Share

Chapter 2

Author: aneryllis
last update Last Updated: 2024-10-29 19:42:56

"Because you were having a hard time."

"Because you were having a hard time!" Gold mimics Kolya's kind words that keep on playing on his mind. He slightly changes his tone hoping to change the impact of the statement.

Unfortunately, the effect of it didn't diminish. If anything, it only strengthens the attack of the termites in his stomach.

Kolya's words bring him comfort. Like real comfort. It's different from what he feels every time his friends or acquaintance tell him that he's good or that everything is going to be okay. Kolya's words meant a lot probably because Gold can feel his sincerity even though he's been an ass to the transferee.

"Damn it." He blows his fringe—a habit he does when he is frustrated.

"Mr. Adana, you're late!" Mr. Song scolds when his eyes land on Gold who just entered the classroom.

Today's Tuesday. Every second day of the week, Mr. Song's class starts at 8am and ends at 11:30am.

"Sorry," Gold murmurs, slouching on his seat. He didn't even look or bow at his dance instructor.

He's thirty four minutes late because after his encounter with Kolya, he went straight to the change room to take a quick shower and change his rain soaked clothes.

Mr. Song shakes his head and just proceeds into finishing his lecture for the day.

This class is divided into two activities. Lecture part is from 8:00 to 9:30am. They have a short break for fifteen minutes. After that, the practical or application of the lecture will then begin. It's from 9:45 to 11:30am.

"Gold, you okay?" Jacob, one of Gold's best friends, asks during their recess.

"Yeah," the golden boy sighs just like how he sighed during Mr. Song's lecture. The man is a great instructor, but his way of teaching is so boring. Gold fought the strong urge to sleep in the class because he knows that he already has one strike for being late.

Speaking of late, Kolya is still nowhere to be seen. He didn't attend the morning lecture today. It's kind of a relief actually. Everyone is surely going to ask what happened to his beaten up face.

"You sure? You were late this morning," Carter, another friend of Gold, questions too.

It's odd. Gold Adana is never late in class. This is another reason why almost everyone he knows admires him. He's literally a model student.

"I forgot my umbrella so I had to take a shower at the change room." The golden boy semi lies.

Admittedly, he's embarrassed. Christopher and his friends cornered Kolya on their own. They're really bullies who pledge their so-called loyalty to Gold. The latter doesn't even like them, but Christopher is kissing Gold's ass because his father is a subordinate of Doctor Adana, Gold's dad.

Gold knows that the bullies won't stop beating up Kolya if he didn't stop them. Thank God he's able to do so. Nikolai could have been in serious danger if not for the golden boy. He isn't a hypocrite, though. Gold admits; it felt good to see the person who stole his spotlight to be so helpless.

Kolya needs to learn his place.

"Park! Where the hell have you been!?" Mr. Song's face is as red as fresh tomatoes. He's so stressed because they cannot start the dance performance without the center position, his role is really vital in this part.

The instructor then questions himself. Is it worth it to replace Gold? The golden boy may not be perfect, but at least he tries so hard. Unlike Kolya who showed up 3 hours late in class. What a sloth!

"Sorry, Mr. Song!" Nikolai bows repeatedly, his voice sounds so scared that the instructor can't help but ask if there's something wrong.

"What happened to your face!?" There is something wrong! Kolya's face is swollen. He has black eye and there are cuts all over his face.

"Did you get into a fight!?" Mr. Song is hysterical now. He cares for Kolya; sure, however, the reputation of the university is more important to him.

Morello University is not a joke. It's the best art school all over Asia. They can't afford to taint its name.

"I fell on the stairs...." Kolya's excuse is lame and unbelievable, although it proves that he knows his place now. He is also aware that he cannot mess up with Gold.

"Did you go to the clinic?" The teacher examines Kolya's face, making the latter scowl. A simple touch makes the pain worse.

"Not yet, s-sir..." Tears fill his eyes. The throbbing pain is truly insufferable. He should have gone to the clinic instead of crying his heart out at the men's rest room.

Kolya is a little emotional ball. He wonders what's wrong with him. He just followed his grandmother's advice, yet he still got into trouble.

