[CONTENTID1]SORRY[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]The sink filled with red water as Hakyeon rinsed every single inches of his hand, making sure there was no traces of it whatsoever. He didn’t like the smell of blood. It made him feel nauseating.

“Hakyeon…… your hand is cleaned now…..” Leo mumbled, eyes fixed on Hakyeon’s hand. They were shaking. Even a few minutes ago the one that was so strong was now shaking before him. His whole body was jerking a little from time to time. Hakyeon stopped, gawking at the red water before him. The sight he had in mind was frightening him now.

Stop shaking!

Hakyeon ordered himself several times, but his body wouldn’t follow. His body went numb and he felt as if all the stress of the world had made it's home in his legs. He felt weak, perhaps more restless, and before he even realized it, he was all crumpled up on the floor.
 

What’s wrong?
 

He asked himself seeing hands tremble, the shirt wrapped around his waist,still smelt of fresh blood. Nervously he took it off, threw it somewhere a bit farther, changed into the sleeveless shirt that Hyuk had gave him, but the shaking didn't stop. The blood was tormenting him in an unknown way, he was abhorring it.
 

He did not plan this day to turn out like this. No, he wanted this day to be just a regular day. Where did he go wrong? Was it the conversation with Leo in the morning? Or was it not picking up their calls? no..
 

They were all wrong steps taken by him. He was already way too much shaken. And now he felt lonely, scared, threatened.
 

Yes, lonely to know that he had brought this upon himself today, to know that he truly was alone in this mess. The loneliness scared him. It multiplied the fear within him.
 

He needed water to calm himself but he refused to get up. He refused to let his eyes wander around, he refused to look before, he refused to look behind.
Behind him stood Leo, who had a mountain of questions for him. They were alone, what if he asked him those questions now? And before him was his own reflection. He didn’t want to see it.

Why today out of all day?

He kept on questioning himself, maybe wishing that god would answer him. In his oblivion he even uttered those words out loud. Leo flinched a little, Hakyeon was a mess today. And just like every day, he again didn’t understand what was going on that little mind of the human.

“Hakyeon?” He called, his voice as soothing as it could get. Hakyeon’s body sent a little jerk in reply.

“Are you crying?” Leo asked, despite of knowing he wasn’t. Hakyeon didn’t answer. His mind was stuck in that scenario.

“What’s wrong?” A bit desperate, Leo kneeled by him, he knew he couldn’t touch but yet tried anyway, the hand slowly lightly resting on Hakyeon’s upper arms. Hakyeon looked behind over his shoulder. The concern of the ghost seemed too much visible on the expressionless feature of his.

“Are you not scared?” Hakyeon hushed. Leo couldn’t catch his words, he rose his eyebrows.

“Scared?”

“Hmm….. the blood…. The smell of it ….. doesn’t it make you feel…… dreaded?”

Leo paused a while. Before parting his lips,

“But you seemed so okay a few moments ago…… when you saw the dead body…. Then why are you so-“

“I was okay, right? I was too okay…  

“……..what?…”

“…… I should have been strong…..for others…..” Hakyeon wrapped his hands around his own arms. “But…. I was too okay…….it was….I….. Why?”

Leo bit his bottom lip. Taking a look back at the previous scenario he could very well picture the fear filled eyes of Ravi, the eyes filled with question that belonged to Ken, the eyes representing confusion of Hyuk and finally the clearest eyes of them all, the eyes of Hongbin that held worlds utter disbelief in his two simple eyes. But he couldn’t recall what Hakyeon’s eyes showed…

He couldn’t recall because he didn’t show anything.Why?

Strong? How? Was the Hakyeon from before really just have been the responsible guardian of these little ones? Hakyeon’s state was clearly screaming how scared the human was, but he held strong. They would need him, just like Ravi needed him. Was that why he looked that strong at that time? What was he feeling then? What was he feeling now?
 

Lonely… that was the only answer Leo could think of. Being the eldest of them all, being their guardian, maybe that’s why he had to be strong. It was his duty, even after seeing something as horrible as that before his eyes, he had to keep strong. Because simply He was the hyung. The eldest, the strongest.

Leo felt regretful after thinking so.He didn’t know if he was correct or not, but if he was, then counted as his failure that not even him could see the dim fear in the shade of his eyes. Even staying with him, walking by his side, he couldn’t understand the simple situation of the human. Of how lonely he was…..

And I thought he looked cool…how childish could I get?

“Hakyeon….it’s okay…” Leo purred.

Hakyeon continued to shake his head lightly from side to side.

“No…. it’s not okay…. Can’t you see?” Hakyeon paused, his voice a coarse whisper.

“I acted too normal out there…. A normal human won’t…. an innocent person won’t… But I did Leo…..”

“That’s because you had to be strong for others. You just said it yourself…..”

“No…. Leo….there is more than that ….”

“… there isn’t….. You did what you needed to….”

“No Leo… you don’t understand….” Hakyeon’s voice as persistent as it could sound, “ You don’t know what’s wrong here.”

