“Let go.”
“You hold back. We can’t fight here.”
“Bernard. Let go.”
Tendons stood out near Rhino’s jaw. The atmosphere became rough enough that it wouldn’t be strange if fists flew immediately. However, this time Bernard didn’t back down either. If he stepped back even one step here, it felt like the relationship between the two would immediately catch fire.
“He’s insulting you.”
The tightly clenched fist vaguely evidenced the anger Rhino was feeling. As if he hadn’t known he would be angry at this point, Bernard lost his words for a moment. Not missing that gap, when Rhino strode forward, Bernard hastily clung to him trying hard to defuse the situation. Rubens was watching all of that comedy-like appearance.
He habitually put his hand in his pocket. The cigarette pack was empty. Realizing he had burned through even the last cigarette, he frowned in dismay, but it was time to return anyway. It was difficult to spare any more time. Already over twenty missed calls were piling up on his phone.
“Please leave. Please……”
Bernard looked at Rubens with a tearful face. He seemed to think the urgent priority now was to escape this immediate situation. However, when Rubens, who seemed like he would leave right away, maintained his position, Bernard’s insides burned. He couldn’t tell at all what words he was waiting for, or what action he was expecting.
But if he attacked Rubens any further, the situation would surely head toward the worst. Having no choice, thinking he should appease Rhino and send him away, he was concentrating on him when a familiar voice interrupted between the three people.
“Rubens, you still haven’t left?”
The surprised voice popped out crisply. Bernard’s expression completely hardened. While holding onto Rhino, he froze like that and couldn’t even turn around, only letting out a short groan of “Ah.” He had been stupid. Beyond the worst situation he had assumed was yet another worst.
“What brings Rhino here…… Bernard?”
At that moment, Rubens moved one step to the side. Bernard was completely hidden by his build. Elliot’s head, standing with the gate door open, tilted a bit more. He seemed to be trying hard to see the hidden figure, but Rubens didn’t move aside as if he hadn’t noticed.
“I didn’t know you’d come out.”
“What. You said you were leaving. Were you waiting without leaving?”
“I hoped that if I said I was leaving, you might chase after me saying you wanted to see me.”
As if he had heard an amusing joke, Elliot burst into laughter. Rubens received his words quite affectionately. Only Bernard trembled like someone who wanted to completely disappear from this situation. Rhino embraced Bernard’s back, which had turned pale, while examining Rubens with a displeased expression. For him, he couldn’t understand Rubens’s capriciousness at all. Truly a person like a time bomb.
“But could you move aside a bit? I can’t see Bernard. I was worried, but he came back quite late so I was going to say something…… Oh come on. Stop playing around.”
It was a coquettish tone. Rubens glanced to the side, but Bernard couldn’t budge, held in Rhino’s arms, worried about something.
“Bernard. Can’t you hear me?”
“……El, liot.”
Only after Elliot added one more word did Bernard hesitantly turn around. He looked at Bernard reprovingly with sharp eyes. He was clearly hurt by the overnight stay without notice.
“You should contact me in advance. What if you let Rubens contact me instead? And on top of that, I thought you were coming home but you didn’t come, and it was only good that Rhino informed me he was with you. What’s with you these days?”
“No, well.”
“Is it belated puberty?”
At the scolding pouring out rapid-fire, Bernard shook his head with a face turned white as a sheet. His head became dizzy worrying what if he showed a suspicious reaction in this situation. Even knowing he had to put on a casual face, it wasn’t easy. His heart beat off-rhythm. Bernard panted breathlessly. Rhino, who noticed the situation beyond that, stroked Bernard’s shoulder.
Elliot examined the three people without any suspicion. Then his eyes became as big as saucers and he rushed out the door. Rubens’s eyes narrowed thinly before he briefly smiled. He seemed to feel interest in the unexpected situation.
“What’s this? Why are you like this? Where did you get hurt this badly? Hm?”
At Elliot’s reaction of being restless without even being able to properly hold the casted hand, Bernard’s shoulders flinched. He had to answer. Bernard’s lips moved, but no words came out as a voice. How could he say it? That this was what Rubens did and that he had sex close to rape with him yesterday…… Since there wasn’t a single thing he could say truthfully, Bernard’s mouth only shut tight as if glue had been applied.
Whether he found Bernard’s behavior suspicious, Elliot’s face became stern. When he was like that, Bernard had no choice but to give in every time. Elliot was more stubborn than expected, and since Bernard had no confidence he could beat him, it was more comfortable to give in from the start anyway.
“Look at your right hand too.”
The situation flowed in an unlucky direction for Bernard. Strength entered the hand clutching the outerwear and medicine bag. The color drained from Bernard’s face. Rubens was still staring piercingly at such a Bernard. Their gazes met. At that moment the man said with his lip movements.
‘Ring.’
The man smiled extremely and wickedly brightly. On Bernard’s right hand, hidden while supporting the outerwear, that deceitful ring was still on.
