Condemned - Part 3
Condemned
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Sungmin/Henry
Genre: AU!Supernatural, Drama, Romance
Summary: A change of circumstances forced him within these walls, sentenced to stay and face an abandoned past.
// Part 3 //
Sungmin was never compassionate.
Hankyung had learned that firsthand since their first encounter. In fact, his leader prided himself with being feared. Henry himself was afraid of him without having to be told, understanding by his presence alone that unsettled the human and avoided him at all costs. Unlike before, the human could not be as straightforward; a timid being could not thrive in such surroundings.
He was certain for the longest that his leader could never encompass a soul.
-
A small bag dropped into his lap full of scraps of food. Henry was now oddly used to it and doesn't bother with a thanks. It was rare when he actually got a decent meal.
He could hear a small commotion nearby and was aware of the collection of voices, he knew in the large room there'd be a table full of decently prepared food prepped for the welcomed arrivals that who lacked the blue eyes. The Deshona did not spare a single look at the food, Henry was afraid of what they did feed on.
Rather than feeling cherished or special as Hankyung had claimed, he was ignored more than ever, the scraps fed to him made him feel more like a dog than anything. At his stomach relentless growling, he glared at the culprit, as if saying 'What else do you expect?'
He noted the shadow on the ground and turned his head. Sungmin appeared behind him.
Sungmin tilted his head, walking ahead of him when Henry stared blankly, recognizing the gesture was to beckon him to follow. Henry hesitantly rose from the chair and followed, "Where are we going?"
"Patience." Sungmin replied, "It can't still be that difficult for you."
Henry bit his cheek; it felt odd to be so close with the man after all this time. At the very least, Sungmin was no longer ignoring him.
As for Henry, well, he just tried to live with it. Caught up in thought, he crashed onto the Deshona's back. He slowly look up, noting Sungmin's stern gaze as he stepped away. Sungmin then breathed out, "Hold onto me."
Henry returned a blank look, questioning his motives when Sungmin stared expectantly.
Henry felt himself being moved and forced himself out of the invisible grip. He instantly reached for his hands, but just as quickly reached for his arm instead, maintaining a firm grip. He barely blinked when he noted how the ground felt different beneath his shoes; he looked down and recognized the grass.
He slowly looked at the intricate maze in front of him, the sun hidden behind the dark clouds.
"Roam around, you don't have long to enjoy it."
Henry narrowed his eyes at the word. It felt as if it affirmed that he was some animal that needed to be put out every once in a while. "I thought you said I could never leave. Must my visits outside be supervised?"
No answer. Henry stepped forward either way; he needed to take what little freedom he was allowed.
He walked aimlessly through the maze, looking about at the tall wall bushes around him. He swallowed slightly as he continued walking, losing himself in the green array. He sometimes looked up at the sky where the sun continued to hide.
After a while, he found it slightly discomforting how long he had spent in it. He found himself walking a bit faster, wanting to find some way out, to recognize at least something. It was just a maze, but the thought of being truly lost terrified him.
He ran and ran until he was nearly out of breath when he bolted around a corner and stopped in his tracks.
Sungmin stood a distance away in the same path. Briefly the sunlight had enveloped him completely, and for that moment, Henry felt the term Deshona was misplaced.
Hardly an angel, but a monster didn't seem to fit either.
Sungmin raised his lowered eyes and turned towards him, their eyes remained connected longer than either had intended.
Henry was the first to break the stare, turning around the corner and cowardly hiding behind the bushes, ignoring the subtle pounding of his heart. He continued walking, now able to ignore the maze as he became consumed by his own thoughts. Not realizing he had reached the end of it and stepped outside.
He looked up at from the exit and noted Sungmin standing right before him, his eyes focused elsewhere as Henry hesitantly stepped towards him. Henry swallowed slightly as he reached for his elbow and closed his eyes, opening them moments later to find himself back in the vacant common room.
"Don't expect this to be a regular routine."
