CHAPTER 52: CHAPTER 49: WHAT’S BEHIND A SMILE?

Joseph stood and brushed the dust off his clothes. Then he reached out his hand to Jin and helped him to his feet.

Jin and Joseph waved goodbye to Jihun as they parted ways.

“We wish you good luck with your single life.”

“Bye, Jin. Bye, Joseph.”

They walked toward the field, carrying each other’s bags. As they started to leave, Joseph put his arm around Jin’s shoulder. They walked together off the school grounds.

The sun was setting behind the school, painting the sky orange. The air smelled faintly of grass and chalk. A soft breeze brushed past them as they walked by the field.

Jin yawned.

“Hey, Joseph, wait. Let’s buy some lollipops.”

“Lollipops again? Why do you love them so much?”

“I don’t know. I just feel like they give off a cool vibe and a calm sweetness.”

“Okay, let’s buy them, bro.”

They crossed the road and bought two round lollipops from a small shop, one coffee flavored and the other cola flavored.

Jin unwrapped the coffee one slowly, his eyes reflecting the golden light of the sunset.

Joseph walked beside him, swinging his bag lazily, a grin never leaving his face.

Jin put the lollipop in his mouth and handed the cola one to Joseph.

“When will we watch the World Cup final?” Joseph asked.

“I think it’s tomorrow at midnight.”

“Finally, the GOAT debate will end and we’ll know who’s the best, Messi or Ronaldo.”

“Don’t worry, Joseph. Argentina will beat your team. Mark my words: my La Pulga will score two goals and make an assist.”

“Nah, my Mr. Champions League will clutch it, score a hat trick, and reach his thousandth goal to prove he’s the best.”

“Your GOAT is finished. Watch him struggle in the camel league.”

“Still better than that MLS stuff. Even the kids in our area play better than that burger league.”

“Change the subject, my head’s spinning,” Jin muttered.

“Okay, okay, let’s relax,” Joseph replied.

“So, the final exams are in two weeks,” Joseph said with a grin. “Then we’ll finally get our summer break.”

“Yeah,” Jin smiled faintly. “Feels kind of nice that this semester went by so fast.”

They kept walking until they reached a fork in the road. One path led through a line of trees that swayed gently in the breeze, sunlight slipping softly between the leaves. The ground was covered with fallen petals, and the air carried the quiet scent of earth at the close of day. Birds chirped faintly above, and everything felt calm, untouched by the noise of the city.

The other road was full of cars, horns, and the smell of smoke.

Without saying a word, they turned toward the peaceful path beneath the trees.

Jin and Joseph always favored peace and calm.

Halfway through, as they chatted, Jin suddenly stopped. His steps froze for no reason.

“I don’t feel good, Joseph,” he said softly. “I feel some déjà vu.”

Joseph’s face turned serious immediately. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

As he looked at Jin, a dark black fog began to surround Jin’s face, separating him from time and existence.

A wave of unbearable pain erupted through his body.

His eyes burst with light, blinding him completely. Blood filled his mouth as his heartbeat slowed, then suddenly raced again, pounding so violently it felt as if it could explode at any moment.

It was as if he had been torn away from space and time, erased from existence and its dimensions.

Inside there, a billion years felt like a single second. Age and time stopped growing.

Even his screams that echoed couldn’t be released. They could only be heard inside his mind. Even screaming was a luxury he wasn’t granted. The sound echoed within his body, tearing through his insides and forcing blood to pour from within.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Jin’s breathing sped up. His chest moved fast and rough. The pain spread through his body like fire under his skin. His bones felt like they were breaking one by one. His muscles twisted and locked. Then the sound of terror came from him.

A huge white lightning sword appeared in front of him and stabbed through his body. The impact lifted him off the ground. Blood burst from his mouth.

A second sword followed, cutting through his back, then his legs, then his shoulder. Flesh tore apart. The air filled with nothing but the sound of lightning blades piercing flesh.

Even everything he had suffered before, after coming to this new world and becoming Lin, even when his body was destroyed by the Ma’hul Curse or when Orillana herself tortured him, was nothing compared to this.

The pain was unbearable. Even witnessing it could make a strong man’s eyes bleed and kill a weaker one instantly.

Inside Jin, his body was transferred to a dark place filled with fog before he could even realize it.

The scream ripped out of Jin. His knees hit the ground. His hands clawed at the ashes. His mouth filled with warm blood. His breath came in jagged, shallow gasps. His eyes rolled back until only the whites showed.

