Kirill still couldn’t stop crying as he was seated on the passenger seat next to Mr, Matvey Lebedev. And that caused the older man feeling a bit uncomfortable and clueless as to what to do or say. Mr. Lebedev just drove around until Kirill stopped crying on his own without saying a word. Once he saw him calming down, he began to ask; "Where do you want me to take you to, honey?"

"You can call me Kirill, sir,” Kirill spoke, without answering the question first. He doesn’t really like it when others are being affectionate towards him. Things like calling him ‘honey’ and such… It made him feel a tiny bit uncomfortable but with Mr. Lebedev, it’s just a matter of personality. Mr. Lebedev is just a naturally caring and mother-like person. That is just his personality.

"Okay,” Mr. Lebedev answered.

Kirill took a deep breath and exhaled loudly before he finally answered Mr. Lebedev’s previous question; "Take me out of Krasniy, please. Just… out of here." He just wanted to be away from the town. Away from Stepanov Chenkov.

"Okay,"Mr. Lebedev agreed. "Hmm… are you okay, hon- I mean, Kirill?" He braved himself to ask another question.

Kirill looked ahead without focus. His eyes seemed empty and he could only be honest. "I'm not okay. And I don't know if I should tell you as well. I don't want to get you further involved in this. It might trouble you," he said. Yes. If Mr. Lebedev knew more, it could put him in danger so Kirill thought that he should just carry this burden alone for now.

Or maybe… Perhaps deep inside, he was still hoping that Stepan could give him some sort of explanation. Perhaps this could all be just a misunderstanding. Or… perhaps he didn’t want to trouble Stepan instead. He didn’t want him to be caught in that mess. His heart was conflicted but he knew that he had to do the right thing. He must not let his heart betray his principle.

"Hmm. I see," Mr. Lebedev said before hesitating to ask another question. But of course, he couldn’t help himself. He’s far too curious by this point. "Does this has anything to do with Mr. Chenkov?" He suddenly asked.

"What do you mean?" Kirill immediately got defensive. It was unconscious and that somehow also upset him. It was like he knew the guy could be involved in his brother’s murder but he decided to defend that same guy instead. It’s preposterous!

Mr. Lebedev appeared to be calm as he answered. "Well, for one thing… Everybody knows he's bad news. So if you cry like this, I assume it must be related to him," he said. Kirill couldn’t say anything more to that assumption because it is true. But what Mr. Lebedev said next surprised him for a bit. "Hon, he's a player. You know what they say… player's gonna play so you don't have to feel bad about it. There are many brokenhearted boys and girls before you, hon."

To Mr. Lebedev’s simple thoughts, Kirill couldn’t help but to laugh out loud. It was a laughter filled with sarcasm because the truth is far more terrible than that. "What's the matter? Did I say something wrong?" Mr. Lebedev asked, understanding the mock behind the laughter. Kirill laughed a few times before he finally took a deep breath and answered; “Oh… I wished it was that simple, sir." Kirill then started to cry again. "I wished," he said.

Mr. Lebedev was lost for words. He could now predict that there could be something far more serious that had happened but he no longer wanted to ask questions. "Then,... I'll take you to my cabin then. It's where I normally go on weekends for hunting and fishing. You can stay there for a while. It's outside of Krasniy. When you're ready, you can think of what to do next," he said.

Kirill nodded his head in agreement. He was grateful to whatever help he had been given. "Okay. Thank you, Mr. Lebedev," he said. He thought silently to himself that one day, he would surely repay his kindness.

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Kirill was jolted awake the moment the car stopped. Somewhere along the trip, he had fallen asleep. He looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings and then he turned to look at Mr. Lebedev only to find that he had gotten out of the car and slammed the car's door shut behind him without a word. He followed his movements with his eyes and found that the man walked to the back of the car while humming to the song of some Korean girl band. He went to open the boot of the car. Kirill paid him no mind and now turned his attention to the cabin in which the car had parked in front of.

The cabin looked abandoned and eerie. It made Kirill feels uncomfortable. Before he could react further, his side of the door was abruptly opened and as he was about to face the person who opened his door, his mouth was covered with a cloth dipped in chloroform. Kirill tried to put up a fight but it was to no avail. He was confused and completely unprepared for such a thing to happen. As his hands were gripping Mr. Lebedev’s wrist, he felt and saw a long scar on it. But it was already too late. Before he was unconscious, he saw a glimpse of a keychain hung on the car keys. It was a keychain of a glass bottle with pink glitters in it, similar to the one he found in the box filled with Kliment's belonging.