Henry raised his head to see the familiar stoic expression; he let of his arm and lowered his hands, embarrassed that he held on for so long.
"Were you afraid when you woke up on those streets?"
Henry gave a puzzled look at the sudden question; he glanced towards the other's cold expression. "I wasn't afraid. That was how I lived; I didn't think anything different of it. I had no other expectations that things would change."
"You never tried to change?"
"I did. I found a job, I was closer to finding housing," he listed, speaking so calmly with the other felt rather odd.
He doesn't mention how he thought sometimes dying would be an easier way out, that the streets was too much of a way of life rather than a choice he lived with. He just says honestly, "Change had to be done."
His relaxed answer, in his eyes, had made things worse.
Sungmin didn't bother to hear the rest of his reply and simply vanished.
Henry gave a bitter smile, mentally scolding himself for thinking otherwise of Sungmin. He couldn't look into the act, that he briefly thought was considerate of him.
Then, he remembered the large gashes embedded in Hankyung's skin and neck when he saw him the following morning, and even with avoiding his questions, he knew who caused them. He couldn't let himself walk down that path, not to be blinded again. He then heard a small clack.
He furrowed his eyebrows and turned around; staring at the table beside him and realized it held a plate of food, most from that large table. He glanced around the room but found no one in sight to thank. He looked back at the plate and realized most were his favorites. A wide smile formed on his lips as he reached for a piece, grateful as he took a delicious bite.
-
"Even now I'm unsure." Henry confided.
Hankyung smiled earnestly as Henry sighed, they walked side by side through the large rooms, somehow just slightly more fancier in decor than the other rooms. Only the curtains were notably torn and its remnants destroyed most of what might have been a beautiful room.
"I bet there's nothing in common between us." Henry said.
"You're both stubborn." Hankyung offered.
Henry narrowed his eyes and punched him on the shoulder, causing not even a hint of actual harm. Henry stopped when he noted Hankyung's eyes that focused past him and he turned around. Sungmin merely walked past the two, not bothering to give them a second glance as he spoke with another member. Henry pursed his lips at an occurring thought.
Sungmin hadn't once displayed jealously despite claims of a former relationship. Although, if he had truly thought about, Sungmin had never once claimed it himself. In fact, he was still avoided and coldly treated, if there was indeed a connection, Henry saw no hint of it and Sungmin didn't seem too interested in mending it.
Maybe Henry didn't matter to him at all, maybe Sungmin had realized he was never in love, or that love that long faded. The possibilities whirled endlessly but Henry wasn't sure which category Sungmin placed in.
"You're obsessed." Hankyung stated, Henry said nothing as his eyes followed him.
"How else do you expect me to act when there's a past to uncover?" Henry reasoned as he left Hankyung behind, following the same path until he found him, watching as Sungmin stared through the windows.
Henry compared Sungmin to a difficult puzzle, because despite the many pieces offered to him, even now he wasn't able to understand the process of how it came about.
He breathed in deeply as he took a determined step.
-
The necklace dangled from his hand, his finger unconsciously traced over the charm.
"Sungmin."
His eyes had looked at him adoringly. The smile that traced his lips when he reached for his neck, playfully leaning against him as they laid back against the velvet sheets.
"I... I-"
"No."
He tightened his fist, lowering his eyes as he recalled the shaken voice.
"I don't want-"
"Are you alright?"
It was rare when another’s presence surprised him. Sungmin looked from the corner of his eyes; Henry had walked up to him with a puzzled expression.
Sungmin shifted his eyes back to the window. "Acting as if you cared is far more than I expect. There's no need to follow those expectations."
Henry took that into offense, "I'm trying my best."
"You will never remember." Sungmin stated ruthlessly. "There's no sense in you trying so hard."
"But if it means I can accept this easier then-"
"You want to know why you loved me right?" He accused. "You want to know because you don't understand it at all."
Henry swallowed slightly, trying to form the proper answer. "Yes." He eventually admitted. "Because of what and who you are, I have no possible idea why I could have ever fallen for you."
This Henry was much different than the last.
