Ares

Ares has finally calmed down as the weeping outburst has subsided and now he sits beside Ravel on a nearby wooden bench. Ravel breaks the silence, asking if Ares is feeling better.

"Mhm," Ares responds quietly while his gaze is fixed on the ground below him.

“So, tell me everything from the beginning.”

“I was a new kid in a kindergarten and I was very fat, so other children ridiculed me. Looking back, I realize my personality was equally awful. Being the only child of a wealthy tycoon, I was spoiled and treated others disrespectfully," there is a touch of huge insecurity in Ares’ voice.

“I didn’t mean the beginning from that long ago… but continue,” Ravel lets Ares vent about his childhood.

“Except, there was just one kid in the whole kindergarten who accepted me for who I was and she was always kind to me, despite everybody telling her not to get involved with me…”

“Fantasia.”

“Yeah… I thought to myself that maybe my chubbiness was at fault, so I started playing football. And then explored martial arts. In a few years, my body transformed completely.”

Ravel's gaze briefly admires Ares' fit physique, silently acknowledging the result of his dedication.

“My family had to move to a different city so I lost contact with her. We moved frequently in my early childhood. Then, we returned to Bratislava for a year or so, and that’s when I discovered that we were attending the same elementary school. I watched her being bullied but I didn’t have the courage to face her or protect her… only this once, when an older boy wanted to hit her, so I stepped in.”

“Does she know? Did she recognize you?”

“No, I doubt that. I was so shy to talk to her that after I drove away the aggressor, I myself disappeared immediately. Shortly after, we had to move to another country due to my father's business. It was only last year when we settled here, and I was overjoyed to find out we were classmates. However, she continued to face bullying, and it pained me to witness it."

“Why didn’t you step in?”

“Because I’m… just a coward. I hated to be laughed at in my younger days and I was afraid everybody would make fun of me because I would be talking to that ‘monkey’ as those jerks labeled her… I watched her suffer in silence.” Ares confesses, his voice tinged with remorse.

“No, you’re wrong. She didn’t suffer. She’s strong, she can take care of herself when it comes to derogatory comments.” Ravel gazes up in the sky with a gentle smile.

“The one who made me realize the importance of not ignoring the bullies was you… Unique.”

“…”

“When I saw your determination to befriend her as you walked up to our classroom that day, I was taken aback. But on the other side… I felt anger. She never belonged to me. But you came to steal her from me. I wanted to be her g-guardian angel from the shadows.”

“Now look at you, how cool.” Ravel teases him but Ares doesn’t respond to it and continues.

“And so I thought I should start making some gestures, so that she could notice me somehow. It was around the time when my father decided to open the new Zoo here in Bratislava. And then it hit me. I decided to name the dolphins after you two because I thought it was cute and she would be happy.”

“What? Is that what you meant by that?? But you were mocking us when we met!”

"I wasn't mocking you. I'm just t-terrible at expressing myself, and my voice often trembles with shyness. So, I try to sound cold or tease people as a way to hide it."

“A guy who can speak well only when he’s an asshole. You’re unbelievable… I read the whole situation wrong.”

“I don’t blame you…”

“Hold on! But you called her a monkey at the zoo!”

“I was talking to you,” Ares pouts in embarrassment.

“Haaa? Why would you do that?”

“Because I resented you,” Ares keeps pouting.

“Haaa?? But why??”

“Weren’t you listening? You were trying to steal her from me!”

“Okay… but, what about Zinia?”

“My father tends to be very strict with me, often reminding me of our family status. When I excitedly showed him a photo of the girl I cared about on class photo day, he… he said that he forbids me from meeting such an ugly girl. And he randomly pointed at Zinia, saying that I should pursue someone as pretty as her…”

“Your dad’s a scumbag, you know that?” Ravel frowns after he has heard the ‘U’ word again.

“No, no, he’s not… he just wants what he thinks is the best for me… Regardless, I started dating Zinia because I found her very cute. But my dad, having learnt she comes from a poor family of farmers, was dissatisfied again. Only, this time I didn’t let him dictate my life and so I continued dating Zinia. I developed real feelings for her. Everybody thought she dated me because of our money but I knew better.”

Ravel acknowledges the complexities of navigating societal judgments concerning their girlfriends.

“When I saw Leanna performing the push-ups on stage, it reminded me of my dad stating I should look for a woman as strong as my mom is. But my mind always gravitated towards Fantasia whenever I heard the word ‘strong’.”

“So what about the bribes at the contest?” Ravel’s face gets more serious.

“I…” Ares’ eyes get flooded by tears again.

“You bribed the students for Fantasia’s sake, right?”

“Mhm,” Ares pouts.

“Why did you think it was a good idea?”

“I wanted to make her happy. Why do you think I’m crying like a little kid now that it was all in vain?”

“Damn, I’m completely lost here. Why would you go against your own girlfriend like this?”

"I knew Zinia would win! I just wanted to boost Fantasia's chances! I didn't care which one of them won; I just wanted both of them to be crowned Miss or Vice Miss!" Ares confesses, his desperation evident.

“You’re really hopeless… You do realize that what you’ve done is very wrong, right?”

“Yes…” Ares pouts again.

“How are you going to make it right?”

“I’ll give you 100 EUR if you keep silent about it,” he offers a 100 EUR bill to Ravel.

“Stop it you moron!”

“Then what should I do?? I even cut off the power source to make Fantasia shine!” Ares pleads.

Ravel takes a deep breath.

“Okay, in the end, no harm was done, because my perfect little princess has decided to withdraw, making the bribes redundant.”

“She saved me again from a complete catastrophe… I just couldn’t repay her if I lived a hundred lives…”

“Do you even know her?”

“Huh?” Ares looks at Ravel puzzled.

“She’d never want this. If you want to repay her, just be happy and kind. To her, to everybody. That’s what she cares about.”

Realization dawns upon Ares, and his eyes widen.

“You’re right… it’s… so simple… and here I am doing all these foolish things to make her happy…” he stands up and wipes away his tears. “Thank you, Unique!”

“Ravel, it’s Ravel,” Ravel corrects him, offering a warm smile.

“Okay, big bro Ravel! I… I’m sincerely sorry for hating you over such childish reasons. You’re a cool guy despite your appearance!”

“What’s that supposed to mean, you brat?” Ravel gets irritated. “Well, anyways, I know the love triangles can be complicated…”

“Love triangles? Do you love Zinia?”

“What?”

“What?”

A few seconds of awkward silence.

“Eh… Uhm… You love Fantasia, right?” Ravel asks as if he knew the answer already.

“Were you really listening to me? I do love her, but as a sister! I care deeply about her since she was the first person to ever be kind to me! But I have genuine feelings for my girlfriend Zinia! And you’re very lucky to date such a cutie pie like Fantasia!”

Did he call her ‘cutie pie’? Wow. There are people who don’t consider her unattractive at all. I’m so glad…

“Oh shit! Let’s hurry! Maybe we’ll make it to hear the final speech of Zinia!” Ares takes Ravel’s hand and sprints towards the vestibule.

In the end, we didn’t make it. But I’ve heard she had a remarkable speech about beauty standards. Zinia thanked everybody, including Fantasia who made her appreciate her true self. Zinia’s real beauty was ultimately proved by the votes of the people. She even said that her priority as the next Beauty Queen will be to redefine the whole contest according to my vision.

Kanade, as another strong contender, graciously accepted her loss. This time, she didn’t even rank second like she used to. But she congratulated to the winners along with Violet and Leanna.

There was a photo shooting at the end of the contest that I missed, but at least I didn’t spoil the photo for the six gorgeous girls.

CHAPTER 29: END