Leansei froze dead in his tracks the exact microsecond his eyes locked onto the tall figure waiting right on the concrete doorstep. Kean's father stood there with both hands casually shoved deep into his trouser pockets, his eyes tracking him down with absolute indifference. Lean's muscles went entirely rigid, his fingers tightening like a vice around the heavy leather strap of his carry bag.
Forcing his breathing to remain steady, he gradually forced his shoes to walk toward the grand main entrance door, lowering his head to bow slightly to politely greet the patriarch of the Ferech dynasty.
"Was that... Mr. Xin's younger son who just dropped you off?" his father asked, his baritone voice not carrying a judging frequency, but rather an intense, calculated curiosity.
Leansei offered a quick, disciplined nod. "Yes, Father. He happened to be driving along the exact same highway transit route... so he merely insisted I come along with him." Mr. Ferech remained perfectly silent for a long, agonizing beat, the atmospheric pressure near the doorway dropping.
"Didn't I explicitly tell you never to get close with that family? You don't have any friendship to begin with." he demanded, his voice dropping into a stern, ice-cold register. "I already personally stepped in and resolved the severe mess you caused back then. I am absolutely not letting a single mistake pass your way this time around—not even if your mother begs for you." He leaned forward slightly, looking down on Leansei with a dark, suffocating look on his face. "I expect you to keep your word to this family and ensure zero further humiliating actions are brought to our name."
Leansei curled his fingers inward, his nails deepening sharply into his palms as he forced a silent, compliant nod to de-escalate the tension.
"Dismiss yourself and go straight to your mother," Mr. Ferech commanded, checking his luxury wrist watch. "She is currently waiting for your arrival inside the private lounge room."
Leansei nodded smoothly, his throat dry. "Yes, Father."
He turned on his heel to quickly escape the pressure of the threshold, but before he could take a step, Mr. Ferech's voice snapped through the air yet again. "Wait."
Leansei halted his feet, a sudden panic flaring as he glanced back over his shoulder with a thoroughly confused look. But Mr. Ferech only stared at his profile, his jaw clenching slightly as if he desperately wanted to voice a critical question, yet hesitated to expose his vulnerability. "You—" He cut his own sentence short midway when his smartphone suddenly erupted with an aggressive, loud ringtone. He checked the screen, his posture snapping back into a cold business mask. "Go now to your mother. We'll talk later."
Leansei offered a final, respectful bow and quickly hurried through the massive front doors into the quiet foyer of the mansion. The moment the heavy mahogany doors shut behind him, he let out one long, deep, and trembling exhale to stabilize his rattling pulse.
' I honestly am still not used to calling these people Mother and Father, ' Leansei thought bitterly, a cold lump forming in his throat. ' Those sacred titles died completely dry on my own mouth several years ago when I was abandoned in the dark. '
Leansei paused his feet near the bottom of the grand staircase, his face dropping as his eyes locked onto Felean. His brother was leaning casually against the polished wooden railings, a familiar, thoroughly bitter and winced look darkling his handsome features. Lean let out another deep, internal sigh; he knew all too well exactly where this conversation was about to go.
"Well, look who finally decided to show up at the estate," Felean sneered loudly, his voice echoing down the empty hallway.
Leansei aggressively rolled his eyes through his lenses, continuing to walk towards the steps instead of responding to his childish babble. But before he could even walk past his shoulder, Felean dropped a sharp, provocative query. "Did you have a fun time hanging out with Mom last night?"
The unexpected sentence made Leansei halt his feet dead in their tracks, his shoes freezing against the step as he glanced back over the side of his shoulder to glare at him. "What exactly are you talking about?"
"Don't play dumb and make me look like a fool, Kean," Felean hissed, his light brown eyes narrowing into a dangerous glare. "I know for a factual certainty that Mom explicitly asked you out on a private date last night."
Leansei froze, his mind short-circuiting as his brain frantically scrambled backward through the afternoon to remember what he was talking about.
