The Bad Boy's Dirty Little Secret BL Chapter 78: Unnoticeable Change

Kai’s P.O.V

Now that the Campus Hotshot contest was just around the corner, all the participants and the student council—myself included in both those categories—were working extra hard, all preparations in full swing.

As hectic as it was for me as a contestant, I could tell it was no less difficult for the other student council members themselves as well—I barely saw Tina and Yim in one place, and Zach was basically playing octopus, trying to have 8 limbs functional enough to do almost everything.

Okay, maybe that wasn’t a very poetic analogy, but I digress.

Anyway, the latest batch of photos was to be shot later in the evening inside the Main College Auditorium. The University Principal had called us in for a meeting this morning and according to him, the magazines that we were to sell at the event consisting of all the photos, needed to be top notch because that was going to contribute to a large portion of the funds for the Council for this year.

Not that nearly half the funds would be going back to the Uni itself for printing cost and what not, but the profit seemed to be higher than last year already. And how could I tell that? Well…the preorder list was endless on the website and we had almost sold out on early postcards, so it was a no-brainer that the actual even was going to be wild.

To oversee the props and decorations of the set, Zach and I had the logistics committee under our care. Meanwhile, Tina and Yim were in charge of getting some of the volunteers to help settle the clothes to be worn by the contestants into the makeshift changing rooms.

“A little to the left,” I said, gesturing with my hand, though I knew they couldn’t really see it, with their backs to me and the heavy props in their hands. “Aaand, that’s perfect. Thank you. Now could you guys put those curtains into place?”

I particularly like these volunteers assigned to me; they executed instructions well and never complained, even having helpful suggestions on their own. Perhaps I should recruit them into the council for the next term…

“Hey.” Someone tapped my shoulder, and when I turned, it was Zach. He stood next to me with his arms crossed, eyes following my gaze on the volunteers that were installing the curtains I asked them to.

“What?” I asked, putting my checklist aside.

“Do you know what’s wrong with Ruby?” he asked. “She’s not picking up her phone or responding to the emails I sent about tonight’s photoshoot. And when I had to request their submission for their final looks for the competition, all the girls complied except for Ruby. Did something happen to her? She’s not in any serious danger or anything, is she?”

I sighed. Seriously, this woman was already in college, but why does it seem like she never grew up? Even after all the shit she tried to pull through over the last few months, she still got away with it and most of us tried to forgive her for her drama and move past her mistakes.

But no matter how many chances she is given, she turns out to be that one thorn that we can never truly rip out from our soles.

“She’s being difficult on purpose,” I told him. “She wants Night to suffer, but I don’t think she’ll jeopardize her own chance in the competition for that. She’ll show up, eventually.”

That got Zach’s attention, and he turned to face me, one eyebrow raised. “Did you have a fight or something that could have led to this? Man, if you did, how about you two just kiss and make-up, huh? I don’t want any trouble during the contest.”

I frowned at his comment, shaking my head. “Zach, you know I don’t appreciate it when you joke about me and Ruby anymore. We broke up a long time ago, and I want nothing to do with her now. How many times do I have to tell you that so it gets through your thick skull?”

Zach’s smile dropped immediately. “I was only joking, Kai,” he said, holding up his hands in surrender. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”

I clicked my tongue, clearly not convinced. “I don’t like this kind of joke, okay? So just don’t.” I returned my attention to the volunteers I was previously supervising; they had already finished installing the curtains and were now waiting for other orders. “Thanks for this, guys. You can go ask Tina and Yim if they need any more help. I can take it from here.”

When they left, I found Zach studying me with a frown on his face.

“What?” I asked, feeling a bit self-conscious. “Was there something on my face?”

“No.” Zach sighed, crossing his arms across his chest. “I have just been noticing the way you changed, you know.” His brows were still furrowed in the middle. “You don’t joke and have fun the way you used to. You were so happy-go-lucky only a few months back, but now you just go with your own flow. I feel like, sometimes…I just don’t understand you anymore.”

The thought behind his words were familiar, and with a start I realized it was strikingly familiar with what my mom had also told me recently. Perhaps I really had changed, and I just didn’t notice it.

I nodded, sighing as I crossed my arms over my chest as well. “Maybe I really have changed,” I shrugged, “but honestly, I feel more at ease with the way that I am right now, and truthfully, I have no intention of going back to the way that I was before. I feel like I was kinda a dick back then.”

Zach did not respond, only kept on looking at me with blinking eyes. Maybe he didn’t know what to say or maybe he was just pondering my words? I didn’t know, but I could tell that my words had put him in deep thought.

“Yeah…” he answered after what felt like an eternity. “You kinda were a dick back then. Now though…I don’t know. I guess I’ll have to deal with the new you for another year to get the hang of it.”

I sighed again. “How about this… if it makes you feel better, you’ve got nothing to worry about. Even if I am no longer in contact with Ruby anymore, I also know without a doubt that she is simply testing our patience by being difficult to deal with.”

“Isn't that gonna be a problem?” He raised his eyebrows at me, fixing his glasses.

I leaned closer to him. “Nope,” I whispered, almost conspiratorially. “Even if she is being difficult now, that doesn’t mean that she would choose not to show up and try to sabotage the show, because if there’s anything I learned about her during our time together, it’s that she likes to win, and she would try any trick possible to keep her place. And you and I both know that last year’s winner would not want to give up her crown so easily.”