The Smith household’s dining table was once again plunged into an uncomfortable and awkward atmosphere. For Ley that is. Though it wasn’t because of Ley or the Smiths, it was because of the man standing in front of Ley.

A middle-aged man with short black hair and brown eyes, who is tall and handsome. Someone you wouldn’t think of as the person who holds the authority to decide Ley’s enrollment in the village’s exclusive Goltear.

“This here is Fred, the principal of Goltear Academy,” Mrs. Smith casually introduced the person standing beside her.

“Pleasure to meet you, and it’s Mr. Fred to you,” Mr. Fred said strictly. “Today, you are given an assessment test on three subjects: English, science, and mathematics.”

“There will be one set of a hundred-test questionnaire for each subject, and you will have an hour for each subject," Mr. Fred added. “You will take your test on this iPad, and by the time the clock hits one, you may start.

“Isla and I will be here as your proctors to ensure the credibility of your test-taking,” Mr. Fred mentioned firmly.

“I see. Thank you, Mr. Fred,” Ley responded politely, as he sat on his usual seat at the dining table to get ready, noticing the near approach of one o’clock.

“You may begin,” Mr. Fred declares to the sitting Ley, noticing the time on his digital watch. And as the test-taking began, Ley’s thoughts flowed along with it.

Alright! There’s a timer for each of the questionnaires, and I can move on to the next set once I’m done with one. Huh. It’s not just my thoughts that are fast, but also my reading speed. Well, I’m not sure if that’s a power or a side effect of watching subtitles. 

Thirty minutes later.

Yehey! Thirty minutes and I’m already done. Woohoo!!! Am I going to win a Guinness record for this or what? I was able to answer fifty questions in five minutes. And for some reason I got the feeling to not answer them all correctly. I mean, I don’t know why, but if my gut tells me not to do it, I won’t.

“I believe I am done answering." Ley turned to Mrs. Smith and Mr. Fred, informing them.

“Are you sure you are done?” Mr. Fred questioned, unable to believe that someone could answer three sets of a hundred questionnaires only in thirty minutes.

“Yes, Mr. Fred. I think so,” Ley answered politely, then turned his gaze to Mrs. Smith. “Does this mean I can go now?”

“Wait for a moment,” Mr. Fred said. “I am allowed to disclose the score you got if you wish to know it.”

“Thank you for the offer, Mr. Fred. But there’s no need for me to know," Ley gratefully expressed.

"Alright," Mr. Fred responded, taking the iPad from Ley. “However, I am still required to inform you that you were able to score the minimum required to enroll in twelfth grade.”

Having signaled by Fred, Mrs. Smith permitted Ley. “Yes, dear. You may go now.”

Ley immediately went upstairs to his room after hearing the permission to go. While Felix, who had hidden himself, observing Ley, hastily rushed to climb the stairs while remaining silent in his steps.

“I heard you were able to get the score needed to enroll in twelfth grade,” Felix said casually, standing at the end of the staircase as he waited for Ley.

“It’s just a fluke,” Ley replied.

“If you say so,” Felix said doubtfully. “So… do you want to celebrate with a snack?”

“Probably not now. All that thinking made me tired, and I kind of want to nap it off," Ley answered.

“Then you should sleep in my bed,” Felix abruptly suggested. “It’s soft, gentle, warm, and comfortable. Just like you said.”

“You know you’re not supposed to offer something like that, right?” Ley retorted. But the bed did feel incredibly comfortable, though… Shit! What do I do? Should I decline?

“It’s fine. I’m going out for my afternoon training, anyway," Felix insisted. “So I won’t be here if you decide to sleep.”

“Oh… yeah. I forgot about that,” Ley realized. “Then, sure… I guess. But I’ll wait until you leave before I sleep shamelessly.”

"Okay," Felix remarked. “Then, I’m going to shower so I can get out of here sooner.”

While the two ended their conversation in the third-floor hallway, the atmosphere from downstairs at the dining table shifted from awkwardness to confusion, disbelief, and amazement.

“Why do you look perplexed, Fred?” Isla worriedly asked.

“Ley seems to have avoided answering all the questions correctly,” Fred explained after checking the results of the tests on the iPad. “And according to the test tracker, Ley scored half on each set, and all the correct answers are the advanced questions.”

