♠︎

THE HYUSEN RESIDENCE IS usually quiet during the day. Krist, the master of the house, enjoys his morning by drinking tea and looking at the view from his balcony. But while Krist was enjoying his alone time, he suddenly heard a noise outside his bedroom, causing his expression to change from calm to annoyance.

     Krist wanted to ignore it, but the noise wouldn't stop. So, with anger present on his face, he puts his tea down and walks out of the room, finding two maids standing in front of the bedroom door next to his.

     "What the hell are you two doing?" Krist asks, the maids looking panicked.

     The one on the right, holding a breakfast tray, looks at the intimidating young master and tries to explain, "My apologies, Master Krist. Sir Hee-joon refuses to take his breakfast. He didn't eat his dinner either, so when we tried to open the door he suddenly threw a pillow and shouted at us."

     Krist, who expected something like this would happen, could only sigh in frustration.

     It was only yesterday when Max called him and asked if Joon could stay with him for the time being. Krist wanted to decline since there was no way in hell he was harboring a demon like Joon in his own home, but when Max said that he was afraid that Gavriil might get mad at him if Joon continued to stay in their house, Krist was left with no choice.

     After all, Master Joker won't be able to resist a direct request from his little toy.

     "Where's the master key?" Krist asks the maids, and the one wearing a different uniform pulls out a golden key that she's wearing around her neck and hands it over to the baron.

     Krist doesn't knock and just opens the door with no hesitation. When the door is finally unlocked, he takes the tray of food from the maid's hands and asks them to leave. The maids nod their heads and make a run for it, afraid of what might happen.

     As soon as they're out of sight, Krist walks inside the room. The moment he stepped inside, a pillow flew towards him, making Krist dodge it before the tray of food could fall off his hands. 

    The attacker no longer threw anything at him, so Krist turned the lights on and closed the door behind him. Joon was sitting in bed, hugging his legs while his eyes had dark circles around them, hinting that he didn't sleep at all.

     Krist doesn't even react when he sees Joon's state. Instead, he grabs the side table and puts it in front of Joon before putting the tray down.

     "Eat," he commands, but Joon just glares at him.

     "You know that Max was supposed to ask Hans first since you two were practically best friends in the past, but Max knew Hans would reject the request before he could even explain anything. The others aren't good options either so you're stuck with me whether you like it or not," Krist explains.

     "Go away," Joon answers instead.

     "This is my house."

     "Go away!" Joon repeats, annoying Krist even more.

     "No one is willing to take your sorry ass, do you understand that? No one wants you besides that mad king, so it's either you accept the fact that there are people who are willing to fucking help you, or just stop making our lives harder," Krist tells him, making Joon clench his fist.

     "I'd rather go back to Viktor than be stuck with you!"

     "Then let me hand you to him you stubborn fuck!" Krist angrily says. "You'd like that, won't you? That way you'll have a reason to crawl back to him. That way you can say that you had no other choice but to fucking go back to his side. You're disgusting...both of you."

      "Disgusting? Why?" Joon asks him instead, the question making Krist feel even more annoyed. "Oh yeah, I forgot. You're homophobic, right? You hate people like me so much because your father and your brother were—"

     "You better shut your mouth right now Kim Hee-joon," Krist warns, and the reaction made Joon grin.

     "Did I open a wound?"

     "Don't cross that line."

     "It's not my fault that you hate people like yourself," Joon tells him, and finally, Krist loses his temper. He pushes Joon towards the bed and goes on top of him. The baron raised his fist and was about to throw a punch, but when he looked down at Joon, he stopped.

     Joon's eyes were red, almost like he was inches away from crying. When Krist saw this, he immediately cursed and moved away from him. He then sat on the edge of the bed while Joon continued to lie there in silence.

     "Don't do this to me, Joon," Krist says, sounding almost like he was pleading to him. "Not again...don't do this to me again."

     "I'm sorry..." Joon suddenly whispers, making Krist look back at him.

     Joon was holding back tears, and Krist wanted to reach out and touch his cheek but he ended up stopping himself.

