allowance," Eduan huffed, "Why should we be the one to buy it for him?"
Daily allowance...?
"Then, how do you guys do it when you plan something together? Do you not have a group chat...?"
"???" Yurin blankly looked at Aurene as if she had grown two heads. "We don't?"
"I wouldn't stoop so low to plan anything with these goons, so there were never any troubles about that," Gustang snorted, earning a few protests from the others. "But, it won't hurt to start experimenting from now on." He coughed, pushing back his glasses as if he could hide his intention behind his harsh words.
Aurene and Blossom looked at each other before smiling knowingly.
"What...?"
"Nothing~"
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Author's note:
YO WHAT WAS THE BOMB DROPPED ON US YESTERDAY- LIKE IT WAS EVEN AROUND THE TIME I UPDATED LMAO. NOW I GOT TOO EXCITED SO I PUBLISHED THIS CHAP WAY EARLIER THAN PLANNED LOLOL (AS A GIFT FOR ALL OF US???)
For those who hasn't watched it yet, please watch it from the IGN Fan Fest, they released the season 2 teaser!! Sweet and Sour! Miseng my baby! Papa Akraptor!! Horyang and Goseng!! AND OUR BELOVED BABY PRINCE- WANGNANN!!! And of course, the beautiful and lovely (lmao) FUG slayer candidate, Jue Viole Grace!!! There's so much more I wanted to rant, but I'll save it until July.
Enjoy the first appearance of our beloved green guy! hshshshshsh I wonder what will happen next lmao