CHAPTER 45: WAS IT REALLY HIM? THE ONE DOING THIS?

"See? I told you the surprise guest would be Treasure!"

"Treasure!"

Le An turned to the crowd shouting his name and smiled as camera flashes burst all at once.

In the GAC garden, everyone invited to the event had already gathered, and the place was filled with familiar faces, celebrities, and businessmen.

"Let me take your jacket, Le An." One of the guards approached as Le An stepped out of the car and reached out to him.

Le An smiled gently and gestured with his hand that it wasn’t necessary. "My jacket stays."

The guard stepped back and nodded with an understanding look, while Theo, who had been watching everything unfold in front of the car, made eye contact with Le An and let out a deep breath.

Maybe this was the only way Le An could be made to wear that thing.

Theo began walking toward him to offer his arm; however, Le An moved first and started walking.

As Theo’s arm slowly dropped, Emerald stepped out of the car and gave Theo a pained smile.

"See? He definitely looks better than yesterday, doesn’t he?"

Before Theo could respond, Emerald began walking after Le An.

Le An’s guards formed a corridor for him, and he passed through the garden area into the more important section where key guests were seated, specifically, the spacious hall on the second floor of the GAC main building.

Everyone who saw him raised their glasses and greeted him with excitement, either having just found out or having recently realized that he was the surprise guest of honor.

By the time Le An reached the cocktail table reserved for him at the head of the room, most of his guards had spread out around the hall, and he could finally breathe a little.

"Wish you a lovely night, Treasure." A maid bowed before him and held up a tray full of champagne glasses.

Le An chose one of the flutes and smiled; at the same time, even though faint, he caught the scent of the maid’s pheromones.

Taking another sip from his glass, Le An lifted his head and gently smiled, though he averted his gaze from the maid, who was shorter than him and subtly watching him.

As Theo watched the maid’s movements beside Le An, he found himself thinking that Le An truly looked like an alpha in moments like this. No one knew that omega pheromones would have no effect on Le An, another omega. While Le An chatted a bit more with the maid, another table -or rather, Mr. Qui’s table- was closely watching him.

Mr. Qui and his guests were seated on a mezzanine above even the second floor, as if occupying the highest tier in the food chain and social hierarchy, looking down at everyone from above.

Moments later, another maid hurried down from the mezzanine and appeared beside Le An. "T-Treasure, hello."

Le An had already seen the maid descending. Before he could respond, unfamiliar hands entered his line of vision, followed swiftly by Theo’s intervening ones. He flinched slightly.

"Hey," Theo muttered sharply, pushing the maid’s hands down with controlled but considerable force so as not to cause a scene. His eyes pierced through her like a blade.

"I-I... Mr. Qui sent me!" the maid stammered, trembling like a leaf as she struggled to form a coherent sentence. "Mr. Qui... he’s expecting you upstairs... after you take off your coat."

Le An slowly set his glass down on the table. He had suspected he wouldn’t be able to keep wearing his coat till the end of the night, unless Mr. Qui stopped bothering him... or forgot. His nose twitched again, like a sulky child’s, as he raised his gaze toward the mezzanine. The moment their eyes met, Mr. Qui and everyone at his table broke into wide smiles and began motioning for him to come up.

Le An took off his coat and gently laid it on the table. He drew a deep breath and started ascending the stairs. When the guards accompanying him tried to follow, they were blocked. This floor was reserved for the top names of the event and the GAC, and was the most secure level. No one could lay a hand on anyone here. It was simply impossible.

When Le An reached the last step, the pearls on his shoulders glimmered, and the red details on his sleeves stood out even more under the ambient lighting. He turned to glance down, and in that moment, he realized that from far below, even beneath the grand balcony on the lower level, people in the garden could still see him. They were watching him from afar. Ever since he’d taken off his coat, no one had looked away from him.

Le An swallowed hard, resisting the urge to scratch his arms, when suddenly, just as he approached the table and a bottle of champagne was popped open, the loud pop of the cork and the foam splashing toward him froze him in place.

"Ah, Le An..." Mr. Qui stood up from the table as everyone around chuckled at his startled reaction. Mr. Qui began wiping his arms and outfit with a napkin. "We didn’t expect the champagne to startle you like that! Come on now, what are you standing there for?"

"Haha," Le An stiffened under the arm Mr. Qui slung around his shoulder and took his seat. "They know about the experiment, but they don’t know you’re an omega. Watch your words," Mr. Qui whispered.

Le An gave a faint nod, relieved at least that no one would bother him with their pheromones.

An endless string of introductions and conversation followed, numbing his mind.

