There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)-Chapter 713: Side Story 3. Stellar Blossom - 48

Calling it a party was honestly too much--at least in Radia’s opinion.

There was no lavish decoration, just fresh flowers taken from the Peak’s greenhouse and an abundance of food. The people who came were those who could basically walk in and out of the mansion without any appointment. Families, even the ones without blood ties.

It was more like a large family dinner. For Radia, it was a common occurrence whenever the Mallarcs gathered. For Joon, however, it was something he only experienced after waking up from the hospital.

At least, until he regained all of his memory.

In his childhood house, the dining table was unnecessarily large, with a dozen chairs that were rarely used. The only ones using the dining table were his father and the guests--not even his mother, much less the children. It was cold and devoid of emotions, only to fuel pride.

Han Joon found it funny that whether it was at the Peak or in this mansion, there was no large table like in his old house. The size of the table and chairs was always adjusted to the number of people eating. Even then, the place to eat had always been flexible.

A good weather outside? Let’s eat in the garden. Bored with the wall? Let’s have a meal in the greenhouse. Too lazy to get up? What about a tray on the bed or a spread on the balcony?

There was no rigidity that was always present in his old house. He remembered how Laurel told him that he didn’t have to be so formal when he was amongst family, and...Han Joon smiled as he gazed at the drawing room. It was warm. It was always warm, even in the winter.

Instead of the dining room, they had the ’event’ in the drawing room. There was a patio door leading to the garden, which also connected to a swimming pool that was covered for some reason. Perhaps because it was winter.

The drawing room, which was large enough to host a proper party, reminded Joon of the Peak’s sunroom. A third of the space had been turned into a playground--not just a plushie forest--and another third became a...pantry? With a grilling set and cooking ingredients. The rest of the space was what was originally there--cozy sofas and comfortable chaises.

But of course, a party’s soul was in its attendants.

"Chuun!"

As usual, the high-pitched squeal came first before anything. The child who had just turned one not long ago could run even better this time, rushing through the halls like a storm.

And as always, Han Joon caught her before the short legs toppled over. The little girl was wearing a shimmering light green dress this time, with flower embroidery sewn at the hem and collar. A sparkling tiara headband was attached to the bouncing black hair, which was fashioned with silk ribbons.

"Oh, you’re a princess today."

"Incess!" Nari raised her arms and put them around her uncle’s neck. "Ayi peety?"

Han Joon smiled and lightly pinched the pink cheeks. "Yes, you’re the prettiest princess in the whole world."

That was a lie--for Joon, Radia was the prettiest. But the little princess didn’t need to know that. She giggled and asked Joon for a twirl, so he raised her high and made a few turns until her joyful shriek filled the large drawing room.

"Ankel!"

And then the twins came, stabbing him with toy swords. Each of them used a poncho with SavAsh’s logo on it--Asa in red and Kar in blue. Connected with a cord instead of a button, the poncho looked like a cloak.

Han Joon raised his brow at the ticklish stabs on his legs. "Are you her knights?"

"Yes!"

"Good job," Han Joon chuckled and put the little princess down, handing her to the energetic red knight. "Protect her well."

"Yes!"

The two knights sheathed their toy swords and held the little princess’s hands, escorting her to the toy kingdom. Apparently, the twins were currently obsessed with a children’s animation show about a little knight’s adventure around the world while looking for his family.

Why a child could be a knight, Joon had no idea. He had never watched children’s shows.

"Technically...shouldn’t they be princes?" Han Shin commented while stroking his chin.

"Why should they? I’m not a Prince," Bassena protested sharply.

Han Shin shrugged. "Genetically speaking..."

"I mean, I guess if someone kills the whole royal family, you and the twins will be in line for the throne," Radia chimed in while sending in an explanation to Joon’s commlink.

After all, he had yet to know about Bassena’s lineage when he was twenty.

"If the whole royal family is gone, might as well change the kingdom system entirely," Bassena scoffed.

"You can sit on the throne and do that, you know," Reina shrugged. "Technically."

"Technically," Zein nodded.

Bassena turned toward his husband with a look of betrayal. "I’m from the daughter’s line."

"But isn’t your Aunt or Cousin or whatever wanted to be the ruler?" Radia said. "Who knows if the daughter’s line could be prioritized for the throne?"

