Nosferatu: Ruler of the Night [TAEKOOK] The Lost Man

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As the soft sunlight filtered through the glass window and touched his face, Tae woke up. Slowly opening his eyes, he turned his head to look at the wall clock. It was 7:30 in the morning. Tae put the book back on the bookshelf and stepped out of the room.

From the large balcony on the upper floor, the duck and chicken farm on the ground floor was visible. Tae stood on the balcony and looked down.

An elderly man, over sixty, was feeding the ducks and chickens from a large bowl. He was Jhope, a close friend of Tae's grandfather. Tae had seen Jonas living in this house since he was a child. He had heard from his grandfather,

" Flashback "

Namjoon

Once, I was traveling across the Mediterranean toward Bosnia. On our journey, near the Strait of Gibraltar, we spotted a boat floating on the water. It wasn’t moving forward or backward.

Namjoon

The turbulent waves of the sea tossed it up and down, yet it remained in place. At first, I thought it might be a fishing boat, but fishermen don’t usually venture into such deep waters. The sea changes its mood frequently, always ready to reveal its devastating side

Namjoon

I turned my binoculars toward the boat, and my suspicion was confirmed. It wasn’t a fishing boat. It was a lifeboat from a passenger ship, which meant someone was in danger! I ordered the crew to turn the ship toward it.

Namjoon

We stopped our ship near the boat. I, along with some crew members, climbed aboard. It was a fairly large lifeboat, but no matter how much we searched, we couldn’t find anyone.

Namjoon

Just as I was about to return to the ship, I heard one of the crew members call out.

???

‘Mr. George! There’s a body here.’

Namjoon

We all rushed toward the back of the boat. In a covered area, curled up in a fetal position, lay a middle-aged man. Looking at him, I felt as if he were simply sleeping. Even his head was resting on something like a pillow. I bent down and placed my hand near his nose. The man was alive, but unconscious. We brought him with us.

Namjoon

It took three days for him to regain consciousness. But he had no memory of who he was or where he had come from. From his language, we could tell he was Italian. But knowing his nationality wasn’t enough to find his identity or home. We tried our best, but to no avail.

Flashback end

Since then, Jhope has been living here. Namjoon himself had given him this name. Jhope's mannerisms, speech, and movements were all eerily similar to Namjoon's elder brother. That’s why he named him after his brother. Namjoon's elder brother was also named Jhope. At the young age of nineteen, he had succumbed to the plague.

His brother’s death had left Namjoon devastated. But when he found this stranger who looked exactly like Jhope, it felt as though he had gotten his brother back.

Before going downstairs, Tae peeked into his brother's room and saw that Jimin was still asleep. He was curled up under the blanket, sleeping soundly. Aria quietly pulled the door close and walked toward the stairs.

He descended the wide, spiral staircase and stepped into the lower hall. From the hall, there was a direct path to the kitchen, with the dining area in between. Tae entered the kitchen and began preparing breakfast.

To be continued