Henry tried miserably to compose himself, and asks, "Do you know why?"
"I don't. I never questioned your feelings to the extent you're going." His expression hardened. "You will never remember."
"Maybe if I-"
"Those memories were not suppressed or simply wiped away, but taken forcefully away from you."
Henry was taken back as Sungmin turned away from the window, absorbing his words as he fidgeted his hand.
"There's no sense in continuing this." Sungmin declared callously. "If you don't care for me, fine, move on." His eyes sharply turned towards him from the corners of his eyes. "But don't try to understand a past you no longer have-"
"But it's my past too." Henry countered. "I developed a bond with you, haven't I?"
Sungmin didn't reply.
"As you said," Henry grounded, the frustration evident. "I never once developed a bond with anyone out there but apparently I have with you. Despite how false it seems to be-"
The hand slammed against the wall beside him, mere inches away as Henry looked up into Sungmin's flared eyes. Henry stepped back, frozen from fear as he met with narrowed eyes.
"They belong solely to me." Sungmin cautioned lowly. "Don't taint those memories."
Sungmin withdrew his hand and strode past him, leaving Henry to breathe in forcibly from the encounter. The others parted to allow him passage,
Hankyung appeared by his side, "You shouldn't have done that."
He was slammed against the wall, unable to reach his throat as he gasped for breath, his throat constricted without a single hand laid on him.
"You shouldn't have interfered." Sungmin countered. Hankyung was able to breathe as he slumped to the ground, gasping for breath as Sungmin faded into the darkness.
-
Henry waited patiently on the bed, his hands repeatedly tracing the crumpled sheets. Hours had passed and it was now late into the evening but he continued to wait. He repeated the earlier memory, taken off-guard, under the assumption that Sungmin would do nothing to hurt him, but that only applied to his former self he shared those memories with.
He wondered if his presence taunted him, constantly reminded him, or did he easily separate the two? Was the Henry now just a nuisance he couldn't be bothered with? His attempts at remembering may have been futile, and while it took longer for his wavering determination to settle, he couldn't help but demand to know more.
Hankyung may have been right, he was obsessed.
Henry's eyes turned from the bed and focused on the outline that fully came into view, slowly as the figure appeared in the center of the room.
"Stubborn as always."
Henry stayed quiet as he stood up from the bed and walked cautiously towards Sungmin. There was a hazed look in his eyes, disoriented, but not a scent of alcohol on him.
"What do you expect? An answer and then everything would return to how it used to be?" Sungmin said condescendingly. "Or are you hoping to avoid whatever had caused it in the first place?"
Henry parted his lips, but somehow the words refused to come out.
Sungmin scoffed. "Still as selfish as always." He walked past him towards the other edge of the room as he beat away the velvet curtains.
Henry followed after him, Sungmin repeatedly paced around until he settled against the wall beside his bed. His eyes remained closed as he tilted his head up,
"You're right here..." Sungmin said quietly.
Henry gave a single nod. "Y-yes."
"But you're not here. You're not." He repeated incoherently as he clutched his head, his eyes cringing as if disturbed by some thought.
"I don't want to..."
Sungmin collapsed onto the floor, Henry reached out to help him by instinct when Sungmin grabbed his wrists.
Henry stared into opened eyes that seemed a raw and darkened shade; they were notably torn and destroyed. The facade it hit behind crumbling down. Sungmin's expression looked mournful, somber, enough that it invoked concern from him. He wondered why.
"Please..."
Henry felt something cold by his wrist and glanced at it, he recognized the familiar metal object that remained tied around the older man's fingers.
Sungmin released one of his wrists and palmed his cheek, his fingers gently traced them, as if wiping away unseen tears. Henry stared back at the man who smiled earnestly at him.
"You've been brought back to me."
Henry stood still as Sungmin leaned against his shoulder, his hands holding onto his shoulders and back. Henry grew worried that if he moved his hand, he might potentially break Sungmin. He was too fragile even now, a front he wasn't used to.
