The place seemed prefer it had been attacked. Lamps, pots, cups. Something breakable was shattered and scattered throughout the ground, and the partitions bore the marks of one thing hitting them. Not one of the furnishings was upright. Even the carpet was stained and hardened with previous bloodstains.

The <Portrait of Saint-Germain> was the one factor intact within the mangled room. The taxidermized ‘John’ smiled as he gazed out over the devastation, a wierd hole that made the battlefield-like scene appear all of the extra horrific.

Then, immediately, he noticed him.

“…….!”

A determine stood within the shadows.

Simeon was dressed too neatly to have left his room for days. However the second he turned his head on this path, he froze.

It was a mountain bill. His pupils have been lifeless, and his pores and skin was bloodlessly pale. His cheeks bore the marks of cuts from one thing sharp, and his fingers have been already full. Blood stained the sleeve of his white shirt, as if to show that the spattered blood on the ground belonged to him. He couldn’t converse as a chill ran by his physique.

A pair of lifeless eyes darted across the room, then turned to him. They locked eyes. However unusually sufficient, Simeon didn’t react. He anticipated him to be indignant at him for barging in, however he simply stared at him blankly. Lastly, he smirked and muttered one thing incoherent.

“You’re right here?”

He stood there, shocked, and Simeon spoke once more.

“You’re early at this time, Brother John.”

The corners of his mouth twitched upward, a touch of resignation.

Brother John. His head pounded as he heard the title he had solely heard in his desires. However when he thinks about his phrases, it’s unusual. You’re right here early at this time, which implies you have been right here yesterday, too…

Raphael’s voice echoed in his head.

‘I believe he’s hallucinating…’

Sure. Simeon was hallucinating. He’s seeing the picture of John, who not exists, superimposed on him. So the hallucination he’s been having, the item that retains speaking to him, the one that remoted him at nighttime room, is him……?

All he may do was stand shocked in place, shocked, and as unnatural because it will need to have been, Simeon didn’t even suspect it. The empty eyes appeared to have reached a degree the place it was inconceivable to tell apart what was actual and whether or not it was a hallucination.

“Please simply go house at this time …I don’t need to see my hyung.”

Staggering to the desk, Simeon barely lifted the cup with trembling fingers and quenched his thirst. A trickle of water escaped his parched lips and trickled down his chin. However he didn’t trouble to wipe it away, simply stared blankly into house.

“Simeon.”

He mentioned his title rigorously, and his hand on the cup twitched. He appears to listen to his voice, so we will a minimum of attempt to discuss. He cautiously approaches him, attempting to not provoke him.

“Are you okay?”

The sound of a cup being set down broke the silence. He stood frozen in place, the unstated stress telling him to not method any additional. Unhappy eyes, formed and glowing within the darkness, stared again at me.

“Are you apprehensive about me?”

“After all…….”

Earlier than he may end, a cynical sneer tugged on the corners of his mouth.

“Huh, you assume you will have the proper to fret about me?”

“That…….”

“You casually ditched me and now you come and really feel sorry for me?”

He was puzzled.

So, yeah. That is actual life. The reunion he had in his dream was only a fantasy that he made up for his personal good. There is no such thing as a such factor as a ‘touching’ reunion, the place individuals are sincere with one another and perceive one another’s true emotions. That’s proper. Simeon’s pure response is to resent him and snicker at him, however why does his bitter animosity in the direction of him make him really feel like a knife has been slashed by his coronary heart?

He shakes his head and avert his gaze and Simeon snorts in amusement.

“Why does hyung seems damage? I’m the one being left behind.”

His eyes have been unhappy and distorted, his gaze was stuffed with contempt. He ought to say that he’s hallucinating, however like a prisoner whose tongue has been minimize out, no phrases got here out. The longer he remained silent, the extra impatient Simeon turned.

“Make an excuse. Huh? …Aren’t you right here to cease me once more?”

He didn’t should ask what he meant by cease. Simeon stretched out his hand towards him, revealing his wrist, which was hidden by his sleeve. There was a nasty scar the place he’d drawn it underneath the watch strap so many instances, he didn’t know what number of instances.

