He was defeated.

He should have seen this coming. He should have known his protective streak would be used to take advantage of him someday. He's always been aware that it's one of his weaknesses but he never expected that someone would actually exploit it to get what they wanted. And to think that someone would be his cousin. His sweet, little cousin, Lia.

Eujae didn't have any problem turning Cloud's invitation down, didn't even budge when Tem looked at him almost pleadingly. However, when Lia started talking about how she wanted to go with their friends but might not be able to because she had no one to go with, Eujae instantly knew that it was something that he would have a hard time brushing off. Of course, he was aware of his cousin's real objective. He knew that Lia was doing it on purpose to get him to attend Cloud's celebration, but he also knew that the woman meant it when she said she might not be able to go if she didn't have anyone with her. And Eujae wasn't fine with the idea of his only cousin going alone somewhere at night either. In the end, guilt and overprotectiveness won and Eujae had no choice but to give in. That is what brings them to the De Vera Residence at the present.

It's already past ten o'clock in the evening and most visitors have gone home by now. The only people left in the room are their group of friends and the Philosophy professor, Mr. JP.

Watching the pair of professors interact with each other, Eujae thinks no wonder people in the University have easily figured out Mr. Sky and Mr. JP's relationship. It seems like the older men are not exactly hiding it after all.

Eujae lets his gaze roam around the room to look for his cousin, thinking they also need to leave. He finds her chatting with someone in the corner and is just about to approach them but stops when he recognizes who the other person is.

With a bright smile on his face, Poll appears like he is in an animated conversation with Lia. Seeing the expression, Eujae's mind wanders back to the other day when he saw him talking happily with his classmates. How come it's so easy for him to smile for others and make them smile, but with Eujae he's like a completely different person?

A bitter smile crosses Eujae's face as an unpleasant feeling starts to grow in him. As if sensing his stare, Poll turns in his direction but before their eyes can meet, Eujae averts his gaze. He turns away, sighing. He doesn't understand why he always gets irritated every time he sees Poll making that expression.

What does it even matter to him? What does he care if that guy keeps on smiling at others? It is not like he wants those smiles to be directed at him. No, Eujae is just bothered by the fact that Poll keeps focusing his ill feelings on him. He gets it; he's being hated for some unknown reasons, but wouldn't it have been better if Poll left Eujae alone from the start? If only they just ignored each other from the beginning, this whole conflict between them would have not come this far. But why was that guy so obsessed with annoying him? And why did he let it affect him so much?

Anyway, Eujae thinks after their last fight, Poll might finally stop being a nuisance to him. Good riddance.

He is still lost in thought when he hears someone announce, "Okay, guys, it's still too early. How about you all take a seat and let's play a game for now."

Turning to the direction of the voice, Eujae sees the Philosophy teacher sitting on the chair around a long table. Everyone starts to gather around Mr. JP. Curious, Eujae walks to him and pulls a chair to sit down.

As soon as they're all settled, Nick asks, "A game, Sir? What kind of game?"

Grinning, Mr. JP answers, "King's Game."

"King's Game," Poll repeats, "You mean that Japanese game that involved numbered sticks, Sir?"

"Exactly, but since we don't have numbered sticks, we're using these playing cards instead." Mr. JP then proceeds to explain the rules of the game. There are eleven cards on the table, the numbers one—or ace—to ten and a king. Every round, each person has to draw a card and whoever chooses the king will have the right to issue a dare to a certain number. The person holding the number has to perform the task that the king has given to them. No questions ask because the number one rule of the game is "The King's order is absolute."

Once Mr. JP is done explaining the rules, Cloud's younger sisters, a first-year college and a third-year high school, come to the table. With an imploring look in her eyes, the older one asks, "Can Sunshine and I join too?"

"I'm not sure about that, Rain. I'm not familiar with this game," Cloud answers his younger sister, and then looks at Mr. JP as if asking if it is fine to let his sisters join.

As a response, Mr. JP smiles. "Sure. You two can sit down. I guess we just have to keep the dares family-friendly, eh?" He turns to his lover beside him. "How 'bout you? Are you gonna join too?"

Mr. Sky shakes his head. "I'll just watch you play."

