Chapter 2.2

The third attempt was to meassure how much he was a murderer. It was based on his own calculation that a murderer needed to have a light mind to kill a person. If he didn’t, he would just be a psycho.

Shavonne pretended to have met a gangster on his way home. 

Whatever, I don’t even have any money to be stolen, so I didn’t fight and gave all I had,, but it was only one or two selonas. Do you know what he said afterwards? I apologize for extorting money from a beggar without realizing. He apologized!

“Damn it, I’m going to kill him if I see him again!”

Lewellyn was blinking, being surprised. “Mr. Shavonne, even if you don’t look like it…” Lewellyn tried to carefully choose the right words. “You’re violent.”

Shavonne shouldn’t have laughed, but he couldn’t help it after being dumbfounded to hear that he was violent by a real murderer. Lewellyn smiled brightly as if he interpreted it to mean that Shavonne’s anger had been released and raised his hand to caress Shavonne’s cheek. He also brushed the disheveled hair off Shavonne’s forehead.

“You’re pretty, too.”

Shavonne was wondering if he heard it wrong. He frowned and looked at Lewellyn. “What?”

“Shavonne is still pretty even if you’re violent.”

Shavonne shouldn’t have laughed, but he couldn’t help it after being dumbfounded to hear that he was pretty from a really pretty person. Lewellyn grabbed Shavonne’s cheeks and pushed his face as if he interpreted it to mean that Shavonne’s heart was relieved.

Shavonne thought that Lewellyn’s beauty was so unrealistic that he didn’t feel human.

The owner of that unrealistic beauty suddenly spoke out. His eyes were squinted with a smile.

“You can do it if you want.”

What? Shavonne looked at him because he didn’t get it and Lewellyn smiled.

“Kissing me.”

Shavonne had a sick and tired face. Lewellyn said, “Oh, you don’t want to”. Whether his face meant that Shavonne turned it down or not, Lewellyn didn’t seem to care.

“What about hugging?”

“No.”

“And holding hands?”

“No.”

“Is there anything that I can do?”

He didn’t look like a murderer. Of course, Shavonne couldn’t give a clear answer if someone asked him the appareance of a killer, but it definitely wouldn’t be someone that went, “Can I hug you?”, “And holding hands?” or “Is there anything that I can do?”. Shavonne replied while pulling back.

“As it seems, for now, nothing.”

Lewellyn had a sad look on his face. Shavonne bursted into laughter. Shavonne’s three attempts to find out what kind of person Lewellyn was were not just a failure. He didn’t know if Lewellyn was indeed a killer or not, but he knew for sure that Lewellyn was a kid.

Having someone ‘by his side’ wasn’t that bad. It was the first time in his life he experienced it.

Lewellyn tried tasting rare meat as Shavonne liked. It didn’t taste good.

***

The leaves of the Platanus tree were wet because of the rain. Raindrops falling down the leaves fell into a shallow round puddle.

It had been a week since it rained, stopped, and rained again. Throughout the week, Shavonne didn’t leave the apartment. No, it would be better to say that he didn’t have anything that made him want to go out. He hated getting wet in the rain, because he had to walk carefully to avoid the stagnant puddles on the floor, and because he hated it when the muddy water splashed and stained his clothes. He didn’t even know if he had an umbrella. The only umbrella he had was broken and it was too expensive to buy a new one.

Like every year, Shavonne planned to stay in the apartment until the spring market was over. He would just read the newspaper, catch up on books, cook roast beef, pudding, omelets, help his lover peel onions, and so on.

If he hadn’t received a letter from Dr. Fawkes that he had returned, he would have actually done so.

『I heard you came to see me.』

It was the first line in Dr. Fawkes’ letter.

『I hope we can meet on Wednesday. You and I have a lot to talk about. Reply if you can’t come. I’ll visit you.』

Shavonne received the letter from Dr. Fawkes on Tuesday night, and the next day, Wednesday, it stopped raining for a while. The sky was still cloudy and damp, but it didn’t seem like it would rain soon.

During their eight years as friends, Dr. Fakwes and Shavonne had met hundreds of times, and they had never met for more than three hours, so Shavonne would probably be able to go home before it rained.

Shavonne left the apartment. Lewellyn was on his mind, but just for a while. It was a minor outing that wouldn’t take more than three hours, so he thought it wasn’t necessary to tell Lewellyn. Just because he was his lover, he didn’t need to report every move.

Of course, if they lived together, it would be nice to say it, but Shavonne and Lewellyn were just neighbors. On his way, Shavonne was thinking about buying onions for Lewellyn.

