Well... the man indeed took him to the park.
Made him sit there, and then walked away.
He was a stranger after all—Eiran didn't exactly expect him to stay. Not like he had any time to think about it either. His mind was already crowded with thoughts.
He didn't try to stand up and simply remained seated there. The wound on his leg hurt like hell.
But his heart—
It hurt so much that instead of fading, the pain only kept growing.
And his eyes were so tired that he couldn't even cry anymore.
His heart still wasn't ready to accept all this—yet somewhere deep within... he already knew it was a fact now.
Valerian wasn't his anymore...
And maybe he had never been his to begin with.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but it didn't seem like much. It still wasn't dark yet—even the sun hadn't begun to set.
Then—
He heard a faint sound coming from afar. At first, he ignored it. It wasn't until the sound drew closer that he finally turned to look.
It was him again.
That weird stranger.
Saelior saw Eiran sitting dazed in the exact same spot where he had left him. He walked toward him at an unhurried pace, neither fast nor slow.
"Why are you here again?"
Eiran's voice was still soft and low... difficult to hear clearly from a distance.
But Saelior seemed to understand him anyway.
He lifted the box in his hand slightly.
"I went back to bring bandages and disinfectant for you."
Hm... that wasn't exactly true.
He had gone back for those things, but he hadn't intended to bring them personally. In fact, he had originally planned to send his driver instead.
But in the end, he changed his mind.
If Eiran resisted again, it would be troublesome for the old driver to handle him, and Saelior didn't want to trouble the elderly man.
"Thanks. But no need."
Eiran looked away, refusing to give him any attention.
"Don't let the wound get infected."
Saelior lowered his gaze to the sock stained with blood and dust.
"You should at least clean it."
He placed the box beside him on the bench.
Eiran stared at him for a few seconds before lowering his head and searching through his pockets.
Saelior watched him silently.
Those swollen, reddened eyes were hard to ignore.
"I don't have cash on me... take my number. I'll pay you back later."
"That won't be necessary."
"I don't want to owe anything to anyone."
Saelior shook his head slightly at his stubbornness.
"...Do the bandage first."
Eiran didn't respond. He placed his injured leg on the bench and slowly removed his shoe and sock. Though the sock was soaked with blood, fortunately it hadn't dried yet. Otherwise, it would've stuck to the wound and been far more painful to remove.
But even if it wasn't stuck... that didn't make it painless.
Yet Eiran didn't even flinch while removing it. If not for his other hand being clenched tightly at his side, Saelior might have thought this guy simply couldn't feel pain.
But when he saw Eiran reaching for the gauze—
He grabbed his hand to stop him.
"Your wound might get infected if you touch it with dirty hands."
Saelior glanced at Eiran's hands and sighed.
They must've gotten dirty when he fell earlier.
"Wait a moment."
With that, Saelior walked toward the nearby tap to wash his hands.
Eiran silently watched his back.
He actually wanted to stop him and say it was fine... that he could manage by himself.
But his hands really were dirty, and walking there himself would be inconvenient. He still couldn't walk properly, and he definitely didn't want to be carried by a stranger again.
He still felt strangely lost.
After washing his hands, Saelior returned and sanitized them with the hand sanitizer inside the box.
Then he sat beside him at the other end of the bench and reached for Eiran's foot.
The moment his fingers brushed against his skin, he felt Eiran's leg tremble slightly.
Saelior paused and glanced at him from the corner of his eye.
"Tell me if it hurts."
First, he cleaned the wound with saline and gently dried the area before applying iodine with a cotton swab. Then he carefully wrapped the bandage around it.
Every movement was precise and considerate. From time to time, he glanced at Eiran to check his reaction, but Eiran wasn't even looking in his direction.
"It's done."
Saelior checked the bandage one last time before lifting his head, only to frown when he found Eiran still looking dazed.
"Did you break up... or get your heart broken?"
Eiran snapped back to reality and turned toward him.
"What?"
Saelior lightly tapped his fist against his forehead twice and let out a quiet breath.
Even though his face was hidden behind the mask, Eiran could still sense his frustration clearly.
Saelior really was frustrated.
If he wanted to, he could simply leave this guy here or call a cab for him.
This was already more than enough. He wasn't obligated to help further. In fact, he had already gone out of his way.
But...
He still couldn't bring himself to leave.
The sun was already setting, and it would be dark soon.