' Remembering... Mrs. Ferech did ask me out while I was at the gymasium... '
____
The heavy bass vibrating from the massive sound speakers inside the university gymnasium shook the thick glass panels of the lobby doors. Leansei squeezed a hand tightly over his left ear, pressing his smartphone receiver flush against his other ear, desperately trying to block out the loud shouting of the stage decoration crew.
"Mrs—Mom?" Leansei called out, almost yelling into the microphone to be heard over the noise. "Hello? Yes, I can hear your voice clearly now!"
[ My dear son! I am pretty much completely available all night today, ] Mrs. Ferech's melodic voice came through the line, looking remarkably serene and peaceful compared to the absolute madness on his end. [ Do you want us to go catch a premium movie title together tonight, or perhaps set up a private family dinner date? ]
Leansei threw a desperate, frantic glance through the glass doors behind him. Inside the court, two student committee members were aggressively pointing and arguing over a massive tangled knot of high-voltage extension cords, while the live dance troupe was restarting their alignment routine for the fifth consecutive time. On the far end of the floor, Del and Vio were carefully rehearsing their steps, while the other backup dancers were rushing around the opposite end.
"Right now? Honestly, Mom, I wish I could drop everything and go, but we are currently right in the middle of a frantic, hectic rehearsal block," Leansei explained rapidly, pacing back and forth along the corridor with his master clipboard tucked tightly under his arm. "We are still trying to arrange the last of the major decorations and sound equipment for the acquaintance party for the day after tomorrow. The entire floor is completely packed with tasks."
[ Oh, goodness, is it truly that busy? ] Mrs. Ferech answered, her tone sounding deeply apologetic. [ I completely forgot how chaotic those day-of event preparations can be for the council. I just thought... I thought it would be lovely to hang out with you and your brother today, since your father has been far too busy with corporate meetings lately... ]
"I really cannot leave the gym floor right now, Mom," Leansei replied, checking the ticking hands of his watch and feeling the massive administrative pressure. "I'm so sorry, Mom, I don't think I can make it work today. You should go out and have a date with Felean for now, and I promise I'll make it up to you the exact second this event wraps up."
[ Alright, dear. I'll just move the reservation date to whenever you two boys are completely available. I am so sorry for bothering your hectic schedule, sweetheart. I'll see your face back at home soon. Make sure you come home to your condo safely tonight, okay? ] Leansei looked down at his shoes, a sudden wave of guilt making him bite the inside of his mouth.
"Yes, mom. No worries at all. B-bye mom." leansei said and the call ended. He look at his screen before it screen off. He dropped the phone into his pocket, and took a deep breath before diving right back into the noise of the auditorium.
_____
"What?" Felean spat out, snapping Leansei back to the present.
"What about it?" Before Leansei could even formulate a single word to explain that he had explicitly told their mother to go with him instead, Felean lunged forward. His hand snapped out, aggressively grabbing a fistful of Leansei's uniform collar.
"Don't you dare fucking mock my misery, Kean!" Felean roared, his voice dangerous, low, and saturated with pure, unbridled malice. "First, you lose all your favors from Dad because of your failures, and now you're trying to secretly manipulate Mom's affection behind my back? What an absolutely cheap, disgusting trick." Leansei looked directly into his furious face with a thoroughly, utterly confused expression.
' Why on earth does Felean hate his own biological brother this much? And wait... if Kean's Mom explicitly called me because she was free, didn't she call his phone to invite him out too? Why is he acting like he was left in the dark? '
"I am completely exhausted, Felean," Leansei stated flatly, keeping his voice dead-pan and calm. "Let's continue this exact conversation when I actually possess enough energy to put up with your toxic attitude." He reached up, fully intending to forcefully take Felean's hands away from his collar, but Felean anticipated the maneuver, aggressively shoving Leansei's chest back to break the contact first.
