Chapter 25: Losing Him

RAJWAN rubbed his temple in distress while he stared at the wooden kitchen table to avoid eye contact with Yacht, because as of now, believing his own ears was something he would've avoided.

"What are you saying? They did this to him?" Rajwan asked, his eyes filled with tears as he finally gathered his courage to look up at his friend. "We have to tell the police!"

"I know!" Yacht nodded his head in agreement. "Believe me, I know that..."

"What's stopping us then?"

"Um, evidence probably?" Yacht replied. "We just can't prove that Soul was the one who handed the medicine to Mal. I was starting to think that no one would believe us."

As much as Rajwan hated to admit it, but his older friend was absolutely right.

There was no way to prove that Soul was the one who poisoned Junwon, and there was no way to prove that some of the older members of Junwon's group were in on it in the first place.

Or was there?

"Doesn't the pharmacy have security cameras though? Can't we take a look at them?" Rajwan asked, his mind deep in thought. "We can't let what happened to Junwon go to waste. We need to get them arrested."

Yacht nodded his head, a wave of courage running through his veins.

"What can we do?"

Rajwan thought for a moment, his mind already clouded with racing thoughts. The only thing he could see vividly was Junwon's image repeatedly circling his mind.

"Listen, I..." He paused for a moment to gather his words. "Let's make some lunch first, for the rest of us, and after that, we'll go to the police station. Let's hope they'll do everything we need and arrest them."

Yacht nodded his head, his thoughts travelling to Santa, Earth, and Quinn. As much as he hated to admit it, he could only do what his friend asked to make sure that the word doesn't spread; so that the group members were unable to escape before the police caught them.

"That's a great idea." Yacht replied while nodding. "Go check on Junwon and wake him up while I bring the ingredients, so that he can eat with us."

Rajwan nodded one final time while standing up from his seat, taking a final look at Yacht before hurrying out of the room, through the hallway, and up the stairs.

To Junwon's room.

. . .

He found himself standing in front of the slightly-ajar door of Junwon's room, staring at the wooden door that he faced with a heavy heart. He raised his hand slightly against the door to knock. Once. Twice.

And as he expected, complete silence in response.

He pushed the door open with his fist, as gently as possible to not disturb Junwon. Peeking inside with a curious gaze, he met the sight of the familiar bedroom Junwon and his sister once shared. The once lit room was now dim with barely any light in it, the bed that once had two of his favourite people in the whole world now had only one person. Junwon's figure was lying on one side of the bed, his body limp and his features relaxed, while his eyelids were closed.

"Hey, Junwon..." He muttered, only loud enough for Junwon to hear. Or as though he thought.

His feet dragged each other towards the king-sized bed, his face falling to the floor in disappointment and heartbreak. It wasn't the fact that whenever he walked into the room, he could smell the scent of his dear sister, and it wasn't the fact that every time he looked at Junwon's face, it somehow reminded him of his sister.

Somehow his mind attached the image of Junwon to the image of Mal, despite them looking nothing alike. It was the fact that they had been together for so long, it was clear as day that he couldn't think of one without the other.

The thought broke his heart a little more.

Because if he was thinking about it that way, how the hell did Junwon manage to survive for that long without his other half?

After all, they were inseparable. Mal was attached to Junwon so much that she was willing to protect him first, and neglected her own safety. Meanwhile Junwon was attached to Mal so much he spent every night crying his heart out for losing her.

"How are you today?"

He was met by complete silence, as usual. He glanced at Junwon's unconscious figure as he took his seat on the empty side of the bed, where his sister used to spend her time when she was exhausted. The thought brought immediate tears to his eyes, but he could finally fight them back nonetheless. The pain in his heart was gradually becoming less and less, even if it hurt him that his sister was no longer with them.

It hurt him more than anything.

"Look..." Rajwan began, turning his head slightly to face his sister's lover. His sad, heartbroken gaze fell onto Junwon's limp figure. For once, he was ready to reassure someone instead of people reassuring him. He was finally ready to talk to Junwon after what happened with his sister—Junwon's lover—and not just because Junwon was out cold beside him. "I know you miss my sister. I know you miss her a lot... I know there's nothing we can do to bring her back."

