Chapter 184 - LUKE'S CONFESSION
"I think you are cute."
"What?"
"But also handsome."
"Huh?"
"And sexy."
"What the hell are you saying?!"
Kevin unconsciously shouted at the man in front of him, causing other customers to look at their table with a curious look.
Kevin realized his action and immediately apologized to them. After seeing the other customers go back to their business, the raven-haired man turned to Luke again.
"What do you want from me? Can you stop with your nonsense?"
Kevin was furious, but Luke still looked calm as ever.
The green-eyed man leaned forward a little and stared deeply into Kevin's cerulean eyes.
"I didn't talk nonsense," the taller man whispered in front of Kevin's face. "I've never got a chance to confess, but I've been interested in you since our first meet many years ago, Kevin."
Kevin's eyes widened in surprise. He looked for a hint of a lie in the pair of emerald eyes, but he found nothing. Luke was so earnest and honest, and Kevin was speechless.
'How come this cold brat suddenly confessed to me?' The black-haired scientist screamed inwardly.
He wanted to scream for real, but he wasn't crazy enough to do something like that.
The next second, he tried to calm himself by inhaling and exhaling softly. He didn't even realize that his breath was gasping just now.
"I..." Kevin was a bit hesitant when he responded to the other man. "I don't know that you're gay."
"I'm not."
Luke's quick response made Kevin look up at him confusedly.
"I like girls, and I've dated some girls in the past. But I think you're prettier than girls, so I fell for you in instant many years ago. You're the only man I like."
Kevin didn't know what to say when he heard the... praise. That was praise, right? Luke just called him pretty, and that was praise, right?
They were enveloped by a silent atmosphere after Luke finished speaking. Kevin was so uncomfortable near Luke and wanted to run away from the place, but he didn't know how he could do that.
Luke seemed to notice Kevin's discomfort, and he sighed heavily. "Let's not talk about that for now," the grey-haired man decided. "You want to know more about my uncle, right? I'll tell you everything I know."
Kevin was startled when he heard Luke's decision, but then he replied, "You don't have to do that, Luke. I'm not going to force you to tell me anything."
Kevin was serious, and he flinched when he saw a wide smile suddenly spread across Luke's handsome face.
"I love the way you call my name."
Kevin got goosebumps all over his body. Luke sounded like a maniac now! Where did the aloof Luke go?!
How come everything ended this way? He had never expected that the ice prince would harbor feelings for him.
But, if Kevin recalled the past events again, it seemed that Luke was indeed in love with him. Just think about how easily he gave him the secret information about Felix Smith, and how eager he was when he said that he wanted Kevin as his lunch buddy.
Everything made sense, and Kevin was too late to realize it.
"It's not a big deal," Luke spoke again. "If my uncle did something bad, then he should get punished. I know that you're investigating my uncle now, and I just want to help you a little."
Their conversation turned serious again, and Kevin went back to his serious mode. "Senior Felix did something bad?" He asked.
Luke didn't immediately answer his question as he looked down at his plate and gazed at it blankly.
Kevin patiently waited for the other man's response. His heart skipped a beat, anticipating what kind of answer the other man would give him.
"I'm not sure about that," Luke responded softly. "But I hacked his files a while ago, and I found suspicious things in his files."
Kevin was stunned. He knew that Luke was one of the best IT experts under Orka, but he didn't think that the green-eyed man would hack his uncle's files because of his suspicion.
The tension between the uncle and the nephew must be so tight that Luke could do something like that.
"Can you tell me more about the files?"
Luke finally looked up at Kevin after he heard the raven-haired man's response.
Again, the grey-haired man beamed handsomely at Kevin. The lovely smile made Kevin feel nervous all of a sudden, and he shifted his gaze away from the dazzling man.
"I found some files related to the war last year."
Kevin was very shocked when he heard the statement. He swiftly turned to Luke again at stared at the other man as if the man was growing two heads.
"Senior Felix has something to do with the war?"
He could hear Luke sigh heavily instead of answering his question directly.
"Please don't conclude it so easily. I just found some files related to the war, but I don't dare to say that my uncle is related to the war."
Kevin knew that Luke was hesitant to call his uncle a criminal. Even though their relationship was not the best, they were still related by blood, after all. It was normal if Luke didn't want to judge his uncle right away.
And Kevin also didn't want to tell Luke about the outcome of their Rodein investigation. It wasn't like he didn't trust Luke, but he assumed it would be better if he looked for more proof first before he could share the information with his colleague.
"And I also found some secret emails in his email account."
Kevin was surprised again when he heard the additional information from his colleague. "You found some secret emails?" He questioned the man.
The other man nodded to answer his question. "It's full of code, so I call it secret emails. My uncle mostly received the emails, but the sender is also mysterious. I tried to hack the sender's account, but the security is too tight. I dare to say that the sender is not an ordinary person."
Kevin's heart thumped so fast. He felt a déjà vu when he heard Luke's story. Luke said that the mysterious person was not an ordinary person, and it reminded him of how the tavern lady in Rodein recounted the tragedy to him and Kris some time ago.
Back then, the lady said that her husband and son were working for someone important in the country and that someone surely was not an ordinary person.
In addition, Felix Smith also appeared in Rodein before, so Kevin couldn't help but try to find the connection between the stories.
"I'll try to hack the sender's account again."
Luke's statement broke Kevin's reverie. The raven-haired man looked up at Luke again and stared at him with a hint of doubt in his eyes.
"It can be dangerous for you if you want to continue your action. You said that the person is not ordinary, right? They're probably someone with power in this country, and your life might be in danger if you're insisted on hacking the account."
"You're worried about me?"
Luke asked him again as he tried to hold back his smile.
Kevin just remembered that Luke confessed to him earlier. Of course, the other man would feel so happy to know that he was worried about him.
"Listen, Luke," Kevin stated seriously. "I have a boyfriend now, and I only see you as my friend. I'm indeed worried about you, but that's all. I dare to say that you don't stand a chance with me."
Kevin felt the need to put an apparent border between him and Luke. He didn't want to give false hope to the other man. He knew that he sounded rude just now, but his heart was only for Kris, and he better made it clear to Luke.
Luke smiled bitterly at him. The smile made his heart waver a little, but it was only because he felt bad for his colleague. There wouldn't be anything more in his heart for the handsome man named Luke White.
"I understand," Luke replied softly. "You don't need to worry. I know my position so well, and I won't try to snatch you away from your boyfriend. I know you love him so much. He's so lucky to be able to win your heart."
Kevin could feel his cheeks turn warmer when he heard Luke's statement.
'Is my love for Kris too obvious?' He wondered in his heart.
"And you don't need to worry about my safety. I'll continue to look for more information carefully. I know what I'm doing."
Kevin tried to brush away his nervousness as he looked back at Luke. There was still a hint of pain in his face, but Luke looked honest and sincere with him.
"Thank you, Luke. I appreciate your hard work. We can still be friends after this, right?"
Kevin, with a hopeful gaze, stared at the other man. Luke was a nice man, and he wanted to stay friends with the man.
"Of course," the green-eyed man answered.. "We are friends, and I'll do anything for you, my dear friend."