Joon did not answer. He stood there with his expressionless face, his eyes gleaming red.

The hand holding the burnt paper loosened its grip as Anya started shaking with the enormity of what things had progressed to. She had suspected, no. She had known.

She had known that this day would come, but she had equally prayed. Prayed harder, that it would not come to pass.

"Joon. . ." Anya took a step forward, hope colliding hard with fear of being right, "Tell me. . . please."

Joon tilted his head to one side, watching her approach. Observing her. His aura getting colder with each step she took, the red in his eyes gradually becoming deeper, more dangerous.

With each of his change she catalogued, the hope within her kept dwindling, her heart slowly getting encased in ice.

"Joonie. . ." she beseeched, as she took the last step to reach him, then clutched his Tshirt with both of her hands, clinging to it, "Please. Tell me you did not kill him. Please. Please!"

Cold hands raised to hold hers captive, keeping them against his chest as he spoke with a trace of icy curiosity,

"Why? Do you care that much for him?"

Fear swirling in her mind, Anya asked again, "Did you kill him?"

One of his hands let her go, to circle her waist, pulling her closer to him. The air in the house losing its warmth.

He held her to him but did not answer. His eyes becoming a swirling chaos of bloody scarlet hell, his gaze showing just a hint of his carefully hidden insanity, brimming on the stage of bursting forth.

"Joon," Anya shakily breathed out, unable to look in his eyes, "Please tell me you did not kill him. Please."

"You refuse to look at me? For him?" his voice was breaking up into pitches, his controlled rage cracking the surface of his gentle façade. He released her hands to slip his finger beneath her chin and tilt it up, "Your emotions, you allow him to enjoy it??"

His grip remained gentle but the fury in his being broke free in his voice which raised higher in multiple pitches, like that of a demon.

"NAMJOON!" Anya clutched at the tshirt and jerked him closer. With an anguished, desperate anger, she shouted at him, "DID YOU KILL HIM??"

Joon studied the anger in her bright eyes along with a profound loss of hope.

"He is not dead." His voice was still demonic, the house plunging into freezing temperature in summer, but he answered this time, "But I wish I had."

He thought of the bus already slowing down as it neared its stop. The most that human suffered would be fractures on different places and a severe concussion.

Hearing his answer, Anya felt the gushing fear dissipate all at once. She sagged against him, breathing heavily, as a whisper escaped her lips, "Thank God."

She concentrated on regulating the relief that flooded her, trying not to lose the sense of what it meant. Trying to remember to not give herself away. Shakily breathing out, she clung to him without care, his cold hard body her wall to steady herself again.

So it has begun. What I predicted would happen.

Anya thought to herself, an acute sense of loss clawing her as soon as the sense of relief slowly abated.

The beautiful dream life. . .it was just that, a dream being lived on borrowed time.

So lost in her emotions was she, that she failed to notice the desolate fury thrashing inside of Joon making him more unpredictable than he was.

"Thanking God? Don't you think its too soon for that?" his whisper was barely audible, its sinister sneer loud in his thoughts, "God can't save anyone I want dead Little Fruit," he bent down to place a biting kiss on her neck, "Don't you know that by now?" his frigid breath fell on her ears.

"Stop." Anya pulled herself away from him, "You will not do anything to-"

"Why?" Joon pushed her suddenly, making her lose balance. Anya's body bent backwards, falling on the countertop. Immediately, Joon covered her, placing small kisses over her neck, his voice and actions dripping in the insanity he had tried so hard to hide from her.

"Do you like him? Do you want to meet him again?" his hands gripped her waist as he bit her shoulders hard, leaving the imprints of his teeth. His voice burned with a fervour of immense anger, his eyes glinting with swirling scarlet behind his glasses,

"You wish to gift him your smiles?" Joon's other hand cupped her head from behind as he touched her lips with his, speaking against hers, "Does he make you happy?" He whispered.

His caresses went overboard, the emotions in him not right, "But I wont let you Blueberry. He will never see you again. Your smiles are all mine!"

"Joon." Anya quietly called out without any movement on her part, which, she realized soon, was a mistake.

Namjoon pushed himself higher, looking down at her and sneered, "At the mention of him you now refuse to touch me??" a devilish laugh, "And you still think he will live past the night?"

He was beyond reason, refusing to understand anything. Joon had worked himself up to a state where calming down was not a feat that would be easily achievable. If ever so.

This was his fear.

And this, was also Anya's.

Dependent on only one person for emotional attachment, every single emotion would naturally amplify. Sharing those emotions with another third party, would cause a backlash of jealousy and fear of threat against the only thing he had.

"Joon, I don't want you to kill anyone." Anya spoke clearly, reaching out to cup his chin, but her hand was held before she could touch her.

Joon leaned over her, merely grazing his lips over hers, constantly rubbing his icy flesh over her soft petals, "Its too late for that Little Fruit. No one else can have you, if they want that pleasure, the consequence can only be their deaths."

