449 REALIZATION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
NOW, we’re back to the current time...
After returning to his apartment, the first thing Astrid planned to do was to dial the Terminal number that Leland gave him. But before he could, he received a notification from his [Cyberspace] account.
This notification would only appear if an account he was paying attention to posted something. And there’s only one account that he paid attention to—Wulfric’s fan account.
Astrid wondered how the other was still able to post when he was in the middle of a mission. He wasn’t even using his real Terminal, considering that Leland had given him a different Terminal number. But then again, didn’t Wulfric also posted something a week ago when his mission had already started by then?
Anyway, Astrid quickly opened his [Cyberspace] and checked what Wulfric had posted. And the first thing he saw was;
[@astridsnumber1fan: Can you people not always ship Aster to every person interacts with? Can you imagine how uncomfortable he would be after reading the things you post about him and the people you ship him with? Was there really a need to give a different meaning to every action he makes? What if he started to become conscious of his every action because of all these ridiculous shipping ideas you people have? Then, it’s all on you!]
Astrid raised his brows. Even though he didn’t know the context behind this comment, it wouldn’t take a genius to know why Wulfric had posted it. Because of that small incident during the broadcast of [Penalty Quiz], some people would definitely make some shipping post between him and Yujin.
He had already expected it to some extent, so he wasn’t too surprised. It was just something that was inevitable. If one was working in this industry, they should get used to being shipped to several people by fans. What’s surprised him more actually was Wulfric’s response.
It was so... well, Wulfric. He wrote what he wanted to say without fumbling with his words. Telling people that they’re wrong and that they were all mental for doing what they’re doing. And, of course, he did not forget to defend Astrid and scold the people continuously shipping him with others.
.....
Anyone would think that Wulfric wrote all that because he was truly worried about his career, but for some reason, Astrid couldn’t help but think that the other had a different reason on why he wrote all those things. One of those reasons was because he just didn’t like the people being shipped to him. Or, more accurately, Wulfric just didn’t like him being shipped to anyone in general.
That’s definitely a big assumption on his part. But with Leland’s visit to him, he truly realized that his presence must mean something special to Wulfric. That he was not just someone the other wanted to be friends with. At this point, Astrid should finally acknowledge that he was more than that to Wulfric.
That the other’s feelings for him were truly now on the territory of ‘romantic’.
If people would hear this, they would probably think that he was under some kind of delusion. But, seriously, if one was not one of the following: dense, completely oblivious, or simply lacked understanding of social cues, then arriving at this conclusion would be the most natural thing. And since Astrid was none of those, of course, he would feel it.
He already felt it to some extent before, but it was only now that he was acknowledging the fact that Wulfric might truly fall in love with him. No, maybe he already did.
At that thought, a warm feeling spread through his heart. Which could only mean that he was viewing the other’s feelings for him as something positive. That he didn’t dislike the idea of it. In fact, he probably liked it.
So, what could that mean?
That he also felt the same for the other? No, he couldn’t honestly say that he did. And he was sure that Wulfric probably also hadn’t realized his own feelings and was only acting on instinct.
Although he was glad that he was born in an era where falling for the same gender was not such a big deal, that didn’t mean that he could just as easily fall in love with someone. It would take time and a lot of consideration and understanding of his own feelings to admit that he was in love with someone.
But at least he could honestly say that if there’s a person he could fall in love with right now, then it would be Wulfric. Or at least, he was the closest there was.
It’s probably annoying to say all this and not just admit that he also had that kind of feelings for Wulfric. But the thing was, Astrid was genuinely not ready yet. He was only 18, although mentally and emotionally older. He hadn’t even yet made his mark in the entertainment industry.
Besides, what if this was just a momentary thing for Wulfric? What if Astrid had fallen for him and the other’s feelings had already cooled off? What would he do then?
He knew having this kind of mentality was not good. But when it came to romantic relationships, he couldn’t help but be more careful. After all, he was the one giving out his heart. He should at least make sure that the one he’s giving it to wouldn’t trample it to the ground.
Anyway, the relationship he and Wulfric now had wasn’t bad at all. It’s okay to maintain this kind of status quo until both of them were sure of their feelings for each other. Both of them were young, they hadn’t even reached the quarter of a lifespan people in this era had. They still had a lot of time to understand their own feelings.
Enjoying what they had now been the best thing to do in this current situation.
With his head finally clear, Astrid dialled the number Leland had given him.
It didn’t take long before the video call was connected and Wulfric’s surprised face appeared on the virtual screen.
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