Chapter 365 - Hiding away

Chapter 365: Chapter 365 - Hiding away

The moment Shinju’s footsteps reached the stairs, all the amusement vanished from Jai’s face.

"Closet. Now."

Shao looked at the closet, then slowly back at him. "You’re serious."

"Do you hear those footsteps? Does this look like the face of a man who’s joking?" Jai hissed, already yanking open the doors and shoving aside his clothes. "Get in before my father comes up here and decides to bury you in the garden we’re planting."

Shao glanced into the narrow space with obvious disbelief. He was a large man, broad through the shoulders and built like someone who had never once been expected to hide inside furniture. "Jai, I don’t fit in there."

"Then suck in your muscles or something. I don’t know. Just get in!"

Shao gave him a look that promised this humiliation would be remembered, but the footsteps were getting closer, so he finally squeezed himself inside. Jai immediately started rearranging coats over him, trying to hide the very obvious human body occupying half his closet.

"This is ridiculous," Shao muttered from somewhere behind a jacket.

"You’re the idiot who followed me into a house containing my father."

"You invited me."

"And you’re the idiot who accepted. Now move your arm."

"There is nowhere to move it."

Jai shoved his shoulder farther back. "Make somewhere."

A knock sounded at the door.

Jai nearly jumped out of his skin. He slammed the closet shut and spun around just as Shinju called, "Jai?"

"Yeah?"

The door opened before Jai could answer anything else.

Jai stared at his father.

Why did people knock if they had absolutely no intention of waiting for permission?

Shinju stepped inside, seemingly unaware that his son’s mate was currently folded into the closet less than three meters away. "I’m making dinner. Do you want spicy ramen or clear vegetable soup?"

For one beautiful second, Jai almost sagged in relief.

Food.

That was it.

His father hadn’t seen anything. He hadn’t heard anything. He was here because apparently even during the apocalypse a man still had to climb an entire flight of stairs to ask his grown son what he wanted for dinner.

"Clear soup," Jai answered immediately.

Shinju paused.

Jai’s stomach sank.

"Clear vegetable soup?"

"Yes."

"You?"

Jai frowned. "Why did you ask me if you weren’t prepared to accept my answer?"

"Because you’ve complained about that soup every time I’ve made it."

"I don’t complain every time."

"You called it boiled grass yesterday."

"That particular batch deserved criticism."

Shinju gave him an unimpressed look. "And today you suddenly want boiled grass?"

Jai forced a casual shrug. "Maybe I’ve finally developed an appreciation for vegetables."

"Since yesterday?"

"Growth can happen very quickly, Dad. Look at Yunfeng’s son."

The answer came out so smoothly that Jai almost congratulated himself.

Then Shinju’s gaze dropped to his neck.

Jai remembered Shao’s mouth against his skin.

His hand shot to his collar.

He yanked it upward.

Too quickly.

Shinju’s eyes narrowed.

Jai pretended not to notice and tugged his shirt even higher, casually arranging the fabric until half his neck had disappeared inside it. Unfortunately, doing so only seemed to make his father study him harder.

"What?"

Shinju didn’t answer immediately. His eyes moved over Jai’s flushed face, messy hair and slightly uneven breathing before settling on the beads of sweat near his temple.

"Why are you sweating like that?"

Jai’s heart skipped.

Shinju’s expression flattened. "Jai."

Jai wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, desperately searching for something believable. "I went outside for a bit and got worked up coming back."

"Worked up doing what?"

Why couldn’t this man simply accept an answer?

"Running around."

"I saw you come inside. You weren’t running."

Jai stared at him.

His father stared back.

Inside the closet, Shao had gone so silent that Jai briefly wondered whether the man had stopped breathing to avoid detection.

"I ran before you saw me," Jai’s lips twitched despite himself. "Today has been a very transformative day for me."

Shinju folded his arms.

Jai folded his own arms right back, though he was careful to keep one hand near his collar. He had faced zombies with less pressure than this. At least zombies didn’t ask follow-up questions.

His father continued staring at him for another uncomfortable moment before finally shaking his head. "Whatever you’ve been doing, wash up before dinner. I’ll make the soup."

"Great."

Shinju turned toward the door.

Jai’s shoulders relaxed.

Then his gaze flickered toward the closet.

If his father made dinner normally, he would be calling him downstairs in forty minutes. Maybe an hour if Jai was lucky.

Absolutely unacceptable.

"Dad."

Shinju stopped and glanced back.

Jai leaned casually against the edge of his desk, pretending he hadn’t just made a decision that would probably destroy several perfectly innocent vegetables. "Since you’re making the soup, cook it longer today. Really cooked through. The kind where everything has been stewing together for ages and the broth tastes better."

Shinju considered it. "An extra half hour?"

Jai nearly scoffed.

Half an hour? What was he supposed to do with that?

"No, no. Don’t rush it. Let it stew properly." Jai tried to look thoughtful rather than desperate. "Two hours perhaps."

Shinju stared at him. "What exactly are you planning to eat afterward? Vegetable paste?"

"I happen to like vegetable paste."

"Since when?"

"Since about thirty seconds ago."

A suspicious sound came from the closet.

Jai’s blood ran cold.

He immediately coughed loudly to cover it.

Shinju looked at him strangely. "Are you getting sick?"

"No. Perfect health."

The closet remained silent again, but Jai knew exactly what that sound had been.

Shao was laughing at him.

That bastard.

Shinju shook his head, apparently deciding his son had simply lost his mind. "Fine. I’ll leave it simmering. But if you complain that the vegetables are mushy afterward, I’m making you eat the entire pot."

"I’ll treasure every spoonful."

"You’re definitely acting strange you brat." That finally pulled a reluctant smirk from Shinju. "I’ll cook your precious vegetables until they’re unrecognizable."

Jai brightened. "Thanks."

Shinju started out again, and this time Jai followed him as far as the doorway. "And don’t worry about me. I’ll rest until dinner."

His father glanced back. "I wasn’t worried."

"I know. I’m just letting you know so you don’t need to come upstairs."

That earned him another suspicious look.

Jai immediately added, "Because I’ll be sleeping."

"You just exercised."

"Exactly. Exhausting."

"You’ve fought hundreds of zombies without needing a three-hour nap."

Jai leaned against the doorframe. "Are you going to cook my soup or stand here criticizing my sleep schedule?"

Shinju snorted and finally headed downstairs. "Go sleep, then. I’ll call you when it’s ready."

"Don’t rush!"

His father lifted one hand without looking back. "Three hours. I heard you the first time."

Jai waited until Shinju disappeared around the staircase before quietly closing his bedroom door. He didn’t stop there. He turned the lock, tested it once, then stood perfectly still and listened until he heard his father’s footsteps downstairs, followed shortly by the sound of cupboards opening in the kitchen.

Only then did he let out the breath he’d been holding.

Behind him, the closet creaked.

Jai slowly turned.

One door had opened barely an inch. Shao’s eye appeared through the gap.

Jai pointed at him. "Don’t."

The door opened farther.

Shao poked his head out from between two of Jai’s shirts, hair slightly dishevelled and a grin spreading shamelessly across his face.

Jai knew that expression.

"Don’t you dare."

Shao stepped out slowly, stretching one shoulder after being folded into a space never intended to contain him. "Three hours? Looks like we have a looong time."

Jai stared at him for a moment before grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him closer.

"Shut up and get over here."

Shao’s teasing smile disappeared the instant Jai kissed him.