CHAPTER SEVEN;
boy, can i be honest?
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His birthday party was destined for disaster right from the beginning, it seemed, Neil thought as he stared blankly at the unfolding chaos before him.
Sure, it was partially — very partially, that is — his own fault.
His relentless optimism had gotten him into trouble before, and this time, his birthday planning had been no exception. His logic? Simple: Hey, they’re all alphas, right? Maybe they would get along with all those strong hormones always floating around them.
But noooo, they just had to fight each other, Neil wailed internally as he forced a smile that made him look more like a lunatic than a saint. His eyebrows were twitching so fiercely they might as well sprout wings and fly off his face in terror.
“You don’t deserve Neil, you little bitch! You think you can buy his affection with your money?!”
“How dare you?! Better money than nothing at all! At least he won’t have to suffer from poverty when he’s with me!”
Neil wished the ground would swallow him whole right now.
He knew this was his birthday party, a prime opportunity to win his favor, and love, if you squint. But did the two idiots in front of him really have to fight over him like this?!
It was beyond embarrassing.
“Neil.”
A soft, disarming voice echoed beside him, bringing with it the warm scent of hot whiskey laced with a faint hint of antiseptic. It was Jude — the very doctor who had been prescribing Neil’s new medication to manage his heats for the past few weeks.
“There’s no need to look so distressed,” Jude said calmly. “This is just what happens when two hot-headed individuals inevitably collide, especially your hot-headed little friend there.” He gestured toward Louis, utterly drunk and yanking on Enver’s hair as if that would successfully make the other alpha bald.
“Hearing that made me more distressed. Thanks a lot,” Neil retorted sarcastically.
“Hahaha.”
In front of them, Louis had escalated to throwing full-force punches at Enver, the two hurling colorful profanities that would make anyone’s grandmother faint in shock.
Meanwhile, his guests, with their phones in hand, gasped in shock as they took pictures and recorded every angle of the fight.
Neil let out a long, weary sigh.
“I’ll go and calm them down for you,” Jude suddenly announced, striding toward the screaming duo with confident steps.
Neil stared and blinked. “I highly doubt that’s going to work,” he muttered quietly, his voice trailing off as Jude was already placing a calming hand on both of their shoulders.
Enver and Louis froze, their heads slowly turning in unison toward Jude.
Quiet silence, and then—
“The FUCK do you want, fuckface creep?!” Louis yelled with flushed cheeks and unfocused eyes.
“Stay out of this, you good-for-nothing doctor!” Enver snapped, both of them glaring daggers at Jude, silently promising that if he intervened for even a second longer, he’d be dragged into the fight too.
Watching all this, Neil let out an exasperated groan and loudly slapped his palm against his forehead.
Jude’s eyes widened as he raised his hands in mock surrender.
“…You two are suddenly so in sync, it’s honestly kind of terrifying.” He flashed a smile, which only irritated them further. “Perhaps it’s time to channel that teamwork into leaving, hm? Before security swoops in to deal with all of this.”
The two didn’t even flinch at Jude’s subtle threat.
“Teamwork? With this annoying mutt?!”
“I’ll fuck up your pretty face, you pompous little prick!” Louis snarled, his teeth clenched in fury, before he turned to Jude. “And you! Get lost before I end up putting you in the hospital, doctor.”
From the onlookers’ perspective, Jude slowly backing away with a smile might have appeared cowardly. But to Neil, who had a clear view of the doctor’s expression as the two idiots continued their chaotic antics before security eventually came; there was something wrong, unsettling beneath that smile of Jude’s.
It was an effortless smile, a facade one might mechanically wear in the face of anger, as if Jude were all too familiar with unexpected chaos, accustomed to being underestimated when no one was watching. Beneath it lay an undercurrent of something… dark.
Neil felt a shiver run right down his spine as Jude came back to his side.
“It seems that words are no longer sufficient to resolve this situation. I’ll go ahead and call security, since none of the other guests seem inclined to do so,” he said slowly, that smile still firmly in place.
Neil nodded, stammering a quick, “Yeah, okay,” as Jude returned the gesture and exited the room.
Turning to watch as Enver and Louis brawled on the floor, Neil scratched his head, bracing for the impending headache that was soon to come.
Rogue private investigator punches famous superstar Enver at a “friend’s” birthday party? More juicy details of this love triangle at eleven! The headline practically wrote itself.
He sighed, already typing out an apology in his phone to explain this entire mess to his boss.
When Jude finally returned with security, that strange smile still plastered on his face, Neil made a promise to himself: I’m definitely going to stay away from all these crazy alphas around me.
Which, he later learned, of course, was much easier said than done.
…The universe really worked against him, no matter how much he tried at times.
— excerpt from ‘Boyfriends from the Trash Bin’ Chapter 30
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You can’t find Neil anywhere in this fancy cafeteria for the life of you. No matter how much you swivel your head around, there’s nothing. Still nothing. Just a sea of boring office workers who look like they need caffeine more than they need life itself.