"You've returned." Henry noted his hazed eyes and the stronger smell of alcohol, he stood still as Sungmin nuzzled against the nape of his neck, as if inhaling his scent.
Henry swallowed the lump in his throat, frozen as what to do when suddenly Sungmin tore the collar of his shirt, his gaze tracing the scar by his collarbone.
He felt the air hitched in his throat when Sungmin pressed his lips against it, pulling away only slightly as he raised to meet his eyes.
"You're never leaving me again."
The kiss wasn't familiar.
It didn't prompt any memories, it was a foreign feeling against his lips. But he didn't defy Sungmin, instead letting him continue the brief kiss until he seemed satisfied. He didn't pull away because somehow he felt needed, the guilt crept in as the expression from earlier slowly resurfaced.
It felt as if Sungmin was mourning the memory of him, and while he had treated him without care, he was suppressing every pain. He had been blinded by his need to know, frustrated by the reluctant older man that he was unknowingly hurting him with every bitter word that escaped his lips and to that he felt liable.
That acknowledgment broke through the wall, one that was doubtful and reluctant to know why and how he could have fallen for this guy. He felt closer to that understanding, one that conflicted him from labeling the man as a beast, or a human being.
Sungmin kissed him once again, he became more willing. Every brush with his lips became more intoxicating.
"I don't want to forget."
-
Had it already been so long?
“Sir.” Hankyung had said uncertainly, unsure if his leader had listened to his report.
“I’m aware of it,” Sungmin replied coolly.
“You’re not concerned?”
“Let them. I won't have disloyal members in my clan."
Hankyung recalled how during his report, Sungmin’s gaze landed to the floor below, to a spot that was otherwise empty. A cryptic smile had traced his leader's lips.
Hankyung guessed to whom it may have been, there was only one Sungmin’s eyes ever followed. There were instances that convinced him that even Sungmin had remnant of a soul.
And the night his leader was forced to have Henry out of his life, he was certain whatever ounce of it he may have had had long abandoned him.
Part 2 | Part 4
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Sungmin/Henry
Genre: AU!Supernatural, Drama, Romance
Summary: A change of circumstances forced him within these walls, sentenced to stay and face an abandoned past.
// Part 3 //
Sungmin was never compassionate.
Hankyung had learned that firsthand since their first encounter. In fact, his leader prided himself with being feared. Henry himself was afraid of him without having to be told, understanding by his presence alone that unsettled the human and avoided him at all costs. Unlike before, the human could not be as straightforward; a timid being could not thrive in such surroundings.
He was certain for the longest that his leader could never encompass a soul.
-
A small bag dropped into his lap full of scraps of food. Henry was now oddly used to it and doesn't bother with a thanks. It was rare when he actually got a decent meal.
He could hear a small commotion nearby and was aware of the collection of voices, he knew in the large room there'd be a table full of decently prepared food prepped for the welcomed arrivals that who lacked the blue eyes. The Deshona did not spare a single look at the food, Henry was afraid of what they did feed on.
Rather than feeling cherished or special as Hankyung had claimed, he was ignored more than ever, the scraps fed to him made him feel more like a dog than anything. At his stomach relentless growling, he glared at the culprit, as if saying 'What else do you expect?'
He noted the shadow on the ground and turned his head. Sungmin appeared behind him.
Sungmin tilted his head, walking ahead of him when Henry stared blankly, recognizing the gesture was to beckon him to follow. Henry hesitantly rose from the chair and followed, "Where are we going?"
"Patience." Sungmin replied, "It can't still be that difficult for you."
Henry bit his cheek; it felt odd to be so close with the man after all this time. At the very least, Sungmin was no longer ignoring him.
As for Henry, well, he just tried to live with it. Caught up in thought, he crashed onto the Deshona's back. He slowly look up, noting Sungmin's stern gaze as he stepped away. Sungmin then breathed out, "Hold onto me."
Henry returned a blank look, questioning his motives when Sungmin stared expectantly.
