Before Was Before, Now Is Now

Hawk looked astonished.

Gwen fell silent as she watched Hawk's expression.

Fake.

Too fake.

Gwen could not help but give her heartfelt assessment.

"Your acting is so fake."

"Sorry."

Hawk shrugged. "I'm not a professional actor."

That was right.

Gwen had been outside for quite a while.

More precisely, she had arrived just as Peter was about to come clean with him, but stopped when she heard the commotion inside the gymnasium.

Gwen had thought Hawk and Peter would not notice.

But...

After awakening his Cosmo and gaining control over his first five senses, Hawk could hear not only Gwen's footsteps, but even the sound of leaves falling behind the gymnasium, if he wanted to.

Peter, with his Spider-Sense, was the same, especially since this version of Peter was the genuine Spider-Man Peter after his mutation.

It was just that Peter had probably mutated only recently and had yet to fully adapt. Besides, Hawk's punch had left Peter in shock.

But at Hawk's reminder through his gaze, Peter quickly came to his senses and caught Gwen's breathing outside the gymnasium.

So the two of them tacitly chose to keep quiet.

See?

That was another reason Hawk liked The original Spider-Man so much.

He had no opinion on The Amazing Spider-Man.

But Tech Spider-Man?

Heh.

Hawk had no doubt that if it were Holland's Tech Spider-Man, that guy probably would not even understand what he meant. He might even keep babbling away without stopping.

No.

It was not might. It was definitely.

Hawk thought to himself.

Just then.

Peter came out from the back as well. Looking at Gwen outside, surprise appeared on his face. "Gwen, you haven't left yet?"

Seeing the stiff surprise on Peter's face, Gwen finally could not hold it in anymore.

"Peter, your acting is even worse than Hawk's."

"Ah, haha, hahahaha..."

Peter's expression froze. He instinctively scratched his head and laughed, then said goodbye to Hawk before walking off toward the school gate by himself.

Seeing that, Hawk was also ready to leave.

He was starting his summer job at Osborn Bio-Industry early tomorrow morning, so he planned to go to bed early tonight.

Gwen blocked his way.

"There's something off about you, Hawk."

"Ah!"

Hawk was slightly taken aback.

Gwen furrowed her delicate brows and looked at Hawk curiously. "When did you get so familiar with Peter? I've never seen you talk to Peter before."

More precisely, she had never seen Hawk chat casually with anyone.

Even when other students came looking for Hawk, he would dismiss them in just a few words and continue doing his own thing.

And there was the dance. At first, some girls had taken the initiative to approach Hawk and ask whether he could be their date.

But the result...

To quote what had spread among the girls.

"Hawk?"

"That guy is a fucking iceberg, and a ten-thousand-year iceberg at that."

The other girls were like that.

Gwen was no exception.

Gwen recalled that when she went looking for Hawk sometimes, although he did not show it, she could sense that he seemed somewhat resistant to talking with her.

But today?

Her intuition told her that when Hawk spoke to her now, that invisible sense of resistance seemed to have vanished.

Gwen was very curious about that.

Listening to Gwen's complaints, Hawk explained casually, "Peter and I weren't familiar to begin with. He came to see me because I happened to be there when Flash cornered him in the restroom last time. He came to thank me for that."

After hearing Hawk's explanation, Gwen fell silent again.

After a while.

She looked into Hawk's eyes, a faint smile appearing on her face. "If you don't want to say it, then don't. There's no need to lie."

Hearing that, Hawk thought for a moment. Looking into Gwen's rather beautiful eyes, he nodded.

"Fine. I don't want to say."

"I'll find out for myself."

"Go ahead."

Hawk nodded and prepared to leave, but before he did, he thought for a moment and said to Gwen, "Investigate all you want, but don't get too drawn in. I've heard that when a woman becomes curious about a man, that's the beginning of her downfall."

Gwen was finally certain that Hawk's invisible resistance toward her had disappeared, but she merely scoffed on the surface.

"I don't think I'd fall for a guy who can barely even admit that we're friends."

Once again, she recalled the strained expression on Hawk's face a few days ago when she had driven him home and said that they were friends.

No.

Back then, Hawk's resistance toward her had already weakened.

As Gwen recalled that day's scene again, something stirred in her heart.

Hawk did not refute her. He merely shrugged and headed down the stairs.

"See you, Gwen."

Watching Hawk's retreating figure, Gwen called out, "I'll uncover your secret."

"Good luck!"

Without looking back, Hawk waved his hand.

He did not take the matter to heart.

That thing he had just said to Gwen about how a woman's curiosity about a man meant she would fall for him was only something he had said casually.

But...

Before awakening his Cosmo, he probably would not have said something like that.

Sitting in the last row of the school bus back to his new apartment, Hawk watched the scenery flash past outside the window and found himself thinking.

After all, to Hawk before awakening his Cosmo, love had been a luxury.

A luxury he could only long for but never attain.

But after awakening his Cosmo?

How did that saying go again?

Money gave men courage.

Hawk still had no money right now, but he had fists!

Power was fists.

Power was money.

By the same logic.

Having fists meant having money.

So...

Before was before.

Now was now.

Now that he had awakened his Cosmo, he should have the qualifications to say, from a position of strength, that he could have love too.

Hawk thought to himself.

Just then.

The image of Gwen looking into his eyes surfaced in his mind. Immediately afterward, his heart gave an involuntary twitch.

"Gasp!"

Hawk came to his senses, sucked in a breath, and instinctively shook his head, tossing that sudden thought aside.

There was no other reason.

The warning of life's three great misconceptions had appeared again.

He was not Peter.

Peter would mistake Mary Jane's slight smile for proof that Mary Jane liked him.

Hawk would not have that kind of misconception.

So...

Forget it.

Business came first.

Tomorrow, he would start his summer job at Osborn Bio-Industry. Then he would find out whether the thing in Dr. Connors's laboratory was the Gamaneon he wanted.

If it was, that would be perfect.

Hawk had already made up his mind.

Once he confirmed the key material for forging the Cloth, "Gamaneon," his next target would be Wakanda, which produced Vibranium.

As he had said before.

If Wakanda was willing to hand over the Vibranium he wanted, everyone would be happy.

But if Wakanda not only refused, but even dared to fight back against him?

Heh.

Then he was sorry.

He.

Hawk.

Was not good with words.

But...

He knew a little martial arts!