There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)-Chapter 738: Side Story 4. Endless Journey - 21

With the twins growing up, they had to say goodbye to the nannies. Ayya was still there, of course, because she was a nanny for their fathers too--but that was about it; Ayya and the house staff.

It was a tearful goodbye for the people who had been with them for five years, but after a week, the twins were proud that they could dress themselves, bathe themselves, and clean themselves--except for the number two, which they still had to call Ayya or their fathers for help. But they were certainly excited about doing things themselves and becoming more ’grown up’ as they called it.

The twins also helped their Dada a lot to take care of baby Lucy. Due to her constitution, baby Lucy couldn’t have nannies, and Dada had to take care of her himself. Baba could only help in the evening, and Ayya was getting older, so the twins decided they had to step up as good older brothers.

They would help Dada get the baby paraphernalia, help feed baby Lucy, and watch her when Dada needed to go to the bathroom or eat. It was fun though, didn’t feel like a chore for them. It was fun seeing baby Lucy slowly recognize them and get excited when they appeared. It was like a big prize seeing her impassive face shift into a bright smile when they peeked out behind the door.

While playing with her, the twins wondered if they were also like that when they were babies. Did they smile and laugh when Dada and Baba came to pick them up? Did they cry when they got hungry or missing Dada too much? Even though Dada only went to the bathroom for three minutes.

They couldn’t help but giggle thinking about it, and when they giggled, baby Lucy giggled too. Oh, she was so pretty; her hair would shine bright under the sun when it was time for her to sunbathe. Her eyes were brighter, deeper, and sparkled more than them, like jewels. Her darker skin was glistening so beautifully, like Baba’s. She was perfect, both like Dada and Baba, but also like her big brothers.

"Kar, Asa..."

"Yes, Dada?"

"You know how some people can’t get close to your sister, don’t you?"

"Like Byul and nannies and Jen and Lia and Dovarrr?" Asa replied, trying hard to perfect his ’r’ even more.

Zein patted Asa’s hair to praise his effort. "Yes, like them. More people who aren’t esper and guide might have a hard time being around Lucy. Some of them might not understand, and will think badly about her."

"Why? Lucy do nothing wrong!" Kar frowned.

"Because they don’t understand," Zein smiled, ruffling the older twin’s black hair. "It’s okay, we can’t expect everyone to accept her condition. But as her older brothers, you’ll stay and protect her, won’t you?"

"Of course, Dada!" Asa nodded, showing a rare fierce expression.

"We’ll play with Lucy even if no one want to," Kar also nodded, although he showed a slight hesitation afterward. "Oh...but Kar also want to play with Byul..."

Zein laughed and ruffled Kar’s hair again. "Of course, you can still play with Byul and Nari and other children. You can do both."

"Hmm...okay," Kar nodded again, and then they were back to watching baby Lucy squirmed in her sleep, and giggled together when she yawned cutely.

Strangely enough, even after the uncomfortable encounter, Byul still wanted to see baby Lucy, even from afar. Last year, it was the twins who came to their house almost every day. This time, Nari and Byul were the ones who visited often.

Nari would run to wherever baby Lucy was, whether it was in the nursery, in the living room, or on the patio. For some reason, she always knew before anyone told her, saying that she was just following the scent of flowers.

Byul, on the other hand, would look for Kar first. The oldest twin was already strong enough to pick him up and carry him to where baby Lucy was. They found out that if Byul was in someone else’s hold, he could bear the prickly feeling to some extent. He might not be able to touch baby Lucy like the others, but he could stay in the same room and not feel left behind. This also meant that Kar could stay with both his sister and Byul.

Win-win!

But came the time for the twins to finally go to school, and the drama started.

People usually awakened during their teenage years, when they entered puberty. A few exceptions existed, including the twins’ father and well, their baby sister. But normally, children were just regular civilians and so, until they awakened, they were required to enter school for basic education. Once they awakened, they could choose to remain in the regular school until they graduated, or enrolled in the specialized sentinel academy of espers or guides.

