章 7: Chapter 7 : Fault lines
[Renji Vale – POV]
There were few things in the world Renji Vale couldn't control.
Markets. Negotiations. Governments. Tech rivalries. He was known for bending entire nations' medical policies to favor ValeTech hardware.
But today?
He'd just watched a sixteen-year-old boy dismantle his best project—Kieran Yusef—with nothing but precision, empathy, and a system Renji hadn't even built.
And worse?
He hadn't looked away once.
From Lior.
Not when his fingers danced through the AVM.
Not when his brows furrowed in silent, soft concentration.
Not even when the room erupted in applause and Renji felt something sharp and private twist inside him.
Pride.
Protectiveness.
And a dangerous kind of affection that had no place in his world.
---
[Back in the Observation Lounge]
"Why him?"
Renji turned slowly.
Kieran stood in the doorway, fury coiled beneath every word.
"I've done everything you asked," Kieran said, stepping forward. "Years of training. Night simulations. Surgical trials. No errors."
"You're still excellent," Renji replied, calm. "Today was one simulation."
"It's not about the simulation," Kieran snapped. "It's about you. You've never looked at me the way you looked at him."
Renji's eyes narrowed. "Kieran—"
"No, let's be honest. He walks in with a mystery system and a face like it belongs in a museum, and suddenly you give him full access? Emotional clearance? I built my place here."
"You built it on ego," Renji said coolly. "Lior's building something else."
Kieran laughed, bitter. "You're falling for him."
Silence.
Renji didn't flinch. He just met Kieran's gaze and said softly—
"I'm not falling."
"…You're already gone."
---
[Lior – Later That Night]
Lior sat at his desk, staring at his system's reward page.
> [Quest Complete: Defeat Kieran Yusef]
[Rewards Unlocked: NeuroHawk Counterpatch Installed | Strategic Planning Lv.1]
[New Affection Stat Unlocked: "Renji Vale – Trust: 26% | Curiosity: 44% | Emotional Instability: 6%"]
He blinked.
"Emotional instability?"
> [Yes. Subject: Renji Vale.]
> [Note: His neural scan during your simulation showed erratic cortisol fluctuations and elevated oxytocin levels.]
Lior stared.
"Are you saying… he's emotionally affected by me?"
> [Correct.]
He leaned back slowly. Flushed.
"…That's insane."
But he didn't close the window.
Because part of him—quiet and cautious—had noticed too.
The way Renji had looked at him in the elevator last week.
The subtle brush of fingers when he handed him a neural stylus.
The softness in his voice when he said: "Don't let Kieran shake you."
Lior wasn't naive.
He'd always thought love was for later. After he became someone.
But Renji Vale had already noticed the someone he was becoming.
And that scared him more than any simulation.
---
[Elsewhere – Kieran]
Kieran threw the neural stylus across his suite, shattering the wall display.
"Beautiful little liar," he muttered. "Acting like he's just here to learn."
His system pinged.
> [New Objective: Override Lior Ahn's Neural Data Access Protocol]
Kieran's eyes glowed amber in the reflection.
"You don't get to take my place and my mentor."
"I'll take you apart neuron by neuron, pretty boy."
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