"You should go. You're excused." Mr. Song is willing to let this go just this once. Midterm practical exam is fast approaching, they need to hurry up.

"Thank you, Sir." Just as Kolya's about to leave the room, Gold stands up.

"I'll come with you." He says coolly, hiding his shaky hands.

Everyone turns to Gold, clearly amused that he offered to help a fellow student. Gold is known to be the kind of boy who only looks after himself. This is a shocker especially because he barely knew Kolya. Besides, why would he want to help the person who just stole his position?

"Okay." Mr. Song didn't hesitate because "Class dismissed. Just go rest for now. I know your class with Ms. Manoban is killing you all." Plus they can’t practice without Nikolai.

The class cheers and sighs in relief. Thank God! They need more energy to deal with a much stricter dance choreographer.

"Let's go." Gold blows his fringe again and then he inserts his hands on the pocket of his jeans, passing by Kolya who's still frozen on his feet.

Nikolai swallows hard, just like his classmates, he's also confused. Gold acted like he hates Kolya's guts, and now he's helping him? Is this true? Or is he planning to do something bad again?

"Are you just gonna stand there?" Gold furrows his brow. They're already in front of the clinic. The lead dancer even opened the door for Kolya.

The guy with the center position gulps, eyes still quivering because of uncertainty. He nervously switches his gaze at Gold who looks impatient as hell.

"Thanks..." Kolya smiles sheepishly, the soft pink blush is painted on his cheeks again.

"Whatever." Gold blows his fringe and enters the clinic after his classmate.

The nurse is as shocked as Mr. Song upon seeing Kolya's face. She asked what happened to him—her voice is totally different from Mr. Song, though. Karen, the nurse, asks sincerely and gently, like she's really urging Kolya to speak up, like she is certain that he didn't just 'fall down' on the stairs.

"Don't worry about me, Ms. Karen. I'm just one clumsy boy." Kolya giggles to dismiss the silly idea inside the nurse's head.

"You're too kind, you know?" Karen sighs, glancing at Gold like she knows that the golden boy is behind all of this.

This isn't the first time something like this happened. Christopher always beats up the person who gets under Gold's skin. Normally, the golden boy just lets the bully be. In fact, he's grateful. Annoying students should learn their lesson. Again, no one is supposed to mess up with the it boy.

Karen also knows about this. The victims of physical abuse tell her their stories. Of course the nurse is deeply bothered by it, howbeit aside from what the Principal considers as hearsay, she doesn't have a solid proof. She tried convincing the victims to speak up, but they always shake their heads no. They only tell their stories to the nurse to somehow alleviate the pain. Karen understands them, but they know that they can seriously get in trouble if they speak up.

Gold's life is just like what people see in the movie. His family is influential. They can get rid of anyone who stand in their way, so why waste their energy into destroying something as indestructible like Gold?

"I’m kind for kissing the floor?" Kolya jokes, making the nurse chuckle.

She says he's kind because he's the only victim who doesn't seem to be holding grudges. Or maybe he's just good at pretending. Either way, Karen applauds him. Kolya never complained about his pain. It's not like she hates the victims for complaining. Hell, she's even pushing them to do so. Victims, whatever abuse they're going through, should always speak up.

Tolerating the abuser won't solve the problem. This is not the kind of scenario wherein something will stop if you don't give it enough attention. This shouldn't be tolerated.

It's just that Kolya appears to be the kind of person who is willing to forgive the people who hurt him.

"Fine, just drink the pills I gave you." Karen finally dismisses Kolya. "And please, watch out. Don't fight the stairs next time, it's really stubborn and annoying, especially the highest stair thread." She says this while glancing at Gold again.

The golden boy knows that Karen is subtly implying that he is the stubborn and highest thread of the stairs. It's obvious. Gold is in the highest part of the pyramid, he's an elite.

"Aye, aye captain!" Kolya salutes at the nurse.

Karen laughs and bids him goodbye.

"Finally." Gold rolls his eyes, getting into his feet. He stayed seated on the chair for almost two hours. He's extremely bored because he forgot to bring his phone. He had no choice but to listen to Kolya and Karen's lame conversation.

