34| COMMOTION
It swept through his body like wildfire, as if Seojin were being tortured. The melatonin that he had been thinking would be tranquil turned out to be agonising and horrible. As darkness engulfed him and refused to let go, he trembled and muttered beneath his breath.
Pain indeed was a personified metaphor, a blunt feeling to heart of the bearer and eyes of the observer.
A cackle assailed him in the darkness, and Seojin drew a quick breath, twisting in all directions to obtain a glimpse of his captor. He felt lonely and restricted on this miserable black trail.
Seojin attuned himself to his footsteps; he had walked around five miles today, but he had managed to learn that distance was only relative, relative to belief. Belief could traverse any barrier; faith, he knew, was absolute. The roads of Massachusetts, on the other hand, felt enslaving to him.
A single droplet of sweat caused the entire town to blur and arch in front of him. He brushed his palm over his face, wiping the sweat off his face, which had previously been white but was now tanned and even crimson in some spots from the moon's struts.
It had taken him a lot to get out of the hellhole, and it wasn't really an approbation, but the blast appeared to be a blessing in his case. The blast had caused a fire that had pulled out a havoc, the intensity of the blast forcing the three men apart, blazing down the whole lab nonetheless, and his vision had turned white. And it happened right before he could be jabbed into unconsciousness.
He did fall unconscious from bearing down on the blast, but that was still much safer, as Sejin had proved to be a human shield unintentionally, and that didn't prove anywhere near fatal.
So, when the situation imbursed his senses, he had taken the jolt to move his eyes around the surrounding to find Sejin and Jaden still unconscious, injured but good enough to survive since the fire had died down.
With hunched legs, he had crawled on the floor, desperately searching for any means of escape. The room was dark and dusty, filled with the stench of decay. Months, maybe even years, had been spent in this prison. But today was different. Today, he had woken up and found one of the broken ventilations that served as a gateway to the outer world.
He cautiously made his way through the narrow passage, inching forward with each painful step. As he emerged on the other side, a sense of freedom washed over him. This was his chance to leave behind the confinement and despair that had consumed his existence.
Stepping onto the deserted highway, he looked around, realizing that there was not a soul anywhere close. The abandoned cars and empty streets stood as a haunting reminder of a world once filled with life. A silence, heavy and all-encompassing, settled upon the desolate landscape.
He hadn't yet accepted the whole thing that Sejin had thrown at him. Waking up fifty-four years later, him not marrying Ahyun— it all felt blurry. Hana, Yoshi, everyone was too real to be made up. More than that, it was Ahyun's and Mi-cha's body that caused a railing havoc to drain his blood out of the body. They looked so lifeless, yet their eyes were shiny and serene, as if at any moment they would speak up and talk to him.
All of it felt so overwhelming to his already drained body that he felt like giving up, falling to his knees, and crying until death would take over. The mere tug of war had no winner; where could he possibly go, and who would be waiting for him in this city? Unspoken words kept clawing at his throat, trying to creep out and scream into the void, but he was stronger.
He was unable to think of anything beyond regrets. The regrets pried at the seams of his heart. Why couldn't it have been someone else, why couldn't it have been anyone but him? And for all those miles he had walked until now, they blurred out in the blink of an eye, and the lights tapering around him blanched out as he fell flat on his face; disinterred and gone.
Tears streamed down his cheeks as he lay on the cold pavement, his body aching and his spirit shattered. The weight of his regrets grew heavier with each passing moment, pressing down on him like an insurmountable burden. He had always been a man of dreams, but now all he could see was the wreckage of his past.
...
He stood tilted on his waist, his eyes prying closely into the man's face who had his features contorted into something painful getting his injuries sewed close.
Mr. Tobias Green was a good man. Finding an unconscious man on the road, bloody, ragged, and dressed in 2020's symbolic flannel with pants.
Who even wears these now? He pondered loud, trying to retaliate if he was seeing it correct. But to see a Kim brother in blood and flesh, and still in his twenties felt rewarding in a sense.
