C h a p t e r S I X
Those deeply buried
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-Kyu Jong's POV-

I turned my back against the door as I slid down onto the floor. The knocking on the door vibrated into my skin as my palms supported my heavy head.

My eyes were so..so tired.

***FLASHBACK***
I was engulfed in absolute darkness, I spun around and saw nothing but a wide horizon of pitch black. But a figure appeared.

That figure was all too familiar. It was her.

She walked towards me and flashed me one of her brightest smile. I wanted to leap towards her and take her into my embrace, I wanted so badly to tell her everything was going to be alright. For some reason, my legs just didn't want to move.

Then figure disappeared. "Heori!" I shouted.

She appeared again, this time locking her hand around mine. She swung it back and forth and pointed to the sky. There was stars, many, many, many stars.

"How many stars are there again tonight?" she asked in an angelic voice. "One," I immediately answered with a grin, "always one."

She looked up at him, "really?"

I nodded. Of course.

She vanished the second time. A moment later, she appeared again.

She was now standing two metres away from me. Her delicate fingers reached to the back of her neck and undid a chain. With gentle steps, she walked over and stretched the chain out to me. I reached an arm over and she released the chain onto my palm.

"It won't be one anymore," she smiled to me, "soon it will be zero."

I couldn't comprehend. "Heori.."

Her smile stayed on as she shook her head, "but it's alright, you will forget me.."

"What are you saying?" I immediately asked, "where are you going? Everything will be alright, trust me.."

"You will forget me, Kyu," Heori stated as-a-matter-of-factly.

"No! What are you talking about?" I ran towards her and took her into my embrace.

But she disappeared, I hugged nothing.

"You will." a voice rang in my head before darkness took over again.

"No..Heori..NO!"

***END OF FLASHBACK***

I was starting to see things. I have wasted an entire night coaxing my tears. But it seems like they have another idea on their own.

"KIM KYU JONG," my head screamed to my heart.

My heart pricked in defiance. It thought of Heori again. I pressed my head harder, I felt like I would explode.

"One person who minimizes his troubles himself means one person more to share the remaining burden, one person who minimizes his own troubles himself means one person more to share the remaining burden..one person who minimizes his own troubles.." I chanted repeatedly to myself.

More water droplets trickled down my cheeks. KIM KYU JONG. My head screamed time and time again to itself. Nothing in my body's listening to me anymore.

"Kyu Jong-sshi, open up!" they continued to call.

Please take this all away.

I tried harder to shut away the world. KIM. KYU. JONG. My shoulders started to tremble. My heart was squeezing itself, and my head started to hurt.

It started to hurt a lot. I grabbed my head with my hands. It was a though a hammer had struck it. My tired eyes blurred my vision. Not only was my vision blurred, everything around me shook.

I wasn't afraid yet. It happens all the time and would be gone in awhile.

So I waited.

...

But no, not this time. My chest started to hurt, like someone was pressing my lungs. My head still felt like there was a herd of oxen charging within, banging against the walls of my brain.

I fell short of breath, and gasped desperately for air.

"Kyu Jong-sshi?!"

I was suffocating.

"Hyung, are you alright? Open up!"

There was only one way left.

I opened the door and dashed right past the two panic-stricken people before they could even react. I ran round the corner and up the flight of stairs. Jung Min started to chase me.

"Hyung!" I could tell Hyobi was behind him too.

I ignored him, I ran past the hallway, round another corner, progressed up another story, zoomed over the bridge that led to the East Quarters and into a room just by the corridor.

-End of POV-

-Jung Min's POV-

I heard Kyu Jong gasp for air. I knew something was wrong. I banged harder on the door. Suddenly, the door opened and Kyu Jong dashed out. It took me two seconds to overcome human reaction time before I tailed after him.

He ran and ran, I did not know where he was going.. Until he crossed the bridge that led to the East Quarters.

-End of POV-

-Your POV-

We caught up with Kyu Jong until he went into a place I was yet to be familiar with. It was another part of the manor.

When Jung Min and I was chasing him, I noticed the change in Jung Min's expression.

We caught up with Kyu Jong eventually. He was in a room with his back facing us.

"Kyu Jong-sshi.."

Casually, he turned around. He was holding a syringe in his right hand. There were droplets dripping out of the syringe's piston and I saw that his left arm had a small wound which blood was dripping from.

"KYU!" Jung Min shouted in shock, he ran over and snatched the syringe from him, tossing it violently onto the ground. "Kyu, are you alright?! Why are you doing this?!"

Kyu Jong kept quiet as Jung Min shook his shoulders abruptly. His eyes were still tear-filled.

"Hyung..!" Jung Min got desperate for a respond.

Kyu Jong gently shook his head. "I'm fine..I just need..some time. Really." he breathed.

"Hyung..!" there was pain and worry wihin Jung Min's voice.

"Just give..me..a day. I promise..I'll..be fine." Kyu Jong spoke again, his breath getting shorter and shorter.

