『Schadenfreude』▷ jaesahi。

p r o l o g u e

It was similar to the calm before the storm.

Asahi gripped onto the handle of his suitcase, his eyes rooted to the peculiar mansion before his eyes. It was a Victorian style residence— an uncommon style at this day and age, especially in the country of Korea.

Yet he also couldn't say it was not beautiful enough. The old, vintage details engraved on the pillars of the villa were intricate; an alluring beauty bouncing through the victorious walls like echo. Even the doors he stood before felt strong, towering over him like a tall building.

It was gorgeous, but that did little to dispel the eerie air around itself. Although Asahi wasn't one for theatrics, he couldn't shake off the cold feel that crept up from his back and to his chest— a feeling of apprehension.

"Hamada Asahi-ssi?" Jaehyuk queried, anticipating eyes boring unto the foreigner. Receiving a curt nod in reply, he let a smile filled with warmth and excitement break on his rosy lips; tightening his grip on the door handle as he pulled it to open wider, with more than enough space for Asahi to go through. Asahi followed his lead, heading towards the spacious living room, though not before having to pass through the intimidatingly fully-furnished entry hall.

Jaehyuk halted on his tracks at the middle of the said hall, turning his head to give Asahi a friendly smile, "You can leave your luggage in here, the servants will take it up to your room later. You can also take of your coat and hang it on the stand."

Perhaps it was due to the life he had used to live that Asahi felt unsure of letting unfamiliar people handle his things, but Jaehyuk seemed to take notice of his hesitance, "If you're worried because you're new here, don't be. A person who lives here without being an employee is rightfully a master of the home. The servants' duty is to cater to you for your convenience."

His words, Asahi found, were spoken with ease. He wondered if it was because Jaehyuk had been living like this for so long that he could speak such words with confidence. Quick to agree, he dragged the suitcase as he hung his coat to the stand, leaving his luggage by its foot.

Then they bring their tracks over to the living room. "Here is the reception hall— or living room for modern times, I suppose," Jaehyuk hummed, inaudibly murumuring "but shouldn't the second parlor be the living room?" and Asahi paused for second at the boy's unusual way of wording his sentences.

There he spent the time with Jaehyuk; exchanging pleasantries, introducing themselves to each other as they take rare sips on the chamomile tea that the servants had served after they moved to the first parlor. He'd learnt a thing or two, new to his ears— things that his father would not have been able to tell him; such as Jaehyuk's interest towards flowers or how the latter's grandfather had entrusted his only grandson to the Hamada family due to his own fatherly love towards Asahi's father.

In a way, we're like cousins, the Japanese mused as Jaehyuk told him so. He observed him, almost peering, taking in the details of his new housemate. Jaehyuk had dark hair, along with a contrastingly bright and white complexion that complemented well with his rose-colored lips. His facial features were unique, one of a kind, and it wasn't a stretch for Asahi to say that the boy was beautiful.

In fact, the uniqueness of his beauty was conceivably the cause of the eldritch athmosphere that enveloped him— mayhaps it was another case of "the home defines the owner."

The mansion that felt like it was towering above him, or the owner of the residence who gave an uncanny feeling in his bones. Asahi didn't know which was the more appalling one, but he wasn't too keen on finding that out.

"Asahi-ssi?" Jaehyuk called, the gentleness of his voice matching with the softness of his gaze. "Is there something wrong?"

Asahi kept a straight face, unwilling to show his inner unease towards the house and its master. "No, none at all," he quipped with naturality, a faint smile gracing over his lips.

"If you say so," Jaehyuk wiped the corner of his mouth. "But if there's a problem in the future, you can just tell me or our attendants. As I've told you earlier, you are a rightful master of this house. Your name was written on Grandfather's will, so this is also your home."

Home. The slight quirk of his lips faltered at the word, and Asahi found himself growing more and more uneasy. This gargantuan and unnerving mansion— with walls that seemed to leer at him and doors that loomed over his figure— was now his new home.

A chill ran down his spine; and he knew that he was bound to discover a spiderweb of unexpected matters he wouldn't want to know.

"Birds of the same feather flock together, so you and I should date each other."
.
"Yuck."