The Blue Eyes

Surprisingly, Kevin told his foster parents about Fredy Lowell, the one who owned the mining company related to the abandoned mine in Chilad District.

Kris couldn't predict his lover at all. He had been in Kevin's side for a long time, but his lover often surprised him with unexpected things.

He still remembered how Kevin played with his own strategy when they were meeting Julia some time ago. Kevin's idea was indeed brilliant, but Kris was a bit disappointed because his lover didn't inform him about the idea beforehand.

Just like what happened tonight when Kevin suddenly revealed about Fredy Lowell in front of the adoptive parents. Yes, the scientist only mentioned the name without additional details, but it still surprised Kris.

Kris knew that his lover planned to make a query about Fredy Lowell, but he didn't expect that tonight would be the time. They only planned a dinner tonight, not planning for the investigation. Kris couldn't help but feel puzzled by his lover's behavior.

Kevin had uttered the name, and his foster parents looked surprised upon hearing the name. However, Charlotte decided to interrupt by saying that the heated conversation needed a break. They needed to eat dinner first before continuing their discussion about Fredy Lowell.

Benjamin looked like he was about to argue with his wife, but then the said wife dangerously glared at him, and the husband could only swallow his protest. He could never win over his wife.

Kevin always loved to see his foster parents' relationship. They were no longer young, but they were still lovely toward each other as if they were just married for a month or two.

The young scientist felt lucky to have them. When his biological parents didn't have a good relationship, he now had foster parents that could be an example. He hoped that he and Kris would be like his foster parents in the future.

"What do you want to eat, Kev? I'll fill your plate."

Kevin went back from his reverie upon hearing his lover's question. He blinked his eyes at his lover before answering, "Just as usual, Kris. You can pick my favorite food for me."

Kevin casually answered, and Kris nodded his head without further ado.

Benjamin and Charlotte, who were sitting opposite to them, observed their interaction quietly.

"Kris is indeed whipped," Charlotte comment as she giggled. "But, it's Kris who serves for Kevin, right? That means... Kris is the bottom?"

Kris, who was taking some vegetables onto Kevin's plate with a fork, dropped the fork after hearing Charlotte's question. He was shocked, but the next sound he heard was Kevin's laughter.

"You even know the 'bottom' terms, Mom?" Kevin asked his mother in amusement. "Do you think Kris is suitable for the bottom role?"

He could feel Kris glaring at him, but he ignored the man and kept staring at his mother, waiting for his mother's reply.

"Kris looks so gentle and tender, so I think he will be a perfect bottom."

Kevin's laughter got louder upon hearing his mother's statement. Kris kept glowering at him, but he just returned the glare with his playful gaze.

"Kris looks gentle and tender, Mom? Oh! You just don't know his true color. He often hurt my body because he's too rough. He is far from gentle and tender."

Now, Kris's face turned crimson. How could his lover become so shameless all of a sudden?

The parents looked awkward again, and the father cleared his throat to neutralize his feelings. "You are too vulgar, Kevin. You shouldn't have said something like that about your private life," said Benjamin.

Kevin looked calm when the other three looked embarrassed, and he just realized his mistake. He immediately blushed.

"Uh, that's not what I meant, Dad. I meant, Kris often forced me to exercise, and his exercise program often hurt my body. That's what I meant, Dad."

Kevin felt very stupid because of what he said earlier. He did mean to talk about Kris' exercise program, but it seemed he used the wrong words, which misled the three people and ended up humiliating him.

The three of them gave him a skeptical look, and Kevin's face grew even redder.

"I was telling the truth! I'm not that shameless to talk about vulgar things!"

Kevin's adorable response was able to bring a burst of cheerful laughter in the dining room. It was the first time they were laughing together even if without Kevin, and the atmosphere turned warm right away.

Kevin, who became a laughing stock, felt relieved even though he just embarrassed himself in front of his adoptive parents. He was happy because he felt complete now. He had a lover, father, and mother, and they were all having a great time together now.

They continued their dinner in silence. It was a comfortable silence as they occasionally chatted with each other in the middle of eating together.

Until finally, dinner time was over, and they moved to the living room again to resume their conversation.

"Why did you suddenly ask about your uncle, Kev?"

Fredy Lowell was the younger brother of his adoptive father, but Kevin was not used to the word uncle to address the man. When he heard his father question him like that, he seemed a bit uneasy.

"How is Uncle Fredy doing now, Dad? The last time I saw him was five years ago, I guess?"

Kevin was confident that he didn't remember it wrong, but he decided to use a questioning tone when he replied to his father's question.

"The last time you saw him was five years ago, and that was the last time I saw him too. It was embarrassing to say it in front of Kris too, but I stopped communicating with my brother five years ago."

Both Kevin and Kris were stunned when they heard the father's statement.

"You know that my relationship with your uncle is not good, right, Kev? We are blood-related, but our minds are not related at all. I was a scientist many years ago, and my concern is about environmental sustainability. Meanwhile, your uncle's business is not environmentally friendly. That's why I don't have a good relationship with him."

Kevin had known about it for a long time. Benjamin was a scientist who cared about the environment many years ago, while Charlotte was more focused on research on humans when she was a scientist around the same period as Benjamin.

Benjamin and Fredy were related by blood, but it seemed that one of them stood at the north pole and the other at the south pole. No matter how thick the blood that connected them, they still stood far apart from each other.

"But you had not answered my question yet, Kevin. Why did you suddenly ask about him? And, you told us earlier that you are currently investigating him, right?"

Kevin glanced at Kris for a moment and didn't immediately answer his father's question. He knew that he shouldn't believe in anyone so easily, but Kevin had known his foster parents for ten years. He knew more than anyone about his foster parents, and he believed that they were innocent.

That was why he planned to tell a small part of their investigation to his foster parents. Yes, only a small part because he still needed to observe his foster parents more so that he wouldn't make a reckless decision.

"It's just a small investigation, Dad. You don't have to worry about it," Kevin replied. "We happened to learn about an abandoned mine in Chilad District, and when we looked for more information about it on the internet, we know that the abandoned mine was under Blacoal Company. Do you know about that, Dad?"

Kevin carefully asked his father, and the father didn't look surprised by his question.

"Yes," Benjamin answered calmly. "That project in Chilad is one of the reasons why I stopped communicating with Fredy."

Kevin was stunned, and Kris was no different. Both young men stared at the older man in confusion.

"What do you mean, Dad?" The young scientist questioned his father again.

He could see his father sigh before answering, "Five years ago, Fredy told me about his plan to start a project in Chilad. He told me about the details including the location, and from the information, I knew that the area was a forest where so many animal and plant species lived there. I was against the idea back then, but he was so stubborn to continue the idea."

Five years ago was the period when he and his foster parents met Fredy for the last time. Now he understood why his foster parents stopped communicating with the brother five years ago. It seemed Benjamin was so upset with his brother.

"But that's not the only reason I was so angry with Fredy back then, Kev."

Kevin could hear his father continue his speech, and he looked up at his father again.

"Fredy also told me that he wouldn't restore the mine because he had agreed to sell the fragmented overburden material to someone powerful in this country."