“Get the fuck out of my Pub! Or I’ll chop your whole damn hand off!” Younri shouted from outside.

A horrified, fading howl echoed through the corridor just as the elf shut the office door behind him. His fan, splattered with crimson drops, flicked once in his hand—shaking off the blood.

When he turned to check on the two boys, he was met with a bit of a mess he hadn’t expected.

Mine was coughing, while Addai gently patted his back, hiding his quiet panic. Even though there wasn’t much in Mine’s stomach, it was still enough to make a mess.

Shame and embarrassment mixed with tears of fear, which Mine didn’t even have the strength to wipe away. His heart was beating so fast he could pass out, but the adrenaline rushing in his veins made it impossible and twisted his stomach in every second.

Oh, my rug… Younri grieved and waved his fan.

The rug absorbed everything staining it and curled aside with a spell. The elf took a napkin and approached the duo, worried about Mine.

“Mine, it’s okay sweetie… you don’t need to cry…” Younri softly spoke, brushing the boy’s hair.

That was Mine’s last straw.

He couldn’t hold the tsunami inside him anymore. All the emotions converged, and they got tired of letting it drip.

Everything once trapped wanted to be released. It needed to.

So, Mine let them go out.

It wasn’t beautiful – actually, it was pitiful. He cried so much his lungs barely had time to oxygen his brain and body, causing him to cough and sob while a waterfall fell from his eyes.

He didn’t even dare to wipe away the tears.

He was so afraid that Addai would find out about everything he had meticulously (and painfully) hidden throughout these years in a double-life dynamics.

He was afraid to be discarded.

Younri looked at the stunned boy beside the weeping one and sighed.

He had a plan to solve that mess.

“Addai, may you prepare a tea from a blue box in my kitchen?” Younri asked, patting Mine’s back.

Addai chewed on his words and hesitated.

He looked at the elf, with a hand on Mine and thin pupils.

"I…" he then looked at Mine.

He didn’t want to go away from Mine.

“He’ll be fine. I’ll take care of him meanwhile,” Younri smiled.

Addai hesitated again but nodded and gave a last check on Mine, who was trapped in his own blue world while tears rolled down his cheeks. Occasional sobs escaped, raw and burning in his throat.

But just as Addai finally gathered the courage to stand, Mine grabbed one of his hands and looked at him with despair.

“W-why… y-y-you… w-why are you leaving?” Mine stammered. His eyes told him Mine was so tired of crying that they would soon swell.

Addai reached for Mine’s cheeks and rubbed his thumb on his soft, warm skin. “I’ll just prepare a tea for you. I’ll be back, don’t worry,” he calmly said.

Mine still stared at him for a few seconds and nodded, albeit slowly.

Younri took off Addai's coat that was covering Mine's shoulders and examined it to see whether it had traces of what was on the carpet and Mine's blouse, and... it was clean! By the gods, how fortunate!

The elf helped Mine take off his coat and shirt, which were very dirty, and asked Mine to accompany him to the bathroom – with Addai observing, from afar, their path. He cleaned and removed the acidic smell from the affected area with a towel, soap, and wet wipes.

Mine was still a bit nauseous, and when he smelled the bathroom sanitizer's smell... he quickly reached for the toilet and bent forward.

Younri's nose frowned, and he patted Mine's back… again.

“Is everything ok?” Addai called from the kitchen.

“Y-yes, he's just a little nauseous,” Younri answered, frowning his nose again. “Mine, sweetie, do you want a bath? I have towels-”

“No…” Mine replied, resting his head on the toilet's borders when the elf turned his back. “I don't want to burden you that much,” he muttered, feeling his body weak.

“Ah! No resting the head on the toilet!” Younri gasped, placing the fresh towel he had just got on the sink. “Ah... you and your... ok sweetie, then... let's just clean you without a bath,” he cleaned the toilet with a spell while Mine waited.

Mine's legs were weak, and he couldn't bear standing for too long.

When Mine’s body failed, Younri quickly held him before he splattered himself on the floor.

“Okay, okay… I got you. Now sit… here,” Younri closed the toilet's lid and placed Mine on it.