"Eh, I'm sure you just don't wanna embarrass yourself. What a coward." Mr. JP picks one card and puts it aside. "I'm removing the ace then since only the ten of us are gonna play. The king can choose from numbers two to ten."

They start the game with Mr. JP shuffling the cards and spreading them on the table to let everyone choose their card. The De Vera sisters go first, followed by Tem and Lia. Without really putting any thought into it, Eujae picks the last card to the right just because it's the closest one to him.

He slides his facedown card on the table and draws it towards him. Immediately upon peeking at the card to check what he got, he hears Risa exclaim, "Alright, I'm the king!"

Eujae looks up just to see the wide grin on his friend's face.

"Here we go. Number five," Risa starts.

Revealing his number seven card, Poll says, "Lucky. It's not me."

Everyone follows suit, turning their cards over, leaving only Eujae and Mr. JP with their cards unrevealed.

Incredulous, Eujae asks, "Why did you all reveal your numbers when the order has not been given yet?"

"Eh, are we supposed to hide our numbers 'til then?" Lia looks at her cousin guiltily. "I'm sorry! It's my first time playing this game so I had no idea."

"What's the big deal? It's not like your number is going to change if you managed to hide it," Tem reasons out.

With a sigh, Eujae explains, "Yes, but the king might change their order if they knew who's holding the number."

"Oh." Tem smiles apologetically as understanding crosses her dark brown eyes.

"Okay, okay, you guys stop arguing," Risa butts in, and then looks at Eujae, her eyes twinkling with mischief, "Alright, Eujae, I want you to answer this question–"

Eujae narrows his eyes at her. "Did I even say that I'm number five?"

"No, but the way you're acting, you might as well be saying it's you," Risa answers with a wide grin. "Relax. It's the first order so I'm gonna go easy on you."

Chuckling, Mr. JP turns his card upside and shows the number ten.

This is hopeless, Eujae thinks as he opens his card too. "Who even was the idiot who revealed their number first?" he mutters, displeased.

"Well, I'm sorry for being an idiot."

Surprised, Eujae quickly raises his head and turns to the source of the sour remark. Oh right, it was him. Eujae honestly didn't mean to aim at him when he said idiot, but he completely forgot that Poll was the first to show his card.

"I didn't mean..." Eujae stops, seeing as Poll can't even spare him a glance. It's pointless. He suspects the guy won't listen to him anyway.

"Alright, let's get back to the point."

Eujae turns back to Risa.

"You see, Eujae, I have this older cousin who's interested in you, and they've been bothering me about it for a while now..."

"There's no way I am gonna go out with them, Risa," Eujae interrupts.

Risa rolls her eyes. "No one's asking you to. I just wanna ask you for her... What's really your type, Eujae? Well, I told my cousin that you used to date girls who had this fantasy of them being a heroine of a chick flick or those girls who were with you because they thought you were some kind of mafia guy or whatever. It's not like I'm going to introduce you two though. Just wanna give her an answer so that she'll get out of my hair."

Eujae doesn't know whether to be amused or annoyed by his friend's statement about his previous relationships, but the others decide for him as everyone, except Poll, laughs.

Once they stop laughing, Eujae ponders about Risa's question. What's his type? He has never really given much thought to it before. He can't even remember if there was anything in particular that he liked about his previous girlfriends. If his memory serves him right, those women didn't have anything in common apart from their expectations of him. Why did he even date them in the first place? Looking back, those girls were the ones who asked him out first.

"Maybe someone I can spoil?" he answers finally.

"What a guy," Mr. JP comments, "Your future lover would be very lucky to have you."

Snickering, Nick remarks, "If only he doesn't have poor judgment when choosing the people he dates."

There is another round of laughter before they resume the game. Different dares are issued as they keep going. Sunshine orders number three, Tem, to sing the chorus of her favorite song in the melody of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. Rain tells number two, Cloud, and number ten, Nick, to dance the Tango together. Mr. JP dares number six, Sunshine, and number eight, Risa, to hug each other for thirty seconds. Tem instructs number two, Nick, to flick number three's, Lia, forehead.

"Wow, your finger barely touched her forehead," Risa calls out, "You call that flicking, Nick?"

"Shut up, Risa, didn't you see how Eujae was glaring at me?"

