There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 163 - 158. Unspoken Confession

Chapter 163: Chapter 158. Unspoken Confession

It started when the staff gleefully told him about the success of the book, and then asked if he could give signed copies as a limited edition event.

Which Zein immediately refused flatly.

Of all the beautiful things Zein was known to have--the pretty face, mesmerizing jewel eyes, melodious voice, athletic figure, graceful agility, soothing scent--good penmanship wasn’t one of them. It was to the point that Alice coined it as a ’coded message only the Captain knew’. Unless they were people who knew his writing for a long time, like Alma and Ron, people would have a hard time reading his handwriting.

In his defense, he never needed the ability to write well in the red-zone. His job was to guide and go to the dungeon. As long as he could scribble his signature, he had no problem. He only wrote for the twins--little notes when he couldn’t go home--and in his notebook, recording the miasmic beast’s pattern, which was only for his consumption, so no one else needed to read or understand them.

Of all the functions that the commlink had, Zein was the most grateful at the fact that he could type with them. He spent most of his time before bed mastering typing in the commlink and other computer-based devices.

Giving signature? Zein stared at the one he just scribbled on the document above the desk--he would feel pity toward whoever received this abomination. So of course, he refused to give signed copies.

The staff went back looking as if he was just going through a divorce, and Zein thought the matter had finished there. But the next day, the man came back again, this time wasting no chance to kneel dramatically in front of the guide.

"Please! Please, Sir! Or I might really get divorced!"

What the hell? Zein looked at the man, flabbergasted. It wasn’t just his imagination? "What are you even--"

And so the staff reiterated a dramatic story about how his sister-in-law needed a breakthrough in her reporting career, and his wife demanded the staff to help the sister for compensation because the staff was forgetting their wedding anniversary...or something.

"That’s your own problem..." even Alice couldn’t help but say something.

"I know! But...please, Sir? I swear it’s only to talk about the book, no personal questions or anything weird. You can ask to stop if they offend you during the interview. Please?"

Zein tapped on his lips, staring down at the kneeling staff. He did look extremely desperate; that or he was a good actor. "It won’t be long, just a snippet for fifteen minutes segment on the afternoon news..."

Huh, so it would be on television? Zein frowned for a bit, already thinking of rejecting before his mind suddenly whirring. "Where would it air?"

The man, who was already close to crying, looked up in surprise at the unexpectedly positive reaction. "It...it’s just a local channel, so..."

"In Althrea?"

"No, for Area-13, Sir."

"Hmm..." Zein tapped on his armrest in contemplation while the staff held his breath like an inmate waiting for execution. "Fine, let’s do this."

The staff’s reaction to that was also akin to an inmate getting pardoned from life imprisonment. "T-thank you, Sir!"

"But if any request comes again, you have to take responsibility and reject all of them in my place," Zein warned sternly, and the staff nodded his head frantically. Seemed like the notion of divorce was greater than prolonged overtime work.

And so, uncharacteristically, Zein accepted the first interview in his life. Alice was of course there with him, to control the flow of information that Zein could deliver. They did it in one of Trinity’s small conference rooms, and both the sister-in-law reporter and the cameraman were nervous wrecks. Which was funny, since it was usually the one being interviewed who was nervous.

Of course, Zein never took off his mask all the time. But it only accentuated his clear, piercing eyes as they stared into the camera without an ounce of nervousness. He truly only talked about the book; its original purposes inside the guild, as well as informing them about its uses once Trinity showcased the full combat guide curriculum in the future. He refused to speak about anything personal or anything about Bassena, and stared sharply at provocative questions until the reporter clammed up in fright and embarrassment. Both the reporter and cameraman knew the guide could cancel the interview at any time, so they soon only asked about things that had been agreed upon beforehand.

At any rate, they were glad that it was a recording, because that beautiful and charismatic voice wouldn’t be able to translate well in written form. That sentiment was also shared by the viewers, it seemed, seeing the enthusiastic response.

It was only a casual segment initially, a talk show talking about the success of the new book. The interview came as a surprise, and those who watched it immediately press the record button.

A simple interview, merely talking about the book. The guide was clad in the famous black uniform, and the man still wore his trademark black mask. But here, he wasn’t standing in attention or surrounded by tension from a dungeon expedition. He was leaning relaxedly on the armchair, speaking with a melodious voice that bewitched the viewers into listening. And those eyes; clear, deep, and sharp like a pair of exquisite sapphire...