Felean cast one final, warnings-filled glare of pure displeasure at him before turning his back, marching away down the hall to vanish into his room. Leansei let out a heavy sigh, smoothing down his wrinkled collar before continuing his route toward the private lounge room. He reached the double doors, knocking politely twice before stepping across the threshold.
Mrs. Ferech was sitting near the window alcove, wearing a pair of transparent reading glasses as she carefully scanned through a stack of household folders.
' I absolutely have to find a way to figure out why Felean harbors such a deep-seated hatred for Kean, ' Leansei reasoned silently, his mind racing. ' If I am trapped in this life, this sibling warfare is one of the core problems I am forced to solve before I leave. '
"Son? You're finally back home," she crooned beautifully, immediately taking off her glasses and rising to greet Leansei with a warm, radiant smile. "Come over here and take a seat. I've been waiting for your arrival."
Leansei didn't argue or speak a single word, obediently doing exactly as she requested. He walked over to the plush velvet sofa and sat down, resting his hands on his knees.
"What exactly is it, M-mom?" Leansei asked, his voice laced with pure confusion as he checked her expression.
Her wide, joyful smile subtly withered into a faint, highly anxious expression. She walked across the Persian rug, claiming the sofa directly opposite his position. "Tell me... is everything completely fine with your studies and your health, Kean?"
Leansei's brow furrowed into a hard scowl of absolute confusion. "Of course it is. Why do you ask?"
Mrs. Ferech nervously fidgeted with her fingers, her eyes darting to the table layout. "It's just... I am just deeply, intensely concerned about your well-being, son."
"I am perfectly, structurally fine," Leansei assured her, keeping his tone exceptionally steady and calm. He gestured toward the paperwork on the desk. "Have you been buried in corporate work all afternoon?"
Mrs. Ferech vigorously shook her head, a sweet, gentle smile returning to her face. "No, absolutely not... I merely look at these old ledgers because I sometimes miss the rhythm of executive work. But... being a dedicated housewife to this family feels remarkably good too."
Leansei blinked through his lenses, his posture turning rigid. "What do you mean by that? You mean you don't actively work at the conglomerate office anymore?"
Mrs. Ferech froze dead in her tracks, a sudden wave of hesitation locking her features as she glanced at him. "Ahh... with your amnesia, I completely forgot to update you on the logistics. The exact week your near-fatal incident occurred... I officially resigned from my executive seat at your father's company. I decided to permanently become a hands-on housewife so I could finally focus entirely on managing this family's life."
She paused, a heavy shadow of regret darkling her features. "I suddenly realized that your dad and I were completely, super busy with corporate expansion for years... to the absolute point where we didn't even know a single trace of what was actually happening inside our own sons' lives."
Leansei stared at her, his chest tightening as a violent collision of mixed emotions flooded his soul.
' She must be carrying a massive, suffocating amount of pure parental guilt because of Kean's near-drowning accident, ' Leansei realized, a lump forming in his throat. ' The old Kean must have been incredibly lucky to have parents who recognized their faults and actively destroyed their own corporate careers just to amend their past mistakes. If only my real parents had possessed a single shred of that love...'
Mrs. Ferech stood up from her seat, crossing the distance to drop onto the cushion directly beside Leansei. Lean flinched subtly as her warm hands extended, firmly, gently wrapping around his fingers.
"Kean..." she murmured softly, her tone shifting into a sweet, motherly register that vibrated with intense concern and deep-seated worry. "If you currently have absolutely anything dangerous going on in your life... you can tell me everything, okay? Your father and I... we recognize that we had severe shortcomings with how we raised you and your brother back then..." She cut her own sentence short, her voice cracking as a sudden tear welled in her eyes.
' We ignored you both to the absolute point where you were both drifting away from my reach into total darkness, ' she wailed silently inside her own mind.
