Chapter 53 - GOLDFISH
Early in the morning, Kris drove his speedboat back to the mainland. Kevin wanted to go home quickly so he could take a shower. He said that his body felt sticky because he didn\'t shower yesterday.
Last night, Kevin immediately fell asleep and did not wake up until morning. Kris had to carry his tall body into the hut because he was afraid Kevin would catch a cold. Luckily, there was a bed that they could use to sleep. Yes, they slept together last night. Just sleeping, though.
Currently, Kris was driving, and Kevin was sitting beside him.
"Don\'t go speeding. I don\'t want seasickness anymore," the scientist warned the man beside him.
He was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday. The only difference was a pair of sunglasses sitting on the bridge of his nose. Yes, that was Kris\'s.
"Whether I\'m speeding or not, you would probably still experiencing seasickness. It caused by repeated motion from a vehicle, after all," Kris replied casually.
Kevin scowled at those words.
Kris didn\'t drive the boat too fast, and the two handsome men could enjoy the breeze blowing their hair. Yesterday, they were traveling when the sky was getting dark, so the beautiful sea view was not caught by the eye.
Before they left the island, they took a short tour around the island. At that time, Kevin realized that the island was not entirely plains, but there were also hilly areas.
"You haven\'t answered my question, Kris," Kevin spoke again.
"Which question?" The werewolf asked in confusion.
"My question about whether you were serious or just joking."
Kevin didn\'t explain in detail, but Kris could understand what he meant. He then chuckled in amusement.
"I had answered your question, but you fell asleep, my Sleeping Beauty."
Kevin blushed for a bit hearing Kris\'s way to address him, but he pretended as nothing happened and started protesting, "You just need to answer my question again, no need to mock me."
Kris giggled again and brought his hand to ruffle Kevin\'s black hair affectionally. "Yes, I was serious when I said that I was looking for you and that I have found you," he finally answered.
Kevin\'s chest rippled violently at Kris\'s answer. He himself did not know since when, but a magical phenomenon kept happening inside his ribs whenever he was near Kris or whenever he heard Kris\'s sweet words. Yes, a magical phenomenon when his heart drummed loudly as if it was partying inside his ribs.
\'What\'s wrong with me? Do I need to see a heart specialist in the hospital?\' The scientist wondered in his heart.
"Is the answer important to you?" Kris asked because he didn\'t get a response from Kevin.
"Not really," the scientist answered in a flat tone, trying to cover up his strange feeling. "But, why were you looking for me?"
"To find you," Kris answered briefly.
Kris\'s short answer made Kevin exasperated and pinched the werewolf\'s arm.
"Okay, I will answer seriously," Kris relented after he felt a sore feeling on his burly arm. "I was looking for you because I wanted to take care of you. You were close to Blue, and Blue was being targeted by werewolves. You could be in danger if I weren\'t by your side."
The shorter man\'s heart warmed to hear the answer. "So, you approached me not because you wanted to use me to get Blue?" Asked the young scientist.
"You two are like real siblings, aren\'t you? In the past, Blue also made that scenario. She accused me of using you even though I had no intention of it," Kris said.
Talking about Blue made Kevin smile sorrowfully. His heart missed the figure of the younger sister who was almost seventeen years with him. He was worried about Blue\'s current condition.
"Kris, should we just report to the police regarding Blue\'s disappearance?" Kevin voiced his idea all of a sudden.
"I disagree," Kris quickly responded. "If the police or the human special forces found out the truth about Blue, they would hunt Blue too, maybe even kill Blue. You know how humans view werewolves," he continued.
Kevin weighed Kris\'s opinion for a moment, and then he said, "It looks like you are right. For now, our priority is Blue\'s safety. Haven\'t you thought of another place that might be the base for the werewolves where they took Blue?"
The werewolf did not immediately answer Kevin\'s question. It looked as if he was trying to remember the place the werewolves might have used to hide Blue.
But, in the end, the werewolf let out a tired sigh and replied, "I will look for more clues later." He looked a bit disappointed as he continued, "For now, can we stop talking about Blue and the werewolves? I want to rest my brain even if it\'s only for a moment."
Kevin nodded understandingly at Kris\'s suggestion. It looked like the werewolf was right. Since yesterday, they were only talking about Blue, and to be honest, he also felt tired because of that.
