On Saturday Yoosung waited outside your house, wearing a League of Legends shirt under a blue jacket and leaning against a small black car. He gives you a wave when he sees you and opens the shotgun door for you. You enter the car and wait for him to get inside as well. As soon as he slides inside you ask, "Whose car is this?"
He starts the car before turning towards you with a grin. "Would you believe if I tell you that it's mine?" "No." You deadpan, and his lips jut out into a pout. "Fine," he tells you. "it's Rika noona's. I borrowed it just for today." You nod in reply before resting your back on the backrest. The blond turns on the radio and drives out of your neighbourhood.
You arrive at the meeting place (this time just under the bridge by Han River) after forty minutes. You were grateful it didn't take over an hour because you were dying from Yoosung's own version of popular singer Echo Girl's latest single. You see the buyer's car already parked, and when they saw you, a man in his late twenties got out. Like the last transaction with Zen, Yoosung asked you to stay in the car while he completes the transaction.
He gets inside the car as soon as he's done checking the contents of the black briefcase the buyer gave him in exchange of the drugs and throws it in backseat. He gives you a childish grin. "Mind telling Rika we've safely delivered what we need to deliver?" You nod and take out your phone, opening the messenger while Yoosung starts the car.
"What did we deliver?" You ask him after sending the message to Rika. Yoosung shrugs, purple eyes staring straight on the windshield as he tries to weave in through the Seoul afternoon traffic. "Just a bunch of hallucinogens."
You nod and he throws a sideways glance at you before letting out a snicker. "You have no idea what hallucinogens are don't you?"
"No," you say truthfully. "So what are they?"
"Try to guess from the name?"
You scrunch up your eyebrows before giving a reply. "They ummm…cause hallucinations?"
"Bingo~!" Yoosung said with a grin. "So why do you look curious?"
"Well, I need to know these kinda things if I wanna survive in this business, right?" Yoosung nods slowly, absorbing your words. "But you never wanted to be in this kind of business anyway," he adds.
"True," you tell him. "but it's not like your cousin gave me a choice didn't she?" Yoosung lets out a little chuckle. "That's true. I still have no idea why she did it though…" his voice trails off, a small frown carving his features, but it was gone as soon as it had come. "So hey," he said, with a forcibly lighter tone. "I'm meeting my guild after this. Wanna come with?"
You let out a snort before giving him a look. "Come with you to meet up with your geek friends? No thanks. I don't wanna feel left out." He lets out a small pout.
"C'moooooon," he half-whines. "it's not gonna be bad. They're really cool people! Plus, Seven hyung's going to be there!" You perk up at the mention of Seven and the blond gives you a Cheshire cat smile. "Heh. You think I wouldn't notice your budding crush on Seven hyung?" Your face turns crimson and you slap him hard across the shoulder.
"I do not have a budding crush on Luciel Choi!" You hiss at him and he laughs, earning a glare from you, before rolling his eyes.
"Whatever. So are you in or not?"
"Fine," you grumble, slouching back with your arms crossed. "But I'm not going because Luciel's going to be there." Yoosung lets out a snort and you give him another slap across the shoulder.
As it turns out, meeting Yoosung's LoL guild isn't as bad as you expected. A couple of them are even on semi-professional teams that you've heard thanks to Yoosung. They share stories of how they started playing online games and how they all met each other and finally decided to build the guild.
"I told Yoosung that he has the talent to make it to the professional league," a man told you, rubbing Yoosung's head. "but he wouldn't listen to me."
"Ah well," Yoosung starts with an air of arrogance. "I'm too good for professional online gaming…" At this, Yoosung received a smack on the head from the same man who was rubbing it a few seconds ago. The blond rubbed his head before continuing, "and also, the world of veterinary medicine calls me."
Before the conversation could resume, the bell on the door of the chicken restaurant you're in with Yoosung and his friends sounded and you could hear a familiar voice calling out, "Yoosung-ah! I'm here!" The said blond throws you a knowing smile before throwing his right arm up in the air and shouting, "Hyung! We're here!"
The redhead jogged up to you and your company, golden eyes widening a little in surprise when he sees you. "Park Joohyun! He calls your name out, grinning from ear to ear. "Didn't expect to see you here."
