<Chapter 21>
#3. The Only Ones Who Don’t Know
Angel Fryce wanted to go home. Even though it hadn’t even been 30 minutes since he arrived at work, he desperately wanted to leave. He’d always counted down the hours until quitting time, but these days it was especially bad. With his eyes half-closed, he stared at the source of all his troubles.
“That part is wrong. You need to check this.”
“Um… like this?”
“Yes. Well done.”
Melty nodded at Calix’s guidance. Pen in hand, Melty reorganized the documents as instructed. If you only heard their conversation, it would sound like a diligent junior receiving proper instruction from his superior. The learning process seemed completely normal, but in reality, many aspects of it were problematic.
Calix’s upper body was already tilted almost entirely toward Melty as his arm wrapped around Melty’s shoulders. Melty’s hair had been tousled for so long that it looked like he’d just woken up from sleep, thanks to how much Calix had been touching it after every explanation when Melty would dutifully nod. A three-tiered tray sat on the table in front of the sofa where they were seated, filled with various sweet desserts prepared exclusively for one person.
Angel narrowed his eyes at the sight of desserts that had gradually increased since Melty started working. There was no way Calix, who never snacked during work hours, had suddenly developed a taste for sweets. And those chocolate-covered treats certainly weren’t meant for Angel either.
Most telling of all, every time Melty completed a document using his newly learned methods, Calix would pick up a dessert as if he’d been waiting for just that moment and put it into Melty’s mouth. Melty, now completely accustomed to this behavior, opened his mouth obediently without any resistance. Looking at the dessert tower that was clearly prepared for Melty Crosel, Angel shook his head.
Of course, they weren’t always like this. Angel seriously contemplated whether the root of all these problems started when Melty began assisting with work, or if it was their trip to the village that caused the issue. While wracking his brain over this, Angel couldn’t take it anymore and spoke up.
“I can’t work here anymore because of you two.”
“Pardon?”
Melty looked up at him with blinking round eyes. After staring at Angel with a bewildered expression, Melty lowered his gaze to the document in his hands. Then, after glancing at Calix once, he returned his gaze to Angel.
“Um… was I being too loud?”
Unlike Melty, who was cautiously asking while reading the room, Calix responded with a light snort.
“Why are you picking on someone who’s just doing his job well?”
Even his comment was so obviously protective of Melty that Angel’s lips trembled. There were so many issues to address that he didn’t know where to begin.
“This is all your fault, Master Calix. Why are you assisting Melty-ssi, who’s supposed to be your assistant in the first place? Spending time like this is slowing down our work progress.”
“What? I’m just helping him with things he doesn’t know.”
“…By stroking his hair and feeding him desserts?”
Angel asked with an expression as bizarre as his complicated feelings. Ignoring Angel’s question, Calix pretended not to hear and fiddled with Melty’s hair instead. Having given up on confronting Calix further, Angel turned to Melty, who was busily observing the situation.
“And why are you just sitting there, Melty-ssi? It might be a bit late now, but if you keep letting him do this, he’ll develop bad habits. You should just kick him— Oops! That was a mistake.”
Angel cut off his words with a startled expression. But Melty somehow felt that the sentence Angel was about to say was genuine. He subtly rolled his eyes up to look at Calix, but there was no change in his expression. Calix remained composed, as if he were used to Angel’s irritation, and instead of expressing his discomfort, he continued playing with Melty’s hair.
It was true that dealing with Calix had become much easier since their trip to the village together, but initially, Melty had done his best to escape. However, having worked as an assistant for a week now, Melty had learned that trying to avoid Calix only resulted in more harassment.
If he stayed still, Calix would simply fiddle with his hair a bit and leave it at that, but if he refused or tried to run away, Calix would annoy him with his slick attitude and petty complaints. In other words, Melty had now completely adapted to Calix’s habit of improving his mood by playing with Melty’s hair.
Besides, he didn’t particularly mind having his hair stroked. Perhaps because he was born the youngest in a family with many siblings, both his brothers and sisters adored him. At home, his family would often pat his head saying how cute he was. From the beginning, the reason he had been running away was because it was Calix doing it, not because he was uncomfortable with someone touching his hair.
“It’s just a bit of hair touching.”
Seeing Melty’s gentle smile, Angel slapped his forehead with a loud thud. Calix explained that he was merely showing Melty how to do his work, but to Angel’s eyes, it looked like nothing but fooling around. Calix’s leisurely approach to work since Melty’s arrival, which had delayed Angel’s quitting time, also contributed significantly to his irritation.
“Exactly. If he’s fine with it, why are you making such a fuss?”
Do you really need to ask?