"Okay. Then, what should we talk about now?" Kevin asked as he put his index finger to his chin. His eyes suddenly sparkled brightly and his smile grew wide. "I know! I want to ask you something!" He screamed excitedly. "Have you ever felt your heart beating so fast when you are near someone, Kris?"
Kris almost lost control of the boat after hearing Kevin\'s unexpected question.
"Why are you suddenly asking me that?" The taller man finally responded to Kevin\'s question.
"Because my heart always beats fast whenever I\'m near you."
Again, the speedboat driven by Kris shook a little because Kevin was too innocent. His face flushed slightly, either from embarrassment or because of something else.
"Gosh, Kevin! Did you just confess your feelings to me?" Kris finally responded after he managed to drive his speedboat steadily again.
The question made Kevin squirm in his seat. "Who confessed to you? I\'m just telling you about the condition of my heart. Stop making random accusations!" He resentfully denied Kris\'s accusation.
The denial made Kris grin slightly. "So, you don\'t know what it means when your heart beats fast when you are near someone?" He asked in a playful tone.
"I don\'t know. I have never experienced this before," replied the raven-haired man.
It was undeniable that Kevin was inexperienced. The young man dedicated his whole life working in the laboratory without ever experiencing the wildlife of young people. He also had never been in love. The death of his parents made Kevin obsessed with finding the long-sought antidote.
"There is no phone signal here, so wait until we reach the land. You can use Google to answer your question. I\'m sure you will find lots of answers there," Kris suggested. He felt a little stupid for giving such stupid advice.
"Really?" Kevin asked innocently.
Kris again felt that he was talking to a kid. If only he wasn\'t driving his speedboat, he would have pinched Kevin\'s smooth cheeks because the young scientist was wearing an adorable expression now.
But, Kris was forced to hold back his desire and only nodded briefly to answer the young man\'s question.
Kevin seemed to be able to accept Kris\'s answer. The young man sat back down quietly while staring at the vast sea in front of him. Ah, he just realized that his stomach was fine so far.
Before they were boarding the boat, Kris gave him some saltine crackers and peppermints. The werewolf said that the food could prevent seasickness. That seemed to work. Kris glanced a little at the young man beside him and found the human smiling happily. "Why do you look so happy? Is it because you aren\'t seasick anymore?" The werewolf guess.
The guess made Kevin startled and he suddenly turned his head to Kris. "You can read my mind?" He asked with a surprised expression.
"What\'s mind-reading? Didn\'t I tell you that you are like a transparent test tube to me? I can see you even without reading your mind," replied the werewolf.
Kevin could only pout his lips at Kris\'s answer. He then turned his face back to the blue sea, enjoying how the cold sea breeze caressed his handsome face.
"Why do you raise goldfish?" Kris suddenly changed the topic of their conversation.
Without turning to Kris, Kevin answered, "When I had my seventeenth birthday, the head of the orphanage gave me a pair of goldfish as a present. The two fishes died a year later, but after that, I continued to raise goldfish because I like them."
Kris nodded in understanding, then asked again, "Do you know what goldfish means?"
This time, it was Kevin\'s turn to nod before answering, "They mean luck and prosperity."
Kris smiled a little at Kevin\'s innocent answer. "That\'s only human belief in goldfish. Do you know any other myths about goldfish that circulate in the human world?" Kris asked again.
Kevin turned to Kris and frowned in confusion. "I don\'t have myth word in my dictionary. I only know a fact that goldfish have a long memory. At least, they can remember something for up to 5 months," he stated innocently.
Kris facepalmed after he heard the statement. It seemed like he just lost a bait for a fish named Kevin.
But, he didn\'t give up as he said, "That\'s the fact, but the myth said that goldfish have a short memory. It said that goldfish could only remember something for about 3 seconds. Research proved it wrong, but the myth is still popular among humans, to the point that they call forgetful people as goldfish."
Kevin curled his lips again.
"Have you ever guessed why your mother in the orphanage gave you goldfish as your birthday present?" Kris asked again, and Kevin remained silent as he continued to stare at the werewolf in confusion. "Perhaps, it\'s because you are forgetful. Perhaps, there is something important that you forget so easily that she gave you goldfish."
Kris\'s words were enough to stun Kevin. What did he forget?