Welcome Ciaran Novel – Chapter 6
Yuu has a headache. He refuses to believe what he just heard. It can’t be real. Magic only exists in fairy tales, not in the real world. If magic was real, this “witch” would have chased him long ago, but she didn’t, proving to Yuu that Ciarán’s story was made up.
“Bullshit!” Yuu whispers under his breath. He can’t believe his uncle would come up with such a ridiculous lie. “Nobody can believe—”
“A true fairy tale!” Killian says happily, making Yuu curse louder. Unlike the other two, Killian is impressed by Ciarán’s story and truly believes it. “There’s only one way to lift the spell that’s trapping Uncle Jonathan in a child’s body. Yuu kiss Ciarán!”
“Absolutely NOT!” Yuu screams.
Yuu adores his uncle, but he’s not mad enough to even kiss him on the cheek. Just looking at Ciarán disgusts him. He can’t imagine putting his lips on such a disgusting being’s cheek. He won’t do it, even if it is the only way to lift the curse. Yuu isn’t even sure that his uncle will appreciate the gesture. He probably thinks his nephew is responsible for the curse and will make him pay once he gets back to his adult body. Obviously, Killian doesn’t know anything about this so he’s surprised when Yuu refuses to kiss Ciarán. He thinks it’s just Yuu’s shyness that’s stopping him from showing love to his uncle in front of someone else. It would be understandable in another context, but Uncle Jonathan is the victim of an unfair curse and needs his nephew’s help more than ever.
“If you refuse, Ciarán will stay Ciarán forever!” Killian says, concerned about Uncle Jonathan’s future.
“I’ll find another way to lift the curse!” Yuu replies dryly. He feels the pressure of being the only person who can save his uncle. “There must be another way to reverse the spell.”
“I didn’t express myself properly,” Jonathan interrupts after realising his words have been misunderstood. Four eyes are fixed on him. He takes a deep breath before speaking in a louder voice. “I’m not the person who needs to be kissed. I won’t allow it.” Yuu sighs from relief, delighted to know that there’s another way to save his cursed uncle. “The witch told me the curse would be lifted when my nephew receives a kiss from the one who took pity on me. One with a ‘pure heart free from greed!’”
Why did she have to be so mysterious? Yuu complains, annoyed by the situation that indirectly affects him. Whatever! I know now I have to be kissed by the person who took pity on my uncle… Wait a second!
Yuu’s eyes grow wider and wider. His brain replays the whole story from beginning to end. Every time he does so, there’s a part missing between the moment when baby Jonathan is left alone in a changing room and his encounter with Killian. Yuu knows something is missing: that bit when someone randomly entered the changing room, shut their eyes and abandoned a child.
Yuu prays to all the gods to give him a sign that explains the missing part, but none answer his prayers. A desperate look at Ciarán’s wide smirk is enough for Yuu to understand his uncle is ready to do everything to get his body back. If it means sacrificing his nephew, he’s more than ready to take the risk.
“I won’t do it!” Yuu screams, annoying his uncle. “No witches came after me because I’m an honest guy who cares about others. I’ve never committed any crime and won’t be sacrificed for someone else’s sins!”
“I knew you wouldn’t cooperate,” Ciarán admits. He’s known his nephew for too long and knew how he’d react. He would’ve been proud in a different context, but today. His life depends on this kiss. “You’re an annoying kid, Yuu.”
“No one kisses me without my consent!” Yuu says, ignoring his uncle’s complaint. “Besides, Floryhan would be jealous if she knew about it.”
“Since when do you care?” Ciarán asks with an eyebrow raised. He knows better than anyone in this room that his nephew lost any sense of morals years ago, which, in a way, plays in his favour. “Also, Floryhan doesn’t care about you. Everybody knows it.”
Ciarán is right. Floryhan couldn’t care less about who Yuu kisses. The further away he is, the better she feels. Deep down Yuu already knows that, encouraging him to stay close to his employee. He loves testing her limits.
While Yuu and Ciarán argue, Killian is completely confused. He heard the child’s story, which deserves a prize for being a real-life fairy tale, but doesn’t get Yuu’s negative reaction. He definitely missed something important and wants to understand what it is.
“Can one of you tell me what’s happening?” Killian asks, looking back and forth between Ciarán and Yuu. “Does Yuu need to kiss someone?”
“NO!” Yuu shouts. He clenches his fists, trying to regain his calm. “I don’t… We’ll find an easier way to lift the curse.”
“I knew you’d react like this and from when you ran away like a coward” Jonathan responds harshly.
Baby Jonathan’s lips stretch into an evil smile. The next minute an explosion rings out, surprising Killian and Yuu whose eyes dart towards the noise. Before they have a chance to wonder what caused the explosion, three bald men dressed in suits appear. They all look at Yuu, and the leader, who stands in front of the other two, has a confident smile that makes the host shiver.
