Chapter Text
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"Cale..."
"Hm?"
"Uh, umm.. when we grow up..."
"Yes?"
“C-can you promise me?”
"Promise...?"
Sakura. Pink. Pinky finger. Promise.
"You have to be my bride when we grow up!"
"...eeh.."
Cale never agreed, but did not reject either.
Perhaps that child is in a deep and long misunderstanding now.
***
Pink hair, eyes that sparkle like gold.
Cale could not remember his name, identity, nor any other features of the boy other than the color of his hair and eye color. He couldn't even remember what his face looked like.
This happened not only to that boy–a childhood friend he had around the age of 5, where his memories had not returned. The memories he had until he is 10 years old slowly faded. Is this a payment to get the memory of his previous life?
Was Cale regret it and upset over this circumstances? Of course not. There was no use regretting over circumstances he couldn't control. After all, his current self was all that matter. The past 10 years may just be children's memories which, of course, will naturally start to be forgotten as he get older.
But...
Why is Cale feeling uncomfortable?
"...sakura, pink hair, golden eyes."
Tap, tap, tap.
His index finger tapped the table. Ron who was standing behind Cale's chair immediately turned his attention to the Young Master. He bowed slightly and asked in a whisper tone, "Want me to find out the information, Young Master?"
Cale slightly flinched but managed to maintain a straight face. Ron Molan, as usual, always scared him. Cale glanced sideways and his eyes met Ron's.
"No." He replied shortly, Cale lifted his cup and drank his tea. He then sank back into thought, but without thinking about the boy with pink hair.
Ron straightened his back and just smiled after hearing Cale's response. Then he thought briefly, 'The only person Cale was referring to that I can remember…that person?'
Cale felt like something bad was going to happen.
"Don't look for it, I'm warning you, Ron."
Ron just chuckled lightly. "Yes, Young Master. I will bring extra sweets to the kitchen and Beacrox will replace me for a moment. Please don't go anywhere."
Without hearing Cale's response, Ron immediately walked into the mansion and at the same time, Beacrox entered the garden from the opposite direction.
"Take care of Young Master and keep giving him sweets. Don't forget to keep changing the tea."
"Yes, Father."
Tap.
Tap.
Cale who was watching the father-son interaction had no reaction. The Molan family was indeed great and powerful, and somewhat vicious. The same as before.
On second thought...
"Beacrox, can I ask you a question? You don't have to answer it if you don't want to." Cale turned his gaze toward the red rose garden in front of him.
Previously, this garden was taken care of by his biological mother, Jour Thames. But after she died, the maintenance of this garden fell into Violan hands as Deruth's wife. With Cale and Deruth's approval, of course. Cale could feel how kind Violan was just by looking at the state of this rose garden. Nothing has been changed, looked after like how this gardern is cared by Jour, and Violan doesn't want to look rude by taking care of it personally. Violan probably thought that if she took care of this rose garden personally, Cale would feel like his biological mother figure would be replaced by Violan. Violan didn't try to do that, she stayed on her lane, didn't cross the line and still look respectful. Cale truly appreciate and respect her.
"...I will decide after hearing your question, Young Master."
After quite a long silence, Beacrox finally answered. Perhaps he thought that it was a bit odd for Cale to do a bit of warning, or maybe an excuse, before asking. He and the eldest son of the Henituse family have never been close. Their relationship is just strictly business between Master and Servant. Unlike the way he and his father, huh.
"I see. All right, Beacrox." Cale replied. In fact, he has been weighing decisions between to ask him or directly investigate this matter. However, Cale felt that he was acting impolite if he investigated without the consent of these two people. In the previous life, Molan and Henituse had a Master and Servant relationship. There was only contract and business between them, and maybe a bit of kinship, after the many fights and wars they went through together. But in their life now? Cale actually had no idea.
He has only lived ten years here. And during those ten years, he–or the child version of himself didn't know anything about Ron or Beacrox.
If Ron and Beacrox ended up in the Henituse residence, would the same thing happen as in their previous life? Cale did not expect his assumption to be wrong, it was just one of the possibilities he could think of considering that Jour Thames also shared the same line of fate as in the past.
Even though Cale didn't know if her death was because Jour had decided it ***, or because of other factors.
"You must have heard it from Ron, but I will tell you again." Cale placed both of his arms on the armchair he was sitting on. His two reddish-brown eyes looked at Beacrox.
"I, including your father, have memories from a previous life. In short, reincarnation. Everyone I know, my family, Ron, including you–reincarnated too. I don't know about the kids, hyungs, and the others, but we will probably meet with them in no time." Cale ended his speech by eating the cookie that was on the plate.