"I took her here with me," Yoosung informs him, scooting to make space between you and him. "Sit here hyung." The blond says, patting the space between you and him. You throw your friend a quick glare before grabbing your glass of juice and downing it just as Luciel sits down.
Luciel immediately engages in conversation concerning League of Legends and you try to act interested, even though the sound of his voice sends your heart beating a hundred and twenty beats per minute. His shoulder bumps into yours from time to time and you try not feel too flustered about it.
You give up on the conversation and try concentrate on the food instead, bringing chicken after chicken into your mouth. The food was a great distraction until you realize Luciel was no longer talking and you look up to see him watching you eat with a humorous glint in his eyes.
"Not that hungry Park Joohyun?" he laughs, and you let out a couple coughs as pieces of chicken get stuck in your throat. "Careful now," he says as he pushes a glass of water towards you. You drink, pushing down the food with water, and give him a thumbs up once you're okay. Luciel shakes his mop of red hair, laughing at the same time, and you try to hold down an onslaught of blood from rushing to your face.
"You owe me once again, Park Joohyun." The redhead says after calming down. "How many times have I saved your life?" You let out a shrug, a small smile tugging at the corners of your lips.
"I lost count."
Luciel gives you a pat on the head and returns to the topic at hand (something about latest "skins"). You see Yoosung joining the conversation too, but not before he gives you a small wink. You clear your throat and return to your food, still trying to fight the blush from creeping.
"I'm so full!" Luciel said, outside the restaurant two hours later, while stretching his arms. Yoosung's guild left one by one until only the three of you were left. The blond gives you a grin before turning to Luciel.
"Hey hyung," he says, calling the redhead's attention. "I'm gonna have to return the car to Rika noona before she kills me. Do you mind bringing Joohyun home?" You look at Yoosung before shaking your head.
"No it's okay," you tell Luciel. "I'll take the train. I don't wanna bother you."
Luciel's eyebrows knit together and he wags a finger at you. "No, no," he tell you. "It's getting late and it's dangerous for girls to go home alone. Okay! I'll be your knight in rusting armour and see you safely home!"
You hear Yoosung let out a snort. "Isn't that supposed to be knight in shining armour?"
"Yeah, but that's Zen and I'm not Zen."
"That is the understatement of the century," Yoosung says. "Alright. I'll leave you to take good care of Joohyun. See you guys at school on Monday!" He waves at you both and gives you another wink. You force yourself not to roll your eyes at him and wave back before turning to Luciel.
"Okay knight in rusting armour. Take me home."
"As you wish milady." Luciel gives you a bow and you laugh at his antics. "Follow me."
"Where to?"
"It's time for you to meet my baby." At the word baby your heart felt a little pang but you try to hide the little hurt you felt and follow a few steps behind him. A series of thoughts run through your mind while you walk, you wonder whether Luciel's girlfriend is beautiful or rich or one of his classmates in college or one of those elegant ladies who attend the RFA parties. You were so lost inside your own head you didn't realize the man in front of you has stopped walking until you bumped your forehead against his back.
"Lost in thought milady?" Luciel lets out a low chuckle. "We're here." He took you to a free lot near the chicken restaurant, different cars parked here and there.
"Then where's your baby?" You ask, looking around for any sign of a beautiful lady.
"This is my baby." He said, patting the hood of an elegant Maserati. You let out a sigh of relief before laughing. He frowns and asks you what was so funny but you shake your head and didn't bother answering the question.
"This isn't same car you used to take me home the night we partied." You say, staring at the yellow Maserati. "How many cars do you have?" He gives you a childish grin but doesn't reply, instead opening the door for you. "After you milady." You let out another chuckle before getting in. You were already buckling the seatbelt just as he was about to enter.
"Okay! Shall we go now?" he asks you once he's buckled in his seat. You give him a nod and he starts the ignition. He gives you another grin before driving away. You lean your head back on the headrest and stare at the city lights through the car's tinted window, feeling grateful for this moment with Luciel.
"Hey," you hear from beside you. You turn your attention to the driver and ask him what's up. "Do you mind if we go on a little detour before you go home?"
"Promise me I'll be safe?" you say, jokingly grinning at the redhead. Luciel places a hand over his heart and says, "I promise that I shall protect you, dear princess, with my life!" You laugh, your face turning a light shade of pink when he called you princess.
