❦ . ❦ . ❦

Despite his uncertainty about what had happened last night, Laurence kept his promise to go back to Isaac's place and check on him. He'd dropped by a supermarket first to buy more food grocery items for the younger man, including the tea he'd forgotten yesterday and a bottle of honey to replace the one that had spilled on the floor. Luckily, he'd found something similar to what Mr. Frias had given them in a specific store that sold imported products from other regions.

Laurence fluttered his heavy eyelids, battling against the drowsiness, and yawned while he stood in front of his boss's house. It had been hard to get proper sleep last night, and all he'd done for some time was toss and turn on the bed while questions about Isaac's kiss and his own feelings for the younger man raced in his head. Hours of aimless pondering later, he'd dozed off with his doubts remaining unresolved.

He rang Isaac's doorbell once. And then again, after a minute of no answer. He did a few more aggressive presses on the button. Still, no response.

Laurence glared at the smart lock, thinking it wouldn't be an issue for him to force it open if it was the traditional lock or a deadbolt.

Ain't that punk hearing anything? Or he's out somewhere?

He'd been convinced Isaac had stayed home because there had not been a sign of the boss in the office earlier.

Drawing his phone, Laurence dialed Isaac's number. The ringback tone started, and his worry grew when it went on with no one picking up the call. He gave up once he reached the voicemail.

Laurence focused on the keypad installed at the doorframe and decided to take a stab at cracking the passcode. He paused for a minute, musing about how people often used numbers with significant meaning, like special dates, because they were the easiest to remember.

He raised his hand, ready to input his guess, but the realization that he didn't know Isaac's exact birthday brought him to a freeze. It was this February; that, he was sure of because of his officemates, who'd been making a fuss about how their boss had been born in the month of love. What date? He had no idea. In retrospect, he should have done a better job eavesdropping on those chatters.

No, I think it was 20 or 21? And that punk was a year below me in high school, so he was 1995 or '96?

Laurence positioned his finger over the keypad once again and had a go at figuring out the right combinations. He entered the number 022095 first, only for it to end in error. Next, he tried 0222195, 022096, and 022196, yet none of them went through. After four failed attempts, the smart lock's voice alert reminded him he had one chance left to be wrong, and the passcode would stop working for five minutes before he could try again.

Betting on his luck,—although he'd always doubted the gods of good fortune had gifted him with any—Laurence gave the code another shot. He only hit the number 0 when the successive beeps set off, startling him.

The door opened and revealed the owner of the house.

Isaac greeted Laurence with a suspicious look. "Senior, you do realize this is a smart lock and you can't pick it the way you did the knob of the school's rooftop last time, do you?"

"I told you I didn't pick that one, and I wasn't trying to pick your door, either. I was just..." Laurence's sharp expression and tone wavered as he noticed Isaac's eyes had sunken further, the bags beneath them darker and more pronounced. "Hey, what have you been doing? I told you to get some rest, right? Have you been pushing yourself and working all day again?"

Guilt pinched Laurence when he thought of the possibility that the younger man had trouble grabbing some sleep, for he was also agonizing about the certain incident between them and why he'd run away from him.

"I haven't been feeling well. I began vomiting in the middle of the night and couldn't catch some sleep."

Even though part of him was comforted to know he wasn't to blame for Isaac's worsened condition, another part was disappointed. Because deep down, he'd been hoping his former junior had also been mulling over what had happened last night as much as he had. It was a side of himself he wasn't proud of, so Laurence chose to push the sentiment aside and let his worry outweigh it.

"See, this is why even Ms. Marian has been telling you to take it easy. Too much work can do that to you sometimes, so you should listen when people tell you to stop pushing yourself too hard." Laurence steered Isaac around by the shoulder and ushered him inside. "C'mon, have more rest. Wouldn't it be better to take you to the hospital?"

"There's no need to make a big deal out of it anymore. I'm alright already. I called my doctor earlier to ask for the remedies, and I've marginally improved when I followed his instructions."

Laurence forced Isaac to sit on the sofa. Or at least, he wanted to believe he'd been able to push the bigger man around, disregarding the awareness that Isaac had let himself be maneuvered and that his current condition made him weaker than usual.

Laurence offered to prepare a meal, not leaving room for a turndown, as he proceeded to the kitchen.

What received him upon stepping into the area was the same mess they'd created before he'd escaped from Isaac last night. The cake crumbs and broken pieces of porcelain cup and glass bottle were abandoned on the floor, the same with the smudge of frosting, honey, and tea, which all had dried out.