Eujae lifts a brow. "I wasn't glaring at you, Nick, though I was seriously thinking I'd break your fingers if you dared hurt my cousin."

"So overprotective." Mr. JP chuckles as he starts collecting the cards. "Now I can see why you want to have someone whom you can spoil."

As they start another round, Cloud points out, "Have you guys noticed that Poll has not contributed to this game yet? Forget about the king card, why hasn't anyone picked him to do the dares?"

"Maybe I'm just lucky today," Poll answers, grinning, as he draws a card from the table. Taking a peek at it, his grin widens. "See? Lucky." He turns the card over, revealing the king.

There are different reactions from the group. Some of them groan, others sigh. As for Eujae, he remains silent, staring at his unrevealed card, not bothering to take a look at it.

Poll hums, rubbing his chin as if in deep thought. "Okay, let's see. I'll give the order first. How about you bring me some desserts next week?"

"Eh, is that allowed? Shouldn't you give us an order that we can fulfill right now?" Risa protests.

"Yeah, what a corrupt king you are," grumbling, Nick agrees.

Poll pouts. "You guys are just being stingy."

"Let's just follow what the king wants." Mr. JP chuckles again. It seems like he's enjoying the younger people's interactions so much. Glancing at Poll, he asks, "So what's the lucky number?"

"Oh yeah, hmm, how about number two?"

"Yay, it's not me." Lia opens her card, and then looks at Poll with a smile. "Though I wouldn't mind bringing you a cheesecake from my favorite bakery if it was me."

Poll beams at his friend. "You can still bring me some even if it isn't you, L.A.," he says, too cheerful that one can practically hear the grin in his voice.

At this point, Eujae stops paying attention to everyone. He keeps staring at his card which is still facing down. There is that distasteful feeling that's starting to build up again. Just a few moments ago, that guy looked so upset with him. How did he quickly switch his mood now that he's talking with another person?

Eujae doesn't know how long he's been looking into space until someone calls his name, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"We're all done showing our cards, Eujae," Tem lets him know.

Absentmindedly, he nods. "Okay."

"None of us holds the number two," Cloud adds to Tem's statement as he looks at Eujae weirdly.

Eujae doesn't immediately catch on to what his friends are trying to say. He looks at everyone's upturned cards on the table, and as his eyes go back to his card which is yet to be revealed, his friends' words finally make sense to him.

"Oh." He reaches to flip his card, but before he can do so, Poll speaks, "Actually. Never mind. I feel like being a good king so let's just forget about it."

There is an awkward silence.

Eujae sighs and turns his card up. He doesn't want to argue anymore. Despite thinking that, he still acts defiant as he says, "I'll bring it to you next week."

There is no need for him to look at Poll to know that he's glaring at him again.

It must have been an attempt to lighten the mood when Lia chimes in, "Eujae is a good cook!"

"I don't make sweets, Lia," Eujae mutters, refusing to look at anyone.

"Then you can buy him a caramel custard." Tem puts her hand on her twin brother's head. "This guy is a total loser when it comes to sweets."

Eujae doesn't answer neither does Poll comment any further. The silence that follows creates another tense atmosphere.

"Hmm... this is pretty interesting."

Eujae looks up only to see Mr. JP staring at him across the table, his chin resting on his fist, a knowing smile on his face. "I've been wondering since earlier... Is Eujae that guy whom you said you hate, Poll?"

Eyes widening in disbelief, Eujae turns to Poll. He said what? He is not surprised to hear that Poll hates him; that's something that's been established a long time ago. But did the guy really go around telling random people about it?

He lets out a short, incredulous laugh. Just how much does Poll hate him that he had to do something like that?

"I told you it wasn't about me, Sir!" Poll sounds desperate as he tries to explain.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. Sorry," Mr. JP replies offhandedly. He doesn't even seem sorry at all as he keeps smiling at Eujae.

Eujae scowls. What a weirdo.

"Shall we continue?"

Everyone remains quiet as the professor reshuffles the cards and places them on the table. One by one, they draw their numbers. Some have not picked their cards yet when Mr. JP places his on the center of the table to silently announce that he's drawn the king.

The students look at each other anxiously just as Mr. JP poses the question, "How about a kiss between number nine and number ten?"

"I thought we're supposed to keep it family-friendly?" Rain asks.

