Foreign Number

<p>"He-he, Haoyu why are you being so sneaky? You look very sus."<br/>Lawal said with a chuckle. He looked at his friend, who tried to be inconspicuous but was failing miserably.<br/>"Sus?" Haoyu questioned the shorty from under his mask. <br/>They were currently in the lecture theatre. Once again it was Monday and again Haoyu came to attend Tejumole's class instead of his own.<br/>"Yeah, suspicious. I just shortened it." Lawal explained.<br/>"Oh. Mind your business." Haoyu paid him no mind and returned his gaze to the professor on the podium. <br/>Though that was his intention, Lawal wasn't just going to leave things at that.<br/>"Really?" Lawal began and leaned closer to Haoyu.<br/>"My dear brother, you better be nice to me. Who knows, if my lips might slip, and I inform a certain professor of a certain person's presence in her class." He said while checking his nails and speaking in a provocative tone.<br/>Haoyu turned to face Lawal from under his dark shades. His expression was frosty, but unfortunately, Lawal didn't notice anything due to his unusual get-up.<br/>To avoid being detected by Tejumole, Haoyu garbed himself in a black hoodie along with a black nose mask and dark sunglasses. And the only thing visible apart from his hands was his forehead. <br/>He skipped his class today, however, this time the lecturer came around. <br/>Haoyu was aware that the professor got his schedule sometime last week and knowing Tejumole, she had definitely committed it to memory. <br/>Therefore, Haoyu had to dress in such a manner, and sit at the far end of the hall to avoid being detected by her. <br/>Things were going as planned, but a certain nosy shorty was going to blow his cover with his nonsense!<br/>"Cat got your tongue? Why are you so silent? Don't worry, we're bros. I won't rat you out just like that. But first, you have to admit that I am the average height of a human male." Lawal hadn't forgotten when he was humiliated by Haoyu. <br/>Unacceptable! <br/>Just because he spoke about hitting on the professor, his sore spot was poked and mercilessly ripped open.<br/>This brat knew he hated being called short, but still did it anyway! <br/>Thinking about it almost made Lawal let out a series of curses, but he controlled himself. Repeating in his head that as a literature student, he had to be classy. He couldn't stoop down to the level of engineering students like Haoyu.<br/>'Look at how generous I am. I'm such a gentleman. Even after treating me so harshly, I'm still willing to compromise…'<br/>Haoyu watched Lawal who was lost in thought with a vexing look on his face. <br/>The corner of his lips hooked up, but no one could see it from under the mask. He moved his head close to Lawal until he was certain he would hear his words clearly.<br/>"Careful bro… if not, you might be the one who loses his tongue. Remember the last time you pissed me off? Yeah… Looking at your expression, you seem to recall. If you don't want a repeat of that day, be silent and let me watch my professor in peace. I don't want you yapping in my ears." Haoyu's deep voice was low and smooth, with an accompanying charm. But even though it sounded beautiful, Lawal couldn't help swallowing his saliva. <br/>To him, the sound of Haoyu's voice was just like the devil's whispers. And after his reminder, Lawal couldn't help but shiver at the memory he hoped to forget.<br/>Having achieved his aim of silencing (frightening) his friend, Haoyu leaned into his seat in satisfaction. <br/>After a thought, though, he chose to compromise and spoke again. Because knowing Lawal, he may have subdued him now, but he would soon return to his usual self. Before that, Haoyu decided to give himself a way out.<br/>"You're not that short. If you believe in yourself, you'll grow. After all, you're still young."<br/>Lawal glared at Haoyu. <br/>He should be glad that his friend said he wasn't short, but he couldn't feel happy. Lawal was twenty-one this year, three years older than the beast next to him, but Haoyu still had the cheek to say he was still growing.<br/>If at this age he hadn't grown past his current height, Lawal knew that he would remain the same forever. He couldn't even compare to Haoyu who was eighteen and already over one hundred and eighty-five meters tall. <br/>Lawal felt envious. Extremely so, but he could do nothing about his height. He didn't hate being as tall as he was, but occasionally, he just felt like messing around and whining about his "predicament".<br/>'Haai, such is life… Believe my foot! Mum said that in our family, the males have always been short. It's a generational curse placed on our family because one ancestor broke a lady's heart. Ahh, I should just accept my fate already… Maybe if I find a tall wife or go for deliverance, I can break the spell. Urghhh… How frustrating!' Lawal groaned and picked up his pen to write. He wanted to forget his sorrows by jotting down what the professor was saying.<br/>The class went on without hiccup. Haoyu watched and listened to Tejumole from the back of the class. <br/>The lecture theatre was designed with the interconnected rows of chairs arranged in a semicircle, and four columns between the seats that lead outside. <br/>The chairs were stretched and inclined in a way that allowed every person to see the podium without obstruction. <br/>Therefore, even though Haoyu stayed at the last row of the class he could still see the professor clearly.<br/>Haoyu turned to the side and saw Lawal taking notes. He wasn't as chatty as before, much to his respite. Lawal even seemed like a student with his attentive gaze for once. <br/>Haoyu looked away and was about to continue staring when his phone rang in his pocket.<br/>He casually took out the phone from his hoodie, but when he saw the foreign number on the screen, his grip on the device turned firmer. He straightened his back, and the deep eyes behind his shades flickered.<br/>"Yes… Have you found him?" Haoyu asked solemnly, then stood up from his seat by the edge before walking out of the lecture hall. He departed after a final look at Tejumole, who was looking in his direction, with a grim air surrounding him.<br/>"Where are you…and he's gone…"<br/>Lawal noticed his friend get up to leave abruptly and tried to question him, however, Haoyu was already far away before he could finish.<br/>While she questioned a student on a previous topic, Tejumole looked in the direction of the student who just left. <br/>He shuffled through the standing students and was dressed so discreetly, but Tejumole felt his figure looked familiar.<br/>"Little one…?"</p>