8. Degenerate Creep (5)
After Lucian left the girl with a screw loose, he resumed what he was doing… enjoying life. By the time he finished, some adults had already become busy with their routine, starting another day of work.
Taking a fresh shower and having breakfast, which he bought on the way home, Lucian looked at himself in the mirror.
"Mhm," he nodded satisfiedly at his neat appearance.
Having his fill, Lucian then went to his neighbor Bentley's residence. There, he was met with a strange smile from Layla.
"Did you oversleep?" she asked kindly, as if holding something down inwardly.
Lucian, who didn't realize the strangeness, replied as usual. Lucian didn't want to act like a child forever, so he had started his plan a long time ago—slowly changing his way of speaking and behavior at a reasonable rate, acting like a mature kid.
Thanks to his early effort, he was now able to act as usual, and no one found any discrepancy in his attitude.
"No? I woke up at my usual time…" Midway, Lucian realized the strangeness in Layla.
'Did she see me? But I avoided their house altogether,' it was the only reason he could think of.
"Then what did you do this morning?" Layla's eyes twitched as she held down her anger.
'Ah, she's pissed.' Lucian wondered if he should have come clean, but it was better to try first.
"I took a shower and finished breakfast… ah." Lucian stopped again midway, realizing his fault. He had promised to have breakfast at their house.
"Now, you remember?" Layla was smiling, but her eyes weren't.
Then, as if to hammer the last nail, Kate also intruded after cross-examining her face.
"We've waited for you for so long," she added.
"I'm sorry." Lucian sincerely bowed his head; it was the least he could do.
Letting his cheek be pulled by Layla as punishment, she said, "Don't forget it again. Breakfast and dinner."
"Yesh…"
***
"Then, see you later." Saying his goodbye, Lucian split up with Kate and went toward his own classroom.
"Good morning." Lucian went toward his seat after greeting everyone. Just like usual, he joined the two—Alice and Dia.
"Dia, Alice, morning."
"Morning," Alice replied cheerfully, followed by Dia, who was more reserved and shy, just like usual.
'??' Lucian thought it was just like usual, but Claudia's voice seemed more gloomy and sad than before.
"What's wrong?" he asked Alice if she knew the reason.
She shook her head. "She's been like this since I arrived." She also didn't know the reason. There was even a sign of worry on her face.
"Dia," Lucian called out once again, but this time she didn't even glance his way.
"Dia, can you lift your head for a moment?" Lucian tried again, but—
"No!" It was an instant refusal. Lucian wasn't someone used to playing with kids, but even so, he could tell there was a problem with her, especially with that instant refusal.
"It's fine. We won't criticize Dia no matter what happened," Lucian said to reassure her, but then realized he had just used "we." He turned to Alice for confirmation, then saw her move her head up and down without any concern for wasting stamina.
Dia stayed silent even after hearing them. Then, after some time of silence, "...really?" Her small whisper could be heard only by the two who were closest.
"Really!" Alice replied excitedly, seeing the progress in their capture.
"No matter what," Lucian added reassuringly.
"You won't be afraid?" Dia tried to confirm it again timidly.
"Why would we be afraid of someone as cute as you, Dia?" Lucian praised again.
'The way to handle a kid—you just need to be their ally and praise them a lot,' Lucian recited in his heart, his way of handling kids.
Then finally, Dia broke and slowly lifted her head.
Lucian and Alice were glad that their friend had rejuvenated—or so they thought.
"...." They both were a bit speechless, looking at their friend who looked cute but also silly, desperately covering her eyes. Her usual trademark—the cage-like bangs that covered her eyes—was gone. Dia had lifted her head, but she was blocking them from seeing her eyes, and vice versa.
"Ah!" she yelped in shock and slight despair when her hand was suddenly pulled away from blocking her eyes. With the strength difference between her and Lucian, it was like taking candy from a baby.
Without the bangs, Lucian and Alice were able to easily see what had been hidden behind. It was as if they had discovered a lost gem. They were entranced by it.
