13

516 32 1

by KimHieun

by KimHieun

ding dong
finally found you, dear
now you're it

3RD PERSON

a few more months passed by as son youngjae and seo daeun lived life low-key in the small village. when they had first arrived there, youngjae had made it seem like they were newlyweds looking for a humble abode to stay in.

"ah is that so?" the head of the village smiled at youngjae. "is that your wife?" he pointed towards daeun who was passed out in the passenger seat. "yes, she's quite tired from the ceremony yesterday," youngjae chuckled before he bowed, excusing himself to settle in the small, neat house. the head villager retreated back into his house which was located about 3 houses away. youngjae sighed in relief that the distance between each houses were quite far. it was still dark when he lifted daeun up to bring her into the house and letting her rest in the bedroom they would share.

son youngjae winced as he cleaned up the wounds on his own, waiting for seo daeun to awake. the girl's eyes fluttered open slowly, slightly adjusting to the new light of the strange room. "listen up," song youngjae spoke firmly. "we're soulmates so either you like it or not, we're stuck with one another. the rest of the villagers think we're newlyweds - so i'm telling you to behave, seo daeun," and she nodded, not wanting to cause more issues which would result in getting herself hurt.

daeun could feel herself going insane. she was not fighting against son youngjae, but instead, she went along with him willingly. day by day, her will to escape disappeared little by little. daeun started to view son youngjae different. her unstable mind convinced that she was in love with him. whenever he flashed her a smile, which was something he used to rarely do, she fell harder and harder. youngjae was sweet and nice to her, treating her almost like a queen.

stockholm syndrome. seo daeun had only heard of it but she could not believe she was in fact experiencing it. youngjae had abducted her from her life, stripped freedom off of her and trapped her in the house but she was content with it.

"sweetheart, what do you want to do today?" she heard him call her. he had let her choose daily activities and even meals. "i'm feeling kinda lazy today. can we just lay in bed?" daeun replied, looking at the man in the kitchen. "sure, sweetheart," he smiled briefly at her before quickly finishing up the menu for that day's lunch.

they laid in bed together, already used to one another's company. arms wrapped around one another, legs tangled with each other as they laid. youngjae rubbed small circles on her small back as she softly combed his blonde locks.

"we have the village gathering again tomorrow. we should at least go and greet the others," youngjae reminded her. "what if they continue to ask questions?" daeun asked. during the previous gatherings, some of the villagers asked questions that caught the both of them off-guard. they knew well that if they both gave out different answers, the villagers would suspect them. "i'll handle them, sweetheart. don't worry," youngjae smiled down at her who had looked up at him with worried-looking eyes.

it was the day of the village gathering. since it was a really small village, everybody knew one another. daeun and youngjae arrived with arms linked.

"ah our newlyweds - eric and danielle! how have you been enjoying the village so far?" one of the elderly greeted the two as they arrived.

"it's been great and peaceful!" daeun beamed brightly, bowing to them. "come and join us! have a pleasant time here!" they were very welcoming towards the two. daeun gripped onto youngjae's arm as they walked around to look for free seats at the tables, in order to enjoy some food. the place was filled with chatter and excitement as they all engaged in conversations.

'breaking news! seo daeun, a 20-year-old, is still missing with no leading clues. her captor is her soulmate who goes with his government name 'son youngjae'. dial 112 to report any suspicious persons or activity!'

the news on the small television made both youngjae and daeun froze in their seats. the good thing was that none of their faces were shown. only clips of her long-abandoned house, youngjae's old house and also the burnt down warehouse were shown.

"oh my, poor girl," some of the villagers sadly uttered. daeun tensed up, but youngjae's hand held hers under the table rubbing his thumb across the back of her hand.

he checked the time and it had shown 7pm. "i think we should head home now," youngjae announced. "alright! thanks for coming, eric and danielle! take care!" mutiple of villagers sent them off as they walked away towards the small house.

"youngjae, what if people are looking for us right now?" daeun voiced out as soon as they got home, clearly worried over the news they had just seen. "no sweetheart, no one can ever separate us. we're soulmates remember?" he flashed her a soft smile, pulling her into a hug.

months ago, seo daeun wanted nothing but to escape son youngjae. but at that moment, that desire had vanished and all she wanted then was to stay with him. all these months when she got threatened, kidnapped and tortured, only son youngjae was there. he was always there. she wanted to hate herself for feeling this way but she could not. she needed him with her. no matter what she tried, son youngjae was right - they were soulmates bounded by fate.