Exhaustion currently weighed on Brian's body. His feet walked with a slight reluctance toward the old house on the beach.
He hadn't visited it for three days. The moment his body stood right in front of the house door, a sweet smile was clearly etched on his face.
He didn't know what was wrong with his heart, which was so happy right now. Brian gently pushed the door of the house and stepped inside. The atmosphere within was silent, so quiet; there were only a few pieces of furniture there.
The silence that greeted him pricked his heart slightly. He had momentarily thought that Bella would remain loyal and wait for him to return, but apparently, she hadn't.
Overly imaginative hopes and desires often crush the longed-for expectation.
"Of course, it's impossible for that girl to wait for me! Who am I to hope so much?" Brian thought to himself.
He didn't know why he so craved Bella's presence, welcoming him home nearby. Was he missing Bella so much?
But wasn't he not expecting her presence? He didn't know; something wrong might be clinging to his heart lately.
He simply dropped his tired body onto the sofa, his hand tightly clenching his hair. The duties and missions he carried out as a mafia member were indeed very heavy.
The stake every time he ran a mission was life itself. Brian reached into his pocket and took out his phone. He pressed one button, and the photo of a middle-aged woman appeared on his phone.
"Is it right for me to hold the hand of a woman other than you? Is it a mistake, my heart that for some reason misses her so much? For years I craved your sympathy, why were you so cruel as to leave us alone? Living an isolated life, walking aimlessly. What's left after you left is hatred." Brian whispered, lamenting.
Brian was so lost in his feelings that he didn't realize Bella's presence watching him.
Hearing such a bitter expression, her heart was touched. Bella truly didn't know who the woman Brian was looking at was.
But her heart felt Brian's current emotion. Clear teardrops fell instantly, the same sadness she felt when she lost her own family. Bella wiped away her tears, slowly approaching Brian.
"Hmm, she's beautiful, very beautiful! Who is that woman?" Bella asked. Hearing that familiar voice, Brian looked up.
He received Bella's smile again, but soon focused his gaze back on his phone.
"You don't want to tell me about her?" Bella asked again.
"What's the benefit if I tell you about her?" Brian snapped back.
"At least I can understand you," Bella suggested, voicing her opinion.
"I don't expect that!" Brian replied curtly.
"Don't be so indifferent; alright, let me guess!" Bella suggested cheerfully. Brian just turned his face away, not wanting to look at Bella.
"That woman is your mother, isn't she?" Bella answered confidently. Brian exhaled roughly, changing his position to sitting. Bella smiled seeing that, and she sat down next to Brian.
"Is my answer right?" Bella asked.
"Yes," Brian replied briefly.
Bella handed a piece of paper to Brian, confused by what Bella was doing. His hand didn't touch the piece of paper given to him at all.
"Take it!" Bella commanded. Brian didn't utter a single word; his hand started to take the paper. Bella also gave him a pen.
"Write something that you miss right now!" Bella said.
"Is that important?" Brian asked her.
"Of course, I'll do the same thing too!" Bella replied so that Brian felt it was fair.
"What kind of game is this?" Brian asked, not understanding.
"Listen to my command, on the count of three, we'll write down what we miss the most!" Bella invited him.
Brian shifted his gaze toward Bella again. Bella gave him a sweet smile.
Enough, Brian couldn't bear to see such a sincere smile, in his opinion. He felt unworthy of receiving such a sincere smile from Bella.
Bella started counting from one to three; the count of three began to occupy both of them.
"Finished?" Bella asked. Brian was silent, ignoring Bella's words.
"So, what did you write?" Bella asked him curiously.
"Should I show it to you?" Brian threw the question back at Bella. Bella nodded slightly hearing that.
"I'll show it to you too. If what we miss right now is the same, you have to promise me you'll come to the ball tomorrow night with me!" Bella gave Brian a challenge and a request. Brian was shocked to hear that.
"I don't want to!" Brian answered curtly.
"Are you scared?" Bella challenged, raising one of her eyebrows.
"I'm not scared!" Brian answered her.
"If that's true, you have to agree to the condition!" Bella said. Brian thought for a moment, and soon he nodded, agreeing.
Both of them began to show the contents of their respective papers. A single word was written there: "Togetherness".
Bella was truly happy to see that; what she missed right now was the same thing Brian was missing.
"You lost, so keep your promise!" Bella commanded. Hearing that, Brian got up and left Bella.
Seeing Brian in such a rush, her soft hand lightly grabbed Brian's strong wrist.
"Where are you going?" Bella asked Brian, who was about to leave.
"Isn't your silly game over? Now let me go!" Brian said, annoyed. Bella smiled lightly hearing that. She rose from her seat and stood right in front of Brian.
"You know it's not a game!" Bella informed him.
Brian looked listlessly at Bella. He really couldn't oppose the girl in front of him; it was as if his tongue was too stiff to criticize her. It was as if his legs were too rigid to leave her again.
"A piece of paper and a pen is a powerful enough alternative to pour out your heart. If your tongue is too stiff to tell, it's better to express the burden in your heart in writing. At least your heart no longer holds a shred of burden!" Bella explained to him.
Those words, he hadn't heard them for so long. It was enough for Brian to hear the stream of commands Bella directed at him.
Spending too much time with the girl in front of him made him remember a past he had almost forgotten too deeply.
Wasn't the world an illusion according to him? Didn't he regard reality as opinion all this time? To him, listening to Bella's chatter was annoying.
But his body was currently unable to move. This girl in front of him seemed to control his body, seemed to hold full sway over his life.
