I am Destined to Die

“Ha ha! I’m kidding. Just kidding. He said he wanted this to be a success.”

“Is that all?”

“Yes. He also said he’d take good care of you.”

When I made a lame excuse, Simeon checked the document again with a face that soon lost interest.

“I’m afraid he’s asking the wrong favor, since it’s you who owes me.”

He had a knack for leaving me speechless. He wasn’t even wrong, so I clamped my mouth shut.

The car, which left the city in silence, stopped in the middle of an unknown mountain. I could see an old cabin through the thick of trees and bushes. The wind shook the large willow tree, making the desolate scenery even more desolate.

I had my nose pressed to the window, watching intently, when I heard an indifferent voice.

“Get off.”

At a sudden sound, I turned around to look at Simeon and asked back.

“Here?”

“Do you want to stay in the car?”

Once again at a loss for words, I meekly got out of the car.

The area around the cabin was completely untouched and covered in all sorts of weeds. It was so overgrown that you’d think something was sticking out of it, but Simeon and his bodyguard strode casually through it with their long legs. If only I were as tall… No, they were probably trying to get to the ark through the door of the hut.

I asked with a puzzled expression as I hurried behind them.

“What is this place?”

“What is it?”

“I thought you were going to the ark?”

I acted as if I didn’t even know the key. Then Simeon stopped dead in his tracks in the doorway and looked back at me with a puzzled expression. As I continued to play the innocent, unmoved by the stare, his nonchalant expression slowly frowned. It didn’t take me long to realize that it was a face holding back a laugh.

“Why are you laughing?”

I asked bluntly, and Simeon couldn’t help but giggle.

“Did you think I wouldn’t know?”

“Wh, what.”

“The fact that Raphael used the ‘key’ in front of you.”

I was stunned as if I had been hit hard in the back of the head.

What the hell, Raphael. He told me not to tell Simeon because it’s not allowed to use the key in front of outsiders, so I did my best to pretend I didn’t know, but he already did.

“Uh…”

With his mouth agape, Simeon pulled a key from his jacket pocket. He inserted the thin twig into the keyhole, and with a click, the door opened, and light shone through. Simeon reached for the doorknob and glanced at me as the sound of waves came from beyond the door.

“It was a pretty good performance. I almost fell for it.”

His easy smile made me feel even more embarrassed, so I mumbled in a low voice.

“Thanks for the kind words….”

“You’re welcome.”

Simeon opened the door and took a step back, gesturing softly as if to enter me first. I crossed the threshold first and was greeted by a horizon that met the clear sky. The view was so cool that my thoughts flew away in an instant.

I closed my eyes for a moment and felt the sea breeze, and Simeon insinuated.

“You’re free to roam around while you’re here, and I’m sure the doors won’t open where you’re not supposed to be anyway.”

“What’s going on? You don’t lock me up in your room like before.”

I asked purely out of curiosity, Simeon smiled as if he understood it as a kind of provocation.

“Do you want me to lock you up? I like it.”

“…I’m kidding.”

I’m speechless. I coughed mockingly and changed the subject.

“What else should I be careful about?”

“Don’t talk to my people more than you need, except in some cases.”

I gracefully paraphrase the warning not to bother the apostle unnecessarily. As I listen to the other cautions, I am reminded of something Raphael once told me.

“The terms are simple. I can ask for anything I want. I can lie, but don’t let you find out. …Right?”

Black eyes widened in surprise as he repeated the words Simeon had said to Raphael when they first entered the apostle’s office. Simeon nodded, the corners of his mouth twitching as he glared and then smirked.

“That’s right. But Shin Ha-jae, don’t lie to me from now on.”

“Why? …Are you telling me again that my acting is terrible?”

“Well, I don’t mean that either.”

Simeon smiled and moved toward the sea. He had no hesitation in walking to the cliff. The back, which always looked strong, seemed to fly away when the wind blew today, so I quickly followed him.

