Chapter Text
- Fairytale
Tonight is so cold, too cruel but too good to die for. Jumping off the bridge will surely kill her. From this height, she has little to no chance of surviving. Although she can swim, she will prefer to die drowning in the cold Han river. This way, Han Yoohyun needn’t bother to find her corpse.
Only several hours ago, she saw the interview between Han Yoohyun with the journalists who asking him whether he had cut his family tie with her off or not and he answered yes.
...I see. Rather than to talk properly like the human beings possibly could have done, her little brother decided to just leave her and cut their family tie off.
Once Han Yoohyun make it clear that the Hunters around his age is considered free, he left their house. No matter how hard she’s tried to reach out to him, he always turned the cold shoulder and she always ended up getting thrown out or dragged out of the Abyss Guild’s building. People claim her as trying to mooch off or leech off her successful little brother but she just wanted to be a family. He was the only one family she had.
She wonders since when does everything turn wrong?
She wonders what she could’ve possibly done wrongly to her little brother to earn this much harsh treatment and unfairness?
She wonders...
Would her brother even care if she died here?
Holding the fence of the bridge tightly, she’s about to jump when someone catches her wrist, pulling her by the wrist and turning her body around. She bumps into a broad, warm chest. Looking up, she meets someone in a business suit. He has a bulky, muscular body and the sharp eyes as dark as his hair.
He says with all seriousness “It’s dangerous. If you went too far, you would fall”.
She doesn’t care. She swats his hand away and laughs bitterly. Looking at him, she bites sarcastically “Don’t bother. No one would have cared if I had gone, anyway”.
He looks at her for the long minutes with those calm, indescribable eyes before he claims “Not true. Had I let you fall, I’d have felt upset”.
She scoffs “Nonsense. We’re practically the strangers”.
“Song Taewon”.
“What?”.
He reaches out his hand to her “My name is Song Taewon. What is your name?”.
Why does this man introduce himself and ask for her identity instead now?
Hesitantly, she accepts his hand and shakes hands with him “...Han Yoojin”.
“Now we know each other’s name, we’re no longer the strangers and acquainted”.
“Don’t be silly. Nothing will do good for you to be acquainted with me”, turning her body around, she waves her hand “Goodbye, Mr. Public Servant”.
There’s no way that she doesn’t know who is this person. He’s one of the S-Class Hunter in the South Korea and he’s the reason why this country still has its government. It’s all thanks to this man who chooses to serve the Hunter Association.
...So why does she sit on the family restaurant eating the bulgogi and BBQ with this S-Class Hunter Public Servant?
Back then, before she could leave him, he caught her wrist and pulled her by the wrist to here. Then, as shitty as her luck, the rain was pouring and Song Taewon put his coat over her head to cover her before holding her hand and puling her to the nearest place as a shelter which is the family restaurant they sit in right now.
As if he can read her mind, he offers her to drink “You’re getting upset easily when you’re hungry. Eat. Might as well fill in our stomach while we’re waiting for the rain to stop here. My treat”.
Not even the soju, liquors, or wines. He offers her the orange juice instead.
Offering the BBQ, he raises his eyebrow “You’re not going to eat?”.
Not that she will reject it when this Public Servant has treated her with food. Han Yoojin just wonders when does the last time she has eaten with someone else since the last time she ate something outside, it was with her little brother.
...It’s nice to have a simple dinner with Song Taewon. It’s delicious. Such a simple, mundane thing... how could she lose it? How much she missed it?
Something must have shown on her face because the next second, Song Taewon wordlessly reaches out his hand, patting her head.
Handing over the tissue box to her, he glances to the window outside “...I guess the rain is not going to stop very soon”.
Han Yoojin blinks away her tears silently and makes no move to wipe her tears away as she stares to outside through the window “...Yeah”.
Before they separate their way, he does give her his number. Looking at his business card, she decides to just keep it in her drawer and never calls him ever again.
- Dreamscape
Just her luck.
Got hit by the car (well, almost) is not how she wishes to meet with Song Taewon again. Long story short, she just left the Abyss Guild building after asking Han Yoohyun to heal her leg, only to get dragged out of the building. Suk Simyeong immediately met her and handed over the credit card which undoubtedly held so much money as her financial support.
