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     "And sign here", Mat stated as he pointed at another space on the paper.

     I signed it and looked back at Mat, "Is that all?"

     Mat happily smiles and takes the papers so he could put it back inside his briefcase, "Yes, that's all."

     Mat, also known as Matthew Luca, has been an acquaintance of mine for almost 20 years now. Everything you want and need, Mat would be able to provide it for you. Well, unless you have the money to pay him for it.

     Currently we're in the office at my house, signing the papers for the expensive apartment that Mat was selling me about a year ago.

     I was buying the apartment for Julien. Because a few days ago, Julien was "assaulted" by dozens of men who were actually following orders from Julien's own brother. Julien, for some unfortunate reason, was actually a member of the gang, and Johnson and I suspect that his brother, and the other gang members, are here to take Julien since Julien just literally left the gang. So as a temporary solution, we decided to hide Julien while we figure out what those men really want from him (since Julien himself wouldn't tell us, or maybe because he too doesn't know about it either), and just generally wait for everything to settle down and go back to normal.

     "I have already transferred the money inside your account", I say as I placed the pen back on my necktie.

     "Thank you my dear friend, you're really saving my butt here", he suddenly tells me.

     "Don't tell me you got mixed up with loan sharks again", I say, and Mat just smirked, like he was proud about it.

     "Seriously, you never change", I tell him, making him chuckle.

     "Well we gotta survive this cruel world Val", he answered, and I just nodded my head as an understanding.

     Mat takes a sip from the coffee we served him, then he looks back at me and continued, "We grew up together you know, and we both left the family when things got...bad. You got lucky and built yourself an empire, while little-old Mat here became a...marketeer."

     I rested my back on my seat and answered him; "Well I didn't ask you to follow me when I left."

     "Are you kidding me? I was like an outcast in the Valentino family; you were the only Valentino there who treated me like a person. I know my father was a mere soldier to the family, but I just couldn't take how the others treated me", Mat honestly tells me, and the memories of him being pushed around by my "family" members resurfaced.

     Mat might act like it wasn't a big deal now, but the hurt in his eyes was obviously still visible.

     "Well, for what is worth...you were the only one who treated me like a person there too", I told him.

     Mat's eyes widened, probably surprised since I never really said anything sweet to him before.

     "Thanks Val, that means a lot", he says with a genuine smile.

     When the atmosphere suddenly became awkward, Mat quickly takes his fedora and wears it, "I think I should go. The apartment is ready for you so you could just go there any time."

     I looked at Mat but didn't answer him.

     I sighed and took my checkbook out of the drawer.

     "How much is your debt?" I asked him.

     Mat looked shock as he looked at me with confusion, "Pardon?"

     "Tell me the amount of your debt before I change my mind", I tell him as I took my pen.

     Mat didn't know what to do, he looked like he was lost for some reason. But soon after, his mind started functioning again. He gathered all his shit together and answered me, "A little over a...m-million?"

     I looked at him with disbelief, but wrote the digits down on my check anyways.

     "That's two million dollars. Use the rest of the money to start again. Wisely this time", I tell him as I handed him the check.

     Mat looked like he was about to cry as he slowly reached out for the check, "Val...I don't know what to say."

     "Thank you would be enough", I jokingly tell him as I placed the pen and the checkbook back to where it originally was.

     Mat quickly stands up and removes his hat, and then he suddenly bows on the floor and said, "Thank you Val, thank you so much!"

     He always does this when I do something for him.

     "Alright, enough with that. Fucking stand up, the floor is dirty", I stated, and Mat finally stood up from the floor.

     I stood up from my seat as well and looked at him, "That's also a thank you...for still staying loyal to me when everyone else didn't."

     "Val..."

     Mat looked at me, but this time, actual tears were now pouring out of his eyes.

     "Why are you like this now?! Where's the cold-hearted Romeo that I grew up with?!" he asked as he wiped his eyes aggressively.

     I laughed and walked towards the door, "Come on, let me show you out. And stop crying, you look ugly when you cry."

     Mat doesn't say anything as he takes his things and follows me downstairs.

     Johnson, who was sitting on the living room, quickly stood up when he saw us.

     "Mat's leaving?" he asked.

     "Yes he is", I answered.

     Johnson looked at Mat and was shocked to see that his eyes were all red. But after a few seconds, Johnson chuckles and said, "Romeo paid for your debt again didn't he?"

     Mat doesn't say anything, but he pouts and nods his head.

     Johnson then looks at me and says, "You're spoiling him again. How will he learn if you keep on doing that?"

     "Give the kid some slack", I say as I looked back at Mat.

     "W-Well...thank you again", Mat says as he goes to Johnson to give him a quick hug. Then Mat looks at me and shows me his hand.