Pain struck like a hammer smashing through bone. His ribs cracked with dry snaps. His lungs spasmed as if gripped by iron. Each inhale scraped his throat raw. He tasted blood and ash. Saliva and blood mixed at the corner of his mouth.

A blue lightning sword slammed through his sternum. It struck so hard his whole spine shuddered. For a second his body went limp and then it convulsed, jerking as muscles spasmed uncontrollably. The blade pulled out and then drove back in through his belly. Flesh split open in a wet, tearing sound. Blood sprayed through the air.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!”

A third sword appeared and drove into his shoulder. Tendons tore. A tendon snapped like a rope. His arm went numb. He could not feel his fingers. A new strike hit his thigh and bone met the lightning blade. Bone ground against it. He could hear the crunch inside him and it made him scream again.

The white blades kept appearing and vanishing. They stabbed through his back, his kidneys, his gut. Every strike tore something that could not be restored. Muscles shredded. Organs ruptured. Blood pooled beneath him with a sick, spreading wetness. His stomach emptied into his mouth. He choked on bile.

He tried to drag breath into him, but his lungs burned. His heartbeat stuttered, then raced, then stopped for a beat. For a thin second he felt nothing, a blank black where sensation should be, and then the pain returned sharper than before as if it had been waiting for that specific moment.

He could not close his eyes. His blinks burned his eyes. Light exploded behind them, blinding him. White and red spots pulsed at the edge of his sight. His ears rang, and all he could hear was his own harsh breathing and the wet, choking sounds of his body breaking down.

Then, out of nowhere, a blue blade appeared again. It pierced the center of his chest and kept going until it came out through his back. The pressure forced his ribs outward. His shoulders slumped. A piece of something inside him tore loose and slipped away. He felt memories like paper being ripped, names and moments yanked out and erased. He tried to cry the names but no sound came, only a broken animal scream.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

One strike after the other cut him in new places. Once, a blade sliced through his throat and he made a sound that was not a word. His voice went thin and raw. His jaw locked. His teeth ground together until one cracked. Warm blood streamed down his chin.

At some point his body split open, chest and abdomen tearing apart. He felt the two halves of himself slide apart and then be forced back together like ragged fabric being stitched while still bleeding. He collapsed, then rose again, driven by some raw, stubborn will. The will fought against death. It was as if his soul was not originally his.

Slash.

“AHHHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Slash.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Slash.

“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

Every single strike was worse than death. A thousand deaths would have been mercy. A million would have been peace. But this was endless. Each blow carried the feeling of dying a million deaths in a single second. It was as if he was being killed and revived again and again.

Joseph stood over him. His knuckles were split and bloody. His teeth were clenched so hard his jaw ached.

“They will pay for that. You and I will make them pay to the core. Every one of them will pay. Every single one of them will suffer.”

He reached into the black fog with his hand. White light poured from his palm and burned his skin. Pain shot up his arm. He did not pull back. He pushed his hand into Jin’s head. Something slammed into him from the inside and he staggered as if hit by a truck. He tasted one scratch from the sword that made him vomit blood.

He took a breath, and his hands glowed with white light. His hand reached into Jin’s head as it entered the black fog, and a massive shock passed through his body.

He appeared next to Jin just before another sword could cut him.

“Run, Joseph!” Jin warned, but Joseph stopped everything in that realm.

Joseph raised his hand. Everything froze. The world shattered like glass, and he appeared within the fog, light burning in his hands. He acted quickly, pulling Jin out of danger.

When Joseph’s eyes returned to normal, Jin was about to fall. Joseph supported him and placed him against a tree.

Joseph drew a long breath. A massive flow of blood came from his mouth as he gazed up at the sky.

“I don’t think I can endure this. My body is starting to fade. I have maybe three months, maybe five.”

“I sealed his memory temporarily. If it resurfaces, he will have to confront it.”

Joseph took another long breath, and a sad smile appeared on his face.

It was a burden Jin did not know about. The smile and the jokes were just a façade Joseph used to make Jin feel secure and happy. Joseph had carried this burden for a long time.

As the curse appeared more frequently and grew stronger, Joseph sealed the memory and took a quarter of the pain Jin would receive, bearing the rest himself.

All he wanted was to spend time with his brother in peace for as long as they could. But fate seemed cruel.

He would not let Jin know the truth, a truth Jin was not ready to face. If it were unleashed, it would bring chaos to the world.

Joseph closed his eyes, resting his head against Jin’s. It was a beautiful scene between two brothers.

And beneath that quiet sunset, only silence knew the truth Joseph carried on his shoulders.