CHAPTER 24: Another pervert

"Neo?" he uttered, his voice laced with absolute disbelief.

I stared at him in confusion because, judging by his reaction, he was looking at me like an old friend he hadn't seen in years. A strange spark lit up his eyes, completely replacing the cold, distant gaze he had worn moments ago, making him look suddenly alive.

He took a step closer to me. I saw the faint trace of a smile touch his lips—a smile I would have sworn he was incapable of making just a short while ago.

"How are you?" he asked, his eyes slowly sweeping over me as if he were trying to confirm that I was actually standing right in front of him.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Why should I answer that? I don't even know you," I retorted coldly.

A flicker of confusion crossed his face. "Hey... Are you still mad at me?" he asked suddenly.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Why would I be mad at you? I literally don't know who you are," I replied.

Behind us, I heard Stephen let out a soft laugh.

"Hey, Helios, we forgot to tell you. Neo doesn't remember you. Or rather, he doesn't remember any of us."

"How is that possible?" Helios said in disbelief, his eyes never leaving mine. "Did you get into an accident? Did you get amnesia?"

"No," I answered bluntly.

"Then why can't you remember me?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly, sounding almost pained by his own question.

My brow furrowed again. "Why? Is there any special reason I should remember you?" I asked sarcastically.

If any of the other guys had heard me talk like this, they would have either laughed in my face or thrown back a snappy rebuttal. But in his eyes, I only saw genuine confusion and a strange, raw flicker of pain.

Then, I noticed his gaze shift downward toward the arm draped over my shoulders.

In an instant, his facial expression completely transformed. The eyes that were full of emotion just a second ago froze over, returning to the same cold, unreadable mask he wore when he first walked in.

I didn't miss the subtle clenching of his jaw. His eyes were no longer on me, they were locked dead onto the guy whose arm was still wrapped around my shoulder. A thick, suffocating tension instantly filled the air between the two of them, like a silent staring contest where neither was willing to back down.

What the hell was wrong with these guys?

After a heavy pause, Stephen spoke up from behind us. "Hey, Helios, why don't you come take a seat over here?"

Helios didn't move an inch. Instead, the heavy, oppressive aura surrounding him only seemed to grow stronger.

"Hey, Helios, come on," said the guy who loved throwing insults at me. Kaden, I think his name was. He reached out and tugged at Helios's arm.

Only then did their silent glare finally break. Helios walked back to his seat, though his eyes remained firmly fixed on me.

"Helios, I heard you recently won a match. Do you have a replay for that? I really wanted to see it—"

"So why can't you remember me, Neo?"

Instead of answering Alejandro's question, Helios completely cut him off, directing his words straight back to me.

"I don't know," I lied smoothly.

There was no way I was going to tell them that my memory loss was a side effect of the suppressants I had taken. If they found out, they would discover my secret too. My pride couldn't handle them knowing that I was an Omega, a secondary gender that was often treated as inferior.

"You see, Helios, the only one he actually remembers out of all of us is Yuan," Stephen chimed in suddenly. "Right, Neo?"

I felt Yuan's arm tighten slightly around my shoulders. Ignoring his grip, I replied to Stephen, "Maybe because I constantly see his face plastered on magazines and billboards," I excused myself.

It was the truth, anyway. If this idiot Yuan weren't famous, I probably wouldn't have remembered him either.

"That makes sense," Stephen acknowledged.

Yet Helios still didn't look remotely convinced. His heavy, suffocating gaze never wavered. No matter what Stephen said or what stories the others shared, he remained completely silent, his dark, intense eyes locked on me as if he were trying to drown me with his stare.

It felt like if we kept eye contact for even a second longer, I might actually suffocate without a drop of water in sight. So I did my best to ignore him completely.

"Hey man! Are you even listening to us?" Jeno asked him.

Helios remained dead quiet, acting like he was living in a completely different world. The rest of the group eventually gave up on talking to him, until he suddenly stood up from his seat.

"I need to go to the bathroom," he announced, walking out the door without looking back.

Kaden stood up right after him. "I need to use the restroom too," he said, heading straight out the door after Helios.

The moment they left, I heard Marcus let out a deep, heavy sigh.

"Did you guys see how Helios acted? So damn rude. Zero manners," Marcus snapped.

Alejandro nodded in agreement. "Yeah, he couldn't even bother answering my questions. He literally cut me off earlier."

"Right? It's so fucking irritating," Marcus agreed.

"Acting like the main character, that bastard."

"Hey, go easy on him. Maybe he's just jet-lagged," Jeno chimed in defensively.

"Please, I know that guy. He selectively chooses who he wants to talk to," Marcus shot back. "I've never liked him. His personality is total garbage."

Stephen just shook his head. "Come on, guys, just try to understand him. He's probably having a hard time moving on since his master doesn't even remember him," he commented, shooting a meaningful glance in my direction.

My brow furrowed at Stephen's cryptic look.

"Hey Neo, don't you dare try to remember that bastard. Keep him buried deep in your forgotten memories," Marcus added with a mischievous grin.

"Honestly, Kaden must have endless patience with him," Jeno remarked. "I genuinely don't get how he manages to deal with a guy who has that massive attitude problem."