They saw bright, ruby-red eyes staring at them. The reflected light made them shine like diamonds. Their beauty seemed to draw in anyone who looked at them. Both Alice and Lucian were having a hard time reacting.
It was just like when you're on a train passing through a long tunnel—then, the moment you come out, you're greeted by a breathtaking view of the galaxy.
However, Claudia didn't have the leeway in her heart or mind. Seeing her best friends frozen the moment they saw her eyes, a traumatic experience replayed in her head. "Uu… sobs…" she was unable to control her emotions anymore.
Then the gem-like eyes were glazed with a thin layer of tears, which reflected another light. It enhanced the gem's color and beauty.
"Pretty!" they both blurted out accidentally.
"Eh?" Dia seemed to receive another type of shock when she heard them, but then she quickly realized that no matter what, she had to hide again.
She tried to cover her eyes, but her hand was caught again by Lucian, so she closed her eyes.
"It's pretty, don't cover it," Alice said, wanting to see more.
"Why would Dia cover something so beautiful?" Lucian added.
Dia was flustered, her face turning red with embarrassment, but even so, she said, "But it's creepy, right?"
"Nope."
"Not at all," Alice and Lucian replied instantly.
"Don't lie!" Even that wasn't enough to break her trauma. "Everyone said it's creepy!"
'I guess I have to say a word or two to this "everyone,"' Lucian made a mental note—another item on his list to check later.
"Then, do you think my eyes are creepy?" Lucian asked calmly. He, too, had strangely different-colored eyes from the rest of the classmates.
Dia herself didn't know since when she had been like this, but by the time she realized it, she had never seen her opponent's eyes directly. Her vision only reached as high as the bridge of others' noses.
For the first time in forever, Dia looked above the nose, and "…Ah." 'Pretty.' Her thought was the same as Lucian and Alice just now.
Lucian was actually quite proud of his colored eyes. They looked calm in places with low light, appearing black, but in bright places, they shone in different colors.
There was even a time when he wore contact lenses just to have colored eyes.
"It's pretty," Lucian said again, but this time, Dia also seemed entranced by his eyes.
"…Mhm," Dia softly muttered, finally able to accept that fact.
"Don't cover it again. Dia's eyes are the same as mine—one equal to one. My eyes are yours, and yours are mine. Insulting them is the same as insulting my eyes. I won't forgive anyone who insults your eyes. So don't let others insult mine, okay?" Lucian said without breaking contact with Dia's eyes. They could see each other's reflection—it was as if something was being transferred between them through the light.
"..." Dia was in a daze for a moment, then, as if something had solidified, she said with dedication and strength, "It's pretty. I won't let others insult Lucian's eyes."
"I will protect Dia's eyes too," Lucian smiled and held out his pinky finger. "Promise?"
"Promise!" Dia wrapped her pinky around his.
Just as everything was about to be resolved—
"Hey! I'm also here! I'll protect you two!" Alice also wrapped her fingers with theirs. However…
"Ah…" Dia blurted out something she shouldn't have. Her expression made it clear she had forgotten Alice was there with them.
Alice, who was usually quite dense, particularly sensed this one.
"Gh! Both of you are ignoring me again! Sobs, I'll cry, you know!"
It wasn't that Lucian had forgotten about her, but Claudia's eyes had really captured everyone's attention. "What are you saying, Alice? There's no way we forgot about you, right?" Lucian tried to defuse the bomb.
"That's right, Dia didn't forget at all," Dia followed—but her tone and expression said otherwise.
If a child falls down and you let it be, the child will stand up by himself and continue playing. But if you come to help the child—saying, 'It must hurt,' or 'Are you alright?'—the child senses your emotion and starts crying.
It's the same here.
The more Lucian and Claudia tried to relieve their mistake and guilt—
"Uu, sobs, uwaa!"—the more Alice cried for real.
It took a while for her to calm down.