Is— is your eyesight getting worse?!
But this can’t be! You transmigrated into a new, healthy body, didn’t you? Your eyes should be safe from all those late-night scrolls in the dark, where you’d gasp in shock when you suddenly realized it was already morning and you had just wasted hours reading yet another web novel. That isn’t your life anymore! You’ve changed!
You turn around in circles, groaning as you realize you still can’t find a glimpse of Neil.
Time is running out — Enver could walk in any second, and you really don’t want to find out if your family jewels will survive his petty revenge.
“Calm down a little, won’t you? Check that far corner over there. Neil usually picks a real quiet spot for his meals,” Louis’s voice suddenly breaks through your panic, somehow easing your stress with that familiar, handsome frown.
Ah, classic Louis. It’s strange how much his constant annoyance calms you now. But hey, no complaints! You’re just glad he’s on your side — the fact that he can’t beat you up because he’s a ghost definitely doesn’t help. Nope. Not at all.
Following his instructions, you nod at Louis, and sure enough, when you head to the far corner, you spot a soft puff of brown hair in the distance, growing larger and fluffier the closer you get.
That has to be Neil!
But oh, crap. What are you supposed to say to him, though?
You’ve been so focused on finding him that you never actually thought about what to say once you do.
The system told you and Louis that just meeting Neil would be enough to power it back up, activating some of its functions. So you silently pray to whichever god might be listening that you don’t have to do anything weird to fulfill the meeting requirement.
“Move already,” Louis chides, practically buzzing in your ear.
“Shut up, I’m thinking.”
“Thinking?” he scoffs. “You’ll get brain damage if you keep thinking with that empty head of yours. Just go on already and shake his hand or something. We only need to meet him, right? Then we can leave before that asshat comes back.”
You swallow hard. “What if it’s not that simple…?”
“…It is that simple. Don’t jinx it, you dumbass,” he retorts, slapping the air where the back of your head would be if he were alive.
You want to say, But how would you know? but that might just annoy Louis to death, so you choose to nod instead. Taking a deep, deep breath that makes you look like a puffed-up gorilla, you step forward, then another, and another, until—
“Hi there!” you blurt out.
Neil makes a noise that’s somewhere between a cough and a strangled gasp.
In your panic, it seems that you slammed the table way too loudly, turning your greeting into a jumpscare for poor Neil. Whoops.
“Ah, sorry! Got a little excited. It feels like I haven’t seen you in a long while, Neil,” you say, flashing the kind of smile Louis sometimes wears when he thinks no one is looking.
You hope you’re at least a little bit in character right now. It’s really a shame that you and Louis have such opposite personalities.
“Neil?”
More dying sounds. That’s… odd. And Neil’s face is turning a bit… blue?
“[Name]! He’s fucking choking! Do something already—!” Louis yells in a rare moment of panic.
Your smile freezes as you realize, just like Louis said, Neil is actually choking on his food. Oh shit, you think, quickly jumping to his side to help him out, patting his back with as much effort you can muster.
When Neil finally stops choking and catches his breath in gasps, he shoots you a glare before stubbornly resuming his meal, slurping his bowl of noodles as if nothing happened as he keeps a wary eye on you.
You flash him a sheepish grin, finally allowing yourself to just take him in as you settle into your seat across from him. Soft brown hair, gentle doe eyes, and that youthful face that practically begs for a cheek pinch — gah, he’s adorably cute!
Not only that — Neil smells absolutely wonderful.
You’ve never really been up close to any omegas since arriving in this world, so everything about this feels delightfully new. An omega’s scent. It’s so warm, so fulfilling, so sweet, and so soothing — it feels like biting into a perfectly roasted marshmallow while the stars sparkle across the dark, endless sky.
Neil smells that good.
He smells like home — the kind of home you’d dream about in a storybook. And… okay, maybe you should stop sniffing the air like a dog before Neil hurls that bowl of broth in your face.
It’s already enough that Louis is giving you the “What are you doing?” look from the sidelines.
“Why are you here, [Name]?” Neil sighs, breaking your reverie. “You haven’t answered any of my texts since the party, and now you’re showing up uninvited while I was just about to me—”
He freezes, and you quirk a brow, waiting for him to continue.
( Oh my god. If [Name] is here, that means he might run into Enver, too. Great—just what Neil needs, another potential disaster in his life! As if he hasn’t already racked up enough trouble for his boss. )
Neil coughs into his hand, regaining his composure before looking at you again. “Never mind that. So, what’s up? Why the sudden radio silence? Why now, of all times, that you show up in front of me? I thought you were busy with another case or something.”
“Radio silence? Oh, uh… well, you see, I had a little… accident.”
“Huh?”
You stare at him with a seriously unbothered expression. “Oh, you know, Jude hit me with his car, so I had to enjoy a little vacation at his fancy hospital for a while.”
Neil’s jaw drops, and his voice slices through the air like a knife. “Wha— what the heck?! Why didn’t anyone think to mention this to me?!”
