Their Parallel Universe ✓

Chapter 11

Maybe in another world.

Just a few weeks ago, he told those words to Tem when she asked if there was no chance for a truce between him and Poll. At that time, Eujae truly believed it was impossible for the two of them to be on good terms, unless maybe they were in an alternate reality. A different dimension where there is no bad blood between them.

Recent happenings since then made him doubt his own belief. Eujae reckoned Poll harbors an awful lot of hostility against him that perhaps even in a hundred different worlds, the guy would still despise him. Perhaps, there really was no parallel universe where they could bury the hatchet.

It turns out, all this time, they've been getting along just fine in a virtual world. In hindsight, Eujae had hit the nail on the head when he gave that particular answer to Tem. He and Poll could in fact be friendly with each other if it is anywhere other than the real world.

After discovering the truth behind Ten-Ten's identity earlier, Eujae did some stuff to compose himself. He made himself a quick dinner as he was too fazed to prepare a proper meal, and then took a cold shower. But for all that he did, nothing was able to steady his nerves.

Eujae goes back to the conversation with Ten-Ten, the last text still left unanswered, and notices there is a new message.

Ten2: how 'bout you? is there a special meaning behind gaele? is it inspired by that character from the movie you told me about before?

His lips curve into an impassive smile. As yet he doesn't know how to deal with this newly uncovered truth.

He can think of two ways to work around this situation. One of them is to sever his connection with Ten-Ten. That would be easy. All he had to do is to uninstall the application and forget about him as if their meeting in the gaming world never happened. He could pretend that Ten-Ten never existed.

But he can't. He doesn't have the heart to upset Ten-Ten, truth be told. Even now that he knows that, in reality, he's done that a couple of times to Poll.

He and Poll may have at odds with each other, but when all is said and done, he knows that all the concerns they have given each other as Gaele and Ten-Ten are genuine.

Eujae begins to type his reply, hoping he would not come across as distant.

Gaele: Not really. GAELE is an anagram of EAGLE.

While waiting for the reply, Eujae scrolls up to read their past conversations.

How ironic. He always thought he was doing something to make Ten-Ten feel better every time he was in a bad mood because of the guy he hates. As it is, he'd been the reason behind the temper all along. He'd been amused by Ten-Ten's rants, not knowing the person being secretly condemned was none other than him.

This situation would have been funny if only he was looking at it from an outsider's perspective. But since it is not the case, he can't bring himself to laugh it off.

Ten2: whoa, that sounds cool. does your real name also mean eagle?

Gaele: Sort of.

He has to be careful not to give himself away but he can admit that at least. There is no harm in revealing that little fact about his real name as he's pretty confident Poll won't be able to figure it out. It is not like he thinks Poll is slow when it comes to this stuff, but the truth is, the origin of his name is something that can't be found on the internet. It is not a puzzle that can be easily pieced together by anyone.

As Ten-Ten's reply arrives and he reads it, his hand stiffens around his phone, understanding the implication of the message.

Ten2: oh i'm sorry. i guess that was too personal