CHAPTER four

 

 

 

Lay was walking fast, and I had to hurry up to keep up with his pace. I cleared my throat but Lay didn’t turn around or show any signs of slowing. He is so moody, guess I’ll just have to talk to his back.

“So, whose genius idea was it to blow up my apartment?”

Lay paused and turned around, eyeing me coolly. Finally something that got his attention.

“Why do you ask?” he said.

“I don’t know… it just seems a little dramatic don’t you think?”

“Don’t you like drama?”

“Well, it’s fine on TV but I prefer keeping it out of my life.”

“You’re rambling.”

“I know, my point is someone else could have gotten hurt.”
“Each death is carefully planned and only affects those who are fated to die; trust me, we’ve been doing this for a long time.”

“You say that, but after all I’m still alive. So there is a possibility of someone else getting hurt.”

 “No, not possible.” He stated simply. “The explosion was kind of a last resort since our other attempts failed.”

“You couldn’t think of anything else? Why not carbon monoxide? Or drowning in the tub?”

“You’d rather drown in the bathtub than an explosion?”

“I would rather not die at all.”

“Alright. If you could orchestrate your own death, how would you go?”

“I would like to go peacefully in my sleep.”

“Yeah, I thought you’d say that.”

“Isn’t it how pretty much everyone wants to go?”

“Not me. I would go for the explosion. I thought it was a great idea.”

Shadow barked, seemingly in agreement.

“I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Why not? Seems perfectly logical to me.”

“So I take it you are the one who came up with that idea.”

“Yeah. Maybe.”

“Next time you want the explosion to go off when the victim is in the area.”

Lay turned around and continued walking. He looks like a human, but he doesn’t think like one. I have to be careful around these guys.

 

We arrived at the house and Lay pushed the door opened, motioning for me to go in. I took a look around the living room. The Collector’s house looks so normal. The Collectors were sitting around the couch, engaged in a conversation, I waved hello, but only Chen waved back.

“Welcome to your new, temporary home. Come on, I’ll give you a tour.” Lay said.

I followed Lay upstairs and down a long hallway. He opened one of the doors.

“This is the guest room, and where you’ll be staying. It should be fully stocked with towels. As for clothes I’ll give you one of my shirts for now. We’ll get whatever else you need tomorrow.”

“Thanks” I said and he gave me a small smile. He sure as hell is moody.

“Come on, I’ll show you the other rooms.”

Lay pointed at various doors. “That’s Chen’s room, Kris’, Xiumin’s, and Kai’s.”

I really wanted to see how their rooms looked like but I didn’t want to bother. So I kept quiet, I figured I could ask about his room.

“So what about yours?” I asked.

He gave me a confused look.

“Which one is your room?”

“Ah, it’s this one right here.”

“Can I go inside?”

“Nosy, aren’t you?”

“Just naturally curious. It’s a gift.”

“It’s not much, but go ahead.”

He opened the door and I slowly peered inside. I have to say I was both surprised and disappointed by what I saw. I looked around the room. Nothing creepy or anything that standout, it was normal. Definitely not like the movies. Instead it was simple and clean… too clean. I hope that the mess in my apartment didn’t scare him too much.

“You like to keep things nice and tidy.”

“It makes life easier.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I don’t have to look things. I don’t misplace anything. I know where everything is.”

“I see… thanks for showing me around.” I said looking up at him.

“Shall we go downstairs?” he offered.

“Sure.”

Lay entered the living room and made his way over to the couch and sat down. I wasn’t comfortable because I didn’t know what to do. Lay saw my discomfort and gestured for me to join him by patting the seat next to him. Is this the guy who would hardly talk to me on our way here? I sat next to him with my curiosity growing.

“Why did you support me back there?” I asked.

“What did I have to lose, right?” He said.

“Still, I suppose most Collectors wouldn’t do that.”

“I’ve always been taught that you’ve got to react quickly when you have something that you want and I like to see how far I can push my luck.” He said. “So...Why 10 days?”

“My friend, Sora, is getting married and I promised her to play the piano at her wedding. She’d be upset if I died right before her wedding.”

“You’re probably right.” He sympathetically said.

“This reminds me. I really need to practice the piece I’m playing before the wedding. But my piano probably turned into ashes by now.”

“We can get a piano for you here. It’s not a problem.”

“Really?!”

“We’ll get one tomorrow along with your clothes.”

“That’s great! Thank you!”

I was so relieved when I heard that I’d still be able to practice. It would be pointless to put off my death for the wedding and then totally screw up the performance.

“It’s no problem. Now that I’m in charge of your last days, I want everything to be perfect.” Lay said running his fingers through my hair as I hugged and thanked him over and over again.