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Chapter 35
Sian, who had been lying sprawled on the sofa, suddenly sprang up.
She had sensed that this was not a story to hear while lying down.
“I’ll decide whether to get mad after I hear it.”
Aaron shrugged his shoulders.
It was as if he was saying, “Do as you like.”
He even refused Sian’s suggestion to sit on the sofa, standing a little apart instead.
Crossing his arms defensively, he spoke.
“I told you not to do it, but I had no choice. I thought it was the best solution.”
Listening to him, Sian felt a twinge of understanding.
Her mouth fell open.
“You didn’t….”
“Yep. I sent your and Ian’s hair to the DNA testing lab.”
Sian pressed her hand to her forehead.
Even leaving aside the fact that he had sent it for testing without saying a word…
“When did you even manage to get Ian’s hair? And mine?”
“Are you really wondering about that now? Seriously?”
But for Sian, that was more important than anything else. Truly.
Blay had accused Sian of being a stalker, but the real stalker was standing right here!
“Getting your hair was easy. There’s always a strand or two left on the seat where you sit.”
Aaron shrugged again.
“And Ian… well, unlike you, I spend a lot of overlapping time with him. We prepare for competitions together. There were plenty of opportunities.”
“This is the first time I’ve ever felt jealous of a guy.”
Aaron was probably the one who spent the most time with Ian, next only to Blay.
Thinking that way, Sian’s jealousy was unbearable.
When she glared at him sharply, Aaron awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.
‘I thought she’d be mad about me stealing hair and sending it for DNA testing.’
However, Sian seemed angrier that Aaron had spent so much time with Ian that he could secretly take his hair.
“Are you okay with me secretly doing the DNA test?”
Since it was indeed wrong, Aaron cautiously added, reading Sian’s expression.
“I wasn’t trying to ignore your opinion.”
Normally, Aaron wasn’t the type to worry about others’ feelings at all.
Not until he met Sian.
But now, he enjoyed spending time with her.
And to fully enjoy those moments, he naturally became more mindful of her feelings.
“Come sit over here.”
Sian tapped the spot next to her on the sofa with her palm.
It was a gesture that immediately disarmed Aaron, who had been nervous that Sian might be angry.
“That’s something my mom would say before she starts nagging me.”
Relieved, he let out a nervous chuckle.
Aaron followed her instructions with a small, self-conscious smile.
“When will the results be out?”
Sian looked him in the eye.
Her dark eyes showed no trace of anger.
“It takes about a month. You should have it by Homecoming week at the latest.”
“That’s faster than I expected.”
Sian had personally experienced how long the US administrative procedures could take before she was adopted by the Rogers couple.
One month was really fast.
Probably because it was a private agency, not a public institution.
“I feel like I should give you a kiss or something.”
“…You’re not mad?”
“I should be, but I can’t. In the end, your decision was the right one.”
Sian decided to forgive Aaron.
She had received so much help from him in the first place that she couldn’t be angry.
“Still, if something like this happens again, I want you to discuss it with me first.”
“I will.”
Aaron was relieved he wouldn’t end up in the same situation as Janice.
Once the conversation ended smoothly, Sian flopped back onto the sofa.
“Honestly, I’m more mad at the Morgans than you. I hope they get punished for what they did.”
“….”
“That’ll be tough, right?”
“Probably.”
Sian groaned in frustration.
May Zhang had shown her injuries from abuse to a social worker, but in the end, she was never recognized as a victim.
The Morgans claimed that May frequently self-harmed and lied, and they forced the other adopted children to give false testimony too.
Moreover, they pressured the media to delete articles about the adoption cancellation.
It would be no easy task to prove the guilt of the powerful Morgans.
‘Unless someone like the Williams family steps in.’
Aaron quickly shook off the thought that had slipped into his mind.
“Ian probably has his own plan too.”
“Right?”
“You’ll soon find out. For now, just think about reuniting with Ian. What if he tears up the evidence you give him again, like last time?”
“That… would definitely be a problem.”
For better or worse, there was no shortage of worries.
Sian, holding her head in her hands, groaned, then finally stood up.
“Really, really, thank you, Aaron. I couldn’t have done anything on my own without you.”
“I can’t deny that.”
Sian let out a brief laugh, forgetting her worries for a moment, because Aaron never said empty words.