"You didn't have to wait for me, you know..." Kolya bites his bottom lip, shyly scratching the back of his head.

"Too late. I already did." Gold shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly.

Kolya just purses his lips. They continue to walk side by side. It's awkward. They're awkward. The silence is making Kolya blush and their distance makes it look like they're lovers having a fight.

"Why?" It is the golden boy who breaks the silence.

Kolya tilts his head to face his classmate. He's confused again.

"What do you mean why?"

Gold stops walking. Kolya too.

"Why," the lead dancer repeats, this time, his voice is acrid. "You had the chance to tell Mr. Song and that annoying nurse what I did to you. So why?" He leans closer, an act to intimidate Kolya. "Why didn't you?"

"You didn't do this to me...."

Gold almost backed off when Kolya stares deep into his brown eyes. The former hates the latter's eyes. It's usually intense, but when you look straight into it, you'll realize that it's actually soft and tantalizing.

"Your friends did," he continues.

"They are not my friends." Gold's jaw tenses.

"Even better," Kolya beams. "You just proved my point. You have nothing to do with this."

Gold's lips press into a thin line. He has a feeling that whatever he says won't matter to Kolya, so why bother speaking at all?

Gold continues to walk. Kolya follows.

"Oh." Kolya abruptly stops. "This isn't the way to class."

Their class with Ms. Manoban is at the east building, but the path they're taking is the west side—to the university's exit.

"I'm cutting class." It's a bold thing to say. Gold is aware that Ms. Manoban is fearless. She won't accept excuses if it's not valid. She even said that her students do not have the right to skip class unless they're dead or is dying. She's cruel.

"B-But..." Kolya interjects, yet he follows Gold. He hasn't met Ms. Manoban yet, but his other classmates told him their dreadful experiences with the mentioned instructor.

"Why are you still here?" Gold knits his brow.

"Uh..." Truthfully, Kolya can't think of any reason why he's following the golden boy.

They're not even friends.

"Right," and so he chuckles awkwardly and then he turns to the East direction. "See you around, Gold!"

Related chapters

  • Phoenix in the Fire   Chapter 3

    "Sir, Madame Jasmine is waiting for you in her studio." Charles, the personal servant of Gold or what the golden boy's mother calls: butler Charles, informs."Okay." Gold answers, closing his eyes. His head is spinning because he had a little too much to drink.He really cut classes today just to have a drink in a pub. It didn't matter that he's a minor. Tha

  • Phoenix in the Fire   Chapter 4

    Gold decided that he hates Nikolai Park. He figures that he doesn't need a justifiable reason for this. He just simply hates Kolya for making things harder for him."Are you visiting a friend, Sir?" Charles cocks his head to let Gold see his raised brow. The young master keeps on shifting on his seat. It's highly unlikely for him to appearthisuncomfortable, especially because the backseat of the car is cozy—tailored to Gold's liking.

  • Phoenix in the Fire   Chapter 5

    "See you around, Gold!" This is what Kolya said to the lead dancer before taking the east direction.The golden boy decided to cut classes today. Kolya is certain that he can't change the former's mind, so he just lets him be.Kolya then saunters around the university's hallway. He still has twenty minutes before his class with Ms. Manoban starts."Mr. Song, didn't you just hear me? Gold Adana can't just be a lead dancer!"

  • Phoenix in the Fire   Chapter 6

    "Dude, you totally blew us off yesterday!" Jacob shakes his head atGoldwho just entered the classroom.The golden boy shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly, passing a black box wrapped with golden ribbon to Carter."Something came up," his excuse is vague.

  • Phoenix in the Fire   Chapter 7

    "I'm glad you finally agreed to go out on a date with me..." Olive smiles seductively as she cuts her medium rare steak.Goldreturns his date's smile. Olive Page is literally every man's dream. She's gorgeous, like the blonde version of Angelina Jolie. It's obvious that she's also ridiculously rich. Jasmine would never set up her son to a woman who doesn't have millions of dollars in different banks. Olive is intelligent too. Being a student of medicine is a proof of that.

