Angel & Devil | Heesun

Part I - Six

PYEONGCHANG NEIGHBOURHOOD, SEOUL. Early January. 

The silence in the Victorian-style study was deafening; even the slightest movement echoed. Heeseung was seated alone in the study room, with nothing but the rhythmic ticking of the grandfather clock in the corner and the pendulum on the mahogany desk swaying back and forth as company.

He had been sitting there since the previous night, and despite the clock striking eight in the morning, he had no intention of moving. If any of the servants came to his bedroom and found he wasn't there, then, it was not a surprise or that it was hard for them to search for their Young Master here.

It had become a habit for Heeseung to seek solace in the study room whenever he had trouble sleeping. In fact, for the past few weeks, he had been visiting the room very frequently, especially after returning from Seonjae's funeral, precisely a week ago.

Heeseung had never imagined that Seonjae would die so suddenly. He had texted him just the day before about the upcoming school elections and his winter break plans. The news of Seonjae's passing came as a shock to Heeseung and he still couldn't believe it.

"What do you mean Kim Seonjae is dead, Mister Han?"

The middle-aged man in his early sixties does not dare to look up. Mister Han was afraid any more questions might make him spill all the things he'd tried so hard to keep from Heeseung.

"Stop spouting nonsense, can't you?" Heeseung laughed incredulously. "He just texted me yesterday. How can he die now?"

As Mister Han, his butler, broke the news to him, Heeseung's world came crashing down on him. His tongue froze in his mouth, and his whole body was petrified. Heeseung stood there speechless, unable to comprehend the reality of what had just happened. All he wished for was that the news was not real, that it was just a bad dream.

It was only after he accompanied his father to the funeral home to pay his condolences to Seonjae's family that he finally accepted the reality of what had happened.

He remembered how the funeral hall looked solemn and gloomy as if all the attendees had lost their ray of sunshine that day. However, he noticed that some of the faces present at the funeral seemed out of place. It was apparent to him that they didn't want to be there, and were only present for the sake of their image and reputation.

They don't even know Seonjae like he did. So why bother coming and pretending to be sad and mourning for him?

He stayed there until the funeral was finished, though he didn't have to do that in the first place. But, considering that Seonjae had been one of his closest friends since elementary school, he felt guilty for not giving his best for this last moment.

Heeseung couldn't even think straight after the funeral ended. Lack of sleep was one of the reasons. But, his energy mostly drained from the negative emotion he'd been pouring out. So, when he returned from the funeral and found that his necklace wasn't around his neck anymore, it made him even more agitated and restless.

To say that he should not worry about such a thing was understandable, because, come on... It's just a necklace, right?

But have they ever considered how precious it was to him? Plus, that was the only thing his Mother had left him with (since his Father had thrown and burned almost everything that belonged to his Mother in that house).