Younri washed Mine's face, who obeyed whatever the elf told him to do. Once his clothes were smelly and dirty, the elf dressed Mine in Addai's coat, although it was a few sizes too big for him – but it would have to do.

With a clean and almost fresh Mine holding his hand, Younri helped his messy performer go to the living room.

Mine felt encapsulated by the aroma of Ylang Ylang and Musk from Addai’s coat.

While he walked, his eyes wandered to where Addai was. He watched him from afar, who was fighting with Younri's bewitched kettle – it only obeyed its owner, but a good persuasion exercise might make it cooperate.

Still disoriented, Mine heard Younri call his name.

“It’s ok, Mine,” Younri started and held Mine’s hands. “I sent that scumbag a warning, and he might leave you alone until you pay your debt after the Masquerade Ball the day after tomorrow.”

Mine, although visibly tired, turned attentive. His eyes regained the earlier shade of hues, and his hands turned cold.

There were loose ends he needed to confirm.

“D-Does… does Addai k-know anything?” Mine asked, but his eyes couldn't water anymore, so they only stayed reddish and swollen.

Younri offered a warming smile and brushed Mine’s bangs, “No, dear. He doesn’t.”

“Did the minion see him?”

“No, dear.”

“Am I…” Mine fiddled with the coat's sleeves, “... am I still worthy of his friendship…?”

Younri’s smile faded. He carefully chose his words before speaking again. “This... is something only he'd be able to answer…” he said, looking at Mine with compassionate eyes. Mine felt another chilly wave taking his exhausted body, “but I think this is the least of your concerns,” the elf added.

“… why?” Mine looked at the elf, his eyes meek and changing hues to a colder palette.

“Because…” Younri brushed Mine's cheek, "… because he likes you, doesn't it?"

Mine blinked a couple of times, but this time he wasn't about to cry, much the contrary, his cheeks turned the missing peach color again. The elf let out a faint, soft chuckle as he witnessed the boy in front of him turn reddish and messy.

It was a good sign, even if it was small.

Mine then yawned. “I'm tired…”

“I know… but you need to drink the tea before going home with your cute friend,” Younri caressed Mine’s cheek.

It didn't take long, and Addai came with the cup of freshly brewed tea, which Mine picked up the hot mug and rested the saucer on his lap.

A sippy sip.

His colors still hadn't returned to their original colors, even though he was way calmer.

A better sip.

The taste was good, sweet, and bitter at the same time, perhaps due to the addition of sugar – which he knew Addai loved when drinking tea, and he did too. The slightly amber liquid was mixed with a bluish liquid, which he had seen somewhere he didn't remember at all.

Anyway, he liked it and had a brief nostalgic taste.

Those leaves... he knew the golden, faint shade among the amber liquid.

Yes… they were given to Younri… his uncle gave them to Younri…

But why…?

As the tea delicate smell sweetened his nostrils, a piece of memory started playing… and-

“Mine?” a voice called him, and Mine snapped out of his traveling.

“Hm?” Mine looked at the sound's source.

“Drink the tea, sweetie,” Younri brushed Mine's hair, and he nodded meekly. “So... think of my proposal very thoroughly, Mr. Addai,” he chuckled when Addai's cheeks turned red. “You’d be a perfect model, and I’ll make sure you’ll be famous and hot!” he opened his fan, making a funny noise.

“I-I’ll call a cab for Mine and me,” Addai stood up and took his cell phone out of his pocket.

Younri watched the man walk towards the kitchen – maybe hiding, maybe really calling the cab after a few seconds processing the embarrassment – then, he looked at Mine, who sipped the tea in small, continuous sips.

“Younri…” Mine called after pausing the sips.

“Say it,” Younri smiled.

“Do you think… Addai would hate me if I told him about Star?” he fiddled with the cup, his cheeks a little bit peach-colored from embarrassment.

Younri looked at him, and his chest throbbed at the sight of a lost child looking for an impossible answer from the wrong person.

“Oh dear… Don’t worry about that. He seems to like you enough,” Younri smiled, and Mine dazed. “Actually, I think he’s too adorable for that,” he chuckled when Addai tripped on the dirty rug and made an ugly, disgusted face when his foot touched the (hopefully clean) tip.