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Sometimes he thinks that he'll kill her before she can leave him.
This is not a startling thought, or even a concerning one. Park Yoon-Soo has always acknowledged his inclination towards cruelty, never denying the pleasure he derives from inflicting pain. It's not so much out of the actual violence as it is the thrill that comes with cornering his prey. And yet, he'd found himself stagnant with boredom when the prey all began to react predictably--they were weak, cowardly, and too easily subdued.
Meeting Han Chae-Ah changed everything.
Han Chae-Ah is clever. It's that cleverness paired with a sharp survival instinct that saves her in the end, because she manages to drag out their cat-and-mouse struggle until he notices the shift in his emotions too late.
And suddenly, his own heart turns against him. He exists on a precipice these days, constantly teetering between warring definitions of possessing her: yearning to make her bleed but unable to stand seeing her cry, wanting to wrap his hands around her neck and have hers wrap around him in return--
And ah, there Han Chae-Ah went, giving him a This son of a bitch look as his hand absentmindedly reaches up to tuck a strand of hair away behind the pale curve of her ear, unconsciously following the directions of his lost thoughts.
He really thinks he’ll kill her if she ever leaves him.
Han Chae-Ah is arguing with someone when he reaches the apartment lobby. After Chae-Ah’s third burned cooking attempt, they'd silently agreed looking at the charred meat that they would be eating out tonight. She’d headed downstairs before him after complaining he was taking too long, and that although he didn't need to eat, she was hungry.
It's a young man, Park Yoon Soo observes, pausing to see how the situation would play out. Han Chae-Ah looks increasingly agitated at whatever the guy is trying to tell her. Park Yoon-Soo can see the familiar way her shoulders are tensing and the hand she runs through her hair, pushing strands out of her face.
Park Yoon-Soo watches the young man's eyes follow the movement.
"Han Chae-Ah." She turns at the sound of her name, shoulders relaxing slightly when she sees him leaning against the wall near the exit. With one last annoyed look at the guy, she makes her way over to him.
"Let's go before that asshole ruins my appetite further," she scowls, grabbing his arm to bring him along with her. He flits one last look behind them to commit the young man's face to memory, but the young man is gone.
Han Chae-Ah gets instant ramen for dinner. They sit outside the brightly-lit convenience store on one of their plastic picnic tables. Park Yoon-Soo watches her eat, bored and weighing the chances of Chae-Ah being willing to make a detour with him into the alley down the road. It's been a few days since he's last had a meal, and the cheap food seems to have put her in a better mood.
Before he can speak, she tenses up, eyes caught on something behind him. She stands up, but he grabs her wrist before she can stalk past him. "Let go of me," she demands, her eyes darting frantically at--
Nothing. All Park Yoon-Soo sees are empty streets when he turns to look.
Han Chae-Ah curses. Her demeanor uncannily reminds Park Yoon-Soo of the state she'd gotten herself into during those early days of when they'd first met. But unlike then, the unease he can see reflected in her eyes as she scans their surroundings doesn't bring him any pleasure.
"What did you see?" He asks, and her eyes lock with his for a brief moment before something shutters behind them, hiding her thoughts from view.
"It was nothing. I just thought I saw an old classmate." They both know she's lying, but he lets her have her secret for now.
He'll eventually dig it up along with all the other dirty details of her life he'd pried from her.
Han Chae-Ah tosses and turns in her sleep that night. At one point, she turns around to face him, and Park Yoon-Soo keeps his eyes closed as he feels her intent gaze trace his face.
"Park Yoon-Soo," she whispers. He doesn't react. After she's convinced that he's asleep, he listens to her sit up and grab her cell phone from the side table. He slits his eyes open slightly, wanting to see what she's doing. Her loose hair hides her expression from view, but he can see her screen well enough: she's typing in a name into the search bar. Nam Hae-Won.
It takes him a second to place the name, and then he remembers who it is. Han Chae-Ah’s ex-boyfriend who’d landed her in prison for violent assault. Was that who she’d seen earlier at the convenience store?
He watches her browse her ex’s social media for a while before finally having enough. “Chae-Ah,” he murmurs, voice low so it sounds like he’d just woken up. And if he had truly just woken up, he might’ve missed the phone she quietly slips beneath the sheets before letting him pull her against him.
