Jeongguk
A year ago
His suit was chosen by his uncle. It was black. Fully. Even the cuffs and the tie. Jeongguk guessed that's what his uncle wanted him to wear.
It was raining. More like a thunderstorm. And the water caressed Jeongguk's face as he watched the coffin lower into the six feet chasm. It was deep. Jeongguk wanted it to be deeper so that he couldn't see the plain black tile under which his last family would stay forever.
Jeongguk wanted to cry.
He didn't.
There was only one man apart from him left after some time. The priest. He walked towards Jeongguk, his umbrella black and heavy in his hand. And he kept a palm on his shoulder, squeezing.
"Take care of yourself, son."
Jeongguk had clenched his jaw, nodded and then walked away amidst the rain.
His feet took him on the familiar road leading to his house. The rain wasn't stopping. He wasn't either. But as he looked at the two storey building which was once his only refuge, he could hear the silence. He could hear the nothingness. There would be no one. The house would be empty. Just like his heart.
And just like that, Jeongguk turned around. Walked away from the familiar road and found himself right in front of a bar. He went inside and ordered several shots, not bothering with waiting for his headache to lessen and had downed all the small glasses when the bartender brought him more, eyeing Jeongguk in concern but well, he had to do his job.
Jeongguk heard the chair beside him scrape and he turned his head slightly towards the sound, his head aching and his eyes heavy lidded. His vision wavered but he could see a mop of tussled platinum hair, pale skin and glasses.
"You." The voice was deep, low, and rough. A little wavering perhaps, like the man was slightly drunk as well. Jeongguk sighed. He'd found a companion in the bar. Good for him.
"You. I know you." The man said and Jeongguk frowned at him, blinking repeatedly as his vision adjusted to the dark of the bar.
The man was attractive, his eyes dark and cat-like. His skin had a pallor to it that Jeongguk found intimidating, as if the man didn't go out, didn't hang around people as much. Those kind of people scared Jeongguk. They were too much like him after all.
"W-What?"
"You're going to-to know soon enough." The man hiccuped. And then murmured something like 'Why did I drink so much?'. Jeongguk asked himself the same thing.
The man swayed on the seat. And yet he didn't look clumsy, he didn't look young or naïve. Even drunk, he had this aura to him which suggested that he was wise. His eyes were knowing, calm even with the slight flush of alcohol. And Jeongguk was uneasy.
"Why are you looking at-at me like that?" He asked, voice rough and groggy due to the excessive amount of alcohol and sorrow in his bloodstream.
The man smiled, a pretty nice smile, were it not for the sickening look in his eyes which made Jeongguk shiver. The man knew something. Jeongguk wanted to know what he knew.
And so the man told him.
"What do you mean? I'm-I'm a prince?" Jeongguk guffawed, the sound hollow. The man chuckled as well, shaking his head lightly.
"Have you ever been in love?" The man asked instead. And Jeongguk wanted to say yes, he had. Because oh god, he wanted to feel love. He'd never felt love. He wanted to feel safe and loved and happy and cared for. Everything that seemed to be taken from him as time passed by. But he couldn't lie. So he just shook his head.
