When he asked in a voice that anyone could hear was listless, Alexander brought a chair over to sit nearby and offered him a cup. Kalix obediently accepted it. Looking now, Alexander was also holding a cup. And in his other hand was even a bottle of alcohol.
“Where did you get this?”
Of course, Kalix was also an adult now. Alexander had been an adult for much longer. But even so, the academy fundamentally prohibited bringing in alcohol. Naturally, Kalix had no expectation that Alexander would live by such rules, but this was the first time he had shown it so openly.
“There are ways for everything.”
I see. Since he wasn’t curious enough to ask more, Kalix just looked at the cup. Then Alexander had already opened the bottle and poured alcohol into Kalix’s cup. Alexander also poured alcohol into his own glass, then lightly clinked his glass against Kalix’s.
“Drink first.”
Since he had been so troubled, thinking that drinking alcohol might help somehow, he didn’t refuse and drank, whereupon Alexander poured more alcohol into his glass.
“What’s wrong?”
At the calm voice asking while drinking from his own glass, Kalix looked at the alcohol in his cup. He had tasted it before, but then and now, it didn’t particularly taste good.
“Cyrus didn’t do anything, but I’m the only one feeling uncomfortable. Even though Cyrus is worried about me, it’s hard for me, so I’m the bad one, right? Cyrus did nothing wrong.”
It really was like that. Cyrus had even come all the way to the academy on purpose because he was worried about Kalix, yet Kalix had only been desperate to avoid such a Cyrus. He must have thought it was strange. Maybe he was even hurt. If Kalix’s own family suddenly started avoiding him, he would definitely be sad too.
Besides, because of the age difference between Cyrus and Kalix, Cyrus had always been nothing but kind to Kalix. He always saw Kalix as young and worried about him. But with no contact like this, of course he would worry. If Kalix’s own family had left home and he couldn’t contact them, he would definitely have worried too.
Both Cyrus and his parents had only done that. Even understanding everything, he ignored them because he felt uncomfortable. And probably he would have to continue doing so in the future. With complicated and gloomy feelings, as he sat holding his cup, Alexander suddenly asked,
“Then what about you?”
At that voice, he reflexively looked at Alexander.
“What did you do wrong?”
“I,”
Kalix couldn’t say anything for a moment. Kalix hadn’t done anything wrong. Nothing had happened because of Kalix’s fault. But he was the one dealing with it now. Besides, now he was even causing harm to his family.
“Cyrus didn’t do anything. But I’m the only one thinking strangely, even though we’re family.”
Nothing had happened. He kept thinking about it, but still couldn’t completely accept it. Then what had Kalix seen? Of course, nothing had happened now, but by Kalix’s standards, it had already happened. But even so, by other people’s standards, it was something that hadn’t happened. Kalix was avoiding his family because of things his family hadn’t even done.
“You saw it, didn’t you? Your brother doing wrong to you.”
“But it’s something that didn’t happen.”
“It’s something that happened to you.”
At Alexander’s voice, who kept thinking about what he himself had been thinking and saying, Kalix couldn’t give any answer. But Alexander continued speaking.
“It can’t be helped. That you feel uncomfortable with your brother.”
Alexander looked at Kalix, who still wasn’t giving any answer, for a while, then poured alcohol into his own cup.
“So you didn’t do anything wrong either.”
The words were spoken without even making eye contact. Even so, he couldn’t help but notice that the warmth was quite gentle.
“And I was serious about going together during vacation.”
At the gaze that came to him again, Kalix asked carefully.
“Will you really?”
“Yeah.”
While it was reassuring, on the other hand he felt sorry. By now he knew that Alexander was caring for Kalix beyond what was natural.
“Your brother can come too.”
Even so, he couldn’t bring himself to say that it would be fine to bring Jasper too. If Alexander said he wanted to bring Jasper along, he would reluctantly tell him to do so, but he hoped that wouldn’t happen.