Even with her face hidden from view, Yoon-Soo can tell her thoughts are racing. He wraps his arm tighter around her waist, pressing her face into his chest which causes her to hiss in annoyance. “Yah, you asshole, let go of me.” He doesn’t relent as she begins to shove at his chest, causing the situation to quickly devolve into a silent struggle which ends with the sheets tangled around their legs. Only when he’s satisfied that she’s no longer thinking about her ex-boyfriend does he loosen his hold.
“Go to sleep, Chae-Ah.” He’s met with a pillow to his face.
Geurim joins them for breakfast in the morning. Park Yoon-Soo pretends like he doesn’t see the pointed looks he keeps shooting at Han Chae-Ah, already predicting the younger vampire has a request for him he's trying to get approved through Chae-Ah. But she's clearly lost in her thoughts, pushing her cereal around in her bowl until it’s an unappetizing mush.
Watching her, Park Yoon-Soo decides that he needs to get rid of the problem once and for all. He doesn’t like the thought of Nam Hae-Won occupying her mind, even though her disdain for him is clear. Park Yoon-Soo isn't surprised to realize he doesn't even want to share her hatred with anyone else. That belongs to him alone, along with her anger, pleasure, despair--
Geurim clears his throat. Park Yoon-Soo and Han Chae-Ah both look at him in unison. "I'm enrolling in S University," he declares. When he's met with silence, he continues: "Park Yoon-Soo, give me some money for the tuition."
Park Yoon-Soo raises an eyebrow at him. "Why the sudden interest? Are you even good at school?"
Defensive, Geurim scowls back at him like the little brat he is. "If I'm going to be around for a while, I need to be able to make my own money. I can't just stay with you and Chae-Ah forever." As far as Park Yoon-Soo is concerned, he can.
"Did you tell Park Yoon-Soo where S University is?" Han Chae-Ah says in a tone that means she knows. This was probably what Geurim had wanted her help with. He idly wonders what Geurim had traded her for it.
Geurim is basically pouting as he says, "Busan."
Park Yoon-Soo blinks, taken off guard. "Busan?"
"If you don't want to move there, you can just give me the money for room and board too." Geurim has his arms crossed now, the set of his jaw stubborn.
"Just apply to a university here in Seoul." Geurim flushes at the perfectly reasonable demand, and flicks his eyes towards Chae-Ah. Park Yoon-Soo looks at her as well.
"A change of scenery will be good." Even Chae-Ah grimaces after she gives him the paper-thin excuse. "Besides, I already asked the taxi company and they said they can transfer me to Busan." If she had spoken to her uncle over this, there was something else going on here that Park Yoon-Soo hadn't realized yet.
For now, he tells Geurim he'll look into it. He doesn't comment on the relieved look his two companions exchange over their cold breakfast.
Nam Hae-Won finds them before Park Yoon-Soo can track him down himself. It’s at the church of all places.
Park Yoon-Soo realizes something is wrong when Han Chae-Ah suddenly stiffens against him during the sermon. Curious, he tries to see what’s caught her attention only to catch sight of Nam Hae-Won staring right at them further down the aisle. He’s smiling at Chae-Ah, oddly friendly for a man who’d had to be rushed to the hospital after being stabbed by her.
He approaches them afterwards, ignoring the single minded focus with which Han Chae-Ah had been striding towards the exit with.
“Chae-Ah!” The greeting is overly familiar, and Park Yoon-Soo’s eyes narrow a fraction. Chae-Ah curses under her breath before turning towards the nuisance.
“What?” She bites out, voice low enough to not attract the attention of the other church members.
“Chae-Ah, I missed you—“
”Who is this, honey?” Park Yoon-Soo cuts him off with a fake saccharine tone. Chae-Ah’s already bringing up a hand to rub at her temple, but she leans into him when he places a hand on her shoulder.
“I’m…her friend,” Nam Hae-Won answers, although it’s clear that isn’t the word he wants to use. “Nam Hae-Won.”
“A friend, hmm. My Chae-Ah’s never mentioned you.” Nam Hae-Won doesn’t miss the clear possessive he’d used, and his eyes flicker between them, uncertain.
“And who are you?” He asks, and Park Yoon-Soo feels that familiar thrill before capturing his prey between the jaws of his trap.
