His Brother: Running Away?

“Please breathe. You’re making me worried.”

Vishnu stiffened his body. His muscles tensed. He scratched his head, aiming to make sense of everything. Yet, he couldn’t. He wanted to smack himself. How could he act like that? 

Ever since he realized why he’d been feeling weird the first time he met Jerson until now, he drew the line. He just met the person for fuck’s sake so why would he feel that way? And to a man, huh?

Everything just doesn't add up. There is no freaking way!

He knows himself better! He isn’t against the lgbtqi+ community and the projects they had established helping them in battling for their rights over the time, and he’s definitely not homophobic, however, thinking he was one of them was way too absurd. He could never accept that. He’d been straight all his life!

Vishnu took a deep breath while Jerson continued fixing his tie. Once again, he found himself attracted to Jerson’s fragrance. He stopped breathing again when he smelled the same fragrance he scented at the café. 

Boner. For some reason, he felt hot all of the sudden. 

He pushed Jerson away and glared at him. 

Good thing that Jerson had fast reflexes, avoiding himself from getting hurt. 

“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Jerson cursed as he lay down the cold marbled floor. 

“I’m sorry,” Vishnu sincerely apologized. “But please if it is not necessary, could you stay away from me. Could you give me some space? Hmm?” Vishnu cautioned. 

Jerson wanted to ask what his problem was but it looks like just like he guessed, he was his problem. He sighed before getting up and trudging backward. He bowed his head in respect for Vishnu, his new boss, who seemed to be unimpressed by his sudden move. Even Jerson, himself, was flustered about it. His body moves on its own accord and before he knows it, he was already fixing his tie like it was a normal thing to do and that he’d been doing it a lot before. His body remembers some fragments of familiarity sensations he was never aware of. 

He looked heavenward. 

He cursed himself all over again. Such a reckless act… how could he?

Jerson screwed up his face. “I’m sorry for being so… disrespectful. This won’t happen again,” he calmly apologized as he took off the apron he'd been wearing. 

Jerson pondered, perplexed by his own behavior. This departure from his usual self, unable to dismiss the situation casually, it left him questioning what was happening to him. The anomaly sparked a sense of self-reflection.

Frustrated, Jerson bit his lips with the same thoughts bugging his entirety. He even forgot to ask Vishnu to take his breakfast first before leaving. He just stood there, astounded.

“I’m leaving.”

Vishnu didn’t wait for Jerson’s reply and sauntered towards the door. He didn’t bother looking back at Jerson to check if he would once again affect his racing heartbeat or not. He got a boner right after he scented him. It was rather shocking news and an unexpected unraveling of a twisted plot. He couldn’t help but laugh at himself. Yesterday, he was acting like an innocent lamb, and now he was aroused just by his scent? What a perverted guy he is! 

He felt sorry that he had to push Jerson. 

Anyway, this might be just a confusion triggered by Noah. Whatever it is, he’ll find it out later. 

He gets in his car. He really just couldn’t stand being with Jerson and they would eventually end up fighting. He regretted why he didn’t reject Noah’s suggestion. He regretted that he was controlled by whatever feeling he had yesterday and he just let it control him. He regretted agreeing when Noah told him to bring Jerson along with him as his personal guard. He regretted it but why does he feel like he'd regret it more if he rejected all of it at once? 

Hah! I’m really out of my mind.

Vishnu tried his best to get distracted by some other things. He brought his ass around the investigation process even though he didn’t like it and even checked the place of the crime. He reviewed all the cases that were pending and contacted his paralegal team to sort things out when he wouldn't be able to do it alone and needed manpower. When he was finally done arranging the cases from most difficult to solve and to the least, he called his secretary to bring him the paper that needed to be approved. He exhausted himself to forget Jerson and his unexpected attraction to him. 

“You should take a break, sir.”

Vishnu waved his hand, dismissing his secretary. 

Observing Vishnu from a distance, Jerson made a conscious effort to conceal his presence, respecting Vishnu's request. He aimed to avoid irritating his new employer and maintain a low profile.

