With the last and peaceful smile on Jun's lips came the first tragic end to his life which Jin couldn't do anything to stop.
The air was heavy with grief as the night sky was filled with the epiphany of his loss.
His gaze remained transfixed at Jun, who had ceased to breathe. This dark night reminded Jin of the time he was locked up in the dark room. He had sat huddled, his shoulders trembling and tears rolling down his cheeks and guilt and fear screaming inside him. But it was Jun's comfort that poked a hole in that fear, letting him breathe. It was that little toy's light he had brought with him that flickered within the dark, not making it so scary anymore.
It was that similar darkness that had blanketed the sky but this time, it was Jun locked up in the car, ridden with guilt and fear. His eyes were stained with tears that couldn't even begin to express his regret. Jin was right beside him. But he couldn't help his brother the same way that he had helped him. He couldn't erase that repentance that exhausted the last thread of any redemption within him.
The night lights shone across Jin's tear-streaked lines of his face, reflecting the raw emotions that consumed him. It was all pandemonium and chaos but in that moment he felt isolated, as if a piece of his heart had been wrenched away, leaving an unfillable void.
He still felt the echoes of Jun's laughter filled with memories of happier times. The weight of the past and their childhood pressed upon him, the memories crashing like waves against the fragile walls he had built to protect his heart.
*Meo..w…*
Amidst the screams and rush of people trying to make sense of the two deaths that they had witnessed, Jin heard a soft and weak whimper. He tore his gaze away from Jun for some unknown reason and noticed a cat lying weak and fragile at the entrance of an alley. Jin floated to her side as if a force pulled him towards the cat. When he reached closer, he found that the cat was severely malnourished. She had bruises on her body which told him that she was bullied a lot.
The cat looked up, staring right at him as if she had already felt his presence.
"You can…see me…?" He asked with a voice devoid of any emotion.
But he then noticed her eyes which were a beautiful shade of a light brown. Jin peered into her shiny irises, and he trembled.
"My brother had…similar eyes as you. Just that the shade was darker…"
*Meow…*
It was a mournful whimper from the cat as she was staring towards Jun's car with great concentration. She weakly flailed and waved her paw in that direction as if she was desperately calling out to somebody.
Jin didn't understand what she wanted to show him, but what he did understand was that the cat before him didn't have long to live. Her breathing was labored, and she was very hungry and thirsty. It was simply a matter of time when she would give up on her struggle. She was shivering with the cold, and Jin moved closer to her in an attempt to provide some warmth even though he knew it was physically impossible.
Yet the cat's tremors calmed down as if she could really feel his soul's warmth. She laid still in that warm comfort and tenderness for sometime until her eyes eventually but gently closed themselves with her last breath.
In the quiet darkness, Jin stared at the lifeless cat. He bent and moved his hand to pet her, but it passed through her body just like the time he tried to touch Jun. She looked peaceful in a way as if she was finally liberated from all her grief. As if the wretched life filled with desolation had finally ended.
Staring at the cat, he wondered if Jun was feeling the same after his death? Just like this cat, was he finally experiencing relief?
Was he happy now? Was he smiling now? Was he feeling liberated now?
As if he was bound to get his answer, Jin saw a flicker of something white and shapeless escape Jun's body as he turned. It was the same with Ai, who lay dead on the hood of Jun's car. He stared at the form disintegrating…or disappearing into nothingness.
It was at that very moment that he paled and in an instant, he ruthlessly discarded his previous thoughts.
What happiness after his death? What smile? What liberation?
"This all means nothing to me!" Jin screamed. "This wasn't how it was supposed to end! This wasn't how he was supposed to die! He is the kindest and the gentlest person I have ever known! A kind man like him doesn't deserve this fate! This cannot end here. He only ever loved one woman in his entire life…"
He raced towards the car and drove his apparition straight through the shapeless forms of Jun and Ai who seemed to be still connected even through their souls. He fearfully wondered if the same was happening with Jun. The feeling of getting pulled into some pathway.
But what lay at the other end?
Jin didn't know, but what he did know was that if he allowed Jun's soul to disperse, then he would never get him back. He would lose him forever and that would truly be the end of Jun's life. Tears spilled out of his eyes as he seemed to hug Jun's soul.
Was Jun feeling the same affection that he had showered Jin in their childhood?
"Look Bro…This time I am there for you. I don't resent you. I don't hate you. I don't care if your bullet hit me. It was all my fault that I forced you to become that monster which made you loathe yourself. So please don't die, Bro…You deserve to be happy. You deserve to marry the woman of your dreams. You deserve to have a wonderful family…That's why you…" his voice choked, "cannot leave, Bro…"
Jin had no idea if what he was doing was even working but the transcendence of Jun and the woman's souls seemed to halt.
Jin looked above at the sky, gritting his teeth and demanding answers.
"Bro only ever loved one woman in his entire life…This shouldn't be the cost for my brother to bear just because he loved a woman with all his heart! This wasn't how he was supposed to live. A life filled with loneliness, hatred, despair, pain, loss…My brother didn't deserve any of this! So, I don't care how but you have to give him a second chance! He cannot die here because I won't let this end here!"
With the last of his scream resounding sharply in the air, a streak of a blinding golden light tore through the crevices of the dark and night sky. Before Jin could fathom what
was happening, a loud shrill ripped through his ears.
*GONG*
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