Chapter 2 Of Mornings and Visits

Trivia #2: Lavender cafe is something that Eve started to collect more information, and there's a branch on nearly every floor. It's also one of her main sources of income among a few others. Yunuen and Hansung help her manage all the spots along with many others that have been recruited

Mornings with team Sweet and Sour on a winter Floor without Bam was unexpectedly less chaotic than normal. To which Khun was extremely suspicious since there was only silence when he woke up. He walked down the hallway cautiously, a knife in hand and all his senses on alert for enemies. Though he was left deadpanning when he found the team huddled in Evolet's room, the door left ajar with Arkraptor looking like the walking dead with droopy eye bags.

The knife was quickly hidden in his Lighthouse again as the bluenette greeted his teammate who replied tiredly. Meanwhile the rest of them didn't even notice Khun's arrival, far too focused on Evolet's sleeping figure. They were supposed to wake her up, but they didn't have the heart to disturb her sleep. She looked so comfortable snuggling into the blankets, curling into herself with a smile in her sleep.

It's a serene picture yet Khun felt unsettled, his gaze narrowed ever so lightly at the small oddities he found. She curled into herself as if trying to get more warmth, yet at the same time covering her vital parts as if warily protecting herself from an attack. The smile in her sleep wasn't one of satisfaction nor a fake one he would show to his so-called family. Her smile was of knowing and resignation, as if she was used to accepting the cruel fate that awaits her. He wanted to figure out what she was hiding under her calm and easy-going exterior.

On the other hand, Miseng and Prince teamed up and took pictures of Evolet and sent it to Bam. While Wangnan watched in awe as Yihwa put a finger on Evolet's palm and the purplette grabbed it gently like how a baby would. Both of them were melting from absolute wholesomeness, cooing in a whisper. They'd wake up early any day just to see her like this again, though Arkraptor's rumbling stomach was saying otherwise since they were supposed to wake her up long ago so she could make breakfast. It was honestly quite the predicament since the only decent cook left was her.

For the umpteenth time on this Floor, Khun sighed as he shook his head. Unlike the others he didn't hesitate to wake Evolet, they do have a schedule to follow and breakfast's been delayed long enough. He shook her awake gently, ignoring the team's protest. "Eve, you need to wake up."

Evolet whined softly, curling more into herself in response. She grasped Khun's hand that was shaking her, mind clouded by sleepiness and overtaken by the instinct to pull him down so she can cuddle. Unfortunately for her, Khun was well prepared since their last fiasco yesterday and stood his ground. Which left Evolet with no choice but to open her eyes blearily, gazing up at Khun with droopy eyes which made him soften a bit. The bluenette patted her head tenderly, apologizing for waking her up. "Sorry, Eve. But it's already quite late and we need to have breakfast soon."

Hearing his small plea, Evolet shuffled around in the blanket and sat up dazedly as she nodded. She just wanted to bury herself in a mountain of blankets but she supposed she did have responsibilities to take care of. In an attempt to get off the bed, she leaned on Khun lightly but her movements promptly stopped and made Khun raise an eyebrow at her stillness.

Evolet's hand encircled his waist childishly, mumbling how warm he was as she hugged him lazily. Khun ignored the team's scandalously shocked gaze, shooing them out despite their protests and closing the door with his Lighthouse. As if Bam wasn't enough of a hogger for Evolet now the team had to deal with Khun keeping Evolet to himself while Bam's not here.

He sighed at the locked door and the ruckus outside as the team began to search for ways to enter the room once more, though he blocked the entrance with his Lighthouse. Directing his attention back to the purplette, he realized that it was no easy feat to get her up. Instead of dilly dallying, he took the easy way out and promptly lifted her up bridal style. Evolet showed him a beaming grin, snuggling to his shoulder in content without a single thought which made Khun crack up a small smile.

Thankfully the bathroom was close enough that he only needed to walk a few steps before putting her down gently, making sure she was standing straight. "You can manage the rest on your own right?"

Evolet gazed at him for a while as if trying to comprehend what he was saying, eyebrows scrunching up with a small pout on her pink lips. Khun waited patiently, nearly laughing when Evolet nodded a few times with half lidded eyes before marching into the bathroom. He considered going outside and brewing a cup of coffee, though he supposed he'd wait instead since the team was still screaming their heads off outside. Instead his Lighthouse appeared in visible mode as he planned a proper training schedule for the team and more interactive regiments for them to do.

True to be told, he was prepared to wait for at least 30 minutes or more since typically all the women he's known in his life took excruciatingly long to get ready. Though he was pleasantly surprised when she came out in less than 15 minutes with a much brighter expression, albeit something about her disposition seemed to be somewhat more leisurely than usual. She was wearing a simple white turtleneck sweater, clearly an oversized one, paired with black jeans and cozy fluffy slippers perfect for the winter. His calm ocean blue gaze met the serene blue-violet of night, staring back at him with a spark of playful laziness that wasn't typically present in her.