Beacrox had known about this reincarnation from his father, and to be honest it made him sleepless at night. Ever since his father talked about it, he had dreams about adventuring with a group of heroes, mythical beasts like dragons, fairies, mages—oh, he could tell he was on his way to defeat the Demon King. Like the setting in the rpg he played when he was little...
And every once in a while, he has a dream of the mansion burning down, being engulfed in flames... and he finds himself carried on his father's back, running from the riots that night. He could feel how his father's heartbeat sounded very quick and beating very fast, his breath was rushed, and his feet were stepping, jumping, almost flying—away from the place he used to call home. He could feel the smell of ashes and the heat of fire behind him, and faintly, he also could smell iron...
Go, protect our son.
Flinch.
"Beacrox, I know the reason why Ron and you came to us, to the Henituse residence, in the past."
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Cale tapped his finger on the armchair. The young chef patiently waited for Cale to finish his sentence.
"Does the same reason apply to you in the present?"
Tap.
Beacrox felt suffocated.
***
Sicily, Italy.
"Grandson, come here, sweetie."
"Grandma! I found it!"
The middle-aged woman sat down in her chair after she placed her suit on the sofa in front of her desk, then caught a boy running at full speed towards her.
The boy climbed up the grandmother's feet, ignoring the woman's complaints about the child was getting heavy and sat on her lap.
"Grandma!! I found the person!" The cotton candy-headed boy screamed with joy, the curious grandmother patiently stroked his hair.
"Who is it, my grandson?"
"The traitor in our family is Salieri!"
Don Fontana grinned.
"Aigoo, my grandson is very smart! How can my sweet grandson know the traitor who will betray and hurt grandma?" The woman smiled, but malice was hidden behind it. She thought that her second grandson was indeed more suitable to be a Don, inheriting her throne as head of the family than the eldest grandson who only knew violence.
Kang Yong Jae, or Yong Jae Fontana, with his fingers that were getting thinner compared to the previous months thanks to his training lesson, held the grandmother's hand and looked at the old woman right in the eyes. A pair of golden eyes stared at the eyes of the same color. The golden pair. "He always talks about and fussing over with the 'gold' in this family, I heard it directly from the Silver."
Silver... Eunjae.
Serafina Fontana, the Don of the Fontana family narrowed her eyes. Stupid Silver, she thought.
"Will grandma reward me for finding a rat among our family?" Yongjae broke off Serafina's train of thought with his innocent big eyes. How could Serafina refuse her cunning and clever grandson?
Sighing slowly, Serafina quietly gave up educating her grandson on this one. "All right, I'll grant you one wish. What present do you want Yongjae-ah?"
"Korea." Yongjae replied, without hesitation. Serafina was silent for a moment.
Ah.
Yongjae must have been unable to hold back his longing to meet that sweet apple-haired boy.
***
When Cale got into the car and sat in the passenger seat, he found Beacrox sitting behind the driver's seat instead of Ron and his trademark smile. Cale didn't ask anything or protest, he just raised his eyebrows slightly and Beacrox knew that the Young Master wanted to know why Ron wasn't serving Cale as his personal butler today.
"Father took a few days off to investigate something, he left a letter for you. Young Master haven't read it?" Beacrox made sure Cale was wearing his seat belt before starting his car and the Henituse family's limousine moved out of the mansion grounds.
'What an old fashioned way, we don't live in medieval times anymore.' That thought flashed through Cale's mind for a moment. Cale who was putting his school bag on his lap immediately took out a white envelope from his bag and opened the letter.
"Blablablabla, Young Master don't sleep late, don't eat late, blablabla—
—I went to catch the fox." He skipped over things about how Ron lectured him about his eating pattern and his sleep time and jump into the point of the letter. His reddish brown-eyes shooked.
"Fox...?" Cale muttered. Beacrox who heard that replied, "Its the same as in the past."
Cale sharpened his eyes and turned his gaze from the letter to Beacrox. Shit, it doesn't feel right. Before Beacrox could finish, Cale cut him off, “Is there another Arm here? That means that bastard White Star is here too? Fuck…”
Beacrox coughed awkwardly. In his previous life, Young Master Cale was known for swearing if something bad happened. But seeing him swear with a 10 year old physique is hilarious. Of course he had to reprimand him. "Language, My Lord. And no, for the time being there is no information regarding Arm. The identity of the culprits that brought the Molan family to the brink of collapse were the family of assassins who saw the Molan family as a threat."