Henry felt himself being moved and forced himself out of the invisible grip. He instantly reached for his hands, but just as quickly reached for his arm instead, maintaining a firm grip. He barely blinked when he noted how the ground felt different beneath his shoes; he looked down and recognized the grass.
He slowly looked at the intricate maze in front of him, the sun hidden behind the dark clouds.
"Roam around, you don't have long to enjoy it."
Henry narrowed his eyes at the word. It felt as if it affirmed that he was some animal that needed to be put out every once in a while. "I thought you said I could never leave. Must my visits outside be supervised?"
No answer. Henry stepped forward either way; he needed to take what little freedom he was allowed.
He walked aimlessly through the maze, looking about at the tall wall bushes around him. He swallowed slightly as he continued walking, losing himself in the green array. He sometimes looked up at the sky where the sun continued to hide.
After a while, he found it slightly discomforting how long he had spent in it. He found himself walking a bit faster, wanting to find some way out, to recognize at least something. It was just a maze, but the thought of being truly lost terrified him.
He ran and ran until he was nearly out of breath when he bolted around a corner and stopped in his tracks.
Sungmin stood a distance away in the same path. Briefly the sunlight had enveloped him completely, and for that moment, Henry felt the term Deshona was misplaced.
Hardly an angel, but a monster didn't seem to fit either.
Sungmin raised his lowered eyes and turned towards him, their eyes remained connected longer than either had intended.
Henry was the first to break the stare, turning around the corner and cowardly hiding behind the bushes, ignoring the subtle pounding of his heart. He continued walking, now able to ignore the maze as he became consumed by his own thoughts. Not realizing he had reached the end of it and stepped outside.
He looked up at from the exit and noted Sungmin standing right before him, his eyes focused elsewhere as Henry hesitantly stepped towards him. Henry swallowed slightly as he reached for his elbow and closed his eyes, opening them moments later to find himself back in the vacant common room.
"Don't expect this to be a regular routine."
Henry raised his head to see the familiar stoic expression; he let of his arm and lowered his hands, embarrassed that he held on for so long.
"Were you afraid when you woke up on those streets?"
Henry gave a puzzled look at the sudden question; he glanced towards the other's cold expression. "I wasn't afraid. That was how I lived; I didn't think anything different of it. I had no other expectations that things would change."
"You never tried to change?"
"I did. I found a job, I was closer to finding housing," he listed, speaking so calmly with the other felt rather odd.
He doesn't mention how he thought sometimes dying would be an easier way out, that the streets was too much of a way of life rather than a choice he lived with. He just says honestly, "Change had to be done."
His relaxed answer, in his eyes, had made things worse.
Sungmin didn't bother to hear the rest of his reply and simply vanished.
Henry gave a bitter smile, mentally scolding himself for thinking otherwise of Sungmin. He couldn't look into the act, that he briefly thought was considerate of him.
Then, he remembered the large gashes embedded in Hankyung's skin and neck when he saw him the following morning, and even with avoiding his questions, he knew who caused them. He couldn't let himself walk down that path, not to be blinded again. He then heard a small clack.
He furrowed his eyebrows and turned around; staring at the table beside him and realized it held a plate of food, most from that large table. He glanced around the room but found no one in sight to thank. He looked back at the plate and realized most were his favorites. A wide smile formed on his lips as he reached for a piece, grateful as he took a delicious bite.
-
"Even now I'm unsure." Henry confided.
Hankyung smiled earnestly as Henry sighed, they walked side by side through the large rooms, somehow just slightly more fancier in decor than the other rooms. Only the curtains were notably torn and its remnants destroyed most of what might have been a beautiful room.
"I bet there's nothing in common between us." Henry said.
"You're both stubborn." Hankyung offered.
Henry narrowed his eyes and punched him on the shoulder, causing not even a hint of actual harm. Henry stopped when he noted Hankyung's eyes that focused past him and he turned around. Sungmin merely walked past the two, not bothering to give them a second glance as he spoke with another member. Henry pursed his lips at an occurring thought.
