Love Director [ENG]

Chapter 23: Aphros' anger

If yesterday Paint looked like he had just fought a dog, that day he seemed as though he had been mauled by an entire pack. His face was pale and bruised, his eyes swollen, lips dry, hair unkempt, and he stood dazed in the kitchen, holding a rack to drain the oil from the fried pork toasts in the pan.

Despite the oil sizzling and splattering onto his arm, his slender body remained unmoved. His eyes were on the toasts, but his mind was elsewhere, lost in thought. He didn't flip them, didn't care, letting the sound of the oil continue along with the smell of burning that spread throughout the kitchen.

That alarmed the person watching him.

Click!

"Ah, Aphros!"

Paint snapped out of his daze when his phi walked over to turn off the gas, startling him. He looked up to see his phi shaking his head wearily and motioning for him to look at the pan. Paint turned to look.

"Last time, they almost burned, but I could still eat them. This time, they're charred. I'm not eating that."

The bread, which should have been a nice golden brown, had turned dark and nearly black. Paint hurriedly tried to remove them from the pan.

Clang!

But his hands were weak, and he dropped them to the floor instead of the plate. The burnt pork toasts scattered everywhere, along with some oil that splashed around. Paint jumped, pushing Aphros back to avoid getting burned.

"I'm sorry, phi. I'm sorry. I'll clean it up right now and make new ones. I'm sorry." He pushed his uncle back several steps and then quickly bent down to pick up the hot bread, biting his lip to keep from crying out from the heat.

"Step back."

Paint tried to throw them in the trash, but Aphros grabbed his wrist before he could, pulling him up to stand. Paint tried to twist his hand free to clean up his mess.

"I'm sorry, I messed up." Paint apologized.

"This is more than just a small mistake."

"Please let me clean it up, phi."

"Look at me." Aphros ordered.

"I..."

"Look at me!"

When Aphros spoke in a firm tone, Paint froze, stopped struggling, and looked up at his face. He looked into his sharp eyes that seemed to read his mind, making him lower his gaze to his phi's collar instead.

"I said look at me." Aphros repeated.

Paint pressed his lips together tightly, afraid that if he looked, he might plead for comfort. If he pleaded, he might cry. If he cried, he would cause trouble for his phi.

"Sigh, come here."

Grab!

"Phi!" Paint was startled when Aphros suddenly grabbed him by the waist and easily lifted him to sit on the counter. He cried out, holding onto his phi's strong shoulders tightly.

"Sit still. If I say 'don't move', you don't move."

"But..."

"If you argue again, I won't be so nice."

Paint fell silent immediately, terrified of making Aphros angry. His phi shook his head wearily, making Paint feel even smaller, his heart sinking. He watched as his phi picked up the burnt toasts with a paper towel and threw them away, then grabbed a new paper towel to wipe up the spilled oil on the floor.

"Just wiping it won't clean the oil off, phi. Um, never mind."

Normally, Paint wouldn't back down easily about cooking, the kitchen, cleaning, or anything. But seeing Aphros' sharp eyes, he could only close his mouth and watch as his uncle grabbed a cloth, soaked it in dish soap, and scrubbed the floor, then rinsed it with clean water before drying it again. He threw the cloth into the trash, which made Paint want to say it could still be used as a rag.