"It's just a game and I don't see anything wrong with one innocent kiss," Mr. JP answers with a grin. "It's not like I'm asking for a lip-lock."

Sunshine shows her card, revealing number three. "Not my problem so it's fine with me."

Sighing, Rain reveals her card. She's holding number eight.

Cloud and Lia do the same. They have numbers two and four respectively.

Eujae opens his card and then frowns upon seeing the number. He has no time to react when Nick peeks at his card and then exclaims, "Eujae has number nine!" He then looks at the one he's holding and adds, "Lucky number seven!"

With a raised brow, Risa looks at Eujae, flipping her card to show the number six, as she says, "So I guess we're down to the twins."

Eujae looks at the twins, unsure of what to feel about the development of the game. What kind of absurdity is this? And it appears like the twins have the same thought as he does, based on how Poll is glaring at his card and how Tem's face is twisted into a grimace.

"How about you two open your cards at the same time," Nick suggests.

"Fine," Tem mumbles and turns to her brother. "On the count of three."

Despite his obvious displeasure, Poll complies as he places his hand on the card in front of him. "One."

"Two." Tem sighs, resigned.

"Three," they speak simultaneously and flip their cards.

There is another silence as all of them stare at the numbers.

Upon seeing who has the number ten, Eujae faces Mr. JP. "I don't think this is appropriate, Sir." He frowns. "I know this is just a game but there is no way I'm going to kiss someone who's already in a relationship with others, even if they're my friends."

He can feel his friends looking back and forth between him and the professor. Mr. JP keeps the smile that starts to unnerve Eujae. He glances at the number ten card in front of Tem again, and then at the number five in front of Poll. His gaze goes higher, stopping only when his eyes meet Poll's dark brown ones. As they keep staring at each other, Eujae tries to figure out what Poll is thinking with that blank expression.

"Oh, aren't you a gentleman?"

Eujae's head jerks back to the older man in front of him.

Resting his face on his hand one more time, Mr. JP leans a little bit forward.

Eujae's frown deepens, not liking either the look or the smile that the professor is giving him.

"Then I can take a compromise if one of the closest persons to Tem is willing to take her place."

Suspicious, Eujae narrows his eyes at Mr. JP. "By closest persons you mean?"

"Either her boyfriend or her brother." Mr. JP's grin becomes wider if possible. "Oh, but I take it you won't do it with Cloud either since you said someone who's already in a relationship is out of the question."

Eujae starts to argue but before he can say a word, someone butts in, "Let's just forget about this round. This is ridiculous. There is no way that jerk is gonna do it with me either."

With a glare, Eujae turns to Poll. What's his problem now? "You're making it sound like you want me to kiss you, Apollo."

Horror comes across Poll's eyes as they become rounder. Slamming his hands on the table, he stands up and leans in Eujae's direction.

Tem grabs her twin brother's hand, probably to stop him, but seeing as how the male twin doesn't show any sign of backing down anytime, she lets go. She rubs her temples with a hand, grumbling, "Seriously, don't you two get tired of this? Because I am. We all are."

But Poll isn't listening to her at all as his attention is solely focused on Eujae. "Don't put words in my mouth, jerk! I was just saying the truth! Wasn't it you who said you didn't want to have anything to do with me?"

"And didn't I also tell you to watch that mouth of yours?" Eujae stares at Poll sharply. Even he finds this exhausting, to be honest. Why can't this guy give him a break? It is like whatever he does, whatever he says, all Poll can see is something negative about him.

"So what? You want to shut me up? Wanna punch my mouth? Then go ahead."

That's it. Reaching the end of his patience, Eujae stands too, ignoring Nick and Lia on either side of him who also make an attempt to stop him. All the while, Poll keeps mouthing him off.

"Or, are you just all bark after all?"

Without warning, Eujae reaches across the table and grabs the back of Poll's head, pulling the guy towards him.

Maybe it's anger. Maybe he's fed up with hearing Poll curse at him every time.

Or maybe it's stubbornness. Maybe he just wants to prove the guy wrong.

"What the f–"

Whatever it is, it drives Eujae to shut Poll's mouth.

With his own.

Eujae doesn't bother to close his eyes, watching as shock flashes on Poll's wide, brown ones.

