Harem Stealing System

Eiden instinctively ducked around the corner, his back pressed against the cold brick wall as his eyes tracked the familiar figure. Ruel. What the hell was he doing here? This wasn’t anywhere near the area he should be in. As far as Eiden remembered, Ruel didn’t live nearby. Was he... following him? Could Ruel somehow have picked up clues that Eiden was behind the leaked video? No, that didn’t seem possible. System-chan was leagues ahead of any hacker money could buy. She had assured him the leak was clean and untraceable. So what was Ruel doing in this neighborhood?

Eiden squinted at Ruel, who turned casually at the end of the street. He didn’t seem suspicious or hurried. If anything, he looked relaxed, almost bored. Eiden followed at a careful distance, blending into the background like a cautious tail in a spy movie. His thoughts were spinning in every direction, piecing together half-baked theories and worst-case scenarios. Maybe Ruel was just passing by. Maybe he had a friend in the area. Maybe Wait. No.

Eiden’s eyes widened. The direction Ruel was heading in it wasn’t random. It was too specific. He felt his stomach twist as the realization hit him. That was the street Lyra lived on. Panic surged in his chest like an electric jolt. Why would Ruel be going to Lyra’s house? Did he suspect something? Was he there to confront her for ignoring him lately? That seemed plausible. From what Eiden had observed, Lyra was likely the type to have been loyal and considerate to a fault, a girl who probably put up with Ruel’s selfishness for far too long. And now that she was pulling away, maybe Ruel couldn’t handle losing that control.

Eiden didn’t have time to sit and dwell. He pulled out his phone, eyes still locked on Ruel’s back, and dialed Lyra’s number. The ringing tone buzzed in his ear, tense and unforgiving. After a moment, she picked up. "Hello?" she said brightly, her voice almost bringing Eiden a sense of calm. But before he could say anything, both of them froze.

Because Lyra was now standing just ahead.

And so was Ruel. "Shit," Eiden hissed under his breath, crouching lower behind the parked car. He was too late. Ruel had already spotted her, and she had spotted him in return. Lyra stood frozen with the phone still pressed to her ear, her bright expression from earlier now completely gone. Her smile collapsed into something anxious and visibly shaken. Eiden gritted his teeth as he watched Ruel close the distance with that same fake smile.

Ruel stopped right in front of her and opened his arms as if expecting a warm reunion. "It’s been a while," he said with forced warmth. But Lyra stepped back, her discomfort plain and sharp. Her body language screamed her unease. She avoided his eyes, shrinking from his presence, and barely gave a nod in response. Ruel’s smile faltered, a twitch in the corner of his mouth betraying the annoyance brewing beneath the surface.

"You don’t believe the rumors, do you?" he asked, a note of disbelief slipping into his tone. "You know it’s all made up, right? Just some trashy edit made by one of my dad’s business rivals to frame me." He spoke quickly, trying to inject sincerity into every word. "It’s fake, Lyra. Come on, you know me."