"Ugh--just stop!"

Bassena grumbled and voluntarily appointed himself as the children’s supervisor that day, prompting even Zein to laugh at how fast the strongest esper ran away.

"It’s not a party if we don’t roast Bassena somehow," Han Shin was the one who laughed the hardest.

Han Joon tilted his head. "Why is that?"

"Because he’d been very lucky with life!" Han Shin made a grand gesture around Zein, who merely shook his head while chuckling.

Han Joon thought there wouldn’t be anything more surprising than knowing his baby brother became a saint class healer. Turned out, the world was even more fascinating than when he was a mere kid being dictated to by his father.

He hadn’t browsed for it yet, but he felt like he would find out an even more surprising thing about the operation they did to get rid of the Deathzone.

Well, that seemed to warrant a good time. fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓

Laurel and Calix came not long after, and the party started in full force after that. Bassena was relieved from his babysitting job and was thrown to the grill with Calix to provide them with food--despite the house staff being there. Intrigued, Han Joon joined the cooking team and received a short course on grilling and fire-cooking from the two fathers.

Still fascinating to think that the unruly kid who used to follow him around already had two kids following him around at home.

Surprisingly, he learned the rope pretty fast. Calix told him that it was muscle memory. It seemed like he used to do this often before falling ill--which was nice to know.

He did not remember, but it was relieving to know that he had a nice life after all of that. Even if he wouldn’t be able to regain his memory, he didn’t think he would regret it. It was just a matter of skipping right to the last page, and knowing that the story had a happy ending.

And it must be a happy ending, right? Seeing the people that were precious to him chatting merrily and bickering about the food. Watching the children running around while giggling and trying to snack on the adult’s food. Or just sitting on a couch in a warm room, with Radia beside him and laughter around him.

Han Joon wasn’t really fond of gathering in general, but it was hard not to feel sad when everyone left in the evening.

During the holiday seasons in the past, Han Joon was allowed to watch a movie or two while his father attended gatherings outside. Those movies were fascinating at first, but after a while, Han Joon stopped watching them.

They filled him with bitterness. He questioned why those people looked so warm and happy. Why did those children have a father who smiled at them and patted their heads? Why did they sit around the dining table together and have a meal while chatting? Why did they gather in the living room while laughing and smiling?

The more he watched the outside world, the harder it was for him to live his pitiful life. So he stopped. That bright world outside the confines of his cold house, he avoided it.

Except for Radia.

Who would have thought that holding on to that single brilliant light would bless him with the things he thought he would never attain before? A life like those movies that fascinated and saddened him at the same time.

Hmm...should they watch some movies tonight before bed?

Han Joon was thinking of what to do when his eyes caught something in the corner of their bedroom. It was an antique from the Old Age. Radia did like gathering stuff like that--perhaps because his summons were humanoid creatures from the past.

"What is this one called?" Han Joon scanned the trumpet-like item attached to a square device in front of him with his commlink, which immediately gave him the answer. "A gramophone?"

Along with its name, there were several articles giving instructions on how to operate it. Han Joon wondered if the device was operable or if it was only a decoration, but he found several records on the shelf beneath the table.

As he checked on those records, he couldn’t help but chuckle. He recognized some of them--Radia often put those songs when they were meeting, saying that he should broaden his cultural horizon or something. Fortunately for Radia, Han Joon was never really a fan of art.

For him, Radia was the only art he needed to know.

But it was quite nostalgic, so he thought about picking one randomly. As he perused through the records, his eyes caught something rather...interesting.

It was not an album of a band or a particular singer. Rather, it was a mix of several songs. Obviously, Han Joon did not know most of them, but a particular song caught his eye. A popular song--not for the general public precisely, but for the students of their academy.

"Joon, are you there?" Radia, who had to talk on the phone regarding some business after sending everyone home, opened the bedroom door. "Sorry, it took so long--"

Radia paused as a melody flowed from the corner of the room. A distant, nostalgic melody he hadn’t heard since his graduation party.

Yeah. It was a melody that always played during a graduation party. Serenade of the Last Dance.

"Darling," Han Joon reached out his hand with a smile. "Would you like to dance?"