He allowed a small tear to escape his eyes. A single tear that told so many things.

"But we have each other, Junwon." He continued, a soft sob escaping his mouth. "You have me. I'll always be there to hear you out. I'm like... A brother of yours, even if I'll never be like your brother, Junwon. You need to know that she loved you with every part of her. She wanted to make sure that you were safe and sound, even if she was in danger herself."

He allowed sobs to escape his mouth, his shoulders shaking with every breath he dared to take.

"And I love her so much. I love everything she loved... Which is you, Junwon. I love you, and I'm ready to be with you every step of the way. I'll help you get better, and I'll make anyone who dared to hurt you pay the price. I'm ready to be there for you, I'm ready to be your number one fan, after Mal. I'm ready to fix everything..." He stretched his hand out to brush his fingers ever so gently against Junwon's pale face, tears running down his face as he allowed himself to take a longer look at his sister's lover.

And it didn't take long for him to find out that something was terribly wrong.

His fingers brushed against Junwon's now-hollow cheeks, and his eyes widened as a freezing sensation jolted up his arm, causing him to take his fingers back slightly in shock.

Huh?

"Junwon?" His voice came out above a whisper, barely enough for his own ears to hear. His hand moved from Junwon's face to his arms, to his palms. He rested a hand over his younger friend's hand, grabbing it gently and lacing their fingers together.

And his heart dropped once he met the same frozen, limp grip of Junwon's hand.

"Junwon?" He called out, a little louder than before. His body jolted upwards while he gathered his courage to get closer to the limp figure on the other side of the bed.

And despite him not wanting to believe his own eyes—hell, he would've taken his own eyes out if he had a spoon right then and there—he chose to ignore all the signs and get a few inches closer to get a much clearer look at Junwon.

His hands were heavy, his chest was stiff and still in its place, his lips were slightly parted open, and his eyes were closed.

Rajwan quickly reached for Junwon's neck, where he could sense his heartbeats.

"Junwon? Hey—" Much like he expected but nonetheless hated to admit to his own brain, his hand met the absolute silence of Junwon's heartbeats. Rajwan's heart sank between his ribs as he inched himself closer, this time holding Junwon's wrist to check for any pulse; any sign of life.

And could hear his own heart shattering in a distance when he immediately realized that there was none.

"Junwon, come on—please... Please, don't do this to me." Tears frantically ran down Rajwan's flushed cheeks, his heart aching at the vivid image of Junwon's limp body. "Please, come on..."

He desperately shook his head, his hands grabbing both sides of Junwon's face and frantically slapping his cheeks, only to no avail. His eyes darted around the room, trying to check for anything—anything that could help. He had no idea what would help in the first place, and yet all he could do was stare at everything that surrounded the room.

"Guys?!" He was finally aware of the existence of his friends, whom were scattered across the house doing God knew what. "Guys, help! Please!"

It didn't take a detective to know what was going on.

And yet, he didn't admit it.

He couldn't admit to himself that he had just lost his sister and her lover in the same week.

He couldn't admit to himself that the entire situation might just be his own fault.

It didn't take long for Yacht, Santa, and Quinn to sprint into the room, fully awake and eyes wide with terror. Quinn bolted for Junwon's figure on the bed, their palms already slapping the younger's cheeks in a failed attempt to wake him up.

"Junwon, wake up." They called out, loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. Everyone except Junwon. Yacht hurried to stand by Junwon while Santa covered his mouth in shock, his eyes already tearing up despite how sleepy and exhausted he was.

Rajwan allowed his tears to flow freely while he shook his head, over and over till he had no idea what he was doing. He took a few steps back, his eyes located on Junwon's figure before his back hit the wall with a small thud. His knees trembled, and in a few moments, his back slid over the wall until he was already on the floor.

A hand of his unconsciously ran itself through his hair, soon followed by his other. His head flew against the wall, hitting it in a gentle, soundless matter.

Then, his eyes closed themselves, trying to ignore the scene of his life crumbling into pieces.

And it was only then when the truth sprinted through his brain, hitting it from all directions like a locomotive.

Junwon was dead.