CHAMPION | NCT

o38

C H A P T E R
T H I R T Y - E I G H T

"How was the city?" Yuta asked me.

"Exactly as we left it," I answered. "The only thing missing is that their precious prince is not there."

The man beside me scoffed, the side of lips stretching to form a huge grin. "Prince," he said the name with disgust. "More like the prize of their neverending hunt."

"You really think you're a trophy that people wanted to win?"

"Not a trophy. A medal," when he said those words, he was eyeing the Champion's medal I was wearing. Then he raised a brow, "Not like I'm complaining at who's the winner though. You already won the prize."

If we were in a different setting, he could've made me blush. But being the Champion wasn't exactly winning Yuta over, it's like you're taking the oath to protect him. And it's similar to throwing yourself to a pack of wolves.

"What were you doing while I wasn't around?" I asked, simply out of curiosity.

"Why are you asking me that when you don't even want to tell me what you're doing at the city?"

Goodness. This boy couldn't get any less cocky every single time.

"We went to Phase 13 to gather some information."

"Whose?"

"Hendery."

"And?"

"His real name is Wong Kunhang," I admitted.

"Wong," he said with a confused tone. "Wong as in Wong Yukhei?"

"Perhaps," I cleared my throat. "But the rest of his data were locked. We couldn't gain access to it," I lied. Ten wouldn't be pleased if he finds out that I told Yuta about the cloning.

"After that, we went to another phase to shop for clothes, then headed to Phase 3 to eat--"

"Who's we?" Yuta asked.

I swallowed. "Me and Ten."

Yuta raised a brow. "Sounds like a date to me."

"Define date," I said.

"A romantic appointment with someone," Yuta replied dryly.

"Define romantic."

"A pain in the head."

It wouldn't be flirting with Yuta without getting an insult. I supposed this was his way of showing that he cares.

"Will you still call it a date if we ate with your mom and dad?" I added, glancing over my left side to catch a glimpse of the expression on his face.

"Was it a lovely invitation?" he asked instead, dodging my question from earlier. "Were they able to treat their Champion that they had been seeking for fairly? They've been desperate since this stupid tradition started, yet they still weren't satisfied."

"Do you think they're satisfied of me?" I wondered.

"If their son is, then I'm pretty sure they are too."