  • Phoenix in the Fire   Chapter 8

    Marathon. Marathon. Life is slow so take it slow.These are some of the lyrics in Kolya's favorite song entiled Paradise. We only have one life, but it's a long one. It's up to us to make it meaningful. We don't have to outrun other people just to be considered as the winner.

  • Phoenix in the Fire   Chapter 9

    "You signed us up towhat!?"Cleo turns the phone away from her ear for the reason that Gold's voice is loud from the other line."I signed us up in Ms. Manoban's—"

  • Phoenix in the Fire   Chapter 10

    When Gold claimed that he can't wait for Monday, he meant that he's excited to see Kolya cheer for him while he performs, but as he scans the crowd right before he steps up the stage, he realizes that he hates Mondays.Kolya isn't true to his words. How can he wish Cleo's partner 'good luck' when he's not even around?

Latest chapter

  • Phoenix in the Fire   Postlude

    It's done.It's not perfect, but at least it's done.When an art is finished, the only thing left to do is to show it to the world.

  • Phoenix in the Fire   Chapter 30

    Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest one of all?Daisy St. Patience, the narrator in Noreen's favorite book entitledInvisible Monsters,says that the queen shouldn't play the snow white game anymore because there's a certain age wherein beauty shouldn’t be the main concern of a woman. She should proceed to a more powerful thing. Daisy said that it could begun or money.

  • Phoenix in the Fire   Chapter 29

    Gold never opens his apartment door when someone's knocking.It's probably because he was traumatized when years ago, fans kept on knocking on his door while giggling. His supports are truly crazy, there were times when they called the hotel where he's staying just to stalk him, and someone even put a camera on his door just to spy on him.The p

  • Phoenix in the Fire   Chapter 28

    Every publicity stunt pulled by Jasmine has been beneficial for her. She's careful; her actions are always tailored by the liking of not just her fans, but also by her haters. She isn't like any other celebrities who say that they don't care what the haters think. News flash, they do. Bad comments affect people no matter how hard they try to deny it. As for Jasmine, she cares about what haters think because it's easier to please them.One time, one of the girls who hate her said that long hair doesn't suit her. Jasmine immediately cuts her hair to please that hater. Days later, that girl became a diehard fan of Gold's mom. She thought that her opinion matters, that Jasmine likes her enough consider her suggestion.

  • Phoenix in the Fire   Chapter 27

    "Pick up the fucking phone, Cleo!" Gold is on the verge of destroying his burner phone."I don't know how many times I've said this already, but..." Andrei sighs, munching on his bowl of popcorn while watching the news. "You need to calm down, Gold."There's a time in his life when Gold would freak out more because Andrei's statement is just pla

  • Phoenix in the Fire   Chapter 26

    Cold.Finn loves the cold. He likes the chill breeze, the sweater, the snowflakes, and even ice cream. The only cold thing he probably hates is this particular room at Healing Entertainment Building.This is the same room where he performed his audition piece. That was actually a decade ago, yet he can still remember the cold and harsh comments

  • Phoenix in the Fire   Chapter 25

    "You have ten seconds to explain this to me, Gold!" The high-pitched scream of Harry echoes through the whole room—causing Gold to rub his temples.Ugh.He doesn't know what makes his head hurt the most, is it Harry's scream? The after effects of drinking three bottles of soju last night? Or the bright screen of the phone that tells him he

  • Phoenix in the Fire   Chapter 24

    "What the fuck did you do!?"Gold parting his mouth in shock should be a clear indication that he has no idea what Harry is talking about."Excuse me?" The golden boy scoffs, voicing out his confusion. He just got inside the company building and the first thing he heard from their general manager is this confusing wrath.

  • Phoenix in the Fire   Chapter 23

    Gold remembers covering a song back when he was still a trainee. His goal is to capture the hearts of the head vocals and rappers of Healing Entertainment so that they can choose him to be the main voice of Singularity.He can never forget the most powerful verse of the song called "Life" by Kim Namjoon. It goes like this:Were we bo

DMCA.com Protection Status