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 appear this uncomfortable, especially because the backseat of the car is cozy—tailored to Gold's liking.

"No." Gold's jaw tenses as he stares hard at Kolya's small apartment.

Wednesday is rest day for Gold for the reason that he doesn't have classes. He spent the rest of today's morning stalking Kolya. He then found out that he's disgustingly poor. The only reason why he became a student of Morello University is because of scholarship. A privilege given by wealthy people. Jasmine is one of the people who invested in Morello to help kids like Kolya.

If Gold wants, he can just use the influence of his mother to get the center position back, howbeit he's too prideful to do that.

"I'm just claiming what's mine," Gold adds. This is the solution he can think about. He wants to challenge Kolya to a one on one battle to know who the better dancer between the two of them is. Random students from different departments can vote to avoid biases. Gold knows that half of his classmates will kiss his ass. He only wants it to be fair.

He is also aware that he didn't have to go Kolya's house for this. Gold can just inform his opponent tomorrow at school, but he's trying to prove a point.

He wants to see the unfortunate life of Kolya. It's a reminder that no matter what happens; he will always be the bigger person. Someone who's more talented, richer, and fortunate.

Just by looking at Nikolai's house, he already knows that he's the winner. His room is obviously bigger than this abode.

Gold sighs. He's contented. He feels much better about himself now.

"Let's go." He tells the butler and just as Charles is about to start the engine of the porsche, some bangs on the car's window.

"What the hell?" Gold is startled to see an old lady knitting her brows while continuously tapping the window.

"We have to leave now." Gold scowls. "Let's go!" He shouts when Charles didn't follow his order. Instead, the butler scowls too.

"She's holding onto the handle." She might get hurt if Charles drives.

"Jesus fuck," Gold rolls his eyes impatiently, pressing the window button.

As soon as the window opens, the woman exclaims.

"You are our Kolya's friend, right!?" The old woman is none other than Beth. Her smile is so big that it scares Gold a little.

"Uhm—" The golden boy isn’t sure how to respond. He wants to say that it's actually the opposite, but he is certain that it's rude. Also, He's too curious to formulate a response. First off, how did she know him? Does Kolya talk about him?

"Are you here to visit him?" Beth's eyes sparkle, making it hard for Gold to break the woman's heart. As much as he hates to admit it, Gold has a soft spot for babies and elderlies.

The golden boy turns to his only hope: Charles. He widens his eyes at the butler—a subtle sign that says help me out.

Charles misunderstood the sign. Instead of stepping in, he just presses the unlock button. As soon as Beth hears the sound, she instantly opens the door of the car.

"Let's go, young man!" And then the old lady drags him out of the car.

"Wait—oh." It feels as though all the blood in his system rushes in his face when Beth spanks his ass.

"You have such nice booty, dear." Beth giggles, still pulling Gold's hand. She didn't let go until they're inside the house.

The butler is left alone, but he's happy. Gold needs this and Charles knows this. Shaking his head with a smile, the butler drives away. He'll just be back later.

"I think halmeoni is calling you," Noah, who is currently busy stirring his famous stew, says.

Kolya just hums. He thought he's just imagining it when Beth called him, but then his brother pointed it out.

"She probably forgot why she went out." Nikolai chuckles as he continues to wash the dishes.

Beth went out minutes ago to buy soy sauce at the grocery store. Beth is becoming more forgetful these days, perhaps she's calling Kolya to ask what to buy at the supermarket again.

"Probably. Just go after her. I need the soy sauce badly," his hyung orders without looking at him.

This is their usual evening routine. Noah cooks dinner while Kolya washes the dirty dishes. Beth usually chills with their calico cat. She insists to help the brothers prepare their food, however the boys claim that she's too old to be moving around a lot. Actually, they allowed her to go the grocery store today just to shut her up.

Beth keeps on saying that she feels pretty useless just sitting on the couch and trying to cuddle Serendipity, their cat. This pet of theirs is a bitch. She refuses to be touched.

"Okay. See you later." The dongsaeng pats his hands dry before sauntering towards the living room.

"Take off your shoes!"