"But I am standing right here for you now, son. You can disclose absolutely everything to my line—your worries, your campus problems, your fears—anything at all. I just..." She squeezed Leansei's hand tightly, her fingers shaking. "I just desperately don't want you and your brother to drift apart any further, and I refuse to let any worst-case scenarios happen to my children ever again."
She stood on the dangerous verge of breaking down into raw tears. Looking at her weeping features, Leansei felt a profound, aching sympathy inside his ribs, as if this woman were his own biological mother, his chest tightening with guilt for the deception.
' They are simply trying their absolute best to fulfill their sacred obligations as parents now, ' Leansei reasoned silently, a bitter clarity settling over his thoughts. ' But their realization came entirely too late; that past neglect is the exact reason why they remained completely blind to the fact that their sons were being brutally bullied, that their sons were locked in violent fights, and that their children's well-being was in extreme jeopardy. But at the very least... Kean's parents are still alive and fighting for him. '
Leansei slowly turned his palm, placing his hand gently over hers and offering her a warm, beautifully reassuring smile to ease her suffering. "Everything is perfectly alright, M-mom... you don't have to worry yourself this much anymore, I promise."
In the quiet of the lounge room, he kept his mouth tightly sealed, refusing to utter a single word about the dark reality. He couldn't look this fragile woman in the eye and confess that he had just escaped a lethal ambush by Master M's underground syndicate, nor could he explain that that organization was still a terrifying, unresolved mystery haunting Kean's past.
Mrs. Ferech nodded, her gaze shifting focus as she squeezed his fingers. "I know that your father... has a completely different concept about... certain things, but he just lives in an incredibly traditional way regarding that aspect of life. Just give your father a... a little time to adjust, Kean. He will soon accept your path." Leansei froze dead in his tracks, his breath locking in his throat.
' Does this mean... the real Kean actually came out to his parents about his sexuality before the accident? ' Leansei's mind reeled, a quiet shockwave striking his chest. ' I genuinely admire him for that—for possessing that kind of raw courage. Or... wait. Was it explicitly because of whatever history Kean shared with Xerchin? Which definition is the true one? But regardless of the reason... it must feel so incredibly good to be accepted by your own blooded parents. '
"Thank you, M-mom," Leansei whispered softly, his throat tight with a sudden wave of genuine emotion.
Mrs. Ferech offered him a warm, beautiful smile, before her features subtly shifted, a sudden, curious look written across her face. "But there is still one specific thing I would genuinely love to ask you, M-mom."
"Go ahead, son."
"Did I... did I ever try to talk to you about something critical right before I went down to that accident, M-mom?" Mrs. Ferech's smile froze mid-motion, an unyielding layer of anxiety darkling her eyes before she forced a faint, compliant nod.
"Yes," she confessed quietly, her voice dropping into a tight, stressed register. "I was right in the middle of a high-stakes board meeting in a different country with your father that night. You phoned my private line and desperately apologized... but I honestly didn't know what on earth you were apologizing to me for." She paused, taking a long, ragged breath through her nose. "For two consecutive days before we left for that business trip, you were acting quite... off. But I simply assumed it was because of the standard puberty metrics of being a teenager." She exhaled deeply, her shoulders hanging heavy. "But then... that horrible tragedy happened."
She smoothed out her blue designer trouser, checking his profile. "But tell me... are you and your brother truly okay these days? I haven't seen you two hanging out recently at the estate. Did you two suffer a massive fight?"
Leansei froze in his seat, his muscles turning rigid as he scrambled to manufacture a safe, executive excuse to play it cool. "Ah... we are perfectly okay, M-mom. He is just deeply loving his personal space right now due to his workload."
"I see..." Mrs. Ferech let out a relieved sigh, her maternal panic finally melting away into a sweet smile. "I am just an incredibly lucky parent that even with all of our past shortcomings, you two boys still managed to grow up well and did not drift apart. Unlike other twins and fraternal pairs who can't stand to be inside the same room at all."