“I’m afraid I can’t follow,” Isla said confusingly.

“Based on the test results, I think Ley is a genius," Fred explained.

“I see," Isla said flatly. “I have one request, two actually. Can I take you up on it, Fred?”

“Of course, Isla," Fred answered instantly.

“I’m hoping that this will stay between us, you know, with Ley being a genius or whatnot," Isla responded. “And I would like Ley to be placed in the same classroom as Felix. Do you think you can make my requests happen?”

“I can easily make that happen. I’m the principal after all,” Fred said proudly.

“Thanks, Fred," Isla said gratefully.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll gladly fulfill your requests, Isla," Fred responded.

“I’ll go handle the paperwork for his enrollment immediately. I’ll update you on the details." Fred said his farewell to Isla, having been escorted to the door.

After Isla said goodbye to Fred at the door. Felix, who had finished showering in the second-floor bathroom, wore his routine gym clothes—black compression shirt and black shorts.

But just as Felix stood in front of his closet watching his reflection in the mirror, gentle knocks coming from beyond his door captured his attention, though he already knew who it was; after all, he’s the youngest and lowest-ranking agent who doesn’t deserve gentle knocks from the family.

“Come in,” Felix softly shouted, knowing Ley is the only one polite enough to knock gently on his door.

“Hey…” Ley awkwardly greeted as he entered the room, leaning back against the door after closing it.

“Hey…” Felix greeted back, matching Ley’s tone. “Why are you acting weird?”

“We need to talk,” Ley firmly spoke.

“About… what?” Felix asked, confused.

Ley stared determinedly at Felix as he placed his hands on his pockets. “I… think we need to set some kind of boundaries.”

“Sure, yeah," Felix said unhesitantly.

“Like lessening the sexual jokes," Ley started. “Especially when we don’t know much about each other.”

"Okay. Then let’s get to know each other," Felix flatly proposed, swiftly patting Ley’s left shoulder on his way to the door. “But not right now.”

“Enjoy my bed,” Felix remarked enthusiastically as he left the room, closing the door from outside.

Ley immediately launched himself onto the bed, savoring every corner of the comfortable bed. Well, that was kind of unexpected. Anyway… I’m too tired to think about it, so I should just nap.

…

Three hours later.

After three hours of routine training workouts, Felix came home to a dark room with a sleeping Ley in it. He opened the door as gently and as quietly as he could as well as avoided toggling the lights on to not wake up Ley from his sleep.

“Oh. You’re home,” Ley greeted Felix, comfortably lying down on the bed.

“Ah, you’re awake,” Felix remarked, toggling the lights on. “Did you nap well?’

“I did,” Ley answered, snuggling the fluffy blanket, savoring the bed. 

“Must be nice." Felix launched himself onto the bed, pinning Ley down, staring playfully at him while his right arm lifted him up above Ley.

“To fuck me?’ Ley joked seductively, slowly sliding his hands on Felix’s face.

Felix’s smirk immediately disappeared, and unable to contain his surprise, he fell from his position, burying Ley in the bed with his body.

Ley laughed at Felix’s reaction, gently patting his back. “See…? This is why we need boundaries.”

Felix immediately pulled his weight off Ley, and hastily stood beside the left side of the bed. “Shit, are you okay?”

“Relax, white boy. I’m okay,” Ley answered humorously, clearly unbothered and unhurt. “This is why you shouldn’t make sexual jokes with me. Because I can keep up with it and make them worse than what people could handle.”

“I see,” Felix said flatly.

“Alright,” Ley got up from the bed and stood in front of the bookshelf, checking out the snacks stocked inside. “I’m a Libra. I love cats and dogs. I can be shy, awkward, and social. I love watching movies, series, and anime. I also love playing video games.”

“What?” Felix asked cluelessly.

“You just got to know me. Now let me know you," Ley turned to Felix.

“Uh. I’m a Taurus. I like them too, I guess. I like working out, training, and doing martial arts," Felix answered abruptly, having been faced with Ley’s sudden wave of information.

“Good,” Ley said, turning his gaze back to the snacks. “Do you mind if I take a lot of snacks?”

“Well, it’s for you, so I don’t really mind,” Felix answered. “You know, you can just keep coming back to get one if you feel like it, right?”