Yuu finally understands the terrible position he’s in. Ciarán planned everything while his back was turned. Because of negligence, he has new visitors who won’t let him go easily. The leader – the most amused by the situation – has a bald head tattooed with a quaver note on the left side and the letter M on the right and holds a cigarette in his hand.
“It’s been a while, dear friend!” M says in an unexpectedly friendly voice. That alone is very suspicious to Yuu. “I heard you didn’t want to rescue your uncle from a very unfortunate situation. You ungrateful brat!”
“Fuck this!” Yuu curses. He knows for sure that he’s put himself in a very bad position and regrets not having kicked Ciarán out. Because of his cowardice, he’s facing three bald men ready to get their revenge. They’ve been waiting for years and they now have the opportunity they’ve been dreaming about.
“All the exits are blocked,” M says proudly. “My men are posted at every corner of your beautiful apartment, Yuu. Just give up and make our job easier.”
“I wanted this whole mess to end differently, but you’re the one who makes things overly complicated,” Jonathan says, a touch of sympathy in his voice. “Because of your stubbornness, I need to take action.” Jonathan pauses as he needs bravery for what he’s about to say. “Killian, kiss my nephew.”
I’ve always had feelings for you. But I just didn’t know how to tell you how I felt. That all changed when I realised your feelings were mutual. I no longer have to hide them.
Killian starts laughing loudly, thinking Uncle Jonathan is teasing his nephew. Today seems to be the day of the Hartglove family. They crack jokes and tease each other, avoiding thinking about the curse that threatens to depress them.
As the silence grows, five pairs of eyes judge him boldly and Killian’s happy smile slowly fades. Looking at Yuu, the bald men, and then Ciarán, he realises Jonathan’s request wasn’t a joke nor a failed attempt to make Yuu laugh. Though he’s always up for helping anyone, a single misstep could cause a hysterical reaction from his fiancée.
“I can’t!” Killian cries immediately, making it clear that this option is ruled out. Besides Yuu, who almost cries tears of joy, the four men don’t seem to care about Killian’s opinion. “Kayla will kill me if she finds out about this! I won’t take the risk of seeing her go to jail!”
“You always put yourself, idiot!” Yuu shouts. “Who cares if she dies in jail?”
“Who’s stupid enough to tell their partner the truth anyway?” M asks.
“Don’t underestimate Killian’s stupidity!” Yuu answers.
I’m ready to give up on anything for you: my fortune, family, friends, and career. Everything. As long as you stay by my side, that’s all that matters.
Yuu swears he’s been hearing voices in his head since he allowed Killian and Ciarán to enter his apartment. He’s unsure if they’re hallucinations or not but he’s certain the voices belong to two men. Judging by everyone’s lack of reaction, Yuu is forced to admit it may be time to make a doctor’s appointment about his mental health.
Were they all right about me? Should I really see a doctor? No! I’m not crazy – the others are! Nothing makes sense… A witch cast a spell, my uncle agrees Killian should kiss me, has called the fucking cops after the explosion and three arseholes haven’t kicked my arse yet. This made up world can’t be real!
“Your problems aren’t any of my concerns” says Ciarán to Killian, clearly articulating every word. “If your girlfriend, fiancée, wife or whatever you call her isn’t happy that’s your problem, not mine.”
I… I… It’s the first time I’m going to say these words and I… I’m nervous!
Yuu starts to get annoyed by the situation. He wishes he could see the invisible person he’s hearing in his head and beat them up to let off some steam. If someone doesn’t stop the voices, Yuu will lose his mind. He keeps looking left and right, up and down, but there’s no sign of a shadow mischievously teasing him.
“The only thing that matters is to lift the curse that has trapped me in this child’s body. If that means bringing chaos in other people’s lives, I’ll make sure you suffer while I get what I deserve.”
Take your time. I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable saying those words. I’d lie if I said I’m not keen to hear what you have to say, but…
“ATTACK!”
“What the—”
Yuu can’t even finish his sentence before the leader of the newcomers – the one with the letter M tattooed on his bald head – pounces on him. He can no longer run away. Muttering every swear word under the sun, Yuu desperately struggles against his opponent, trying to squirm out of his grip. Unfortunately, his efforts don’t pay off, frustrating him even more.
Yuu’s desperation hits a new level when he starts threatening the bald man’s family with the worst conceivable felonies.
“Don’t make me laugh, kid!” M exhales smoke from his cigarette, blurring Yuu’s vision. “Stop behaving like a brat and do as your uncle says.”
We’ve been in this situation without knowing it. This must be fate!
I don’t believe in fate, the other male voice answers. Leave superstitions to believers. The bond between us is stronger than any superstition. The truth is… The truth is…
“Fuck off, M!” Yuu screams, struggling to escape the bald man. When he turns his head and sees Killian on his knees, surrendering to their enemies, he almost chokes on his own saliva. “Why are you not fighting back?”