     "Okay," Krist replies, grabbing Joon's arm and forcing him to sit up again. Krist doesn't say anything as he brushes Joon's hair back for him so his face won't be covered by it. Soon after, he grabs a spoonful of oatmeal and places it in front of the prince's mouth.

     Joon wanted to decline, but he eventually opened his mouth, letting Krist feed him, a scene that once happened between them in the past. Before Max, before CJ, before Hans and Levi, and before Viktor...

     "Do you still use the gun that I gave you?" Joon finally asks.

     Krist stops, the question making him look away.

     "I don't want to talk about–"

     "Do you?" Joon insists, making Krist release a heavy breath.

     "He was furious. Your king was ready to kill me when he saw me holding that gun for the first time." Krist remembers. "That Russian Nagant Model 1895. When Viktor saw that I had that gun, he instantly knew the reason, and he never stopped making fun of me, degrading me, and battling me and my brotherhood until the entire student body saw us as a joke. You tried giving that to me as an apology, but for me, it was a curse. Viktor never stopped reminding me of that," Krist explains, and Joon didn't even feel guilty.

    Krist knew he wouldn't. He didn't want him to anyway.

     "I only used it once, and it was during my battle with Max. It was my way to provoke Viktor too, and I think it worked. Unfortunately, Max almost suspected who the original owner was when I told him it wasn't given to me by Viktor, so I never used it again."

     "You can give it back to me if you don't want it. I have better use of it," Joon says, making Krist look back at him again.

     "Do you even know how I felt when you gave that goddamn gun to me? At the rooftop too of all places," Krist asks instead, and as soon as the words run out of his mouth, he immediately regrets saying it.

     "I know," Joon whispers. 

     Krist immediately stood from the bed, walking towards the door so Joon wouldn't be able to see the expression on his face. "Finish your food and get ready for school. I'll ask one of the drivers to take you to J.S High once you're ready," Krist says instead, reaching for the door and opening it wide so he can finally leave.

     "We're not going to school together?" Joon asks. And instead of answering, Krist walks out of the room and slams the door shut, leaving the prince alone with only himself.

...

"I don't want to admit it, but I'm kind of worried about him," Max says, looking out of the car window while wondering about what Joon is doing in his new residence. "I asked the leaders and CJ was the first to accept the offer, but I knew Krist would get mad if I let Joon stay with him so I gave him to Master Joker instead."

     "You can't cry about a toy you gave up yourself," Étienne—Max's loyal butler—says while looking at his master through the rearview mirror, which only made Max glare at him.

     "You're such a nincompoop," Max says, making Étienne chuckle.

     "Haven't heard of that in a while," Étienne mumbles, but when he looks back at Max and finds him still glaring at him, he clears his throat and adds, "Sir Kim is in good hands. Besides, I believe he is capable enough to handle himself in any given situation. As for you..."

     "I'm being followed 24/7. If I can't handle myself, at least a guard unit is there to assist me," Max says with a sarcastic tone before looking back to see the black van still following them.

     "I bet Joon is mad at me," Max continues, facing front.

      "If you're so worried then why did you make him leave the residence? It's not like we couldn't accommodate him. The mansion is big enough for eight more of your friends to live there. And to tell you honestly, he's very polite to the staff," Étienne tells him, which makes Max feel even more embarrassed to answer the question.

     "I...I don't want Gav to be mad," Max whispered, but it was still loud enough for Étienne to hear.

     The poor butler was surprised when he heard Max's reasoning, but somehow, he didn't question it. Max always had a strong attachment to his childhood friends, especially Gavriil.

     "Well then, you should stop worrying about Sir Kim and just think about Master Alexeev's concerns instead. You wouldn't want to disappoint him," Étienne responds, and this time, it's Max's turn to be surprised.

     "You're on his side now?" Max asks.

     "I mean it would greatly benefit our family if you unite with the Alexeev Clan," Étienne mumbles next.

     "What did you say?" Max asks back, but Étienne just shrugged his shoulder.