"Okay. Then I don't mind." Luciel grinned from ear to ear as he swerves left at the next corner. You have no idea where he's taking you but you anticipate it, leaning your head on the window.
He stops the car near a flight of stairs and tells you that you both walk from here. You both unbuckle your seatbelt and step out of the car. The night breeze swept through both of you and you gave an involuntary shudder. Winter was fast approaching.
Together, the two of you take the stairs, Luciel encouraging you and telling you that you're almost there when he feels that you're starting to get tired. You end up in a small park, and Luciel leads to you to the edge, the city landscape stretched out before you. He leans on the railing and looks up, staring at the sky, while you remain entranced by the beauty of artificial lights. "It's beautiful," you softly murmur, and he gives you a sideways glance and a smile.
"You're staring at the wrong scenery." He places a finger under your chin and tilts your head up. Your eyes met the stars sprinkled all over the blanket of night, and you let out a little gasp. You've never seen such a starry night before, never even thought it possible due to the light pollution in Seoul. You hear Luciel chuckle beside you. "See?" he tells you. "You weren't staring at real beauty before." He raises an arm in the air and connected several stars together. "See that? That's the Orion constellation. The three stars forming a line are collectively called Orion's belt." You gaze at the stars he pointed while listening to him tell you the story about Orion and how he was killed by Scorpio.
"You know a lot about this stuff don't you?" You say, eyes not leaving the dark sky.
"I've always been fascinated about the stars. Seeing them up there in the sky…they just seem so free." Something about his voice makes you tear your gaze from the starry heavens and focus on him. You ask him what was wrong but he doesn't answer, your question falling into deaf ears.
"What do you think would it feel like to be one of the stars?" he asks you after a while. You turn your gaze back to the stars.
"You mean to ask, how would it feel like to be a floating rock?" You hear him snort and you bite your lower lip to keep back a smile. "I don't know Luciel. Let me get back at you once I've been reborn as a piece of rock floating in the galaxy."
"Fine." He said, laughing a little. A short silence ensued before he breaks it again with another question. "How do you think galaxies collide?"
"Where are you getting these questions?"
"The universe lent me its infinite wisdom."
You roll your eyes at his ridiculous answer before giving him a shrug. "I don't know. Maybe they get attracted to each other like magnets and then bam!" To show your point, you close both of your hands into fists and bumped them into each other before fanning out your fingers. You turn to look at him and was surprised to see that he was staring at you, those golden eyes unreadable. Your eyebrows knit together in worry and you ask him what was wrong but he doesn't give you a reply.
Luciel snatches one of your hands, both of which were still in the air, and you feel an electric current shoot up from him. His hand is warm, you think, and it doesn't take long for that warmth to spread inside your body as he pulls you into a hug. "This," Luciel whispers, "is how galaxies collide." Blood surges to your face as you ponder what his words mean.
"Come on," he said, "we've stayed here longer than I planned." He releases his hold on you and gives your hand a light squeeze before dragging you back to his parked Maserati. You were dazed the whole journey back, and only came back to your senses when you felt the lack of warmth radiating from him. He had his car door opened for you. You get in, and he enters the car and drives away.
The rest of the ride was a silent blur, neither one of you tried to break the silence. Luciel looks like was lost in his own thoughts, his eyebrow knitted all throughout the ride. Your hand misses the warmth from his but you don't do anything. He stops in front of your house and you thank him and tell him that you'd see him on Monday at school. He only gives you a nod and drives away.
A/N: This would probably be the last update for now. I haven't finished writing the next chapters lol. I'm going to update again maybe once I reach thirty-five pages or something. I'm currently on page twenty-five. But anyway, this is MY FAVORITE PART SO FAR. I'M FANGIRLING? IS IT NORMAL FOR AN AUTHOR TO FANGIRL OVER ONE OF HER SCENES?
And I know that only a few people love Iridescence but I'm not gonna stop writing this until I finish it because I love this work. Whenever I'm busy or in the middle of a writer's block, I always think about wanting to continue this even though I can't. So to those who love Iridescence as much as I do, thank you. It means so much to me.
-olympicmayhem
P.S: look at the chapter title and tell me what you see owo Now I must wait for the new route lmfao