He was still left with hunger clawing inside him despite how many times he had made the woman cry out of ecstasy; it did nothing to him.

Nothing compared to what he went through just a couple of nights ago.

He let go of the girl and threw her clothes back at her just as he was getting up from his bed, wore back his bottom, and walked out to the kitchen to fetch a beer while picking up his pack of cigarettes from the table.

He took one in between his lips, lit it up, leaned his backside against the dusty kitchen counter and took one puff before opening up his drink and throwing the cap into the dirty sink.

He walked back into his bedroom to see the feminine body still lying across his mattress. She was seductively staring at him, her fingers tracing patterns on the bed sheets while her bottom lip was stuck in between her teeth. He did nothing but looking back at her, drinking his beer and taking a sip of cigarette, coolly letting the smoke seep out of his mouth.

The stranger got out of bed and strolled over to him, taking the bottle into her hands and drinking a small take. She approached him further just as he onto his cigarette bud and slammed her lips against his, parting his mouth wide while she slipped her tongue inside his. By , he gently pulled her away from him; she breathed out, smoke sliding off her tongue and walked away while taking his cigarette away from him, keeping it to herself.

“You should leave. We’re through here.”

“What if I don’t want too?”

“Then I’ll kick you out. Get dressed and leave.”

“You’re no fun~”

“Well you were no fun either.”

She huffed out in annoyance and crashed the bud of cigarette against the night table before hastily dressing herself back and walking away, cursing under her breath.

The main door slammed loudly, and a sigh of relief came out of the man’s mouth. He finished his drink and simply threw the empty bottle on his bed, no care whatsoever. He was embraced by boredom, finding himself with nothing to do as he had thrown his last activity out of his door.

He walked to his living room and fell down on his couch, laying his body across it and staring up at the empty white ceiling.

The warm weather of the season obliged him to open the door of his balcony, as his AC wasn’t working.

He had his eyes closed, breathing in calmly when a little mewl woke him up. The sound persisted until he felt something above his head. He looked up and noticed a cat sniffing his black hair. He chuckled at the interruption and picked up the small feline, bringing it to his chest and gently caressed its back.

He stayed quiet, letting the purr from the cat rumble against his chest; the sound emptied his mind and lulled him slowly back to sleep with the animal resting on him, its eyes closed.

The moment Cheondung closed his eyes, it was as if he was floating in the air. Slowly, his mind drifted into a familiar scene, as the surrounding took over the darkness his eyelids gave him.

He was gently being dragged towards a dark alley where no sound could be heard and where his eyes were wide open to perfectly capture the darkness of that night.

In and out, dreadful headaches were clawing themselves inside his brain, giving him bloodshot eyes as memories were seeping themselves out of him and into the dark scenery in front him.

Dust to dust, the night from eighty-two days ago was forming itself as his eyes took in the remembrance of his older brother’s murder.

From the dead body lying on the ground, he felt something wet covering his arm. Looking down, he saw blood dripping down from his fingers just as he dropped the heart he was holding onto the floor.

He felt a sudden pain bursting inside making him fall on his knees, as he clutched onto his chest. His nose leaked blood, his eyes ached and his head was throbbing.

From the ground, he was suddenly lifted up in the air, his throat suffering under the hands of his dead brother, his piercing brown eyes killing the boy’s subconscious. He was shoved against a brick wall, the hold around his neck getting thicker and deeper, preventing him to breathe in and let the air settle inside his lungs.

He could feel the fingertips dig in further into the skin of his neck, grazing holes into his throat.

Focused on the excruciating pain, the brown eyes were drifting into a dark blue ocean; the hand holding him had black painted nails scraping his neck, leaving fresh red marks to taint his body. He couldn’t recall the gaze in those feminine eyes but he knew he came across them once before.

The thought was soon forgotten the moment a sound resembling the snapping bones was heard, roughly pulling him back awake. He heavily coughed the air back into his lungs, his mind concentrating on getting the chance to breathe again before having to feel the burning sensation coated against his skin.

Once he felt the discomfort, he jumped out from the couch only to stop halfway, as he noticed the cat’s disappearance; fear slowly settled in the pit of his stomach, countless thoughts waltzing inside his mind. He walked to his bathroom and stood in front of the mirror that hung above the sink.

He laid eyes on his reflection and felt his heart beat stop.

Faint red claws were covering his neck.

Fresh red marks dressed his throat.

A simple look and he could feel his pipes close up, a heaviness trapping his limb within the palm of a strong and raging hand. He scratched the itch furiously, trying to get rid of the pain, but only a hiss slipped out of his mouth.

He gave up and decided – through his birthing anger – to pay a little visit to the woman that caused it all.

‘I’ll get her for this. Human or not, I’ll rip her heart out.’

Noises were running around left and right.