She drags her feet in her way back to home. She wants to laugh sarcastically. Does her brother truly think that the money can solve everything? The audacity he has. How could he ever think that the money could replace him?
What she wanted and needed is not the money, dammit! She just wants her brother by her side to soothe her just like when they were used to be together. She just wants to hug her little brother and cry on his shoulder.
Again, those words come to her mind.
What does she do to deserve this?
Since when does everything turn wrong?
She doesn’t look it coming when a car is coming at her way. She turns her head when she hears the loud honk and the next second, even if the car has stopped before it can hit her, she collapses unconscious on the ground. She thought that she got hit by the car but it seemed like it was not the case because she’s still alive.
When she opens her eyes, the first thing she’s seen is Song Taewon’s face as he presses his forehead on her forehead to check her temperature and all.
Song Taewon nods his head “We meet again, Yoojin-Ssi. Though, I don’t expect to meet like this”.
Holding her head, Han Yoojin finds Song Taewon’s black coat (from the smell of it) covering her upper body “...I’m still alive?”.
“Please, don’t make it sounded like you’re disappointed to know that you’re still alive, Yoojin-Ssi”, Song Taewon chides her, then gently asking her “Can you walk? Shall I bring you to the hospital?”.
Han Yoojin shakes her head, adamantly refusing to go to the hospital “...I’m fine. I don’t want to come near the hospital because I just got out of there”.
“Ho? You know each other? Interesting”.
They turn their head to the main perpetrator who almost hit Han Yoojin with his car. No one other than Sung Hyunjae.
Song Taewon deadpans, unimpressed “That’s not how you should react to someone you almost hit with your car, Sung Hyunjae-Ssi”.
Sung Hyunjae bows his head “My bad. What can I do to fix my mistakes, Yoojin-Ssi? If you need a healer—”.
“No”, Han Yoojin cuts him off and says instead “Treat me the liquor instead”.
The next morning, Han Yoojin barely remembers what happened last night. Han Yoojin feels the worst hangover she’s ever had when she wakes up on the stranger’s bedroom with Song Taewon sleeping on the couch at seven in the morning. She looks at him in horror but once Song Taewon reassures her that nothing happens (given her still complete clothes, it’s mostly true, much to her relief. Though, she probably wouldn’t mind either even though she’d have slept with Song Taewon) between them. They only ended up having sleepover in Sung Hyunjae’s house because both men do not know where is her house and Song Taewon doesn’t trust Sung Hyunjae enough to leave her alone with him (much to Sung Hyunjae’s clearly faking hurtful expression).
If her eyes were red and her voice was hoarse from too much crying and ranting last night, they would not mention it.
They officially become the drinking buddy after that.
- Bloody Mary
“I’m home”.
The door of her house creaks opened without no one to answer her greeting.
“...”.
She slides into her house and discards her shoes without a care on where those are landing. After she locks the door which closed behind her, she saunters idly to her bedroom and flops on her bed, lying on her back. Looking at the ceiling, she stares above with those soulless eyes.
Pulling her hairtie off, she lets her hair cascade down her shoulders. Sauntering to the bedroom, she takes her clothes off, leaving those on the floor. She watches as the water pours to the bathroom’s tiles. She leans her back on the wall and slices her wrist, deep enough to draw the blood flowing out of her system.
She’s tired.
She just went out for the grocery shopping and those papparazis who have waited for her outside immediately bombarding her with the questions she doesn’t want to and can’t answer. Mostly, they asked about her relationship with her little brother and earned nothing, they just tried to ire her or created the fake news.
Thanks to the fake news, she has been oscratized by the people around her wherever and whenever she goes outside. Even without her brother turning the cold shoulder on her, it’s been hard for her.
She’s tired.
They said that she’s not the ideal type of a role model or some bullshits about their theory of why would Han Yoohyun leave his only family. Thus, he left.
Well...
No one would be sad or miss her even though she was dead, right?
“...Yoojin-ah?”.
