Desire Me If You Can-Chapter 86

The moment the locker room door opened, the other protagonist of the situation appeared. As soon as Grayson Miller walked in, everyone suddenly went silent and said nothing. Each person pretended to go about their business, turning their heads, but the cold silence proved that everyone was keenly aware of his presence.

"Hey, Miller."

Ezra was the only one to speak to Grayson. True to his reputation of being kind and friendly to everyone, he greeted Grayson with a smile, and Grayson responded with the same bright smile.

"Hey, Ezra. Good morning."

Hearing their casual exchange, Dein finished changing. He wondered, briefly, what Grayson would say if he knew about the commotion from earlier, but he had no intention of confirming it.

The previous day, Dein had gotten into a furious rage, gotten into his car, and immediately left the parking lot. He knew Grayson had stood motionless in the same spot until his figure was no longer visible in the rearview mirror.

The sight of Grayson standing still, motionless as he receded into the distance, had been chilling even in the midst of his own fury. He had been on guard, wondering if Grayson might follow him, but thankfully, that didn’t happen.

I’ve barely managed to deal with it. I hope I don’t mess everything up again.

Dein’s mood soured at the grim feeling that, with someone like Grayson, it could easily be made worse. Just then, Grayson turned his attention to the lockers, and the two of them faced each other.

For a moment, neither of them said anything. It was only a brief 2-3 seconds, but Dein was prepared for whatever reckless comment Grayson might make, ready to respond—whether it be shouting or a slap to the face.

Suddenly, his mind flashed back to Grayson’s face as he had stood by the car, and the cold feeling returned. Just then, something unexpected happened: Grayson smiled at him. He showed his perfect white teeth in a bright, wide smile.

"Hey, Striker."

Huh?

Dein paused, unsure. Everyone else was equally baffled. Those who had been quietly waiting with some suspicion blinked and focused their attention on them.

But nothing more happened. Grayson whistled, opened his locker, and began changing. Without saying anything, he prepared himself and walked out of the locker room.

It wasn’t until the door clicked shut that they all snapped back to reality, as though waking from a trance.

"Uh, hey..."

Someone nervously spoke up, and only then did another voice speak.

"Wait, did Dein and Miller really do a performance...?"

From that awkward remark, chaos erupted.

"Wait, it was really all just a performance?"

"Dein really did such good acting?"

"Ah, honestly, I thought it was a bit awkward. I guess acting isn’t really Dein’s thing."

"The awkward one was Miller. Dein’s acting wasn’t bad. I was fooled by Dein."

"So it really was nothing?"

"Ah, this is so anticlimactic..."

Amid the murmurs and sighs of relief, Dein was left dumbfounded, but one thing was clear: Because of Grayson’s sudden, unexpected behavior, this had truly turned into nothing more than a minor event.

Why Grayson Miller acted like that was something he couldn’t understand...

But do I even need to know? Dein reconsidered his thoughts. At least it was settled now, and maybe Grayson also thought it was a mistake later on. Even if he had no emotions, he would surely understand the importance of saving face.

After reaching his conclusion, he finished changing, closed his locker, and walked away. If this was all over, then that was fine. Of course, that was just Dein’s personal opinion.

It wasn’t over, though.

Outside, Grayson stood in front of the door, listening to the chatter coming from inside, his expression unreadable. He had clearly witnessed Dein’s intense reaction the day before. Grayson knew that standing still and watching him walk away meant realizing his approach had been wrong. He had fully reconsidered his plan after that, knowing this kind of behavior wasn’t the best way forward.

What was that all about yesterday?

Grayson continued his analysis, his mind cold. He couldn’t understand himself. Had he ever been unable to control himself to that extent? What had he been so angry about?

There was only one reason: it was because the other person was Dein Striker.

When it came to that man, he always lost his usual composure. But he couldn’t afford to let that happen. Grayson thought, walking away with large steps, determined.

To take that man, he would have to think more coldly than usual.

If he acted like nothing had happened, Dein would be caught off guard. There was still plenty of time. He put his hands in his pockets, whistling as he walked down the quiet hallway.

When that time comes...

Just imagining the shocked expression on Dein’s face made Grayson’s resolve harden. He kept whistling, walking down the silent corridor.

The Next Day

A bright blue sky and glaring sunlight poured down on a morning where firemen were bustling around beneath a man hanging from a high-rise window.

"Hey, make sure no one comes over this way. Keep the crowd away."

"Is the air mattress ready? Be on alert, he could fall!"

"Where are the police? They’re so slow."

Amid the shouting, Dein was moving quickly. The man hanging from above was still yelling something—whether asking for help or telling them to leave him alone, it was hard to tell. The firemen just kept doing their jobs, focused on their tasks. Among the chaos, there was, of course, one person who wasn’t doing anything.

"Miller, Miller!"

Wilkins shouted roughly, calling his name. He was burning with frustration because a reliable person like Grayson was just standing there doing nothing.

"Come on, help out here!" ƒreewebηoveℓ.com

He waved his hand, gesturing, but Grayson’s reaction was tepid at best. Ezra, unable to stand it anymore, shouted.

"Miller, what are you doing? Hurry up!"

Even as everyone called for him, Grayson remained indifferent. Diandre, who had been struggling to unfold the air mattress, shouted in frustration.

"What the hell are you doing, you asshole? What if he falls?"

It was an order to move quickly, but surprisingly, Grayson didn’t follow it. He just seemed annoyed, pretending not to care. Eventually, everyone gave up.

"Damn bastard, why the hell is he even here?"

Everyone agreed with Diandre’s curse. Dein, who had been quietly setting up the air mattress, glanced at Grayson with a frown but said nothing. Not at that moment.

Later

"If you’re this unmotivated, why don’t you just quit?"

After the man had been safely rescued and the group returned, one man spoke up. Grayson, sipping a drink, looked at him, and everyone’s attention turned to him. As if waiting for the /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ right moment, people started to speak up.

"You’re just a distraction, standing there like that."

"Why did you become a fireman? You should at least be doing something, right?"

"If you just wanted to watch, you didn’t need to play fireman."

Listening to the barrage of complaints, Grayson blinked and finally spoke.

"Why are you saying this to me?"

It wasn’t clear whether he was genuinely clueless or just playing dumb, and everyone grew more frustrated.

"People might die right in front of you, and you just ignore it. Isn’t that too much?"

"Don’t you think about what would happen if something happened to that person?"

Grayson, listening to the criticism, finally spoke up.

"Maybe he wanted to die."

At that moment, Dein, who had been watching silently, looked up. Everyone turned in shock to look at Grayson. Grayson smiled and added.

"Let people do what they want to do."

The previously noisy group fell silent all at once. In the cold silence, everyone thought the same thing.

What the hell did I just hear?

"...Look at me."

Suddenly, Dein stepped forward, grabbing Grayson’s arm. The rest of the group just stood there, watching them as they walked toward the empty space behind.