Chapter Text
Kim Rok Soo put headphones in his ears, which were a bit more expensive than he could afford with his part-time job salary, but that wasn't an issue today. With a soft cradle, the headphones pamper his ears, Kim Rok Soo finds himself truly enjoying all the luxuries it has to offer.
Kim Rok Soo closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, ignoring the commotion around his classroom. The soft music of the '90s seemed to invite him to leave the modern world back to a time when photos were still sepia in color.
The sound of children running in the classroom corridor reminded Kim Rok Soo of old movies accompanied by the music he played. The sudden leap of time from the projector classroom to the sepia atmosphere of the '90s puts Kim Rok Soo's mind at ease.
His hands groped under the table, took a thick hardback book and then opened it. Kim Rok Soo turned the page with the marker he had placed earlier.
Inferno by Dan Brown's open to page 267, Kim Rok Soo's eyelids flickered, searching for a word he had previously left to read.
Before he could focus on continuing his reading, a hand blocked his field of view on the page of the book that Kim Rok Soo had just borrowed from the library.
Sepia collapsed, replaced by a fiery red shimmer from the hair in front of him when Kim Rok Soo looked up.
"No lunch?" asked the red-haired youth in front of him with a smile that seemed to tear his mouth.
Kim Rok Soo didn't flinch, taking a moment to answer. "I love the curiosity of my brain more," Kim Rok Soo replied with a sneer hanging in his voice.
The red-haired youth chuckled then moved to his side trying to peek at what he was reading.
Kim Rok Soo at all costs ignored the young man's existence. The volume of the music, which is now changing to western music, is turned up, a thick book with more than 600 pages is lifted to cover the view. Kim Rok Soo clearly hinted that he didn't want to be disturbed.
The young man inched away, then smiled slyly, he muttered under his breath, incoherently, before leaving Kim Rok Soo in silence.
***
It suddenly rained that afternoon. Kim Rok Soo took shelter at the security post while waiting for someone to pick him up.
The red-haired youth sat beside him, holding his chin with both hands. His reddish brown eyes followed Kim Rok Soo's gaze to the raindrops falling from the roof tiles.
The sepia color turned gray, Kim Rok Soo brought the music back to life, immersed in the soothing rhythm of the music and the dark cloudy sky above. His face like a wall could not be separated from the road ahead, occasionally glancing at the passing vehicles, hoping that it was his pick-up.
The existence of the 18-year-old youth next to him was still neglected. His face was sullen when nothing he did would bother Kim Rok Soo.
"Rok Soo are you really that mute?" He said as his thin cheeks tried to be made puffy.
Kim Rok Soo didn't answer, in fact he got up as fast as lightning as if he had been waiting for this moment. He walked out of the security post to a man dressed as a servant who opened the car door with a small umbrella in his hand.
"You are late."
"Sorry young master."
As soon as the car door closed, the white sedan sped through the muddy road.
The red-haired youth at the security post was left with a big frown on his face.
***
Arriving at his blue room, Kim Rok Soo immediately plopped down on the double size soft bed. The tiredness in his head and body evaporated as he felt the warmth of the blanket.
Not even taking off his uniform, Kim Rok Soo closed his eyes, deciding to take a nap before dinner was about to be served.
As soon as the sun descended to the western horizon, the gray clouds that had hung since this afternoon slowly disappeared revealing the orange and red colors of the evening sky. Kim Rok Soo would be lying if the skyline view he saw in his window wasn't beautiful.
There was a knock on the brown-painted wooden door in his room, someone from outside said that dinner would be served soon.
Reluctantly Kim Rok Soo removed the blanket that had been protecting him from the cold, walked to the bathroom and took off all his clothes. He replies to the person outside the room that he will take a shower for a while.
As soon as he was ready, Kim Rok Soo realized he had stepped down the large hallway of the estate where he recently lived.
Being adopted—adopted from a small orphanage where he has very few memories, made Kim Rok Soo relieved to be able to get out of an orphanage that only provided solitude for him.