“That’s not really…”
But instead of asking if it would be okay to bring Jasper or someone else, Alexander just said that. Alexander seemed to get along well with his brothers, but wasn’t he the type to travel or vacation together?
“I’ll invite you too. Let’s stop by your territory first, then go to our side. That would be more comfortable for you than doing it the other way around.”
“Thank you.”
To those words that considered Kalix’s convenience first without him having to say anything, all he could say was thanks. Grateful and sorry, with complicated feelings, Kalix drank the alcohol in his cup again.
Actually, he had tried alcohol before his coming-of-age ceremony too. But that was just sipping a little when he was with family, so his coming-of-age ceremony was the first time he properly drank. He hadn’t drunk since then either, so drinking alcohol felt a bit awkward. It wasn’t even that delicious.
Glancing at Alexander, Alexander drank alcohol as casually as if he were drinking water or another beverage. Come to think of it, in the past it seemed like he often went out secretly to drink with friends.
Even after first changing rooms, when he couldn’t sleep he would often check below through the balcony, and sometimes he would see Alexander sneaking out. Some of those times were with friends. When he went out alone, he was probably going to meet Skylar. Skylar.
“Why did you break up with Skylar?”
When he asked, following that train of thought, Alexander looked at Kalix for a moment, then lowered his gaze to his cup briefly.
“Rather than why we broke up, we both thought from the beginning that we would naturally break up.”
Alexander had said he knew from the start that Skylar would transfer somewhere else around this time. But there weren’t no people who did long-distance relationships. Rather, it seemed fairly common.
“Do you think love grows distant when bodies grow distant?”
“That’s poetic.”
When Alexander slightly furrowed his brow at those brief words, Alexander looked at Kalix.
“That’s also a problem, but there were some circumstances.”
“Can’t you tell me?”
If Alexander wanted to keep it secret, Kalix was really the perfect person for it. Since Alexander was about the only person Kalix talked to on a daily basis, there was nowhere for Alexander’s secrets to go.
“You didn’t tell me why you wanted to change rooms either.”
At those words, Kalix fell silent. Even if not others, Alexander absolutely must not know, which made it even more so.
“But I told you everything else.”
“Right. But it’s surprising that you still have more things you can’t tell me.”
Though there was no sarcastic tone in the calm voice, Kalix had nothing particular to say. Kalix just watched Alexander drinking again. Kalix was really someone who wasn’t helpful at all. Alexander had always helped Kalix, even today, but Kalix wasn’t even a suitable person for Alexander to talk to about anything.
Since Kalix had nothing to offer Alexander, he thought he should at least drink with him, so he drank silently. Then suddenly Alexander lightly tapped Kalix’s glass with his own.
“Don’t you have anyone you like?”
That question was the same as Cyrus’s from this afternoon. But Kalix thought of something else.
“No. Why did you break up with Skylar?”
At Kalix’s question that came out again, Alexander momentarily let out a hollow laugh, then exhaled a short sigh.
“She has a fiancé.”
And at that answer, Kalix reflexively asked back.
“You?”
Even though he hadn’t drunk much to begin with, it felt like all the alcohol sobered up.
“No. Not me.”
“What?”
Then, does that mean Skylar has a fiancé?
“Why? No,”
Kalix couldn’t even finish his words in his bewilderment.
“Why?”
Skylar had a fiancé? Then what was dating Alexander? His head filled with confusion.
“Did you know from the beginning? You too? From the start?”
“Yeah.”
“But still, you dated. Both Skylar and you.”
Alexander was the person involved, but Alexander was just calm while Kalix, who wasn’t even involved, was shocked.
“There were some problems between Skylar and her fiancé, and Skylar was having a hard time because of that, so it happened that way.”
What did “it happened that way” mean? But Alexander didn’t bother to add anything else. Seeing Alexander like that, Kalix didn’t even know what to ask, but he barely managed to ask.
“But you, you liked Skylar.”
“Yeah.”
“And Skylar liked you too.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
