CHAPTER 114: SUSPICION

Joshua stood by the wall, his face turned toward the cold surface while his head twisted slightly back. His large, round eyes shimmered with unshed tears, the corners of his lips drooping. The tears trembled in his eyes but refused to fall, making him look both pitiful and stubbornly defiant.

As soon as he heard footsteps approaching, he immediately turned back to face the wall, head lowered, sniffling nonstop as he wiped at his nose.

Henry saw Joshua’s trembling shoulders and couldn’t help feeling a pang of pity. By now, the boy’s face had been washed clean, though beads of water still clung to his skin. Henry sighed softly and called out, "Joshua."

Joshua didn’t respond, only scrubbed at his face even more frantically.

Henry felt a deep ache in his chest. He reached out to pull Joshua into his arms and spoke gently, "Joshua, don’t cry."

Joshua continued to cover his face, sobbing quietly — his voice as soft as a kitten’s mewl.

Henry’s heart clenched with worry. "Did your mother hit you so hard you bled?"

Mrs. Adonis, who had just entered, froze at those words. Her expression turned complicated — hard to read and harder to explain.

"Hic... Brother Henry, I’m sorry... sob sob sob..." Joshua wept, his tear-streaked face looking up at Henry, his watery eyes filled with sorrow.

Henry immediately said, "You don’t need to apologize."

Joshua sniffled and asked, "Then... will you still play makeup with me next time?"

Henry: "..."

Sensing Henry’s hesitation, Joshua bit his lip. Though he had stopped sobbing, tears still streamed from his eyes like an unstoppable spring.

Henry quickly nodded with all seriousness. "I’ll play with you."

Joshua’s eyes widened in surprise, then he leapt forward to hug Henry tightly, exclaiming, "I like Brother Henry the most!"

Mrs. Adonis: "..." She suddenly had the feeling her child was not straightforward at all.

Anyway, that day, Joshua went to sleep completely satisfied — after all, he’d received a promise from Henry.

The next morning, Joshua woke up in his own bed, the corners of his lips still curled into a faint smile. The first thing he saw was the cold, pale ceiling — nothing like the one in his dream.

His smile faded slightly as his rationality began to return.

Joshua stared blankly for a moment. So it had only been a dream... just something from another world.

He buried his head under the blanket, squeezing his eyes shut, as if doing so could shield him from having to face reality.

Just then, Henry came out of the bathroom and saw Joshua curled up tightly in his blanket. It was already time to wake up. He walked over, gently pulled the blanket down, and said softly, "Joshua, wake up."

As the blanket fell away, Joshua lifted his head — and Henry immediately froze at the sight of tears streaming down the boy’s cheeks. They glistened like diamonds, yet to Henry, they shattered into sharp shards of glass that pierced straight through his heart.

Henry’s eyes widened, and almost instinctively, he gathered Joshua into his arms.

The sudden chill of Henry’s body made Joshua flinch slightly. It had been like this lately — even though the weather was freezing, Henry still insisted on taking cold showers every morning.

Joshua blinked, feeling the familiar warmth of Henry’s embrace. For a fleeting moment, he felt as if this Henry really was his Henry.

"Brother, I’m fine. Let me go," Joshua said softly.

But Henry only tightened his arms around him, his voice carrying a stubborn edge that Joshua recognized all too well. "Who is it?"

Joshua blinked in confusion.

"Who is it that you miss so much you can’t let go?" Henry’s voice trembled with restraint.

Joshua couldn’t say a word. He couldn’t possibly tell him that the person he longed for — the one who haunted his dreams — was Henry himself. Because this Henry wasn’t that Henry.

But what if he was? He was already here, in this world... maybe Henry was too...

At that exact moment, the door slammed open!

Luther’s smile instantly froze when he saw the two figures tangled together on the bed. Last night, Leonard had mentioned that Henry and Joshua had been getting close recently — but he hadn’t expected this level of closeness!

Letting Joshua share a room with anyone other than him had clearly been a huge mistake!

"What the hell are you two doing?!"

Luther stormed forward aggressively. By then, Henry had already released Joshua. His face was calm and expressionless as he said slowly, "Joshua’s emotions are a bit unstable."

Luther looked down at Joshua — sure enough, there were still tears rolling down his cheeks.

He couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy as he wiped them away, only to realize they just kept coming.

Joshua noticed it too. Out of habit, he said softly, "They’ll stop in a little while."

Ever since the day those nightmare-like memories returned, Joshua sometimes couldn’t control his tears. But it wasn’t serious — as long as nothing stirred his emotions too much, they would stop after a few minutes.

Luther lowered his eyes, saying nothing, and simply continued wiping away Joshua’s tears.

999999999: [Joshuaaaaaa! When are you finally releasing the album?! Does that useless company of yours even work?!]

[You haven’t replied to my messages for days! Are you that busy?!]

[I swear, if you keep this up, I’m coming to find you!]

MyJ: [I can’t reply to a thousand messages a day, Nine.]

999999999: [Oh, look who finally came back from the dead.]

MyJ: [...]

[Pre-orders start tomorrow.]

Nine instantly grew excited — though not entirely because Joshua’s long-awaited album was finally being released.

999999999: [So that means you’re finally free, right?! Let’s hang out! Let’s hang out! Let’s hang out! Let’s hang out!]

He still couldn’t forget the time Joshua had gone out with Luther. He wanted a day like that with Joshua, too!

MyJ: [...]

Joshua didn’t reply to that message. Instead, he changed the topic.

MyJ: [Nine, I think Henry looks a lot like someone I knew in my previous life.]

Nine frowned. His eyes darkened, and the people sitting near him immediately went silent.

They were business partners he’d just gotten to know. Moments ago, Nine had been grinning at his phone, looking smug and cheerful — but now his expression was murderous. Naturally, they began to wonder who exactly was on the other end of that chat.

Joshua continued typing, almost as if entranced.

MyJ: [They look exactly the same — even their personalities are kind of similar.]

Nine’s fingers twitched, as if he’d just caught onto something.

999999999: [Didn’t you say they were only a little alike?]

MyJ: [That’s because I haven’t remembered everything yet. But they’re identical — down to every strand of hair. There’s no way that’s just a coincidence.]

999999999: [Back in your previous world... what was your relationship with Henry?]

Silence.

The typing indicator disappeared — and no matter how long Nine waited, Joshua never replied.

Maybe Joshua had suddenly gotten busy. There were plenty of reasons for him not to respond. It didn’t necessarily mean there was something special between him and Henry.

Yes... not necessarily...

Crack—

The phone in Nine’s hand creaked. The casing bent under his grip, the glass splintered, and sharp fragments dug into his skin. Blood dripped down, but Nine didn’t seem to feel the pain at all.

Joshua is mine. Only mine.

It was supposed to be only me.

I know Joshua’s secret — I know things no one else does. He only needs me. He doesn’t need anyone else. He doesn’t!

Henry... Henry... a man who belongs to the past should just be allowed to die. Die! Why do you even exist?!

"Nine, where are you going?"

But no one could stop Nine’s furious figure as he stormed out of the room.