Felix lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Sleep refused to come, no matter how long he tossed and turned.
The night felt unexpectedly long. It wasn't like this with someone by his side whenever the sky turned dark.
For some reason, Hiro's demeanour from yesterday haunted him relentlessly. Every time he closed his eyes, the beta's cold expression resurfaced—distant, detached. Like Felix didn't matter to him. That he just wanted to get done with everything and leave.
"Why was he behaving like that?" Felix muttered, replaying the night over and over. Every word. Every glance. Even moments from before. No matter how deeply he dug, he couldn't find an answer. The sex was alright. It was just a little dull. Then, a thought crossed his mind.
"Is it because of that rookie?" he murmured.
A sour taste flooded his mouth instantly. His jaw tightened.
No.
That was ridiculous. Hiro didn't care about newcomers. Hiro never did. It was always the other way around—Hiro staying, Hiro waiting, Hiro fitting himself around Felix's schedule.
That thought alone soothed him.
Convinced, Felix exhaled slowly, the rising heat in his body cooling. Still, he reached for his phone. If Hiro was thinking of something strange, then Felix would simply remind him where he belonged. They haven't seen each other outside of work lately. Hiro had claimed to be busy—but excuses were just that.
Mere excuses Felix had no use for. Yet, he went along with them. However yesterday, he snapped.
How could Hiro share an umbrella with someone else when he claimed to have his privacy invaded?
He grabbed his phone from the nightstand and tapped Hiro's name at the top of his favourites.
The call rang.
And rang.
It went unanswered.
Felix frowned, staring at the screen. He sent a message. Then another. No response. It was already eight in the morning. Hiro was never asleep at this hour. Even after nights when they barely rested, Hiro was always up by seven in the morning.
Ignoring me.
Felix thought, irritation creeping in. Biting his nails, he sent a few more messages.
After half an hour, he checked his notifications.
Still no answer.
"What the hell…?" he whispered. "Is he mad?" His lips pressed into a thin line. "He was acting weird last night." His fingers tapped restlessly against the phone. "But that doesn't give him the right to ignore me."
The phone rang suddenly.
Felix sat upright at once on the mattress. Without checking the caller ID, he answered.
"Finally! I thought you—"
[Good morning!] a voice other than Hiro's chimed brightly.
Felix froze. The corner of his lips dropped immediately.
"Who is this?" His tone turned glacial.
[Huh? What do you mean? We just started dating last week. He had sex—]
"Dating? Just because he had sex?" Felix scoffed, disbelief sharpening into something colder.
[W-What's funny?] the man asked, clearly thrown off.
"I don't date," Felix said flatly. "You got the wrong person."
He ended the call without waiting for a reply. His thumb hovered over the screen as he scrolled back to his messages with Hiro. Still nothing.
"So that's how it is…" Felix muttered.
A sudden thought flooded his mind.
If Hiro wasn't answering, Felix could simply go to him instead. There was no reason to wait. No reason to give him space. Felix knew exactly where to find him—and he intended to remind Hiro of that.
✻✻✻
Sitting in the driver's seat, Izack focused on the road. He tried his best not to appear distracted—though he was. The image of Hiro's bare body simply wouldn't leave his mind.
"You—" Izack cut himself off midway. He couldn't just casually ask about it.
Hiro's gaze shifted toward him, eyebrows raised.
"Me, what?"
Izack pressed the brake at the red light, then turned to glance at him.
"Focus on the road," Hiro said, pointing ahead. The light had already turned green before the alpha could utter a word.
Izack immediately obeyed, swallowing hard.
"Speak only if you can keep your eyes on the road."
"I was wondering… earlier, you didn't seem very bothered about being naked—" He bit his lip. Was it even appropriate to ask?
Hiro didn't answer right away.
It wasn't normal for a man to wake up naked in another man's arms and remain calm. Perhaps it had something to do with his past—before his current relationship, if it could even be called that, with Felix. Ordinary men wouldn't understand someone who was used to waking up naked, embraced by another man.
"It's not that dramatic," Hiro said simply.
Izack didn't push further and continued driving in silence.
After an hour, following the directions on the map application, a voice announced, Your destination is on your right.
Izack glanced over.
A magnificent house stood behind thick iron gates. Large windows reflected the light, and the entire place was painted white. Flower beds lined both sides of the stairs—some plants he couldn't name, others he had never even seen in photos.
The sound of a car door slamming snapped him out of his trance. He grabbed the keys and stepped out of the vehicle.
"You can leave now. I ordered a cab for you," Hiro said, his voice cold and distant.
"But my manager—"
"I booked a hotel room for you too," Hiro added, clearly annoyed.
Izack lowered his head like a lost puppy denied entry.
Just then, the iron gates creaked open. A middle-aged woman stepped out, her red hair flowing in the autumn breeze. It wasn't very cold yet, but both Hiro and Izack were wearing jackets.
"Hiro!" she exclaimed, hurrying toward them. "Did you just get here?" Her green eyes glimmered like jewels.
"Yes," Hiro replied flatly.
Before he could add anything, Yulia's gaze shifted to the tall man beside him, her mouth falling open in awe.
"And who might this be…?"
"This is—"
"Hello, Auntie. I'm Izack," Izack cut in immediately, flashing his brightest smile. "Nice to meet you."
Hiro narrowed his eyes, glaring at him.
"Yeah, you can go now," he said lazily, sighing.
Yulia frowned.
"Is this how I raised you?" she scolded.
Hiro let out a dry, quiet scoff.
"Exactly, Mom. You didn't raise me."