Red Means I love you

The Deal

"Cale-nim..."

Cale didn't even had to turn his head to know who had called him,

  It was the... familiarly tired and exhausted voice he had grown to know the past few years, as they were practically forced to stick together through all those years. The voice that was starting to grow sick of everything-- and to be honest, Cale was too.

"Choi han,"

It has been a long and tiring year for the both of them--Things weren't even supposed to be dragged on for this long nor were things was supposed to get this worse. 

"How did the mission go?"

  Cale leaned towards the coffin next to him, his vision was completely focused on the dead instead of the person with him in the room. But Choi han didn't even bother to comment about it, he had grown use to the Duke's weird antics after ... She had died. 

His liege's mental stability could even be considered to be more unstable after their allies had fallen one by one like flies.

  Choi han saw how those long and weary fingers of his liege had carefully caress the glass lid of the coffin; slow and repetitive. 

It was the glass coffin Cale had made for On and the others that had fallen.

  Though it was clear that they were no longer there; Every time Choi han took a peak on the individuals who laid inside it, he can't help but think that they were, just maybe, were simply sleeping peacefully. And everything was simply a cruel joke that they were playing on him.

The whole coffin was big and wide enough to cover the entire fifth floor of the villa that was supposed to be their home. Needless to say, it was a very a big coffin.

A big coffin, for their... Big Family.

"It went well, Cale-nim"

"That's good to hear," 

Despite saying that, Choi han did not even see his liege smile the slightest bit.

Right...

Something this measly was nothing worth celebrating for--

"Choi han," Cale called out to the sword master, 

"...Yes?"

Choi han responded, but he did not expect his liege to stop caressing the coffin's lid all of a sudden. 

  Red hair swayed from the night's wind and Choi han could clearly see how paler, nearing deadly white, were his lieges porcelain like skin had become; not to mention, those dark lines under his liege eyes that had gotten larger since the last time he had seen Cale.

"Should we prepare for the next step?" A small worn out smile grace his lieges lips,

It was probably hard enough for his liege to command the entire war by himself, not to mention the stacking pain he must have felt when their close ones died one by one... 

  And adding all of that his not so young master also had to deal with the central Noble who had pride as big and unmoving as a hallow rock-- Choi han clenched his fist, trying to keep his expression as neutral as he could.

"Yes, my liege"

All Choi han could do was to obey and try his best to alleviate his liege's burdens.

...But no matter what he tried to do, 

Everything, even the world it self, 

Seemed to want them to fall into the pits of despair;