There is nothing romantic about the situation that they are in, Eujae thinks. Those love story books were being ridiculous when they described these kinds of scenes as something sweet, something that would make anyone feel the butterflies in their stomachs. If they are in a romance novel, this would have been the catalyst for them to fall in love. But they are not, so there are no tingly feelings, there is no sweetness, and more than anything else, there is no chance of falling in love.

This is far from fiction. Even now that his lips are pressed against Poll's, all Eujae can feel is frustration. This is the real world where the only thing in between them is enmity. A reality where Poll hates him. And where he hates how much Poll hates him.

The only description from the books that's spot on is the deafening silence, giving the illusion that they are the only people in the world. Their friends must have been too stunned to make a sound or any little movement.

Since he is perfectly aware that they are not in a romance movie, Eujae has expected Poll's uncliched response. But even when he anticipated the punch, he has not braced himself enough for the pain that comes after.

"What the fuck was that for, jerk?"

Doing the dare and shutting you up, Eujae muses but knows better than to say it out loud and behave like a total asshole at this time. Not that he didn't already act like one.

He feigns ignorant and he refuses to look at Poll, but he clearly heard the quiver in the other man's voice. Poll sounded furious, but at the same time, it was like he was about cry.

Somehow, it makes Eujae feel guilty but as stubborn as he is, he continues ignoring Poll and pretends to focus on the injury on his left face. Poll didn't really hold back with that punch. Eujae runs his tongue on the left side of his inner mouth, tasting his own blood. At least, his jaw and all his teeth are still intact.

There is screeching of a chair, followed by heavy footfalls of someone running out of the room, and then Tem's loud voice as she calls after her twin brother.

After a short pause, Tem speaks again, "Honestly, why did you have to do that, Eujae?"

Finally, Eujae looks up.

Tem is glaring at him now. "That was a jerk move, you know?"

"I know." Unfaltering, he stares back at his friend. Of course, he knows that he was an ass for doing that. He won't even make an excuse for himself.

Tem sighs, her expression softening. "Let's talk about it later," she says before turning to go after her brother.

"Is your face okay?" Lia asks, her expression a cross between worry and disapproval of her cousin's earlier action.

"It's fine. I guess I had it coming," Eujae answers honestly, and then sensing that someone is staring at him, he turns to Mr. JP. "You did that on purpose, didn't you? I don't know what you're trying to pull, Sir, but I'd really appreciate it if you stop messing with us."

The older man still has the nerve to look amused. "I don't know what you're talking about, young man. How could I have done it on purpose? There is no way I could have guessed which card was which. I mean, despite all the rumors about me, I'm not a psychic." His smile changes from annoying to sincere. "And I was messing with you, you say. But the way I see it, you two were already a mess, to begin with."

Eujae doesn't have an answer to that.

Mess. That's right. Everything about him is a mess at the moment. His thoughts. His emotions. This whole thing with Poll. It's a total mess.

They are a total mess.

And Eujae has no idea how to put all of it back in order.

How can he make it better? If staying away from Poll doesn't fix it, then what else is he supposed to do?

He doesn't know anymore. People always see him as someone smart, but could it be he's dense when it comes to this stuff?

"I'm sincerely curious though, Eujae." Mr. JP is starting to sound like a real concerned professor, instead of some meddling stranger. "You were quick to make an excuse when you knew that Tem was the one holding the number, but if it had been Poll, would you have done the same? Would you have objected if the order from the beginning was to kiss him? Or would you have used the excuse that it was just a game to do dare?"

Eujae opens his mouth to deny all the assumptions but quickly closes it again, realizing that even he's not sure. Would it have been different? He could have protested sooner if he wasn't fine with either of the twins. But why didn't he? Could it be that a part of him would have been okay if it was Poll?

"I don't know," he breathes, more to himself, and ruffles his hair. All he knows is that, recently, Poll has been driving him crazy.

He has never felt this way before, has never lost his cool to this extent. And it's taken only that one person to throw him off balance.

What the hell is all of this?

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

AN: A little late to update, but I hope the length makes up for it since this one's a lot longer than the previous chapters. I often split my chapters when they get long but there's no way to do that with this one. Can't even find a perfect point to pull a cliffhanger.