For at least what little was left of him— his memories that were saved from extinction by those who killed Seojin decades ago— they couldn't just go away without being analysed like someone else's murder scene after another investigation or trial came up empty...
Those memories were the closest he had to understand Seojin's life and his beliefs, yet they remained shrouded in mystery. And now he was here, alive, out of nowhere. Against all odds, Seojin had managed to travel back in time, giving him a glimpse into his life and some understanding of what it had been like for him.
No, Tobias Green was a terrifying individual. He had a slight bent back, a wiry silver beard, and was elderly. Despite the lonesome life he led in his small home, he wasn't someone who was simple to feel sorry for. There had been a Mrs. Green long ago.
Although she demanded that everyone call her Mrs. Green, her real name was Reiko. A friend of his dearest sister Bella, she shared the home with her husband after Bella had passed away, too young. And the two of them had always gotten along well. Unfortunately, a fire erupted and quickly spread throughout the home, taking Hana's life and, in turn, taking Mr. Green's spirit. Grief did not treat Tobias Green well; it turned him bitter.
The fire had been merciless, ravaging their once cozy abode, leaving behind nothing but ashes and the painful memories of what once was. Mr. Green was now left to wander the ruins of his home, and had shunned all human contact. His once jovial nature transformed into one of bitterness and resentment. He became a recluse, retreating further and further into the depths of his own sorrow.
He was only able to recall all of the previous memories and their horrific thoughts, as well as the loss, the pain, and the humiliation. His mind went blank for a few minutes before it took its breath and returned to reality with an impending groan crackling loud; Sejin, the evil twin.
That was in the past now.
Bracken cracked loudly underfoot as Tobias crept towards the far end of the room. With each brisk and unforgiving 'Snap', he walked on. He was still in disbelief as he continued to stare at that figure at the end of the room, in his house and on his bed.
And now after years of nothing, there was so much more to his life, but that had to wait. He had to treat the Kim brother before anything.
As Seojin woke up, he blinked painfully, dim dusk and murky brown streaming through his mind. He waited, focused slightly on his surroundings, he was in some torn chamber now. Someone then must have pulled him back to the safe and thrown him on the bed, so he'd get the full dose of misery when he woke up.
The pain everywhere indicated that he wasn't dead yet. If they were still around and he was still alive in some bed, then he'd be better off that way.
But Seojin cleansed his thoughts cautiously, beginning the necessary measures to restore his ravaged body. Not everyone could accomplish the feat, not that it mattered much when you are subjected to that kind of raw energy; most would have just snapped.
He was different; he was invested in what he was doing, and he understood what it meant to fail.
Carefully, Seojin tried raising his head, there was no problem with that; in fact, it scarcely even ached!
In fact, he was in less pain than he should have been. Fearing the worse, he checked himself over, but there were no signs of any more harm.
Then he saw him.
Hoping desperately it wasn't Sejin at first, he mustered every ounce of strength to rise from the bed, his body aching from the pain of strained muscles and covered in mud.
Letting out a sigh that could be heard across the room, he carefully contemplated — no, it wasn't Sejin, but another face, one that still lingered vividly in the beautiful haze of his cherished memories.
And the man he had barely registered was looking back at him, eyes crinkled, jaws taut, and lips in a thin line.
"How are you, Seojin?"
And all the blood in his body drained out of his soul, leaving his remaining soul pale and frigid. It seemed as if a switch had been turned off in his mind; all joy, life, and passion had been snuffed out.
How did everyone know him? He was a shell of his former self, a distant and unfamiliar version of the man he had once been and had once known.
Mr. Tobias Green snickered, as if reading the lines of confusion dug into his brow, "You know me a lot more than the confusion, Seojin. I am Tobias, Bella's brother."
_________
New chapter update!
+I have been quite caught up in life but updating this story makes me ecstatic.
Also, I have finally watched a few series, and worked dead.
+This book has now been featured on reading lists of different official pages of Wattpad, @/YAMystery @/WattpadUrbanFantasy
And even on @/StoriesUndiscovered for the second time.
Thank you for all the love and support.
That's all for now.
Looking forward to your comments.
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