Chapter 34: First meeting (5)

Yohan's gaze was fixed on Kian with gratitude, but before he knew it, his body had been turned around to face a man whose face looked almost identical to Kian's. However, unlike his cold and serious brother, this man appeared carefree and playful. Yet despite the grin plastered across his lips, Yohan could sense an underlying anger radiating from him.

Before he could react, Kane gripped both of Yohan's shoulders tightly and stared at him intently. His eyes were so intense that Yohan couldn't help but feel nervous under their scrutiny.

"Liar!" The man spat out accusingly.

"Huh?" Yohan replied in confusion as he tried to understand what was happening.

'This guy really knows how to get under my skin. What is this guy's problem?' Yohan thought, feeling annoyed.

Kane brought his handsome face came closer and closer until their faces were only inches apart. Yohan could feel himself wanting to back away, but he remained rooted in place due to the firm grip on his shoulders. Then Kane whispered into Yohan's ears in a low voice.

"You promised me you wouldn't look at my brother again, but in one second you broke that promise... You can't be trusted...."

Yohan felt a wave of dizziness wash over him at Kane's words. It had been Kian who had removed Kane's hand from his face, so naturally, the first thing when he opened his eyes was Kian's familiar features. Did Kane truly expect Yohan to stab himself in the eyes with his fingers or do an acrobatic backflip upon seeing Kian?

"Did you really mean what you said?" Yohan asked tentatively, still trying to make sense of the situation.

Kane grinned mischievously, making him seem almost look like a kid, despite the anger simmering beneath the surface.

"Of course I mean it." He replied confidently.

"I don't even know you, why should I listen to you?" Yohan replied with a tired tone, feeling drained by the sudden confrontation.

"Pfffftttt..."

The sound of laughter being held back caught Yohan off guard, he had forgotten about there were four other pairs of eyes watching their interaction. The embarrassment made him wish he could disappear into thin air.

"Kane, you poor thing."

"Kane, who are you? You and him don't know each other."

Axel, Gio, and Tao's teasing laughter echoed in the chaotic bar. Kane had to force himself to remove his hands from Yohan's shoulders, and struggled to resist dragging his three friends out of the establishment. Even Kian let out a sigh as if he didn't want to be associated with them.

Yohan himself was bewildered by the strange turn of events - going from being almost tortured by Sean due to Yoh's antics, to being saved by Kane's group, then only to be teased annoyingly by Kane. Despite feeling annoyed at Kane's shameless behavior towards him, Yohan recognized how touched he felt when seeing him suddenly appear out of nowhere and help him in his moment of need.

The scene reminded him of a storybook where a knight would protect a princess from the villain, though he scoffed at himself for comparing such events with something so precious as that the only book from his childhood. Did this mean that he had made himself into a princess with Kane as his knight? Yohan shuddered at the thought.

As Yohan glanced over at Kane who was still glaring angrily at his friends and even giving them the middle finger, Yohan pushed aside his annoyance to offer a genuine smile and warm thanks.

"By the way... Thank you for helping me..." He said softly.

For a moment, everything else faded away as Kane felt his heart skip a beat upon seeing that angelic smile on Yohan's face - it was like a ray of sunshine, bright and beautiful. His lips curved upward in a charming way, revealing his pearly white teeth and dimples on either side. Kane felt a rush of warmth fill him as he looked at Yohan's smiling face, it was as if all the chaos around them didn't matter anymore.

"No need to thank me." he said with a shrug, trying to hide how much that smile affected him. Initially, Kane had only considered Yohan to be his type, but he never intended to get close to him. However, when he saw that Yohan was showing admiration towards Kian instead of him, even though it was Kane who had saved him first, he couldn't help but feel a sense of frustration.

So, as a diversion tactic, Kane started teasing and flirting with Yohan just to draw his attention away from Kian. But despite the game plan, the warmth in Yohan's smile made his heart flutter uncontrollably - unbeknownst to him, his ears began turning red, much to the amusement of his three friends who reminded him of something important.

"Don't forget about 'that'" one said mischievously.

"Do 'it'" another added with a grin.

"Remember, you have to do 'it'..." the third chimed in.

Despite being confused by their words, Yohan paid no mind since it didn't concern him. He saw Kane's unhappy and angry expression and decided to move away from him. Yohan walked over to Tao, Axel, and Gio, bowing in gratitude towards the three of them. As he did so, he could feel Kane's murderous aura rising again from behind his back.

And when he approached Kian next, who was talking to the bar manager, Yohan could still hear the whispers of Kane's friends, discussing whether or not he would turn their bet into something more serious.

Feeling a sense of unease, Yohan didn't pay much attention to their conversation as he approached Kian and interrupted his conversation with the bar manager. Kian's cold face looked confused as if unsure what had happened.

"What's wrong?" Kian asked in a puzzled tone.

"Nothing." Yohan replied sincerely. "I just wanted to thank you for your help earlier, brother."

Kian's expression softened slightly as he took in Yohan's frazzled appearance, his customary cold demeanor momentarily replaced with concern.

"It's okay." Kian said gently. "The important thing is that you're unharmed."

Yohan's lips curled into a gentle smile as he nodded his head in agreement. Kian's eyes narrowed momentarily before registering Yohan's unintended familiarity when calling him 'brother'.

His face softened at the endearing term, thinking to himself that he would rather have someone sweet like Yohan as a brother than Kane, who he saw as more barbaric in nature. Realizing that he hadn't introduced himself properly, Kian extended his hand to shake Yohan's hand.

"You can call me Kian instead." he said gently.

"Yohan."

Yohan reciprocated the handshake, grateful for Kian's kind demeanor despite his initial coldness. However, their moment was abruptly interrupted by Kane, who had snuck up behind Yohan without notice.

"You didn't introduce yourself to me." He interjected brashly.

"You didn't introduce yourself to me either." Yohan replied patiently, tried to remind himself that he was dealing with someone who was acting like a child.

Suddenly, without warning, Kane grabbed Yohan's shaking hand and pushed Kian aside before vigorously shaking it himself. Yohan was left speechless by the sudden movement while Kian looked on with annoyance at his brother's childish antics.

"My name is Kane." he said with a wide grin.

"Y-yes... I know your name. I'm Yohan..." Yohan stammered, taken aback by Kane's sudden and aggressive behavior.

"Yohan..." Kane repeated his name while staring at him seriously.

Finally, Kane grinned widely and asked in a serious tone, both hands clasping tightly around Yohan's hand.

"Yohan... Do you want to date me?"