Naturally, the twins had to go through this also, and they were quite excited about it. Uncle Radia and Joon brought them on a shopping spree for their school supply. It was their first time in a shopping mall and aside from the school supply, the Uncles also bought them new clothes and shoes, as well as took them to an arcade. It was so much fun!

It was also fun unboxing everything and putting them in their bedroom, packing what they would need for school. Auntie Reina personally made their school uniform to fit their frame, although she commented that they would probably need a new one by next year.

The twins giggled happily, because it meant they would continue to be taller, like their Baba.

Talking about Baba...he was the one who cried first.

"I can’t believe they are in school already," Bassena buried his face in his hands when he saw the twins wearing their school uniform for the first time. "Now they’ll think their teacher is the best and play with the other kids and refuse to call me Baba anymore..."

"Weren’t you whining about them keep calling you Baba?" Zein rolled his eyes, but also smiled at how adorable his boys were. Three of them.

The twins were confused as to why their Baba was sobbing, and patted his head the way they did when their Dada was having baby Lucy. "It’s okay, Baba. Kar will keep playing with Baba."

"Mm! Asa will call Baba, Baba too!"

"Ugh--my boys!"

Zein just laughed inwardly as his boys hugged each other. It was endearing and Bassena was still as dramatic as ever. What would he do if they got married in the future?

He paused, looking down at his daughter, and shuddered. No. He should not think about that kind of thing. Not yet.

The second person who cried was Ayya, babbling about how handsome the young masters were. She told them about their Baba who cried a lot in the past, because he didn’t want to be away from his mother on the first day of school. Baba was totally flustered and asked Ayya to stop, but Dada told her to go on.

Of course, Baba couldn’t go against Dada and he ended up sobbing for a different reason.

The twins grinned, feeling superior because they did not feel sad or cry when Grandpa Senan took them for their first day at school. Bassena grumbled as he watched the car drive away. It was unfair--the twins weren’t alone, so of course they wouldn’t have to feel sad and scared.

Well, that was true. Hand in hand, the twins never felt alone. They could focus on being fascinated with everything. A lot of children their age--although those children looked smaller than them--and new things they had to do. There was a big difference between playing in a small group and playing in a big group, and it was new and fun.

At least until the teacher separated them.

Asa gasped in surprise, but Kar said they only had to be separated for a little bit. After much convincing, Asa nodded and agreed to go to a different group--that was, until he felt everyone staring at him, and he realized he couldn’t hold his brother’s hand to calm himself. After holding it in for fifteen minutes, he cried the moment he was being surrounded by children who drowned him in questions, calling out his brother.

Kar ran to the other side of the field for his brother when he heard Asa’s scream, and it was chaotic for half an hour as the teachers tried to convince the younger twin that the other children were only curious about him because he was so tall and handsome. Still, Asa buried his face in Kar’s shoulder, who had to pat his twin’s back in reassurance.

After that, the teachers knew better than to separate the twins. Kar was fine at first, but after he found his twin cried in fear, he refused to leave Asa’s side.

That was how their first day ended, and the bodyguards reported it as it was to their Dada and Baba. Asa was a bit embarrassed after calming down, but Dada and Baba just laughed while patting their heads.

"There will come a time when you know you can’t always be together, so I think it’s fine for you to stay close for now," was what Dada said.

As they spent more time in school, however, they could stay away from each other gradually as long as they were in the same room. The children also learned that showing aggressive interest in anyone could cause an agitated reaction, so they approached the twins more gently with the teacher’s guidance.

Once they understood that the other children meant no harm, they started to find joy in making new friends. Sometimes, those friends would invite each other to their houses, and the twins would also participate. They went to the other friends’ house, and after Dada agreed, invited the friends to their house.

And that was when Nari and Byul cried, because they thought the big brothers wouldn’t play with them anymore. Nari demanded to be enrolled in the school too, despite barely being able to make a full clear sentence, and Byul was just babbling while hugging Kar tightly.

Oh, the drama! Zein watched the chaos with a smile while feeding his baby daughter.