The crowd was heavy with the people mingling together and filling up their grocery baskets across the market.

The boy was discreet in his steps, fading within the mob as he gazed intently on the old woman; she was quietly shopping with her white wolf by her side.

She could feel the man’s presence but couldn’t care; he knew why he was here but paid no mind to it.

He stopped in his steps, his eyes landing on the same cat that had intruded in his house earlier today. The feline had smoothly settled on the woman’s shoulders, completely calm while the witch went on with the task at hand, focused on her purchases.

Cheondung started to move again.

He pulled himself away from the walking crowd and went straight towards the witch, standing right behind her.

The cat hissed; the dog snarled.

They could see the aura enveloping the body, darkness oozing from the powerless demon that stood in front of them.

The witch turned around, welcoming the boy with a subtle smile. “I was wondering when you were going to show up.” She placed her hand on top of her wolf, suddenly calming him down along with the cat, as the effect rippled through its bones.

He stepped closer to the lady, leaning his head towards her as his words hissed through his gritted teeth. “What did you do to me?!”

“You have to be more specific, dear.”

“Why did you send that cat? What did you do?”

“I made your subconscious speak.”

“What the hell are you ing talking about?!”

“You have a guilty conscious, it’s that simple.”

“I don’t feel guilty-”

“Of course you do!”

“I don’t!” He was suddenly losing his patience and grabbed onto her wrist, provoking both of her pets. Things were about to escalate when Cheondung was abruptly pushed away with a firm hand digging into his muscled arm.

He looked down and spotted black painted nails gripping his skin.

He followed the trail and found himself drowning into a blue dark ocean.

His heart stopped beating when he finally recognized the face that matched those eyes.

“Yah! What the hell do you think you’re doing attacking an old woman like that?! In public, nonetheless!”

“It’s okay, let him go.”

“What? He was going to hurt you!”

Cheondung pried his arm away from Sora’s grasp, barely conscious of the reality he was in; he felt an itch around his neck and – out of instinct – started to scratch lightly, slowly making the redness turn darker.

“Stop touching your bruise, young man. You will only make it worse.” He tilted his head back to the witch, his eyes shooting anger through their dark color. “It’s that stupid cat that did this to me. You should pay attention to your pets; who knows what might happen to them when you have your back turned away.”

Sora stood in front of the witch, acting as a shield while she was glaring at the boy, showing her anger through the heavy waves from the ocean inside her eyes. “Is that a threat?”

“It’s just a warning.” From one, he shifted his eyes to the witch. “We’re not done. I will get you for this, Armina.”

He turned his back to group and walked away, ignoring the glances strangers were throwing at him.

Once he was far away, Sora turned back trying to make sure that the old lady was alright. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I’m not a frail old woman, dear. I’m barely in my sixties! I can take care of myself~” The smile on Armina’s face created an echo, making its appearance on Sora’s face as she breathed out a chuckle with her lips curling up. “Anyways, How do you know him?”

“I know his father.”

“Friends?”

“Foe. How about you? You seem to know him too. Is he someone important?”

“N-no… He’s nobody.”

“Are you sure? Your eyes say otherwise.”

“I-I am… He’s not important.”

“Good then. Shall we continue our shopping?~”

Night finally dawned over the city.

She was quietly walking down the streets, letting out smoke from her cigarette when she suddenly felt her stomach growl in hunger.

She gave up on her smoke, crushing the bud against the cement with her shoe and started looking around for a place to eat. She eventually came across an outside tent-restaurant and quickly made her way in while looking for an empty seat.

She placed in her order and quietly waited, her gaze fixated on the engagement ring that dressed her finger.

Once her plate and drink filled the small table, she stood silent and started eating, ignoring everything that surrounded her; she was lost into nostalgic thoughts, her mind dragging her back down memory lane.

She was in a deep daze until she was violently pulled back with a familiar pair of dark eyes, shining mischievously.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“Am I not aloud to eat in a public place?”

“Piss off.”

“Don’t need to be so bitter~”

She huffed out and took a sip from her drink, the alcohol sliding down . He watched her carefully, his eyes wandering from the flower pattern hat she was wearing down to the matching shirt; his gaze followed to the leather jacket she was wearing before looking back up at the disheveled hairdo she had and back down to her luscious lips until he looked at her straight into her eyes.

His thoughts were cut short, her voice bringing him out of his reverie.

“What are you doing here anyways? Are you stalking me?” She munched down the food that was left on her plate, barely giving him glances.

“It so happens that I, too, was hungry.”

“Then go get your own table and leave me alone.”

Going back to his laid back and cocky self, he swiftly stole a piece of her food before leaning back against the chair, enjoying the taste it left on his palette.

“Get your own damn food.”

“But it would be so much more fun if we just shared, don’t you think?”

