"What's making you so flustered?" Llewellyn's voice suddenly said, out of nowhere.
I jumped.
Fuck, I forgot the telepathy thing.
"Hey! Have you been reading my thoughts?!" I asked, startled.
I could say goodbye to my surprise present if that was the case!
"No?" Llewellyn said. "That's why I'm asking. Wait, does that mean you can read mine?"
Uh? I gave it a try. Oh.
"No, I can't," I said.
"Thought so," Llewellyn said. "I only get vague bursts of emotion. Unless we're communicating."
Mhh, that wasn't too bad.
"Anyway," Llewellyn said. "What was that?"
What was what? Did he mean the fact that I had been flustered?
"Don't tell me you're jealous," I said, trying not to grin.
Llewellyn didn't reply, but I could feel him sulk through the bond.
Well. Too bad I didn't like seeing him upset. It would have been fun to tease him otherwise.
"Nothing happened," I said. "Just the System trying to make sure we have as much sex as humanly possible."
Llewellyn snorted. "I'm not opposed."
"I'm aware," I said. "That's what it kept telling me."
I thought Llewellyn might be embarrassed, but all I sensed from him was amusement.
"…"
Damn, why was that a turn on for me.
Anyway.
"Has your shift started?" Llewellyn asked.
"No, I have about an hour. I'll get something to eat first and make coffee."
I hadn't napped today, so tonight was going to be tough. Three coffees should do it.
Did the System have potions to help me stay awake? Maybe I should check.
Now that I thought about it, I hadn't been in my Core Partition in days! Shit.
Granted, there was nothing urgent anymore, but still. I needed to research this Authority thing, if possible, or at least test it in an environment where Magic was enhanced, since I couldn't feel anything like this.
I didn't have time for it now though.
"What about you?" I asked. "What are you up to?"
"Just taking Lumos for a walk," Llewellyn said. "The System took care of it in the last few days, but he's happier when I go with him."
I hummed. That made sense.
I pictured Llewellyn roaming in his Core Partition and I suddenly remembered the last few times I was there, and in how many public places we still had to make out and—
Uh.
Damn it. I didn't want to work!
I wanted to be there too.
There was a long pause.
"Why are you flustered again?" Llewellyn asked.
"Shut up," I said with a groan.
Through the bond, I could feel Llewellyn grin.
***
In all the chaos we had to deal with in the last week, I completely forgot Yun Seojun's festival was still in full swing.
Thankfully, we had received all the approved replies for the official pages, so it wasn't too bad.
And besides, the attention had definitely been hijacked by the conversation about Llewellyn and… me.
I scrolled through our tool and saw that Niamh had directly assigned me a thread from three days ago.
I braced myself and clicked on it.
-
[doctorwhat]: AAAAHHHHHH
[onesandwhich]: OMGOMGOMG
[glasswing]: THEY'RE KISSING THEY'RE KISSING THEY'RE ACTUALLY KISSING!!!
[agoddess]: SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP
[bottledllewellyn]: EXCUSE ME???? IN PUBLIC????
[purpletrain]: SOMEONE HOLD ME I'M FALLING APART
[witchofoz]: THIS IS HOW WE FIND OUT?????????
[foundgold]: ON VALENTINE'S DAY TOO
[tablebop]: I CAN'T BREATHE WHY IS THIS REAL
[tempestlord]: I AM NEVER DOUBTING MY DELUSIONS AGAIN
[cosmicunravel]: I SAID "CLOSET INCIDENT" AS A JOKE. AS A JOKE.
[sunkey]: I'M GONNA START BITING DRYWALL
-
…How were they almost more excited than me!!!
Well, at least this wasn't too bad.
I scrolled down.
-
[bluechip]: THAT VIDEO IS FIFTEEN SECONDS AND IT RUINED MY LIFE
[tubalady]: just watched this twelve times in a row and I'm still not processing it
[sugarcrash]: the GUARDS interrupting them I'm CRYING
[thunderbiscuit]: "sir will you come out of the closet"
[frostblink]: well they certainly did 🤣🤣🤣
[voidwhisper]: they don't even look embarrassed, they just look annoyed at being interrupted 💀
[crystalcackle]: Ryo's hair is CHEF'S KISS
[elfinlady]: forget his hair. HIS TROUSERS!!! ARE!!! UNZIPPED!!!
[jaykay]: OMG UR RIGHT
[blackcat]: OMG
[thunderbiscuit]: SCREAMING
[cutechaos]: someone sedate me immediately
[crystalcackle]: the way they're both pressed against each other
[razorpetal]: the sound Ryo makes when they get interrupted??? I'M DEAD
[onyx]: "we were looking for the restrooms" I'm HOWLING
[catastrophezone]: he tried 😭
[blondemonde]: effort was made
-
Should I just grab a beer?!