As for him, he didn't mind leaving the orphanage he'd only lived in for about a year before he ended up stranded in this luxurious place.
The double doors of the medieval decorated dining room opened at the act of the waiter in front of Kim Rok Soo. He was greeted by the sight of four people sitting in their respective chairs.
After being signaled, Kim Rok Soo walked in and sat down at the end of the dining table where he was ordered to sit.
"How was your school today?" The head of the household, with an average face and short brown hair asked from across the table.
Kim Rok Soo picked up a fork when he saw that the other four had started eating, he took a moment before answering the chief.
"Quite well ... sir," he answered simply.
The man with a shady look at the end of the table sighed, "Please call me uncle. We are still related, Rok Soo." His lips curved into a small smile.
"Yes... uncle." Still awkward, Kim Rok Soo raised the corner of his mouth strangely.
Without another exchange of words they enjoyed the dinner in silence, a bit claustrophobic, at least for Kim Rok Soo. He wasn't too used to this kind of luxury or manners.
***
One week, Kim Rok Soo had been in this school during that time, he was friends with several kids in his class, not including that red haired bastard, no.
The first time Kim Rok Soo saw the young man with fiery red hair was when he had just entered the school gate for the first time.
The young man was at the security post, resting his chin with both hands. His porcelain white face had no expression other than his irises that were always moving to and fro, like they were looking for something or someone.
When the empty irises stared back and forth at that moment, Kim Rok Soo accidentally met the young man's reddish brown irises who were also looking back at him. Not long after that the young man smiled, Kim Rok Soo swore, he really didn't like the big smile that was directed at him.
Some kind of Joker, thought Kim Rok Soo as a chill ran through his bones.
As if that wasn't enough, when Kim Rok Soo was ushered into his class, the red haired youth was there. Sitting in the middle row at the very back, his hands waved excitedly as Kim Rok Soo entered the classroom, his pale lips adorned with that hideous smile again.
Since then, the red-haired youth has always clung to him at school. Annoying him when he's alone, or just greeting him with a big smile.
"Rok Soo!"
There was a shrill call as Kim Rok Soo sat alone in the library, as expected it was the red-haired youth.
His red hair fluttered as he quickly stepped in and sat right across from Kim Rok Soo.
"Rok Soo, I just found a beautiful stone!" the story excitedly, as if he were a child exploring the world and discovering strange things.
Kim Rok Soo ignored him completely, his gaze still focused on the book in hand, ignoring the childish chatter of the person in front of him.
For about ten minutes the young man chattered to himself excitedly, saying whatever he wanted, he didn't seem to expect any reply from Kim Rok Soo as he answered every question on his own, along with a big smile that seemed to never leave his face. Kim Rok Soo wished he had brought his headphones.
"And the caterpillar apparently—!"
"Rok Soo!"
There was a call again, which finally cut off the words of the red-haired youth. This time Kim Rok Soo looked up, looking at the black-haired youth who was approaching his desk.
"It turns out that you are here, don't you have lunch?" The young man asked.
"No, Choi Han, I have eaten my lunch."
When Choi Han walked over, the red-haired youth instantly stood up.
"Hm, I think I should go." The red-haired youth said, briefly and quietly, he walked leisurely towards the exit. Kim Rok Soo didn't notice the parasitic young man leaving. He didn't notice the smile that still lingered grimly. Well, Kim Rok Soo doesn't care.
The place that was originally occupied by the redhead was finally occupied by Choi Han, making Kim Rok Soo's mood finally improve. Honestly it's a good thing the red-haired young man would leave when Kim Rok Soo wasn't alone. For that one he would say a little thank you.
The non-existent conversation between Kim Rok Soo and the redhead was now flowing smoothly when he conversed with Choi Han.
For a moment it crossed Kim Rok Soo's mind the transparent back that disappeared behind the closed library door, he desperately wanted to get rid of the image of the bloody head from the spirit of that young man named Cale Henituse.
A familiar name, maybe for this reason also Kim Rok Soo less and less wanted to get involved with Cale. Ignore it, Kim Rok Soo repeated the word in his mind over and over again.