The serial kisser || ATEEZ OT8

11| Yellow pearls

𝟏𝟔𝟑𝟕 | 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤

- ♦♦♦ -

Seonghwa had fetched a bucket of water and was currently searching for any grass straw tainted with red. The sun had nearly risen, stretching its rays across the sky and blinding Seonghwa. He fluttered with his eyes, blinking the light away as he focused on his task on the ground. If the humans who had disappeared were of the Yangban's bloodlines, important people, there would be no doubt humans would soon start searching the village for them. Seonghwa hoped that was not the case.

He stopped in front of the trail of blood in the grass, supposedly the spot he had thrown the body after killing it the day before. Without thinking much about it, he poured the water from the bucket onto the ground, hoping this would be enough to erase every visible bloodstain. Then all of a sudden something caught his attention.

The small item rolled around in the mud from the pressure of the amount of water poured, slightly disappearing under the soil before being washed clean again. Seonghwa's brows furrowed before he placed the bucket beside him and knelt down to see it more closely. Carefully, he picked the yellow pearl up into his palm rolling it around between his fingers before dipping his entire hand into the water and washing it clean of any dirt. Seonghwa held it into the air as he inspected it with a wary look. The yellow colour was still firm and shiny as it seemed like it hadn't laid on the ground in a very long time. Odd.

Then it struck him.

Seonghwa's gaze moved to the spot where he just had found it, realising it was the same spot where the dead girl had been thrown. There was no way this was just a coincidence. But why would she be carrying on a single yellow pearl? Seonghwa wondered if he had accidentally torn a necklace on her when maneuvering her around. It would be possible.

His eyes wandered along the grass as he slowly got up from the ground. He twisted on his heels as he raked the ground around him for any other yellow pearls. But he could not see any, which only made it even more strange. His sharp eyes examined further down the path before finding another one.

Another yellow pearl.

Seonghwa strode to the place before picking it up as well. Now holding two of them in his hand. And looking for more. This time it did not take him more than a few seconds to spot the yellow item laying on the bare ground at the end of the tendrils of blossoming berries along the trail. He darted forward and removed it from the ground. This was definitely not some twist of fates - those pearls were all thrown on purpose, and Seonghwa could only think of how the girl possibly had torn her jewelry when they still were within the village.

She wanted to leave a trail after her for people to possibly find her again.

What an ingenious little human being.

Seonghwa could not go out and search for all the yellow pearls without raising too much suspicion against his act - he would have to do something entirely else.

♦

Seonghwa was slightly startled when he entered the hanok to find Yunho a peculiar place to be. Now, it was not exactly unusual to find Yunho at places where Seonghwa certainly would not find rest himself but to find him sitting cross-legged on the floor and gently trailing his hands along the facial features of the dead man was certainly not something that Seonghwa had ever expected. His eyes appeared soft, endeavoured even, as if he really cared about doing what he was doing with utter precision and the best of his intentions.

Seonghwa could not let the moment die.

His eyes trailed along with Yunho's careful movements, softly caressing a finger down the dead man's sharp nose. The man was young, even so as he lay there all motionless while Yunho measured the features of his face. Fingertips smoothed down his blueish, hollow cheeks and returned toward the middle of his face, touching the dark-tinted lips with a thumb before swiping it down the small dip to his chin.