Sungmin hadn't once displayed jealously despite claims of a former relationship. Although, if he had truly thought about, Sungmin had never once claimed it himself. In fact, he was still avoided and coldly treated, if there was indeed a connection, Henry saw no hint of it and Sungmin didn't seem too interested in mending it.
Maybe Henry didn't matter to him at all, maybe Sungmin had realized he was never in love, or that love that long faded. The possibilities whirled endlessly but Henry wasn't sure which category Sungmin placed in.
"You're obsessed." Hankyung stated, Henry said nothing as his eyes followed him.
"How else do you expect me to act when there's a past to uncover?" Henry reasoned as he left Hankyung behind, following the same path until he found him, watching as Sungmin stared through the windows.
Henry compared Sungmin to a difficult puzzle, because despite the many pieces offered to him, even now he wasn't able to understand the process of how it came about.
He breathed in deeply as he took a determined step.
-
The necklace dangled from his hand, his finger unconsciously traced over the charm.
"Sungmin."
His eyes had looked at him adoringly. The smile that traced his lips when he reached for his neck, playfully leaning against him as they laid back against the velvet sheets.
"I... I-"
"No."
He tightened his fist, lowering his eyes as he recalled the shaken voice.
"I don't want-"
"Are you alright?"
It was rare when another’s presence surprised him. Sungmin looked from the corner of his eyes; Henry had walked up to him with a puzzled expression.
Sungmin shifted his eyes back to the window. "Acting as if you cared is far more than I expect. There's no need to follow those expectations."
Henry took that into offense, "I'm trying my best."
"You will never remember." Sungmin stated ruthlessly. "There's no sense in you trying so hard."
"But if it means I can accept this easier then-"
"You want to know why you loved me right?" He accused. "You want to know because you don't understand it at all."
Henry swallowed slightly, trying to form the proper answer. "Yes." He eventually admitted. "Because of what and who you are, I have no possible idea why I could have ever fallen for you."
This Henry was much different than the last.
Henry tried miserably to compose himself, and asks, "Do you know why?"
"I don't. I never questioned your feelings to the extent you're going." His expression hardened. "You will never remember."
"Maybe if I-"
"Those memories were not suppressed or simply wiped away, but taken forcefully away from you."
Henry was taken back as Sungmin turned away from the window, absorbing his words as he fidgeted his hand.
"There's no sense in continuing this." Sungmin declared callously. "If you don't care for me, fine, move on." His eyes sharply turned towards him from the corners of his eyes. "But don't try to understand a past you no longer have-"
"But it's my past too." Henry countered. "I developed a bond with you, haven't I?"
Sungmin didn't reply.
"As you said," Henry grounded, the frustration evident. "I never once developed a bond with anyone out there but apparently I have with you. Despite how false it seems to be-"
The hand slammed against the wall beside him, mere inches away as Henry looked up into Sungmin's flared eyes. Henry stepped back, frozen from fear as he met with narrowed eyes.
"They belong solely to me." Sungmin cautioned lowly. "Don't taint those memories."
Sungmin withdrew his hand and strode past him, leaving Henry to breathe in forcibly from the encounter. The others parted to allow him passage,
Hankyung appeared by his side, "You shouldn't have done that."
He was slammed against the wall, unable to reach his throat as he gasped for breath, his throat constricted without a single hand laid on him.
"You shouldn't have interfered." Sungmin countered. Hankyung was able to breathe as he slumped to the ground, gasping for breath as Sungmin faded into the darkness.
-
Henry waited patiently on the bed, his hands repeatedly tracing the crumpled sheets. Hours had passed and it was now late into the evening but he continued to wait. He repeated the earlier memory, taken off-guard, under the assumption that Sungmin would do nothing to hurt him, but that only applied to his former self he shared those memories with.
He wondered if his presence taunted him, constantly reminded him, or did he easily separate the two? Was the Henry now just a nuisance he couldn't be bothered with? His attempts at remembering may have been futile, and while it took longer for his wavering determination to settle, he couldn't help but demand to know more.
