"Cadence. Why are you being petty? Just give it to ..." Elais followed closely behind the man, his voice a mix of impatience and persuasion. But Cadence had already made up his mind. There was no way—absolutely no way—he was going to let Elais feed the porridge he had prepared to soone else.
Elais, anwhile, was already regretting the words that had slipped out of his mouth earlier. When he first saw the porridge Cadence had made, he had been thrilled, almost giddy with happiness. It had felt like a small victory, proof that lanie’s plan to bring Cadence closer to him was actually working.
And in that mont of excitent, he had foolishly thought he could tease Cadence, maybe even spark a little jealousy—just to see how he would react. The impulse had been too strong to resist.
But now reality hit him. He had actually planned to eat that porridge himself. Maybe for lunch... perhaps even save so for dinner if he could stretch it out. And now? Now it looked like his entire day’s al might be sacrificed—fed to the dogs out of sheer stubbornness.
No. Absolutely not.
Elais narrowed his eyes, staring at the thermos in Cadence’s hand as though it were a priceless treasure. Should he just snatch it and make a run for it? That was starting to feel like the only option left.
Just as he was ntally calculating the distance to the door and whether Cadence could catch him in ti, the man himself opened the door, ready to step outside. But he paused abruptly.
Behind him, Elais, who had been hot on his heels, almost crashed into him before stumbling to a stop as well.
Because standing right there at the door was soone neither of them had expected.
"What are you doing here?" Both Elais and Cadence spoke at the sa ti, voices overlapping in perfect sync.
The person standing outside raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed, and then, with the air of soone who belonged everywhere, walked right in as if the house were his own.
"Ohh... sothing slls heavenly." Max took a long sniff and grinned. "Mr. Sint, your hospitality is unmatched. I haven’t even stepped inside properly, and you’re already welcoming with porridge."
Before either Cadence or Elais could react, Max plucked the thermos straight out of Cadence’s hand. He took a cautious sip, made a dramatic face, and handed it over to Elais.
"Elais. This is the famous porridge you were raving about? My, you have a very... unique taste. Here, you can keep it."
As he passed the thermos back, Max leaned in slightly and murmured under his breath, "Relax. I didn’t actually drink from it, so you can stop cursing in your head."
Elais winced. Was he truly that easy to read these days? Apparently so.
But before he could respond, his gaze shifted back to Cadence—and he nearly dropped the thermos altogether.
Cadence wasn’t even looking at him. He turned to Max instead, his voice tight. "What are you doing here?"
Max shrugged as though it were the most casual thing in the world. "We had plans, rember? To go out today? You two are new here, so I thought I’d take Elais sightseeing. Show him around a bit."
"Dr. Jung is busy today," Cadence said coldly, his voice carrying a finality that suggested the conversation should end right there.
Max, however, was not so easily dismissed. He turned to look at the man in question, one brow arching in amusent. "Really, Elais? Are you too busy?"
Dr. Jung glanced between the two n—first at Cadence’s stony expression, then at Max’s lazy grin—and let out a slow sigh. "I do have a conference," he admitted.
Cadence shot Max a look of quiet triumph, as though victory were already his.
But his satisfaction was short-lived.
"...I’m free after that," Elais added quickly, almost as an afterthought.
Max’s grin widened instantly, his expression practically glowing with mischief, while Cadence’s face darkened in silent annoyance.
"Alright then, Dr. Jung..." Max drawled, leaning forward slightly. Sothing about the way he said the na made Cadence bristle-it sounded less like respect and more like a teasing nickna rolling off Max’s tongue.
"I’ll take you to the conference myself," Max continued smoothly. "Go get ready."
And before anyone could stop him, he even gave Elais a casual pat on the backside as though this were the most natural thing in the world.
Clutching the thermos tightly in both hands, Elais Jung,who had never in his life been subjected to this kind of blatant harassnt, bolted from the room without looking back, leaving Cadence behind to deal with Max and his insufferable grin.
Max smiled at Cadence, his expression relaxed, almost smug. Cadence only grimaced in return before striding over to the couch. Max lounged there like he owned the place, looking thoroughly at ease, which only made Cadence’s frown deepen.
Taking the seat opposite him, Cadence crossed his arms. "Where exactly are you planning to go today?" he asked, his tone cool but edged with curiosity.
Max tilted his head, a faint smirk playing on his lips. "Oh, just here and there. Why? Planning to join the adventure?"
Cadence opened his mouth to say yes—because of course he wanted to go—but Max was already a step ahead, cutting him off before he could even get the word out.
"Let’s not be a light bulb for each other, okay?" Max said smoothly, leaning back like he had all the ti in the world. "I an, Elais is with you most of the ti, isn’t he? So, you must be getting very little alone ti with lody." He gave a deliberate pause, letting the implication sink in before adding lightly, "Why don’t you use that ti wisely? Hmm? And I’ll take Elais to places... he’s never been."
Cadence clenched his hands at the words. He knew that what Max had said was absolutely true. And at any other ti, he would have jumped up at the chance to spend ti alone with lody but now... he wanted to know what Elais was going to do.
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