Next To You

The next day, at Jason's apartment.

Jason looked at Violet, a beautiful girl with a very modern and sexy look, sitting in front of him.

"Hmm, if all doctors were like you, your patients wouldn't want to go home," Jason said.

Violet blushed. She was indeed a beautiful young woman with a radiant face, long reddish curly hair, and fashionable clothes.

"They will not always see me, because I rarely interact with patients directly."

Jason furrowed his brow.

"Oh, Why is that? If you don't interact with patients, how do you treat them?"

Val, spreading jam on his bread, answered.

"She's an anesthesiologist, Boss."

Jason was even more captivated.

"Oh yeah? Wow, that's even better! But why anesthesiology? Why not dermatology, dentistry, or, uh, internal medicine or something like that?"

Violet picked up her bread and started spreading jam on it. She glanced at Val before answering.

"Well, because I love watching people sleep. I love hearing their breathing, and seeing their long eyelashes when their eyes are closed. I also like knowing when they're helpless, and anything can be done to them."

Jason sat up straight; Violet's answer was more than enough for him.

"Wow, that's a strange reason."

"She loves watching people sleep; she often takes pictures of me and others while we're asleep," Val added.

Violet smiled. Couldn't help to see Val's cute face when he talked about her. He knows her so well.

"Hehehe, just kidding! I'm scared of blood, but I'm interested in becoming a doctor. Doctors are cool, so the specialty least likely to involve blood is anesthesiology."

They laughed, especially Jason, who found Violet unique.

"That's a good idea, I think that's a great plan for someone who's afraid of blood but wants to be a doctor."

After eating, Jason helped Violet carry the dishes to the kitchen to wash them, while Val cleaned the dining area.

"Sorry to trouble you, you should just sit down and let us clean up," Jason said.

Violet smiled. The sweet girl pulled all her hair up into a high ponytail so she could wash dishes comfortably.

"Hey, it's no big deal, I like doing it. Besides, what's the fun of just sitting around doing nothing? You guys should hire a housekeeper; you're busy."

Jason chuckled.

"Busy doing what? Just a few little chores. We have a robot vacuum cleaner and a dishwasher. Do we still need a housekeeper?"

Violet couldn't deny it; she nodded slightly.

"Yeah, that's true, I can't argue with that."

Jason looked at Val, who was busy cleaning the table and starting the robot cleaner in the living room; the kid looked cheerful.

"Um, Vi, does… does Val afraid of the dark?" Jason asked.

Violet looked at Val, then back at Jason.

"Um, well, I don't know for sure, but I heard he once screamed hysterically when the lights in the bathroom suddenly went out. Some classmates played a prank on him. Um…" Violet washed her hands and dried them with a cloth after finishing the dishes, looking seriously at Jason.

"He fainted after being locked in the bathroom for half a day. Everyone thought maybe Val was sick or something, but not long after coming out of the bathroom, he started to feel better. The school doctor said, there's a chance his blood sugar dropped, causing Val to lose consciousness." Jason frowned. He straightened up when he saw Val approaching the fridge next to him.

"Come on, let's keep eating ice cream!" Val exclaimed, taking out the ice cream he bought yesterday from the freezer. Jason and Violet couldn't stop smiling at his wide grin that made his eyes disappear. "Hehe."

…

Creak.

The night grew late, and Violet had already gone home to her apartment. Meanwhile, Val had just finished cleaning up and was sitting on the edge of his bed, drying his wet hair. Jason walked in, took the towel from Val's hands, and helped him dry his hair.

"Brat, it's already late, why are you still washing your hair?" Val just complied as Jason shifted him so he could sit behind the young man.

"My head was itchy, Boss. It's been days since I washed it. It feels so refreshing."

"Yeah, but if you don't dry it, you might catch a cold."

Val smiled, Jason's hands were so gentle as he massaged his head.

"So, are you that close to Violet? She seems to like you," Jason asked. Val pursed his lips.

"Not really, Violet has always been like that, she's really nice. I think it's because she feels sorry for me, having no friends and always being bullied."

"But I'm confused, how can such a sweet kid like you get bullied? Are they jealous?" Val chuckled at Jason's words as if he only knew him from school.

"How do you know about that, Boss? You didn't know me then." Jason stopped his words, held Val's shoulders, and turned him to face him. Look at the face thoroughly. 

"Um, let me see, this, such a sweet face, perfect skin, beautiful eyes, a sharp nose, sweet lips."

Val blushed when Jason spoke like that as if teasing him, and he pushed his boss's chest away. 

"Boss, come on." 

But Jason held Val's hand, looking at the young man's face for a long time. 

"That's true." 

For a while, Jason stared at Val until he unconsciously leaned closer. But Val lowered his head to avoid him. 

"Boss." 

Jason realized he was being aggressive again; he couldn't let that happen. 

"Eh, well, it's pretty obvious, as a kid, Valiant Arcady must have been really sweet and cute." 

Jason went back to drying Val's hair with a towel, making Val squirm a bit when Jason touched his neck. 

"Hehe, Boss, easy there." 

"Is it tickle?"

…

The next morning, inside the huge Diamond Tower office.

Jason sat next to Val, helping him finish the presentation for the big boss. 

"Look at this, you just need a little more explanation here, what image do you want to use?" Jason asked. 

Val pouted. Thinking hard.

"Um, this one, the spicy flavor, it's the best seller among the other variants," Val said. 

Jason thought for a moment. 

"Oh, so it'll be like this, put the image here, these are the points, keep it short, two or three lines with the briefest explanation, and then the ingredients, and here are the other flavor variants." 

Jason sat really close to Val, causing Val to lean back a bit.

"Boss"

Val glanced around. Their coworkers weren't directly looking at them, but Val could feel everyone's eyes on them.

Jason didn't care. He put his arm around Val, his broad chest covering him.

"You're missing a line here, here... pick one of these graphics, then..."

Anwar and Alex, heading to the pantry, couldn't help but stare. They stopped inside, still peeking at Val and Jason. They looked like they were dating.

"Does this mean free food again? We should pick a fancier restaurant this time," Alex whispered.

Anwar nodded.

"Yeah, that hotpot place yesterday wasn't enough. I'll find a swanky place, at least five-star."

Alex nodded.

"Right."

They stood there, mesmerized, holding their empty coffee cups, watching Val and Jason until Ilyana appeared behind them.

"What are you guys looking at?" she asked.

Anwar and Alex straightened up, both turned back into the pantry.

"Oh, nothing. Did you make coffee?"

They stepped away from the wall. Ilyana saw where her colleagues had been looking – Val and Jason, sitting very close. She could even hear their laughter from where she stood.

"Hehehe, this one is funny, Boss."