Leansei merely offered a faint, artificial smile to match her joy. He tightly sealed his lips; he absolutely didn't possess the heart to spoil her temporary happiness by revealing the toxic reality of Felean's hatred. "But... how close were me and Felean exactly in the past? I just... I don't remember that part of our childhood," Leansei asked softly, his gray pupils searching her face.
' Thinking of those two being close sounds structurally impossible after what he just threw at me on the stairs, ' Leansei thought bitterly.
Her light brown eyes instantly glowed, and she stood up from the velvet cushion with clumsy haste. She hurried over to the heavy mahogany cabinet, fishing through the wide drawers until her fingers successfully located a thick leather binder. "Ever since the two of you were born, you became entirely inseparable with each other, but..." she murmured softly, walking back to drop onto the sofa directly beside Leansei as she handed the album into his lap. "...maybe the onset of puberty... that is what made you two drift into this current state."
Leansei unclasped the binder, opening the heavy pages. The album was filled to the brim with physical pictures, childhood memories, and captured photos of a completely flawless, happy family portrait. There were pages of them as infants, being carried lovingly by their mother and father under the sun. Leansei flipped a page, his heart twisting as he saw the twin boys hugging, hanging their arms together over each other's shoulders, and playing competitive badminton matches on the lawn.
Leansei flipped several more pages, reaching the timeline where they transitioned into early teens. Kean was smiling ear to ear, his face completely radiant while holding a melting ice cream cone, while right beside his shoulder, Felean was pouting aggressively while clutching a massive cloud of pink cotton candy.
Leansei's fingers tightened violently around the cardboard edges of the album, a sudden, blinding ache crushing his ribs. A stark, cold realization slammed straight into his soul: throughout his two separate existences on this earth, he had never once possessed a single family photograph of his own. He didn't own a single physical record of a happy childhood memory.
He slowly closed the album, forcing a disciplined, faint smile onto his face as he looked at her.
' The real Kean possessed every single one of these beautiful photos... then why on earth... why did their bond fracture like this? ' Leansei wailed internally.
Mrs. Ferech reached down, firmly catching both of his hands within her warm palms with absolute motherly love. "If you two brothers suffered a fight, you must fix it, Kean. In terms of birth record, you are exactly one minute older than Felean. So as the older brother, you need to lead his steps and fix the damage. Just like how your father always says..."
"Fix it when you can, and fail when you can't," Leansei blurted out smoothly.
The exact microsecond the sentence left his lips, Leansei froze dead in his tracks, his eyes widening in pure horror. Those precise, philosophical words had absolutely not come from his own conscious thoughts. It was a rapid, involuntary memory fragment—a sequence that belonged explicitly to Kean's soul, rewriting his own vocal cords. His forehead knotted into a hard scowl as his chest tightened, his pulse skyrocketing into a frantic rhythm. It was the exact same phenomenon that had triggered when he was talking to Rell and Xeilin in the gymnasium.
Leansei's hands curled into tight fists inside his pockets, panic freezing his veins.
' Does this mean... does this factual reality imply that Kean's real soul is rapidly waking up? Is his consciousness preparing to reclaim this body? ' A sudden, desperate wave of sadness darkled his mind. ' But wait... why on earth am I reacting with this much dread? I should be thoroughly grateful that he's returning to his life... right? '
Mrs. Ferech froze, her face instantly illuminating into a spectacular, joyful expression as she tightly squeezed Leansei's hand. "You... you actually remember his words now, son?!"
"Ah... eh... yes," Leansei stammered out rapidly, forcing his composure back into a calm mask to play it cool. "Some minor, fragmented parts of my past memories are coming back to the surface eventually and entirely involuntarily..." Before he could finish the explanation, Mrs. Ferech let out a breathless gasp of relief, pulling his frame forward to wrap her arms around him in a tight, suffocating maternal hug.
"That is absolutely magnificent news, son. Truly wonderful news," she whispered, her tone thick with pure, unadulterated relief.