When they came to a halt at the edge of the cliff, almost to the point of the toe of his shoe, he said to himself.

“You asked me why I’m so suspicious of you.”

“No, it was a joke…”

“I don’t doubt others because I like them either.”

The black eyes looking at the distant horizon fluttered along the waves. The fine lines of his side face seemed to be frosted by the depths of the water, and he looked as young as a man who had given up all earthly things.

“All this time, I’ve wished there was one person I could trust completely, and now….”

A calm gaze swept through the sea and landed on me.

“I wish it were you.”

I felt more guilt than joy at him wanting to believe me. It was far better to be suspicious for the rest of his life than to betray his trust yet again.

“I’m sorry, but I’m not someone you can trust.”

I shook my head firmly with a self-help smile. I thought he would be a little embarrassed, but Simeon responded calmly as if he had expected my reaction.

“Well, for someone like you to ask me to take care of business.”

“You don’t have to worry about work.”

“But in private?”

Unable to say anything, I avoided eye contact like a guilty man. I hoped he would look away, but the persistent gaze never left my face. Why do those black eyes, dried up with resignation to everything, only burn serenely when they look at me. Does he still think I’m John…… Of course not.

As the heavy silence stifled my breathing, I felt a movement behind me.

“Guild leader.”

The black gaze that had been lingering on me shifted elsewhere. I turned to follow him and saw a woman in a neatly tailored suit standing there. She seemed to notice the tension in the air and spoke cautiously.

“I apologize for interrupting your conversation, sir, but I’m ready as you requested.”

The way she bowed politely was straight as if she had measured it with a ruler, and Simeon, noticing the awkwardness, strode away.

“If you’ll excuse me, I have business to attend to.”

I was stunned by the abruptness of his departure. In the space of a second, Simeon had walked with wide strides to the entrance of the ark. I rushed after him, only to be blocked by the open door.

“Wait a minute. Are you leaving me alone like this?”

“Yes. Why?”

“Why…”

This is the first time I’ve been free in the ark. In addition, there are a lot of people who I don’t know, and I don’t know where, let alone my room. But you’re letting me go like this all of a sudden? I can’t even go outside because I don’t have a key!

I don’t know where to start because I have a lot of question marks in my head. I frowned and expressed my frustration with my eyes wide open. However, Simeon raised one eyebrow as if he didn’t understand why, and suddenly reached out to me.

Instinctively, I stepped back to avoid his hand, but behind my back was the door. While I was embarrassed because there was no place to run away anymore, his hand, which was just around the corner, wrapped around my cheek. Unlike his indifferent face, the touch of his cheek was friendly.

“Is it because you’re worried that I’m going to keep you outside like this, like a dog guarding the yard?”

“No, it’s…”

“I’m not such a harsh person. That staff will guide you and they will take care of everything you need. Are you still uneasy about this?”

What. What was that? Then you should have explained it in advance. As soon as I tried to express my unfairness, a cold fingertip touched my ears. The touch of tapping and gently pressing the earlobe was full of mischievous playfulness. I couldn’t resist the itching and turned my head to the side and stiffened Simeon’s face was so close that I could count how many strands of those long inner-eye brows.

“Or, by any chance…”

Dark shadows cast against the sun, he exuded an aura of danger and seduction. Simeon whispered in a low voice, my attention drawn to the upturned corners of his mouth and the upturned bridge of his nose.

“Is it because you’re lonely without me?”

My eyes widened of their own accord.

“What?! No. Not at all!”

I denied it with every fiber of my being, and he chuckled and withdrew his hand. Simeon then opened the door to the ark, flicking a glance over his shoulder at the staff.

“Please take good care of Shin Ha-jae.”

“Yes, sir. I will serve him without fail.”

His easy gait as he enters the ark is puzzling. In the car, he was low-key, but now he seems incredibly excited, even if he tries not to show it. Like the childhood fantasy of jumping for joy when I told him I was going to sleep in the cathedral.