CHAPTER 71: COMPETING FOR THE TWIN’S ATTENTION

"Hey, Mr. Bear... are you trying to flirt with my mom?"

Rome almost chuckled inside his costume when he heard Egypt’s bold little voice.

He turned his oversized bear head toward her.

Despite Egypt and Paris looking almost identical, he could already tell who was who just by their personalities—Egypt’s fiery, expressive face gave her away instantly.

A smile crept across his face under the costume.

There was something so heartwarming about seeing them in the morning like this—so full of life and innocence. And that gift Egypt had given him earlier? He’d definitely keep it.

In fact, he was already planning to frame it and consider it their first family picture together.

Rome shook his head at Egypt’s question, gesturing a playful no, no, no with his paws.

"Oh, come on," Egypt said, crossing her arms, not buying it. "You did a flying kiss. People only do that when they like someone."

Paris snorted softly from behind her flowers. "She’s got a point."

Rome tilted his head like a confused bear, pretending not to understand, and even mimed blowing a kiss to Paris instead, as if to say, See? It’s nothing.

Paris laughed. "Hey! Now he’s flirting with me too!"

Egypt narrowed her eyes dramatically. "Hmm... suspicious." She leaned in closer to the bear’s face. "Don’t think you can fool me, Mr. Bear."

Before Rome could come up with another playful gesture, Sylvia quickly stepped forward and covered Egypt’s mouth with her hand.

"S-sorry about this kid," she said with an embarrassed laugh. "She’s just... a little too straightforward sometimes. Please, don’t mind her."

"I’m just asking him if he likes you—mhhmm!" Egypt tried to protest from behind her mom’s hand.

Sylvia rolled her eyes but smiled. "Paris, let’s go now—we’re going to be late for class. Come on."

Paris gave Mr. Bear one last polite smile. "Thanks for the flowers and chocolates, Mr. Bear."

Rome nodded warmly before watching them head toward the school gates.

Even after they disappeared into the crowd of students, he found himself still smiling behind the costume, his heart unexpectedly light.

He glanced down at the folded drawing tucked carefully in his paw—three figures holding hands with a big bear in the middle.

He traced the lines of the sketch with the paw of his costume, a faint tightness in his chest. "First family picture, huh?" he murmured softly to himself.

----

On the other hand...

"Hey, Alfonso. Do you think that bear man is strange?"

Alpheus asked while his gaze has been fixed since earlier outside the glass wall of his office.

Their office is surrounded by glass panels, and it is situated close to the main gate of the school. From where they are, they have a clear view of everything happening just beyond the gates.

And right now, the sight in question is hard to ignore—the man in the bear costume standing there like he has nothing better to do, as if he is always waiting for someone.

It isn’t the first time either. It was the same yesterday.

Sylvia, along with a few other parents, have already voiced their concern earlier this morning. The bear man has been handing out free ice cream, balloons, and little treats to kids.

While that might seem harmless at first glance, the idea that a stranger is freely giving things to children makes some parents uneasy.

What if he has ulterior motives? What if he is only pretending to be friendly?

"Why? Are you already thinking about having him removed?" Alfonso asks lazily from the sofa, barely looking up from his phone.

"He doesn’t look like a bad bear to me. He even gave the twins a gift—so maybe he just finds them adorable."

Alpheus turns to look at him, disbelief written all over his face.

"That’s exactly the reason why I’m suspicious! Can’t you see? He seems like he’s always waiting for someone to come out of that gate. And then, just earlier, he gave the twins flowers and chocolates? That just makes him more suspicious. Maybe it’s the twins he’s after."

"If you’re that concerned," Alfonso says with a yawn, "why don’t you just talk to him? He doesn’t look dangerous to me. Or you could just remove that big bear head of his and see who he really is. That way, you can stop overthinking."

Then, without another glance outside, Alfonso goes back to scrolling through the manhwa on his phone, completely uninterested in the matter.

Alpheus clicks his tongue in irritation. Tsk. What great advice from someone like Alfonso.

Why, of all his friends, does he end up stuck with this one right now?

Alfonso is the laziest person in their circle—someone who thinks most things in life are a waste of energy... unless it has to do with the twins. That is the only time Alfonso will bother to move.

And right now, judging from the way he is lounging there, Alfonso clearly doesn’t see this bear man as a threat at all.

Beep... beep...