“Because he knows it’s pointless, kid!” M replies.
No matter how hard Yuu fights back, he doesn’t stand a chance against the army of bald men waiting for him, ready to break him into pieces. Although he’s aware that he’s the only one fighting, it won’t stop him from struggling.
As Yuu sees the two bald men dragging their prisoner towards him, leaning Killian forward to get closer to him, he loses it. “Stay away from me!” Yuu threatens Killian, lashing out like a wild animal. His desperation amuses Ciarán, who asks him to keep quiet. “If you dare kiss me, I swear to God that your girlfriend will find you dead when she returns to Beneath. Mark my words!”
“Stop being such a drama queen, kid!” M says, trying not to burst out laughing. “For once in your life, do what’s right for your family with pride.”
“When the nightmare is over, you’d better stay away from each other.” Ciarán highly recommends that the two adults follow his advice – otherwise, there’ll be consequences. He’s making an exception because of the current circumstances. “Don’t ever think of playing with me; you’d only dig your own grave.”
The two men keeping Killian trapped lean him forward while Yuu keeps fighting. He refuses to surrender – his honour is at stake. Despite his good relationship with his uncle, he won’t let anyone kiss him without his consent: he’d rather take care of baby Ciarán for the rest of his life than kiss his friend. First, he doesn’t want to, and second, what bothers him the most is what comes next. Somehow, he knows that Kayla will hear about it and that when that day comes, a landslide will shake the whole country. Yuu likes testing people’s limits, but he isn’t suicidal and this would definitely endanger his life.
Unfortunately, Yuu’s future no longer depends on him, but on his uncle. He’s more powerful than his nephew, who will follow orders. Yuu’s naturally pale skin tone turns red, his blood boiling – the fight before played a big part – and his body tenses, becoming as hard as a rock. The panic takes control of his whole body, rooting him on the spot and stopping him from getting out of this mess.
Eyes wide open and looking at Killian leaning forward, Yuu’s can only gulp. He must move right now. His brain orders him to turn his face away to avoid the kiss, but his body refuses to obey. That’s when he hears a confession and regrets it straight away, surrendering without him noticing.
I LOVE YOU!
“ARGH!!” Yuu screams. “Step back! Stay away from me!”
“Are you… Okay?” a young woman with green eyes looks at Yuu. She feels sorry for the agitated man, who looks back at her confused. “Was your dream that bad?”
Yuu looks at a young woman silently. It’s Floryhan. He tries to make sense of it all, oblivious to what happened. Looking around, Yuu doesn’t see any sign of Killian, Ciarán, or three bald men. They evaporated as soon as Floryhan appeared. Yuu won’t complain about it, as it means he won’t be kissed.
“Should I call the asylum?” Floryhan asks with a grin. “I offered to call the place a while ago, but you said you were fine. Your show tonight proves you were wrong though. I guess only Killian is kind enough to see any sort of kindness in you because even Uncle Jonathan lost hope. And I’m pretty sure the church did too!”
“Watch your mouth!” Yuu threatens his employee, who’s holding back her smile. “Remember that your future is in my hands!”
Yuu turns his head at the sound of the TV screen. He’s taken aback to see the two male characters kissing under a tree. Then, it all starts to make sense in Yuu’s head. He remembers everything. Bored as usual, Yuu called Floryhan and asked her to come to his place, knowing she wouldn’t have any other choice but to say yes. When the young woman arrived, she started talking about her last dream in which Killian confessed his love.
This is nothing new as Yuu is sure that Floryhan has the same dream over and over again. Because of her obsession with Killian, Yuu’s dreams were affected and almost reached the point of no return. Dream or not, he can’t let his mind mess with him like this.
When Floryhan finished telling her story, she suggested watching a film that was big at the box office. Just listening to the plot, Yuu knew the movie wouldn’t be his cup of tea, and certainly not a masterpiece. It proved him right from the very start when he slowly fell asleep after just twenty minutes. The main character, Karl, was a dull man with toxic traits, reminding Yuu of a stupid brat who didn’t know how to behave in society. Unlikeable, just like the rest of the cast, Yuu couldn’t care less about what happened to him and the person he’d be falling in love with. While Yuu was sleeping like a baby, Floryhan was captivated by the film even before she pressed play.
Yuu tried to understand what made romantic films so appealing to women but failed to get it after witnessing The Beggar and Baker’s cringey and ridiculous romantic scenes. “Your crappy film caused me to have a nightmare!” Yuu complains before standing up and fixing his clothes.
“Crappy film?” Floryhan repeats, offended by Yuu’s comments as she liked the film from the get go. Besides, Yuu barely watched it, so he can’t have an opinion on it. “It won three Oscars, including Best Film, Best Couple in a Romantic Film, Best Actor and the actor who plays Jean got a nomination for his supporting role.”
