Master's doll [𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐝]

【ＧＥＡＲ １７】

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уσυ ωєяє ση¢є му єѕ¢αρє, ησω уσυ αяє ѕσмєσηє ι ηєє∂ тσ єѕ¢αρє ƒяσм

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Haemi was standing in front of the doll shop, waiting for it to be open. It's been two days since the shop last opened, including that day. Haemi peeked inside through the glass. The grandfather clock inside showed that it's already 10 in the morning.

Haemi scratched the back of his head, wondering what happened. He needed to talk with Rea for the last time before he went away the next morning. Four days back, Haemi recalled the night when Rea refused his help and Haemi ended up not coming to see him. Then he visited the shop, but it was closed. Even Taurent was nowhere to be seen.

"It's not open?" A feminine voice behind him startled him. It was one of the ladies that usually comes to flirt with the blonde. Obviously, they were not there for business, "Oh my, I don't feel well when I don't see him."

Haemi clicked his tongue. That man, being handsome and all. "You're going to be the next mannequin if you are not careful," the boy mumbled. He paced around the house to the main door. He knocked once. He knocked twice. No answers. His chest felt heavy. It was rare for the shop to close for two days in a row. Something must have happened.

Dejected, Haemi sat down in front of the door. He rummaged through the content of his messenger bag. He took out a jar filled with gold like liquid. "I even made this for you," he whispered to himself. It was honey. The boy wished he could give it to Rea to soothe his throat. He really wanted to talk with the latter normally, but his condition was preventing him.

"Maybe tomorrow morning," Haemi sighed as he walked back to his parked bicycle and slowly pedaled his way home. He couldn't stop sighing. Maybe he really couldn't help Rea? That would mean Rea had to live like that for the rest of his life. No, he had to! After all, Rea had no other friends than him.

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Another day in the transparent container with Taurent looking straight at him like a statue. The man had become more anxious and alert than before. When Rea changed his sitting position, Taurent would flinch. Such a sad state the both of them were in.

Rea did nothing out of the ordinary. He continued to obey Taurent, eat the foods he brought, let the man wash him, and went back in obediently. All of that for a hope that Taurent would lower his defense or at least let himself have a break.

Taurent didn't seem to be sleeping at night, Rea closed and opened his eyes with the man's blue eyes glued to him. They greeted each other every morning like always, but there was no longer a smile on his face. Taurent looked tired and lifeless, even more dead than Rea could have imagined. His lips chapped, his hair was not neat even though he took care of the other, he was careless about himself. There was darkness under his eyes. It gave a pang in the boy's chest to see him in such condition.

"Sleep, Rea," The man said in a low voice, still watching him intently. Taurent was picking on his bandaged fingers that was already stained with blood. He said it would dirty the boy, so he wrapped them. It was not for himself; it was always for Rea.

Rea shook his head in denial. Taurent's eyebrows twitched. He scooted closer. He observed Rea's surroundings to see if something made Rea uncomfortable. Taurent asked if he needed something.

Rea gently placed his head on the side of the container imitating a sleeping person and pointed to the older one. Taurent frowned.

"Are you trying to escape by telling me to sleep?"

Rea denied his accusation.

"I don't want to. You'll leave."

He would not leave. He wanted the adult to sleep, or he wouldn't survive another night. Taurent picked a book from the stacks next to him. They were all the books that he had bought for the boy. Taurent looked at the title, attempting to choose one.

"I'll read you a story so you should go to sleep," Taurent told him while flipping the books. He moved closer and laid his back to the front of Rea's container, in case the boy wanted to take a peek into the pictures inside the book. The adult would sometime take a glance back to see if Rea had finally drifted off, which he did after a while.

Taurent put the book down and positioned himself to face the boy. With a blanket covering him, he pulled his legs closer to his chest, face snuggled to the inside of his arms. His head was spinning for a while thus he tried to control his breathing.

"I can't go to sleep now. I need to stay awake," he mumbled to himself. He checked the lock to ensure it was properly closed and then he continued his time to watch over the boy until the energy in his body finally depleted. His figure fell to the side on the floor, consciousness lost.

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Haemi pedaled his bicycle as fast as he can, "2 hours left. I can make it!" He stopped in front of the shop, and it was closed again. Frustrated, he groaned with his face in his hands. Parking his bike at the side, he jogged around the house, knocking on the front door.

"Wait, what if Sir Taurent is the one who opens this door?" He quickly ran back to the entrance of the shop. He tapped his feet. He listened to the sound and thought of how to meet the boy. Until he realized, it was not the tapping from his shoes alone. It came from the house.

Haemi anxiously walked to the other side where Rea's window was. Instead of tapping, it was more of a knocking. Haemi picked a small rock near to his feet and threw them to the window to make a signal that he was there. Rea was not in sight, but instead the knockings became more frantic.

Something was wrong. Haemi put a slightly bigger stone in his bag and carefully climbed up the pipeline. The day was scorching hot, and the pipeline was burning his hands. Haemi quickly jumped down to unfold the sleeves to cover his palm. Then he tried again. The heat seeped through the fabric, but he didn't want to stop.

Haemi climbed up until Rea's window was at his side. He attempted to peek inside and what was in his sight made his heart drop to his feet, or even lower to the ground below. Rea was in a transparent container, locked just like an art in a museum, and Taurent appeared to be sleeping beside him.

It set a flame in his chest as he used the rock from his bag with his other hand holding the pipeline as tight as he could with the assistance of his legs to keep him from falling down. He hit the window multiple times.

The glass shattered, and like snowflakes fell onto the ground. He reached out to unlock the window and went in. Surprisingly, Taurent was not waking up. Haemi walked across the room and stopped in front of Taurent. His breathing was low and shallow.

"Serve you right," Haemi searched the pockets of the man's shirt for the keys. When he found it, he quickly opened the lock and pulled Rea out. However, instead of thanking him, Rea rushed to the blonde, shaking his body vigorously.

"What are you doing?" Haemi tugged the boy's arm roughly, separating him from Taurent telling him to open his eyes. Rea, giving him a pained look, swatted his hands away angrily. The pale boy's attitude made him boiled with rage by which he shouted to the other's face, "Do you understand the situation you're in, Rea? How can you be so dumb? You don't need to help him! We need to go!"

It was easy for Haemi to drag Rea out of the room. This was his only chance. Seeing Rea locked up like some kind of possession ensured him, Taurent didn't see the boy as human but as a mere living doll.

Rea struggled under his holds. He wanted to at least make sure the master was alright. Haemi would not understand why. Haemi could only see the adult from the surface. He knew Taurent acted in such extreme manners, yet it didn't change the fact that he saved him. Rea wanted to help the man to overcome the twisted ideas in his head.

"Rea," Taurent groaned and his eyes blurry. He looked at the container where Rea was supposed to be in, except he wasn't there. He searched around and saw Haemi, who was frozen in his tracks, dragging Rea away. As he had thought, it was the boy that wanted to take Rea away from him.