Understanding that there was no use trying to explain it to him right now, Anya shakily gave up and let her tense body relax before speaking, "He was not going to have me."

"Then why did you keep that card?" His steely anger gleamed at her over his eyes, "Why are you concerned with whether he can breathe or not?"

"I don't want you to sully your soul Joon." Anya broke down to tell him the real reason, "For every innocent you kill, its your soul that gets damned. I am afraid for you, because you are your soul right now. This is you, the you that is naked to the sins you commit without the excuse of human body. If your soul gets corrupted, if you give into your insanity, you will become evil Joon."

Anya felt her voice break as she still continued, "Dark can be pure Joon, evil never is. And you are dangerously close to the edge. I am afraid that if you fall, you will never be able to come back to what you were."

Joon stared at her for some time, watching the emotions play out in her face. Anya did not try to hide it. But as she had feared, he was too far gone in his madness to understand the truth for what it was.

Instead, he coldly murmured, "He was right though. Your excuses, are quite innovative."

Leaning down again, he licked the part of her shoulder he had bitten, sensuously moving his tongue over the imprint. Like a cat playing with its food, he kept placing freezing kisses on the spot until the area became numb. Then, he turned his nose to trail along her neck, breathing in her fragrance deeply,

"At least, you will not be upset over the other man, right? He is close to his death. I made sure he will never bother you again."

Anya froze.

"I had him thrown down a construction site. I don't think he will survive the blood clot in his head." He said with a smile.

The man who she had bumped into.

Joon gathered her in his arms, lifting her up sideways with his arms below her knees and back. With a controlled smile of strained gentleness on his face set with eyes blazing with insanity, Joon started walking back to her room, "It's the first time you asked me not to do something Blueberry. I will allow you your request. I wont kill him, but if he accidentally meets his death is not something you will blame me for." The meaning was clear. He would die.

The more she heard, the more her eyes became dull.

"Did you know, I tried to stay away? I did not want to get into this trouble with you, but then he smiled. Thinking about you, he smiled. That was what sealed his fate. I reacted. There was no stopping me. How dare he think about you?"

She didn't respond. She lay quietly in his arms as he sat her down on the bed, then carefully braided her hair as he had practiced for years. Turning off the lights, he lay her down along with himself on the bed, spooning her from behind.

Anya sleeplessly stared at the opposite wall as she remained caged in his frame.

"Don't leave me Anya." Joon whispered into the dark after a long time had passed, "All I ever wanted in my life was to share it with you. I needed nothing else, nothing. But even that was taken from me. Just stay with me till your life ends when you grow gray and old, then, we'll go to our next one together, okay? I promise to not be like this in the next one. I will be. . . normal."

Hearing his voice filled with hope and a sad helplessness of knowing his own reality, Anya closed her eyes.

If things continued the way they were, I am afraid Joon, you will no longer remain you. . . And that, would destroy me in a way no pain, no loss in this world can.

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2 DAYS LATER :

Anya's day began with the news from So Hyun about Kang Ryong's death.

Even though they had restricted his actions with a body vest, restraining his arms, he had still continued to be in a state of utter horror about sparrows gnawing his bones. It was not possible to keep him sedated for his health.

He had been tied to his bed for his safety but he kept screaming for help, thrashing about, rebreaking multiple of his ribs. Even that pain could not stop his cries for help.

Multiple times, the doctors had tried to calm him, but his eyes were blind to anything other than his birds eating him alive. His lungs had developed a severe infection, getting clogged with fluid. He coughed up blood but still did not cease his non-stop shoutings.

Because his body could not take the insult of being tied when his ribs were so fragile, he was again sedated in periodic intervals and wrapped up in a body vest over the thick bandages, keeping his arms by his side, unable to be moved.

Unfortunately, his hysteria had an effect on the amount of sedative required which was mistakenly calculated for a lesser amount than what was needed, leaving him to wake up in his room without supervision.

By the time the nurse had gone to check up on him, instead of finding him asleep, she had found his dead body slumped against a wall painted red.

He had banged his head on the wall, just like he had seen the sparrows do, until dyed in his lifeblood, his body broke and his life seeped out.

"His suffering was far less than the invisible crime he committed." Anya had told So Hyun, no amount of guilt or remorse in her mind, "It's a pity he did not remain alive in that state for a few more years."

"Whoa! Blueberry!! Don't go that hardcore on me!! You are scaring me!" So Hyun had exclaimed.

Responding to it, Anya had smiled in genuine sincerity as she whispered, "You have been an amazing friend to me, I hope you know that."

"Ahaa! At last!! That unenlightened mind of yours has undergone a massive undertaking of knowledge!!" So Hyun had teased her, "What brought on this change though?"

With difficulty, Anya had returned his teasing with a light jibe, not alerting him. Nor Joon.

"Joon, I need you to do something for me."

Looking up from where he had been watering the plants, he absently replied, "Hmmm?"

