Moments | Sweet Home

Chapter 17

Yeonha realises only now that Ui Myeong had returned with Hyun. 

He doesn't say anything to her, just watches her. He looks at her like she is a curious inexplainable thing, like he was a person visiting a zoo for the first time and realizing that right infront of him was a real life lion. 

When he realizes she has noticed him watching, he smiles. 

He waits for her to say something but she scowls, turns her head and leaves the room.

She doesn't want to talk to him, she doesn't want to see him and she doesn't trust him so easily, even if Hyun did. 

When she leaves, she stops in the hallway realising she had nowhere else to go. She couldn't join the others-not like she ever did before, most of her time was spent either with Hyun or in the security room with Hyuk. Not realising she had been walking there she catches herself and turns away as she makes it to the door. 

"Yeonha." 

Hyuk had noticed her almost entering and calls her as he sees her back turned towards it. 

She flinches, hesitates for a moment before ignoring him and starts to walk away. 

He calls her again. "Yeonha wait."

She doesn't know why she caves in and turns around, making her way to the surveillance office.

To avoid looking at him she looks around, finding a poorly concealed shirt. 

He follows her gaze to it and hurriedly grabs it, tossing it away. 

Yeonha could smell the fresh blood on it though, it was strong and coppery-still wet.

All that blood...did that mean.

Her eyes widen as she looks at him. 

He was turning?

"Don't say anything." He says, pressing his lips together in a  firm line before she gets the chance to speak aloud. He couldn't have everyone, especially his sister Eun Yoo finding out.

"Since when?"

He doesn't tell her.

Yeonha thinks to herself. All this time, everything he had said about monsters, how meticulous he had been, had it all been apart of his own insecurity? Had it been because he was afraid that he was turning into  a monster too.

She can't decide whether to be angry or not about it.

"I think i've figured out what your desire is." Hyuk tells her, cutting through the awkward silence and diverting the conversation away from his affliction.

Yeonha raises an eyebrow.

"Oh? What do I desire."

"At first i thought it was warmth, but then i realised, you just don't want to get hurt by anyone." 

Yeonha avoids looking at him, and makes no move to confirm.

"If that was true, it's kind of pitiful isn't it." She mutters, before turning around to leave.

"I won't tell anyone by the way, but speaking from experience, the more you try to hide it the harder it gets."

Yeonha heads into the bathroom, deciding to clean herself up. She was still covered in ash and her hair was matted from her own blood.

Yeonha paused, as the lingering presence continued to stay hidden as she scrubbed the ash off her fingers. Her wet hair clings to her neck and collarbones.

"I prefer for people to be frank with me Ui Myeong. If you have anything to say, please speak up."

With a wry smirk he stepped into view, propping himself up against the wall..

"Since you've asked that of me, then I shall be frank."

Yeonha folded her arms, lifting her chin his way to indicate for him to continue.

"You're rather talented, what you did back there was incredible." He had seen the charred corpses, the scorched walls and heard whispers from the tenants about what she had done.

Yeonha disagreed.

"I can't control it."

"Control will only hinder you. Lose that control and you'll be amazing."

Wondering where he was going with all this obvious flattery Yeonha narrowed her eyes giving the man a look that told him to get to the point.

"If you want to you could achieve extraordinary things without having to work under someone, following their every whim like a servant."

Ah. That's where he was going.

Yeonha laughed, a short sound that sounded more chiding than amused.

"I think you are being far to generous with your praise. I'm happy with my current role, and i'm happy to trust Eunhyuk."

He shrugged.

"That may be so," He nodded, circling the girl before stopping to look at her with ambitious dark eyes.

"But you shouldn't let that detain you."

"The strong deserve to be king, that is only natural."

Yeonha closed her eyes inhaling as she composed herself to reply with an answer that would cause minimal offense due to their apparent opposing beliefs.

"The strong bully the weak. That is the motto of those who want a war and not the true way of the world."

"Don't you see the world is changing. And you've already changed too haven't you."

Yeonha bristled, clenching her jaw.

"It felt good, didn't it? Killing those men."

She stays silent, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of being right. But he knows his words were right anyway and continues to grin. 

Yeonha hates that smile of his.

"Hyun may like you, but I don't. And I don't trust you either."

"I'm not telling you to trust me, i'm saying you shouldn't trust these people just because they're human."

He walks up to her whispering in her ear, "Humans are the worst kind of monsters."

Yeonha brushes past him and leaves the bathroom, wiping her wet hands on her jeans.

~~~
"Do you trust him?" Yeonha asks Hyun when they are finally alone.

"Who? Ui Myeong."

He noticed how Yeonha's face scrunched up at the sound of his name.

"You don't trust him?"

She shakes her head. "There's something wrong about him, i don't know what it is but i have the feeling he's planning something bad."

"He saved me."

Yeonha scoffs. "You would have saved yourself. He killed that guy because he saw an opportunity to win you over."

"I don't like the way he does things." She tells Hyun. 

It was hypocritical of her, she knew, since she had killed a bunch of people too. But atleast she felt guilty about it now, Ui Myeong had brushed his killings of like he had squashed a fly with a slipper.

Yeonha looks at Hyun calmly. "Something Jae Heon told me once suddenly comes to my mind." She smiles softly, he tilts his head curiously and asks "What did he say?"

"The strength of the sword lies within the strength of the heart."

"Strength of the heart?"

"Swords can kill, but they can also save. She gives Hyun Soo's hand a squeeze. To be kind is to be strong."

She glowered when she received a snort in response.

"The truly strong protect the weak rather than prey on them." She justified, "The stronger a person is, the bigger their responsibility will be. Their heart will have to be kinder than anyone else's."

He sighed.

"This world is full of injustice so who could have a heart big enough to forgive it."

"Don't you want to create that world with your own hands?" She says to him.

"How can I?

Yeonha clicks her tongue, "You haven't been listening properly."

"I have." He refutes, and she raises an eyebrow. "You don't think you are kind hearted enough?"

"How can I be, when I'm becoming a monster?"

"Sorry." He mutters quietly, not wanting to offend her. She knew he didn't mean to.

"Not all monsters do monstrous things." He is suddenly reminded of Ms Lim who had transformed into the harmless infant monster. "And I think you are very kind Cha Hyun Soo. That's why I like you." She tells him with a shy blush.


A/N: This chapter is a little short, but I split the last chapter up since it was far too long. This is mostly a filler chapter before the big grand finale.

Sorry for the long wait, next chapter won't be as long.

Also i'm going to be starting a book for the Vincenzo Kdrama, so if any of you have watched it and are interested then keep an eye out for it! 💖