BOT Chapter 16

Chapter 16bcae54c2ff0ef713

 f67696da9a5de219

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I held Hyle’s hand again today. Though not entirely satisfying, it wasn’t so bad when I considered it the foundation for what would come later.533aa3bedc907b1c

When Hyle 7f5cc11f0e started avoiding 2caa82e7aa me, I 1f2e251499 nearly lost ba74d5d1a5 it. The way he 50682d54ea stammered with a c4ad79da62 face that screamed“I’m lying”to anyone 2c7889b2f0 watching, how 9dbea78260 he flinched 20369d627c whenever our 6863c863e2 bodies touched—it 9860b2eef6 was cute, a39c9facd5 but only 2cee10fd47 for so 445635417d long. Eventually, it got e1a1bf60e4 hard to bear.d84eaf546256eac9

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Even though he avoided d203838b20 me, I still ended d37f04ef30 up seeing his face 83fe6d7025 often, since I followed 5dadb880fa him or watched from 136bf2494f afar. Still, what was annoying 2e202f9568 simply remained annoying.a97cb9fce100be9a

“It kind of hurts when you keep running away from me like this.”c47d95f403219687

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Should I tie him up so he can’t run? No… better to lock him up where no one can find him.58a76056e981aa6b

I carefully brushed away the strands of silver hair falling over his closed eyes with the back of my hand. I imagined those brilliant golden eyes buried under his eyelids turning toward me. Just then, I felt a subtle trembling at my fingertips. Come to think of it, Hyle’s breathing was slightly faster than usual.9331e7bdfc37f1ed

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So you’re awake.67393445e1de5e69

I deliberately kissed Hyle 6331dd9de4 as he lay there. His eyelids fluttered. As I suspected, he fc164df5b0 was awake. Now was my chance.62a68c93e06d0475

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“Did you sleep well?”edad63d3ea8a5ced

Fearing he might run away again, I leaned my head against his body. If I stayed like this, he wouldn’t suddenly get up or run—he hated it when I got hurt.48a0321e85344a52

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“I couldn’t sleep at all.”656161ab79b50288

If I add this, you’ll stay put, won’t you?5648e4c19a63c9f4

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“…I’m sorry.”7519585630186034

“I don’t want an apology. I want to know why.”e67e632e4a800e2a

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Silence followed. He sat there, sweating bullets with his lips sealed, clearly unwilling to speak. I sighed. If he keeps quiet like this, he’ll be the one at a loss—I’d find out no matter what.04b6181761b1e25c

Finally, after a ddffe32c6e long wait, Hyle 0c7d3b07c1 opened his mouth.09d2a03995132269

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“I—I just wanted us to stay normal friends.”469048ace287f141

Normal friends. I’ve never once thought of you that way. I was about to frown in displeasure when—25ab384103755364

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“I really meant to keep it that way. But the more I was with you, the more… I started thinking this wasn’t like friendship at all. I shouldn’t feel like this…”83bfc99ff0a261d2

Does that mean you e62a8c79df feel the same as 3eb4fe11e6 I do?A deep sense of a0afb7da89 joy welled up in 5ef0f3c566 my chest.Finally, finally….a91374362042062b

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“So… Hyle, do you still want to stay just friends with me?”7301b9f266a1bb57

“I think… we should stay friends.”7905e0e8d2fe0bdb

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The heat that had bloomed in my heart was instantly doused with cold water. I couldn’t even maintain my usual composed expression in front of him.0e298456e5786c0b

I barely held myself back from pulling him into my arms and marking him as mine—again and again—until there was no room left for doubt. But if I cornered him now, he’d only run. I didn’t know why he insisted on staying friends, but there 532473d10b was still hope.ed16a77ad0d3ca4e

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Thinking of the future, 4a0ba22155 I unclenched my fist 89f00dfccb and laid my hand 2ccb3effd3 over his.b0ce414911dd6e17

I hate thefriend label you’ve put between us, but if I have to use it, I will.486d5e648d2006ca

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“Evan?”718d1b7f496a8366

Even if I have to take it slow—if it means I can have you, then I’ll do whatever it takes.e17b41481cc334f3

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“Hyle, didn’t you say it was okay for friends to hold hands? Remember?”c37282ec866d21c9