Unable to believe that Rubens was smiling in this situation, Bernard looked at him with a dumbfounded face. If everything was revealed, wasn’t he the one who would be at the most disadvantage? At the man’s behavior acting as if he had some escape route, idle suspicion coiled up. Like whether he had said something to Elliot……
“N-no. It’s okay… Elliot. Only my left hand got hurt. I just accidentally fell, fell down……!”
“What are you saying? If you got hurt from falling, how did only your left hand get hurt? Show me your right hand too. It’s more suspicious because you’re hiding it.”
Elliot’s face became stern. It seemed like there was no way to escape and his eyes became dark. It felt like his insides were burning up from tension. Bernard’s eyes shook anxiously wondering if he should confess everything like this. Then, Rhino, who had been watching the whole situation, reached out his hand to stop Elliot.
“Why are you interrogating the kid?”
“Kid? To a full-grown person.”
Whether he noticed the somewhat sharp atmosphere, Elliot’s reaction became sulky. Watching him reveal his displeased mood as it was, Bernard swallowed dry saliva. It was because he was worried Elliot might even get angry at this rate.
Cases of Elliot getting angry were extremely rare, but because he had once collapsed after getting extremely angry when young, Bernard acted particularly sensitive to Elliot’s emotional changes. However, before Bernard could do anything to salvage the situation, Rubens who had been standing behind approached them.
“Elliot.”
At the affectionate call, Elliot’s mood instantly softened. Favorable feelings rose rosily on Elliot’s face as he turned around. Watching that appearance, Bernard somehow felt an inexplicable emptiness. He didn’t know why it was so regrettable that his brother, who hadn’t even listened to his words and acted sternly, became obedient to another man’s words.
“I’d like to talk for a moment. Would that be alright?”
At Rubens’s words, Elliot nodded his head. Thanks to Rubens moving away naturally while embracing Elliot’s shoulder, he could also avoid the argument with Elliot. However, Elliot looked at him putting strength in both eyes as if he knew all of Bernard’s insides. It was an expression of intention that there wouldn’t be a second time. Bernard nodded his head with a dispirited face.
And he bitterly watched the sight of him turning right around and embracing Rubens’s waist. He felt miserable but couldn’t explain at all why he felt miserable. It wasn’t a position he could covet and he had no intention of coveting it, but somehow he became wretched.
“……Are you okay?”
“What wouldn’t be okay?”
As if reading such Bernard’s mood, Rhino asked carefully. At that, Bernard reflexively smiled slightly, but the smile didn’t stay long and scattered. He tried to loosen his facial muscles while touching his cold cheeks, but it was futile effort.
“…I’m sorry. I showed you an unseemly sight.”
“Go inside and rest a bit. When you’re not feeling well too.”
This was strictly a family matter. It wasn’t something for an outsider to get entangled in, nor was it something to show. Bernard’s face turned bright red as he belatedly recognized he had shown his shame as it was. However, Rhino lightly stroked Bernard’s shoulder. If he had given even trite consolation, he might try making some excuse, but he seemed unbothered.
“Ah, Rhino. Take the coat you lent me.”
“You want me to wear it again when I’m already wearing it?”
“No…… it’s originally yours.”
Embarrassment spread across Bernard’s face. Rhino, who had been staring at that expression, smiled faintly. He wondered why there was always such deep worry on this small face. He had deliberately made him relax his expression, but it was back to square one again. He wished this white face that always had many worries and many troubles would always smile.
“Give it to me next time.”
“When is next time?”
At the mumbling voice, Rhino’s head lowered slightly. At that, Bernard was startled and stepped back one step. A mischievous smile slowly spread across Rhino’s face. His voice became deliberately sinister.
“I wasn’t going to kiss you.”
“……Really.”
The voice stretched long as if reproaching. Even at the reproaching mood, Rhino grinned broadly. Just the fact that his coat was draped on that skinny body made him endlessly happy. With this mood, he wanted to immediately take him to a shop and buy him brand new things from head to toe, but he was holding back knowing Bernard would be horrified and run away. Bernard probably couldn’t even guess at his insides like this.
“I just wanted to look closely because you’re pretty.”
At the words adding “Really,” Bernard’s face reddened a bit. If they had been ordinary friends like before, he would have been disgusted saying what kind of joke is this, but after the confession Bernard’s behavior held a more subtle temperature.
“This is a different excuse.”
As if waiting for the explanation to follow Rhino’s words, Bernard raised his head slightly. Even though there was no trace of a single speck of dust on the coat he was wearing, Rhino deliberately patted the coat collar.
No matter how he thought about it, he himself had many problems. When he looked at him, he kept wanting to touch him, and he wanted to try needlessly insubstantial wordplay. Then he wished he would smile at his words. Such thoughts kept rising up fluffily.
“When you want to see me, say you’ll return the coat.”