“I thought you had died in Bosch, but I see that you’re still alive.”

As soon as he sat face to face with Dr. Fawkes at the café, Shavonne said this.

“Luckily, I’m not dead. Half of my patients are dead, and the rest are missing.”

“What on earth did you do in Bosch?” Shavonne frowned. “Did you go to a remote mountain village where Cholera spread, or did you do charity work for the poor?”

“It was more painful than that. You can’t imagine it.”

Dr. Fawkes waved as if he didn’t want to talk. Although Shavonne said it jokingly, it was nonsense to say that half of the patients were dead or missing. After all, he was Dr. Fawkes, a self-employed workaholic. The poor performance of an overseas business trip would be a huge wound for Dr. Fawkes. Shavonne didn’t mean to hurt his friend.

“What about you?”

Dr. Fawkes asked just in time. It was a back-and-forth question. Shavonne asked, “What?”.

“Why did you come to see me while I was gone? Was it money again? Or a boyfriend?”

The first time he went Dr. Fawkes’ was because he didn’t want to sleep on the streets. When he just got kicked out of the apartment, Shavonne remembered going to ask him to sleep there because the bedroom was good, the attic was good, the servant room was good, the closet was good, and the basement was good. Of course, he only heard from the butler that Dr. Fawkes went on a business trip to Bosch, so it all had been for nothing.

The second time he went to Dr. Fawkes’ was because he felt lonely. Shavonne remembered stopping by when he had a fight with Lewellyn. Of course, he only heard from the butler that Dr. Fawkes went on a business trip to Bosch, so it all had been for nothing.

It was only fair to explain to him the existence of Lewellyn, but Shavonne didn’t want to. I will keep my mouth shut even if someone threatens me to explain. He didn’t have a reason to, so Shavonne didn’t tell him that Lewellyn was the one ‘by his side’.

Dr. Fawkes was too ordinary to overlook the culprit of serial murders in Ira. An ordinary person who had never lived a life without ethics or common sense.

“It’s a more complicated problem than that. You can’t imagine it.”

Shavonne shrugged his hands as if he didn’t want to talk. 

“Ha.” Dr. Fawkes burst into a bemused grin. He decided to settle the issue. Just as Dr. Fawkes didn’t reveal his business in Bosch, Shavonne also didn’t reveal why he visited Dr. Fakwes.

Fortunately, Shavonne and Dr. Fawkes weren’t inconsiderate enough to persistently ask each other what they wanted to hide. “I see. I won’t ask any further.” Dr. Fawkes had a soft eyesmile while saying that.

“How have you been while I was gone?”

Dr. Fawkes had turned the topic around that Shavonne got wrapped around.

“Well… just like usual.”

“So you’re still poor.”

Dr. Fawkes cut it short. Shavonne raised his eyebrows. He glanced at Dr. Fawkes.

“If someone lent me a hand, I would be less poor.”

“I don’t know who that someone is, but I don’t think he would.”

After exchanging such innocuous words, Shavonne was able to tell him how he had been. He didn’t think anything out of normal had happened, except for the events associated with Lewellyn.

He found out that the scientific name of onions was Allium Cepa. Publishers had rejected Shavonne one after another, and North Bunch’s pub ‘B’ had become no fun, and…

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“B?”

Dr. Fawkes’ face became weird, but only for a moment. Noticing the situation belatedly, Dr. Fawkes returned to his usual calm face.

“Right, you told me you had broken up with your boyfriend the last time we met. What was his name? August? August Ash?”

Shavonne didn’t correct him. Just thinking about it in his head made him feel uneasy, so Shavonne couldn’t say it with his mouth.

That son of a bitch you’re talking about was stalking me. He wanted to say it, but he couldn’t because Shavonne would need to explain who handled August, and it could naturally imply the existence of Lewellyn. Shavonne chose an easy answer.

“Isn’t it basic manners not to bring up an ex, Fawkes?”

Dr. Fawkes didn’t care. He leaned deeply on the back of the chair and folded his arms.

“Was there anything else I didn’t know between you and your ex? I remember last time you didn’t mind mentioning him, and now you’re talking about manners and all that.”

“No. Nothing happened,” Shavonne said and then took the teacup to his mouth pretending that it was nothing. It was a relief that the teacup was big enough to cover Shavonne’s hardened mouth.

“Hmm…” 

Dr. Fawkes’ eyes narrowed looking at Shavonne. He didn’t trust Shavonne. Shavonne put down the teacup so that it made noise. Several drops of tea splashed around.