"Kyu, why are you doing this to yourself? Have you forgotten!" Jung Min thundered, "Blood Lusters, Luster brothers?! Blood-"

"Blood for blood," Kyu Jong suddenly recited in Jung Min's place, "in faith, trust and love."

Kyu Jong started to get weaker and weaker. He collided onto Jung Min for support.

"Then what are you up to?!" Jung Min questioned in the same defeaning voice.

"Sorry," Kyu Jong muttered the last time before he collapsed unconscious into Jung Min's embrace.

"KYU JONG!" Jung Min yelled.
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I helped Jung Min support the unconscious Kyu Jong back to his room.

Jung Min had just settled Kyu Jong into his bed when I asked, "what's happened to him?" He pulled an armchair over and sat down on it.

Jung Min kept quiet. He looked towards a picture frame that hung on Kyu Jong's wall just beside the bed-post. His eyes were fixed on it for awhile. It wasn't exactly a picture. It was a paper with text.

[LUSTER PACT], the header screamed. I read on silently, 'Blood Lusters, Luster Brothers. Three merged into one to serve a common goal, that is to serve foster-father in his cause and live up to his expectations. Three hearts will remain as one, protecting and relying on each other. Three hearts willing to bear the same burden. Three hearts blood for blood in faith, trust and love. Always to be abided. Kyu Jong. Hyun Joong. Jung Min.'

At the bottom of the page were three signatures drawn in crayon. Below them were their names.

Jung Min drew his hands towards his head. He sighed heavily.

I understood, it was a pact since young. The three brothers vowed to be there for one another. I supposed Jung Min felt that he was not living up to the pact.

"Jung Min-sshi..." I went over and put an arm on his shoulder. Something wringed my heart. Jung Min edged away, pulling his shoulders off from my touch. He then stood up and went to Kyu Jong's washroom. I looked at Kyu Jong in his sleep, he had peaceful features. But what was it he injected into himself?

Jung Min came back with a small golden basin, he placed it on the side-table. "What did he..?" I asked quietly.

Jung Min sighed, plopping himself down onto the chair, "it's a drug. He shouldn't have done that.."

"Drug?"

"It's an emotion-controller, or so we call it, it's like any other tranquiliser you see in the hospital, it's just that it has been improvised to hit twice as hard and twice as fast. We aren't allowed to take it without foster-father's permission. Kyu Jong must have thought it was the only way for.." He sighed again, worry and fear struck his features. It was then I realized how tired Jung Min must have been for the past few hours.

"..the drug instantly calms your emotions because it creates a temporary blockage in one of your veins. That means your blood will stop flowing for awhile until the drug dissolves itself awhile later. But you can't just allow blood to stop in your veins."

"Then Kyu Jong-sshi..now.."

"He's fine," Jung Min spoke as he looked at Kyu Jong.

"But why would he do that?"

"You don't understand..his whole story just changed."
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When I entered Hyun Joong's room, I found that he was already up. He was sitting on his bed writing something in a book.

"Hyun Joong-sshi, you're up," I said when I entered, "sorry I didn't knock, I thought that maybe you're still asleep."

As though he was startled, he quickly stopped writing and snapped his book shut. His head shot towards my direction as he placed the book on top of his covers beside him.

"Oh sorry," I apologized again for my rude intrusion.

He shook his head.

"Jung Min told me to check on you," walking towards him, I noticed that the book was the ancient-looking one I saw last evening -- his diary.

He nodded. I felt that maybe he was happier nodding and shaking his head all the time rather than talking.

"Are you better?"

Another nod.

"Do you need to change those?" I pointed at his bandages.

He flinched, looking away.

"I mean..if you wanted to change them..maybe I could get Jung Min-sshi over."

He looked at me again before shaking his head.

We then maintained an awkward silence for a period of time, with Hyun Joong looking aimlessly around his room.

"Umm, Hyun Joong-sshi..do you mind telling me," I spoke, "who's Hound?"

"Why do you want to know?" he finally spoke, indifferent.

I shrugged. Another while of silence.

"Sole son of Old Hound," his reluctance melted, "sole heir to the Dragon Hounds. They are ruthless- No, we are ruthless too. They are heartless."

"This Hound..he..he had a feud with you guys?"

"More than a feud. It's something even blood cannot pay." He looked away, an obvious hint to cut the conversation.

I obliged as I nodded.

-End of POV-
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Jung Min was sitting quietly with his arms crossed. He looked at the peaceful features of his brother as Kyu Jong remained asleep. How his heart burnt for such peace. Yet this peace was only temporary.

There were so many times where Jung Min had the exact same thoughts as Kyu Jong, he too was tempted by that drug that laid in the East Quarters. There were so many times Jung Min thought he ought fall prey to it. All these instances, were unbeknownst except only to himself. He overcame every single temptation, because he knew temporary relief will only cause greater pain.

