?????? ???. go hyuntak

❝ ─── chapter twenty one
DEVIL IN HER DREAMLAND.❞

THEY SAID THAT EVEN THE smallest creature, when provoked too far, will turn back to bite.

They were walking side by side in the quiet, dim-lit alley that led to her house, the kind of silence that felt less awkward and more like a shared breath after laughter. The kind of stillness you could only ever really share with someone who knew every edge and angle of you.

Ye Seul had just bid them goodbye at Baku Chicken, tossing Jun Tae a pointed look and a warning to text her the second he got home. Now the night felt heavier as it draped over her shoulders, but in a way that wasn't suffocating, not when Hyun Tak was walking right next to her, close enough for their arms to brush.

He kept his eyes forward for a beat too long before stealing a glance at her. "You okay?"

Ye Seul blinked, not expecting the gentle question. "What? Yeah, I'm fine," she said quickly and he noticed how quick it was. She even added a light chuckle for effect, like a cherry on top of her lie.

Hyun Tak wasn't convinced. Of course he wasn't. "You sure?" he tried again. "You've been zoning out since dinner. Did something happen?"

"No," she said, shaking her head and forcing a smile. "Maybe I'm just tired."

He hummed. "Mood swings?" he teased lightly, nudging her shoulder.

Ye Seul snorted, elbowing him back. "I'll swing you in a second."

Hyun Tak laughed, slowing his steps until he paused entirely. He reached into the side pocket of his bag and pulled something out without a word. When she looked over, confused, he revealed a familiar violet-wrapped bar which is her favorite chocolate.

Ye Seul stopped walking, heart stumbling over itself.

"Seriously?" she asked, voice half-breath, half-laugh. "When did you even get this?"

He stepped closer, gently grabbing her hand and placing the chocolate in her palm. "When do I not get you this?" he said simply. His fingers lingered for a moment before he let go and gave her head a soft pat, almost reverent.

And in that second, just that second, Ye Seul didn't feel like the mess of a girl with too many secrets and not enough light. She just felt like someone who was cared for. Really, deeply cared for.

They reached her doorstep soon after, the two of them standing there, facing each other in the hush of the night. Neither spoke. The silence was slow, sweet. It almost felt like the world was daring them to ruin it.

But Ye Seul was the first to look away. She cleared her throat and stepped back. "I'll go in now."

She was halfway turned when Hyun Tak's hand caught her arm and spun her back gently. Without hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest.

She didn't expect it. She didn't know she needed it until she was already in his embrace. Ye Seul found herself sinking into him, arms curling around his middle as if clinging to the only real thing in the world.

"You know I've always got your back, right?" he whispered into her hair. Ye Seul nodded, barely moving her head. Her throat thickened.

His hand found the small of her back as he tightened the hug, voice dipping lower, slower. "Whatever it is or whoever it is . . . nothing's gonna happen to you. Not while I'm here. You're not alone in this, Ye Seul."

The words cracked something in her. She squeezed him tighter, her face buried into the crook of his neck like it was the only place she didn't have to pretend. She wanted to cry or and fall apart. But instead, she just held him.

Hyun Tak snuggled further into her neck with a deep sigh. "Let's stay like this forever . . . so I could tickle the shit out of you."

Ye Seul pulled back just enough to glare at him, but the soft chuckle that escaped her lips betrayed her.

They stood like that for a few seconds more before letting go. She offered him a small smile. "Good night, Hyun."

He looked at her with those eyes. The ones that always made her feel like she was something precious. "Just one more hug before you leave? Please?" he asked, his was unusually soft. The tone he would only use for her.

Ye Seul rolled her eyes but smiled again. "It's already late, idiot. You should go."

Hyun Tak sighed, acting overly dramatic. "Go in first." With one last look, she turned and stepped inside.

And just like that, the world she had built with him outside shattered at the threshold of her house.

The air was heavier here and much darker. Her dreamland crumbled when her eyes landed on the man slumped in the living room, surrounded by soju bottles and the bitter stench of fermented regret.

Her whole body tensed as she met her father's eye.  She'd learned to read the signs early. The bottles were his mood ring. The fuller they were, the calmer he might be. But tonight . . . they were all empty.

So Ye Seul braced herself. One step. Two. She kept her distance, bowing respectfully, voice soft. "I'm home."

But he didn't look at her.

He just lifted the last soju bottle and drained it in one go, his eyes bloodshot and gleaming with violence. Then, without a word, he hurled it toward her.

It shattered against the wall and dangerously an inch from her head. Ye Seul flinched as her breathing stalled.

"You were with that boy again, weren't you?" Her father's voice was a growl, gravelly and thick with drunken spite.

"That good for nothing punm. What kind of girl keeps hanging around boys like that? Like a damn slut."

"Dad, I—" the slap came before she could finish. She stumbled back, hand flying to her cheek.

"You think you're smart? Think I don't see you smiling when you come back from their company?" he hissed, rising to his feet. "Why are your friends all boys? You enjoy that, huh?"

Ye Seul shook her head frantically, backing away. "No, it's not like that—"

But her words were drowned by the sound of his fist landing on her again. And again.

She stopped counting after the third blow. Her body knew how to take it now, how to go limp just enough not to fight back, how to bite her tongue until it bled so she wouldn't scream.

She didn't know when it ended only that it took hours.

She lay curled in her bed, the moon casting pale light over her bruises. Her breathing was quiet and controller. She didn't cry anymore. Ye Seul already spent her tears on nights just like this.

Silently, she reached out for the framed photo on her lamp stand. It was the photo of her and her mother. The only photo she had left.

The woman in the picture was smiling. Holding her tight. Ye Seul was only seven then. "I miss you," she whispered, voice cracking.

She looked nothing like that little girl now. She was a mess of bruises and exhaustion, of carefully crafted lies and moments of stolen peace she didn't think she deserved. Her mind was a war zone while body is a whole battlefield. And her heart was trying so hard not to give up.

She held the picture to her chest, a soft sob escaping her lips.

Because sometimes the most terrifying thing in the world wasn't the next hit. It was knowing that this was home.