By the time the master bedroom’s door open, the sun has rose high in the sky.

Moving slowly like a lethargic worm, Vali make his way down the stairs and to the kitchen. As he passed by the back door, Vali was met with a particular sight.

Alvy, dripping wet with nothing but some underwear on, had an arm hanging off of Heise’s equally wet body, pulling the latter out of the sea. Walking at a pace that was neither too fast nor too slow, the pair made their way across the porch before reaching the back door. Just as Alvy reaches for the knob, the door clicked open, revealing Vali on the other side. Seemed to have hit a sort of invisible wall, both Alvy and Heise stopped in their track.

Vali’s gaze sharpened. From afar he couldn’t really see the faces of the two, but at such close distant, Vali could see everything clearly.

Heise had a meek look, his face brush with a tint of pink while his eyes were big and watery. Red puffy lips, swollen from vigorous ‘activities’, pressed tightly in a semi-frown that compliments his pale soft skin, giving Heise an adorably downcast look, like that a wronged puppy.

On the other hand, Alvy’s expression is much more subtle. Though his attitude remains calm and indifferent, there was a sliver of turbulent in his gaze, and an unfathomable expression on his face.

“You’re awake,” Alvy broke the silence. “You should eat. Breakfast is already on the table.”

“Hm.” Not waiting for Alvy to say anymore, the silver cat mumbled a quick reply and turn around, heading to the kitchen.

Alvy then turned to the trembling puppy in his arm. “You too. Go change and then come down to eat.”

Heise nodded his head like a chicken pecking grains. He then dashed away at an extraordinary speed, in a split second, not even his shadow remains.

Alvy: ….

Massaging his brows, Alvy decided he would eat first and then sort out whatever…that…was later. However, upon reaching the kitchen’s entrance, he noticed Vali had a not-so-subtle gaze before realizing that he had only a single piece of underwear on. Smiling helplessly, Alvy recalls where on the beach he’d left his clothes, but ultimately decides against them since they were probably soaking wet and covered in sand anyhow.

“Be right back.” Alvy swiftly dashes out of sight.

In the midst of the commotion, no one saw the light bruises on Alvy’s inner thigh in the shape of a palm, peeking out of his underwear, the results of a certain undisciplined hand moving wantonly about and even grabbing…

Half an hour later, the kitchen was once again filled with sounds and liveliness.

Having just finished their stale breakfast, the three people were sitting around, casually chatting.

Alvy began informing Vali of what had happened during this morning’s incident (minus a few minor details), whereas Heise occasionally give out a few affirming nods while secretly stealing glances at his father.

According to Heise, he went out for a casual morning swim when he was caught under by a particularly strong current and brought out to sea. If it wasn’t for the heroic Alvy risking his life to save him, Heise most probably would not be able to return.

Throughout the story Vali remains silent, motionless like a statue, his thoughts unknown.

On the other side of the table, Heise looked at Alvy, his gaze boils with adoring worship, “Thank you so so much. I owe you my life. Because of my crappy swimming, I’d end up troubling you. I’m terribly sorry. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”

“It’s alright. Don’t worry about it,” Alvy replied, patting Heise’s shoulder with his hand. “Just makes sure you never do that again. I might be able to save you once, but that doesn’t mean there’ll be a next time.”

“…Yes…” Heise quickly shifted his eyes downward, on his cheek a rosy glint began to grow.

*Clank*

Vali rose from his sit, his expression cloudy.

“I’m done.” The silver cat nimbly walked away. The other two were unable to react as they watched Vali exited the kitchen, his voice trailing behind, “I’m busy. Don’t disturb me.”

After a moment, Heise reacted first. “…Did I, perhaps, done something wrong?” Heise asked, his voice remains timid and a lost expression appear on his face. “It must have been rather impolite of me to use the beach without consent…”

Not only was Heise’s words not wrong, they were a gross understatement.

Though the beach was not legally connected to the house and therefore not considered ‘private property,’ however, being a guest, it was still better to obtain the homeowner’s consent, or at least awareness, in such high-risk activities. Should something unfortunate happens, a search party would at least know where to look, or, at the very least, where to fish out the body. Thus, Heise’s action could be considered not only crude, but also downright dangerous.

Looking at the gloomy young man, Alvy’s brows twitched.

Alvy should have been mad, and he was mad. Extremely so. Yet, somehow, the pitiful appearance before him tugged at his heartstring, suppressing all his rage. “It’s good that you know. Just be more careful in the future.”

Two big round eyes lit up, looking unreasonably cute. “I will, I will!” One could almost see the tail swinging behind Heise’s back.

Alvy sighed. Unable to help himself, he reaches out his hand and pet the top of the puppy young man’s head.

Heise: ….

Alvy felt the young man’s body stiffens before the soft strands of hair in his grasp were suddenly yanked away.

“I-um-uh…I-I need to go rest. I’m feeling kind of tired now.” Heise left a single sentence before bolting out, heading straight for his room.

Left alone in the kitchen, Alvy sat back down.

He was silent for a long time, staring intently at his hand. The sensation he just felt once again ran through his mind, forever engraved into that memory. The corner of Alvy’s mouth lifted, he’d liked how it feels.

The boy’s hair was very silky and very soft…

Though not as soft as a certain pair of lips…

Upstairs in the study room, Vali had pulled out an old file covered in dust.

Inside were newspaper clippings from years ago, stained and discolored. Rummaging through the different articles, Vali found the one that he was looking for. Holding onto the article, he plops down onto the office’s sofa, evidently exhausted.

Staring at the photograph in the news clipping, Vali decided to run through things in his head once again.

The boy’s inexplicable morning exercise…

The flashy, yet easily recognizable jacket that no-one would wear to the beach, much less for a swim…

The sudden current that appear just in time to place him in mortal danger…

The strange interaction between the two people afterward, almost as if something happened…

And finally, this old article…

Either it was all a coincidence and Alvy was truly a hero…

….Or somebody’s got impeccable timing.

A strange sense of understanding seemed to dawn upon Vali as he laid back on the couch and closed his eyes.

“I hope it was worth it….Taking such a risk...” Mumbling to himself, Vali soon fell asleep.

The news article slowly slipped from his fingers and fell on the ground. On it was a worn-out photograph of a handsome young boy standing next to gentle older woman.

The article next to the picture reads:

[Congratulation to D Province for winning the Junior Swimming National!

The Championship was unexpectedly snatched away by a young contender who showed exceptional skills, even at such a young age! Even more surprising, the new National Champion came from one of D Province’s only orphanage…]