“It wasn’t until late that I realized that he was the biggest son of a bitch in the world.”

Dr. Fawkes looked at Shavonne’s face and soon apologized lightly. “I’m sorry.” It may be because the hatred, contempt, and anger on Shavonne’s face seemed sincere.

Shavonne only looked down at the teacup and showed no reaction. There was nothing he could do to protect Lewellyn. It even bothered him that he had to lie.

Dr. Fawkes didn’t care whether Shavonne reacted or not. He put his hands together and spoke cheerfully.

“All right, old love should be forgotten with new love. Have you found a new lover?”

“Of course…”

He did, but his new lover was a murderer, Mr. Lewellyn. He had to lie again to protect Lewellyn. Shavonne shrugged his shoulders pretending to be calm and kept going.

“… not.”

“Oh, it must’ve been hard.”

Shavonne was dumbfounded and asked back.

“Why should it have been hard for me?”

“Of course, it’s not the dating itself, but you not having a lover. Am I in a hard moment  because I haven’t dated anyone for almost 10 years? No. Absolutely not,” Dr. Fakwes replied without lifting an eyebrow. “But you, you couldn’t hold out for three months without a lover for the last eight years, it’s different.”

…Couldn’t I last three months without a lover? Shavonne frowned and reflected on his love life for the past eight years.

‘Come to think of it…’

It was true. In the past eight years, there had never been more than three months that Shavonne hadn’t had a lover. Even if a relationship began, Shavonne didn’t think, “I can’t live without this person,” and even if the relationship had just started, his heart didn’t flutter, and he didn’t feel the pain of a broken heart even after the relationship was over. Shavonne guessed he wasn’t a good lover and groaned internally.

“Do you want me to introduce you to someone?”

Dr. Fawkes, who was more aware of Shavonne’s love life more than Shavonne himself, smiled and suggested. Shavonne freaked out.

“No.”

“He’s handsome. I’m sure you’ll like him just by looking at his face.”

“When did I only care about the face…? Anyway, I don’t want to.”

“Meet him and then decide.”

“If I do… I could die.”

“Please, no one has ever died from dating.”

“No… I could really die.”

Because my lover is a murderer…, Shavonne swallowed the words. 

Was it that sad that a friend who couldn’t endure three months without a lover couldn’t find a lover now? Dr. Fakwes didn’t give up and expressed the strengths of the person he was trying to introduce. He was so persistent that Shavonne even thought that Dr. Fawkes might actually be a matchmaker, not a doctor.

“He’s very handsome. He’s just your ideal type.”

“I don’t know…” Shavonne’s (current) ideal type was Lewellyn, but he held back.

“He’s very rich. He owns three houses on Redwood Street, the center of Bunch.”

“I don’t know…” Shavonne wanted to say that Lewellyn was also rich, but he held back.

“He’s also intelligent. He’s a bacteriologist who graduated from Deichfen University as the top graduate, and the institute he’s currently in charge of received three medals from the royal family.”

“I don’t know…” Shavonne wanted to say that Lewellyn, who writes New Year as New Yeer, was better, but endured.

Then, there were noises. A thunderstorm could be seen by the window, making a loud noise. As if lightning had signaled, heavy rain began to pour from the gloomy sky.

Is it raining already? Shavonne was lost in thought. He checked the pocket clock just in case and it was 6 o’clock. He thought he would be out three hours at the latest, but it was already dark.

“I’ve got to go.”

Shavonne hurried up from his seat. Dr. Fawkes stood up and grabbed Shavonne. 

“I’m hurt. Is it just fine to treat a friend you haven’t seen in a long time like this?”

Shavonne was wrong. He forgot to think about how Dr. Fawkes would feel. “That’s,” Shavonne started to say, but Dr. Fawkes was quick to ask.

“Why are you in such a hurry?”

A faint smile formed around Dr. Fawkes’ mouth.

“You’re not a kid, so of course you don’t have a curfew.”

“…”

“You don’t live alone, so you don’t have anyone waiting at home.”

He asked with the head down.

“What is it?”

Shavonne had a gut feeling. At this moment, he wouldn’t be able to hesitate. If he did, Dr. Fawkes would suspect, and that suspicion would find Shavonne’s lover, the killer, Mr. Lewellyn.

Shavonne needed to clear his doubts.

“Because I have a dog.”

Shavonne replied. 

Dr. Fawkes frowned as if he didn’t understand. “A dog?”

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“Yes.”

Shavonne added, taking off Dr. Fakwes’ hand that was holding his wrist.

“A very big one.”