There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 104

Chapter 104: Chapter 101. Midnight Waltz

As midnight rolled by, even the luxurious mansion was draped in a curtain of darkness, as if the earlier merriment was nothing but past glory. In a room where two people slept huddled together on a couch, only a slight flash inside a pair of dark eyes indicated the presence of someone else there.

There was no noise as the man walked by, not even a breathing sound. And when the dark eyes gazed upon the pair on the couch, his figure looked as still as a statue. Under the protection of the night, no one could sense him unless he wanted to be found.

Like right now.

"Cute, aren’t they?" he said with an easy smile, to the man who paused at the entrance with a blanket in his arms.

The crimson eyes stared at him with a slight shaking, before the owner closed them for a second. Without responding to him, Radia approached the couch and spread the blanket he held on top of the pair.

"How caring," the man didn’t seem to mind the lack of response. His voice was deep and dry, almost felt like mocking.

With a sudden sharp smile on his face, Radia gave a calm response. "You were the one who turned me the way I am now," he said while walking back to the door, feeling the gaze on his every move. He paused for a bit on the door frame, glancing back at the taller man. "Or was that not in your plan?"

As he heard the man chuckle softly, Radia resumed his walk, going out of the room and strolling through the corridors with a steady pace that masked the erratic heartbeat inside his chest.

Even with an enhanced sense of a 5-star esper, Radia couldn’t sense the man’s presence; the wave of mana was contained impeccably without any leaks, just like how the man hid his true self from the rest of the world. There was no sound of footsteps behind him, not even the sound of breathing. But he knew that Han Joon was there, following him with a smile that he didn’t bother to hide like in the past.

The only confirmation was his deep but soft voice flowing right in Radia’s ears. "My only plan is you, Dee," and Radia had to clench his teeth at the way the man called him; a mistakable pet name that was used by no one else but Joon. "Or did you still think I’m lying?"

Did he? Radia Mallarc had no idea of the state of his own heart. It had jumbled too much in so many knots that he had no idea how to unravel it. He had a clear mind facing anything else but this man, where his logic got marred too much by feelings.

He wasn’t even sure whether he wanted to let go and move on, or kept dancing with the painful game in which he couldn’t see the end.

"What are you doing here?" Radia asked finally, after reaching his bedroom and managing to calm his heart enough to respond in a nonchalant tone.

Of course, Han Joon didn’t hesitate to follow him there too, like a habit.

"Giving my birthday present," the man replied, looking around the room with nostalgic eyes as if reminiscing good old days. The dark eyes fell upon a clock on the bedside, and he added with a smile; "It’s not too late, is it?"

Radia gave no response, just watching the man making himself at home while walking around and touching the furniture with a nostalgic smile. His heart felt heavy whenever those long fingers brushed on the wood and the metal and the fabric, caressing the memory they made there.

It’s not too late--the words rang heavily in his mind. Radia wanted to say something--no, there was something he needed to say to this man. But his tongue felt like it was made of lead, and his throat felt like it was getting blocked with a lump of hot charcoal.

To think that he, the Radia Mallarc, would get tongue-tied in front of someone. People wouldn’t believe it without seeing it themselves.

But the man, who had a smirk on his face, suddenly looked at him. "Why? Did you wish I came for something else?"

Now that instantly freed the heaviness on his tongue, even though the lump only slid down deeper to his guts.

"Stop acting so cocky, Joon," Radia spat harshly, with a coldness that contained his repressed enmity. The crimson eyes shot a sharp glare at the other esper. "Just because I agree to sleep with you again, doesn’t mean we’re..." _{frёewebηovel.cѳm}

He stopped, realizing his voice had grown higher and louder, and took a deep breath to calm himself again. Ah, this wasn’t it. Just for today, he didn’t want to argue with Joon again.

Just for today.

"Just go if you’re done with your business," Radia sighed, plopping down at the edge of his bed.

The silent footsteps crossed the room right after Radia stopped talking, and the crimson eyes stared at anything but the approaching figure.

"Why did you stop?" the deep voice asked with a thick smile. "Go on, tell it to me straight."

Radia gritted his teeth. He had to wait for five whole years to see that smile again in the past. But now, even when he didn’t want it, the smile came easily on the man’s face. Radia looked down, refusing to be swayed by the smile and the gleaming eyes.

His brows knitted in reflex as the long legs came into view, stopping right in front of him. "We’re not what? Hmm?" the man asked again, with a soft and soothing voice that was very much different from the stern and bold voice he had while commanding the Mobius.

Even when Radia sliced his neck.

But the man was shouting now, in a voice filled with frustration, asking for his beloved, who always looked at other people in their eyes, to look at him.

But Radia still didn’t open his eyes. He couldn’t. Because in front of this man, his soul was bare. If he looked into those midnight eyes, Radia knew he would crawl and beg without any dignity, pleading for the man to stay by his side, just like their promise in the past.

But that future was no longer an option for them. For him, anyway.

"It’ll be really fucking great if you can just..."

Han Joon also did not curse. He was raised to be prim and proper and disciplined. Always spoke in a firm and polite tone.

Still closing his eyes, Radia heard the sound of a bitter chuckle, before the soft voice was coming back. "Haa...just stop saying things when you don’t even mean it," the grip on his thigh easing, and the cold fingers caressed him there, as if soothing possible bruise mark beneath. "Acting like you resent me so much when you know you can’t, acting like you push me away when you couldn’t bear to get away,"

Radia bit his lips in frustration. Because it was all true, and it frustrated Radia how much Han Joon understood hin.

"Just give up on your pride for a bit, Dee..."

The soft voice trailed into nothingness, and the room fell into silence again, with Radia still gripping the bedsheet with lowered head and Han Joon just staring at the crimson hair in front of his eyes.

"Ah, whatever," in the end, after minutes of excruciating silence, Han Joon got up and stepped back, the long and sturdy legs leaving Radia’s line of sight. "I’m going now, like you want."

It was then that Radia found his voice again, cracked and hasty. "J...Joon!" he felt the man pause and turn around. But even then, all Radia could do was lean forward and stared at the floor, hands shielding Joon from looking at his face as he spoke quietly into the night. "...happy...birthday..."

There was no response from the man for a while, until Radia heard the sound of laughter akin to piercing glass. "It’ll be great if you can gift me some honesty too while at it," it was a bitter voice in a mocking tone. Staring at the clock on the nightstand, the man added. "But I guess it’s no longer my birthday anymore..."

With that, the presence, which was already faint to begin with, disappeared completely. Inside the quiet night that already passed through to the next day, tears were flowing silently from the crimson eyes.