I smiled brightly at Hyle Verde, who nodded in a daze, hoping he wouldn’t see through me.309e46d5a0b08816

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⋆˚𝜗𝜚˚⋆7655d31e55be9899

“Hyle!”d152714954b69208

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Carmen, blocked by the opposing team, passed the ball to me. I received it smoothly and dribbled fast. The black and white soccer ball spun as it cut through the field. With a powerful kick, the ball brushed past the goalkeeper’s fingertips and slammed into the net.d0330bcac4198673

“Nice one, Verde!”41137ef4b76208f4

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“Hyyleee!”510613acdbed99e4

The whistle marking 2be177c6e2 the end of a852703180 the game blew. A teammate beside me e5c957f5ce jumped up and down, 51dbc35521 yelling. Carmen waved his d9507ba2a4 arms wildly from f66c6e45b9 the side. We won the 6ff5a91c31 match.6443a113a871111b

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I quite enjoyed soccer. Hyle Verde’s body moved exactly as I intended—no, even better. It was surprising and thrilling to suddenly become the soccer team’s ace. I even thought I wanted to play more—but that was just the surface reason. The truth was a little different.c50844df24e6a9e2

Ever since e40cee1688 I told bdc3884f84 Evan we c734726336 werejust friends, he’d kept holding my hand—every day, without fail. I’d wake up to his hand right in front of me. And before I knew it, we were holding hands again. When did this become normal?24f0b6e3f16e8455

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It wasn’t like I hadn’t refused him before. I told him many times that this was weird. But nothing ever changed.56b30066a042f5e5

To make matters worse, Evan’s touch—already ticklish enough—began to feel even more vivid. I’d lost count of how many times I’d been flustered. And yet, he never stopped running his fingers over mine. To anyone watching, it would’ve looked like he was obsessed with my hand.3db97ad6e2dc85f6

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Evan quickly noticed whenever 2885a6b18d my expression contorted even 7ebcc7dc36 slightly. But when he 91b53bb74c saw me holding ae7d5bbbb2 my breath, afraid d8bd2d0d46 weird noises might 0ec7f7556e escape, he just 2e4074e45d smiled even brighter. Instead of stopping, a35c1a3386 he held on b58c01eeb9 tighter. I think he ca232c6377 just likes seeing 9f63ce4c93 me flustered. Kind of a sadist, c0df08d10b really.0fda053970bf8e64

“Evan.”1ac6419421ade1c7

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“Yes, Hyle?”38d05e2a72ec95bc

As the tickling 0bb2e49e55 sensation was too 36bf090e1d unbearable, I called 1e607f9195 Evan. But he just looked 85f2d2c904 at me with that 58d477f33a calm face of his, 11d8833f24 as if wondering what c65a69a571 the matter was. Then he touched 317ec45051 my hand like 38eb26d396 it was some e4f793c618 kind of precious b931e0ac0a treasure. I really 64b676ff30 wished he 383359850a would stop.e6109be725d00b7b

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The only time I could avoid holding hands with Evan was when we played soccer. The club was such a useful excuse. I didn’t even want to think about what I’d do without these brief moments to catch my breath.053db0edfe97bda7

I bent over, trying ca8b37acd9 to steady my ragged 0deefef2f0 breath. Sweat was 4cc44f666d pouring down 84e2063d71 like rain. I wiped 4c2b424d12 away the 92cd32caef drops rolling 4c22852287 down my 1c26b4a351 jawline with a2a7fd43a1 the back ec8d483d4e of my a76d1d1adb hand. The heat bc594a353e of the dd01f2ea1a sun made eca6e9e3e7 my whole fe8cc90faa body feel b98cc23889 hot and a87baf9ae3 flushed. My vision started 94085e11b8 to blur, and 67b95ae740 I slowly blinked 2c66bae3ba my eyes.9e610c761a94ce63

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“—Hick!”028c5b9ae89da3d1

Something cold suddenly 9d3077b979 touched the back 91029e6d35 of my neck. I jumped instinctively dd59eb7d37 and turned around. A plastic e7bd206e90 bottle filled f39329bfb8 with ice-cold 4eec333feb water swayed d01143210d in front 1767110494 of my 4a5f1385a0 face.94bea92b31bcf143

