Miracle in Summer [HaruKyu FF]

Chapter 6

Junkyu stood in his room, crossing his arms over his chest, waiting for an explanation from his butler. His butler kind of off, it seemed. He wasn't on his usual calm demeanor and instead his eyes were looking elsewhere other than his master.

"Mind telling me how do you know the guy's name?" Asked Junkyu using sign language.

"I heard from people, a blind young man came from the city and is going to stay in the village for summer." Answered Jung In. "I also heard his name is Haruto."

Junkyu narrowed his eyes. His butler doesn't seem to lie to him. Of course, since it's a small village, even the walls have mouths and ears.

"And what issues do you have against him?" Junkyu jerked one of his brow.

"Young master.. I promised your late parents to take care of you. And I'm afraid you will get yourself in trouble by associating yourself with impaired guy." Said Jung In in a sniffy voice. He lied. He doesn't know how much his master heard him but he was willing to take a risk his master caught him lying.

Junkyu's face turned red. He couldn't believe what he heard. "What about me then? What makes me different from him? I'm muted." He moved his hands aggravatedly, slightly trembling as he made the signs. "Do you find yourself in trouble for staying with me?"

"Young master, that's not what I mean. You can't even communicate with him using sign language. What if something happened to--" Jung In flinched. His words were cut off by a loud crashing sound.

Junkyu had thrown a bottle of perfume from on top of his drawer to a mirror. He closed his eyes, chest heaved heavily. He trusted his butler more than he trusted himself. He had believed Jung In would be the last person to think he was a burden. As his fingers curled to claws that soon would dig his own flesh, Junkyu pointed at the door for Jung In to go out from his room.

"Young--" Jung In tried to talk but he stopped when his action made Junkyu swiped everything off from the drawer into the floor. The butler doesn't want to anger him more and decides to walk out from his room quietly.

Jung In stood in front of the door, sighing, massaging his heavy temples. Loud noises kept coming from inside the room. He was wondering how big the damage would be this time. This wouldn't happen if he didn't put his guard off earlier — he thought.

Slumped in the middle of a mess of broken glasses, with a smell of earth and iron dripping from his fingertips and filling his nose, Junkyu hugged his knees bent to his chest. He felt betrayed. He felt hurt. But above all, he felt lonely.

His mind insisted his trusted butler think of him as a burden, thus it made him think he has no one. Everyone had left him. He wanted to cry but again he couldn't, not even a single tear build up on his eyes. Crying was a privilege and he deserved none.

After all, this was what he wanted. To feel lonely as his own punishment to himself.

Junkyu's eyes roamed aimlessly at the mess around him until the pair caught a small broken frame. An old picture slipped from it. His hand stretched out to grab the picture. A picture he had forgotten for quite a while.

Where are you now, little boy? — He asked inside his head as his bloodied fingers traced over the portrait of his eleven year old self holding hands with a much younger boy. Impressively beautiful mansion as their background. Lush green pine trees framed them and sun rays shone over their innocent, smiling faces.

You too, you left me. No. You are the first to left me. Why? Is it because you know I won't be the same Hyung anymore?

He stared at his own reflection through the broken mirror in front him, his face void of emotion. It wasn't how a living, breathing, human being supposed to look — he thought to himself.