This Day | Gyuhao (Threequel to Youth & The Aged)

- 16

| Chapter Sixteen — Us? |
| 📍 Carnelian's Former Hideout |
| 4 years ago |

"Suit up." Chaewon tosses a gun to Wonbin, "You can't just use fucking knives, you'll get killed in minutes."

"You know... I don't appreciate you always looking down on me." Wonbin spits, stuffing knives in his belt loop nonetheless, "I come from a life long family of—"

"Knife throwers, I know. It's pathetic." Chaewon glares at him.

"Yah." Wonbin throws the gun to the floor, getting all up in her space, jaw clenched, "You need to fucking relax and let me do what I need to do." He says, huffing, "I know what I'm fucking doing."

Chaewon just stares at him, silent. Her face holds no remorse for her words, nor does it hold sympathy.

It's only when Wonbin turns away does she begin to fall apart.

"I just can't let you get hurt."

Wonbin freezes, caught off guard. He turns around, eyes searching for some sort of answer, "What?" Is all he can say.

"I know you heard me." Chaewon sighs, brushing it off and getting her own belt set up, "Bring a little revolver, I don't care. Just don't bring only knives. Someone I know did that, and let's just say, their fate didn't end so well."

"I thought you hated me." Wonbin says, suddenly feeling vulnerable.

Chaewon closes her eyes, shoulders slumping, "I don't hate you, Park Wonbin."

"Then why have you been so rude to me?" He asks, genuine, "I've been nothing but kind to you and have tried to fit in all this time, and you're the only one that has had a problem with me. Why are you switching up all of a sudden? Where's your humanity?"

"It was lost." Chaewon says, face as straight as a board, "From the moment I lost the one person I loved the most in the world, I told myself I shouldn't ever get attached to anybody else ever again."

Wonbin's face twists, "But do you have to be angry all the time to prevent that?" He fights, "What happened to making friends? You know, talking things out with people and deciding boundaries and shit?" He sighs, "You could
even be my acquaintance, but all you do is yell at or belittle me."

"And—" Chaewon hesitates, "And I'm sorry for that. I just can't let you get hurt tonight. This fight with Cerise and Carmine could be extremely dangerous, and—"

"I'm not a child—"

"And I promised your brother I'd never let you get hurt."

Wonbin's eyes blow impossibly wide, and he's sure his heart stops.

"It was your brother, okay? He... He meant the world to me and his life was lost because of me." She admits, "He jumped in front of a fucking bullet for me.... the least I could do is return the favor of protecting you."

Wonbin stays silent, shocked.

"And I know you know that already. Shotaro's always been a blabbermouth." She groans, "Just please bring a gun. Sunghoon didn't, and that's what got him killed."

"He wasn't lying." Wonbin takes a shaky breath, "You really did know my brother."

"Shotaro's always in other people's business and is bat shit crazy, but he's never lied." Chaewon tells him, face finally morphing into an expression. She looks pained to be talking about this, "But listen, I haven't spoken about Sunghoon in years.... I don't want to get all sappy now, so please, let's stop here. Just bring a gun tonight, I'm begging you."