But somehow…
“You’re really a good friend.”
Aaron couldn’t smile along with her.
“Whenever something happens, tell me. Forget about just being friends. I’ll listen to everything.”
When had it started?
For Sian, who firmly believed they were just friends, he now wanted to object.
Seeing her sad made his own heart ache in sympathy.
‘I think the reason I could empathize with Sian’s pain…’
It’s because he liked her.
But realizing his feelings didn’t mean he could confess to her immediately.
Her situation wasn’t good enough for that.
‘At least she said she won’t date Blay anymore.’
Aaron silently clenched his fists, taking comfort in that.
“Ha…”
The school gym for football players.
Blay exhaled deeply while doing pull-ups with both hands.
But it wasn’t just because of the intense workout.
After all, he was the kind of monster who could easily do 20 pull-ups with one hand.
“Ugh…”
Blay sighed again, attracting Ian’s attention.
Finally, Ian stopped his own exercise and asked,
“What’s wrong?”
“What do you mean?”
“Why do you keep sighing?”
“I’m fine. Don’t worry.”
But his face looked pitiful, as if abandoned by the world.
‘What a joke.’
His face clearly begged to be asked about it. Fine, “don’t worry” my foot.
“When I offer to listen, you don’t cooperate?”
Under Ian’s not-so-subtle threat, Blay gave in as expected.
“Listen. It’s not my story, but my friend’s.”
Stories that start like this are 100% the storyteller’s own story.
“I went on a date with a girl. It wasn’t a bad vibe. Dinner she liked, a beautiful sunset.”
“But…”
“Almost kissed her before she went home.”
Ian seriously wondered if he had to listen to this.
“In the end, we didn’t kiss. The main point is, she gave him her number, but he never heard from her again.”
“Then she probably doesn’t like your friend. Tell him to find another girl.”
Ian’s indifferent response made Blay explode.
“No! She really likes me!”
…Blay no longer even tried to hide that it was his own story.
Ian, arms crossed, gave a calm piece of advice.
“Who is this girl? Isabel? Give up. She’s not into guys.”
“It’s not a romantic thing with her, just business.”
Blay whined, pretending to cry, which was unusual for him.
Ian, annoyed at his acting fragile while built like a fridge, felt like hitting him.
But then a thought crossed his mind.
Had Blay been seeing anyone recently?
“If it’s not Isabel, then who? Not Victoria, of course.”
Even though Ian didn’t care much about school scandals, he had a rough idea of Blay’s rumors.
Yet now there was a dating partner he didn’t know?
Ian pressed him further, but Blay remained silent.
They were normally very close, but this time, he couldn’t be honest.
Especially since Ian had seemed disapproving of Sian before.
“Blay, be honest. What have you been up to lately?”
Blay, who had previously acted openly for someone to listen, now looked like a guilty dog avoiding the owner’s gaze.
“Ian, spill it. Were you causing fights between girls? Tell me why. I have the right to know.”
But Blay resisted like a special agent under enemy torture.
“It was necessary.”
“So what was it?”
Ian’s questioning made him waver briefly.
He scanned Ian from head to toe.
‘Could the reason Sian hasn’t contacted me since the date really be…’
His doubt came from hearing that the person Sian liked wasn’t Blay, but Ian.
‘Objectively, Ian’s not bad.’
Ian’s dark eyes.
Long, horizontal eyes like brush strokes gave him an intelligent look.
His body was lean, thanks to daily football training.
Maybe Sian preferred Ian’s agile frame over Blay’s muscular one.
‘But I can’t just lose my muscles.’
And Ian shared Sian’s ethnicity.
A major advantage Blay couldn’t overcome.
“Damn it…”
He felt like he was losing no matter what.
Impossible, yet true.
Blay anxiously ran a hand through his bangs.
“What the hell are you doing?”
Ian looked at him strangely—Blay had just been glaring at him, now trembling like someone being chased.
Blay grabbed Ian’s shoulders.
“Ian.”
“You’ve been ignoring my questions and acting weird…”
“Did a girl ask you to go to Homecoming with her?”
“Suddenly?”
Ian was surprised at the abrupt topic change, but Blay pressed for an answer.
“Yes or no. Say it now.”
Surely, Sian hadn’t asked Ian to be her partner…
