CH 1.3

“Yes…”

John was frustrated. His whole body was sweaty, he felt extremely hot, and his throat felt dry. John, who was wandering around in his dreams, couldn’t take it anymore and opened his eyes in the middle of his nightmare.

“…”

It was a completely strange place. Where is this… A low sigh escaped from John’s lips after he recalled where he was a moment later.

“Ah… Right. I’m here.”

Only then did he regain his senses, his entire body buried in the fluffy bedding. John was trying to wipe his sweaty forehead when suddenly his body became rigid.

“Something… is there.”

After regaining consciousness, he knew with certainty that there was something heavy laying between his chest and his stomach. He felt a warm breath on his chest. With a pensive expression on his face, John used his free hand and lifted the corner of the sheet. Then, as soon as he saw a little head, he almost screamed.

John bit his lip in momentary fright, but had the courage to try and take a closer look.

“…ah.”

A brief gasp of surprise emerged from John’s mouth, confirming that it was the boy he had seen earlier. Valentine was asleep, clinging to John’s side. Although the blanket wasn’t big  enough  for the two of them, the boy slept well, with his short arms around John’s waist.

What time is it?

John narrowed his eyes at the difficulty of breaking free. Although he was trying to get up, he couldn’t because Valentine was wrapped around his waist and thighs, which was why John was sweaty. The boy’s round forehead was also warm.

John pondered for a moment, but concluded that he could never get up like this. He carefully shook the boy’s shoulder.

“Hmm… Hey.”

“…”

“Could you wake up?”

“…”

“…Valentine?”

Valentine’s small body jerked without resistance when John touched him. It took John a few times to wake Valentine up, the boy going back to sleep each time until he finally woke up. John looked at the boy’s face without him noticing. It had surprised John before, but Valentine was a beautiful boy. As if he had been made from sugar.

Valentine opened his eyes. Long, thick lashes slowly opened and large blue eyes appeared. The moment those blurry eyes turned to John, Valentine’s expression quickly brightened.

Valentine was laughing as he climbed a bit higher and hugged John’s neck tightly, expecting John to pull away from him.  Much to Valentine’s glee, John hugged the boy back. Playing with the hair at the nape of John’s neck, Valentine murmured in a joyous voice,”You’re finally awake, John.”

“What?”

“Why didn’t you even say hello to me and just went to sleep? I kept waiting for you to wake up…”

“Wait a minute… Were you sleeping too?”

“That’s because John didn’t wake up. That’s why I fell asleep, it’s all because of John.”

“Ha ha… You’re a bit shameless.”

John was amused and laughed a little. Then, Valentine hugged his neck tighter. John thoughtfully wrapped his arms around Valentine’s back and chuckled. As if he were happy. John thought, narrowing his brow.

He was 10?

He had felt it before, but in John’s opinion, Valentine seemed much younger in appearance and personality. Precocious boys, like John’s friends, were already very interested in all things sexual, and John was not that far off, but nevertheless he knew very well about the adult situation.

But when Valentine asked, Do you know what sex is? He seemed to be smiling with an innocent appearance. Earlier, Carter had told him that Valentine was gentle… It seemed like he was completely wrong. With this thought in mind, John looked up at the ceiling.  Valentine, who was hugging his torso, also looked up.

“John, don’t avoid me. Show me your face.”

Although John had a grim expression, he looked at Valentine with purity. Then Valentine, who had a relaxed look, looked at John as if he were a mystery. A small hand touched John’s pale forehead, his curved brow bones, his narrow high nose, and his protruding lips. Valentine stared at his face for a long time, narrowed his eyes slightly, and held out his hand.

“You don’t look like me. Why?”

“Well, I look a lot like Emily.”

“Emily?

“Yes, my mom.”

When John laughed and responded, Valentine’s eyes widened. Only then did John think that young Valentine might not know all the details. John rolled his eyes, as he took the hand that was touching his face.

“Uh… So. My father and your father are the same, but your mother…”

“We are children of the same dad, right? I know what it means to be half brothers.”

“Oh, I’m glad.”

“My mom’s name is Grace. Emily must have been very pretty.”

“Eh?”

“Because John is also very pretty.”

In the end, John had tied up the dots on Valentine. It wasn’t that he was really in a bad mood, but rather that he had a great purpose in trying to follow Valentine’s crazy words. It was strange. It didn’t bother him, nor did he hate that conversation with the little boy. No, rather…

“Excuse me for being  pretty and for being a man. Instead, you should say that I’m handsome.”

He didn’t hate it, rather he enjoyed it. He thought that Valentine was the only person who genuinely was happy to see him in this place. After much thought, John playfully touched Valentine’s chubby cheeks. Then Valentine nodded a lot.

“Yes, pretty, handsome and manly. How do I look in John’s eyes?”

“You?”

“Do you like me?”

His expression, as he asked, was so serious that John laughed unconsciously. Valentine’s eyes gleamed at his smile. John, raised his torso to prevent Valentine from falling. Still sitting on John’s thighs, Valentine began to latch onto him.

“Quick, John. You haven’t answered yet. Do you like me?”

“Haha. You sure are heavy.”

“You hate me?”

“No. You’re fun, okay?”

Only then Valentine smiled. Even long before he fell asleep, John felt that his infinite depressive mood  seemed to disappear.

“…I’m hungry.” John said looking down at Valentine, who was still hanging from him. Suddenly John felt a fierce hunger that made his brow furrow. From the moment he had followed Carter, he had been nervous and had not been able to eat anything.

“We better get out of bed now.”

“Uh, yeah, fine. Instead, promise me one thing, John.”

Suddenly, Valentine’s finger reached John’s nose.

“What?”

“We are brothers. In the future, we should be close to each other.”

“Huh?”

“Promise me, John. You’re going to be closer to me in the future. Got it?”

“…”

“We will always be the most important person to each other.”

John had a grim expression on his face. Suddenly, he felt like an idiot having a serious conversation with Valentine. Looking at the end of those childish promises, it was clear that Valentine was still a child, that he knew nothing.

But that… is about right or wrong.

It wasn’t going to be a problem.

“Yes. It’s okay. Please take care of me in the future.”

But between this or that, John didn’t care and put his finger around Valentine’s short finger. At that moment, a honeyed smile spread across Valentine’s face. His bright blue eyes curled up happily and his cheeks closed in a circle. It was a nice smile with a special scent.

“I promise.”

Valentine squeezed his finger tightly and responded in a whisper. Instead of responding to Valentine’s words, John nodded and laughed.

Sorry for the late chapter;;; I’ll try to update more often!