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Pride, Prejudice, and Pretty Boys - Episode 6: Beautiful Liar

"It'll be OK--I . . . Everything will be just as it was before--"

I said that as I held her hand that last time.

"Hongbin, you'll be . . ."

And just as before, before she got sick . . .

"Youngji--"

You smiled beautifully as you did before you got sick. As I held your hand that last time, you lied to me with that dazzling smile as you left me forever.

"Hongbin . . . you'll be . . . OK . . ."

"YOUNGJI!"

Reluctantly, I opened my eyes as that pathetic scream echoes in my ears and that sharp pain of losing her becomes a dull throb -- like an improperly dressed wound-- festering in my chest. I looked over at my arm in disgust-- it was still stretched out in that lonely space beside me, as if she were still lying there. But then I looked past my arm at the mahogany dresser, where a picture of my colleagues, family, and I still stood, proudly reminding me of my greatest achievements . . . and greatest regret.

Disgusted, I retracted my arm and rolled over just in time to see one of the butlers set a silver stray with coffee, fresh cream, and sugar on the small, glass corner table. His dark eyes and snowy face are expressionless as he stares at me for a beat before bowing and dismissing himself without a word. As the door quietly clicked behind him, I sat up, feeling that dull throb in my chest roaring into an inflamed, fresh gash. Letting out a curse, I hurl the pillows at the door that the butler had left my room through.

Dammit.

I fell back to the mattress, staring at the stark, white ceiling while gritting my teeth as those tears that had dried two years ago welled up again. Because he'd lied to me, too. That quiet, sour-faced butler had lied to me, too. But that butler wasn't "him." Because that butler--and everyone else in my house--was just a copy--

"Dad?" A small voice calls from outside the door, and light from the hall shines in as a little boy comes into my room, escorted by the poker-faced butler and a tall butler with droopy eyes and sun-kissed skin. I force a smile onto my face as my heart hits another rusty, jagged kink at the doting expression on the quiet butler's face and the droopy-eyed butler lets out a hearty laugh as he nudged the child towards me.

"Yeah, our Hakyeonie?" I smile, struggling to heft the would-be-nine-year-old boy onto my lap. Ignoring how stiff his--and the butlers'-- movements were and the sounds of gears clicking and grinding against each other, I ruffled the soft, dark, synthetic fibres that made up the hair atop his round head and framed the face of the tan cherub. And I sigh as my son looks away from me, nervously playing with his little fingers. "Hakyeon."

"Dad?"

"Can you give dad a high-five?" This was the only way to get my son to talk about whatever was bothering him, since he was such a timid and sensitive child--he was sweet and understanding in ways that normal children his age weren't, and that was never a bad thing to us . . . Youngji and I had taken turns holding onto that small hand until Hakyeon had told us--how ever long it took for him to confess to us-- we'd always held his hand together. And we'd lied to him, since we said that we'd both always be there . . . But in truth, this "child" is not our son, Hakyeon; he is merely a copy. This "child" appeared only to be five or six years old when our Hakyeon was born almost nine years ago. 

That's because an incurable sickness took my wife from me six years ago, then it took my son--our Hakyeon-- almost four years ago now, and it took the last of my friends--the one who shares a visage with Butler Jung, and my true friend-- the one that looked like Butler Kim--from me two years ago. Even the secretary Han and vice-chair Lee that currently sit with me at the company are merely copies. Copies of those liars who told me everything would be "OK."

//END -  Beautiful Liar

20170106 - Sorry for the lack of update, been busy and writer's block. This is just a teaser for a possible project that I might work on, still planning it and likely to drop it if life gets too hectic offline. Sorry the typos T________________T I'm just really tired, sowwies T________T Still toying with the Ken and Ravi main-character stories, but largely trapped =_=

Clarifications:

1) Yes, this is Hongbin's narration and it's based off of "Error" storyline with a twist in which N was actually Hongbin and Youngji's son (well, IMO, N does look more like a maknae than HyukBin do but Hyukkie has grown up to be such a wonderfully evil maknae because his hyungs seem to have spoiled him a little).

2) It's a story in which everyone except Hongbin died.

3) Yes, it's tragedy. If I do keep this project, this will be moved to separate place.