    I looked down and looked at his hands. Since I've known Mat for a long time, he also knows about my OCD, so he wears leather gloves like everyone else does when they meet me. But it's weird to actually see him wear it now since we practically share spoons when we were growing up before.

     I took a deep breath and smiled at him. Then I removed the glove on my right hand and showed it to him, "For old time's sake."

     Mat looked like he was going to cry again, but he stops himself and immediately removed the glove on his hand as well.

     Mat's hand was covered with healed bruises, and there was a V tattoo on his middle finger, a symbol that Mat is an underling of the Valentino Family.

     "Let's meet again my old friend", I say as Mat grabbed my hand for a handshake.

     Mat's hand was rough, not like Julien's hand that was soft and smooth. The feeling was unusual, but somehow, I didn't mind it.

     "I'm always here for you Val...till my last dying breath", Mat stated as he pulls his hands away. He looks back at Johnson and me, and then he nods his head and leaves the house.

    "It's good to see him again", I honestly say as I watched the door close.

     Johnson patted my back and said, "I'm proud of you."

     I smiled and nodded my head as I wore the glove back.

     "Anyways, where's Julien? He needs to leave immediately", I stated. And like I casted a summoning spell, Julien walks down the stairs with a backpack.

     "Are we ready to leave?" Julien asked as he walked towards me.

     I draped my arm around his shoulder and kissed him on the head, "You're ready to leave actually."

     "You're?" Julien asked confusingly as he moved away from me.

     Johnson awkwardly clears his throat and suddenly says, "I-I'll...I'll be outside if you guys need me", then he goes outside, leaving me alone with Julien.

     Seconds later Julien's eyes widened from realization, "You're not even coming with me to the apartment aren't you."

     I sighed and placed both of my hands on Julien's cheeks, "I can't come with you, if people sees you leaving with me then what's the sense of all this? We have to be cautious."

     Julien lifts his arm to rest his hand on top of mine, "You're unfair."

     "I'm cautious", I answered back as I put my hands down.

     "A driver will be waiting for you outside. We already talked about this last night so I don't have to repeat everything. I also texted you the room number and the door password so just check that when you arrive. And please, don't talk to anyone", I explained.

     Julien doesn't say anything but nods his head instead.

    I sighed and apologetically looked back at him, "I'm sorry if I'm doing this to you. It's just...I've lost too many people that I care about, and I don't know what I'd do if I lose another one."

     "Rome", Julien says, and then he suddenly pulled my necktie and gave me a tight hug.

    "I understand Mr. Romeo Valentino, so there's no need for you to apologize", Julien sweetly tells me.

     "It will be over as soon as I find out what those men are really trying to do to you. And when everything else goes back to normal", I say as I slowly pushed Julien away from me.

     "Alright", Julien says. He then takes a deep breath and continued, "Then I think I should go. The sooner I get there, the better right?"

     I looked at him and nodded my head.

     "Then...I'll see you", Julien awkwardly says as he slowly walks away.

     But before he could reach the door, I grabbed him by the hand, making him stop.

     "What is it?" Julien asked as he turns around to look at me again.

     I let go of his hand and asked, "Do you trust me?"

     Julien looked confused at first, but he smiles and nods his head anyways, "Always Rome."

     "Then come closer, I have something important to tell you", I say, and Julien moved closer until he was a few inches away from me.

     I clenched on my fist, and I felt my heart suddenly beating fast. I gulped and moved even closer to him, and without anything to lose, I leaned forward and gave Julien a quick kiss on the lips.

     Julien gasps and takes a step back, obviously shocked.

     I quickly felt embarrassed as I defended, "I am so sorry, I shouldn't have-"

    I was ready to give Julien this very long explanation on why I suddenly kissed him, but I stopped when I  saw his face turning red.

     I finally eased as I saw his reaction. Julien bites his lower lip and finally looks back at me, "C-can you say that again? I didn't understand it the first time", he shyly asked.

     He looked fucking cute that my pants were suddenly getting tighter.

     But I brushed the thought away and moved closer to Julien again. Then I leaned forward for the second time and gave Julien another kiss.

     The kiss felt good, not lustful. I opened my lips a little to get a better taste on Julien's soft pink lips. Then, I gently bit his lower lip before pulling away.

     "I always wanted to know how it feels when you bite that", I say with a smirk. Making Julien hit my chest from embarrassment.

     Both of us stared deeply at each other for almost a minute.

     I knew no one wanted to look away, but Julien immediately clears his throat and says; "Now I really need to go."

     "Y-Yes, of course", I answered.

     Julien nods his head and goes to the door, before grabbing the doorknob; Julien looks back at me and says, "No goodbyes okay?"

