CHAPTER tHree “his  story”

[1906]

Nam Woohyun was a gentleman. He owned a large, successful company and was filthy rich. He was presentable, with his specially tailored clothes. Most of all, he was handsome. He charmed both ladies and men with his breathtaking smile and husky chuckle. He was the envy of many. But there was one thing about Nam Woohyun. One blemish in the pure white canvas that was his life. He was cocky, arrogant, and most importantly, greedy. Ladies wanted to be with him. Men wanted to be him. He was perfect on the outside.

But he was rotten to the core. Inside of that perfect exterior, Nam Woohyun looked down on the poor. He despised the ugly, insulted those that weren’t as good looking as him. He didn’t associate with anyone outside of his social circle, fearing that his standard of living would be lowered with these people he deemed “unfit” to talk, or even walk alongside him. Inside, Nam Woohyun was just a spoilt boy, banging on the closet door, wanting to be let out.

Nam Woohyun didn’t know about love. As a child, his parents often left him in the charge of his caretaker to manage the company. He hadn’t experienced love as a child. He thought he never would. He thought he didn’t need love. Love, to him, was simply a burden. Something which he didn’t need.

In the middle of his successful career, Nam Woohyun caught wind of a ‘witch’ in the town. One of his associates had been talking about the witch over dinner. She had hair as dark as night, large piercing eyes and an aquiline nose. She was beautiful- and deadly. Nam Woohyun, not knowing anything about this witch, made fun of her together with his partners. He was a shallow man. He didn’t know his fate.

The first time Nam Woohyun met the witch, he was walking through the town’s centre with his usual bunch of associates. They were associates, merely people he could stand to gain an advantage from. He didn’t consider them friends. He considered no one his friend. He saw her from afar, her raven cloak billowing out from behind her. Her face was shadowed by the hood, but her scars were obvious. The silver lines glistened on her skin, each one told a different story. Nam Woohyun felt repulsed by this woman. Or witch, whatever she was. He thought she brought down the entire town’s atmosphere. He decided to give her a piece of his mind. He stepped onto the podium in the centre of the town, instantly gaining everyone’s attention. He stood up proud.

“Well, look what we have here,” He sneered. “A witch.”

His tone was venomous. And he hadn’t even met her yet.

The witch stopped in her tracks, her cloak stopped billowing. She slowly turned to face the crowd. Her scars were more obvious now, they spanned her entire face, across her cheek. Over her nose. Woohyun couldn’t resist a scoff. How could such an existence be allowed in the world? She was a blemish. A blemish that needed to be erased.

“What makes you think that you, a witch, a disgusting witch, can be allowed in our town? You’re a vermin, a blemish. You aren’t needed, are you not?” A scowl was etched on Woohyun’s handsome face. His mouth was turned downwards, clearly displeased.

The crowd laughed, agreeing with the arrogant tycoon.

The witch’s face was impassive, a blank canvas. She showed no signs of reaction from the man’s cruel words. She opened , but only uttered a few words. Woohyun didn’t know what those words had meant at that time, but that wouldn’t stay the same way for long.

“You’ll regret it Nam Woohyun, you will.”

That night, Nam Woohyun woke up to the windows of his bedroom open, the curtains billowing. He rubbed his eyes, his line of sight no focusing yet. There, a silhouetted figure stood. Her silver scars glistened.

Woohyun bolted upright, he tried shouting, but something told him not to. There was something about the witch’s piercing gaze, her challenging eyes.

And Nam Woohyun was never challenged.

“What do you want? And how did you get here?” Woohyun tried to hide the fear in his voice. Of course, he would be scared. This woman was a witch. But he failed. The witch heard the fear in his voice. He was scared. Scared of losing his life, his fortune, everything he had.

“You’re scared.” She said simply.

“What do you want?” Woohyun repeated, his voice firmer this time.

“What I want?” The witch laughed. It was a sharp sound. There was no humour in it. “I don’t want anything. I don’t want anything except to put you in your place.”

Woohyun was dumbfounded. Put him in his place? He hadn’t done anything wrong. At that time, Woohyun still hadn’t realised his mistake.

“Why? I haven’t done anything wrong, have i? What makes you think you have the right to do what you want with me? What did you say- Put me in my place? Don’t make me laugh.” At that time, Nam Woohyun was naïve. He still hadn’t realised his wrongdoings.

The witch merely  smiled. “Nam Woohyun. Your words have hurt many. You’ve hurt many with your actions. Nothing can compare to what you’ve done in a span of a few years. People have cried. People have been jobless. That’s all the result of your selfishness. Your ignorance. You shall watch those close to you die. You shall see people have children. You’ll see those children grow up and have children of their own. You’ll see them pass on. It’s an endless process. You’ll watch everything from the page of a book. You’ll watch the world turn. You’ll watch for as long as it takes before you realise your mistake. Before you know the meaning of love.”

Woohyun was speechless. Was he to be cursed to live in a book forever? Till he realised the meaning of this thing. This- Love? Woohyun felt his world grow dark. He felt himself fading. The last thing he remembered was the witch’s stoic face.

And that was when he was trapped in the book. A punishment longer than eternity. One that gave him all the time to reflect. To realise what he had done wrong. But never knew one thing.

Love.

[Present]

Sunggyu didn’t know when he had started to cry. He didn’t know Woohyun’s story would be that sad. He’d lived for years. Silent tears rolled down his cheeks, creating wet trails over his contours.

“Hey, don’t cry.” Woohyun said. Sunggyu looked up. He hadn’t realised that he had been staring at his fingers throughout the story. How was he supposed to look at Woohyun now? He had been through so much.

Woohyun had a soft expression on his face. “Don’t cry for me, Sunggyu.”

That only caused Sunggyu to let out a choked sob. He didn’t know why he was crying so much, but when he had heard Woohyun’s story, it was just like someone has wrenched his heart out of his body and wrung it out. It hurt. Bad.

“Is there some way that we can use to get you out of the book?” Sunggyu asked when the sobs had died down.

Woohyun shook his head. “Till this day, I still haven’t figured it out.”

Sunggyu wanted to know more about this mysterious man, but his body betrayed him. Sunggyu let out a soft yawn.

Woohyun chuckled. “Go to bed Sunggyu.”

Sunggyu shook his head. “No.” He said stubbornly.

“You’re tired.” Woohyun said.

Sunggyu picked up the book and walked towards the master bedroom, the book still opened to Woohyun’s page.

“Let’s talk here.”

Woohyun laughed. It was a musical sound, the best sound Sunggyu has ever heard. “Just go to sleep Sunggyu.”

Sunggyu was going to open his mouth to protest, but Woohyun cut him off.

“I’ll be here in the morning.” He smiled, his eyes crinkling to form crescents.

“Promise?” Sunggyu asked. He wanted to know Woohyun more. He wanted to know everything about the auburn-haired man.

Woohyun nodded, and at that moment, the paper unravelled and began to twist. It was a magical process, something only in fairytales. It formed a white peony, its flower just peeking out of the book on Woohyun’s page. It was like a bookmark of sorts.

It was beautiful.

“How did you know…?” The white peony was Sunggyu’s favourite flower.

Woohyun just gave him a breathtaking smile.

And with that, Sunggyu fell into a deep slumber, his dreams about a certain man in a book.

author's note

hello my wonderful readers! how did you like the chapter? i tried to make it as long as possible ; u ; i hoped you enjoyed it! and i apologise for making you wait so long, i hope you don't mind ;__; anyway remember to UPVOTE and COMMENT! This is a white peony:

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