BBDW 52 [Black Butterfly] - Nevereverland

Section 54 (UNEDITED)

The sound of the clock ticking rang indifferently in the apartment. An hour after eating madly spicy curry with Tim and constantly crying and cursing Dawson, the blond detective sat on his old apartment sofa with a grim face waiting for something. The pose with crossed arms and legs did not look very comfortable. When Jude’s ears detected a familiar echo, as he was tapping the floor with his feet, Jude opened his cell phone without hesitation and spat out bluntly.

"Who do you think you are? Why the background checks?"

[Fierce reaction. I just talked to Mary for a while. Don’t be angry.]

"And what, Joan Nelvis? What is that childish anagram? (anagram: rearranging the alphabet of a word or phrase to create another word or phrase) Do you think you're some kind of classic mystery character?"

[Oh, my. Oh, my. Calm down, Jude. I really didn't cause any trouble. You know best that I didn't mean to look into your past and catch your weakness. It’s not like you don’t know about me enough to explain that.]

His eyes still not giving a nice look, but Jude shut up for now. Of course, he knows that he didn't go to Mary with the intention of threatening her to try to figure out about him. But that's even more troublesome. If he was just trying to blackmail, calling Tim and filing a case would be enough. Jude didn't try to hold back his sigh. Beyond the cell phone, a smile that Mary rated as bright emerged.

[I've heard some stories.]

"Oh, go ahead. So the bottom line is?"

[I like you too.]

It was a simple appreciation, and Jude was relieved.

"Wow, that's a grim conclusion."

[Ahahahahah, really? Oh, and I've heard something you probably don't remember either.]

"Something I don't remember? What's that? Well, I don’t mean that I can remember everything there. Which one is it?"

[Do you happen to know the names Jenny and Toby?]

Jenny and Toby? Jude squinted curiously. He couldn't think of anything right away, and Jude replied in an unwilling voice.

"I don't know, why?"

[She said it was the names that you called once while talking in your sleep. She said somehow you don’t even know the names when she asked you about it. But the teacher remembered it.]

"Really...? I don't remember anything. She has a good memory, although she must be quite old now."

[But she's still a good person. She was very worried about you in many ways.]

A bitter smile came to Jude's face. Jude, who smiled fleetingly that he didn't look like he was smiling, sighed and shook his head.

"Well, yeah. She's a good person..."

[How's it going? I heard the 30th anniversary is in three days. Why don't you visit and have a good talk?]

Jude shook his head frantically. Even if he got the phone call from the teacher, he couldn't find any intention or reason to go. He'll see some of the friends who have grown up so much that it's awkward to talk to, and after sharing a few awkward greetings he'll have to have a beer while talking about how he’s been doing. It was not a situation that he wanted to join voluntarily.

"No, thanks. I don't really like it."

[-Are you sure you don't want to come?]

Alvin's voice was more than just a question. What's this feeling? Jude suspiciously narrowed his eyebrows and changed his cell phone to another hand.

"I don’t feel like doing it. Why?"

[I'm willing to go.]

The simple answer hardened Jude's posture for a moment. Alvin's calm voice continued before Jude thought of the right words and opened his mouth again.

[Of course, if you come.]

"......so, you mean......you are coming to a place where there is a lot of people?"

[Gee, I won't do anything dangerous to them either. Even more to you. So you don't have to worry.]

"Why would you come there? What does the Waynebeck Orphanage mean to you?"

It was a voice mixed with laughter that answers to the voice mixed with a little flusteredness.

[Don't say you don't know. Naturally because it means something to you, not because of that orphanage.]

"That's......"

[I'll call you back the day before it, you can answer me then. You don't have to feel pressured... I'd say... but I don't know. I can't deny that I want you to come. Pretty desperately.]

The quiet voice left a gap for a moment. There was a brief silence. Just before Jude closed his eyes and pressed his temples faintly with his hand, a slightly feverish voice leaked low and short beyond the receiver.

[-I miss you.]

Jude, who was trying to answer that the probability of going is probably low, swallowed his words. As if looking for a way to escape, a small voice came out as his gaze that was wandering around in the apartment was soon fixed looking down.

"......not yet, I can't say for sure."

[Yes, I'll ask you in two days. Then, let's talk on the phone again. Good night, I'll hang up now.]

Cholkok, ttu-ttu-.

The sound of the end of the conversation on the phone hit his ears dryly. Jude, who couldn't take his cell phone off his ear for a moment as he looked down blankly, immediately threw it on the table with a deep sigh. The 30th anniversary of the Waynebeck Orphanage is three days later. He had no intention of going in the first place.

"Damn it..."

Jude laid himself down on the sofa, spitting out curses although he didn't know what he was swearing at. As he put his head on the cushion and raised his arm to cover the fluorescent light, it made him feel a little better. Jude, who was calming his breath and emotion for a while, recited the names he had just heard.

"...Jenny, Toby..."

The inside of his eyes aches faintly. It was a name that he couldn't think of right away, but oddly enough, his mood got strangely bad. Is that the name of the alley leaders who bullied me when I was a kid? Laughing at the silly thought, Jude exhaled a long breath again.

-I miss you.

Deep inside his body, the indescribable numbness echoed out. I miss you, that's what a criminal is saying to a detective. To the detective who caught him in.

And that he couldn't say NO immediately. The answer to one's own question was not very optimistic. Jude's face was not bright when he raised his arm and looked at his cell phone. Not only the conversation he just had but also the fact that he has to wake up to turn off the lights in his apartment was also annoying.

Eventually, the night he fell asleep on the sofa without turning off the lights, Jude had to wake up four times during the night because of a nightmare he couldn't exactly remember.

 

It was a cold day. Cloudy breath was flowing into people's mouths like intermittent speech balloons. Jude, who was walking at a leisurely pace, speeded up his feet a little.

I should have dressed a little warmer. Jude grumbled in his mouth and soon frowned at the familiar and unfamiliar streetscape unfolding in front of his eyes. I think the bakery around here is gone. The bookstore over there has changed to a cafe. Images of childhood that he didn't really want to bring up keeps popping up inside his head.

It wasn't that pleasant.

"... ha-this way…."

The blond detective, who was walking with his hands in his pocket, slowed down and looked around for a moment. Although it has been a while since he left the orphanage, the colour of his memory has not faded enough to forget the direction. Soon, a familiar green roof came into Jude's view. After staring at the roof for a moment, Jude began to move again.

"I don't know if I'll ever regret this..."

Jude, who spoke smirkingly, soon reached out annoyingly and scratched the back of his head. What are you going to do if you regret it, you've already finished interrogation at work. The blond man, who had a big yawn, wiped his red eyes a little and headed for the green-roofed orphanage.

*        *        *

“..because it means something to you…” Let’s take a moment to appreciate how sweet Alvin is. And let’s also give a moment of silence to those who think joan NELVIS = aLVIN jonES is not obvious enough.