CH 13

His body felt as heavy as soaked cotton. Not wanting to lift a finger, brought back unpleasant memories of that dilapidated inn room, where a shard of glass had stuck in my throat, but now I didn’t know why my entire neck was tingling.

I slowly opened my eyes and was greeted by a pure white ceiling. I’m in a completely unfamiliar place, not the flower shop where I passed out on drugs. An ominous feeling of foreboding settled over me. I quickly raised my upper body and felt a warmth.

“What the….”

Why am I lying in bed? I’m even dressed. A loose, short-sleeved tee and shorts are white all over. My pockets are, of course, empty. My phone was gone, too, and I didn’t know what to do.

That’s when I heard the sound of distant laughter. I looked up and saw an unexpected face.

“Good night.”

He was so black that I wondered if he had stolen my shadow. Jet-black hair, black eyes, black suit. Only his skin glows white, like a midwinter frost. His thinly lidded eyes look cold, but they curve into a gentle smile when he smiles.

Still beautiful. Even more so than I remembered.

The boy who was so pretty seven years ago has taken on an air of maturity that somehow gives him a dangerous charm. If he offered me the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, I would gladly take it. My gaze was momentarily distracted by his reddened lips, and I snapped out of it. He smiled softly at me, looking like something was broken.

“What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“No…….”

I hadn’t wanted this reunion. No, we weren’t supposed to meet again. But the water was already spilled. I need to react as nonchalantly as possible to avoid any misunderstandings. Okay. Like a stranger.

The man in front of you is just an image of someone else. Hee swallowed hard and opened his mouth.

“This is… Where?”

“The place you wanted to come.”

Is it the base of the Apostle. The room I’m in is as clean as a model house.

“But you sound like you know me.”

“We’ve met before.”

“I’ve never met you before.”

I swallowed hard, and he tilted his head slightly and laughed.

“Haha, you’re a good jokester.”

He’s never been a big smiler, so I’ve always had to ask him if he likes it or not, or just notice. But in front of me, his smile just won’t go away. I was more afraid of him smiling for no reason than I was of his expressionlessness.

Is he smiling because he knows I’m John? No way. Then at least he’d be angry. I can’t tell what blackness lies beneath his gentle smile.

I blink uneasily, and he speaks, as if to ease the tension.

“You’re hungry, aren’t you?”

“What?”

“Eat this.”

He picked up a plate on the bedside table and handed it over. It contained a sandwich, cut into four bite-sized pieces. I appreciated the gesture, but I didn’t feel like eating anything right now, not after the long day I’d had.

“…I don’t like the filling.”

I quickly declined, but he didn’t back down.

“You’d better eat.”

Despite his easygoing voice and smiling face, his demeanor is strangely forceful. It made me aware of the reality of my situation. I’m the one who’s been captured here, and he’s the one holding my lifeline, not me. He was in no position to refuse favors just because he felt sick.

I take the plate and try to take a bite of my sandwich, but I stiffened. There can’t be any medication in here. As I stared at the contents of the sandwich, he smiled, as if reading my anxiety.

“Don’t worry, there’s nothing in there.”

I know I’m going to have to eat it anyway, even if it’s laced with pills, but I’m grateful for the reassurance.

I forced myself to put a sandwich in my mouth, and every time I swallowed it, something touched my Adam’s apple. I cautiously stroke my neck, and sharp thorns prick my fingertips. I wondered why I had a tingling sensation around my neck, and this was it.

”This is… What is it?”

“It’s a leash.”

He smiled coyly.

“I don’t know what Mr. Shin Ha-jae will do.”

Is this really the Heo-sang I know…? He filled a row of thorn vines around someone’s neck because he couldn’t believe me. It was so tight that I could barely fit my finger between the vine and my neck.

The more I thought about it, the more uncomfortable I became, and I complained.

“I’d rather put a softer collar on a beast than this.”

“So?”

“So…what”

I was somewhat embarrassed that he had the audacity to ask me what the problem was with a leash around a man’s neck. Whether he realised it or not, he strode forward and stopped in front of me. The shadow over his head made him look unusually large and tall.

