Chapter 87

“…What?”

Theo frowned and asked back a beat later. Blaine, still wearing that clear, innocent smile, waved his hand lightly.

“Go on in. See you tomorrow.”

Then, right in front of Theo, he walked over to the flower bed beneath the window and sat down on the curb. Theo stared at him with his mouth hanging open, then stepped down from the platform and stood in front of Blaine.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

His voice was sharp with anger. Blaine swallowed hard and looked up at him. Cold sweat trickled down his spine from fear, but he didn’t want to back down. The thought of coming out of the same house as Aslan scared him far more than Theo getting angry at him.

“I—I wasn’t going to sleep at home anyway.”

“What?”

“So… I’ll just stay here.”

Before Blaine even finished speaking, Theo grabbed his upper arm.

“Get up. Now.”

He yanked hard. The strength in it made Blaine’s arm throb painfully. Blaine squeezed one eye shut but stubbornly shook his head.

“You’ll hate it if I do it secretly…!”

“What?”

“You hate it when I secretly spend the night in front of your place, so I thought I’d tell you in advance…”

“You think telling me in advance fixes everything? You decide whatever you want and just notify me, and I’m supposed to go, ‘Oh, sure’ and accept it?”

“I’m not notifying you, I’m asking for permission!”

“Permission? Don’t be ridiculous. Permission denied.”

“I’m still going to do it…!”

“And you call this asking for permission? You decided it on your own from the start! And now you’re spouting that nonsense about permission?!”

“Then what do I have to do for you to give it?”

“I said no! Go home and sleep!”

“I won’t sleep even if I go home. I can’t sleep…. Do you just hate me being in front of your house? Then I’ll wait across the street. Please, just let me stay near your place.”

Theo let out hollow breaths one after another, utterly dumbfounded. He couldn’t even close his mouth properly.

“Who said I hate you being in front of my house? You still need to sleep. Even if you’re 4th generation, you still need sleep!”

“…….”

“I thought you’d finally started listening these past few days, so why are you being this stubborn? You don’t even have Retai Powder anymore. What are you going to do about your fatigue?”

“I do have Retai Powder…”

“…What? You returned it to Holanghee back then.”

“She gave it back to me…”

Theo stared at Blaine with his mouth agape, then pressed a hand to his forehead as if forcing his anger down, looking up at the empty air. ‘What is this, are they all in on it together?’ He felt like smashing everything in sight.

Blaine suddenly announcing he’d camp out in front of the house felt like it had those three’s influence written all over it. His head ached. Slowly lowering his gaze, Theo closed his eyes, pressed at his temples, and spoke with a tone of resignation.

“I’ll accept everything you give me. I’ll take it all for free. Call yourself my ho-gu, call yourself my doormat—do whatever you want. Just go home. Sleep properly at your place.”

“That’s separate from this….”

His voice was utterly deflated.

“Why are you like this… why can’t you sleep, why do you insist on staying here overnight? You slept just fine when you were with me.”

“…I don’t like being alone.”

“What?”

“I want to be with you… I hate being alone, and I hate the time we’re apart when you’re sleeping…”

“Then you should’ve said something…”

“…Huh?”

“You should’ve asked me to let you stay!”

Theo, grumbling angrily, pointed at the front door from the platform and shouted,

“Go inside. Right now!”

Blaine, still stunned, looked at Theo with wide eyes, then hesitantly got up and pointed toward the door as if asking if he really should go in. Theo glared and nodded. He even gave Blaine’s hesitating rear a little nudge up the steps to hurry him along.

Once inside Theo’s house, Blaine just stood there, blinking. Theo sighed at his awkward stance and told him to sit on the sofa. He then poured a warm cup of milk with honey and handed it over.

“Drink this. It should help you sleep.”

Blaine accepted the cup, and Theo, sitting back with a tired expression, said,

“Here’s what we’ll do. I’ll let you stay over once a week, and the other six nights, you sleep at your place.”

Blaine’s eyes went wide, staring at Theo as if asking, “Really?” The aroma of warm milk mixed with sweet honey floated from the cup, making him feel sleepy just from the smell.

“Really…?”

“Yeah. I think this way you’ll actually sleep.”

“…But, it’s too…”

“What?”

“Too little…”

“…….”

“Can it be three times?”

“…….”

“Three times…”

Blaine peeked at Theo, as if he wasn’t even there. Theo, half-lidded eyes on him, straightened up in his seat.