Leansei stood entirely frozen, his right hand hovering awkwardly in the air over her shoulder, paralyzed by the raw affection. But as the seconds ticked by, his stance softened. He slowly lowered his arm, resting his palm flat against Mrs. Ferech's back to gently, awkwardly tap her shoulder to comfort her.
Mrs. Ferech gently pulled back from the embrace, smoothing out his uniform blazer. "I won't keep your body up too late tonight, dear. You have a massive high-society event to manage tomorrow afternoon. The family driver is already scheduled to drive you and your brother to the venue together, okay? Go straight down to your room now and secure some deep rest."
Leansei nodded smoothly, offering a final, polite bow of absolute respect. "Yes, Mom. Thank you. Goodnight, Mom." He turned on his heel, exiting the private lounge room and walking down the wide hallway to retreat into his master bedroom.
' Xerchin was supposed to be the executive to fetch me from the gates tomorrow afternoon, ' Leansei thought with a quiet, disappointed sigh as he unlocked his door. ' Well... with my mother enforcing family protocols, I guess his arrangement won't work out for tomorrow. '
Leansei locked the door behind him, stripped off his rigid uniform clothes, and took a quick shower to wash away the day's fatigue. Stepping back into the bedroom, he collapsed heavily onto the soft mattress sheets. He reached across the dark wood of the nightstand, retrieving his smartphone, and the exact second the screen illuminated, he noticed that Xerchin had messaged his line nearly an hour ago.
He slid his thumb across the digital interface, a genuine smile breaking across his lips as he began to read through the sequence of incoming text data from xerchin.
____
From : <3
Hey, Mooncalf. I just successfully arrived back at my own family estate. What exactly are you doing right now?
(Sent 50 mins ago)
I merely went down to grab a quick shower to clear my head. Have you consumed a proper dinner yet tonight?
(Sent 30 mins ago)
Beidhen literally just burst straight into my private room to loudly rant about his chaotic love life metrics.
Wait... still absolutely zero replies from your line?? [Attached an image file of angry and sad reaction GIFs]
Did your body fall asleep the exact second you crossed the threshold??
You completely refused to grant me a goodbye kiss earlier, and now I still haven't received a proper goodnight message from you?? :<<
(Sent 15 mins ago)
Hey. Hello. Bonjour. Annyeong. Konnichiwa. Sawadee kha. Ni hao. Kamusta.
How many separate international languages am I forced to message you in before you finally reply to my line??
(Sent 10 mins ago)
_____
The heavy, gloomy aura suffocating Leansei's chest completely vanished in an instant, a light, melodic laugh escaping his throat as he scrolled through the barrage of words.
"Damn cute bastard," he murmured softly to the empty bedroom. He shifted his posture, sitting upright against the pillows as his fingers flew across the keyboard layout to type out an immediate reply.
_____
To: <3
Hello, I am incredibly sorry for the massive delay in my reply. My parents intercepted me in the lounge to have a serious conversation the exact second I arrived, and I went straight into the shower room right after the talk finished. Are you already deeply asleep on your end?
(Sent just now)
_____
Leansei lowered the device, leaning his head back against the wall as he stared up at the dark ceiling with a radiant, breathless smile touching his lips.
Bzzzt.
His phone vibrated violently against his palm in a single fraction of a second. He raised the screen, finding an instant response.
_____
From: <3
Mooncalf! I genuinely believed you had decided to sleep on me tonight. But look, you need to maximize your rest now—the clock is getting quite late, your body is completely exhausted from your council duties earlier, and you possess a massive, high-stakes day tomorrow.
(Sent just now)
____
To: <3
It's perfectly fine, don't worry. I am comfortably resting right now on my bed while talking to your line. : )
(Sent just now)
____
Several quiet minutes ticked by without a text response. Leansei's brow furrowed into a hard scowl of confusion, his fingers hovering over the keyboard to type out a follow-up query—when the digital interface suddenly overrode his inputs. The phone roared to life with a loud, aggressive ringtone.