The sight stirred a rueful smile out of Laurence. He could not blame the owner of the house for this. From what he'd observed about Isaac so far, he had a good basis to assume that the young boss could be a stickler for order and tidiness. The fact this mess had not been taken care of for almost a day only told Laurence how tied up and sick the man was to do even this simple task.

Laurence cleaned the place without complaint before making beef soup with napa cabbage and potatoes. He went back to the living room once he finished cooking and found the younger man, still leaning against the back of the sofa, with his eyes closed, his arms folded, and his head tipped to the side.

The peaceful image made Isaac appear like an innocent child incapable of harming an ant, as if he wasn't a conglomerate leader who could issue a powerful command just with his mere gaze. As if he wasn't that son who'd destroyed his controlling father's organization. And as if he wasn't that guy who'd promised to chase someone to the deepest pit of hell to gain justice for someone he cared about.

But kinda unfair how this punk's still looking almost perfect even when snoozing. Freaking heavens playing favorites... At least let him snore or drool. Or make him sleep open-mouthed. Not even a chance for an embarrassing photo to use against him?

Notwithstanding those thoughts, Laurence considered himself luckier than most people acquainted with Isaac, since not everyone could get the privilege to witness the young CEO in this defenseless state. He wondered if the man had ever let his guard down around others, too.

"Hey, are you asleep for real?" Laurence asked under his breath and sat beside Isaac, careful not to jolt him awake if he was indeed having a doze. "Your meal's ready. I assume you're still feeling nauseous after all the throwing up and you might not have the appetite for anything, but have some soup at least, okay? It could help rehydrate you, and also good for stress relief."

Laurence would not have pressed on and was ready to give the exhausted boss more time to rest, but then Isaac lazily roused and regarded him with drowsy eyes.

"Thank you, Laurence. I'll have it. And I apologize. I've been trying to steal a wink of sleep. That's the same reason I was late answering the door earlier."

"Don't sweat it." Laurence noted the stack of papers on the coffee table. It sure seemed like they hadn't been touched today. "Actually, I'm sorry... No, not sorry, but yeah, I took the liberty of trying to open your door earlier, but well..." He scratched the side of his neck. "Hell, I'd no luck 'cause I wasn't sure about your exact birthday. But it's later this month, yeah?"

The signs of weariness on Isaac's face tailed off as he pinned Laurence with an unwavering stare. "What gave you the idea that the password was my birthday, senior?"

Laurence's heart stilled for a split second before it began jumping around in panic. Something about Isaac's cryptic question just inspired his mind to dash in an expectant direction.

"Then, not your birthday..." Laurence kept his anticipation in check. "Could it be someone's—"

"It's twenty, nineteen, eighteen."

"Oh." Laurence waited to comprehend the statement. But all he managed was to waste a minute trying to sort it out. "Huh?"

"My door's passcode."

Laurence's processor lagged for another beat. He blinked, gawked at Isaac as though the young boss had asked him to find the stupid, runaway x variable in a math equation.

And when his brain resumed its normal function, the first thing Laurence did was blurt out, "Those numbers are freaking random."

He closed his mouth, remembering that it was, in fact, the top advice to choose random combinations when creating security codes, and to boot, Isaac had thought of something easy to remember. It made sense that the young CEO would prioritize rationality and safety over sentimentality, but it still surprised Laurence because Isaac had struck him as someone who would use characters, which had significance to him, as his password.

"Ah, scratch that. More importantly, you sure it's a good idea to be babbling that to others?"

"You're not any other person for me."

As much as Laurence had the urge to chide the young CEO for that little nonsense, he let it pass and imagined it was just Isaac's frazzled mind speaking. "So, the soup? Do you want me to bring it here instead?"

"Do you mind?"

"Ain't gonna suggest in the first place if I do."

Laurence stood up and went to the kitchen. He checked that the beef soup was still warm before filling a bowl with it and putting in more potatoes.

He brought the soup to the living room and caught Isaac holding and reading some of the office documents again.

"Hey, isn't it possible for you to stay away from those office reports even for a damn single day?" Laurence set the serving tray on the coffee table, his brow knitting in displeasure.

Isaac let go of the papers and rearranged them on top of the stack. "I was just reading a little. I don't plan to work on them today." He moved from the sofa and settled on the floor to reach the bowl of soup better. "Thank you for this. Will you not join me?"

"That's enough thanking me already. And, yeah, sure, I'll have some."

Laurence got his portion from the kitchen. He could have stayed in the dining area to have his meal, but he returned to where Isaac was as he convinced himself he had to keep an eye on that punk. It was only to make sure that their stubborn CEO wouldn't sneak a minute and try to deal with the paperwork again when he was supposed to be eating and taking the time to recover his energy.

