Both helplessness and amusement danced inside Noah’s glassy orbs as he shook his head, “Asan might find me displeasing to the eye, but I highly doubt he abhors me to the point of murder. In the past, we used to be friends, and although we no longer see eye to eye, we don’t have much enmity between us either.”

“Why did you two stop being friends in the first place?” Fynn wondered.

Noah pondered over how to explain the reason why Asan and the original Aris had a falling out.

“There was no particular reason, just an accumulation of many little things, slowly eating away at our friendship until there was nothing left of it.”

As Noah reminisced, his amber eyes stared straight ahead without focus, “During high-school, Asan was under a lot of stress. The social pressure of… well… high school, family pressure regarding taking over the company, the failed expectations he had of himself, etc. It was a difficult time for him, and although I”–or rather, the original Aris – “tried to be supportive… to Asan, it probably felt like rubbing salt onto his wounds.”

He sighed ruefully, “If the popular kid claimed that popularity didn’t matter, wouldn’t that sound laughable in the ears of the unpopular kid? How could a school prince even understand the suffering of an outcast? Such words would only sound hypocritical. If a well-fed person didn’t care much about food, just how insufferable would a hungry person find him?

“There was nothing strange about how our relationship deteriorated,” a beautiful yet wry smile graced Noah’s face. “In the end, it’s all just a difference in viewpoint. Once upon a time, we stood in the same spot and understood each other, yet after a while, when we looked back at each other, we realized that at some unknown point, mountains and seas sprung up between us. A distance so far, a divide so great, that we were no longer able to see each other’s figure.”

Silence shrouded the four, each one lost in their own thoughts.

Noah thought that the original Aris’ EQ was a bit lacking. Though his heart was in the right place and his intentions were pure, he really didn’t know how to placate the moody and overly sensitive Asan.

Blackie: ಠ_ಠ ‘Um, host, no offense but… a person who can’t see that out of three people around him, all three are pursuing him, has no right to question anyone’s EQ…’

The president of the ‘pursuing Noah’ club, Levi, disagreed. This wasn’t a matter of EQ.

‘My baby is so kind and considerate, treating this Asan bastard sincerely, baring his little soft heart open, yet the thankless wretch trampled it on the ground! Unforgivable!’ (ꐦ▔皿▔)

To say that Levi felt very indignant on his darling’s behalf would be an understatement.

‘Blind! Self-absorbed! Prick! Jealous of how perfect my baby is! Hmph! Hmph! He should have felt honored that my precious treasure even wanted to associate with the likes of him!’

‘Blacklisted!’

凸(｀0´)凸

Trey and Fynn couldn’t compare to Levi’s shameless lack of integrity when it came to their darling. But although their thoughts were not as outrageous as Levi’s, they too were biased towards Noah, this sunny little angel that they personally knew, versus the unknown ex-friend.

Though Noah made it sound like there was nothing wrong with Asan’s behavior, and while they could understand the latter, they couldn’t approve of him. They knew Cordia Aris and Noah. They knew how sincere and caring they were towards others. If others failed to appreciate the entity that was Cordia Aris, then the problem was definitely in the other person.

***

Soon after leaving Druxa, Levi, who had been checking the time every couple of minutes, determined it was about time for his lunch appointment with his soon-to-be ex-fiancée. He couldn’t wait to finally resolve this whole marriage matter and openly chase his darling!

Noah, this sensitive little cinnamon roll, naturally noticed the other’s zeal. However, his deduction of the reason behind it missed the mark so much that his black-hearted system felt second-hand embarrassment.

Noah’s eyes curved in amusement, and not wishing to be the third wheel to what he thought was a loving couple, he suggested splitting up. Let the two lovebirds enjoy their sweet time together, and Trey, Fynn, and him, this group of single dogs, would have their own meal nearby that did not include a bowl of “dog food”.

Naturally, the idea wasn’t as well-received by Levi as Noah had expected. He put his foot down and wouldn’t budge an inch no matter how Noah coaxed him.

Yes, Levi needed a word with his baby’s sister, but he’d be damned if he let his baby out of his sight!

Even if it was unlikely for his love rivals to strike a finishing blow in a few minutes of his absence, those few minutes were enough for the terrorists to forever take his baby away from him!

And thus, Levi declared, “I just need a quick word with your sister, and then we can eat together.”

Blackie: ‘I hate to rain on your parade, but… was your EQ eaten by the dogs??’

щ（ﾟДﾟщ）

‘You want to peacefully “divorce” your “wife”, yet you are bringing your “mistress” to the talks!?! Are you trying to make this entire matter blow up!?’

Levi: ‘No. Nope. Nay. Never.’

( ￣︿￣ )ノ ‘Not. Letting. Baby. Out. Of. Sight.’

Blackie: (◞‸ლ) ‘…Trey, shields up, this might get nasty.’

And thus, the brave zombie warrior Levi, with bloodshot eyes and unyielding spirit that didn’t fear death, forced the other three little minions to line up and follow his domineering lead.

Marching onwards and beyond! To their deat– ahem, the totally non-fatal lunch appointment.

Alright, so marching wasn’t the right word; it was more of a ‘riding towards their demis– the absolutely safe and non-perilous lunch date’.

And thus, with practiced ease, Levi led the procession towards the restaurant where he usually had his lunch dates with his fiancée.

When their Magcart arrived at the right station, Levi made his heroic exit, not even waiting for Trey to set up his protective shield.

Yet, it was in that exact moment that his slumbering sixth sense stirred awake with great alarm.

Something flashed from the building across.

Levi’s body instinctively attempted to dodge the incoming projectile, but then his mind jolted with the realization that his baby was right behind him!

He couldn’t dodge, or his darling would be hit in his stead!

Levi’s body stiffened in place.

He attempted to mobilize his power to push the object outwards in hopes of deflecting it.

Alas, his sluggish, sleep-deprived mind had activated his power a beat too late!

Levi felt a prick on his neck, followed by an abrupt and piercing migraine.

The last thing he managed to do before his mind went blank was to utter a hoarse “Run…”