Anya walked to him, explaining, "My shares of my father's media newspaper has been a source of instability for a long time. Now, with Kang Ryong's death and the state both of his sons are in, if you don't reappear, my marriage will become a debate among the elite.

In this past year, the family of your mother's lover have helped me a lot through So Hyun. You know father doesn't want me to be visible much. As a repayment of his kindness, I want him to have my shares. And I want you to do it, so that people don't come knocking at my doors to include me in any schemes for powerplay."

Joon frowned, then adjusted his specs while walking towards her, "Why give it to them?"

"I don't want your company to have control over media." Anya answered directly.

Such was Joon's trust and devotion for her, that he did not even bother to ask the reason. He didn't even wish to know. "Will your father be okay with it?"

"I talked to him about it. He agrees."

Joon nodded as he pushed his hands in the pockets of his trousers, "I'll set it up for tomorrow then. I'll meet select few."

Anya accepted his answer and turned to go back, when she casually said over her shoulders, "Mira has been having a lot of problems lately, she will be coming over in about an hour. Please meet her okay? She has been so anxious."

That statement sent Namjoon in a panic. He quickly spoke, "Actually Blueberry, I was wondering if these things regarding shares should be prolonged. The news of Ryong's death will no doubt cause an upheaval in my company and I think I should not be selfish enough to throw it at Min Hwang to handle."

Anya looked back and asked, "You want to complete both the tasks today?"

"Is it alright with you?" Joon came forward to take her hands.

Anya thought out loud, "Well, Mira and me are just going to talk mostly. She fell in love with a guy who is already married so I know I have my hands full today."

Joon smiled encouragingly, "Seems like you won't have much time for me. Then its best if I utilize it."

Anya curiously asked, "People can see you?"

"For a limited amount of time, if there is no physical contact. If it proves to be difficult, I can always make them believe they saw me, but I need to be physically present."

"Oh." Anya perked up again, "Min Hwang, how could he hear you via the phone when only So Hyun and Mira can due to their bloodline?"

Hearing her question, Joon chuckled, "I was guessing when you would finally ask me."

Snorting Anya retorted, "I keep asking you about your death and where your body is. All I get from you is more poetry about the essence of fleeting life in the illusion of passion, whatever the hell that means. It discouraged me from asking any further questions."

"Ouch. That was unnecessarily harsh!" Joon winced as he bent down in front of her, picking her up in a piggyback ride to go back in the house, "You are a renowned author. For the future, I don't plan on physically running the company so I thought I will aid you in your scholarly endeavour by being a poet whose poems will make you even more famous."

"Please don't." Anya groaned and banged her head lightly against his neck, "I don't even understand half of what you write, it just flies over my head."

Joon mockingly growled, "That's because you don't try."

"No." Anya quietly replied, "Its because your perception of emotions is missing one huge experience. And without emotions, there can be no poetry."

Sensing her seriousness, Joon paused, "Which emotion?"

"DOESN'T MATTER!!!" Anya yelled in his ear, "ITS STILL GONNA BE BAD!!" she pretended to be miffed.

"Hey! Woah!" wincing at her sudden yelling, Joon got distracted from the issue, "Dead or not, with you screaming like that I will definitely become deaf." Reaching inside the receiving room, he set her down and sighed.

"He can also hear me because of the bloodline. He is my half-brother, sired by my father. His mother did well to keep him away from the mess that our family was. I discovered him years back when he became orphan. I guess I forgot to tell you about that connection."

Anya ahhhed over the fact as Joonie poured a glass of water for her and handed it over, "Keep yourself hydrated in this summer." Glancing towards her room, he said, "Give me the papers and call Mira over. I may take some time but I will be back by sun down. There are things I need to arrange that I have been putting off for some time now."

Hesitating a little, Joon sat down on the floor in front of her, their heights becoming almost the same. He then carefully took both her hands in his after putting back the glass.

He remained bowed over their joined fists, looking at their intertwined fingers.

In a whisper, he said, "After her visit, can I make a request? Can we have a month to ourselves? When no one comes to visit, when you don't need to work? Just us, here?"

Hearing his heartfelt hesitant words, Anya furiously swallowed through the knot in her throat, trying hard not to let her face crumple. Struggling through the sorrow flooding her, she smiled with enough emotion to pass it off as joy, "I would like that."

When Joon looked up and smiled back with a shy appreciation and budding happiness, Anya bit her tongue till her mouth filled with the rusty tang of blood, to keep her own smile in face.

His pure delight was too much for her to take, given what she knew.

"Okay!" Joon stood up, "Call Mira, I'll be going. Will meet you in a few hours!" he vanished where he stood.

Anya took the glass and sipped from it, listening to the sound of him rummaging through the papers upstairs, then felt his presence fade from the house.

Blankly, she replied to the empty house, "See you in a few hours."

15 minutes passed as she remained seated in that manner before breaking down. As her tears silently trailed her face, she stood up to dial Mira's number.

"Its time." was all she could whisper when Mira answered.

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A/N : We are reaching the end. . . .

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