208: Side story 12 Greyson stared intently at him and opened his mouth. "The people I hurt when I asked them to date me formed some kind of group." "They even made a group?" This bastard, just how has he been living? Dane inwardly clicked his tongue. Just when he was thinking it was fortunate he was even alive, suddenly Greyson brought up something unexpected. "Among them, there's a woman who slept with you." "Cough, ugh." Dane, who had reflexively coughed, immediately let out a scream. Greyson just silently watched him tense his whole body while grabbing his injured area. Haa, haa. Only after his rough breathing had somewhat subsided could Dane finally open his mouth with a pale face. "How, what?" "There's a woman who slept with both you and me." To his stammering question, Greyson repeated the same words as if to confirm it for him. But that wasn't the end. "Three of them." "Wait a minute…" Dane tried to say something, but Greyson was faster. He added coldly. "And one of them apparently slept with you multiple times." An awkward silence flowed. Dane felt cold sweat running down his back and frantically racked his brain. Soon he found a simple solution. "Anyway, since they also slept with you, it's fair. So that's settled." He smiled cheekily as usual, but Greyson didn't laugh. Another awkward silence arrived. Don't tell me he's going to throw a tantrum at me over past events? Dane suddenly thought. Until now, he had never been in a serious relationship, so he wasn't familiar with digging up and interrogating the past like this. Just as he was frantically rummaging through his mind for how to quickly escape this situation. "Are you really okay?" Greyson suddenly asked. At the unexpected question, Dane looked at him puzzledly. Unexpectedly, Greyson continued with a gloomy expression. "Will you be okay with just me? I… if you were to do such things with someone else in front of me again…" Greyson, who had taken a breath, added. "I don't think I could bear it." A heavy silence flowed. Dane looked at Greyson without saying anything. He had lowered his eyes and was avoiding Dane. He had clearly said he loved him, so what was this reaction? Dane couldn't help but feel bewildered. "Do you think I'd cheat on you or something?" At the quiet question, Greyson answered after a pause. "I want to believe you won't." It was an ambiguous answer that was neither here nor there. In the end, you're saying I will, you bastard. Dane's face contorted, but thinking about it, it was his own responsibility. Anyway, it was his fault for not giving Greyson trust. Because of that, Dane couldn't say anything more and just sent him away. * * * Recalling that day's conversation made him feel suffocated. He thought that was also part of the reason he was clinging to something like a gift. Anyway, he wanted to reassure Greyson. There had been no such conversations after that, and Greyson hadn't shown any particular signs either, but the heart he had once glimpsed kept making Dane look back. Damn it, what exactly should I do at times like this? He didn't like romance movies. He mainly watched B-grade zombie movies or action films, and it was the same with novels. Even when watching thrillers, if romantic parts came up, he would just skip them. It was a field he had so little interest in, yet suddenly the worst situation had popped up. While waiting for the signal, Dane tapped the steering wheel rapidly – tap tap tap – then forcibly returned his mind to the starting point. You were thinking about Greyson's gift, snap out of it. If he let his guard down even a little, his thoughts kept drifting elsewhere. Now wasn't the time for that. It was already too late. This time he was determined and focused on one thought. Greyson's gift, Greyson's gift. Soon he frowned and thought. …How do I persuade Joshua? * * * – A gift? Joshua, who had suddenly received contact, repeated what he had heard with curiosity. "Yeah." Dane continued dryly from the other end of the phone. "I have someone to give a gift to, but I've never done that kind of thing so I don't know much about it. You know well, since you've dated a lot." Joshua didn't let the word "too" slide by. – I also had human interactions, you didn't. "Yeah, yeah." Dane brushed off his words carelessly as always. Joshua wasn't particularly pleased with his attitude, but since he was originally that kind of person, it wasn't worth thinking deeply about. Anyway, he's not a bad guy, he thought as he asked again. – Who are you giving a gift to? I need to know the recipient first. As expected, the same question the firefighter guys had asked came back. Can't I just give anything? Dane thought, though he actually knew that was right. It was just embarrassing to say that fact with his own mouth again. But there was one thing that bothered him. He had casually mentioned "since you've dated a lot," yet this kind of question came back. This guy, is he more clueless than I thought? Dane had no choice but to confess honestly. "I have someone I'm dating." For a while, no sound came from the other end. Dane took the phone away from his ear and brought it back. "Hello? Hey, are you there?" – I'm here. At Joshua's answer, Dane finally leaned back against the sofa backrest again and asked. "You heard what I said, right? Why no response?" – I heard. Joshua answered briefly again. Waiting silently in the somewhat ominous atmosphere, Joshua opened his mouth. – Don't tell me it's that bastard? He wanted to play dumb and ask who "that bastard" was, but it would just be a waste of time. Joshua had gone together to rescue Greyson that day, and had directly witnessed Greyson going crazy trying to save Dane after the bomb exploded. In this situation, if Dane said he was dating someone, it was natural to deduce that the person was Greyson Miller. "Well…" Dane couldn't answer easily and trailed off. "That's how it turned out." As expected, this was all he could say. Since it was his first relationship, everything was just embarrassing and awkward. Even the confession he had just made, he could feel his face heating up the moment he said it out loud. Damn it, as he swallowed the curse inwardly, Joshua's voice came from the other end. – What the hell is this… Cold anger was embedded in his calm voice. He might be dumbfounded, or perhaps both. Dane struck first before he could pour out his words. "I'll tell you in advance, you were the one who caused this." – What bullshit are you talking about, you crazy bastard? Curses burst from Joshua's mouth. Dane gave his own excuse. "You gave me that job request, which is how I got involved with that bastard. Nothing happened before that." – Did I tell you to kidnap that bastard or to roll around with him? I knew I shouldn't have trusted you, you promiscuous bastard. And now you shamelessly ask me about gifts for that bastard? How dare you? Joshua was truly jumping mad. Since it wasn't incomprehensible, Dane obediently apologized. "Rolling around was my fault, you're right." Anyway, it was a definite fact that Chase had been harmed by Greyson and Joshua's feelings were also bad because of it. So naturally he'd be angry hearing this kind of story. Since Dane wasn't a naive child who believed honesty was always best, in this case too, he had to quickly come up with a solution.