If Blaine actually couldn’t sleep alone, even once a week was barely enough. How could anyone survive sleeping only one night a week?

“Fine… three times.”

Blaine smiled shyly, overjoyed.

The next morning, Theo quietly slipped out of the house at dawn, leaving Blaine fast asleep, and headed straight to Lucilvania.

Standing in front of the guild house, he looked up at the tall building with a determined expression and entered.

Inside, the sounds of shouting, screaming, explosions, and breaking filled the place. Theo had come early in the morning to confront the three—Father, Holanghee, and Noquia—for misleading Blaine with empty promises.

But the confrontation didn’t stop at words. After a heated argument, it escalated into a full-blown fight. No matter how skilled Theo was, there was no way he could win against the three together.

Cornered, Theo suffered a crushing defeat, and the only thing decorating the early morning guild house was his bitter cry of “Where’s my support?!”

[Guild] [Blaine: Hyung, where are you? T_T]

[Guild] [Theo: At the guild house…]

[Guild] [Blaine: When did you go? Why did you leave me T_T]

[Guild] [Theo: Something came up]

[Guild] [Blaine: Will you come back to Ratteon?]

[Guild] [Theo: No, you go to Lucilvania]

[Guild] [Blaine: I’ll be there soon T_T]

After finishing the chat, Theo flopped face-down on the central table, exhausted. Father and Noquia sat on either side of him, with Holanghee across from him.

“Sweetie, are you sulking?”

“There’s no Sweetie here.”

“Oh my, someone’s really sulking.”

“You’re not even friends.”

Father, resting her chin on her hand, looked at Theo and said dryly,

“Then let’s just call it an interest.”

“…I’ll go into exile with YesYesu.”

“Blaine will be sad.”

“I’m taking him.”

“…Do you want me to make him vice-leader?”

“Get lost.”

“No, I mean seriously. Our guild doesn’t have a vice-leader yet.”

“Let Holanghee or Noquia do it.”

“Can’t trust them.”

“Then Marco.”

“He’s not interested in running the guild.”

“Neither am I.”

“Tch… you’d be perfect.”

“Too much trouble. You guys handle it yourselves.”

“Handle it ourselves? Then I’ll just make you vice-leader myself…”

“Get lost.”

No sooner had the second refusal landed than loud, pounding footsteps echoed, and the twins came barreling in, each clinging to one of Father’s arms.

“Then me!”

“Me too, me!”

“Get lost! I’m making him vice-leader!”

“You get lost! It’s mine!”

“Unnie, you’ll let me, right? You’ll make me do it?”

“No, right? You’ll let me do it instead of If It’s You Then Me, right?”

“Get lost! Unnie, I’m better than If It’s Not You Then Me, right? You like me more, right?”

“You little nuisance! Why would I like you more? Are you delusional?”

“You’re the delusional one! How are you better than me?”

“You have no shame talking to me like that!”

“You talk like that, born only one minute earlier!”

“Hey! One minute means I could’ve eaten six more meals!”

“Oh! I’d eat ten more meals in one minute!”

“Enough!”

“Enough!”

The twins, clinging to Father’s arms, began tearing into each other verbally, then started wildly swinging their arms like they were sparring bare-handed. Father, caught in the middle, took countless hits to the head.

Hats flew off, hair became a mess, and Father, having endured it all, flexed her biceps and applied a headlock on the twins, dragging them to a quiet corner. The twins screamed in terror the whole way, but no one dared stop her. Mastar quietly followed to handle the aftermath.

The once chaotic guild hall finally quieted. At that moment, a familiar voice called from the entrance:

“Hyung!”

Theo, lying face-down, slowly lifted his upper body, and Blaine came flying up the stairs like lightning, clinging to Theo’s neck.

“Why would you leave me behind?”

His tone was whining, and Theo gently patted Blaine’s back.

“Uh… I had a bit of a crushing defeat earlier.”

“Huh?”

Blaine tilted his head in confusion, but Theo pressed the back of his head into his shoulder, hiding his face again.

“There… was something like that. Losing friends but gaining interests, something like that.”

“?”

Blaine’s expression was puzzled, but he didn’t lift his head. Theo’s gentle pats on his back felt too good. Despite the kind gestures, Theo’s face looked half-dazed.

Meanwhile, Holanghee and Noquia, who had joined in Theo’s “interest,” watched the two with fond smiles, charmed by their affectionate interaction.