CHAPTER 77: A FIGHT

Everything happened so fast it was almost unreal—in the blink of an eye, Leonard’s lips were already pressed against Joshua’s.

Luther, standing closest, saw everything. He even heard the pained sound that slipped from Joshua’s throat.

Joshua... Was Joshua being forcibly kissed by Leonard?

A vein instantly throbbed on Luther’s forehead, his face twisting into fury.

He clenched his fist and shoved Leonard off Joshua, pulling Joshua protectively toward him.

Joshua’s lips were bleeding, swollen, and red. His face was flushed—whether from anger or embarrassment, no one could tell. He stood frozen, eyes wide in disbelief, like a statue unable to process what had just happened.

Seeing him like that made Luther’s chest tighten painfully. He stepped forward, grabbed Leonard by the collar, and glared at him with icy fury. "What the hell did you just do, huh?!"

Leonard sneered, eyes defiant. "I told you, didn’t I? I like Joshua. You’re his ’best friend’—what, you think you can control who he likes?"

"But Joshua doesn’t like you."

"Who cares? I already kissed him." Leonard narrowed his eyes, licking the blood from his lips, deliberately taunting, "You don’t get it—Joshua’s lips are really soft..."

Before he could finish, Luther lunged with a roar, his fist flying. His eyes were bloodshot, blazing with rage. Leonard wasn’t weak either, and within seconds, the two of them were locked in a full-on brawl, every punch landing with brutal clarity.

"Joshua, are you okay?"

Justin hurried over, worry etched across his face.

Joshua looked up—and saw Henry standing there, his gaze as dark as ever. He raised a hand and held out a silk handkerchief. Joshua was about to take it when he realized Henry wasn’t offering it to him.

Instead, Henry used it himself—gently wiping the blood from Joshua’s lips, his touch careful, almost painstakingly so, as if determined to erase every trace left behind.

The tendons on the back of Henry’s hand stood out, his fingers tense.

Joshua abruptly turned his head away. Henry’s hand froze midair, then slowly drew back.

"Does it hurt?" he asked quietly.

Joshua rubbed his lips, murmuring, "It’s nothing." Then he frowned. "Just think of it as being bitten by a dog."

Justin blinked, momentarily stunned, while Henry said nothing—only stared at Joshua’s reddened lips, his expression unreadable.

Joshua then stepped forward, his voice low and firm. "Leonard. That’s enough."

Leonard froze, just as Luther’s fist stopped beside his face—close enough that the impact turned his head sharply to the side, drawing blood from his mouth.

Leonard spat a mouthful of blood onto the ground, as if he didn’t feel any pain at all, his eyes locked unwaveringly on Joshua.

Seeing that look, Luther only grew more furious—but Joshua caught his arm before he could move again.

Luther’s clenched fists were still trembling with anger.

Neither of them had come out on top—Luther was older and slightly taller, but Leonard clearly had experience fighting. They were evenly matched, the only difference being that Leonard’s face was now covered in bruises, while Luther was unharmed.

Joshua, however, didn’t care how injured Leonard was. He looked at him and said slowly, "I’ll pretend today never happened. We’re a group, so I hope this won’t affect our teamwork. I trust you understand that."

Then he turned, taking Luther’s hand as he prepared to leave.

"Pretend it never happened? Joshua, I confessed to you! I kissed you! And you’re just gonna act like nothing happened? Ha ha ha!" Leonard’s voice rose, his expression twisted.

Joshua looked at him for a moment—then suddenly laughed. "And what do you expect me to say? You think confessing means you’ll get the answer you want? You don’t like me, Leonard—and I don’t like you either. That kiss of yours... only disgusted me."

That hit harder than any rejection could. Anyone watching could see Leonard’s expression shatter. Even Justin looked uneasy and downcast, while Henry’s eyes lowered, hiding his thoughts.

Only Luther still had the strength to glare, gripping Joshua’s hand tightly. "You hear that? Joshua doesn’t like you. Stay the hell away from him!"

With that, he pulled Joshua along, striding away. Justin and Henry quickly followed behind.

Justin had once thought about asking Joshua whether he liked men or women—but now, he decided to keep his mouth shut. He didn’t want to become another Leonard.

Ahead, Luther’s hand was still gripping Joshua’s tightly, his eyes bloodshot. After a while, he turned to glance at Joshua again. Seeing the blood still staining Joshua’s lips, he could only curse inwardly, wishing he’d hit Leonard harder.

Inside Joshua’s mind, Nine was still raging: [Damn it, Luther did great! Leonard dared to kiss you—just like I said, he’s no good! You saw that, right, Joshua?!]

Why was Leonard even still in Joshua’s group?! The thought made Nine seethe. That bastard had stolen Joshua’s first kiss!

Nine felt like he’d made a mistake. He didn’t allow Joshua to fall in love—but he couldn’t stop others from liking Joshua either.

The problem wasn’t Joshua. It was them.

If all those people disappeared, no one would ever bother Joshua again!

Each of them lost in their own thoughts, the group quickly returned to their rooms.

Joshua pretended to rummage through his suitcase, but he quickly bought some medicine from the Store. Then he turned to Luther and said bluntly, "Take off your shirt."

Luther immediately pulled his shirt off, then grinned. "Should I take my pants off too?"

Joshua: "..."

Joshua muttered, "I wish Leonard had kicked your little stick to pieces."

Luther gasped dramatically. "Little stick? Joshua, do you even hear what you’re saying? You wanna compare right now?"

Joshua pushed him down onto the bed with a frown. "No. And if you don’t want this to hurt, sit still."

Luther chuckled, still squirming a little, until Joshua narrowed his eyes and pressed right on a bruise on his shoulder.

Luther yelped, eyes wide. "Shua, if you want revenge, just say so!"

But as Joshua dipped a cotton swab into the medicine and carefully dabbed it over his injuries, Luther went quiet. His gaze drifted to Joshua’s lips—usually a soft pink, now reddened from the bite. Thinking back to Leonard’s words, Luther felt anger flare in his chest.

That damn gay bastard!

The thought barely formed before Luther suddenly wrapped his arms around Joshua. "Joshua, as long as I’m here, I won’t let anyone bother you again!"

Nine chimed in enthusiastically: [That’s right, Luther! Well said—we really are a team!]

Joshua leaned back, glaring as he pushed Luther away. "You’ve still got medicine on you, stop clinging to me!"

Luther giggled, watching Joshua fuss with the medicine, his irritation somehow adorable. Unable to resist, he reached out to pinch Joshua’s cheek, humming some ridiculous tune.

He was the one who’d been beaten up, yet he looked oddly happy. Joshua honestly couldn’t understand him at all.

Watching from the side, Justin couldn’t quite believe Luther wasn’t into men. The way he clung to Joshua looked way gayer than most people.

Two best friends... no matter how close they were, they didn’t usually tease and pinch each other’s faces all the time, right?

And yet, somehow, they really were just friends.