Hankyung may have been right, he was obsessed.
Henry's eyes turned from the bed and focused on the outline that fully came into view, slowly as the figure appeared in the center of the room.
"Stubborn as always."
Henry stayed quiet as he stood up from the bed and walked cautiously towards Sungmin. There was a hazed look in his eyes, disoriented, but not a scent of alcohol on him.
"What do you expect? An answer and then everything would return to how it used to be?" Sungmin said condescendingly. "Or are you hoping to avoid whatever had caused it in the first place?"
Henry parted his lips, but somehow the words refused to come out.
Sungmin scoffed. "Still as selfish as always." He walked past him towards the other edge of the room as he beat away the velvet curtains.
Henry followed after him, Sungmin repeatedly paced around until he settled against the wall beside his bed. His eyes remained closed as he tilted his head up,
"You're right here..." Sungmin said quietly.
Henry gave a single nod. "Y-yes."
"But you're not here. You're not." He repeated incoherently as he clutched his head, his eyes cringing as if disturbed by some thought.
"I don't want to..."
Sungmin collapsed onto the floor, Henry reached out to help him by instinct when Sungmin grabbed his wrists.
Henry stared into opened eyes that seemed a raw and darkened shade; they were notably torn and destroyed. The facade it hit behind crumbling down. Sungmin's expression looked mournful, somber, enough that it invoked concern from him. He wondered why.
"Please..."
Henry felt something cold by his wrist and glanced at it, he recognized the familiar metal object that remained tied around the older man's fingers.
Sungmin released one of his wrists and palmed his cheek, his fingers gently traced them, as if wiping away unseen tears. Henry stared back at the man who smiled earnestly at him.
"You've been brought back to me."
Henry stood still as Sungmin leaned against his shoulder, his hands holding onto his shoulders and back. Henry grew worried that if he moved his hand, he might potentially break Sungmin. He was too fragile even now, a front he wasn't used to.
"You've returned." Henry noted his hazed eyes and the stronger smell of alcohol, he stood still as Sungmin nuzzled against the nape of his neck, as if inhaling his scent.
Henry swallowed the lump in his throat, frozen as what to do when suddenly Sungmin tore the collar of his shirt, his gaze tracing the scar by his collarbone.
He felt the air hitched in his throat when Sungmin pressed his lips against it, pulling away only slightly as he raised to meet his eyes.
"You're never leaving me again."
The kiss wasn't familiar.
It didn't prompt any memories, it was a foreign feeling against his lips. But he didn't defy Sungmin, instead letting him continue the brief kiss until he seemed satisfied. He didn't pull away because somehow he felt needed, the guilt crept in as the expression from earlier slowly resurfaced.
It felt as if Sungmin was mourning the memory of him, and while he had treated him without care, he was suppressing every pain. He had been blinded by his need to know, frustrated by the reluctant older man that he was unknowingly hurting him with every bitter word that escaped his lips and to that he felt liable.
That acknowledgment broke through the wall, one that was doubtful and reluctant to know why and how he could have fallen for this guy. He felt closer to that understanding, one that conflicted him from labeling the man as a beast, or a human being.
Sungmin kissed him once again, he became more willing. Every brush with his lips became more intoxicating.
"I don't want to forget."
-
Had it already been so long?
“Sir.” Hankyung had said uncertainly, unsure if his leader had listened to his report.
“I’m aware of it,” Sungmin replied coolly.
“You’re not concerned?”
“Let them. I won't have disloyal members in my clan."
Hankyung recalled how during his report, Sungmin’s gaze landed to the floor below, to a spot that was otherwise empty. A cryptic smile had traced his leader's lips.
Hankyung guessed to whom it may have been, there was only one Sungmin’s eyes ever followed. There were instances that convinced him that even Sungmin had remnant of a soul.
And the night his leader was forced to have Henry out of his life, he was certain whatever ounce of it he may have had had long abandoned him.
Part 2 | Part 4