KING

一 05

"Take care of him when I'm gone." He said, his voice shaky. "You and Taeyong stood by me when the Court was filled with snakes." He continued.

"Be that for Jaemin. Do not let what happened to Youngho happen to him. People want my family gone, just so they can take the throne, and control the whole of Limitless."

He sighed, looking out at the cityscape once again. "I wish I could live long enough to see this city evolve into something truly like its name." He said wistfully. "Jaemin will be a wonderful King."

"Let's make sure you long enough to see that happen." Johnny said coaxingly, gently pulling up the King and leading him back into the room, closing the curtains to cover the view of the city the King loved so much.

The King watched him with careful eyes, blurry and dull from age but at moments, just as piercing as his youth.

He used to stare at Johnny like that before, and the fear made him sick, for multiple reasons. His facade could be dissected, the distorted image he'd pulled up while working for the man could be ripped away like a costume from an actor.

"Do you like red?" The man asked, his shaky hands clutching a glass of water as Johnny shifted through his medicines.

Johnny paused briefly, before resuming his task. "No, I do not." He said, softly.

"It's bad luck." The man said, and Johnny could hear the approval, a sharp spike of hate wedging itself into his chest. He didn't need his approval.
"Never add the color red anywhere."

"Red roses are beautiful." Johnny breathed out, handing over the assortment of colorful tablets and capsules, placing them in the withering hand of the King, a once powerful man reduced to the shell of his former glory.

"Black roses," The older whispered, taking a gulp of water before he continued. "Black roses are powerful."

"I'm sure they are." The mocking tone the syllables slipped off his tongue in wasn't noticed by the man, who gave him a taut smile.

He was clearly in no state to answer anything about missing records of prisoners in the prison, Johnny concluded, as he watched the old man settle himself back his bed, gazing longingly out down to the skyline of the city he had loved so dearly, had cherished more than his own wife and children.

Johnny stepped back, shutting the door silently as he slid his hands into his pocket, pulling out the cheap phone Yuta had sent a message to.

Mark needs the records as soon as possible, there's a third person down there.

He'd read the message two days ago, frowning then and frowning now. He was sure the younger had done his research, instead of ploughing headfirst into the plan like Lucas had wanted to.

He sighed, shaking his head as he slipped the device back into his pocket. He missed the younger boy, the one who'd grown on him and treated him like a big brother.

Trusted him enough to make him his partner - perhaps that had been the proudest moment of Johnny's life, more than being able to sneak back into the King's Court.

Maybe the difference was that he actually liked working with Mark instead of the King, he mused as he crossed the corridor, reaching the Prince's room, knocking on the door. It swung open to reveal a disheveled Jaemin, blinking as he tried to comb back his hair.

"Just what were you doing?" Johnny asked amusedly. "Nothing." Jaemin's eyes flickered to something behind the door, making Johnny push past him slightly and get a glimpse of the mess that was his room.

He snorted, shaking his head.

"I didn't want to bother anyone by asking them to fix the screens, you see?" Jaemin tried to explain awkwardly, clearly embarrassed by the state Johnny had caught him in.