<3 is calling...
Leansei's heart skipped a violent beat. Moving on pure, chaotic panic, he immediately straightened his spine, smoothed down his loose t-shirt, and ran his fingers frantically through his damp hair to look respectable—before a sudden, cold realization hit his brain.
' Why on earth am I desperately trying to fix my physical appearance right now? He is dialing a basic voice line, he can't even see my face!'
Leansei slammed his palm flat against his forehead in absolute, pure disbelief at his own sheer ridiculousness, shaking his head with a quiet chuckle at just how deeply this man had scrambled his sanity. He bit his lower lip hard to control his smile before sliding the green icon to accept the call.
The line remained static and quiet for a brief second, before the muffled, frantic voice of Beidhen echoed clearly near the microphone in the background.
[ Hello!!—ow! Hey, let go! He is way more than just a ordinary frie—oww! Okay, okay! I'll leave the room right now, geez! Don't push me! ] Leansei let out a loud chuckle, easily visualizing the exact kind of chaotic, physical bickering the two Vcheroi brothers were executing across their bedroom. [ I am incredibly sorry about that intrusion, ] Xerchin's deep, baritone voice finally cut through the line, his hoarse frequency sounding exceptionally smooth and close against Leansei's ear.
The sound sent a sudden, heavy blush straight across Leansei's jawline. "N-no worries at all. Why exactly haven't you gone to sleep yet at this hour?"
[ .... ] Xerchin paused, his breath hitching slightly before he spoke with absolute, quiet clarity. [ Because... I am explicitly waiting for your final reply. ]
Leansei's breath locked. "What?! What if my body had simply fallen asleep the exact second I lay down?"
[ I would still be right here waiting. ] Leansei froze but smiled and shook his head.
Leansei completely froze against the pillows, a beautiful, breathless smile breaking across his lips as he slowly shook his head in absolute surrender. "You are completely beyond help."
[ As long as the person at the end of the line is explicitly you... I possess zero mind about waiting, ] Xerchin murmured, his soft tone carrying an unyielding layer of sweetness.
Leansei smiled as he felt tingle in his heart. "Alright, tomorrow you cant fetch me as you offered, mom told me to go with felean along with our family driver."
[ No worries, there will be next time. ] Leansei pressed his lips together to hide his joy, rolling over onto his side to securely hug a plush pillow against his chest. [ Aren't you sleepy yet? ]
"Mmm-hmm," Leansei murmured softly, unconsciously shaking his head against the fabric as if the athlete could physically see his negative response through the network. The heavy fatigue of the day was finally catching up to his nervous system, his eyelids growing heavy as his gray pupils slowly began to shut together under the rhythm of the baritone voice. "How... how about you?" Leansei whispered, his voice slurring slightly with sleepiness as consciousness began to gently take him in.
[ Pfft, ] Xerchin let out a low, incredibly tender chuckle through the receiver. [ You should close your eyes and sleep right now, Mooncalf. I know for a fact that your mind is fading and already is. Don't worry, I won't hang up this call until the line confirms we are both deeply asleep. Goodnight, my mooncalf. ] Xerchin's voice was remarkably calm, sweet, and anchoring, operating like a protective shield over his thoughts.
"Mm... goodnight..." Leansei whispered back.
The faint hum of the open phone line continued to vibrate against the pillow, carrying the soft, steady rhythm of Xerchin's breathing across the network long after his final words had anchored themselves inside the quiet room.
[ But you have to be there on our second set. Since I explicitly wrote that for you.]
The heavy weight of the confession hung beautifully in the dark space, a permanent, unyielding promise left hanging in the air. Leansei didn't respond—couldn't respond—as the peaceful darkness of the bedroom finally swallowed his whole consciousness into a deep, uninterrupted slumber. But the line stayed open, bridging the gap between the two elite estates, until the digital interface confirmed they had both gone completely asleep under the pale moonlight.