Looking at this guy—so lost that he didn't even care about his surroundings anymore—
Saelior felt a strange discomfort in his chest.
Ever since he first saw that painting, he had inexplicably felt connected to him.
Or maybe... he simply sympathized with him.
"Did you—"
He paused.
No. It wasn't his place to make assumptions without knowing anything.
"You look emotionally conflicted," he said carefully this time.
Eiran looked at him warily.
"It's none of your business."
"Pardon me. I don't claim to be the best person out there, but I'm not heartless enough to leave someone in this state. It's alright if you don't want to talk about it... but I think talking things out is better."
Eiran didn't reply. He only stared at him silently, as though trying to judge him.
The moment the words left his mouth, Saelior felt regret for the second time that day.
He should've left earlier.
Why was he being so impulsive today?
"I think I should—"
"Do you understand how it feels to have unrequited love for someone?"
Eiran cut him off just as he was about to make an excuse to leave.
It took Saelior a couple of seconds to process what he had just heard.
"I... yeah. Something like that."
He didn't really like talking about it. But since he was the one who brought it up first, refusing to share anything now would feel hypocritical.
"I fell in love with someone, but she's getting engaged to... someone close to me. They're happy together."
At first, Eiran hadn't wanted to say anything at all. Every rational thought in his mind told him not to.
How could he trust someone when he couldn't even see his face?
"They say that if you truly love someone, their happiness becomes your happiness..." He lowered his eyes. "I know I'm selfish, but how am I supposed to watch the person I love end up with someone else? Especially when I wasn't even able to tell him..."
His voice grew quieter toward the end.
But he couldn't stop himself anymore.
Right now, he had no one.
No one he could talk to about any of this.
"Is my love not enough... or was it never real to begin with?" He let out a faint, self-mocking laugh. "I can't have him, but someone else can. Maybe my feelings were inferior from the very beginning."
Just this one stranger who had appeared out of nowhere—
And yet, strangely enough, Eiran felt like he could trust him.
Not because his eyes looked warm or comforting. If anything, they were calm to the point of seeming distant.
But somehow... they didn't feel dangerous.
Still, Eiran kept some parts of the story to himself out of caution.
Saelior listened attentively while observing Eiran.
The way he would occasionally frown, avoid eye contact, or secretly pinch his own hand to suppress his emotions—as if trying desperately to hold himself together.
But—
His trembling voice betrayed him every time.
"You shouldn't compare your love to someone else's. That would only disrespect your own feelings."
Saelior turned to look at the orange sky as he spoke in an unhurried voice.
"Love is incomparable. Everyone sees it differently. For some, love and lust are simply two sides of the same coin. For others, love is just an illusion. And for some... love is something pure, untouched by desire or stigma."
Eiran was stunned for a moment.
He hadn't expected him to answer so seriously.
And even if he did, Eiran thought it would just be some empty comforting words—you deserve better and things like that.
"And you can hope for their happiness. But you don't necessarily have to pretend to be happy yourself."
Eiran lowered his head and hurriedly wiped away the tears threatening to fall before forcing himself to focus on Saelior's words.
His words didn't feel like comfort.
They felt like reality.
And sometimes, reality was far more comforting than empty reassurance.
"Just like how a wounded peacock can't dance... no matter how much it loves the rain."
Eiran slowly lifted his head and rested his gaze on the man sitting beside him.
He... really wanted to take off that mask and see his expression.
Only his eyes were visible—
Unfortunately, they never seemed to reveal anything. Too distant. Too unreadable.
Had he gone through the same thing too?
How else could he understand this feeling so well?
"What I mean to say is—you're not obligated to force yourself to be happy just to prove your love. Love isn't weak enough to rely on something else to prove its existence. It's strong enough to exist on its own."
"But she knew..." Eiran's fingers curled slightly. "She knew I had feelings for her."
"How can you be so sure of that when you never confessed?" Saelior asked calmly.
"But she..."
"And even if she did know... she still isn't obligated to return your feelings. That choice is hers... guilt and love can't exist on the same page."
This time, Saelior cut him off mid-sentence.
Eiran paused... he actually didn't know how to refute that.
But now that he thought about it, he had never really confessed. And Valerian had never brought it up either.
So... had he truly never known?
But then again, even if he didn't—Eiran could never bring himself to confess anymore.
He wouldn't come between his sister's happiness.
_________________________________________________________________________________