The answer from Beacrox did not make Cale feel relieved, of course. Cale still did not have any information about the world he was currently in. Unlike his previous life, he had hints through the novel [The Birth of Hero]. The novel is basically a guide to know that world. At least, this world looks normal so far. He just wants his life now not to be far from the word 'normal', apart from his status as the eldest son of the owner of a large company in Korea.
And one more thing, it means that there are the same things that happened as in the previous life, for a different reason.
Cale wonders if he received his memories too late.
"Young Master, we have arrived." Beacrox parked right beside the school gate. He got off the driver's seat to open the car door and lead Cale out of the car.
"Thank you, Beacrox." Cale said as he loosened his tie. Old habit is sure die hard, Beacrox only glanced at Cale for what he did and didn't correct him.
"Is there anything else that might be left behind, Young Master?" asked Beacrox. It was actually a hypothetical question considering it was impossible for Cale to forget his stuffs. Sometimes Beacrox wondered where his Young Master got such a good memory from. Had he inherited it from Deruth? Jour? Who knows. Or maybe it was another secret skill that Cale had. That one moment when he went with Cale to take his water power suddenly came into his mind.
"My will to study, apparently." Cale answered nonchalantly and ignored the stares from the students who were glancing at him with interest. No, did they glance at the limousine? It could be, after all this is an ordinary school. You can't see limousine in usual day.
Beacrox was lost for words and bowed, " I wish you are enjoying your school, Young Master. I will pick you up 10 minutes before the bell rings."
"Okay. Be careful on the road."
"Yes, Young Master."
***
Cale walked toward his class, class 4-A. The class where, apparently, the brightest students gathered. Cale thought, since he had his memory back, there was no point in actually studying. At least the curriculum applied and the learning system in this world is not much different from the school he attended when he was Kim Rok Soo.
When Cale walked into the classroom, Cale could immediately feel all the gazes on him. Ugh... kids with their curiosity. His skinny legs walked towards the back seat right beside the window and put down his bag.
...?
Wait a moment.
The placement of his seat was a little... odd.
Cale recognized this pattern.
He has read all kinds of novels, comics, almost all reading material and knows the plot to what trope the writer uses to highlight the main character.
"You all, take your seats."
And, for this pattern... isn't it like Japanese comics usually do when they want to introduce the main character..?
Cale's eyes shook again, he stared at the sakura tree growing beside his classroom.
The back seat... beside the window...?
"Class, stand up. Sit down."
"Good, thanks. I have some exciting news this morning." The teacher stood on the podium in front of the class with a forced smile. Gosh, gosh. It seemed Cale's uneasy feeling this morning was true.
Damn, damn...!
Cale clenched his hands together with a straight face. The seat beside him was empty. Cale could guess where the 'story' was going today. After the main character sat down on the seat specially designed for the main character only... then the next scene was—
"We have a transfer student from Italy. He is Korean but lives in Italy, be nice to him. Please come in."
—Yes, a transfer student.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
“I'm screwed…” Cale muttered under his breath. A fucking pink-head. Cale eyed the sakura tree and the empty seat beside him. Is this a hint? That's why the sakura tree grows right where he sits?
"Hi, my name is Kang Yong Jae. Nice to meet you!"
The child, Kang Yong Jae, the boy with pink hair, smiled broadly showing both his canine teeth with shining golden eye color. His gaze fell toward Cale Henituse momentarily.
The voices of students who were curious to know about Yong Jae filled the class, but the teacher immediately calmed them down.
Here it comes, Cale thought dreadfully. My first challenge of the day... but Cale was not discouraged. He can't be the main character like in those cliche Japanese comics. Right, I'm not the main character. Besides the transfer student is a boy and looks handsome, how will the plot work out if I'm the main character? I might just be acting as a side character just like Cale Henituse in the previous life. That's right, i am the character that exist that only to be used as stepping stones.
"There is an empty seat beside Cale, please sit there. Okay, class, don't make a fuss and you can get to know about Yong Jae during recess! Now collect your assignments!"
Cale could not hear anything as he was busy calming his heart which was suddenly beating twice as fast as normal—the result of a panic attack over his fear of being in the highlight. Sitting beside a handsome person is already difficult enough for him to handle, but being a main character? Oh, hell nah.
The sound of Yong Jae's shoes was then heard and Cale couldn't help but looked at him and nodded briefly so he would not come off as unfriendly or on the bad side of a character that would likely become the main character. He sat down beside Cale, still with his big lion-like grin, and looked at Cale.
"Apple head, I found you♡"
...huh?
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Tbc