Lines of Deception

Case File Entry #016

The room felt alive with tension, the kind that crawled beneath the skin and refused to let go. Nanon sat stiffly on the edge of the bed, his knuckles white as he gripped the edges of the mattress. His eyes darted wildly around the dimly lit room, the flickering light from the single bulb above casting shifting shadows that seemed to taunt him. He could feel Ohm standing a few feet away, steady and silent, a presence that somehow suffocated him further.

The silence pressed down like a weight, thick and suffocating, until Nanon broke it with a sharp, brittle laugh. It wasn't the laugh of a man amused—it was fractured, jagged, and chilling. He looked up at Ohm, his head tilting at an unnatural angle, a grin curling at his lips that didn't reach his eyes.

"You don't get it, do you?" he whispered, his voice dropping to a low, almost serpentine tone. His gaze locked onto Ohm's, gleaming with something dark and dangerous.

Ohm didn't respond, his steady expression only infuriating Nanon further.

"You think I am some victim? Do you pity me?" Nanon continued, taking a slow, deliberate step forward. "You think you're in control because you brought me here? Because you decided I don't belong in an asylum?" His voice rose, trembling with a manic energy. "Let me tell you something, Officer—if you keep me here, I'll kill you."

The threat hung in the air like a blade poised to strike, sharp and unrelenting.

"I'll slit your throat while you sleep," Nanon hissed, his voice dropping into a chillingly calm whisper. "And no one will ever find your body. No one will ever know what happened to you. I'll make sure of it."

He took another step closer, his movements sharp and jerky, as though he were barely holding himself together. His grin widened, grotesque and unnatural. "Would you like that, Officer? To be another secret? To vanish into nothing, just like they did?"

Ohm remained rooted in place, his gaze never wavering from Nanon's. There was no fear in his eyes, no hesitation—just a quiet, unshakable resolve.

"If that's what you want," Ohm said softly, his voice steady, "then do it. Kill me."

Nanon froze, the words slamming into him like a physical blow. His grin faltered, his breath hitching in his throat.

Ohm took a slow, deliberate step closer, closing the distance between them. His voice was calm, but his words carried a weight that felt inescapable. "You can keep playing this game, Nanon. You can keep threatening me, keep pretending to be the monster you think you are. But I see you."

Nanon's body trembled, his hands twitching at his sides. His gaze flickered, the manic energy beginning to crack under Ohm's unrelenting stare.

"I see your eyes," Ohm continued, his tone unyielding. "And they're not the eyes of a killer. They're the eyes of someone who's terrified. Someone who's been running for so long they don't know how to stop."

"Stop it," Nanon whispered, his voice breaking. He stumbled back a step, his grin fading as panic began to creep into his expression. "Stop looking at me like that."

"I'm not afraid of you," Ohm said, his voice soft but resolute. "If you kill me, that's my choice. My destiny. But I don't believe you will. Because I don't think you want to."

Nanon's breathing grew ragged, his body trembling as he clutched at his head. "You don't know anything about me!" he shouted, his voice raw and desperate. "You don't know what I've done! I didn't have a choice! I didn't—"

His words dissolved into a choked sob, the dam finally breaking. His knees buckled, and he collapsed onto the floor, his hands clutching his hair as he cried. "I didn't want to do it," he whispered, his voice trembling with anguish. "I didn't want to hurt them. I didn't want to—"

Ohm knelt in front of him, his movements slow and deliberate, as though approaching a wounded animal. "Shhh..." he said softly, his voice gentle. "Whatever happened, whatever pushed you to that point—you don't have to carry it alone anymore. I will help you get the freedom you want. If you want death, I will kill you myself. But before that you need to free your soul from it. You need to come clean Nanon. Believe me. I want to help you."

Nanon stared at him, his eyes wide and glistening with tears. For a moment, he seemed to fight against himself, his body tense as though ready to lash out. But then, with a strangled cry, he lunged forward, wrapping his arms around Ohm in a desperate, trembling embrace.

"I'm tired," Nanon choked out, his voice muffled against Ohm's chest. "I'm so tired of all of it."

Ohm's arms came around him, firm and steady, holding him tightly as though to shield him from the storm raging inside. "I know," he murmured, his voice steady and soothing. "Cry all you want... Take it all out."

For the first time, Nanon allowed himself to let go of the mask, the lies, the fear. And as he clung to Ohm, the shadows in the room seemed to recede, just a little.