     "Whatever, let's stop talking about this so I can stop worrying about it." Max takes a deep breath and looks back at Étienne with a more serious expression on his face. "There's something more important that I want to discuss with you. It's a task only you will be able to fulfill," he then tells him.

     "What task?"

     "Do you remember the bullet that Chairman Valor showed us when we visited him?" Max asks, and as soon as the young heir mentioned Chairman Salvatore Valor, Étienne was instantly all ears.

     "I talked to someone who was involved with Payton Wolfe, and apparently there were two bullets," Max revealed, surprising Étienne. "Someone recreated the poisoned bullet and made it even more lethal. I want you to find that person. Interrogate people if you have to. Just make sure you find something."

    Étienne was quiet for a while, but soon after, he looks back at Max through the rearview mirror and said, "Consider it done."

     "Good."

     "Anything else?"

     Max pauses and thinks about it for a while. "There is one thing, actually."

     "And what could that be?"

...

[At the House of Bishops, Dante's Inferno, 2nd level]

"The meeting at the Ninth Circle has ended," Myro—the leader of Brotherhood, the Clan—reports to Killshot who was busy punching a boxing bag as his morning exercise.

     Killshot throws a strong punch, making Myro move away a little. Without losing his focus, Killshot asks, "And what happened? Did they finally talk about something useful?"

     "They still have no leads on who the third suspect is," Myro answers, making Killshot punch the bag harder.

     "The brotherhoods here love to meet up with each other, but they never really talk about anything useful. It's literally a waste of time, which is why I never attend it," Killshot answers.

     "The brotherhoods are planning to stop the search," Myro then revealed, and Killshot punched the bag so hard the rookie leader thought it was going to break.

     "What?! They're planning to stop investigating? After everything a student of ours did for this damn house, helping us with this suspect is the least they can do. They made a declaration with Sinclaire. They stop now then they automatically agree to revoke the Black Uniform Protection Code. Are they insane?"

     Myro wanted to explain further, but he was suddenly interrupted by a familiar voice.

     "Soobin!" Someone suddenly shouted from outside the room.

      Killshot stopped and removed his boxing gloves, aware of who that person was. As he expected, Blade enters the room holding a bottle of water and a clean towel. Myro immediately bowed, while Killshot sighed as Blade ran to him, instantly wiping his sweat like it was his obligation to do so.

     "Hello Myro, did you have fun in the meeting?" Blade asked with a wide smile while he continued drying Killshot who was also busy drinking water.

    Myro cleared his throat, looking away from the two before answering, "They're planning to stop the search for the third suspect, explaining that they've been wasting their time with something that doesn't exactly benefit them, and they'd rather have no brotherhood customs than continue chasing a ghost they'll never be able to find."

     "WHAT?!" Blade shouted, his expression changing so fast it scared the Clan's leader. Blade then dropped the cloth he was holding and grabbed Myro by the collar, staring at him with his eyes almost crazy-looking.

     "They can't stop! This is the only good fucking thing they can do for us. I can't live one more day in this hellhole. I'm not a fucking lord. I'm a fucking prince! A prince! I don't want to rot here any longer!" Blade shouted, sounding hysterical. Thankfully, Killshot pulled him away and calmed him down.

     "Myungjin, you got to calm the fuck down," Killshot says as Blade takes a deep breath.

     "S-Sorry, I lost my composure for a second there," Blade says, his expression returning to normal. "Maybe I should bug Keigo again to keep my mind off of all this. Living here for so long has been bad for my mental health. I need some fresh air."

     Blade doesn't wait for Killshot's answer as he starts walking to the exit. But just as he was about to open the door, he suddenly stopped, making Myro and Killshot look at him with their eyebrows furrowed.

     "What's wrong?" Killshot asks.

     "Someone's outside," Blade replies, and as soon as he says those words, Myro immediately pulls out a gun while Killshot grabs his dagger from the table.

     Killshot pulled Blade away and pressed his ear against the door. The rest of the members of PHD just left to go to their classes. No one else is here besides them. And no one else has access to their dorm besides Blade and Killshot. This was definitely an intruder.

