Standing Next To You

Under the hot weather, a group of people in funeral clothes were crying mournfully in front of a coffin.

They were crying so loudly and heartbreakingly that anyone would think that the person in the casket was their daughter, their beloved sister, or their beloved niece.

Their heartbreaking cries would be so convincing if not for the clean and dry handkerchiefs they were holding.

Because of their exaggerated cries, the solemn and tense atmosphere had become a funny show.

A restrained laugh sounded among the visitors. But this laugh was quickly drowned by the loud cries at the front. Even the others heard it, they pretended to not notice it.

The priest finally finished the prayer.

People in black clothes lined up as they put a white rose on top of the coffin one at a time.

They all said their goodbyes. Their expressions were full of sorrow, sadness, and reluctance.

However, no one knew if their words and feelings were sincere or just a facade to get on the good side of the attorneys who were in charge of distributing the will.

After all, the woman inside that casket was known as being a devil, a villainess- a ruthless woman who was cursed by many in their private meetings. She wasn't married and did not leave an heir. All the wealth under her name had become a tempting pie that everyone wanted to gnaw on.

After bidding their goodbyes, they wiped their tears on their way back to their seat. When no one was looking, they would utter a relief under their breath.

"The heavens finally took pity on our family."

This show continued to go on until a man in his mid-thirties walked up to the front.

He did not line up like the others. But when he showed up, the person at the front of the line stepped aside. The man was in his business suit that fitted well in his toned body. He looked like he just dropped by from his business meeting.

He stood tall in front of the pit. His expressionless face looked cold and menacing. It did make him unapproachable but it added to his charisma and handsomeness.

When the man stood silently in the grave with a bouquet of flowers in his hand, everyone turned silent and looked over.

Even the hired mourners whose job was to cry loudly, halted.

They knew this famous man. Wasn't he well-known for being the arch-enemy of the woman lying in the casket?

Who knew that this handsome man came here to attend the she-devil's funeral? Did he come here to celebrate? After all, these two could not leave under the same sky.

Everyone did not dare to breathe loudly and watched the man's every action.

What farewell would this man say?

The subject of everyone's attention dropped the bouquet in the grave with a tilted chin. His expressionless face finally slipped in an indescribable emotion. His eyes glinted with a complicated gaze mixed with mocking and annoyance. A smirk broke out on those tight closed lips.

"I thought bad people live longer. It seemed like you are not so tough at all. Congrats on your death." He gave a smile that was not quite a smile.

He turned around and his expressionless face returned. There was no sorrow on his face. But his peach blossom eyes were conflicted and enraged.

Just as he stepped out of the funeral site, the people behind him gasped and exclaimed.

The commotion was so loud that he heard it even though he had walked quite a long distance. He turned to his guard, "Find out what happened."

"Yes, sir."

The handsome man went to the car and waited. A few minutes later, the guard arrived with a horrifying look on his face.

But instead of reporting, he just stood there with his mouth open. He seemed to have difficulty explaining what he had witnessed.

The handsome man became impatient.

"What is it?"

"Sir...the f-flower...."

"If you don't speak a sentence straight the next time you open your mouth, you're fired."

The guard turned paler. His boss was crankier than he ever was today. So he told the truth in one breath.

"Sir, the flower you dropped on Ms. Bei's coffin flew out and was crushed!" It was an extramundane occurrence! The spirit of the dead was offended!

"...."

After a moment of silence, the handsome man laughed. His laugh had a hint of craziness.

"Is that so? Maybe she is listening. It is good that she knows how fucked up she is."

After that hair-raising incident, the handsome man who was known second to the she-devil in country C was said to be hunted.

On the first year of the she-devil's death anniversary, he came. At that time, the number of people who attended her death anniversary was half the number of the people who went to her funeral a year ago.

When everyone left, the man stood in her grave, he had a bouquet of white flowers in his hand. He said mockingly, "How funny. You can only receive flowers after your death. What a loser."

His smirk was raised high and his tone was arrogant. But his eyes were deeper than before. He even looked a bit exhausted.

Before he left, a cold wind blew and the flowers he put in her grave were flown away.

"...."

The guards shuddered when they saw with their own eyes how the flowers were pushed by the cold wind. The wind wasn't strong. Yet it was pushed away...

The dead was angry!

"Sir, do you want us to fetch the flowers?"

The handsome man smirked. "No need. Since she doesn't want it, let it be. She still had her pride even though she was dead."

He left that place with those words.

Next year, he came again.

His eyes were deeper and he looked paler. However, he stood proudly in front of her grave.

He said in a condescending tone, "How pitiful. It seems that you are forgotten by the world. No one visits you in this past year other than me. Who would have thought that the famous Bei is actually left alone like this? Hah! So pitiful!"

The man laughed arrogantly. The sky darkened and thunder emerged. Yet no rain came.

The man who seemed listless suddenly had a hint of life in his gaze, "Angry? You should be! You lost to me! Ha! Ha! Bei Sangyun! You die so pitifully! You can never look at me with those condescending eyes of yours anymore! All your hard work is gone! Ha!"

His laughter contained madness. He laughed until his eyes turned red and teary. When the heat came to his eyes, he blinked it away.

He looked towards the grave with a ridiculous smile, "You lost to me...loser.." He repeated those words over and over again.

In the third year, he came again. He did not look as devasted as his last visit.

He had a bouquet of roses in his hand. His hair was combed nicely and his suit was neat. He looked more handsome than usual. He posed handsomely towards the grave.

"How do I look? Oh, this flower? Sorry, it's not yours. It is for my girlfriend. I am going to meet her later."

A cold breeze passed. A smile that doesn't reach his eyes broke out on the man's arrogant face. He snickered, "See? I am alive and well. While you are rotting in that closed place under the dirt. You can't do anything."

A strong wind passed once more.

"You're dead."

He left with those words. He turned his back on the grave and walked away. For some reason, the man's back was less enthusiastic than before.

In the fourth year, the handsome man came again.

His hair was shorter. He looked clean and handsome despite the passage of time. However, there was fatigue in his eyes that he could not hide. He threw the flowers to the grave.

"Happy death anniversary. Have you been rotting well? I am living well. Very very well. My fiancé is good. She is prettier than you and sexier than you. Of course, you are the meanest, no one can compete with that."

Only silence responded to him.

"You were mean, a devil. You bullied me, constantly harassed me, and annoyed me every single time. I hated you. I wondered many times what did I ever do that you hated me so much. But you never gave me the answer."

The man gritted his teeth. "Still, what right do you have to make me suffer in the past and even now....why are you still making me suffer?"

The man stepped on the flowers. His eyes were red. "I am going to marry next year and I will forget you! I am going to have a good and lovely family. A family that you will never have! " He yelled angrily until he went out of breath.

He did not let his tears flow. It was really ridiculous that he kept coming to this grave that people had already forgotten.

"I will live a good life! Just wait and see! And I will never visit you again!"

He stormed angrily and left.

The disheveled flowers were swayed by the wind. As if a pair of non-existent arms hugged it and put it again on top of the grave.

That night, it rained.

Next year, the man came again.