Their Parallel Universe ✓

Chapter 37

"So, do you plan to tell Eujae the whole truth? Will you tell him that you never meant to argue with him that time and that you didn't hate him from the beginning?"

It has been a week since Poll and Eujae started dating, and it has been that long since the forgotten memory about their first day in college came back to him.

Even though they have been going out for a couple of days, their family and friends have yet to know about their romantic relationship. It's not like he and Eujae want to keep it a secret from the people close to them, but with all of them getting busy again once they went back to university after their holiday break, the two young men haven't found a good time to tell them the truth.

At present, there is only one person from their group who is privy to the fact that Eujae and Poll have been boyfriends for days. But then again, they didn't need to reveal it to Lia for the young woman to figure it out.

Aside from being the sweetest among their friends, Lia has always been intuitive and understanding of others. She also often knows the right words to say every time a person asks for her honest opinion about something. And it is exactly because of those traits that Poll feels comfortable talking to her about the dream he had during their New Year's camping trip.

Poll studies the set of wall frames that hang above the smart TV in the living room. He recognizes one of the four pictures as the graphite portrait he'd made for Eujae as a thank-you and peace-offering gift. The other one in the middle is another painted image of his boyfriend, and he doesn't need to look at the artist's signature to know that it is Lia's work. On either side are the photos of Eujae's parents.

The male twin shifts his attention to his female friend, who's sitting in a tuck position on the couch while munching on the sweet potato chips that Eujae prepared for them. He glances at the door that leads to the kitchen to check if his boyfriend has come back from cooking the spicy garlic mushroom pasta that they're planning to have for lunch.

Once he's made sure that Eujae won't be able to hear their conversation, he answers the young woman's question, "I know I was at fault for letting my emotions get the better of me that day and then forgetting about the fact that I was mad at myself for doing something stupid so I took it out on him. I should explain everything to Eujae and apologize, right? But if that guy learned the whole truth..." He groans internally, imagining Eujae's reaction if he knew that he'd been attracted to him the moment he first laid eyes on him. "He's not gonna let me live it down. It would just give him more reason to tease me, and he's already annoying as it is."

Lia laughs softly and picks another piece of chip from the bowl on the coffee table. "That's one of Eujae's love languages though. He likes to be playful with the people he adores."

"I know that. It's just that he's too much of a smartass sometimes, and I don't like that I always lose to him whenever we're bantering with each other."

Sighing, Poll also starts eating the homemade snack. The first thing he notes as he crunches on the sweet potato chip is that it tastes better as compared to the ones he usually buys from retail stores. He can't pinpoint the exact difference or what makes the former superior. Maybe it's the right sweetness. Maybe it's crispier. Or maybe he's just being partial to the one that his boyfriend made.

He pours himself a glass of red fruit tea and drinks it, scrunching his face as the sour flavor charges his taste buds. Eujae must have forgotten to add honey or brown sugar to the beverage because he's never used to using sweeteners.

After setting the glass down, Poll continues talking. "But you know, it's still hard for me to believe that I had completely discarded that part of the incident from my memory. I thought amnesia was something that happened only in soap operas that my mom loves to watch. How did I get amnesia anyway?" He frowns and gives Lia a quizzical stare, as though the young woman holds the answer to his question. "I don't remember falling from my bed that night and hitting my head on something hard."