But it was risky to drink alcohol on shift; I got distracted too easily and forgot that I was supposed to moderate, not just read.
-
[ironwhimsy]: Llewellyn looks ready to murder those guards
[spiralember]: protective boyfriend mode ACTIVATED
[wireframe]: I've analyzed this frame by frame and they were definitely about to—
[neonflicker]: EXACTLY
[crimsonvolt]: they were NOT planning to stop
[sparkfable]: thank you guards for your service but also HOW DARE YOU
[wireframe]: Look at this. Llewellyn's coat and sweater are all messy and Ryo's collar is completely wrecked 😭
[ironwhimsy]: and look at the way Ryo's lips are swollen 😭
[cobaltdream]: STOP I CAN'T HANDLE THIS
-
They were even attaching gifs of it now?!
…I really needed a beer.
-
[claybone]: did you hear the way Ryo says "Llewellyn..." right when the door opens
[waveatme]: he sounds absolutely wrecked
[redbird]: the GASP
[rustshadow]: someone isolated the audio, listen
[magentarift]: omfg
-
…Kill me now.
-
[glacierdrift]: Llewellyn threatening legal action while his coat is like that and his hair is a mess
[pearlvenom]: GLARING at the phone guy
[duskwhirl]: "delete it NOW"
[scarletfog]: narrator voice: he did not delete it
[barcat]: the absolute zero regrets on Llewellyn's face
[jadepalace]: right? he was ready to press Ryo back against those shelves, you can tell
[pinkjack]: if you slow down, there's a hickey visible on Ryo when he turns his head 😭
[titanprincess]: omg llewellyn did not hold back
[amberrose]: the way they're grabbing at each other when the guard opens the door is 🥵
-
…If I couldn't have beer, I needed water at least.
I got up, grabbed a whole bottle, then came back and sat down again.
-
[amattressofprinciple]: they can't deny anything after this, right??
[eyeing]: they can't! we saw! the VIDEO is RIGHT THERE
[lavendersquirrel]: I've watched it 50 times
[laptopvillain]: rookie numbers. I'm at 83 and still noticing new things
[floraldream]: I still can't believe this is how we got confirmation
[perfecthit]: after crumbs we got CLOSET FOOTAGE I'm losing it
[pearlvenom]: ten out of ten reveal
[keyblade]: the tension is just delicious
[hotwater]: imagine being the guard and realizing you just interrupted THAT
[onaboat]: the fandom is going to explode after this
[phonecook]: "they're just colleagues" crowd found dead
-
…I couldn't believe this was in the work tool for everyone to see!
I needed to resign.
I needed to change my phone number, pack my bag, and move to China or something.
-
[comictook]: if you zoom in you can see Llewellyn's hand still on Ryo's waist when he speaks to the guards
[lamewave]: WAIT YOU'RE RIGHT IT DOESN'T MOVE ONCE
[panicwatch]: he's literally holding him in place while talking to them???
[softlock]: ryo doesn't even move away like that's just normal for them now
[blendedmango]: I'm going to pass out
[dogsarethebest]: the guard is talking and Llewellyn is still gripping his waist HELLO???
[snowlight]: this is the happiest I've been in MONTHS
[daymaker]: same i'm cured
[closeupcrew]: history will remember where we were when this dropped
[janeno]: I was out shopping and I had to sit down
[archivistmode]: saving this thread for my grandchildren
-
I rubbed my face.
Out of curiosity, I went to locate the original video and…
Fifteen million views. In three days.
FIFTEEN. MILLION.
What the fuck.
I switched to the distribution tab and… Fuck. It really was everywhere.
News sites had picked it up. Gossip blogs. Fan forums. Reaction channels. Even a few academic-looking articles about 'public figures and privacy in the digital age'.
There was a poll asking people to vote on which one of us they thought topped or bottomed.
There were even several food channels baking matching cookies shaped like our trench coats.
I even caught sight of the videos Niamh had mentioned.
"…"
Damn. I was speechless.
I expected it to be insane, but this was another level entirely.
I saved a few videos that were… uh… objectively very good and closed that thread before I could lose my mind completely.
Penguin climbed over me, chirping questioningly, as I opened another one.
I almost welcomed the festival threads.
Almost.
I sighed and flagged the usual spam, keeping an eye on the conspiracy theories.
Someone claimed Yun Seojun had faked his own shipwreck. Another insisted the entire historical record was a System fabrication.
The coffee had gone cold. I got up to make another one.
When I came back, the System pinged.
[System Notification: Compatibility Assessment Updated!]
I blinked at it.
What?
[Current Compatibility Level: 98%]
[Partnership Status: Thriving]
[Recommendation: Continue current trajectory.]
"..."
Damn. 98% was insane.
But… Compatibility Assessment Update?
Why?
Had something triggered it?