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“Hyle.”ffbbeb5e8b742f0a

The face behind the bottle came into view. Unlike me, Evan hadn’t even broken a sweat—his skin was soft and fresh, and he smiled brightly. Embarrassed that I’d let out such a weird sound, I quickly covered my mouth. The spot on my neck where the bottle had touched still felt cool.a1d20b2806a1b7b1

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“W–were you watching me?”0738338f8839495f

“Yeah.”a33d98166223d00d

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“Since when?”a114c35d879cfda6

Evan just smiled softly without answering. But even without a reply, I got the feeling he’d been watching me for quite a while.b028b8e2cfa225ba

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“You could’ve said something.”0d57b7bd34573084

“I just like watching you.”15b8895976938fb8

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That pitch came out of nowhere and hit straight on, so I tapped the soccer ball at my feet for no reason. Carmen, who had been walking over, suddenly started backing away and turned his back like he hadn’t seen anything. He even gave me a thumbs-up as he left, and I was at a loss for words. Should I kick the ball at him? The ball at my feet rolled away toward Carmen.45e77826021fd2ea

“Hyle, are you free tomorrow?”6ac79711ad99e7ce

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“Tomorrow?”f99ccf91ccfc3bf8

I shifted my gaze 645d7699bf from the soccer ball f0ae9ffaeb that had gone rolling 358a97fdc5 away. Evan was standing there ee444e5aa4 with his hands awkwardly 8c5e1cc23c clasped in front of fe45be7406 him, nervously fidgeting with 41270f086a his fingers.e28b7423aabad246

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“You’ve been going to the club right after class a lot these days. So we haven’t been able to spend much time together like we used to.”58f262b87ff963e4

Even if I was 406ccfefe9 heading to the club, b8f460e385 we were still roommates 77f86dbd78 and sat next to 0eebbaa14f each other—basically together all 1969a33c6d the time. I made a reluctant df9edab94f face, and Evan quickly 5e41c0bee2 added.dac149b06e651f92

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“Besides, I feel like I only showed you my bad side last time… And you missed the fireworks.”aa2fdfa0a6c8e8eb

At that, I quietly nodded. That had been on my mind too. I’d taken him to the festival because I wanted to make him smile, never imagining things would turn out like they did. And with him looking up at me with those big, sparkly eyes… it was hard to say no.14ffbf5b76585d1b

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“Perfect. Then tomorrow, you’re spending time with me.”580b44a622471be2

Evan reached for my hand again. That’s when I realized once more just how drenched in sweat I was—his smooth skin against my clammy one. I felt like I was about to dirty him, so I couldn’t bring myself to hold his hand. I just extended my fingers stiffly. Then I felt the soft motion of his fingers tracing slow circles on my palm.761ff849c803f415

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“I’m looking forward to our date.”c624ee3df8cfb5c1

I had told him it wasn’t a date before, but that clearly hadn’t worked. Instead of opening my mouth, I chose to shut my eyes tightly. With my vision blocked, the feeling of Evan’s touch only became more vivid. When I opened them again, there he was—still too beautiful. I couldn’t help but lower my head and count the grains of sand at my feet. A small laugh floated in on the breeze, tickling my ear.848997b82f617369

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Last time, I’d picked the place we went to, but this time, Evan insisted on handling everything from start to finish. I gave in.2cb746d162ced097

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I didn’t want to repeat that fashion disaster where he caught me fussing over my outfit, so I just pulled out my fanciest black suit. But people kept giving me strange looks. Even Evan laughed when he saw me. I was only trying to look good. Maybe I really should buy a book on how to dress well.5385986d611f7390

Honestly, I was a bundle of nerves right up until we left the dorm—half excitement, half dread. Evan hadn’t given me a single hint about where we were going or what we’d be doing, so the curiosity just kept building.bd544d3a1af4692d

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To my surprise, Evan took me to the movies. He’s not the type to enjoy films, so that alone caught me off guard. But then he picked a romance movie. Two grown men going to see a romance film together… I was so embarrassed when we showed the tickets that I ended up hiding my face behind the giant popcorn bucket as we walked in.aaf251ca15495b29

As expected, the theater was full of couples. But since this was a BL novel world, there were more male-male pairs than I’d expected. It felt like I’d found my people, and the tension in my shoulders slowly began to ease.468b9ce900d2fab3

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