The redhead endless sufferings

chapter 7:secrets to be told

Chapter 7: Got a Secret

As the theater dimmed, a heavy silence settled over the room, enveloping everyone in the haunting melody of "Got a Secret." The screen came to life, casting an eerie glow on their faces, and within that light, the figure of the original Cale Henituse appeared.

His expression was unreadable, his gaze piercing as he paced back and forth, whispering secrets into the shadows. He looked burdened, as if each step weighed him down with untold sorrow and memories that no one else knew. The lyrics pulsed through the air, almost echoing his thoughts, and for a moment, the group watching felt as if they were glimpsing a part of Cale they had never known existed.

"Got a secret, can you keep it? Swear this one you'll save
Better lock it in your pocket, taking this one to the grave..."

The soft, sinister melody wound through the room as others began to appear on the screen, each figure pulling the spectators deeper into Cale's shadowed past. Kim Rok Soo, the soul now inhabiting the current Cale Henituse, stood off to one side, his expression conflicted. Memories of his previous life flickered across his face-a life filled with struggle, loss, and secrets he could never tell. His eyes were fixed on the original Cale, wondering just what kind of past had left him so scarred. For Kim Rok Soo, these secrets felt painfully familiar, as if they were fragments of his own hidden wounds.

Next to the original Cale, the image of Cale Henituse's mother appeared. She looked at her son with profound love and sadness, her soft gaze reaching out to him, yet he remained oblivious, his heart closed off. Her radiant warmth was a sharp contrast to the darkness that surrounded Cale, and the group felt an almost unbearable ache watching her-a mother who would never know the pain that her absence had wrought upon her child.

From the shadows, The White Star observed with a detached curiosity, a calculating smirk playing on his lips. His gaze held the weight of ages, a knowing look that made it clear he, too, was a keeper of many secrets. Secrets he wielded as weapons, tools to manipulate others to his will. His presence brought a chill to the room, as if daring the group to understand that, for him, secrets were currency. He stared down at Cale Henituse, his face a mask of cruel amusement, as if pondering how he could use these fractured lives to achieve his twisted goals.

"If I show you, then I know you won't tell what I said
'Cause two can keep a secret if one of them is dead."

As the verse played, the screen shifted, showing the original Cale again. This time, he laughed, but it was a hollow, joyless sound-a sound that sent shivers down the spines of everyone watching. It was as if the secrets he carried were unraveling him, piece by piece. His laughter was devoid of life, of warmth, the laughter of someone haunted by memories that refused to stay buried.

Kim Rok Soo clenched his fists. He understood this darkness, this hollow laughter. He had seen it before in his own reflection-late nights, haunted by the loss of comrades, by memories of lives he couldn't save, battles that left him scarred. Secrets, he knew, had a way of poisoning the soul. Watching the original Cale, he felt a deep sympathy-a realization that even in different lives, their burdens might not be so different after all.

The music swelled, the haunting melody rising as fragments of memories flashed across the screen-each one a hidden truth, each one a part of the original Cale that he would never allow anyone else to see. The screen split, capturing the pain, the loss, the suffocating loneliness in each figure's gaze.

[Why do you smile like you've been told a secret?
Now you're tellin' lies 'cause you have sworn to keep it
But no one keeps a secret, no one keeps a secret...]

In the next scene, Cale's mother reached out, her hand ghosting through him. Her lips moved, as if whispering words of comfort, of love, perhaps even forgiveness, but he couldn't hear her. He was lost in his world of shadows, oblivious to the warmth that could have brought him peace. Watching her, the group felt a pang of sorrow-a reminder that some wounds could never truly be healed, not even by the love of a mother long gone.

But it was The White Star who broke the solemnity of the scene with his smirk. His gaze held an air of superiority, of amusement at the others' suffering. He knew the cost of secrets, but he wielded them with a merciless hand, a weapon he used to twist and corrupt. His calculating gaze fell on Cale Henituse, as if wondering how he could exploit this broken, burdened soul for his own gain.

"Look into my eyes, now you're getting sleepy
Are you hypnotized by secrets that you're keeping?"

The screen grew darker, the lyrics lulling them into an almost hypnotic state. The original Cale was now surrounded by shadows, his secrets pressing in on him, suffocating him, binding him to a past he could never escape. The watchers felt a suffocating weight in their own chests, as if they, too, were trapped in that web of secrets and pain.

Kim Rok Soo's fingers twitched, aching to reach out, to pull his predecessor from the darkness. He wanted to bridge the gap, to show him that he wasn't alone in his suffering. But he held back, knowing that the darkness they each carried was something that couldn't be shared, that to reveal even a piece of it would be too dangerous.

The screen froze on Cale Henituse's mother, her smile bittersweet as her soft voice echoed through the darkness:

"You swore you'd never tell... You swore you'd never tell..."

The words lingered, hanging heavily in the silent theater. The song ended, and for a moment, no one moved, each lost in the echoes of what they had just seen. Cale's burdens, his pain, his loneliness-they were no longer just hidden parts of him but felt by everyone there.

The silence was broken by Clopeh, his voice quiet but filled with a dark, intense reverence. "These secrets... they're what make Cale-nim even more legendary. They fuel his strength, his resolve. Secrets forged in pain, in darkness-they are the mark of a true hero." His gaze burned with admiration, bordering on obsession. "Cale-nim is everything a legend should be-unbreakable, even when the world has tried to break him."

Rosalyn looked at him with horror, a mix of shock and sorrow in her gaze. "Clopeh," she said quietly, "being a hero shouldn't mean suffering like this. No one deserves to carry such a burden alone."

Choi Han gritted his teeth, anger and sadness warring in his eyes. "I never realized... I never realized how much pain he hid from us. All this time, I thought I understood, but..." He paused, his voice thick with emotion. "If only I had known, I would have done more. I would have... been there."

Lock lowered his head, his voice a low murmur. "Cale-nim always looked so strong, so fearless. I never thought... I never thought he was hiding so much pain."

The weight of Cale's past, of Kim Rok Soo's hidden grief, had left them all shaken, and in that silence, a new resolve grew among them. They would stand by Cale. They would protect him, even if they never fully understood the depth of his suffering. If he refused to share his burdens, they would still be there, ready to support him, to shield him, to ease his pain however they could.

In that moment, they all knew one thing for certain: Cale Henituse would never carry his secrets alone again.