The two men spent their meal in silence. Laurence stole glances at Isaac, noting that the younger man's complexion had improved a bit, compared to when he'd greeted him at the door earlier. Some of the spark had returned to his face. His eyes weren't as deep as they'd been an hour ago. And his lips...

Laurence's mind malfunctioned for a moment, affecting his breathing and pulse to trip out of their normal rhythm, as Isaac licked the corner of his bottom lip. Oblivious to the commotion happening inside his companion, the young boss continued to enjoy the soup.

The simple action reminded Laurence of that certain issue, which he'd been trying to ignore since coming here. He'd been ready for Isaac to bring up the events from last night as soon as he had the chance.

And yet, the younger man had been displaying a behavior opposite from what Laurence had expected. Isaac had been acting as though he'd forgotten about the kiss and his former senior running away from him. Perhaps all of it really meant nothing to him; Laurence had been aware of that fact from the start, had humored Isaac's unreasonable request even knowing that. But for some reason, the punk's unbothered attitude was still pissing him off so much.

Laurence drove a spoonful of beef soup to his mouth, dismayed at how lukewarm and tasteless it had become. He consoled himself by making a mental note to roll by a small noodle eatery he'd discovered this afternoon and get a large bowl of lomi for heavier dinner later. He wondered if that place served cold alcoholic drinks too.

Distracted, he nudged the cuts of meat and vegetables in the soup with his spoon, but did not take another bite.

Seconds ticked. The quietness drifted. And then, the subject he'd been waiting for arrived at last.

"About what happened last night..."

Laurence's fingers froze. He raised his head in anticipation.

"Let me apologize first for getting carried away with the kiss. I'm pretty much aware you only allowed me a quick one, but I failed to hold myself back. I didn't mean to scare you off, Laurence, and..." Isaac set his bowl down and held Laurence's gaze. "I don't mind you being upfront. Had I gone too far? Could it be that you were revolted by what I did?"

Unable to catch on to the question soon, Laurence's expectation changed to confusion. "Ain't you more likely the one to be disgusted with me?"

Isaac shot Laurence a puzzled stare, and the latter suspected their expressions mirrored each other's now, although the young boss might have managed it with more grace.

"Would you mind clarifying that, senior?"

"No, I mean, not really me... or not in this body. Just that, well, I've been wondering..." Laurence broke eye contact with Isaac and fiddled with his earlobe. "You kept saying this shi—thing that I matter to you the most, and it's... it's kinda misleading, you see. Maybe if 'twas another person, there's a chance they'd misinterpret and put a different meaning to it. Though, don't worry, ain't the case with me. I know you never meant it that way."

Even Laurence could recognize the rubbish coming out of his mouth. He was aware he needed to stop rambling at some point, and yet, it was like his mind had lost its stopper, so there was no way to prevent his tongue from spilling gibberish.

"And then, you'd also been telling me you'd never had a romantic interest in Florence, or something like that. But, I mean, are you sure you ain't just aware of it? If you really think about it, weren't you fine kissing me only 'cause I'm in this body, this y'know, pretty appearance? And I've been thinking if I was in my original body, bet you'd freak out just thinking about it. I mean, you're also annoyingly good-looking, so why'd you wanna kiss someone with freaky scars, yeah? When I thought about that last night while you were kiss..."

Laurence trailed off when he turned to Isaac and saw the face the younger man was making—a dry smirk rested on his lips and accented the sharpness of his gaze.

"Senior, do you honestly take me for someone who judges people based on their physical appearance?"

Laurence flinched at the deep, rough pitch toward the end of the question.

Oh. Boy. His former puppy underclassman was unimpressed. No, that might be an understatement. The young man was pissed. Incredibly, so. At him.

And Laurence could not fault him for being this upset. He'd never intended to paint Isaac as a superficial person who only looked at people's outer appearances, but that must have been how his words had come off to the man.

"That's not..." Laurence began, hoping to correct his mistake.

However, the young CEO would not give him another chance to speak.

"Somehow, it's insulting, isn't it? And here I was under the impression I have been very clear about my feelings." Isaac rolled his eyes, the familiar gesture doing nothing to wash away the vexation on his face. "I suppose I owe both of us an apology. It was on me for overlooking this serious issue and for assuming you would understand what I'd been trying to get across, even without me spelling it out for you. I neglected to consider that you might be as smart in this area as you are in mathematics, which apparently is the case."

Laurence's mouth twitched at the dig, but he accepted that he might have deserved that one and he was not in place to rebut against it.

"Do you know why I gave Renascence Café that name, Laurence?"

The shift to a conversational atmosphere allowed Laurence the confidence that it was now safe for him to talk.