"Good morning, Khun-san." Her smile wasn't her usual smile of the beaming sun, instead it was gracefully calmer just like the soft moonlight shining down on him in the darkness. She didn't ask why he was still in his room, instead directing her attention to the door and how the team hadn't stopped their screaming. With a small loving sigh, she walked to the door and Khun removed his Lighthouse wordlessly in understanding.

The team immediately quieted down and stood properly once they saw that Evolet was the one who opened the door, a fond smile on her lips as she spoke in a motherly tone. "You should've woken me up earlier… I was planning to make something more extravagant, but I guess I'll just make something quick since it's already so late. What do you want for breakfast?"

Prince and Miseng were the first to reply, raising their hands excitedly. "CHEESE!/BACON!!"

"Bacon and cheese quiche it is. Now be good and wait in the dining room m'kay?"

The two nodded, racing to the dining room as told with Wangnan following right behind them. Yihwa was grumbling lightly at how Evolet seemed to act like a mother to them, though the skip in her step said otherwise. Evolet shook her head in adoration for the teammates that she loves, glancing at Arkraptor who did the same as he sipped his morning coffee.

"Arkraptor-san, could you help me prep the herbs for the quiche? I'll go to the kitchen in a few minutes." The silver haired man nodded, ruffling Evolet's light lavender hair affectionately before heading to the kitchen while the girl huffed. Khun simply watched all of it happen, his hands long stopped typing on his Lighthouse as he put them in invisible mode again.

The door closed once more and Evolet glanced back at the bluenette who was sitting on the bed, giving him a tender smile as usual. "Sorry about that Khun-san. Usually Bam would wake me up since I have problems waking up on Winter Floors, but since he's not here I asked them to wake me up instead. One person would've been enough… but I suppose that didn't go too well."

Despite how her tone was borderline exasperated, Khun could sense an underlying fondness in it. Evolet without a doubt took care of the team well, just like how a mother would to her children though this was a far more functional family compared to his own. He inwardly tells himself how lucky the team was to have her, how fortunate he was to meet her and climb with her again, how lucky it was for Bam that he had someone like her by his side so that he didn't break down during his time at FUG and somehow managed to break free. He wished she'd stay by his side forever too.

The Lightbearer playfully smirked at her, a mischievous gleam in his cobalt blue gaze. "Should I help you up starting tomorrow then?"

Evolet didn't seem surprised in the slightest, nodding as she took out a hairbrush and sat in front of the dresser. "If you don't mind then that would be very helpful, Khun-san."

"Do you need help with that too?" He motioned to how she was brushing her long hair, to which Evolet blinked in surprise before handing the brush to him. Khun took it without hesitation, styling her luscious long hair expertly. Evolet closed her eyes, completely at peace as she hummed a gentle tune that Khun had heard countless of times but was never bored of.

This was a contrasting image from the usual Evolet who was reliable and protective, he thought. He sensed a subtle caution from her, yet she's lowering her walls at the same time. She was displaying a vulnerable side of her and giving her trust to not only him but also the whole team. She trusted them with all of her life, and so did they. Well Khun would question his own trust to others. He could trust that Evolet would protect the team, or how he trusts Ran to always win his fights. But the type of trusting his life to others was a far cry from being real, and honestly when was that ever going to happen anyway.

But his breath hitched as her soulful eyes of the night glanced at him, the care and love unhidden in her kind gaze. Would he really stand true to his words or make more exceptions for her? Did he already not, considering he allowed her slip through his defenses without a care of personal space. She smiled brightly like the sun despite the dark gentle hues of her eyes, as if she had everything she could ever ask for and nothing left to wish for.

He however, was the exact opposite of her. He took endlessly and set his eyes on the highest possible top, getting rid of the enemies in his path in the cruelest efficient way possible and continuing on without mercy. Greedy and selfish, his goals seemingly unreachable for others. Not to mention the wishes that kept adding on as he continued climbing. Yet as she handed him the blue bandanna that he gave and he put it on her, a part of him unknowingly thought one of his wishes had been granted and purred in delight.

His line of thoughts were promptly cut off when Evolet asked him for a small favor. "By the way, Khun-san, could you accompany me somewhere after breakfast?"

Khun easily agreed to that, which brought them to a certain cafe not long after breakfast. He subtly wondered why she only brought him and not the rest of the team, especially when the sign on the shop clearly stated it wasn't the opening hours yet. Though when he asked about it to the purplette, she merely flashed him a mischievous grin without a proper answer.