     I nod my head back at him and answered, "No goodbyes."

     And just like that, Julien was gone.

(3 days later)

     "Did you pass all the documents to President King?" I asked as I was walking down the hallway at the company building.

     Johnson, who was now my secretary as well since Julien wasn't here anymore, quickly followed behind me as he answered, "Already did. And President Sterling also emailed you the report from yesterday, said he needs the feedback as soon as you can."

     "Okay, I'll check it later", I answered as I got inside the elevator, Johnson just right behind me.

     "And the documents for my presentation next week, have you transferred it already?" I asked. Johnson sighs and answered, "I forgot, but I'll do it as soon as we get back."

     "You forgot?" I asked him with my right eyebrow raised.

    Johnson sighs again and says, "It's hard to be your private assistant, driver, and secretary at the same time you know. And why are you suddenly busy? When Julien was your secretary you weren't this-"

     Johnson suddenly paused and said, "Wait a second. You're busying yourself on purpose aren't you?"

     I took a deep breath but didn't answer him.

    "Rome, it hasn't even been a week and you're already doing this to yourself. And come on, you practically talk to each other every time you're on a break, how on earth are you still missing him at that point?" Johnson asked confusingly.

     Thankfully the elevator door opens so I didn't have to answer his question.

     Johnson immediately follows behind me and continued, "If you miss him so much, then just ask him to go back. Those..."

     Johnson paused and whispered close to my ear, "Dark Saints..."

     Then he moves away and continued, "Haven't done anything else after the day they left that note anyways. Maybe they just wanted to take revenge on Julien for leaving them all of a sudden, and after that they all went back to Korea."

     "Until I find any proof that Julien is safe then I'll ask him to go back", I answered as we now arrived outside the building where the car was waiting for us.

     "Alright, but you have to promise me that you won't tire yourself just because you miss your boyfriend", Johnson shamelessly says in public, making my face become hotter.

     I purposely ignored Johnson's question, "Let's go, I'm hungry", I answered instead as I hurriedly went inside the car.

     Johnson laughs and places all my things beside my seat before closing the door. Then he goes to the driver's seat and starts the engine, "Then it's a good thing I requested the maids to cook steak for our dinner tonight."

     Johnson drives off and I stare outside the window like I always do.

     But as I was staring outside the window, my heart was suddenly racing, like something was wrong for some reason.

     I was uneasily bouncing my leg up and down, and I think Johnson noticed my worried expression.

     "Is everything okay back there?" Johnson asked as he looked at me through the rearview mirror.

     I took the pen from my necktie and squeezed it hard, "Drive faster."

     "What?" Johnson asked confusingly.

     I was squeezing on the pen so hard that I thought it was going to break.

     "Something's not right..." I simply say, and I knew that Johnson immediately understood what I was talking about.

     So Johnson drove faster until we arrived at the house earlier as expected.

     I placed the pen back on my necktie and immediately went outside of the car.

     I practically ran towards the front entrance, but I immediately had to stop as soon as I saw something on the door.

    The number 23 was carved on the door by what I suspect was done with a knife.

     I stared at the writing with complete confusion, but soon, my heart dropped.

     "Romeo?" Johnson called out before I could even grab the doorknob.

     Johnson's eyes widened as he saw the text on the door as well.

     "Stay back", Johnson says as he pushes me away from the door.

    My whole body was suddenly trembling as Johnson slowly grabbed the doorknob. He agonizingly twists the doorknob and slowly pushes the door open so he could take a peek. But the moment he opened the door, Johnson gasps and fell on the floor; his eyes wide and his hands covering his mouth.

     Johnson looked so terrified. It looked like he just saw a ghost.

     "J-Johnson?" I asked as I looked down at him.

    When it was clear that Johnson was too shocked to even answer me, I gulped and lifted my head to see what he was looking at.

    The door slowly opens wider. But when it was now wide-open for me to see everything, my heart almost dropped as I now saw what was in front of me.

     I stood there like a statue, unable to move as I stared at my maids lying dead on the cold floor.

     "T-This can't be..." I say as my whole body trembled. I was taking a few steps back but I couldn't look away.

     "R-Romeo...G-Go to the car", Johnson tried to tell me, but he was obviously still in a state of shock himself.

    "Romeo", Johnson called out again, but all I could do was stare as tears slowly went out of my eyes.

     All my maids were lying on the floor, there heads covered in blood like they were directly shot there. 

     There was a pool of blood on the floor, and someone wrote on the wall by using the blood from my own maids. And like the writing on the door, the bloody wall read: It Begins.

    Johnson and I were quiet for a couple of seconds. But we got back to our senses when my phone suddenly rings.

     I slowly took my phone from my pocket.

    Calling: Antonio Valentino.

- END -