Chapter 17: HTSCF CH 016 I don’t believe in fate. (NSFW)

Beta: Stephanie

A/N: NSFW content in this chapter—the kind you’ve been waiting for! Ahem, just a teaser start to all the smut to come though.

In a milk tea shop, two men and one “girl” were sitting at a table huddled together. The man with platinum blond hair held out a fry to the “girl” and she opened her mouth to eat it, her lips lightly touching the man’s fingertips. The man licked his fingers before holding out another fry for the “girl.”

As for the other man, the black-haired one, he was too busy looking at his phone to catch this moment. When the “girl” asked him a question, he leaned in with a confused face, their cheeks almost touching.

“What’d you say, baby?”

Jun frowned and grabbed the phone out of Theodore’s hands and saw to his horror, a bunch of skimpy schoolgirl uniforms. At this rate, this pervert would be looking into sexy nurse’s outfits. 

“Interested?” Theodore asked. “Don’t worry, I looked up the school boy’s uniform too.” With a flick of his fingers, the browser screen changed to a selection of black blazers and pants.

“…” 

“Baby?”

Sighing, Jun massaged his temples. “I asked, who do you think is the murderer?”

“What murderer?”

“The one on the show ‘Sing to Survive!’”

“Isn’t it the evil spirit?”

|Dearest Host!!!|

|What? He got it right?|

|Um…|

|Half right, then?|

|This system has no comment!|

Jun rolled his eyes at System 00, then thought about it. If it was half the evil spirit, then it could only be the protagonist shou who was the other half—

Which meant that the murderer had gotten away with all the murders in the original plot. 

|Ding ding ding! Congratulations to Host on completing the Hidden Mission. As a reward, the lifetime protection period will begin once you complete the Main Mission.|

|So I still have to survive until I’m 19.|

|It’s just a couple of weeks, Host. You can do it! This system believes in you!|

|Yeah, but by the end of tomorrow, the variety show will end, and the protagonist shou will probably come after me. That’s fine and all, but how do I handle an evil spirit?|

|Maybe just throw Theodore at the spirit?|

|… You know, that’s not a bad idea.|

“That evil spirit, do you know who it was?”

Theodore thought about it, then slapped his hand on the table, startling everyone in the tea shop. “The singer who was strangled last year…”

“... Oh.”

Ezekiel avoided Theodore’s nasty scowl by awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. “I… As I said, I wasn't thinking properly…”

Theodore humphed and crossed his arms. “You better be thinking properly now.”

“Don't worry, I am.”

Later that night, Jun was asked the same question he’d been asked not too long ago.

“It’s almost your 19th birthday. What would you like?” Ezekiel placed a plate of sliced fruit in front of Jun and sat down on the chair on his right side. 

“Don’t say milk tea,” Theodore warned. 

Jun clamped his mouth shut to rethink what he wanted. After a while, he answered, “Let’s go traveling, the three of us.”

Compared to the previous world, where he was just attached to the two men for his survival, he had started to genuinely like them a little in this world.

“That sounds good.” Ezekiel smiled.

“What are you thinking of?” Theodore asked.

“Maybe a road trip? I’ve always wanted to go on one.”

“Let’s do it.” Picking up a sliced piece of fruit, Ezekiel placed it into Jun’s waiting mouth.

“What about you two? When are your birthdays and what do you guys want?”

Theodore laughed and pulled Jun onto his lap. “I just want you, baby. Let’s get married?”

“This again? We’re still dating!” Jun said with some indignation. Was this man’s mind only filled with marriage? Turning his face away from Theodore, Jun looked at Ezekiel expectantly.

“What about you, Zeke?” 

You are reading story Falling: How to Survive as a Cannon Fodder at novel35.com

When he heard the nickname, Ezekiel’s hand, which was holding a piece of fruit, shook and nearly dropped it. No longer hidden by contacts ever since Jun complimented his real eye color, his crimson red eyes were burning hot. “I…”

“What?” Jun looked at him with wide eyes, his face too tempting. 

(click spoiler for NSFW)

The plate of fruit had long been forgotten, and Jun slumped against Theodore’s chest, panting, his lips red and swollen with some bite marks. Theodore stood up and carried Jun into the master bathroom, Ezekiel following them in. There they touched him some more while helping him clean.

When it came time to sleep, they slept together on the king-sized bed in the master bedroom with Jun in the middle. Their sleep was very good that night. As for System 00, which had become desensitized to such activities, it had gone offline long ago and also had a good recharge.