Alpheus’s gaze shifted back outside when a familiar expensive car pulled up by the curb, entered the school gate, and parked just outside near his office.

He already knew the owner of the car—it was none other than Dave. And knowing Dave, he was probably with Calyx, who was practically his twin at this point, since the two were always glued together.

Now, Alpheus couldn’t help but regret allowing their car to freely enter the school grounds. Next time, he would make sure to give the guard strict instructions not to let any vehicle in except his own and Alfonso’s.

And speaking of the devil, just as he expected, Dave stepped out of the driver’s seat a moment later with Calyx, the two of them looking as if they were just casually out for a stroll.

Together, they made their way toward his office.

It didn’t take long before knocks came from the other side of his office door.

Alpheus, however, felt far too tired to deal with them right now.

Ever since he got this office at the twins’ school, it seemed like Dave and Calyx had found themselves a new hideout. Unfortunately for him, their "hideout" always coincided with their attempts to catch a glimpse of the twins.

"Yo, yo! What’s up, guys!"

Calyx’s voice came cheerfully from outside—right before the door swung open without waiting for an invitation.

Apparently, those few knocks were just a courtesy. Since the door wasn’t locked, Calyx walked right in as if the office belonged to him, striding across the room before flopping down onto the couch directly across from Alfonso.

Neither Alpheus nor Alfonso even bothered to acknowledge Calyx.

"What’s with your school, Alpheus?" Dave asked as he stepped inside. "Did you hire a bear man now to entertain the kids?"

Alpheus’s expression brightened almost instantly. Finally—someone was bringing it up.

Maybe he wouldn’t be the only one suspicious about this.

"No. That bear man is someone we don’t even know. He just showed up here yesterday, and now the kids immediately love hanging out with him."

Dave raised a brow before dropping himself onto the sofa beside Calyx. "Oh, so he’s just a guy who loves kids, then."

Alpheus frowned instantly. Dave didn’t even get his point.

"No. The kids like him because he’s giving away free treats. That’s what’s alarming. What if he has bad intentions toward the kids?"

The room went quiet for a moment, then all three pairs of eyes landed on Alpheus.

"Wow," Calyx drawled, leaning back with his arms spread on the couch. "So you love kids now?"

"That’s what I noticed too. He keeps on mentioning the bear man outside like some jealous dad because the kids love the bear man," Alfonso said lazily.

"Pfftt—what? Haha... wow, you’ve definitely changed, Alpheus," Calyx teased. "Feels like it was just yesterday you couldn’t stand your own nieces because they were too noisy. Now look at you—acting like a protective father."

Alpheus rolled his eyes. "Tsk. Idiot. You don’t get it. This bear man is suspicious. It’d be fine if he was just giving treats to kids in general, but he’s giving too much attention to the twins."

"Twins? You mean Rome’s twins?" Dave’s interest piqued instantly.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, the twins got a balloon from him. In return, Egypt gave him something—I’m not sure what it was, but based on his reaction, it was definitely special. And now, apparently, even he is competing with us for the twins’ attention—"

"What? That bear dared to get something from them?!" Calyx cut in, incredulous. "We’ve been hanging around for weeks trying to get the twins’ attention and never got anything, and he gets one in a day? That’s... that’s unfair."

Dave snorted. "You’re jealous of a guy in a bear costume?"

"I’m not jealous," Calyx shot back immediately, crossing his arms. "I’m just saying, it’s suspicious. And also rude."

Dave turned back to Alpheus. "So what do you want us to do?"

A slow, satisfied smirk spread across Alpheus’s face. Finally—he had their full attention. Even Alfonso, who had been scrolling lazily through his phone earlier, was now leaning forward to listen.

"Well, what else?" Alpheus said. "We need to find out who’s under that mask. For all we know, he could be some creep planning to kidnap the kids later... or maybe just some random person Rome hired to spy on them. Either way, we figure out who he is, and we figure out his real intentions."

Dave leaned back on the sofa. "Alright. But we need a plan first. No charging in and tackling a bear in front of kids."

Calyx pointed at Dave. "Yeah. We need a plan. Also, if we catch him, I call dibs on keeping whatever gift the twins gave him."

"Calyx," Alfonso finally muttered without looking up from his phone, "you’re missing the point here."

"No," Calyx said stubbornly. "I’m just prioritizing what should have been ours."