Arthur woke up from the sound of laughter and drums resonating from the streets. Still feeling groggy from his usual nightmare, he walked out half-asleep only to see the two maids already outside, calmly cleaning vegetables and fish under the bright and sunny sky. Then, a loud bang was heard.

The door of the main house flew open and startled both Arthur and Duy Anh, who had probably opened it with more strength than he intended to. He was quite visibly flustered by his unusual rash action as a rosy blush appeared on his cheeks. It was true that it had surprised Arthur, who wasn’t used to see Duy Anh act in any other way than delicately and with grace, with his clothes perfectly straight and clean and his hair smoothly falling on his shoulders. The man at the front door didn’t have his usual smile but an unreadable expression with slightly frowned brows and hair messily swept back. Even his clothes didn’t look as perfect as they usually do. The sight made Arthur speechless for a moment—and not particularly in a bad way.

Duy Anh quickly recollected himself, passing his fingers through his hair to brush them back to their smooth state and giving quick nods to both Arthur and the maids as the maids gave him a monotone, quick “good morning”. Arthur still stared at him with his mouth open, without a word, as Duy Anh rushed outside with his head down.

Out of habit, Arthur followed him like a duckling would follow the mother duck, waddling in small steps behind. Duy Anh had stepped outside and almost immediately disappeared in the crowd of citizens lining up in the street.

Women, elders and children were excitedly moving around on tippy toes as to see through the sea of people moving forward. It reminded Arthur of the crowd of people trying to take pictures of parades in amusement parks, it was the same noisy laughs and excited screams, as well as people looking up and far like meerkats.

It didn’t take long for the sound of drums and yells to grow louder and closer while the people hurriedly stepped aside to form two lines on each side of the street (exactly like for the parade, Arthur thought). From afar, some men marching with big flags and others riding horses appeared, walking towards them. They must have been the men Binh had talked about the day before; it must be a great event for it to be this flashy.

Everyone started to clap or scream, throwing flowers up in the air giving the streets an air of festival. It was so lively that even Arthur’s lip corners naturally lifted up into a smile (even if he wasn’t quite sure what was happening and why he should be happy about it). It was a nice day for a joyous event.

Sometimes, he would see women and children running towards some of the men, taking them in a warm embrace or gifting them a flower or two. The men looked proud and happy, walking through the crowd and waving their arms to greet each person. It wasn’t hard to tell that those people were soldiers, given their fancy outfits and the swords tied to their waist. The flags and horses were also a great indication, of course. So the people who came up to them must be their loved ones, Arthur thought. What a touching event!

For Arthur, it was also very fascinating: even more than civilians, those people looked like epic heroes from period dramas and video games!! The carefully crafted robes, armors and weapons, as well as the extravagant celebratory flags and drums, it all looked like it was taken right out of a fantasy. He had never dreamed of seeing such a vivid display of historical clothes before.

What he was the most surprised about was how colorful it was: hues of red, orange, yellow, blue and green adorned the soldiers’ fancy clothes and armor. The scale-like metal plates and details also reminded Arthur of dragons, making him proud of his name Hai Long, “Sea Dragon”. Although he wasn’t born in this era nor country, he felt the pride of being Vietnamese and having some sense of camaraderie thanks to his name. It was a fiery and pleasant feeling, one that made him scream cheers for people he hadn’t even known.

“They’re so cool”, Arthur thought.

As the cavalrymen passed by, flowers and petals were thrown left and right, looking like confetti falling from the sky. Arthur looked at them, following them with his gaze until it fell onto a rushing Duy Anh who took his breath away.

Like a scene taken out of a movie, his long hair and silk sleeves flowed gently behind him as he took a step outside of the crowd, the petals falling as if they were in slow-motion, the sun shining behind him to highlight the dramatic moment. His flushed face and wide-opened eyes made him look like the protagonist of a young romance movie.

He passed through the marching men who all glanced at him with a surprised but smiling face, before stopping next to one of the cavalry men who visibly slowed down as he saw Duy Anh walk through the crowd.

The man was riding an elegant and imposing white horse, sitting with his back straight and both a bow and sword tied around him. There was no doubt that the man looked impressive and quite prince-like. Actually, looking at his face, he had everything of a prince. When Duy Anh got closer and the two locked eyes, the rider took his helmet off, revealing his handsome face to all. He was a young man, probably around Duy Anh and Arthur’s age, with deep-set amber eyes and thin, dark brows. Although a few drops of sweat were visible on his tan skin, he didn’t look greasy but had that masculine kind of beauty (or something along those lines, according to Arthur). Anyone, men, ladies or nonbinaries, could tell the man was handsome. Even Arthur could only gasp and stare in wonder.

At first, the two didn’t say much and only looked at each other—as if the time had stopped. In reality, Duy Anh didn’t plan it and had acted without thinking; and now he his mind grew blank. It seemed like none of them really expected it nor knew what would happen, actually. But now, the whole street was there to look at them, how embarrassing.

Duy Anh brushed a strand of hair away from his face as he finally spoke. “Tuan...welcome back. I’m glad you’re safe.”

The handsome back also timidly brushed away the stray strands of hair stuck on his forehead. “Yes, I’m back...hello.”

Needless to say, Arthur was quite puzzled by this awkward yet kira-kira (1) atmosphere.

What’s up with those two?

1. Means sparkling or shiny (and other synonyms) in Japanese; used here in reference to the sparkles seen in manga scenes or light shining in climax scenes in rom-com series, particularly in Asia