The doorbell jingled as Evolet pushed open the door, not muttering a single word as she came in and Khun followed suit. The interior was a cozy minimalist design, based off of soft pastel colors and particularly focusing on purple. Which, he supposed, made sense since the name was literally Lavender Cafe and Bar.

There was no one in sight save for the two of them, at least not until a male blond wearing a waiter outfit entered their view with a rather irritated expression. "I'm sorry but we're not open yet—"

His words quickly halted once he saw Evolet standing there and waving at him with a smile, uncaring of whoever the bluenette beside him was. The broom he was carrying clattered to the floor, lips trembling and eyes glistening with unshed tears before he rushed forward and tackled the purplette into a tight hug with a call of her name. "Eve-sama!!!"

Evolet accepted the hug readily, a small gasp escaping her lips at how hard the male had tackled her. The unnamed man was practically trembling in her hold, clutching the back of her sweater desperately as she patted his head. "It's been a while, Elio-kun."

The man, Elio, nodded quickly and gazed at her with his vibrant blue orbs. He still didn't let her go, to which Evolet absolutely didn't complain about. Meanwhile, Khun wasn't the least happy about this. His eyebrows furrowed deeply, cold ocean gaze glinting sharply as his intelligent mind planned a thousand methods to murder this man in front of him. Though he supposed that'd be hard to do since Evolet seemed to be rather close with the blond. A little bit too close for Khun's liking.

On the other hand, another man frowned in the kitchen as he heard the clattering of the broom from earlier. He could already feel the headache spurring on from the troubles that his partner has probably caused. With a soft sigh he reluctantly set aside the cake batter he's been working on and decided to walk out of the kitchen to scold Elio again. Yet his breath was effortlessly taken away as he saw who was standing there.

Evolet didn't fail to take notice of the familiar new presence either. He had strikingly similar features to Elio, eyes blue as the endless horizon and neat blond hair slicked back for a classy look. Though unlike the other blond, he was wearing a chef's outfit and had less of a childish aura.

"Come here, Lucio-san." Hearing his name called by her, Lucio didn't wait to head over to her. Though unlike Elio, the first thing he did was to rip the waiter off of her with an annoyed face.

Elio squirmed in his hold, grasping at Evolet like a child would to their favorite candy to no avail. "Sorry about that, Eve-sama. He's a little rowdy as usual. You should've told us that you were visiting, we would've prepared a feast for you."

"It's fine, Lucio-san. I'm just glad the two of you are doing well." Evolet was quick to dismiss the formalities with a playful wave, bringing about a smile to both of the blonds. That was until Lucio unceremoniously dropped Elio down to the floor. The waiter whimpered at the slight pain, grumbling about how inconsiderate Lucio was to him which made Evolet sweatdropped.

Lucio stepped closer to Evolet, calm and composed like the gentleman that he is as he smiled down at her. Evolet simply nodded at his inquiring gaze as if asking for permission. At the confirmation Lucio brushed her bangs away carefully and leaned down, planting a tender kiss on her forehead and making sure to stay for a few seconds before stepping away. "May the Tower's blessings always be with you."

"And you too." Evolet replied to him, chuckling lightly at the exchange.

Khun on the other hand, was completely baffled. He didn't fail to notice how the blond's gaze softened when he saw Evolet. How he treated her like the most precious being in the Tower. And to top it off he just witnessed him give her a forehead kiss and the only thing he did was freeze in shock. There was something raging about calmly in his mind, a storm slowly brewing up and nothing to stop it from happening. He quickly stepped in front of Evolet when Lucio inched closer, gaze cold as a blizzard and half of his mind contemplating just grabbing a knife from his Lighthouse when the blond smirked mockingly at him. He'd love to wipe that smug look off of the blond's face.

Sensing the tenseness in the air, Evolet was quick to stop them and separated both sides. "Well… let's introduce each other very briefly first. Khun-san, meet Elio-kun and Lucio-san. They're the co-owners and managers of the Lavender Cafe and Bar on this Floor. Coincidentally twins too! Lucio-san is the older one while Elio-kun is the younger one. And Elio-kun, Lucio-san, meet Khun-san. He's the leader of our team at the moment."

Elio was wise to just nod as a brief greeting to Khun before backing away, noticing his twin's competitive aura. The older twin always acted like that whenever someone interrupted his time with Evolet. As if it was never there, the mocking expression on Lucio was swiftly replaced with a poker smile, a hand extended as a greeting handshake to the bluenette who was glaring relentlessly at him. Khun took on his own poker face, though it did nothing to mask his dislike towards Lucio as he shook his hand and muttered out his next words. "What kind of cafe owner and chef treats their customer like that?"

Taking it as a challenge, Lucio simply tightened their handshake with a smirk that was far too condescending for Khun's comfort. "One that knows her better than her team leader."

It was official, Khun had a new murder victim on his list.