Angel, with his eyes wide open, shot a glare containing far more content than what he could express verbally. Casually ignoring his look, Calix slowly moved his fingers from the top of Melty’s head to caress his perked-up ears.
“Eek!”
Melty’s back stiffened at the sudden touch on his ears. Raising his hands to cover both ears, Melty shrank away and glared at Calix.
“I told you not to touch my ears. It startles me.”
“That was your ear?”
“Anyone can see it’s an ear.”
“Is that so? I couldn’t tell.”
Unlike Melty, who was pouting, Calix’s eyes were full of amusement. Calix’s index finger tapped on the back of Melty’s hand that was covering his ear. Even with this finger knocking, Melty turned his head sharply to the side, looking away. Watching them bicker, Angel let out a long, deep sigh that had been building up inside him.
That behavior is unmistakably flirting, no matter who sees it.
Melty subtly glanced at Angel and moved his lips widely. Angel’s brow furrowed as he easily read Melty’s lip movements. He had a bad feeling ever since Melty returned from the village with Calix and excitedly reported, “Calix-ssi said he likes smart people who work well!”
It seemed Melty was harboring a major misunderstanding. Calix, finally noticing Melty repeatedly mouthing words while looking at Angel, fixed a cold stare on Angel. Faced with his superior’s piercing gaze, Angel put on the smile he had perfected over years of working under him.
“Come to think of it~ isn’t today Melty-ssi’s day off? What are you planning to do?”
“Ah… I’m going to write letters to my family.”
“Letters?”
“Yes. It’s been a while since I wrote any. I figure they must be worried.”
Melty smiled shyly as he tapped his index fingers together. Looking at him, Angel responded with a kind smile.
“Then let’s finish here for today so you can go rest. We’ve completed all the urgent tasks anyway.”
“Really?”
“Of course. Besides, the day after tomorrow is the ‘Exchange Meeting.’ Master Calix and I have many final preparations to coordinate. Jenny-ssi must be busy right now too.”
Calix frowned at Angel’s scheme to send Melty away. Despite Calix’s silent glare suggesting that Angel had no right to end the workday, Angel brazenly raised his chin.
“Can I finish work for today?”
Melty looked up at Calix with sparkling eyes and a bright smile at Angel’s suggestion. Suppressing a groan, Calix forced his lips into a smile. As Angel said, they had mostly wrapped up the urgent matters. Moreover, he simply couldn’t ignore the expectant look in Melty’s eyes. Hiding his reluctance, Calix nodded in permission, and Melty smiled even more brightly than before.
“Then I’ll go ahead!”
At his visibly excited demeanor, Naru, who had been quietly wrapped around his wrist all day, moved its head to look back and forth between Calix and Angel. Melty stroked Naru’s head to praise it for waiting patiently, then left the office with light steps.
“Then I’ll rest tomorrow and see you the day after tomorrow!”
His cheerful voice, full of excitement, faded away. Angel maintained his smile until Melty left, then immediately glared at Calix.
“Master Calix.”
“What?”
“Could you please stop flirting? It’s like… it’s like watching an 80-year-old man hitting on a young man…!”
Calix frowned at Angel’s exaggerated wailing sound that accompanied his outburst.
“What did I do?”
“What did you do? You’ve been touching Melty-ssi all day long!”
“Anyone listening would think I’m some kind of pervert. I just stroked his hair a little.”
He never expected to be called an “80-year-old man flirting” simply for patting someone’s head. Angel’s mouth fell open at Calix’s expression, which made no attempt to hide his displeasure.
“As I said earlier. Does Melty-ssi not have hands or feet? Why do you keep feeding him desserts?”
“Would you rather have him touch documents with sticky hands?”
Angel was dumbfounded by Calix’s shameless retort. Although Melty was small and petite, he was undoubtedly an adult. He wasn’t immature or accident-prone enough to handle documents with dirty hands. From what Angel had observed, Melty diligently followed instructions. Besides, he wasn’t even eating the desserts with his hands—there were clearly forks available, making Calix’s justification seem like nothing more than an excuse.
While Angel stood with his mouth agape in disbelief, Calix leaned back against the sofa with his arms crossed, a slight smile appearing on his lips as he watched Angel now pulling at his hair in frustration.
“What? Are you jealous? Want me to feed you too?”
“No, thank you. I have hands.”
With a rare display of formality, Angel extended his hands forward to show him. Calix, who had been smiling cheerfully at Angel’s palms, placed his right leg over his left.
“See? So what’s your problem?”
Angel looked at Calix with a sour expression as the latter shrugged his shoulders as if there was absolutely nothing wrong. Then, Angel asked a serious question.
“Master Calix.”
“What?”
“Do you… like Melty-ssi?”