“Yeah… I was hoping to aggressively up my food intake using snacks because, you know… I’m concerningly skinny," Ley explained. “But it’ll be weird if I take a snack while you’re here and when you’re not.

“It’s not weird because I’m okay with it. And if you feel like it, just knock on my door and tell me if you want to grab snacks,” Felix suggested. I would offer to relocate the shelf with the snacks inside into his room, but he hasn’t asked for it. Besides, I like it when he comes into my room.

“Huh…” Ley huffed. “Are you a hundred percent certain?”

“Yes,” Felix instantly confirmed.

“Hmm…” Ley hummed, walking his way in front of Felix, meeting him as he stood in the center of the room. “No.”

“Huh? What do you mean, no?” Felix asked, confused by Ley’s declaration.

“I mean—no," Ley said firmly as he stared determinedly at Felix’s eyes. “You can’t just offer something that generous and not expect something back.

Ley hummed, gently tapping Felix’s waist and shoulders using his hands. And upon contact, Felix winced and slightly moved away.

“I was right,” Ley murmured proudly. “You train your body excessively and don’t allow it to properly rest, so now your body is always in a sore state.”

“Jeez. You must be so accustomed to the pain that I don’t think you even notice it,' Ley worriedly said. “Not to mention the smoking, which isn’t really ideal.”

“I see," Felix flatly responded. “Then I’ll book a massage appointment every now and then.”

“How about… you let me massage you?” Ley suggested.

“Why though?” Felix answered, confused by the suggestion. “Wouldn’t it be better if I hired a professional instead?”

“It is… and I can’t argue with that logic. But first, you need to know that I’m known for having masseuse hands. Also, my services are free, I mean… who doesn’t like free?” Ley started. “And… I also need to somehow pay you back, and this is the only way I know how.”

“Oh, I see," Felix replied, and after hearing Ley’s insistence, he just had to accept. “Then let’s do it.”

“Now?” Ley questioned, surprised by Felix’s quick agreement.

“Yeah. I just got home from training, and it feels like I need it now,” Felix answered.

“Oh, alright. Just lay your face flat on the bed, and your head should be at the foot of the bed instead,” Ley advised Felix.

“Should I take my shirt off or not?” Felix innocently asked.

“I’m fine with on or off, and it’s your decision since you’re the client,” Ley answered.

“Client, huh?" Felix huffed as he took off his shirt. “I’ll take it off. It’s just better if I do.”

As Ley stood over the bed’s foot, staring at the reversed placement of Felix’s back, he remembered the massages he used to perform for his papa.

Okay. Papa used to make me massage him every once in a while, saying my massages make him feel like a fresh person, so I had to look up proper techniques on what to do. So… I know my way around a sore body.

I begin by gliding both my thumbs near the neck, then target the trapezius muscles until I reach the lower back. Now I glide my fingers with both of my thumbs toppled on each other to massage the spinous processes, moving my arms from top to bottom.

Then lastly, I use my thumb on each side to massage the paravertebral muscles from top to bottom. Alright. Now, I just repeat the sequence three to five times. 

“Okay. It’s done,” Ley declares, having finished the massage in four minutes.

“It’s done?” Felix asked.

“Yep,” Ley answered. “Try stretching and moving if it feels different now.”

Upon Ley’s instruction, Felix stretched his entire body. “Huh. My body feels lighter and better.”

“See? I have masseuse hands, hehe,” Ley said proudly. “So… I heard that you and your family will be busy.”

“Ah… The summer vacation party? It’s just a party—” Felix responds.

“A party that is hosted by your family in the school?” Ley interrupts. “Yeah, I know. It’s pretty popular on social media.”

“Just a party paid by my family, yes,” Felix corrected. “And we were mandated to be present at the school.”

“Mandated by the school?” Ley curiously asks.

“No… by Mom. She’s pretty strict about it,” Felix confirms.

“I see… and I heard it’s a one-month event, so that means we won’t see each other,” Ley mentioned. “I guess it’s one month of burying myself in my room.”

“I see…” Felix responded, confused. “Then I guess I'll see you after one month?”

“Yep. See you in one month, then," Ley said happily. “I hope you have a good time.”