"Are they dating?" Alejandro asked out of nowhere.

My ears perked up instantly at Alejandro's question. Was there actually something going on between those two? It made sense, considering they arrived together, and the moment Helios went to the bathroom, Kaden immediately followed him. They seemed completely inseparable.

"I don't know. All I know is they're always together," Marcus replied.

"I don't think so. It feels more like Kaden is obsessed with him," Stephen offered instead.

"What does Kaden even see in that guy? His taste is weird as hell," Marcus scoffed.

"Look who's talking, like you're so totally sane yourself," Jeno mocked.

Marcus instantly smacked the back of Jeno's head. "Hey, you've been picking on me all night! You think I haven't noticed?"

"Hey, break it up, both of you. Unless you're planning to kill each other like Yuan and Neo earlier," Stephen interrupted quickly.

I just shook my head at their banter, knowing I would never fit into their world. I glanced beside me at Yuan, who hadn't said a word in a while, only to realize he had fallen fast asleep against my side.

Seriously? Was this really the guy who claimed to suffer from severe insomnia? How was he knocked out right now? He didn't even seem drunk since I hadn't seen him chugging alcohol earlier.

I carefully shifted his head off my shoulder and propped him against the couch cushions. And then I stand up, and slipped quietly out of the room, not bothering to say goodbye since they were all too busy trash-talking their friend.

Once outside the mansion, I walked straight to my motorcycle, which was parked right in front of the massive gate.

I was just about to pull my helmet on when I heard the heavy gate click open. I turned around and was met with a pair of silver-grey eyes staring softly at me. It was none other than Helios.

He was dressed the same, still wearing his cap, which made it hard to get a full view of his face. The only things clear to me were those deep, drowning eyes, his sharp jawline, and his high, prominent nose bridge. His complexion wasn't overly tanned, but it wasn't pale either.

"Do you really not remember me?" he asked out of nowhere.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "I really don't."

Why couldn't this guy understand me? He'd been asking the exact same question over and over.

"Really? You're not just pretending to forget me because you're mad at me?" he pressed on persistently.

"Why would I be mad at someone I don't even know?" I retorted.

I saw a flash of shock register on his face, his hand subtly clutching at his chest. "How could you forget me?" he asked, his tone sounding deeply hurt, as if accusing me of betrayal for forgetting him.

"Who even are you for me to remember?"

He didn't answer. Instead, he took a step closer to me. "Are you truly not mad at me?"

I gritted my teeth. "You've been asking the exact same question forever! Why the hell would I be mad at you?!" I yelled at him.

"Because I didn't show up on your birthday."

A short, sarcastic laugh escaped my lips. Was this guy for real?

"You know what? I actually am mad at you right now! So stop fucking asking me!" I snapped, turning to put my helmet on. But before I could, he suddenly closed the distance between us, and what he did next caught me completely off guard.

He wrapped his arms tightly around me, pulling me into a firm embrace. He bowed his head and rested his forehead against my shoulder, causing his cap to fall off onto the ground.

I froze completely, turned to stone, unable to process what was happening.

"I thought I was never going to see you again..." he muttered softly, his voice trembling slightly with fear, yet sounding as though a massive weight had just been lifted off his chest.

I stood completely still in his grip. When he finally lifted his face, I couldn't bring myself to look away from his overwhelming gaze.

Without his cap on, his collar-length hair fell freely around his neck, looking slightly unkempt in a wild, bad-boy sort of way.

He pushed his hair back with his hand, revealing his entire face clearly. A sharp nose, full red lips, but none of those caught my attention as much as his eyes, which were looking down at me with a soft, undeniable warmth.

I was stunned. When I first saw him, I assumed he was the type of person who was completely heartless, emotionless, and incapable of smiling. Yet here he was standing in front of me, the corners of his lips pulled upward in a genuine, happy smile.

"Don't look at me like that..."

His words finally snapped me out of my daze.

"Huh?"

"I said, don't look at me like that."

"Why?" I asked mindlessly.

His eyes slowly trailed downward, and my gaze naturally followed his.

He pointed a finger directly at the front of his pants. There, right in the center, was a distinct, prominent bulge.

"You're making me hard right now..." he said suddenly in a low, seductive tone.

My hands instantly balled into tight fists, and my jaw clenched tight. Heat rushed straight to my face, and before I even realized what I was doing, my fist swung hard and connected with his face.

"You perverted bastard!"

His face snapped to the side from the impact. But when he turned back to me, there was no anger in his expression despite getting punched. Instead, a crooked, arrogant smirk spread across his lips, as if he had actually enjoyed being hit by me.

Holy fucking shit.

Realizing I was just going to waste my time dealing with this lunatic, I hurriedly mounted my motorcycle and shoved my helmet over my head.

Right before I started the engine to drive off, he called out one last sentence.

"I miss you too, Neo."

I shook my head in utter disbelief. Before pulling away, I raised my middle finger high in the air at him.

I could hear his low laughter echoing behind me as I sped off. The guy was completely insane.

Fuck my life! I actually thought he was just a normal guy, but he turned out to be another pervert determined to drive me insane.

So damn irritating!