By Zephyria 
Just how far are we going?
Bliss rubbed his eyes against the encroaching drowsiness and shook his head in irritation. After getting off the plane, he had transferred to a car. It was already pitch black outside, and he had no idea where they were headed.
“I can sleep once we arrive, right?”
When he asked in a complaining tone, Cassian, who was sitting next to him, glanced over. Instead of asking what he had been doing on the plane until now, Cassian looked away and answered indifferently.
“It is a place where someone sleeps, I suppose.”
What is he talking about, that jerk.
As he was grumbling to himself…
“Hey, wake up. Hey.”
Someone gently shook his body and called out to him. Bliss belatedly realized that he had fallen asleep at some point.
“Uuung.”
As he rubbed his eyes and reluctantly sat up, Cassian, who had remained wide awake in the seat next to him, spoke.
“We’re here. Get out.”
Huh? Finally?
“Euuugh.”
As soon as he stepped out, Bliss stretched his arms wide and looked around with a refreshed face. Where was this? A hotel? Or some kind of villa? He didn’t know the exact location, but it was obvious where one would go at this hour.
I should hurry up, wash, and lie down in bed.
Even then, Bliss didn’t suspect a thing. He had no idea where he actually was.
“Eh?”
As his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, he saw something even blacker than the pitch-black night. A massive wall blocking the way, ivy clinging all over it, and a bleak wind. The atmosphere was somehow ominous, and Bliss froze on the spot.
A hotel? Surely not a place like this?
“Hieeeek!”
Flutter. A bird suddenly took flight. Bliss let out a scream, startled by the black shadow cutting through the darkness and flying away. What is this! Where on earth is this!
However, Bliss was the only one panicking. Cassian, his secretary, and the bodyguards all stood with expressionless faces, as if waiting for someone. Seeing this, Bliss suddenly felt goosebumps all over his body.
Am I a sacrificial offering?
Just then, something flashed in the distance. He blinked in surprise, and the flashing object seemed to waver for a moment before suddenly rushing toward them at high speed. The moment he realized it was a person, Bliss turned pale and shrieked.
“Aaaah! Help me!”
Terrified and frantic, he scrambled to hide behind Cassian, wailing violently.
“Save me! I don’t taste good! Eat this man instead! He’s much bigger and tastes better! Waaaah, Papa, Daddy! I’m going to dieeee!”
Cassian looked back, dumbfounded. Even in the midst of this, Bliss was diligently pushing Cassian’s back, repeatedly shouting, “Hurry, eat this way!”
“Listen…”
He started to say something, but soon gave up and looked forward again. An employee who had rushed over gasped for breath and greeted him.
“You’ve arrived. We were waiting for you. I stepped away for a moment, and I didn’t expect you to arrive so soon…”
At the sound of the continuous apologies, Bliss, who had been pushing Cassian with all his might, paused.
Something is strange.
He hesitated for a moment before gathering his courage to peek out from behind Cassian. Then, he let his shoulders slump with a soft, “Ah.”
The identity of the ball of light that had been rushing toward them was none other than a man’s bald head. Seeing the polished bald head reflecting the car’s headlights, it felt hollow that he had been the only one screaming and throwing a fit. No, to be honest, he felt so embarrassed that he wanted to flee to America right now and stay tucked in bed for the rest of his life.
“Ahem, uh, hum.”
He cleared his throat and pretended to be preoccupied as if nothing had happened, and fortunately, no one seemed to be interested in him. Noticing that everyone was only watching Cassian and the bald man converse, Bliss inwardly breathed a sigh of relief and pricked up his ears to understand the situation.
“Yes, I will do as you say. Now, shall I guide you? Or…”
At the bald man’s question, Cassian gave a short shake of his head.
“It’s fine. We’ll go just the two of us.”
“Ah, yes. I understand.”
While Bliss was still tilting his head in confusion, the bald man took a key out of his pocket and opened a firmly closed iron gate.
“Please, go on in.”
Huh? Go in? Where?
The answer was clear. The moment he saw the park shrouded in deep darkness beyond the wide-open iron gate, Bliss gasped again. Stealthily glancing at Cassian, he whispered softly while stepping backward so as not to be caught.
“I, I’ll stay here.”
“Hey.”