The last thing she sees and listens is how Song Taewon comes into her bathroom with a panic-stricken face.
When she wakes up, she feels warm. The wounds on her wrist has been cleaned and she feels something wet on her forehead.
“Finally, you’re awake”.
She’s not surprised to find Song Taewon’s disapproval frown etched—Is it concern, fear, or worry on his eyes?—on his usually cold, handsome face. She groans as she stirs on her bed. She’s about to sit up but Song Taewon squeezes her shoulders, pushing her back down gently on the bed. Cradling her head on his hand, he helps her to drink the fresh liquid.
“Do you think you can stomach the porridge or the soup?”.
She nods weakly before he spoonfeds him the chicken soup. It’s warm that she feels teared-up. After she drinks her medicine, she asks the things she’s always wondered ever since they meet.
“Why did you save me? Not only in the bathroom but also that night... you should have known that I...”.
“I can’t just let you die”.
“You should have”, she hisses but what’s gotten out of her mouth is only the hoarse words of the strained, sore throat “Nothing good will do for you to get involved with me”.
“Living as the Hunter is not a peaceful living everyday either”, Song Taewon curtly nods his head as he tucks her into the blanket and put the compress on her forehead “You can’t expect me to let you die when you’re dying in front of me. Rest. You’re burning up”.
“...You’re a weird person, Taewon-Ssi”, blinking a single tear, she allows herself to accept this warmth just this once, holding his hand “...Thank you”.
The next time she sobers enough to think and finds Song Taewon, in fact, doesn’t leave her side and stays in her house, Han Yoojin is shocked to find out that they are neighbors. The fact that Song Taewon is her neighbour who just moved several days ago to the house right below hers and how the S-class Hunter of the Hunter Association could figure out her nth suicide attempt just from the leaking water of her bathroom before going straight to save her life sounded suspiciously too coincidental but who is she to judge for Song Taewon’s decision to save her life against her choice?
- Happier Than Ever
When her fever has gone, he persuades her to come with her in the grocery shopping since it’s bad for her skin and health to coop up in her house all day. She hesitantly comes with him after covering her face and head with a mask and her hoodie, because she doesn’t want to get the eyes on her.
In their way out, Han Yoojin stops and halts him “Is it really okay to go out with me?”.
Song Taewon deadpans, tugging her hand “It’s too late to ask now. We’re on our way getting to the grocery shopping”.
Song Taewon holds her hand gently, fully aware of the way Han Yoojin fidgets with her wrist and how the people’s eyes make her shrink or shy away. He keeps her on the arm’s reach as long as they are outside. She’s fully aware of his body’s warmth, being this close with him. Thankfully, every time she feels overwhelmed by the people’s eyes on her or someone tries to approach her, Song Taewon’s imposing bulky figure is good enough distraction.
After her failed attempt (again) last night to consume the sleeping pills (overdoses) because Song Taewon barged into her house (again), he refused to leave her side. He dragged her to the bathroom and make her vomit, forcing her to drink the potion.
After the disastrously stressful day yesterday where Song Taewon contacted Sung Hyunjae to lend one of his Healers, Han Yoojin didn’t know whether she should feel elated and giddy when the Healer Sung Hyunjae had sent was healing her legs (fucking finally) this morning. He even called off work to stay with her and preferred to do grocery shopping with her.
She wonders why would Song Taewon nurse her and help her so much.
Is it a pity or obligation from the goodwill towards the pathetic woman he’s accidentally encountered?
Fidgeting with her fingers, Han Yoojin braces herself to voice out her mind as they sit side by side in the car “Taewon-Ssi, you don’t have to go so far just because of your... obligation as the one who serves the citizens”.
Song Taewon sounds offended “I see. Do you think... I’ve done this all just because of the obligation?”.
She snaps sarcastically at that “What else, then?”.
Song Taewon doesn’t answer and turns the wheel instead “...Let’s go somewhere only we know”.
Han Yoojin is confused about what he’s talking about.
It turned out that they went to the dandelions garden on the outskirt of Seoul. Han Yoojin’s eyes shook as she recognized this place. She once lived in the nearest apartment from here with his parents and little brother. She often played here with the neighbor next door. When she was too stressed, she would go to this garden and Won Oppa, the older boy who was her neighbor next door, would listen to her and comfort her.