The next day was a Sunday, and they decided to stay at home to watch the finale of ‘Sing to Survive.’ Jun was lying on the couch with his head on Theodore’s lap and his legs on Ezekiel’s thighs. Theodore was playing with his hair while Ezekiel was giving his legs and feet a massage. As expected, participant D was revealed to be the murderer and regardless of the lack of substantial evidence, he was taken away by the police despite imploring that it wasn’t him.

“Is the evil spirit still there?” Jun asked.

“Worried that it’ll come after you again?” Theodore leaned down to kiss his head and lips. While nodding, Jun yawned a little. He was still tired from the previous night’s activities. They hadn't gone all the way, and neither of the men could be satisfied with just one round of light touching. “Don’t worry, I’m here.”

Ezekiel squeezed Jun’s legs reassuringly, his eyes dripping with tenderness. “I’ll buy you some protective talismans.” Said the person who believed ghosts to be unscientific. 

With the variety show over, Jun started to plan out the road trip with Ezekiel and Theodore. Although Ezekiel had to return to work for a few days and do overtime to accommodate for the future time off, there was still Theodore by Jun’s side to protect him, not to mention all the hidden bodyguards that had been prepared. 

Jun felt that this world was much easier compared to the last one, and complained to the system that he should have been sent here first. 

|But dearest Host, I don’t control which world gets chosen. Also, did you forget that the zombie world wasn’t the first world?|

|…|

The night before Jun’s birthday, Ezekiel took him and Theodore to a high-class French restaurant to celebrate. In a reserved private room, they had a delicious meal and were savoring some wine—except for Jun, who had a specially prepared oolong milk tea—to complete the dinner. 

After drinking too much tea, Jun needed to use the restroom and excused himself.  Ezekiel and Theodore offered to go with him, but he wasn’t a girl, so he told them no. Besides, he had some protective talismans and a bodyguard to follow him, so it should be alright.

On his way back from the restroom, he bumped into a waiter and felt a slight pinching sensation on his arm. It reminded him of that mosquito bite from the zombie world. The waiter, whose face was hidden underneath his hair, recognized Jun and looked away. He muttered some things under his breath.

“Slut! … Doesn’t deserve Ezekiel… Who does he think he is…?”

The bodyguard wanted to go after the waiter, but Jun stopped him. It wasn’t the first time something like this happened. Jun took a second look at the disappearing back of the waiter before reentering the private room. He smiled at the two men wearing worried expressions.  “See? Nothing happened.”

For the remainder of the night, they drove to a private beach to have a late-night stroll. Under the moonlight, they talked about places they wanted to stop by during the road trip. When it neared midnight, Jun yawned and Ezekiel carried him back to the car and gently sat him down in the backseat. With lingering devotion, he kissed Jun’s closed eyelids.

“Happy 19th birthday.”

—

When Jun woke up and found himself floating around in space, he was confused.

“I died?”

“Yes, Host…” System 00 wasn’t as enthusiastic as usual, his wings drooping.

“So I failed? Then will I lose the memory fragment?”

“No, Host. Because you completed the Hidden Mission and weren’t able to claim the rewards, you can exchange it for a Redo. It’ll allow you to go back to a significant moment to change things. If not, you can exchange the rewards of the Hidden Mission for a Main Mission reward, the memory fragment of the world you just left.”

“Oh.”

“What would you like to do, dearest Host?”

“I…”

“If you need time to think about it, I can only allow a minute, or the reward will be void.”

“Only a minute…?”

Jun’s emotions were still unsettled. He had only fallen asleep to wake up and find himself dead, his mission failed. After a minute passed, he made his decision.

“I’ll accept the memory fragment.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to use a Redo, Host?”

“I’m sure.”

Though he had grown to like Ezekiel and Theodore in this world, part of him still couldn’t accept being loved by them as someone else’s shadow. That is why he could never go all the way with either of them. If in the next world, they appeared again, he would maybe open his heart to them completely…

“Would you like to view the newly retrieved memory fragment, the old one, or proceed to the next world?”

“I want to view the new memory fragment.”

“Alright, initializing the memory fragment from the world ‘Capturing that Tsundere CEO with my Voice’ in 30, 29, 28…”

—

A/N: I tried with the entertainment industry arc lol. Maybe it’s cause I’m not super fond of that kind of setting… Hope it was still alright! The next arc is much longer (probably because of excess smut lol). This chapter's title was inspired by the song “Superposition” by Young the Giant. Some lyrics:

I don't believe in fate

Nor psychic vision

But when things fall into place - superposition

In any universe you are my dark star

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