Jerson frowned after sitting on the van and watched Vishnu again from the CCTV he had stored on Vishnu’s necktie. He got the urge to strangle whoever gave Vishnu these fucking jobs. He was seriously beaten up following the prosecutor almost everywhere. He hasn't seen, even once, Vishnu takes his meals. He wanted to remind him to eat but he was told to stay away. 

He never really cared for anyone but, the prosecutor, the big baby was sulking so bad that he drowned himself with paperwork. He was forced to follow him. Jerson smirked before shaking his head sideways. 

Choosing not to go home, Vishnu directed his secretary to summon the maintenance department to fix the compartment in his office. Deciding to sleep at the office, he rationalized that sharing a house with Jerson, no matter how large, would lead to undesirable consequences. Jerson's mere presence proved to be a significant distraction, and Vishnu feared he might inadvertently harm him, as had happened earlier.

“Over time, Sir?” the Secretary asks. Vishnu nodded.

“I don’t feel like going home.”

Vishnu's secretary, named Rose, tilted her head in curiosity. It was unusual for Vishnu who usually was so eager to left work to go home to suddenly decide to stay overnight. Not only had he completed all the paperwork ahead of time, but he also delved into briefings he usually neglected and personally visited the investigation. The change in his routine is undoubtedly intriguing.

Rose couldn't help but wonder about the sudden change in her boss's behavior. A question lingered in her curious mind: What could have caused this changes?

“Hearing that from you… did something happen?”

“Nothing big,” Vishnu answered before focusing again on browsing something on his laptop. Rose shrugged it off thinking that his boss was going through something momentous change. He’s too old for that though. Rose chuckled.

Jerson's complexion soured at the news that the Prosecutor wouldn't be going home tonight. This meant he would have to spend the night inside the van he had brought to guard Vishnu. Dealing with all the dipshits that were following the Prosecutor all day, Jerson made sure of it that they were killed before they could pose any threat to the seemingly indifferent Prosecutor.

Imagining himself staying at the Van, Jerson felt greatly aggrieved. He wasn’t in a very good mood about what happened earlier and now he has to spend all night in his rusty van. 

“Fuck that Prosecutor! Fuck this set-up!” Jerson cursed while gritting his teeth. 

In a sudden burst of frustration, Jerson angrily typed Noah's number and forcefully tapped the call button. Puzzled by the intensity of his anger, he contemplated, “I must be losing my mind.”

“Speaking,” the other line mumbled.

“Noah…” Jerson said. Should I really need to do this? “Can you hire someone to protect Vishnu in the morning while I take over at night? I have to continue my studying this year. I can’t extend my leave of absence anymore,” Jerson declared. He took a leave of absence from his school because of an accident. His original plan was he was going to start all over again. Grab what Vishnu offered him and continue studying at Vishnu’s school where Vishnu graduated, but all of it had changed in just a matter of time because of Vishnu's shitty temperance and attitude. 

His records in his previous school were all good. His marks passed the average. It will all go to waste if he follows his previous plan. His efforts before the fucking accident will all go in vain.

Although he couldn’t really remember it all well, he surprisingly remembers all the lessons. His memory was affected by that mishap causing him to involuntarily forget people and some events. He even forgot people’s faces. One of those faces seemed to be owned by someone important to him. 

Except for his classmates and Noah, no one visited him at the hospital so he decided to just leave it like that. It’s a good thing that he couldn’t remember the guy’s face. It’ll only make it harder for him to move forward if he does. That accident almost killed him and he knows that the group who were after his parents were hunting him. 

“Did you just call me Noah?” Noah asked in excitement. “That’s the first time I’ve heard you say my name. Did something good happen?”.

“Just the usual,” Jerson retorted. “Have you thought about it? I could recommend someone who’s more adequate for the job.”

“Jane… Is Jane okay with you?” 

Jerson tilted his head in contemplation. Jane embodied the kind of woman he would choose to fall in love with—strong, independent, and reliable for tasks like this. He knew Jane liked him. If only he’s straight, he'd court Jane without a doubt.

“Jane is very dependable. Besides, Vishnu seems comfortable around girls so….”

“Aight! I’ll send Jane there tomorrow. Good luck with your studies.”