11. Last One Clapping

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The nightmare's repeat. Every night Jisung wakes up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night, only sleeping well when cuddled up with Eun. Every day, he is tired, and it shows in the eyebags under his eyes. Luckily, he hasn't seen the dead man since he started on it over a month ago, so it must be working.

The elder enters his room, bright smile on his face.

"What's up?" The younger asks, looking up from his phone as Eun sits on his bed.

"We have an awards night tonight!" He says excitedly making the younger match his smile.

"Why?"

"For all the good things we do! And getting rid of that villain guy ages ago!" He explained. Jisung nodded in understanding. The elder got up, walking to the door but turning at the last second.

"Oh, and Jae's coming over to fit us with suits!" He added, finally leaving. The other's smile dropped, already knowing what would happen tonight. He was going to enter; Eun was going to get surrounded by people and give out autographs, then he would earn the award. And Jisung was going to be left out of all of it.

The doorbell rang a few moments later and he dragged himself out of bed, entering the kitchen to see Jae holding two suits.

"Hey, this one's yours I just have to make sure it fits right." He says, handing over the suit. The younger walks back to his room, slipping on the suit and looking in the mirror. It had dark navy pants and a bright red jacket. There was one big gold button that closed the jacket, and it came with a white shirt to wear underneath.

He walked out to see Eun also leaving is bedroom. He had a similar suit, but it was fully blue, slightly lighter than Jisungs pants. Jae gasped, clapping his hands. The elder smiled and held his boyfriend's waist, bringing him closer.

"You both look amazing!" The other exclaimed, "And they both fit perfectly!" He glanced at the clock, grabbing his brother's arm and starting to pull them to the door.

"Okay time to go!"

The ride was uneventful with the youngest sitting in the back again and the two brothers talking in the front. As they neared the building, people with camera's started to appear, more and more as they got closer.

Jae stopped the car and the couple got out, flashes blinding them as they did so. Eun waved to the crowd, enjoying the attention as Jisung stayed behind, following the elder. They entered through the large red doors, immediately walking down an isle between rows of seats.

Everyone that had come to watch stood up, applauding the hero of their town. He had a bright smile, waving at everyone. They walked up the steps to the stage as everyone settled down. On it was a lady at a microphone, holding a trophy and medal.

They stood next to her, Eun shaking her hand.

"Welcome everyone to this new event to celebrate Eun's accomplishments!" The crowd cheered as she spoke.

"Recently, the evil villain that plagued the city, committing horrendous crimes has been killed!" She had a way with the audience, getting them to cheer at her every word.

"Because of this, we have decided to award the person who saved us! Eun!"  The crowd erupted in cheers again as she bowed and handed the trophy to the elder. He stepped to the microphone, ready to give a speech he rehearsed a thousand times.

"Thank you everyone, really, I couldn't have done it without you all! It's an honor to receive such an amazing award for my hard work. This job is hard, but I do it for the people of this city, to keep you safe. I do it because I love you, thank you city!" He yelled the last part, raising the trophy as everyone started clapping again, even some yells of admiration were thrown his way.

While they continued to clap, she spoke.

"On his request, we also have a reward for his sidekick, Jisung!" He looked at her in surprise, bowing and accepting it as the crowd died down. While Eun smiled and waved the audience became quiet as everyone sat down.

It was only the echoing of one person clapping left, all the way in the top corner of the tiered seats. From the darkness, a man emerged, causing people around to scream and scramble to get away. Jisung felt like he stopped breathing as his eyes widened.

The man they thought to have died, still clapping for an award given to congratulate his death.

"Amazing, truly a wonderful award and speech!" He yelled, starting to step down the stairs. As he walked past, people ran, almost jumping, into other people to get away. He smirked, his clapping slowing down as he neared the stage.

"Your beautiful words almost brought me to tears! Oh, how happy everyone is over my death too! So sorry to ruin your dreams." He continued, stepping up the steps to the stage. Eun moved, shielding the lady who announced the awards, leaving Jisung frozen off to the side.

He directed his gaze at the younger.

"Nice to see you again Jisung. I was worried you had forgotten about me ever since you started taking that medication." He smirked at the boy. 

His voice flowed to his ears, the smirk melting his heart. Jisung didn't know what he was feeling or why he was feeling it, but he felt...excited? In a crazy way, this is the best thing that has happened in a month. The stranger turned his attention to Eun.

"I see you didn't take my advice." He stepped closer, reaching out and tapping the trophy. "I also didn't realize you gave out awards for people dying these days." He stated. The lady looked angry, unlike the rest of the people gathered.

"We don't. But you are evil, you hurt everyone around you. You deserve to die!" She screamed.

"Ouch." He replied in a monotone voice, moving over. He started to step to Jisung, eyes locked on the boy. "Eun you really are stupid." He stepped closer, smirk now back on his face. The stranger tilted his head at the younger.

"I'm surprised you ran after me all those times, it's sad you were thought to be hallucinating."

He looked at him confused.

"What do you mean? I never ran after you." He replied.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that sweetheart." The elders smirk grew as Jisung realized, the pieces clicking together in his mind.

"You?" He whispered.

"Yes, me." He whispered back.

"Why?"

Instead of replying, he stepped even closer, so that now their faces were close enough to feel the other's breath.  The boy glanced at the stranger's lips, forcing himself to stay looking up. The man reached his hand up. He hooked his finger at the top his jaw, tracing it down as he stepped to the side, closer to his ear.

"You look lonely." He said, dropping his finger, moving even closer to his ear. "And I can fix that." He moved away, not before gliding his hand past the other's pocket, turning back to the audience.

"I'm going to leave now, enjoying chasing after and killing me again." He faced Eun, starting to step backwards.

"And have fun with your little trophy." He reached into his pocket, bringing out something that look like a grenade. With one hand, he pulled the pin, crouching down and rolling it towards the other three.

He looked at Jisung, winking just as it exploded into white fog.

Eun freaked out, stepping towards it as it dispersed, and gasping when he wasn't there anymore.


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