"Your willingness to participate in the experiment is truly admirable," said one of the men. Le An smiled politely. And a woman placed her hand on Le An’s knee and added more enthusiastically, "But I can’t help but wonder, if the experiment is successful-"

Mr. Qui interrupted smoothly as he refilled both their glasses. "When it’s successful," he corrected.

The woman laughed and threw Mr. Qui a glance, then squeezed Le An’s knee again and turned back to him. "He’s right. ’When it’s successful’ is the proper way to put it! Anyway, dear Treasure, you do realize that you’ll no longer be so ’special’ afterward. Doesn’t that idea disturb you?"

Everyone turned their attention to Le An, intrigued by the question. He took a sip of his champagne and, for the first time during the two hours he had endured at the table, he offered the most honest response he could muster.

"No," said Le An, as if the oppressive mix of pheromones, alcohol, and cigarette smoke had briefly lifted. "On the contrary, being the sole symbol of something... it’s a heavy burden."

He looked at the woman and smiled. "I would like to share that burden, even if that sounds selfish."

For the first time, silence fell upon the table. Le An looked up, slightly startled by his own clarity. But instead of discomfort, the table’s guests seemed even more charmed, like they had just discovered something exotic and intriguing. They burst into laughter again, and Mr. Qui leaned back in his chair, giving Le An a sidelong glance as he muttered,

"You get upset when I say you should make friends to share that burden, my dear Le An."

Le An was the only one who understood the implication behind Mr. Qui’s words. The implication filled him with disgust and memories from the previous day, making it impossible for him to even lift his head.

"Treasure?" The woman called to him again, snapping Le An from the lightning bolts flashing behind his eyes.

The once-passive cruelty hidden behind laughter on the woman’s face had shifted to a maternal expression. She removed her hand from Le An’s knee and leaned in.

"I do wish there were more women at this table, so I understand where you’re coming from," she whispered, as though abandoning whatever judgment or plans she had formed about Le An.

This time, her hand reached Le An’s head with the gentle motion one might use toward a child. She stroked Le An’s hair softly. "You were discovered at seventeen, weren’t you?"

Le An saw the predatory instinct in the woman’s eyes fade, and for a moment, he was too overwhelmed to respond. He simply nodded.

The woman grinned at Le An’s startled expression.

"Well then," she said, picking up her handbag and rising from the table. Her gaze swept the men.

"Gentlemen, I do hope you won’t be jealous, Treasure will accompany me downstairs as tonight’s guest of honor."

Le An stood up. The men, immune and indifferent like powerful, fearless beings, paid little mind and continued their conversations. The woman linked her arm through Le An’s and turned to Mr. Qui one last time. "Thank you for tonight, Mr. Qui."

Mr. Qui stood to see them off, obviously pleased with Le An’s performance. His face radiated satisfaction as he gently took the woman’s hand, brushing it with a kiss.

"Miss Maleah, the pleasure is all mine. I’d heard you were abroad again... and didn’t expect you to attend. You surprised me."

Miss Maleah smiled, taking Le An’s arm again. "When I heard Treasure would be here, I knew I couldn’t miss it."

As they descended the stairs, Le An felt grateful for this woman’s presence drawing some attention away from him. He looked down, wishing he could leave. Wasn’t his job here done?

He looked back up and accidentally locked eyes with Mr. Qui. Le An immediately looked away.

His eyes screamed: I want to leave.

"Treasure?" Miss Maleah flicked her finger lightly on Le An’s arm to get his attention. "You don’t look well."

"I’m fine," Le An quickly lifted his head and smiled. When had he gotten so sweaty? Le An wiped his forehead and neck with the back of his hand as Miss Maleah slowly led him away from the table.

"Let’s step out onto the balcony."

Le An nodded. As they walked toward the large balcony and the cool breeze hit his face, he did feel slightly better.

They walked down the center of the balcony, exchanging nods with onlookers, until they reached the middle of the marble railing overlooking the grand garden. They stopped.

"Ah..." Miss Maleah unlinked her arm from Le An’s, tossed her hair, and leaned against the railing. "I never get used to this."

Le An, despite his gratitude for being rescued from the people upstairs, felt something was wrong. "You mean... the crowd?" he asked, locking eyes with guests below who had already noticed him on the balcony.

Miss Maleah smirked. "No," she said curtly. "This extravagant life," she added, removing her earrings.

Le An watched her place them in her purse and nodded. "It can feel... suffocating sometimes."

The woman’s gaze seemed to say, Oh really? And Le An didn’t know how to respond.

Even though the woman’s rescue was comforting, Le An knew she had a reason. She wanted something.

Miss Maleah laughed again, her eyes scanning Le An’s attire. "Seeing your outfit, I thought you might enjoy this kind of life."

