“Do I look like a good person?” Yeosasng asked nonchalantly, his voice alluringly cool as he sauntered around the room, staring blankly at the glass of deep red wine he twirled in his hand. You gulped, wanting so desperately to turn to see him when he was behind you, the thrill of being so vulnerable before him almost breathtaking. This was a dangerous situation considering you knew—had heard—what he had done, but you were so drawn to him, the him that only you knew. The media, people at school, he had painted himself a monster, but you kinew better than that. He had not abandoned you when your mother, father, God had. He had fought for you, binding you to a reality that you thought could only be menacing. He had smiled for you when you couldn’t smile for yourself. He had shone for you in the darkness. He bent down and s his arm across your chest, breathing seductively on your neck. You shivered, fighting back the fantasies that had played in your head all too often. He was trying to scare you, trying to get you to leave him alone so that he could heal. You wouldn’t let him continue the façade. This was not the real Yeosang. This was in line what everyone wanted you to think he was—manipulative, seductive, dangerous but even here, in this moment, you knew he was none of these things. He was hurting. He was lost. He needed help. You pouted and placed your hand intrepidly over his and intertwined your fingers, fighting back an involuntary whimper. He raised an eyebrow.

            “You just won’t leave well enough alone, now will you?” he sighed, making you quake at the sudden gruffness in his voice. “You know, I’m quite disappointed in you.” You frowned and squeezed his hand tighter. He couldn’t deter you so easily. You had to repay him.

            “No,” you finally answered, leaning your head against his.

            “Then why are you still here? You had the chance to leave long ago. You know, you didn’t even have to approach me. It could have just been a typical student teacher relationship, you know,” he pointed out, not bothering to move his hand or his head. He couldn’t admit it to himself, but he craved this comfort as he had starved himself of it for so long. You were not afraid of him and now, he didn’t know what to do, what he could do. His tricks weren’t working and you were determined for him to start unlearning all of his toxic behavior, for him to be there for himself as he had been for you. Whether you would leave this house in a body bag or in his heart did not matter to you. You simply wanted him to change and to see the good that was in him, regardless of what he saw in the mirror every morning.

            “I said you don’t look like a good person. I didn’t say that you weren’t,” you corrected him. He pulled back and freed his hand from yours.

            “But, you know what I’ve done. How can you be so calm about it, especially since you’re so weak, so vulnerable?” he pointed out, sauntering back in front of you to squat between your legs. He rested his elbows on your thighs and looked up you, head in his hands. His eyes sparkled and the slight smile he flashed was coy. If you weren’t going to give up so easily, he could at least enjoy the game.

            “And now it’s your turn,” you demanded. His eyes widened and he pouted.

            “Oh, so what do you want me to do, then?” he teased, chuckling to himself as he watched you try not to squirm. “I know you’ve thought about it, but I could have never guessed you would be the one to fight for the dominant position,” he smirked, darting his tongue across his lips. “Careful, you’re turning red and we haven’t even started,” he cooed, running a single finger down your chest only to halt at the waistline of your jeans.

            “This-this-“ you stammered, trying to ease your scrambled mind.

            “Just let it out, darling. You already know I’m a bad man, so it should come as no surprise that I won’t tell anyone about this,” he whispered, anticipating your breakdown. While a part of him wanted affection, wanted the peace of mind that only you could find in him, the other part, the character that he assumed for the last few months was so desperate to shine once more. All he needed was for you to say it, to awaken it.

            “This isn’t about , Yeosang!” you screamed, dropping the formalities and swatting him away from you. He scrambled back and plopped on the floor as you jumped to your feet and glared down at him. He whimpered, confused and startled. “This isn’t about , Yeosang. This is about the help that you need and goddamit, whatever you decide to do with me here today, I don’t care. I just want to help you, Yeosang, the same way that you’ve helped me. I am so sick of this persona that you’ve adopted because at the end of the day, both you and I know that you’re not this kind of person. You never were and never will be, so just drop it!” you seethed, now annoyed and insulted that he thought he could carry on like this for this long. You were smarter than that and he should have known.

            “You don’t know the kind of person I am,” he grumbled woefully, averting his gaze. He was losing. “You only know what you see on the outside and what you see is a murderer, a monster, a creature who isn’t even fit to be called a man, a human being because he killed what was closest to him,” he muttered, burying his face in his hand.

            “No, what I see is someone who is scared, someone who has lost their way because they’ve convinced themselves to be something they aren’t. Whether you did kill your wife or not is none of my business. The Yeosang I know—and see—is someone who can be saved like he saved me, the shy kid without a home. I know you, Yeosang. You’re on the outside for a reason and you just need help,” you assured him, stooping down to run your fingers through his hair. “There is nothing you can do to seduce me, to trick me, to lie to me that will make me forget the kind of person you are. There is still so much to you than meets the eye and if you are willing, I am here to help you get in touch with all that. I just want to repay you in any way I can,” ou urged.

            “Why are you like this? You should be afraid of me,” he yelped, finally looking up at you.

            “The only one who is afraid here is you. You’re afraid to be there for yourself, to help yourself. You think it would be easier for you to be the bad guy than to be misunderstood. You think it would be easier for you to go down in infamy than for your thoughts, feelings, and fears to go down in any journal or psychologist’ log. But you can’t lie to me. I know you want to change and grow. You wouldn’t have fought for your case if you didn’t. You wouldn’t have lived if you didn’t.”

            “Alright, then. I’ll tell you first. I’ll go over everything and if you still think you can help me by the end of it, then so be it. I’ll give you the whole story, the story of me and her, the story of me and a beautifully desperate man named Seongwha, and the story of us. If you think this will help me, I’ll do it. just—I just don’t want to hurt anymore.”

            “It will hurt, but you have help this time. You have me,” you smiled brightly, handing him your hand and leading him to the couch. Here you were, escorting a grown man, someone who had once taught you history every other day at 2:00 p.m. in the most humdrum high school, to his own couch. You were not helping a murderer, but a man, a very frightened, confused man come to terms with himself. You were helping someone with a heart and a brilliant mind for helping those in the dark. You weren’t scared and thanks to him, you were no longer hurting. Now, it was your turn to do the same as he had for you. It was your turn to listen, to comfort, and to love.

            “Just one promise?” he beseeched.

            “Yes, anything.”

            “I tell it my way, Jongho.”

A/N: I know this is a suuuper short chapter (especially if you are used to my other stories) but this is more so of a sneak peek of a first chapter. Like I said in the foreword, this was kind of an accident and since the other stories that precede this in this universe aren't done, I can't put too~ much on display just yet. However, hang in there and as I has this out the entire universe a bit more, I can work on this one as well. In the meantime, catch up with the universe by reading the other entries and I'll get back to this soon. Thank you!!