|Ch.19

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It's been hours since Storm had left the mansion. In the meantime,Seokjin had been a great host towards the two boys. They had a meal to fill their hungry stomachs,and a much needed afternoon nap too. They were given separate bedrooms to rest and wash up.  Even clothes were fresh as if they were newly tailored just for them. Black pants and white long sleeved shirts with V necks and laces.

Heeseung walked out of his room in the evening,having nothing to do,he decided to look around the mansion. But he didn't know the way around,it would be easy to get lost in this massive castle like mansion. There were a lot of paintings of Pendragons on the walls,Heeseung had a vague idea of who they might be. The deceased Pendragon dukes,he guessed.

He paused hearing someone speaking,the voices came from downstairs. Without thinking much,he walked towards the railing and looked down to see who was speaking out of curiosity. And there,he saw Seokjin Pendragon with two other men. One had silver white hair with crimson eyes and the other had brick red hair with a pair of light green eyes.

Who are they?

"Are you two going to stay here for a while?",Seokjin asked.

"Fuck knows",the silver haired male grumbled as if he hated every fucking thing in the world. He looked so uninterested.

Seokjin laughed,"You haven't changed a bit,Luca. It's really hard to educate kids when you're around,you know"

"Oh come on! I'm a great fucking babysitter!"

"Yeah Yeah"

Heeseung almost laughed seeing how brash the 'Luca' guy was. Then his eyes landed on the other guy. He seemed to be smiling and laughing with adoration in his eyes for the man named Luca. It was pretty obvious.

Suddenly,the red haired man turned his way as if he just felt Heeseung's stare,the bambi eyes turning into siren eyes,the smile turning into something eerie and evil.

Heeseung flinched badly.

What was that

The mood changed so quickly. It scared the living shit out of him. He thought the red haired male was innocent and soft spoken looking at the way he interacted with Luca and Seokjin,so what was it that he saw just now?

"It seems like you have a guest",The red haired male said still not taking his eyes off Heeseung.

Luca and Seokjin looked at where he was staring at in unison.

"Who the fuck is that punk",Luca scoffed.

"Oh,Heeseung! Come here!",Seokjin signalled him to come down with a smile.

Heeseung cursed from himself for getting caught eavesdropping them. It was not like he wanted to eavesdrop but it happened anyways. So,he had no choice but to go down now.

When he made it to the downstairs,he specially decided to stick closer to Seokjin.

"These clothes look good on you,Heeseung",Seokjin complimented with a fatherly smile.

Heeseung smiled back awkwardly,"Thank you,sir"

"Heeseung,this is my cousin brother,Luca Harrington",Seokjin pointed at the silver haired male. "Don't get offended if he swore at you,that's how he just speaks"

Heeseung smiled awkwardly again,"It's fine",then he greeted Luca,"Hello sir"

Luca gave a slight nod to acknowledge him.

"And the one next to him is Jaykar. Luca's life partner,you could say"

Heeseung was a bit surprised as he blinked several times,"O –Oh! Hello sir,it's really nice to see you"

Jaykar smiled,the innocent face back. "It's nice to see you too,Heeseung. I heard that you came with Storm?"

"W –Well,yeah,I mean yes. We wanted to find our friend,so yeah,we just kinda had to come,I guess"

"You don't have to be nervous",Seokjin gently patted his shoulder and honestly it worked on Heeseung. Seokjin was warm and kind. He knew it from the novel as well. It was rather comforting to have this man beside him.

Heeseung nodded still feeling a little bit anxious about Jaykar. There was something about him that ticked him off. It was strange. The way the red haired man was looking at him made him feel like he knew Heeseung. But how could that be. But his stomach was feeling sick,he needed to get away from that man.

"Heeseung,there is a garden out there. Sunghoon went there earlier before you came here. Why don't you go and take a stroll?",Seokjin suggested.

That was a good idea.

"Yes of course. Uh,thank you. Then I'll take my leave",Heeseung bowed slightly and walked away as fast as he could.

"Come back before nightfall"

He heard Seokjin's voice again to which he looked back and nodded with a slight wave.

As soon as he got out,he asked few guards about the garden and walked towards it without looking back. It was uncomfortable to look into that red haired man's eyes. They were looking straight into his soul! He could feel those green eyes trying to grasp his every bit of sanity.

In the garden,he could see a small maze array. A sigh escaped his lips. He looked around to see if Sunghoon was there but the garden was sure huge. He walked around a bit to see if Sunghoon was around no,he was no where to be found. At last,he again ended up infront of the maze array entrance.

"Did Sunghoon go in?",he mumbled to himself.

He got closer to the entrance and called out his name,"Sunghoon! Are you there?!"

Silence.

"Sunghoon!"

A rustling sound startled him,it came from inside.

"I'm in here,Heeseung"

"Inside the maze? Seriously?"

"Yeah"

"....are you lost?"

"Perhaps"

"Jesus Chris! Wait there,I'll come in"

And like that,he went in. He took turns and turns but the man was nowhere to be found.

"Hoon,where are you?!"

"Turn left!"