“Well, I think the only one who knew was Jude, so…”
“He could’ve texted me! You could’ve too! Why didn’t you?!”
Whoa, Neil’s getting pretty worked up. It’s unexpected, but you’re not complaining. It’s nice to have someone genuinely care about you for once, even if it feels like you’ve accidentally triggered his protective mothering mode.
You let out a long sigh. “So, uh, my contacts mysteriously vanished from my phone.”
“…Awfully convenient, huh?”
“Hey, it’s not my fault! Besides, I didn’t expect you to worry this much about it.”
Neil glares at you, looking ridiculously cute. “Of course I’m worried, [Name]. You’re my friend! We’ve been friends ever since you saved me at the orphanage. Why wouldn’t I be worried?!”
Ah, yes. The classic childhood friends trope. Oh, boy — Louis really didn’t stand a chance at winning Neil’s heart, did he?
“No need to worry,” you say with an almost blinding confidence. “I’m practically brand new! Jude worked his magic at the hospital and fixed me up real nice!”
Though, if you’re being honest, you have no clue what Jude actually did to you. Everything felt way too standard for treating a car accident victim. Then again, the system did heal you up pretty fast before you got treated there.
Neil gives you a curious look. “Jude? What happened to weird doctor? Did you guys have a heart-to-heart without me?” He pauses, then continues before you can even respond. “Not that it’s a problem! It’d be great if you could get along with someone for a change. I’ve been worried about your social skills, you know. You pick fights way too often, [Name].”
At Neil’s words, Louis’s ghostly figure looks sheepishly at the omega — guilty, maybe even a little ashamed. Ha. Serves him right. Maybe a little ghostly guilt will teach him to mind his manners.
“It’s fine, uh, it was just a…” Neil trails off, staring at you expectantly. “It was just a phase, Neil! I promise I won’t pick fights unless absolutely necessary. Trust me on this!” You declare, puffing out your chest like a proud peacock and flashing a confident grin.
“Right… well, I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Me too. Oh, and can I have—” Your words stumble as you catch sight of a flash of red hair in the distance. Neil raises an eyebrow, waiting for you to continue, but you fumble out a quick, “Uh, I gotta go! Like, right now! I’ll catch you later?”
Before Neil can even reply, you’re already sneaking off, scurrying for your safety far, far away from Enver. Louis, of course, follows, hands shoved in his pockets as he speed-walks after you.
“‘Just a phase’? I would never say something as stupid as that shit,” Louis says flippantly as you round a corner, narrowly avoiding Enver, who looks ready to murder anything in his path, judging by his expression and the pheromones around him.
“Yeah, yeah, can we talk about this later? I’m trying to stay alive here.”
“Why are you so scared? Just kick him in the balls again if he gets too close.”
“In public?! I can’t do that! What about my dignity as a man?”
Louis rolls his eyes. “What dignity?”
“…No need to be a meanie head about it.”
You sigh, retreating to a safer place, far from the chaos that will be the cafeteria, and make your way to the elevator. Thankfully, no one else is around, so you and Louis can finally focus on the bright screen flashing in front of you both.
[ Welcome to “Boyfriends from the Trash Bin” ]
[ You have been chosen to replace the character “Louis” and improve on the story with the given ability and techniques the system will offer.]
[ Please make a worthy ending for the novel! ]
[ You have met a rival character!!! ]
+ 500 EXP
[ You have met a rival character!!! ]
+ 500 EXP
[ You have leveled up! The Status Function is now Available! ]
[ You have met the main character!!! ]
+ 2000 EXP
[ You have leveled up! The Quest Function is now Available! ]
[ You have leveled up! The Wish Function is now Available ]
[ The store function will be unlocked at Level 5! Please work harder to unlock <3 ]
“Well, this is… a lot,” you mutter, your mind trying to process all the flashing notifications.
Louis sighs, wearing a puzzled expression. “Tell me about it. I don’t even get this kind of shit. What the fuck is a wish function?”
“Yeah,” you reply, before clapping your hands as the elevator finally arrives and opens its doors. “Let’s save the questions for when we’re outta here, okay?”
And with that, you finally make your escape from the phallic-shaped building.
You’ve successfully completed your mission of meeting Neil — almost accidentally causing his death too, but hey, who’s keeping track of the minor details? Mission accomplished, baby!!!
And hey, when you spot Enver’s defenseless car outside, who can blame you for keying it up in your happiness?
Not that bad of a day after all.
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!! author’s note !!
i kinda hate this chapter ngl. i can’t tell if the pacing’s a mess cause im getting worse at writing or its because mc overthinks a lot of stupid things lmfao. but oh well, anyways LOOK AT THIS CUTE FANART JEATHER MADE:
rekt him up mc woohoo!!! (ghost louis so cute gah)
anyways gonna go now!! comment lots and wish me luck cause I got a meeting with my thesis supervisor soon and I am TERRIFIED (if u don’t wish me luck I’m gonna curse your pillow to always be a little too warm for ur comfort </3)
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