Kolya blinks twice to make sure he's not hallucinating. Is he really seeing Gold being scolded by Beth for entering the house with footwear on? He tries closing his eyes hoping that once he opens it again, the illusion will disappear.

'You're just dreaming, buddy.' He tells himself, still with his eyes tightly shut. He counts one, two, and three inside his head before opening his eyes again.

"G-Gold?" Kolya calls, unsure. Nothing changes. His classmate is still here!

"Oh," Gold barely glances at Kolya because he's busy removing his black boots from Prada. "Hi."

"H-Hello?" Kolya is still confused. "Why are you here?"

"Aigoo, this kid!" Beth goes near his grandson just to pinch him in the arms. Kolya yelps in pain.

"Halmeoni! What was that for?" His arms hurt and a certain part of it is red.

"Your friend is visiting you! Just be grateful, punk!" Beth shakes her head.

Kolya groans. His grandmother misunderstood his question. He literally just wants to know why Gold is here. The latter showed up unannounced, of course he's surprised.

"Halmeoni, where's my soy sauce?" Noah blurts out, sticking his head from the thin wall that's separating their living room from their kitchen.

"Ah, the soy sauce!" Beth scratches the back of her head sheepishly. She's on her way to the grocery store, but then she got distracted the moment she spots Kolya's friend.

"I'll buy tomorrow. Just use some salt, we don't have time. Kolya's friend is really hungry."

"Uh..." Gold tries to interject.

"Oh!" Noah's eyes twinkle, finally noticing their awkward guest. "Oh!" He repeats, this time, louder. He then turns to his younger brother.

"Oh..." He repeats once again while wiggling his eyebrows at Kolya. It's like he's implying something.

Kolya panics a little. He shakes his head at his hyung as if he's telling him to shut up.

"You must be Gold. I'm Noah, Kolya's hyung! My little brother always talks about yo—"

"I'll help you prepare!" The younger brother cuts off Noah's statement by pushing him.

The siblings disappear, leaving a confused Gold. Why does it seem like every member of Kolya's family knows him?

"Hey, young man." Beth taps Gold's shoulder. "Help me set up the table!"

"Excuse me?" The golden boy creases his forehead. The older lady ignores him. She just tries to pull the low table into the center of the living room.

Gold takes the hint. He helps her move the table.

Seconds later, the two brothers come back with the food. The golden boy watches as Noah places the hot foods on the right side of the table while Kolya puts the cold food on the left side. They prepared a lot of sauces which they placed in front. Their famous kimchi and other side dishes are then set to the back part.

"Let's eat!" Noah says to Gold in particular. The golden boy looks lost. It appears like he's waiting for someone to tell him what to do. Kolya's brother finds him cute. They don't follow the strict 'routine' of Koreans when eating so Gold doesn't need to worry.

Beth isn't traditional. She only spent her childhood in Korea. She then migrated to Oakwood Province the moment she reached the majority age.

"Your soup tastes bland!" Beth complains.

"Because we don't have soy sauce!" Noah rolls his eyes. He is aware that Beth is just fooling around, though. The older brother cooks well. His food will still taste good even if it's lacking an ingredient.

"My soup still tastes good, right, Gold?" The chef of the night turns to their guest who's silently eating beside him.

Kolya looks at his classmate. It's easy to stare at his handsome face because they're sitting in front of each other.

"Yeah, it's good." Gold smiles, slurping the soup. He isn't lying. It's really good. Way better than what their chef makes.

"Good boy!" Noah chuckles as he puts beef on Gold's bowl.

Kolya smiles to himself. He likes seeing Gold like this. In school, he looks like an untouchable man—like he's a king. Right now, he just appears like a regular teenager. A shy boy.

"Why'd you visit, anyway? Do you have anything to say to Nikolai?"

Gold's face turns pale upon hearing Noah's question. He just can't catch a break, can't he?

"I...uh, just—"

"This fine young man is visiting our Kolya, Noah." Beth saves Gold's ass. "I saw his car outside our house. I thought he's familiar so I went closer to check up on him."

"I look familiar?" Gold points at himself, turning to look at the old lady.