“Her fiancé.” Even Chae-Ah jerks a little at the bold lie, shooting him an incredulous look. But Park Yoon-Soo is too busy enjoying the satisfaction that uncurls within him at the sight of Nam Hae-Won’s stricken face.
“Chae-Ah…” the fool begins, voice wounded, but he’s quickly drowned out by the excited exclamations of the ladies who’d happened to overhear.
“Park Yoon Soo proposed? Aiyah, Chae-Ah you lucky girl!”
“Do you have a date set for the wedding yet? Surely you’ll be holding it in the church here right?”
Anything else Nam Hae-Won wants to say is drowned out as the church members flock around the couple with congratulations.
"Is Nam Hae-Won the reason you want to move to Busan?" Park Yoon-Soo asks once they're back in the privacy of their car. Han Chae-Ah doesn't answer for a moment, focused on reversing the car among all the city traffic. "I could kill him, if you want, and we can stay here."
Chae-Ah huffs, but she's the most relaxed he's seen her in a few days. "There's no need to kill that asshole. I don't think he'll be a problem anymore after seeing you." Then her face twists with annoyance, and she uses one hand to smack his arm. "Speaking of which, what were you thinking with that lie? You could've just said you were my boyfriend."
Park Yoon-Soo hums thoughtfully before bringing up one hand to pull at the collar of her shirt. She shoots him a quick warning glare before returning her eyes to the road. She's tied up her hair today, giving his fingers easy access to the pale skin. He watches the color rise in her face as he brushes a thumb across the bruise he had left along the dip of her neck just this morning. "Yah, Park Yoon-Soo, don't--"
"If Nam Hae-Won shows his face again," Park Yoon-Soo interrupts softly, "I'll kill him. So don't think about him anymore."
Focus on me, he doesn't say, but Han Chae-Ah knows him too well not to understand anyways.
They're relaxing on the sofa when the doorbell rings. Chae-Ah detangles herself from him to go answer the door, and Park Yoon-Soo's eyes linger over the new marks scattered across her exposed skin before she hastily pulls a sweatshirt over her head. "It's about time he got home. Park Yoon-Soo, put on a shirt before you traumatize Geurim." In his opinion, Geurim should just be glad he hadn't come home two hours earlier when the two of them had come stumbling through the door from church. They hadn't even made it to their room; Park Yoon-Soo had pressed Chae-Ah up against the door as soon as it was closed.
The sound of the door slamming shut has Park Yoon-Soo getting up. He joins Han Chae-Ah where she's staring at the door wide-eyed and furious, and a quick glance at the hallway camera reveals the reason. Nam Hae-Won. He's dressed up in black, a cap hiding half of his face from view.
"That son of a bitch. He's doing it again." Park Yoon-Soo stills when he realizes that despite the rage saturating her tone, her eyes are wet. “He's not going to stop, and I can't go back to prison Yoon-Soo--"
"Let's invite him in." Park Yoon-Soo thumbs away the tear that tries to escape from one of her eyes. Confusion mixes with the desperation in her eyes, and his stomach curdles at the thought that Nam Hae-Won could induce such a panic in her. He doesn’t know the finer details of their past relationship, but he knows he wants to erase the other man’s traces for good.
So Yoon-Soo grins at her, predatory, and reminds her: "Didn't I tell you I would kill him for you? Invite him in Chae-Ah."
He sees the moment she makes her decision. Her jaw sets, and her eyes flicker down to his mouth where his teeth have grown long and sharp.
Han Chae-Ah turns around and yanks the door open.
Later, much later, Geurim returns to the apartment. His gaze slides from Park Yoon-Soo to Han Chae-Ah, both barely dressed, and then finally to the body between them. There's blood everywhere, including Park Yoon-Soo's mouth and Han Chae-Ah's hands. A knife lays discarded on the floor a foot away.
"Let's enroll you in S University as soon as Chae-Ah and I finish cleaning up,” Park Yoon-Soo casually says. Although he's speaking to Geurim, his eyes remain locked on Han Chae-Ah. "We're moving to Busan. The situation got... out of hand."
"And who's fault is that?" Han Chae-Ah scowls back at him. There's blood streaked across her chin. "If you'd just killed him right away instead of trying to play your games, I wouldn't have had to use the knife."
As the two descend into their usual bickering routine, Geurim decides that escaping a homicide investigation was as good a reason as any in his eyes if it convinced Park Yoon-Soo to move.
He leaves them to it.