Their Parallel Universe ✓

Chapter 29

His stomach has calmed down, but his heart has not.

Poll has been trying to convince himself that the hard pounding against his chest is mainly because of the surprise of knowing that Eujae, the guy who used to infuriate him without even trying, and Gaele, the online friend who always listened to his rants about the people and stuff he didn't like, are the same individual. To think that he had been secretly complaining about a certain someone without knowing that the person to whom he had always vented out had been the very subject of his gripes all along. It's an ironic truth that has made him feel awkward.

That's the reason he has been having a hard time relaxing and why his pulse rate will not slow down. It has nothing to do with the attractive smile of the man next to him, nothing to do with the pleasant sound of his laughter. And it certainly has nothing to do with his cool, minty perfume, which fuses nicely with the sweet fragrance of the place.

Poll has managed to distract himself with the food and cover up his self-consciousness. But now that he has also finished the shawarma that he bought for Eujae and there is nothing to divert his attention anymore, the nervousness is starting to feel all too real again.

Fidgeting with the empty food carton, he glances at Eujae and poses the question that he has been meaning to ask since earlier, "So, what made you suddenly decide to meet up and tell me the truth that you're Gaele?"

Instead of saying a word, Eujae reaches for his wallet in his pocket. He pulls out a folded piece of paper and passes it to Poll.

Albeit skeptical, Poll accepts it. Upon opening the paper, he learns that it is an advertisement flyer.

The first thing that grabs his attention is the picture of a corked bottle with pink liquid in the middle of the dark blue background. Poll shifts his gaze to the top of the poster to read the white text:

Jeune Aigle Theatre presents

LOVE SPELL
Everyone was enchanted for an hour because of a potion that had gone wrong. Everyone fell in love with him, except for the person who actually mattered.

On the side of the poster, the venue, date and time are also written. It's evidently a promotion for a play, and Poll finds the blurb intriguing enough. But what kindles his interest the most is the foreign name of the theater.

"Jeune... aigle?" he mumbles, rereading the words slowly.

"My parents' touring theater company."

At the response, Poll sends the man a quizzical look.

With a calm expression, Eujae continues, "Jeune aigle is the French translation for 'young eagle.'"

Poll's mouth makes a soundless 'oh'. He pauses when a word from Eujae's statement evokes a thought. Curious, he whispers, "Eagle..."

Eujae smirks. The expression that appears in his eyes says that he already knows what the male twin is thinking about. "Yeah, on the day I found out that you're Ten-Ten, you also asked me about the origin of my username. Do you still remember what I told you then?"

"You said Gaele is an anagram of the word 'eagle.'"

"And then, you asked me if my real name means 'eagle' too. I didn't give you a direct answer then because I didn't want you to figure out that I was Gaele. But now, I can tell you the truth about my name." Eujae pauses as if to give Poll some time to grasp his words before he says emphatically, "Eujae Nigel is an anagram for jeune aigle."

Poll stares at the other man quietly as he lets the revelation soak in. He flutters his eyes before he responds in awe, "Oh, so your name came from French words. And all this time, I thought your parents were big fans of K-Drama or K-Pop so they gave you a Korean-sounding name."