The deep winter night was icy, but the newly built hot spring resort on the city's outskirts blazed with light, steam rising faintly into the air.
Inside the entertainment room on the hotel's second floor, a crowd of impeccably dressed, strikingly handsome men and beautiful women laughed and played, the atmosphere electric.
Buzz… Buzz…
A phone vibrated on the Pai Gow table.
Kerry glanced at the caller ID, picked up his phone, and stood.
"Sorry, guys, go on without me. I need to take this," he said with an apologetic nod.
"Oho! Is my little Koen checking up on you?" one of the young men teased.
"Haha, everyone knows Koen's phone only has contacts for business partners! What 'little treasure' could it be?"
"Hey, you never know…"
Kerry just smiled. "It's my brother."
"Go on, then! Hurry back so we can help you win all of Bardel's money! We're determined to leave him without a stitch tonight! Hehehe…"
The man sitting in the host's seat lifted his lazy gaze, his indifferent eyes sweeping over the boaster.
He let out a soft, derisive laugh, then pushed the tiles in front of him forward.
His voice was a deep, sensual drawl, laced with nonchalance.
"How about you liven things up with a striptease instead, David?"
David stared at his losing hand and wailed.
"How am I losing again?"
"Haha! Strip! Strip! Strip!"
Seeing they were thoroughly entertained, Kerry smiled slightly and left the private room with his phone.
He returned in under ten minutes.
David had already shed his jacket, shoved his shirt sleeves up to his elbows, and was squatting inelegantly on his chair with an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips.
"Back already?"
David quipped as Kerry returned.
"Was little brother checking up on his future brother-in-law?"
Kerry retook his seat, shaking his head wryly.
"Supervise? Hardly. I texted him this morning, and he ignored me all day. Just remembered he has a brother, so he called to go through the motions. It was utterly perfunctory."
David chuckled.
"You know, I barely have any impression of your family's second son. Just remember him being sick all the time as a kid. Skinny, small, never talked much, never went out. Is he still like that?"
Kerry sighed.
"We've had many doctors regulate his health these past few years. He's much better. But he still catches colds when the seasons change. When the temperature dropped recently, he was back in the hospital on an IV for two days."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. The eldest brother is like a father and mother," David clucked his tongue.
"Lucky it's you, Kerry, managing to find time in your insane schedule to raise a brother. If it were Bardel with a sickly brother like that…"
He trailed off, glancing at the man in question.
"He'd probably stash him in some forgotten corner and let him fend for himself. Saves the trouble, right, Bardel?"
Bardel, his expression languid, casually uttered, "Mmm. Hard to care for. Can't be bothered."
The room erupted in unanimous laughter.
Bardel appeared refined, gentle, and could banter with friends, but beneath it lay a nature both detached and coolly indifferent.
He wanted no part of anything troublesome.
Kerry glanced at him, his lips curving slightly, unoffended.
They played for another half hour.
By then, a small mountain of chips sat before Bardel.
Having lost interest, he picked up his jacket and stood.
"Your deal. I'm going out for a smoke."
David, who had lost the most and relied on their close friendship, complained loudly, "Hey! Don't you dare use 'a smoke' as an excuse to leave and not come back!"
Bardel just waved a hand and walked out.
The moment the door closed, the room's seal seemed to break, releasing an even wilder wave of revelry.
Bardel lit a cigarette in the corridor. After finishing it, he didn't return to the private room but headed for the elevators.
Ding!
The elevator doors slid open.
Inside stood a young man in a blue overcoat, a scarf wrapped around his neck, his head slightly bowed.
Bardel paid him little mind, stepping inside with his long-legged stride.
He raised his hand to press a floor button, noticed the button for the 28th floor was already lit, and let his hand drop.
The elevator ascended.
The narrow space was quiet.
Bardel had been looking down, replying to a message, when he inadvertently glanced up.
In the elevator's polished, reflective doors, he saw the boy had pressed himself into a corner, silent and still.
He raised a brow slightly, gauging the distance between them – probably the farthest two people could get in that small box.
Amusing.
His eyes then measured the boy's height – it only came up to his chin.
Hmm…
Am I too tall?
Did I scare him?
Perhaps sensing the gaze on him, Koen looked up and met a pair of profound, dark eyes in the reflection.
Their eyes locked through the mirrored surface.
Bardel froze for an instant.
His first thought was: Are all boys from the south this pretty?
The reflection showed a face fair and exquisitely delicate, with a high nose bridge and slightly full lips touched only with a hint of pink.
A pair of phoenix eyes, clear as glass, held a quiet, somewhat aloof tranquility.
His chin was hidden in the beige scarf, making him look utterly well-behaved.
Bardel couldn't help but turn to look directly.
Koen had already dropped his head again.
His hair was a rather light shade, looking very soft – it probably felt soft too.
And those long lashes casting small shadows on his cheeks…
They made his fingers itch inexplicably…
Ding!
The elevator arrived on the 28th floor.
Bardel withdrew his gaze and stepped out first.
For some reason, he slowed his pace, faintly aware of the presence behind him.
Koen also exited the elevator, walking slowly as he sent a voice message in a clear, cool, youthful voice: "I'm back in the hotel, Brother. I'll sleep early. You don't need to come up and check…"
Bardel pulled his key card from his pocket and swiped it.
Hearing the boy's words, he roughly guessed his identity.
So, this was Kerry's "hard to care for" younger brother?
He entered his room.
Just as he did, Koen reached his own door diagonally across the hall.
He swiped his card, then glanced back at the now-closed door opposite before stepping inside, gently pressing his lips together.
---
Early the next morning, after breakfast, Koen went to one of the medicinal bath houses.
The steam-shrouded pool gave off the distinct scent of herbal medicine – not exactly pleasant.
But he was used to it.
He undressed and immersed himself in the warm water, started the timer, and closed his eyes.
He was drifting, drowsy from the heat, when he heard a staff member explaining something outside.
Then, the unlocked door was pushed open.
Koen's brow furrowed.
He opened his eyes, his pupils contracting slightly.
He silently sank lower, letting the water cover his fair shoulders until only his head remained above the surface.
Bardel, standing in the doorway, witnessed the entire motion.
His gaze lingered on the boy's face, flushed pink from the steam, slow to withdraw.
Then he saw those lips press together slightly, and those misty phoenix eyes look toward him, seeming to wordlessly shoo him away.
"Ah! I'm so sorry, so sorry, Young Master!" the staff member cried out in a panic.
"I didn't know you were in here! My apologies! Mr. Bardel, I… I'll take you to another one…"
Bardel's Adam's apple bobbed.
He pulled his gaze back from that exposed, pale stretch of neck, turned, and left.
The staff member continued apologizing profusely, leading him into the room next door – another medicinal bath.
These small bath pools were built to resemble little thatched huts.
The rooms were separated only by wooden planks – breathable, but not soundproof.
As Koen's ears still burned red, he heard the staff member's voice next door, then the sound of the door closing, followed by the soft rustle of fabric, and finally, the sound of someone entering the water…
His lips pressed into a tight line.
He slowly moved to the other side of his pool, farther from the shared wall, and rested his head against the edge.
The blush on the tips of his ears gradually spread down his neck.