BAM!
Penny, Zoren, and Slater ran out of the kitchen to see what was happening. But when they arrived, all they saw was Atlas, still seated on the sa couch, their broken front door, and so noises coming from outside.
"Uh..." Penny blinked, her thoughts filling with question marks. "Where is Second Brother?"
The three of them naturally turned to Atlas. But alas, he remained idle in the chair. Slowly, Atlas cracked one eye open and stared at them.
"He lost his mind." As usual, Atlas’s tone carried no concern. "That’s what happened."
Penny and Slater exchanged glances, studying Atlas. Although his face was flushed, he didn’t seem to have the sa overwhelming urge as Zoren nor the sa dilemma as Slater.
Ignoring Hugo’s absence for a mont, Penny cautiously approached her eldest brother.
"Uh..." She cleared her throat, prompting Atlas to raise a brow. "First Brother, is there sothing you need?"
"Water," he replied. "I did tell you to bring so."
"Right, but I left it in the fridge to cool since we didn’t have any ice," she explained, though it was obviously a lie. "I an... First Brother, do you feel anything strange?"
"Hmm?"
"Don’t you feel weird? Like... do you have any urges or cravings right now?" she asked carefully, choosing her words as if treading on eggshells.
Zoren and Slater, standing just a few steps away, waited anxiously for Atlas’s response. anwhile, Slater clutched his blanket tightly, desperately trying to keep his "mighty soldier" hidden.
"No," Atlas frowned. "Unless a headache counts."
"Really?" Penny’s brows shot up in confusion and surprise.
She glanced between Zoren and Slater, taking note of their drastically different reactions. While Zoren looked like he was using all his energy to stop himself from dragging her away for so "private monts," Slater was just distressed that his "soldier" refused to stand down.
And yet, Atlas only had a headache.
"How strange," she murmured, looking back at him. "First Brother, are you sure?"
"Mhm. Though I do feel hot."
Penny pursed her lips before hesitantly asking, "How about... there?" She reluctantly gestured downward. "Anything unusual?"
"Are you a pervert, Penny?"
"What?"
"How can you ask your brother about his reproductive functions?" Atlas said flatly. "I have no interest in anyone, but I find it disgusting that my sister would have such desires for . Not my cup of tea, Penny."
Penny and Slater gasped while Zoren pinched the bridge of his nose. Normally, Zoren would have jumped in to correct Atlas’s misunderstanding, but at the mont, he was too busy restraining himself—not just because he didn’t want to expose his intentions to Penny’s brothers, and not even because he wanted Penny to help them first.
The only reason Zoren was holding himself back was simple: if he gave in now and dragged Penny away for relief, Old Mrs. Pierson’s words might just co true. After all, he had always refused any pills or herbal redies for performance, and Penny had no basis for comparison. If they did it now, however, she would.
Over his dead body.
"First Brother—" Penny stopped, rendered speechless by the pure slander and rejection. She waved him off with a forced smile. "I guess you’re fine."
She then turned to Slater and Zoren. "He’s fine. Probably, the effects were trapped in his mouth."
"Penny, what’s going on?" Slater frowned, finally having the chance to ask. "Why won’t my—you know—settle down? And why is your husband... like that?! Tell him to cover up!"
Zoren let out a shallow breath, glancing at his obvious bulge. Slater spoke as if he were naked, but it was just that his erection was impossible to ignore.
"Well, I don’t know all the details," Penny admitted with a difficult sigh. "But what I do know is that the soup made you feel... different."
"Soup?" Slater furrowed his brows, while Atlas arched a brow.
"What’s going on?" Atlas asked. "What soup?"
"Well..." Penny massaged her nape, summarizing the situation. "Not long ago, Grandma gave a red soup container for Renren. She said it was to..." help with his bed performance.
But there was no way she would say that outright. So, she paused before smiling.
"... It was ant to assist with conception," she explained. "But since Renren and I have been too busy to try, we just kept it in the fridge. Our chef was already aware of that soup, but sohow, he still used it tonight... and Renren unknowingly served it to all of you."
A mont of silence fell over them as Penny’s words sank in.
"You drugged us?" Slater gasped, looking at Zoren in disbelief.
"I didn’t know," Zoren lowered his head. "Had I known, I wouldn’t have drunk it myself."
Slater’s mouth fell open, but no words ca out. What could he even say? It wasn’t like he could pick a fight with Zoren when he was suffering the sa consequences.
"Gosh...!" Slater hissed, teary-eyed. "So that’s why—Penny, what do we do?! I’m getting more uncomfortable by the second. I feel like a ticking ti bomb!"
"Ah." Unlike the panicked Slater, Atlas simply nodded in understanding. "I see. That explains why I feel hot."
"First Brother, are you really sure that’s all you feel?!" Slater yelled. "You don’t feel weird at all? Not even a little?"
Atlas pondered for a mont before shaking his head. "No, nothing unusual."
"That’s it?" Penny pressed, just to be sure. "You don’t feel anything else?"
Atlas’s eyes darkened as he leaned back in his seat. "The only things I feel—aside from the heat—are anger and an overwhelming desire for mass destruction."
He nodded to himself before looking up at them with his usual blank expression. "But those feelings are part of my routine and the process. They’re just a little heightened tonight."
Zoren, Slater, and Penny stared at him in disbelief. At this point, all three of them had the sa thought:
Atlas was built differently.
No wonder Hugo admired him. After all, Atlas might just be the only person in the world with a chanism that could turn a love potion into a hate potion.
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