Yet greater pain that infested on his brother was even harder to bear than greater pain inflicted on himself.

This was the common fate of the Blood Luster Brothers.

There was another reason why he couldn't fall into the temptation. It was because he had to be there for his hyungs. In all his life, in every single aspect, they were always stronger than him. They were always his shield, his guards, his pillars. But only he knew that deep inside they were softer than any marshmellows. He had to develop a strong inside, so that he, can inturn be their pillars.

It was a moment later that Kyu Jong's eyes gradually opened, it squinted as it adjusted to the light. A few seconds later, his whole body jerked up as he started to cough hysterically. Jung Min quickly took the basin over and Kyu Jong grabbed onto it. On his fourth cough, blood spilled over his mouth.

Jung Min gave his brother a forceful pat, or rather whack, on his back as Kyu Jong coughed out half-mouthfuls by half-mouthfuls of blood. The basin was stained instantly. When Kyu Jong was done, Jung Min placed it away.

"Don't..you know," Kyu Jong spoke with a faltering voice, "they will come... for you too?"

Jung Min kept quiet, giving Kyu Jong a mug of water for him to rinse his mouth. Thereafter handing him tissues.

Kyu Jong looked at Jung Min in the eye, "are you not..afraid?"

Jung Min looked back at those pair of eyes, who seem a thousand times softer than ever before. It struck him then.

Fear.

"Yes, I'm expecting them to come." Jung Min told Kyu Jong.

Kyu Jong waited for the right answer.

"Yah, Hyung, we'll see what happens." He said.
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-Your POV-

It was a sunny afternoon, a warm one in comparison to all the air conditioners indoors.

"Are they okay?" Young Saeng asked.

I nodded, "yeah."

"That's good to know."

I nodded again.

"Hmm, do you see those flowers there?" Young Saeng pointed out to a flower bush, "those pinkish-purple-reddish flowers?"

I nodded.

"Don't you think they're pretty?"

I nodded.

"Do you know how those flowers get that special colour? There's a really really big secret behind it, you know."

I looked at him.

"In heaven, there were actually a few angels in charge of the Angel Queen's meals. Now, the Angel Queen was a grumpy lady, therefore the angels didn't really like her. So one morning, when the sun was as pleasant as this one, the angels took the Queen's strawberry jam and deliberately came down to Earth so they could dispose of it and she will never ever have strawberry jam for breakfast anymore! It was then they saw these flowers, so they poured the jam over these flowers. And boy, the Queen was mad, very very mad that she turned the angels into frogs. But she turned them into pinkish-purple-reddish frogs! So she could eat them for breakfast in replacement of her jam."

I broke into laughter, "that isn't true!"

"Yes, it is, really."

I laughed.

"And you see those yellow flowers there, they were actually red!"

"Then why..?"

"Well the Angel Queen, it's always her I tell you. One day the Angel King hogged the bathroom so badly she was so annoyed, she came down onto Earth and peed on those flowers. Because flowers could absorb colours so she thought no one would know. But I do!" He flashed me one of his boyish grins.

"That isn't true!" I laughed again.

"Can you believe how yellow her pee was! It could stain something that was red!"

I laughed again and again, "that's disgusting!"

He laughed along, "it's good to see you smile."

My laugh ceased, but I smiled at him.

Just then, I heard footsteps from behind us. Young Saeng jumped to his feet and turned around. His smile completely wiped off his face as I stood up with him.

"Kyu Jong-nim." He bowed the excessive bow.

"Oh Kyu Jong-sshi!" I said as he walked towards us, or rather, me.

"Kyu Jong-nim, I'll take my leave now," Young Saeng bowed once more as he retreated away quickly.

Kyu Jong stopped when he was just an arm's length away. "Teach me," he said.

"Huh?"

"Your optimism," he explained, "teach me..please."

"Kyu Jong-sshi.."

"Teach me how to smile, how to laugh," he took a seat on the garden bench where Young Saeng had sat earlier, I settled down beside him. "Teach me how to be like you, to throw my fears to the sky."

Fear, this was it. This was the emotion I was trying to figure out after I heard their stories. But strangely, looking at Kyu Jong, fear just didn't match. Yet it was in him all the long.

"Is there not many things to be happy of?" I said, "take the sun for example. It's rays, isn't it just lovely how they touch your skin?" I closed my eyes and stretched out my hands. When I opened them, I noticed his pair of eyes on me.

He quickly looked away before he closed his eyes and mimicked what I just did. I gradually found him rather adorable.

"Look at all the flowers, the butterflies, the fresh air," I continued, "isn't this all worthy to be happy of?"

"If only happiness cost only this much," he whispered, "what would I not pay for it."

It was night again at the manor after hours of talking to Kyu Jong. Hyun Joong seemed to be alright then and have started to move about. Jung Min, on the other hand, had weights lifted off his shoulders seeing his two brothers get better.
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C h a p t e r E N D