Simeon frowned as he stared in disbelief.

“Why do you act such as you don’t know? Each time I’ve tried to die, you’ve proven up and interrupted me.”

“…….”

“After I tried to slit my wrists, you have been already holding the knife, and after I tried to leap off the cliff, you have been standing there first …You knew, didn’t you, that even when I used to be hallucinating, I couldn’t damage you. That I couldn’t even strive if I used to be going to die!”

Fun that he doesn’t know if it’s contempt or amusement escapes from his contorted face.

“You’ve ruined every thing for me, for one man who doesn’t even know if he’s alive or useless.”

Then, in a voice that struggled to include its anger, Simeon begged.

“How on earth are you going to let me go?”

He was holding on in some way, however with that one phrase, every thing crumbled. He hadn’t anticipated the phrases he’d been dreading to come back out of his mouth.

‘So inform me. You’ll let me go.’

Within the meantime, he was determined to get away. He thought his fingers have been already empty, that Simeon would simply should let go and the connection can be over, however the threads that had been tangled for therefore lengthy weren’t so simply untangled.

Who’s holding whom, the place is the primary knot on this untouchable relationship, the place did he go fallacious? No, there’s no level in attempting to determine it out now, we’ve already damaged one another.

“I assumed I’d lastly…. lastly gotten over you, however why do you reappear and provides me such a tough time. Why?”

Simeon ruffled his hair roughly and the blood from his hand dripped onto his brow. Solely the sight of it introduced him again to his senses. Extra time would solely make Simeon’s situation worse. He took one other step ahead, reaching for him.

“Simeon. You must relax and….”

“Sufficient!”

A pitiful cry flew into his ears. Then he swiped at his pale face and muttered in a stifled voice.

“Cease…… Let me go.”

“Heo-sang ssi.”

“Get misplaced!”

Simeon picked up a glass from the desk and threw it at him. There was no time to dodge, so he raised his arm to dam it. It was cracked within the first place, and the cup shattered with a loud crack because it hit his wrist. The shattered fragments splashed onto his brow. With a boring ache, one thing trickled down. It was blood.

“Ugh….”

As he wiped the blood off his fingertips, he heard the sound of a desk collapsing. He turned and met a pair of startled eyes.

“…hyung?”

His pale face had misplaced all color and had turned leaden.

“Why…… the blood….”

He guesses he thought he was hallucinating and didn’t count on to be hit by a glass. Simeon pushed apart the desk in entrance of him and strode over to face in entrance of him. He pulled a crumpled handkerchief from inside his jacket and wiped the blood from his brow. His pupils fluttered unfocused, like he was on medicine.

“I, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, you’re not damage greater than that?”

“It was fallacious, hyung. I didn’t imply to harm you.”

The dialog stalled. Simeon fidgeted like a baby who unintentionally broke a glass. He couldn’t relax, regardless that he wasn’t bleeding anymore, and he stored wiping at his wound with a trembling hand. It didn’t matter how a lot he tried to inform him that he was advantageous. His eyes, which had been crammed with contempt only a second in the past, have been now crammed with a darkish nervousness.

Ultimately, he pulled his hand away and mentioned firmly.

“I’m not likely damage, so don’t fear.”

Fortunately, Simeon didn’t shake his hand away. He took benefit of the momentary calm to look at the wound on his hand. Up shut, it was fairly unhealthy. The tears and cuts hadn’t healed in time and have been now oozing. He couldn’t depart him like this.

He patted him on the arm and spoke within the calmest potential tone.

“I’m going to go get Raphael, you wait right here.”

He turned to depart, however he grabbed his arm.

“Don’t go.”

He set free an involuntary ‘ugh’ on the sheer pressure. The more durable he tried to tug away, the more durable he gripped. He may see the bones in his fingers as he held him. His arm slowly went numb, and as he tried to push him away, he made eye contact with him. His face was contorted in anguish, and he couldn’t discover the phrases to ask him to cease.

“I’m sorry, every thing I mentioned earlier was a lie.”