“Good for them!”
Yuu can’t believe his nightmare was the result of a boring film that followed him until he lost consciousness. With that power, he agrees that The Beggar and Baker deserves an award. After a deep thought, he’d rather dream of potentially dying at his uncle’s hands by playing the lead role than being awake and suffering through the cheesy dialogues between the male characters.
Thanks to that experience, Yuu thinks he must never fall asleep during a lousy film. He still feels like he’s losing his mind, his heart pounding while thinks he can’t escape Killian’s kiss – a disturbing situation that Yuu hopes never to experience again, whether in a dream or in real life. Right now, all he wants to do is forget all about his dream and The Beggar and Baker and have a good night’s sleep.
Unfortunately, Floryhan has other plans. She hasn’t finished arguing with Yuu, who dared criticise The Beggar and Baker. “You’ll never play a role as mesmerising as they do, even if you rehearse for years.”
“You’ve never seen me act!” Yuu answers with a slight grin on his face. He’s sure he’d rock the role and receive all the awards.
“You’d end your career!” Floryhan coldly replies.
“Want a bet?” Yuu asks provocatively.
A smirk slowly appears on Yuu’s face, annoying Floryhan, who rolls her eyes. She’s known Yuu for what feels like ages and knows his strengths and weaknesses. Despite all these years together, Yuu still feels like a mystery sometimes. He acts strangely – Floryhan isn’t even counting the most incident when Yuu mumbled in his wild dream – and is too unpredictable to guess what he’ll do next.
However, something that Floryhan is very aware of is how annoying Yuu can be. In other words, he’d apply for a role on a big screen just to win a bet. Floryhan can’t let him further destroy his already not-so-good reputation, or it would be the end of both of them. “Don’t damage your image with an awful play – take some advice from a friend. Besides, if you were to act in a romantic film like The Beggar and Baker, I don’t know any sane man who’d want to play your lover. Nobody is so desperate that they’d endure that role.”
“I’ll ask my dear friend, Killian,” Yuu says, his smile stretching from ear to ear in the face of Floryhan’s indignation. “I’m sure he’ll be delighted to play my lover and tell me that I’m a far better kisser than Kayla.” Yuu leaves the living room without a word while Floryhan’s head processes what he just said.
“I beg your pardon?” Floryhan asks, even though she knows exactly what Yuu just said. She follows him, asking for explanations, but he pretends to hear nothing. “I don’t want to fight you, so you better stay away from Killian! If you don’t take me seriously, I’ll tell your uncle everything.”
Yuu loves how quickly Floryhan’s mood changes whenever he suggests getting closer with Killian. Sometimes, he wonders if the student emits some sort of pheromones women tune into, turning them into psychos. For his own sake, Yuu would rather not know the truth.
A psycho threatens to sell him out to his uncle with false rumours. Nice try. Fortunately, it won’t work as the bond between the uncle and nephew is strong enough to prevent a stranger from tarnishing Yuu’s angelic image. “He won’t believe you,” Yuu says, looking Floryhan in the eyes. “My uncle knows I’m the most innocent man alive and that I would never do anything to disappoint him.”
“You’re a liar!”
“Let’s go to bed!” Yuu suggests before grabbing Floryhan’s wrist and dragging her into his room. “We’ll talk about my career as an actor in the morning. Schedule a call with my beloved Monica and see what she thinks of this career change. I’m pretty sure she’ll support me. She’ll do her best to find the best scripts for me and get me cast as the lead character in films and tv shows.”
Yuu appreciates listening to other people’s opinions because it gives them the wrong impression that he cares about what they say – but he doesn’t. He’s very confident in his choices, and those who go against his opinion are automatically considered untrustworthy. Floryhan is exhausted from following this narcissistic pervert. Because of him, the entire industry avoids them like the plague, except for one man.
Thinking about him reminds Floryhan of Yuu’s bad idea to call him and play his lover if a director were crazy enough to wish him to play their lead character. She’s sick of Yuu. “One day, you’ll give Monica a heart attack.”
“She won’t be missed!” Yuu jokes.
“You are a horrible person, Mr Yuu Hartglove.”
After saying those words, Floryhan changes the subject and starts talking about the film that millions of fans around the world loved. Although she missed the ending, Floryhan still has several things to say about The Beggar and Baker, including the setting from the early seventies, the costumes, dialogues, makeup, the actors’ skill and the plot.
That night, Yuu regretted asking his employee to come over, which reminded him of his last dream. If someone asked him to choose between Floryhan and baby Jonathan – Ciarán for those who know him well – he’d rather welcome Ciarán home and take care of the child as if it were his own, than listen to Floryhan praise an awful film that paid to win awards.
THE END