"How would I? All I heard from the rumors in your company was that you acquired it because it reminded you of someone special." He almost let it slip that he'd suspected the person to be Violet. Fortunately, the past couple of minutes had helped him smarten up. He now understood that verbalizing that particular thought would only make Isaac more frustrated with him.

"So even that had reached you," the young boss said in a calm voice. "I would have to admit that what you heard was not a completely baseless rumor. I indeed chose that place with the plan of filling it with music and more plants. Two interests, which were inspired by two of the most important people in my life."

A name wouldn't be necessary for Laurence to figure out that one of those two people was Isla Ruiz, Isaac's mother. The other one? His racing heart seemed to have a good idea. Even then, he wouldn't dare take a guess.

"Renascence means rebirth. A new beginning. You've been working at the ND Corporation for more than a month, but are you aware of what ND means?"

Albeit unsure where the impromptu quiz was going, Laurence opted to play along. He racked his brain and pictured the few papers he'd seen where the full name of the ND Corporation was spelled out.

"It's Novel Dominion, yeah?" he said with a sense of pride, since he wanted to prove to his boss he was a responsible employee who knew his workplace well.

Isaac received the answer with a small smile. "Formally and on paper, it was Novel Dominion, but ND has another meaning that most employees might not have been aware of.

"It means New Dawn. Because, for me, everything I have at the present serves as a reminder that I'm here because of my mother who provided me with the first light in this world, and because of another person who gave me hope to start again when said light had vanished."

As Laurence kept listening, the names of the other places and businesses under Isaac surfaced in his mind. Aurora Medical Center. Dayspring Memorial Garden. All had the label synonymous with 'dawn'. The first light of the day. A fresh start. A new hope.

Another image from the past few days flashed in his memory, causing Laurence's eyes to widen. The epitaph imprinted on his and Isaac's mother's grave marker had the words, 'a light and a hope' in it.

Of course, all signs had always been there. However, his own insecurities, his skepticism to trust he was deserving of that kind of devotion from someone like Isaac Ruiz, resulted in him being blinded to the obvious truth.

"It was someone who promised me he'd care and would continue to do so when I was convinced I had no one left to give a damn. Have you figured it out yet? Do you still need a name for that person, Laurence? Or will you remain obtuse about it?"

"I get it already, you smartass punk," Laurence said, bitter, defeated. "Keep making it sound like I'm an idiot, why don't you? Just drop it, man."

"No? I have more to say."

Laurence gritted his teeth. He could not tell at which point this exchange had started to feel like a performance appraisal meeting, where he was being roasted by his employer for an awful blunder he'd done. That was exactly what it was like for him right now, and he could not even defend himself, knowing every criticism thrown at him was the truth.

"You also implied that perhaps I'd been attracted to Florence Villena even before you possessed his body. That I might not be aware of it. Your reason? Because he was beautiful and you were not." Isaac let out a chuckle. Low. Unamused. "This may sound like a strange thing to say, but I never cared about people's faces because, in my mind, they are all the same. Since I lost my mother, I stopped seeing anything special in anyone's appearance too. Their features may be clear in my sight, but how do I explain it? It is like, at the same time, every single one is blurred that I can't distinguish what is attractive anymore. But you're different. You've always been different, Laurence."

The rustles floated in the air as the young CEO shifted from his seat on the floor. He scanned Laurence up and down, and up again, before his eyes settled back to the other man's face. "Even now that I'm looking at you in someone else's body, all I can see is you, senior."

Laurence parted his lips to toss a sarcastic reply, but his voice got stuck in his throat. He wasn't sure how to react. He needed more time to let the situation soak. Figure out what to do with this confession. And his own feelings about it.

Still, for now, it might be alright to just acknowledge the sudden lightness in his chest as if a whole pile of bricks pressing against it before had been hauled away.

He lowered his gaze to his soup and had another spoonful of it.

"You have probably heard about it, too, haven't you? That rumor about me sleeping with men? I won't deny I did that during my years in Europe, especially when I was stressed with the university and a lot of other personal issues. I may be too cold to say this, but I can't even remember the faces of my past partners. Because every time, every single time I was doing it with them, my mind was occupied with something else. I was imagining what it would feel doing it with you instead."

Laurence choked, sputtering morsels of the vegetables. He gaped. "I don't need to hear that shit."

Isaac shrugged, not the smallest trace of shame in his deadpanned expression. "I'm afraid I have to disagree with that. You need to hear it. Otherwise, you'll end up drawing foolish conclusions again. I don't want you to keep doubting me and my feelings, so I have to spell everything out for you."