“Are you asking me to be nice?”

“No, it’s….”

I looked down at it, wondering when he had gotten so big. He used to be a foot shorter than me.

I looked up and stared, then looked away, feeling somehow intimidated. Then he lifted my chin with the tip of his index finger and forced eye contact. His cold eyes, narrowed, held a hint of displeasure.

“Eye contact, don’t avoid it.”

The low voice sent chills down my spine.

I remembered Heo-sang…. that the shy child had difficulty making eye contact with others. Even if he was my best friend, he often ran away when I made eye contact. But he was different. He first took offence at my avoiding eye contact.

It’s not Heo-sang, it’s Simeon with his face. That’s all it looks like.

“You look like I’m bullying you.”

Heo-sang. No, Simeon’s expression quickly relaxes and he laughs, as he always does. His fingers, pressed firmly against the tip of my chin, moved as effortlessly as water. His fingertips travelled down my neckline and stopped on the bulge.

“Does it hurt much?”

Simeon stroked his fingers insistently over the skin that had become sensitive from the thorns.

“But I can’t help it, it’s necessary if we’re going to talk.”

The touch was careful and ticklish. I swallowed dryly, nervously, and the cold fingertips slowly moved up the length of my neck. The long, graceful chess-like fingers squeezed my windpipe.

My head grew fuzzy from the lack of oxygen. The sensation, both frightening and strangely erotic, made my eyes flutter shut. Simeon’s mouth curved into a dark smile as I accepted his touch without protest.

“You have a thin neck, huh.”

It was the look he’d had as a child when he’d been given a new toy.

Simeon’s eyes flashed open as soon as he loosened his grip. I coughed dryly, my throat still burning from his grip. Simeon watched with amusement as I gasped for air. I glared at him, demanding to know what he was doing, but he didn’t bat an eyelid.

“If you divulge any information about the Apostle, the leash will be tightened and you’ll be decapitated just like you were just now.”

“What’s that….”

“You can check it out if you’re curious.”

I asked, surprised at how easily he spouted murderous words….

“You’re not going to die anyway, are you?”

Simeon already knew my secret.

“Uh…”

I should have pretended not to know, but the directness of the question caught me off guard.

No one but my parents know that I am cursed with immortality, and now that all my blood relatives are dead, the secret is mine alone. And yet, after only meeting me a handful of times, he has managed to grasp my deepest buried secrets.

“That… How did you know?”

“I tried it quite a few times while you were sleeping, and I couldn’t injure you.”

I gave him a puzzled look, but he continued.

“You’re the first person I couldn’t injured, Shin Ha-jae. You’re the first.”

Simeon looked at me with interest. His dark eyes seemed to lick me like a tongue. I stiffened, feeling completely naked despite my clothes. Simeon must have noticed my nervousness, because he chuckled softly.

”We’ll save the reasons for not dying for another time, but let’s get to the point.”

I didn’t even have time to think about what the point was. The back of his neck tingled as Simeon suddenly hooked his index finger in a thorny vine and pulled. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly as he frowned.

“You’d better be honest with me.”

“What….”

Simeon slowly crouched down to meet me at eye level. His dark eyes were eerie in the absence of light.

“How far do you know?”

“What?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t, because I know you’ve been tailing us lately.”

You’re trying to coax information out of me. Simeon whispered softly, like a leaf in the wind. But his face remained grimly set, without a hint of amusement.

“Which one do you belong to? What did you ask for as a condition of extracting information?”

“What are you talking about… Ugh!”

When he protested that he didn’t know, Simeon tugged harder on the leash. He could feel the sharp barbs digging into his delicate flesh. Soon it would be hot blood running down his spine.

Before I knew it, his face was within inches of mine. My face was reflected in his clear eyes, just as it had been the day we first spoke, seven years ago. But it was different, filled with excitement and curiosity.

“Don’t make me too upset,” I said, “I’ve grown quite fond of you.”

My face, reflected in those piercing eyes, was pale and tired.