And he did. There he is. But not alone. Sunghoon was standing straight,looking at particularly nothing,eyes looking soulless. Empty,like a shell without a....soul?

Next to him,the red haired man he met earlier,Jaykar. He was leaning against the green Bush wall with a little golden butterfly dancing around his fingers. He slowly looked at Heeseung and smiled,the same wicked smile Heeseung was scared of. The eyes,they were no longer innocent or bambi,they were siren eyes filled with cunning intentions. His wine coloured dress shirt and pants were adding to the ominous aura around him.

"What did you do to him?",Heeseung's voice shook slightly,fists clenched.

Jaykar looked at the butterfly flying around his fingers,"Nothing much. He is fine,for now"

"What do you want?",Heeseung felt his shirt getting stick to his back due to the excessive sweating on his back.

"Oh,you don't have to be on guard,Heeseung. I'm not here to do anything. Just....wanted to see how you were cooping up in this world"

"What?"

Jaykar shrugged one of his shoulders,"So,are you getting used to living here?"

Heeseung was scared but he couldn't show it. Not when Sunghoon was in danger. And he didn't even know what kind of danger was it. He hated this feeling of vulnerability.

"Why should I get used to live here? I mean,we are going to leave",..."As soon as Storm comes back with my friend,we are leaving"

Jaykar smirked,it was so intense that Heeseung felt his heart getting cold. This man is a whole different level of danger. He could feel it in his bones.

"Are we sure now,Heeseung?"

"...what do you mean?"

"Think about it. Storm is exhausted. I mean,does he look alright to you? I heard he was poisoned. That kind of poisoning,you can't heal it in just few days. I bet you don't even know what it means,right?"

"I don't understand"

"Then I'll say it like this,Storm is dying"

Silence.

The wind blew past Heeseung as he stood still,trying to comprehend what he just heard.

Jaykar,"It was a deadly poison. It was meant to kill him. A normal human would have died right after consuming it but Storm lived. Why? Because he is not a human. Still,the poison affected his meridians. Mana blockage. If he exhausts himself,it would block his mana even more"

"But he purified it"

"That's a temporary solution. The poison would soon attack him again. And who could say he would survive?"

Heeseung narrowed his eyes,"How do you know this?"

"Oh,everyone knows it",Jaykar shrugged. "Everyone saw how struggled against Ashen at the last battle. And it was obvious what kind of poison it was. Even Storm knows this. Oh wait,he didn't tell you right?"

Heeseung was in dilemma. His heart was getting squeezed painfully. To think he pressured Storm to bring Jake back in that exhausted form,if something happens to Storm,then what should he do. He looked at Jaykar,"Why are you telling me this?"

Jaykar was silent for a second before opening his lips,"Have you read the book,Heeseung?"

His heart skipped a beat.

Eyes slightly and gradually widened,"W –What do you mean?"

Heeseung knew what book he was referring to.

Jaykar,"Don't play dumb now,Heeseung. Atleast not with me. When I'm literally holding your friend's soul right in the palm of my hand"

"H –How do you know about the book?"

Jaykar chuckled,"How do I know? Because I was there when she made it. I helped her to make the book"

Now Heeseung had his eyes wide to the fullest. Was his life predefined by someone?

"What"

"Don't be so shocked. But it's true. You are destined to be here. Well,if I speak the truth,she and I altered your fate"

"....why?"

"So we could alter Storm's fate"

"I don't understand. Who is 'she' ?! Just tell me exactly what's going on?! You are confusing me!"

Jaykar sighed,"You don't really need to know who is 'she'. But she chose you. It means something. There were so many people with more potentials. Souls that are destined to achieve greatness. Even I didn't want her to choose you when there were so many perfect people out there. However,she insisted on choosing you. She said that you're perfect because you have flaws. Perfect people wouldn't understand Storm"

Heeseung shook his head,eyes somewhat misty for some unknown reason. It breaks his heart and he doesn't even know why. "I don't understand"

"You don't have to understand,Heeseung. Just know that you are here for a reason. Also,don't misunderstand. Though we just slightly altered your destiny,that doesn't mean we have the control over your life. It's still your life. You have to decide what to do with it. And if you want to save Storm and your friends,you have to get strong"

Heeseung was silent. He couldn't open his mouth. It was too much to even handle.

Jaykar looked up,the moon was rising above. The night has already come. "You shouldn't be out here in the dark,Heeseung. You better get back to the mansion",he looked at Heeseung with a smile,it still doesn't sit right with him. "They say dead speaks loudest in the night"

Jaykar walked past Heeseung,still keeping the butterfly on his finger. "Seek me out when you know what to do with your life",He looked over his shoulder,"Only I can help you to get strong"

The butterfly flew from his finger towards Sunghoon's side temple. It vanished into his head leaving a sparkling dust in the air.

Sunghoon blinked few times and looked around,"It's already night? Man,time flies quickly —oh,Heeseung,when did you come here?"

"Just now. Let's go",Heeseung turned around. His whole face was pale like he had seen a ghost.

Just what in the world happened?

☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
Hey guys

[Jaykar has Kim Sunoo features]

Hope you enjoyed

See ya soon

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