His heart, which was as hard as stone, had been slightly shaken since the first time this girl came before him, making his rigid heart waver a little.
"Can you let me go now?" Brian asked. Bella released her small grip on Brian's wrist.
This night felt so long for Brian. He rested his body on the sofa, not infrequently glancing at the girl who was fast asleep on his bed.
His tongue might deny the girl's existence, but his heart did not. His heart was completely out of sync with his tongue.
"What a strange feeling; I don't want this! My life is already messy enough; I don't want anyone else to feel what I feel!" Again, Brian tried to close his eyes, but couldn't.
"Oh god, stop, what's wrong with me!" Brian said, frustrated. That night felt like a long night for Brian.
The moon began to tire of its duty; it was time to share its time with the sun to take over.
The long, dark night slowly faded. Brian's eyes were so tired right now; he had been awake almost all night just because of the feelings that disturbed him.
His hand held a bottle of alcoholic beverage. He didn't know how many times he had taken a swig from the alcohol bottle.
Drinking too many canned beverages is not a good thing; maybe that's what was happening to Brian right now.
Bella, with eyes still slightly sleepy, walked slowly toward the kitchen. The moment she was at the doorway, her eyes narrowed, seeing Brian sitting frustrated at the dining table.
When her vision was no longer blurry, she understood what was happening to Brian this morning.
"You're drunk?" Bella asked, approaching Brian.
Her hand reached for the empty drink bottle from Brian's grasp. Those sapphire blue eyes turned to Bella, and soon Brian laughed.
"Strange girl, why do you care? You're tormenting my soul, almost driving me crazy!" Brian said. Bella frowned; she didn't understand anything Brian was saying right now.
"Strange human, why am I so cruel to torture you! Dammit!" Brian cursed at her again.
"You're mean!" Brian raved, tears instantly falling from his eyes.
The effect of the drink seemed to make Brian irrational. Seeing that, Bella found it a little funny.
The indifferent, cold young man in front of her was crying. It would be a loss if Bella didn't capture it.
Bella ran briefly to Brian's room, grabbed her phone, and soon returned. She captured one photo on her phone when Brian shed tears. Her cheerful laughter echoed after that.
"Why is your behavior suddenly like a child?" Bella asked. She started helping Brian get up from the dining table, helping him enter his room to rest.
"You're so beautiful, dear, just like my mother!" Brian praised her. Bella was slightly uncomfortable with Brian's words; the smell of the drink wafted into her nose.
"Can you be quiet! Oh god, you're really tormenting me this morning!" Bella complained, annoyed.
Brian smiled hearing that. Reflexively, with still half-awareness, he pushed Bella, pinning her against the wall. His strong palms cupped Bella's face.
"You're truly tormenting my soul, you know! You're a strange girl who came into my life; what's your purpose for coming here?" Brian rambled. Bella was shocked by her current pinned position.
Right in front of her, a half-conscious young man was talking to her. Instantly, Bella directly pushed Brian away.
Because Brian wasn't fully conscious, the young man fell; his head slightly hit a chair at the dining table. At that very moment, Brian passed out.
"My goodness, is he still alive?" Bella was surprised to see Brian passed out. She exhaled roughly and immediately helped Brian into the room and laid him down there.
In another place, several mysterious young men were discussing something. An old man, none other than Elder Shawn, was discussing something important with his subordinates.
Eddie, Brian's younger brother, also participated in this dark meeting. Shawn handed several photos to his subordinates without a single word being spoken.
"Those three people are on the pursuit list!" Shawn said, occasionally taking a drag from the cigarette in his hand. Eddie took a photo of one of the three.
"Detective Takamura? The second target? What should be done with him?" Eddie asked. Hearing that, Shawn smiled slightly.
"Eddie, your brother Brian is already excellent at missions like this. Tonight, there is a ball at Detective Takamura's residence. I want you to kill that despicable Detective tonight! Just bomb his residence!" Shawn conveyed his wicked plan.
Eddie was shocked to hear that. The thing was, his heart wasn't as ruthless as his brother's. He wondered what if one wrong person was killed, but others were killed too.
Shawn watched Eddie, who was looking down and thinking; a small smile then formed.
"Are you scared?" Shawn asked him. Eddie looked up hearing that.
"Sir, but if only one person is wrong here, is it right for us to sacrifice many people? Isn't that unfair?" Eddie asked with a heavy heart.
"Justice is dead, Eddie. Remember well why your brother Brian chose to live as a mafia member," Shawn repeated the bitter reason behind Brian's nature.
His heart hurt hearing that. It was true that the reason his brother lived such a cruel life without compassion was "Justice," which no longer applied.
But still, Eddie wasn't Brian. Even though a blood bond tied them, Eddie could never be Brian, and vice versa. Thinking of others before acting was Eddie's characteristic.
"Sir, I'm sorry, I cannot accept this task. Just hand it over to the others!" Eddie said. Eddie stood up, looking seriously at Shawn before he started to walk away.
"One more step forward, and it means you are a coward!" Shawn said.
"I have the right to choose!" Eddie replied, defying him.
"A mafia member is still a mafia member! You chose to live like this! Live your life, don't retreat!" Shawn retorted.
"What authority do you have to dare to oppress me like this?" Eddie turned back, looking coldly at Shawn and asking.
"You are under our surveillance, and so is your brother. If you take one wrong step forward, something bad will happen later!" Shawn warned him.
Eddie tried to think, looking for a way not to get involved in this mission. Brian's words briefly came to mind, making him surrender and accept the heinous mission Shawn had burdened him with.