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He was lying on a dirty floor. That was the first thing he noticed as he regained his consciousness. His pants had been taken off. He felt cold and in pain. His hands were tied behind his back and his mouth was sealed with duct tape. He could hear the man speak before he could even see him clearly through his groggy vision. “I think God is in my favour. Both you and your brother… just willingly came with me for whatever reasons. Do I look too trustworthy?” Mr. Lebedev smirked as he scorned. He was holding a knife in his hand and he was flashing the knife in front of Kirill’s eyes before putting it away into a pocket of a black hoodie. He then folded the hoodie neatly and laid it on the ground next to Kirill. He was moving slowly and calmly. Kirill could feel that the knife was meant to be used on him although he has no idea what the hoodie was for.

“Is it because I’m effeminate and wear pink all the time? So you guys let your guard down around me? Despite it all, you haven’t forgotten that I’m still a man, huh?” Mr. Lebedev kept on talking as he walked around, circling Kirill who was on the ground. His demeanour had changed. He no longer looked effeminate. This time, he looked very masculine despite him all clothed in pink and glitters. He seemed amused and he had an evil smile plastered on his face. “This…,” he began saying while gesturing to everything pink around him like they’re meaningless. “...was just an act. It is to ensure that kids like you won’t suspect me of anything,” he continued and ended his statement with a roar of laughter. “I’ve been eyeing you for so long. But that Chenkov kid was always around you. It was so hard to make my move but today, wow! What luck! You just entered my car and asked me to drive you away without hesitation. Kirill, honey,... really… you’re quite clueless,” he ridiculed with another smirk.

Kirill could only watch him moving around him. He never felt so helpless in his life. He wanted to strategize a way out but he could not speak and could not move. He couldn’t help but to feel fear of himself also meeting the same ending as Kliment. He watched the older man pick up the pants that he was wearing and Kliment’s phone with both of his hands. “I’ve been looking for these for a long time,” Mr. Lebedev indicated. “I had always wondered who took them from me. You see… After I killed Kliment, I packed his stuff but they were stolen from me. I was afraid that the police might look for me afterwards but then… hmmm…,” He paused, sighed and shrugged his shoulders before continuing; “...nothing happened.”

He then grinned widely. He was clearly morbidly amused at a realisation. “But the way I see it now… It must be that Chenkov kid that stole them from me. You must have found these in his possession, am I right? No wonder you cried like that,” he ridiculed again and slightly laughed to his own humour. “Hmm… I wonder why he never reported me to the police? With his influence, it should be easy for him to hand me over to them. But then again, seeing his obsession with you, it’s pretty clear why…” He looked at Kirill from head to toe with a sexual hint in his eyes. “Oh, honey… you always attract bad people. Poor little one…,” He laughed again to himself this time. “I didn’t get to have much fun with your brother. I was too hasty. But with you… I’m gonna take things slowly before I…” He paused and looked into Kirill’s eyes obsessively. “Yes. These eyes. Heterochromia eyes. They’re really beautiful. Just another set for my collection,” he continued and smiled widely.

Mr. Lebedev then got up and went to open a cabinet filled with glass jars. He took out one of the glass jars and flaunted it in front of Kirill. There were two eyeballs floating in it. The shapes of the heterochromic eyeballs in the glass somehow felt familiar to Kirill. “This… this is Kliment’s. Beautiful, isn’t it?” He spoke and laughed aloud to see Kirill’s eyes widened in horror. Kirill wanted to scream loudly in anguish behind his sealed mouth but “hmmmmmpphhh!!!!!!” was the only sound that he managed to let out. His tears were overflowing down his face. He could no longer hide his sorrow and agony.

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Next update: 2022/12/05

*Author’s Note: I am going to exceed 45 chapters! Wow. This is the first time that I even write anything exceeding 40 chapters. It’s an achievement to me. I talked to my closest person and she said I should not rush it and just let it end on how I wanted it to end so I’m going with that advice in mind. But I won’t go beyond 50 chapters, I think? Well, low and behold… I guess you all have a pretty rough idea by this chapter that Stepan is not the killer. Hahahaha! My evil self has been misleading y’all all along. Plot twist! Nyahahahahaha! But that doesn’t mean he’s a good person as well, does it? But that’s up to your interpretation… -K