"Ah," Le An scratched his arm as the tulle fabric irritated his skin and forced a smile. "It was a gift... so I had to wear it."

Maleah slowly nodded. "Looks like an expensive gift," she muttered. "Expensive enough to feed an entire village." Le An had no idea what to say and looked away, scratching his arm again to suppress his stress.

Something about the balcony, the muffled hum of conversation from below, the mix of pheromones and perfume, the bright lights, and the way this woman simply watched him, was all suffocating.

"The detail on your sleeves." Miss Maleah’s hand reached for Le An’s arm, halting the frantic scratching. "Looks like blood splatter, doesn’t it? Very interesting design."

"Y-yes." Le An’s eyes met Theo’s, watching him from inside. Or rather, with an expression he couldn’t contain, Le An had searched for and found Theo’s gaze among the crowd. Just as Theo seemed about to move, as if he had sensed how Le An was feeling in that instant, he stopped when Le An looked away.

After a while, Le An’s gaze, lost in the lights dancing on the terrace wall of the GAC building, began to wonder if Miss Maleah had simply used him as an excuse to come downstairs for air.

Just then, a shadow flitted across the lights.

A blur moving with terrifying speed in the night, slipping inside the building and through the crowd like a phantom.

Le An blinked, thinking it must be his imagination. But his body tensed instinctively, one foot stepping forward to follow the shadow, until Miss Maleah stopped him.

"Treasure, look down. People are waiting for you to wave."

Le An’s eyes scanned the crowd rapidly. Miss Maleah took his hand and turned him toward the edge.

People were waving, calling out to him, smiling. Le An was about to turn and glance back one last time, to search for the shadow, but-

He froze at the sensation.

Something cold brushed his cheek, slicing past like a phantom.

It was him.

Taras.

Why... Frozen in place, Le An stared into the darkness. His breath caught in his throat. His hands gripping the rail, his legs, all went numb all of a sudden.

A force, foreign to his body, began to wrap around him like a python. Black scales, like a serpent’s, began forming around him.

He didn’t understand. Blinking, Le An thought it was a hallucination. Just his mind playing tricks.

Was he really here? Was this numbing sensation- "Urghk!"

A pressure crushed his throat. Blood spilled hot from Le An’s nose, splattering onto the rail.

This was... esper power. This was... Le An stumbled back from the railing, trying to move, but his body was no longer his own.

The force, invisible yet solid, crushed his body. Dark scales slithered across his skin.

It was just like his shadow. Taras’s.

"Treasure!"

Le An clutched his throat. Now, cries of shock and horror rose from the crowd.

"Someone is trying to kill Treasure!"

"Le An!"

Theo, eyes now burning with panic, raised his hands. His power, a glow like blue lightning, formed around the black coils constricting Le An. The moment they clashed, a deafening shockwave knocked Theo and many other people back.

It hadn’t worked.

Just as Le An, doubled over in agony, began to succumb, the dark force binding him was split in two with a sound like tearing metal.

Just like a dark arrow had pierced it, like a giant serpent being sliced down the middle.

The surrounding coils disappeared into the dark, and only black strings rising into the air remained.

The shadow, the black strings... Le An’s body reeled back, overwhelmed by all the familiar presence. Theo caught him just before he collapsed.

BAM!

Explosions erupted nearby, and figures in black cloaks and veils appeared throughout the crowd.

It was an attack.

Le An’s guards formed a circle around him and Theo, layers of protective barriers surrounding them as they tried to push toward the balcony exit, but the chaos made escape impossible.

Le An, his body searing with unbearable pain, saw one of the cloaked figures grab a guide by the neck and slit his throat. Then another. Then-

One moved to stab a woman, his blade glowing with esper power, but paused.

Theo began to run, holding Le An tightly, and Le An’s vision dimmed for a moment. Through the haze, he saw the woman again, the same one the attacker had spared.

The woman, the one who had been spared, was none other than Miss Maleah. And just like that, Le An saw her vanish into the crowd.

"Le An! Stay with me, are you alright?"

"Le An!" Theo gripped his face, but his voice was drowned out by explosions, screams, and the sound of blades slicing through flesh.

"..."

Taras... Le An could only whisper his name inside his mind. Le An couldn’t make sense of it, his mind refusing to catch up with what his eyes were seeing.

Theo pulled him closer, holding him tightly. "I’m getting you out of here. Okay?"

"..." Le An’s eyes searched the panicked crowd. He was gone.

Yet, he had seen him. It was him. The pain in his throat burned tears into Le An’s eyes.

He clutched his chest.

Was it really him? The one doing this?