"Dammit."
Muttering another curse, Dein shifted his gaze and saw Grayson staring at him with wide eyes. He was frozen in the same motion, placing bacon and eggs on top of a slice of bread, blinking his eyes as if unsure how to react. Feeling embarrassed, Dein scratched his head and muttered.
"Sorry, go ahead and eat."
Seeing Grayson still frozen in place, only now continuing with his task, Dein observed him silently for a moment, then sighed as he leaned back and looked at the ceiling. It was a done deal, and there was nothing to be done now. He only hoped it would all settle down quietly.
"Why the hell did that guy come here?"
At Dein’s question, Grayson turned to look at him again. Dein patiently continued.
"Keith Pittman."
"Ah."
Grayson answered with his usual grin, not missing a beat.
"Because of the knight."
As expected, Dein thought. He knew that man wouldn’t just let things go easily, but for him to show up by helicopter was beyond what he’d imagined.
He must be really pissed off.
But on the bright side, this should help resolve things quickly. Since Yeonwoo was mentioned, that man would never just sit back and let things happen.
"He warned us not to get involved with Yeonwoo any further."
As expected.
Grayson grinned while saying this, and Dein merely blinked in response. It was the natural outcome. This incident would be wrapped up like this, but...
The problem was that he had ended up volunteering for something totally unrelated. When he first heard the word “week-long vacation,” Dein had thought it was great. He imagined lying around by the large, beautiful outdoor swimming pool, swimming and sunbathing, and his lips automatically curled up at the thought. But, just as he was picturing it, the captain laid out the conditions.
"You’ll go do some volunteer work."
The moment he heard those words, the feeling of relaxation he had until then turned to frustration.
"Captain!"
"Go do it!"
Like a shout, the captain’s voice rang out, pushing Dein into a moment of hesitation. Not missing the opportunity, the captain quickly continued.
"Do you know how chaotic the fire station is because of you two? Reporters, paparazzi, all of them gathered around! Calls are flooding in! Prank calls, obscene calls, emergency calls—all coming in, and it’s all because of you and Miller! Am I wrong? Huh? Am I wrong?!"
The pressure from the captain was too much for Dein, and he muttered in resignation.
"...You're right."
"See?"
The captain, now in full force, continued with a fiery attitude.
"I’ll send you the dates and locations by email. Finish everything quickly, and report to me when it's done!"
"...Got it."
Dein answered weakly, and the captain added,
"Tell Miller the same. I'll send him his location separately, so make sure he checks it."
At this, Dein hesitated.
"Are Miller and I... working separately?"
"Of course, I’m not letting you two stick together! What if you cause another incident? Split up! Don’t hang around each other anymore!"
But that wasn’t all.
"If I see the two of you together one more time, both of you will have your pay cut for six months!"
"Captain!"
"One year!"
The captain immediately hung up the phone. Dein stared at his mobile phone with a dazed «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» expression.
And now.
Dein was deep in thought, his expression serious. The puppy in front of him, casually chatting about a honeymoon, clearly hadn’t gotten the news yet. When would this idiot check his email? Could it be that he hasn’t checked it at all?
"Ha."
Letting out a sigh almost like a deep breath, Dein glanced at Grayson’s face. It was time to make the bombshell announcement. He was a little nervous, wondering how Grayson’s bright smile would turn.
"The captain sent you an email."
"Really?"
Grayson looked uninterested, and Dein continued.
"Check it. I’ll go ahead."
"What?"
After giving Grayson no chance to react, Dein quickly cleaned up the dishes and left the snack bar. Realizing that his breakfast was still on the table, Grayson hurriedly sat back down and finished his meal. After clearing the dishes, he quickly followed Dein down the hallway.
"Dein, where are you going? I’m coming with you."
Seeing Dein ready to leave, Grayson called out in haste. Dein ignored him, walking past with a quick toss of words.
"Check your email."
"What email...?"
After glancing between his phone and Dein, Grayson opened the email in irritation, only to freeze in shock.
"What is this?"
Ignoring the panicked shout coming from behind him, Dein hurriedly exited the mansion. Before Grayson could catch up, Dein quickly started the car and headed towards his destination. By the time Grayson chased after him, Dein’s car had already vanished without a trace.
Dammit, fucking hell, goddamn it.
Grayson, his face twisted in anger, pressed the accelerator. After assessing the situation, his first stop was, of course, the fire station. He had intended to confront the captain and convince him to retract the ridiculous order, but it was impossible. As he had mentioned to Dein earlier, the area in front of the fire station was packed with reporters and paparazzi. If he got out of the car, not only would he fail to meet the captain, but he would be swarmed by them, unable to do anything.
Shit.
Grayson slammed his fist on the steering wheel, but there was nothing he could do. To make matters worse, the email had an additional warning attached to it.
If either of them fails to complete the volunteer work properly, both will have their pay cut.
Of course, Grayson couldn’t care less about the warning. But for Dein, it was different. If the pay cut were implemented because of Grayson, Dein might very well strangle him.
Reluctantly, Grayson gritted his teeth and headed to the first location. After being tormented all day, he was finally on his way home. This wasn’t working. He had to come up with a plan with Dein. They needed to think of something, anything. Dein wouldn’t want this...
"No."
But Dein immediately rejected Grayson’s idea with firm determination.
Having already left first and heading straight to the destination without messing around, Dein was already home, taking a shower and sipping beer. Grayson, about to protest, was met with Dein’s indifferent tone.
"It’ll just drag on if you keep poking at it. It’s not just that, you might even get your pay cut. Just shut up and do what they say. A week will go by fast."
"But we’re not even going together, we’re going separately..."
"Just do it."
Dein sighed and shook his head.
"The captain’s stubborn. Once he makes a decision, he never backs down. There’s no point in talking about it."
He was probably right. But Grayson couldn’t just give up. They had less than half of the agreed-upon time left. A week was incredibly crucial. If they couldn’t get through this...
"If we keep our mouths shut for three or four days, the captain will start to back down. We can talk to him again after that."
Grayson hesitated and looked at him. Dein, sipping his beer, continued.
"Buy him a drink and talk to him. He’ll be easily persuaded, the problem is timing."
Dein glanced at Grayson from the corner of his eye and smiled slyly. It was a face that clearly showed he was scheming.
"You’ll see, damn old man. You think I’m really going to do a week of volunteer work like this?"
"Dein...!"
"That’s my man!" Grayson exclaimed, clasping his hands together, overjoyed.
♬♪♪♩♬♪...
The doorbell rang, echoing through the house, and both stopped in their tracks. Grayson looked at Dein for a moment before tilting his head and heading toward the hallway. Dein, still dressed in training pants, with only a towel draped over his shoulder, walked to the balcony in confusion.
Stretching out to look below, he saw several unfamiliar cars parked in front of the house. The people who looked like bodyguards were scattered around. As soon as he saw them, Dein furrowed his brow.
No way...
Feeling uneasy, he sauntered into the hallway, heading towards the stairs. After hiding behind the wall, he peeked down and quickly figured out what was going on.
Just as he had feared.
Dein grimaced and sighed. He had seen Ashley Miller standing just a few steps away from Grayson, who was holding him in a tight embrace.