Annoyed that her time alone was falling apart, she pushed her plate away towards him, grabbed the bottle of soju and got up as she made her way to the owner, paying her dues before leaving.

She stepped out, letting the cool air freshly dance around her body. She took one sip of the bottle and started walking back to where she came from, wanting to end her night.

The streets were quiet from voices; only her shoes walking on the gravel were creating the smallest of noises until it came in harmony with the second pair of legs walking right behind her, gentle in his steps.

She stopped and sighed tiredly. She only turned her head over her shoulder, looking back at Cheondung from the corner of her eyes.

“Stop following me. Just leave me alone.”

Thinking that he was going to leave, she went back to her solitary march until his response made her stop.

“I can’t.”

“And why is that?”

He took a moment, leaving the heavy silence hanging in the air surrounding them. “Because I want you.”

“Go want someone else. I told you already that I didn’t want to see you anymore.”

Despite the strong refusal that rolled down her tongue, she could feel her heart beating faster, its strength hitting its cage second after second. It rippled through her veins until it affected her mind, causing a panorama of images to flow breathlessly inside of her.

The overwhelming guilt that clawed at her bones left her to find tears in the corner of her eyes, the waves of ocean finally cracking through.

“It’s you that I want.”

She held in her breath the moment his voice tickled her neck, goose bumps traveling up and down her body.

Weakness was slowly tramping on her guilt; she was going to give in until she felt the cold metal of the ring on her finger from her hand, her nails digging in her palm.

“Go away. Just ing leave!”

She didn’t wait for his answer and was ready to leave when he caught her arm violently. The bottle fell on the floor, the pieces crashing against the cemented sidewalk. “Look at what you did, you idiot!”

She was fighting him off, trying to regain her arm back; she ended up in his arms as he had pulled her against his chest. He caught her lips with his, dismissing her of every thoughts and emotions that were brutally swirling inside her.

The sudden silence within her left her numb.

Though her conscious suffered from the immense guilt, pounding its way out through the broken cage, her subconscious mind was tricking her into becoming weak, making her fall into the arms of the stranger that held her tightly against him.

The taste of her lips grew accustomed on his tongue.

His hands placed on each side of her face, his finger unconsciously caressing her cheek, he deepened the kiss just to have the chance to taste every inch of , wanting to get the sweetness of her flavor stuck on his palette.

Though her arms were limp by the sides of her body, her fingers were lightly trembling. She fell into the flow of the caress even though she tried to pick up the will power to push the man away from her, wanting to erase any trace of his presence across her lips.

All so suddenly, the wind grew in its power.

Sora stopped just as she felt her hat drift away from her hair. She caught onto it, sticking it onto her head while her lungs were giving out heavy breaths. She quietly and slowly wiped with the back of her free hand, her eyes looking back at Cheondung while he was breathing in and out deeply.

Without a word, she turned her back on him and started walking away.

The further the distance was setting them apart, the quieter the breeze was becoming.

It was no coincidence and he knew that.

He started running after her and once he was close enough, he went to stand in front of her, stopping her from walking away again. She saw him approach and quickly put out her left hand right on his chest to prevent him from approaching her any more.

“Stop being so persistent. It’s annoying.”

He stared down at her stretched out arm and noticed the ring that she was wearing. He chuckled, his lips turning up into a smirk just as he lifted his head back up at her.

“Stop being so pathetic. It’s annoying.”

She was already half away into slapping him across the face when his reflexes were quicker; he caught her wrist and held it in his hand with strength, he was causing her pain. She tried to pry him off of her, but once again, he stepped closer to her, bringing her against his chest where their faces were merely inches apart.

“You are such a pitiful woman in love. Get over it. He isn’t coming back.”

His ruthless character caused her to break down. The tears broke free from their blue confines with the tremors carrying down her body.

“Why are you being so cruel? What did I ever do to you?!”

“I’m just trying to make you realize that you are wasting your time. If you are so desperate to get him back, go join him!”

“You are such a monster. No human can ever be that despicable-”

“Who says that I am even human?”

“Get yourself off of me you ing freak and get lost! Go find some other woman to torture and leave me the alone!”

She violently pushed him off and started running away with all the energy and speed that was stored inside her.

The wind dried her falling tears as its wave came clashing against her body.

The gentle storm followed her around, clothing her with warmth despite his exterior being cold to a stranger’s eyes.

Once she deemed herself far enough, she fell down and let the ground receive her tears; piece by piece they came crashing down the same way her heart was collapsing with every single fragment of its wholeness and turned it into dust.

She could feel heat radiating from the disguised embrace that comfortably settled on her back, nursing her ever so gently.

It’s all she ever wanted, to feel his presence, and yet there was emptiness that filled up the hollow cracks within her soul.

‘If you are so desperate to get him back, go join him!’

“Seungho, please wait for me.”