The question was, why did Song Taewon know this place?
Looking at Song Taewon, Han Yoojin’s eyes shook “...Won Oppa?”.
Song Taewon smiled thinly “Took you long enough to realize it”.
Song Taewon spread his hands and wrapped his arms around Han Yoojin’s body as Han Yoojin slammed into him. They talked about many things and one of them was Song Taewon’s attempt to soothe her, comforting her and asking her to stop hurting herself.
Cupping her cheeks, he leans his forehead on hers as tears streaming down her face “When I found you almost overdosed due to the sleeping pills, do you think how afraid I was? Don’t do it again. Stop hurting yourself”.
For once, she listened to him.
- Inferno
That night, she does not plan to end everything by jumping off the second floor of her house after the slit on her throat, at first. However, she doesn’t expect to meet a group of gangster who burst into her house and burns her house. The brokers who have swindled her, stolen her money, and made her indebted with them are the ones who sent them.
“If you want to blame someone, blame your arrogant little brother”.
“Hey, is there really any use to attack her? Even if she’s still his older sister, no matter how estranged their relationship has been—”.
“At least, we can give a blow on that arrogant bastard’s pride”.
“Look, buddy. We want to take revenge on him, yes, but do you think her death will affect him, considering that his relationship with his sister is bad?”.
“Bad? Sure, it’s an understatement. He cut off the family tie with her, right? Even if her death will not affect him, at least we can give a blow on Song Taewon”.
What? What does it have something to do with Song Taewon?
One of the gangsters yanks her by the hair, tipping her head backwards as he taps his knife on her cheek “We got information that Song Taewon is interested in you. Even if your brother would not care about what happened to you, at least we still can use you to lure Song Taewon into our trap”.
It turns out that they have tried to lure Song Taewon into a trap, using her as a bait.
She refuses to cause a problem for Song Taewon. She’s sorry for causing a problem to her neighbors, but she has no choice. No, she has, but she just doesn’t want to.
She’s tired.
Tired of causing a problem to the people around her.
Tired of getting abandoned by the people she cares about and cherishes.
Tired of being an entertainment for the people who don’t even know her.
Even though she’s dead, the life will go on for the people around her.
Song Taewon would be upset, yes, but he was going to be fine eventually.
Sung Hyunjae would be fine as well. They are not that close, after all.
Song Taewon and Sung Hyunjae are good friends. So, they would be fine.
Han Yoohyun would be fine. He’s not gonna miss her, even.
Using the knife in her hand, she cuts the pipe of the gas cylinder. She slits her throat after she throws a lighter to the kitchen. She manages to avoid the explosion, but the gangsters inside are not so lucky. Even if it’s not enough to kill them, at least they will not get out of it unscatched. Though, the fire still manages to burn her skin. Her body falls backwards and she’s suppossed to land on the ground. She’s expected it, but before her body collides on the ground, someone jumps from the room below her house and catches her. She feels a pair of strong, muscular arms wrapping itself around her body as her blurry eyes catch the glimpses of the golden chains—.
Oh.
“Yoojin-ah!”.
Oh. It’s them.
Sung Hyunjae has a grave expression as he presses a smartphone, calling an ambulance and a police. It’s rare to see such a calm and composed man like him be so angry like this.
“Yoojin-ah, can you hear me? Get yourself together!”.
Song Taewon keeps caressing and patting her cheeks, asking her to get herself together and not to close her eyes. It’s rare to see a usually stoic-faced man being panicked like this.
She feels bad for them, but she can’t help it. She’s so sleepy.
Perhaps, it’s because of the blood loss.
Perhaps, it’s the shock or exhaustion.
She just needs to sleep for a while.
The last thing she feels and hears is Song Taewon’s alarmed shout calling her name as he’s cradling her body and the back of her head. She faintly sees Sung Hyunjae approaching them frantically as well as Han Yoohyun (with a panic-stricken face) and Kim Sunghan run at them.
Ah, she must imagine it, for the latest.