     "Anything?" Blade asks, and Killshott immediately shushes him.

     Everything was quiet for a while, but when Killshot heard something coming from outside again, he finally opened the door, throwing the dagger so fast it almost hit the person standing in front of him. Thankfully it missed him just an inch, or it would have directly pierced through his eyes.

     "Wait! Please don't kill me!" Martin Osborn, the Saints school representative, shouted with his hands raised above his head to show that he wasn't there for trouble.

     "What's going on?" Blade asks, stepping out of the room as well, Myro right behind him. "Wait, Martin Osborn? What the hell are you doing here? No...how the hell did you get here?!"

     "Shall I kill him for trespassing?" Myro then asks, making Martin raise his hand even higher.

      "I stole the master key! The Ministry has one for emergencies!" Martin answered as fast as he could when he saw Myro pointing his gun at him.

     Killshot and Blade were both confused to see the Saint, but despite the confusion, Killshot signaled Myro to put his gun down, which he did. Killshot then looks down at Martin's pants and asked him, "Did you just piss yourself."

     "Y-You almost killed me...with a knife!"

      "You entered our dormitory without any notice. Did you expect a warm fucking greeting?" Killshot asks back.

     Martin wanted to defend himself again, but Blade approached him instead. "Okay, let's stop wasting time here. You've got some nerves sneaking inside our base. It's either you have a death wish, or you're desperate for something."

     "I'm desperate," Martin immediately agrees.

     Blade and Killshot glanced at each other, and then they looked back at Martin who was ready to explain himself.

     "I don't want any trouble, especially with J.S High. I've been there, you know? I...I experienced things that...that still haunt me. But when I got back I realized something," Martin begins to explain.

     "Realize what?"

     "Max," Martin answers. "He has immense power in that house. He can protect me. And I have something to give him in exchange for that protection, and only you guys can make that happen," he explains further, only confusing the brotherhood leaders even more.

    "What are you talking about?" Killshot asks this time.

     "I might have a lead on the third suspect," Martin finally reveals, leaving everyone in the room speechless.

     "Don't fuck with us..." Killshot warns, approaching Martin and grabbing him by the collar. "All the brotherhoods have been searching for that suspect and you want us to believe that someone like you has a lead?"

    "I-I'm not l-lying..." Martin struggles to answer, his feet no longer on the ground as Killshot lifts him higher. "I s-saw something...while we were finalizing t-the files...I saw something."

     Killshot wanted to say something else, but Blade touched his arm, instantly making the leader drop the Saint to the ground.

     Blade stared at Martin, checking if he was lying to them or not, but he couldn't see anything. He was telling the truth, and the fact that he went all the way to their base by himself meant that he really did know something.

     "Talk..."

      Martin composed himself, and then he looked back at the members of PHD and explained, "I think you've heard the rumors. The Saints are planning something, something that no other house would dare do. If that were to happen, the white uniforms would kill me after everything we've done here. I need protection. Only Max can help me."

     "What is he talking about? What rumor?" Blade confusingly asks.

     Killshot seemed to have an idea, but he wasn't sure about it yet. Unfortunately, that wasn't important right now.

     "Who's your lead? Who do you think the third suspect is?" Killshot asks instead.

     "I can't tell you yet. I need you to call Max first. I need to talk to Max fi—" before Martin could even finish his sentence, he suddenly started coughing, surprising the three.

    They wanted to ask Martin more questions, but the coughing became severe. And soon after, Martin's mouth started to foam.

     "Soobin! He was poisoned!" Blade alerted, and Killshot and Myro immediately grabbed Martin to help him.

     "Get the first aid kit! Hurry!" Killshot told Blade, and Blade was already running to the exit before Killshot could say anything else. 

     Killshot wiped Martin's mouth and tried to help him breathe properly, but Martin reached out to the leader and suddenly grabbed him by the collar instead. With all his remaining strength, he tried to say, "M-Max...I need to...t-talk to...Max. Only he c-can...help. It can only be...h-him. Please...only a r-rank 1...can help."

- END -