Cassian, ruthlessly cutting off the words ‘I’ll be waiting,’ looked down at him.
“It’s your turn to work. Come here.”
“No, I’ll just… just the water.”
“I said come.”
Cassian ground his teeth and threatened the other, who was shaking his head in horror. After all the trouble he’d gone through because of him, how dare he. Under that terrifying glare, Bliss hurriedly clung close to Cassian’s side. Seeing this, the bald man looked back and forth between the two and spoke.
“How fascinating, a graveyard stroll in the middle of the night. Ah, no, you have quite a unique hobby, haha.”
Huh? Graveyard?
It was a word that caught his attention, but he had no room to ask about it. This was because the bald man gestured inside and bid them farewell.
“Then please, enjoy your time. I will be waiting.”
“No, I’m fine—”
Bliss tried to decline urgently, but he was immediately grabbed by the scruff of his neck by Cassian.
“Follow me.”
“I’m fineeeee…!”
The voice shouting in distress soon vanished into the darkness, and a quiet silence eventually settled over those left behind.
Late at night, everything was simply quiet. Every time the bleak night wind brushed past his back, Bliss jumped and clung tightly to Cassian’s back. Holding only a flashlight, Cassian walked silently along the tranquil path. Anyone would have been terrified walking between the deep darkness and the scattered stone statues, but Cassian couldn’t afford to be.
“Hiek!”
“Hieeeek!”
“Heok!”
“Daddy!”
“Aaaaah!”
It was because of the constant, chick-like screams erupting from behind him, unable to last even a minute.
Damn it.
Cassian barely swallowed a curse. Forget fear; he was on the verge of exhaustion. To think someone so cowardly would come up with the idea of a ‘midnight graveyard stroll for two’—what on earth was he thinking? Having thought that far, he let out a self-deprecating chuckle.
There’s no way he could have actually thought through it with those tiny brain cells.
Bliss’s screams were still audible from behind. Even though it was just the two of them, it felt as if a dozen kindergarteners were swarming behind his back. Specifically, obnoxious six-year-olds running around frantically and screaming in chaos.
Despite the turmoil, Cassian did not forget his task. Where is it, Mozart’s grave. Not this one, not that one. Damn it, where is it?
While he shone the flashlight here and there to check the names on the tombstones, Bliss’s screams continued to echo behind him. And when he finally reached the destination, Cassian stopped, feeling a fatigue as if he had stayed up for several nights.
…Found it.
Only after double-checking the name on the tombstone with the flashlight did he finally speak.
“Blis— Blair.”
“Aaaah, kyaaa! Hieeeek!”
When he called his name in a low voice, the response was, as expected, nothing but an exaggerated scream. With a sigh, Cassian spoke to the burden clinging to his back.
“Come out and look. Stop screaming and come out.”
Irritation was mixed into his words. Bliss, who had been looking around while trembling, reluctantly peeked his face out at the continued urging. Without missing the moment, Cassian pointed to one side.
“Look, that’s Mozart’s grave.”
And the bright light of the flashlight illuminated the tombstone. The moment he heard the word ‘grave,’ Bliss froze in terror. Ignoring Bliss’s reaction, Cassian continued his explanation.
“It’s not a real grave. It’s just symbolic. Mozart’s body is…”
Grave! Body!
There were only scary words. That wasn’t all. Cassian kept talking while shining the flashlight around the tombstone. Every time the light moved, a dark shadow flickered behind it. It made it look as if the statues were moving.
That can’t be. I saw it wrong.
Pressing his eyes shut with his fists, he tried his best to gather courage. But he was so scared that his teeth chattered, his whole body trembled, and any sound made a “Hiek!” escape his lips automatically.
“Huu, huu, hugh.”
Eventually, Bliss began to sob. While his shoulders shook and he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, regret flooded his mind. Why did I come here? I should have just stayed in America. If I had, I’d be lying in a comfortable bed right now, watching my favorite dramas. Why, why…
“Huuu…”
It was just as he was about to cry out loud. Suddenly, a large hand grabbed the back of his head and pulled him in. Just as he froze in surprise, a warm heat enveloped his entire body. Forgetting his crying, he could only blink his wide eyes as a low voice spoke above him.
“Calm down.”
It was Cassian’s voice. And Bliss realized that he had been pulled into his embrace.