“Yes I do Hakyeon….” Hakyeon matched their eye level, Leo’s dark feline eyes held a sharp warmth in it.

“You are just feeling lonely….” Leo stated firmly.

Hakyeon managed to let out a chuckle,

“Do I really seem only lonely to you?”

“Yes….”

“Leo I’m not that naïve….”

“No…. but you are not some hypocrite either….. Acting normal by seeing a dead body doesn’t change anything….. so stop saying these things….”

Another chuckle left his lips. Hakyeon looked away.

Leo in an uneasy breath, to muster up the courage to say something.

“I’m here.”

Hakyeon would be lying if he had said that his eyes didn’t widened at Leo’s words. Hakyeon slowly turned around, the shy blush on the fairer one’s face was truly something to pay for. And regardless of what Leo’s conclusion to the state of Hakyeon was, Hakyeon had realized that his hand had by then stopped trembling. He couldn’t really tell what the reason was. Was it Leo’s cute face, or was it because of his words.

“You also think I’m a double-dealer don’t you?” Hakyeon kinda slurred. He also knew that the question was out of blue, but he still wanted to ask him, to know how Leo had thought of him.

Leo quailed,

“no….why..okay… Hakyeon listen.. you do seem strange to me sometimes, like in the morning… and you do hold a lot of my unanswered questions. Your identity is mysterious to me as well… but that is just to that range. I don’t think you are anything like that….You are a nice person.”

“What if I was Leo? What if I was a pretender, or worse a psychopath?”

“Hakyeon..”

“You would hate me right? You would leave me…won’t you?” Leo shocked by the sudden stupid question took a moment to think what his answer could be at this point.

“Well I can’t leave you…. Not before the time is over…..”Leo mumbled.

Hakyeon could wait for another answer but he realized the next answer might hurt him real bad or might just create some kind of weird feeling inside of him that he had been getting from the very beginning of the day. He stood up, looking at his reflection before him he could only see himself. But looking behind he could see the one that’s always looking at him. He was the one who saw him, right? Just like the mirror the world didn’t know his existence but Hakyeon did. And he was the one who noticed everything. Who felt everything…. So if he had said he was here, he wouldn’t leave him before the time was over……. It was only a fool’s job for not to believe him after all, right?

Maybe he is right…Maybe I only just need him here..…Maybe that’s why suddenly…

Hakyeon turned to the mirror, his reflection still the same, just a slight upturn of his lips on the end.

I’m smiling…..

“Leo-ah~” Hakyeon called, his voice was warm and calm, and his hand turned the tap on. Water soaking his hand wet.

“Hmm…..”

“Don’t leave me even if I do turn out to be a hypocrite, or psychopath or anything similar to that…..Because ….” Hakyeon splashed his face with cold water, the touch of it felt great against his skin. Turning it off he paused before making his way to the door.

“I really need you here…….it’s a promise, okay?” Hakyeon whispered. He didn’t even bother to wipe the water off his face, the blood stained shirt still fell on the ground, he didn’t bother to pick it up at that time either, he turned the doorknob.

Hakyeon didn’t turn back, and that is why he didn’t see how Leo’s jaw muscle tightened at that one simple silly promise made by that human. Leo turned to his left where the mirror was, his reflection still missing. He shifted his gaze back to Hakyeon’s back. He didn’t regret that Hakyeon left the place before he could reply to his question but what he regretted was how Hakyeon could never feel the pain he felt just like he did when Hakyeon felt it. Because if he did he could have assuredly felt as if someone had shoveled a dagger in his heart when Hakyeon told him to make such a stupid promise.

Your silliness………is too much to accept Hakyeon…

Hakyeon entered the room, all others had their eyes dropped. Just except the manager, he stood behind Hyuk rather lazily. Hakyeon looked at Hyuk’s back. Hyuk had that something in his aura that reminded him of himself. And that was why he had questions formed for him, questions that needed to be answered. But before, they needed to plan their escape.

“We need to leave this place soon,” Hakyeon’s voice got them reopen their eyes. They all exchanged some tired gaze,

“I suggest we stay and let police handle this matter…”Ken firmly replied before exchanging his gaze from Ravi to Hongbin.

“It’s quite obvious now that the killer really is amongst us..” Ken slurred.

“What are you saying?” Hongbin immediately retorted, eyes hurt from Ken’s absurd accusation.

“You just came with Ravi so how coul-“

“I never said it was Ravi…..” Ken cut him off. His eyes felt as if they were boring holes into Hongbin’s body.

“What were you doing when Hakyeon hyung was not here…. Or when Hyuk was out… you were all alone here..right?”

Hongbin took a step back, he looked shocked. It was hard to tell if he was shocked because Ken just accused him of murder or because Ken actually might be right.

“Why did you went out Hyuk?” Hakyeon calmly asked, looking at a different direction from Hyuk. Hyuk’s shifted his gaze between Hakyeon and Hongbin once. There was a long silence in that room.

Leo examined Hakyeon. Leo had noticed how he doesn’t show his eyes when he is thinking of somethin