People had only seen the guide from afar before, be it from paparazzi shots of blurry dungeon-raiding articles. They had never seen the man this close, this clear, this...mesmerizing. Now that they saw the guide from up close--the closest a camera could get--they could guess there was a good-looking face behind that mask.

People who managed to record the segment immediately upload it to the link, and that fifteen-minute snippet that should only be available for people in Area-13 spread far and wide to the entire federation.

While it made the sale of the book skyrocket, it also called someone home in a frenzy.

"What’s with the interview?!"

The way Bassena stormed into his office first thing reminded Zein of the time when the esper yelled at him after the dungeon anomaly in front of the hospital. Even the agitated face and the anxiety in those amber eyes were similar.

"What the hell are you doing? Didn’t we talk about how dangerous it is for your face to spread out in public now?! There’s a difference between being photographed from afar and being on a fucking television!"

Bassena strode fast across the office floor, and Zein just stared...just stared at the furious ambers, at the hardened jaw and clenching fist. He stared wordlessly, eyes blinking slowly as if he was still registering the fact that Bassena was there. Here. After days of no-show and minimal communication.

"Zein!" the esper frowned at the lack of reaction from the guide, but Zein still just stared at Bassena, looking as if he wasn’t even listening to the esper at all.

Seeing the tension, Alice soundlessly exited the room. As the door closed, Bassena opened his mouth to call out the guide’s name again, but Zein was faster. Gripping the esper’s neck suddenly, Zein pulled Bassena down and pressed his lips on the younger man’s.

For a few seconds after that, Bassena just blinked in surprise, in disbelief. There was something he could feel from those lips; longing. When Zein parted their lips, he didn’t move away, hand still on Bassena’s neck, fingers gripping strands of platinum hair. They could feel each other’s breath clearly, lips still only an inch apart.

Bassena didn’t come storming into the guide’s office for this, when he still struggled to maintain his heart and patience. But when he looked into those blue eyes, staring softly at him as if the guide had been missing him...he just couldn’t afford to care anymore.

With hands grasping the guide’s hair and waist, he pushed himself into Zein; his lips, his body, his heart. It wasn’t soft and lovely. The kiss was harsh, crushing, punishing, as if he was expressing all of his frustration and longing.

And Zein took it, parting his lips to give way for the furious tongue, tilting his head and grasping the esper’s arms to accept the crushing weight and fervent yearning. They kissed with the admission of desire and affection, like a lover, like they hadn’t seen each other for eons.

When they finally parted, they weren’t really. They pressed their forehead together, bated breath mingling, inviting another bout of passionate confession. With only the desk behind him and Bassena’s hand to keep him upright, Zein closed his eyes, frowning deeply. His heart felt heavy with affection and guilt, with unwanted desire and foolish wishes.

"You make it so hard for me to give up," the whisper came with a hiss and underlying growl. Zein could feel all the frustration in that voice, but all he could do was grip the esper’s clothes tightly. Ah...he truly didn’t want to let go; this adorable man who harshly and persistently hammered on his wall and filled the crack with warmth. "Or do you not actually want me to give up?"

Zein opened his eyes, looking at the pair of ambers that gazed at him intensely. "Maybe..." his voice, which usually brimmed with confidence, was faltering. Weak and quiet. "I think so."

"...okay," Bassena held the guide’s face, stroking the face that looked so vulnerable and uncertain right now. He didn’t exactly know what kind of war happening inside Zein, but the man looked like he wanted to cry somehow, even though there were no tears in those beautiful eyes. "Okay, so...you want me to wait?"

Zein blinked, light slowly entering his eyes as if he was just shedding some shadow inside his heart. Wait...Bassena had been waiting patiently this entire time. But it was the esper’s own desire and stubbornness, even after Zein said he couldn’t.

"Yeah..." the voice was still quiet and weak, but no longer uncertain. Zein gripped the esper’s clothes even more, wrinkling the white, expensive shirt. "Yeah, can you do that?"

This time, Zein realized he wanted Bassena to wait--to wait until he could conquer his fears. This time, it was Zein who wanted Bassena to wait, and there was a big difference in that.

And Bassena knew that, as his lips drew a soft smile. "Alright, it’s not like I can give up anyway," the esper chuckled, and planted a soft kiss on Zein’s lips, which the guide did not avoid.

But immediately after that, Bassena pulled away and the frown was back on his forehead. "Don’t think I forget about that interview."

Zein let out a chuckle and tapped the esper’s lips lightly. "I wasn’t doing that to distract you," he slipped past the esper to take bottled water from the mini-fridge. "The interview...it’s a bait."