"Yes! I remember Kolya and Noah staring at your picture in their phone! They're debating whether—"

"Halmeoni!" The two brothers shouts, their eyes dilating because of panic.

Beth continues her statement, totally ignoring her grandsons’ fear.

"You're top or a bottom." She shakes her head. "Ah, kids these days. I didn't understand what they're talking about."

"Kill me now," Kolya whispers, fixing his eyes on the soup. He can feel his blood rushing and Gold's intense stare at him. Fuck. How is he supposed to face the golden boy now!?

"It's related to position, halmeoni...."

"Hyung!" Kolya feels like he's about to die. His heart is thumping so loud as his eyes grow big. Tears fill his eyes. Oh, my God! The ground should swallow him now!

"What? I'm right, Kolya. It's about a person's position in a dance performance, right?"

"I..." Kolya trails off. He blinks. Twice. "Yeah, i-it's about our dance position." He laughs awkwardly as he looks at Gold.

Surprisingly, the golden boy looks as flustered as Kolya. He's so confused. First of all, why would these two boys 'stare' at his pictures? But it's not like he's in the position to ask. He's just as creepy as them for stalking Kolya.

"Oh, I see! How are things in school, by the way?"

The conversation finally changes. It keeps on changing, actually. The four of them talk about all kinds of things. Gold is enjoying himself so much that he forgot the time.

"It's getting late," he only notices the time when he looks out of the window. It's already dark outside. "I should probably go."

"I'll walk you out." Kolya offers, putting his cup of tea on the table. The four of them are just chilling in the living room as they drink chai tea.

Gold stands up. He bids Kolya's family goodbye after telling them that he had a nice evening.

"Thanks again for tonight." Gold grins when it's just him and Kolya. They're outside now, just waiting for Charles to arrive.

"I'm glad you had fun with us." Kolya returns the smile. It's true. Gold truly enjoyed his spontaneous stay at the Parks. It made him realize that his life is indeed different from Kolya. To be honest, he envies his classmate. He might be poor, but at least he's got a loving family.

Gold never felt like he has a family. He is aware that his father loves him more than ever, howbeit Doctor Adana is too busy to show his son how much he cares for him. Gold can't even remember the last time he had dinner with his parents. It's always just him alone in their big dining table.

It's sad.

"I know why you're here..." Kolya abruptly says, halting Gold's musing.

The golden boy keeps his mouth glued together. He still doesn't know how to respond to this. He can't just tell Kolya 'It's because I want to see the miserable life you're having. I want to rub it in your face that I'm so much bigger and better than you,'

Gold can't say this. Not anymore. Not after spending time with Kolya and his family. Again, it made him see that he's the one with the miserable life and not the other way around.

This evening changes his perspective a lot that he's not even sure if he wants to continue hating this guy.

Gold just wants to be...friends.

"You want me to give up the center position, right?"

Or maybe not. He believes he's too late. Kolya's words say it all. He knows Gold's ill intention. What Gold doesn’t understand is: "Why are you smiling?"

Kolya should be clenching his jaw and telling him no—that he will not give up the center position. It's every dancer's dream. Not even a friend's favor should change his mind.

Kolya shakes his head. He smiles once more.

"You don't have to worry, Gold." Another smile. A more genuine one. "Because I already did."

"You did not." Gold says at once.

"I did. I don't deserve it. You do." He claims, touching the golden boy’s shoulder.

His simple touch makes Gold shiver. Kolya sounds so sincere and his eyes are hypnotizing.

Gold wants to vomit.

The termites are gone. Butterflies are now attacking his stomach.

'Why do I feel this way? I'm supposed to hate him, but he makes my heart skip a beat.' Gold tells himself.

"Your ride is here." Just like that, Gold's heart skips another beat. Fuck. When will Kolya stop smiling seductively?

Kolya lets go of his hold on Gold's shoulder.

Charles is here.

"Goodnight, Gold."

Gold nods his head and then he enters the car.

Kolya waves, but the golden boy didn't roll down his window. He only watches Kolya's smile and pretty eyes until the car speeds off.