Chapter 76: Chapter 76
Friday, January 11th, 2041
Havalian Cemetery, Sameran City, Netheria.
The famous cemetery of the city silently received its new tenant in its embrace. The gentlemen and the ladies in black observed nine minutes of silence, and some stared at the grave, consumed in their grief.
One such person was an aged woman, who had aged another decade in the last evening after hearing the news of the death of her beloved son. She half-leaned in her husband's embrace, burying her whimpers in his chest, not caring about anyone that surrounded them.
After the nine minutes wore off, one by one, people stepped forward to lay down a flower on the grave, right under the tombstone that bore the name of the dead.
'Here lies,
Hal Jordan.
A beloved Son, cherished Brother, and a loyal and steadfast friend.
Son of Michael and Gemma Jordan.
Born: April 7th, 2022
Died: January 10th, 2041'
When most of the mourners left after paying their last respects to the grave, a group of young men and ladies stayed behind together with the family of the dead.
These young men and ladies were the friends and classmates of Hal, who had never thought that the guy who was brightly laughing yesterday in the class would not live to see today.
Some had tear-striken eyes, and some bore desolate expressions on their faces. Most of them had never seen someone close to them die before, and it was hard for them to cope with such moment. It was specially the case with a young plump boy, who was uncontrollably shedding tears once again.
"Stay strong, James." Eric sighed and lightly patted the back of his friend, calming him down. But one could see that he too was on the verge of shedding tears.
However, soon everyone's attention turned to the pair of young man and a lady, who stepped forward and layed down white roses on the grave.
Even in such a sad event, they could not help but be mesmerized by how perfect these two were. A gorgeous girl who could put even the fairest of the ladies to shame, and a ridiculously handsome young man, who even shrouded his companion's charm.
But everyone could see that where the girl did not look too distraught, the young man looked grief-stricken even though there were no tears in his eyes.
"Let's go." He said after he politely nodded to his late friend's family, and together with him, his friends and classmates walked out of the cemetery.
"Keith..." Qingyue worriedly asked when only his close friends were around.
"I am fine." He lightly smiled at her, but his smile was a little stiff.
They approached the street where their cars were parked, and then everyone dispersed after saying their goodbyes.
"You can go home if you want." He softly said to her.
"I am staying with you." Qingyue adamantly shook her head, refusing to leave him.
"Alright." He sighed and nodded to her before turning to his friends. "Let's meet at Odin's Lounge."
James, Eric, Glenn, Max, and Samantha, who was Eric's girlfriend, nodded to him and walked towards their cars, but Julian and Gareth stayed in their place.
"You are not coming?" He asked.
"Would it be appropriate?" It was the hunky boy Gareth who expressed their worry.
The two of them were only acquaintances with Hal, whereas Keith and his group were Hal's close friends.
"I think I need all the company I can get today to drown myself in wine." Keith stiffly smiled and said, which made the two boys sigh at his words.
"We will meet you there." Julian nodded and said, walking with his best friend to his car.
"Keith..." The grey-eyed girl once more worriedly called out to him.
"I am fine, Qingyue." He gently smiled at her and budged her nose before opening the door for her.
Qingyue was relieved in her heart when she saw him display his usual playful nature, and she quickly entered the car.
As soon as Keith closed the door and walked over to the driving seat, he sighed.
It was too much of a hassle to put up such a tiresome front before the people, but he knew that he had to display his grief today. Hal was his childhood friend, and if his death did not affect him, the people would start gossiping and it would not reflect well on his image.
He silently entered the car and drove towards the Odin's Lounge, where all the friends were going go meet up.
"You do not have to stay quiet, you know?" He lightly chuckled when he found Qingyue debating if she should say what was on her mind or not.
"I just can't believe that someone can suddenly disappear from your life like that. Someone, whom you expected to stick around for a long while..."
Keith smiled in his heart when he heard her words.
"Death does not see someone's age before accepting them in its embrace." He told her. "It is inevitable."
She frowned at his words and then looked at him, curiously narrowing her eyes at him.
"Your words don't sound like you are too sad about his death." She asked as she felt that Keith no longer looked too gloomy.
"I am not." He lightly smiled. "I guess, I have grown insensitive to death. It just does not make me too sad."
"And why is that?" She frowned and asked.
"I saw my father die right in front of my eyes." He informed her. "And he did not die a natural death. It was a car accident, and I was with him in that car."
Her eyes widened in shock at his words, and then turned misty.
She knew that Michael Demiliore had died in a car accident, but she did not know that Keith too was in that car.
Qingyue felt her heart constrict when she thought what could have happened to him, completely forgetting about the uneasiness she felt at his earlier show of apathy. But her heart calmed down when she felt him grab her hand and squeeze it lightly.
"I am here." He reminded her, and a tear slipped out of her eyes that she quickly wiped away. "You know, you look even more breathtaking when you cry." He teased her, making her more embarrassed, reminding her of the day he had watched her bawl her heart out when he cured her mother.
"It's still not a good thing to speak so lightly of death." She admonished him.
"Hey, when did I speak lightly of it?" He retorted. "Also, it doesn't mean that I am not sad about my friend's death. What I meant to say was that I know how to cope with it, and so, it doesn't make me too sad."
"Hmph!" She folded her arms on her chest and looked away, adorning a bright blush on her fair cheeks.
Seeing her back to her usual mood, he did not tease her again and concentrated on the drive.
Ryouta had done his job perfectly, making it all seem like an accident. There was simply no evidence that suggested that there was more to Hal's death, and even if there was someone in the world who doubted it, they could not do anything about it.
The prized Assassin had taken his time, studied his target, learned about his habits, and then chose a perfect plan to end Hal's life.
His former friend died because he was drunk and tripped off the stairs at his home, hitting his head hard at an edge, losing consciousness and bleeding to his death before a butler finally arrived at the scene.
The Police still investigated things a little, but after looking at the CCTV Footages, and listening to the testimonies of all the people present in the house at that time, they declared it an unfortunate accident.
Only Keith and Ryou knew that it was just not an accidental hit to the head that killed Hal. It was Ryou who had meticulously struck a point on his head, leaving no trace of the use of the rock that he had used to perform the task.
Yes, it had taken Ryou nine days to finish the task, but Keith had never given him a time frame to complete it. And the final result was more than satisfactory.
Keith and Qingyue reached their destination half an hour later, and found others already waiting for them.
Their group then booked a private lounge, where they all sat down, and lost themselves to their grief.
Those who were close to Hal, remembered the joyful moments they had shared with him, and those that had only been his acquaintances listed to everything respectfully and shared anything they recalled of the departed, remembering him in good words.
"He was so excited when you gave him the job at your company, Keith!" James recalled and informed his friend in a half-drunken state. "He was so happy to be able to work for you. Alas... it was not meant to be..." He finished his words and gulped down on some more whiskey.
"Let me call for some snacks." Julian suggested, finally trying to relieve the depressing mood that was looming over them.
"Yes." Keith nodded to him in a desolate voice, making everyone sigh at how sad he seemed.
Eric comfortingly patted on his back, and Qingyue, who was sitting on his other side was lost in her own thoughts.
She had found out today that Keith was a genius actor, someone who could fool anyone if he wanted to. Her curiosity towards the man she admired flared some more, and at the same time, her silly heart was a little sweet that he had not bothered pretending to be grief-stricken when they were alone in the car.
To her, it meant that he was willing to be honest with her, and she was grateful for that.
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