"It’s almost dinner time. Let’s eat first. Because I am quite sure that the hunger you are feeling now is for food." Arya blurted out laughing.
Ryu was still holding her body next to his and the grumbling noise of his stomach totally killed the tension between them.
Ryu’s lips twitched. ’Damn this stomach. Why it has to betray me like that and kill the mood?’ He cursed inwardly.
He ignored Arya and was about to kiss her when a louder grumbling was heard again.
"Urghh."
Arya laughed so hard and pulled herself out from his embrace.
"Come here now, or I’m afraid all your parasites inside that stomach will not be able to hold their hunger any longer," she said still laughing as she held his hand and walked outside the room.
Ryu ended up scratching his head as he walked with Arya.
Along the way, they saw an old man. "The dinner is ready." He said to Ryu and then smiled at Arya.
"This is my second dad, Butler Omni," Ryu said as he introduced the old man to her.
The latter laughed and said, "You can just call me Butler Omni. I have been Ryu’s personal butler since he was a kid. Well, up till now I still am."
"So, what do you think about this place? Or do you still prefer the Ken Mansion? I am sure Old Master was a pain in the ass, so just relax here and return when you get bored." Ryu commented while he placed his arm on Butler Omni’s shoulder.
Arya just observed how the two were bantering with each other, as they walked to the dining area. By the way that she saw it, the two seemed really close.
At the dining table, various food was served. "Do we have a feast in here?" Arya commented as her jaw dropped.
"No, but Butler Omni was so nervous to meet you and wanted to please you through food, so he instructed the cook to serve the best food for you to choose from," Ryu said laughing as he pulled a chair for Arya.
"It is the first time Ryu has brought a woman with him. I am really happy he did that because I was already starting to think that he doesn’t like women if he is still single at his age." Butler Omni was obviously teasing Ryu.
"Stop with your nonsense there, otherwise, Arya will complain to you tomorrow morning for dropping those words," Ryu commented while grinning wickedly. Arya, on the other hand, hid her flushing face.
’Why would he even drop jokes like that in front of an elder? So shameless.’ She complained at the back of her mind.
After their wonderful dinner, the three of them went on the balcony with luxurious high-end outdoor furniture with some pillows to enjoy the moon and the night sky. A fire pit was burning to keep them warm.
They were drinking wine as they continued chatting.
Arya enjoyed listening to the two of them, who did most of the talking. A minute later, she started yawning and Ryu noticed it.
"Let’s get you inside the room," Ryu spoke.
Arya shook her head and said, "I am fine. I want to stay here longer." She positioned herself on the sofa as she laid her head on Ryu’s lap.
"Go, continue Butler Omni. I love to hear stories about Ryu’s childhood, especially those embarrassing ones," she commented while smiling at the old Butler, who was enthusiastically narrating Ryu’s childhood funny moments.
"Ryu grew up with Old Master Ken that’s why he has been trained strictly as a child and always got punished because of his stubbornness. The worst punishment he got was when he came home with bruises because of a fight. Old Master Ken hated fighting, especially, the ones that involved physical matters." Butler Omni continued with his talking.
"What has happened then," Arya asked while she was fighting the urge to sleep because of her curiosity.
Ryu who was caressing and stroking her hair interrupted and said, "Yeah, Grandfather hated it whenever I got hurt, so I was locked up in my room for one month with nothing to do but to study and eat, without any gadgets, even the television and music, he took everything away from me. I was literally left with just the books and my bed."
"It’s not that bad for a punishment. I thought you have been starved or locked up in a warehouse full of darkness." Arya laughed as she started closing her eyes.
"The boredom will kill you," Ryu commented. Butler Omni who noticed that Arya had already fallen asleep signaled Ryu to remain quiet.
Ryu gently lifted up and carried Arya inside the room before he went back at the balcony.
"What’s your plan now? Are you going to ask her?" Butler Omni said looking at Ryu.
At first, he was shocked to hear the whole story from Chen, but maybe, things had happened for a certain reason. He had never seen Ryu this loving and affectionate to anyone before.
"Nope, I want her to trust me and tell me everything on her own," Ryu replied as he sipped the wine.
"Child, speaking out everything, may seem an easy task to you. But, sometimes, when a family is involved, you can’t actually do that, even if you want. The reason is that you just can’t take that risk for the sake of other ones, especially, loved ones. So don’t expect her to trust you just because you think she can see you are capable of protecting her." Butler Omni voiced out his opinion on the matter.
Then, he continued, "Even if I were her, I won’t risk it and just go with the flow, as I was instructed to do."
Butler Omni noticed that Ryu’s face darkened. Old Master Ken brought up and trained Ryu to fight with power and brains.
"Never use your fist! Become stronger and a powerful man, then definitely no one will be able to bring you down." That’s what the Old Master kept on telling him since he was a child and yes, no one was able to bring Ryu down from that moment onward. But right now, it seemed like a woman would succeed to do so.
EDITED BY: Yui
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