WhIP

by footfungus

nederlands verhalen over mijn otp

245. Chapter 245

Every Timeline, Every Universe

angelic_stars

Summary:

In hopes of returning to the past to save Sohnjaeh, em sohl ends up in a timeline where Sohnjaeh seems to be a CEO and completely different from who he is.

OR: em sohl ends up meeting Riu Sheoh

Notes:

This was inspired by the countless Sohnjaeh/Sheoh edits and tumblr posts wondering how a meeting between sohl and Sheoh would go.
I wrote this with alternate universes in mind (since time slips are kind of that concept) and that this time sohl ended up in an alternate universe where Sohnjaeh lived as Riu Sheoh and that even in this universe, sohl was destined to meet him.
In the Lovely Runner universe, it's set after Sohnjaeh got stabbed in the present and with Sheoh... well it plays completely outside the Strong Woman universe because I'm still bitter about how they treated his character so I just took all information about him and left out anything else canon :D

Anyways, I'm not sure if it's good but I hope you like it!

(See the end of the work formore notes.)

Chapter 1

Chapter Text

The distinctive hospital smell lingered through the corridors as sohl watched Sohnjaeh's lifeless body on the hospital bed. The scent made her feel nauseous, bringing back memories she desperately tried to forget but she knew it would always remind her of a time when she lost a part of herself. It was home to her worst memories. She still felt the pain in her chest as she recalled the moment she decided to end her life, how devastated she was when she lost her ability to walk and how she let that frustration out on Sohnjaeh.

Sohnjaeh, who had risked his life to save her,

Sohnjaeh, who had helped her stay alive,

Sohnjaeh, who lay unconscious in front of her.

Just a few hours ago, he stood before her. Lips sohl didn't know she was longing for, on her own, officiating the start of their relationship, but now, he was paying the price for it. It had been her fault, sohl thought, her tears slowly rolling down her cheeks. If it hadn't been for her, Kim Young-soo wouldn't have gotten obsessed with Sohnjaeh and targeted him. Sohnjaeh wouldn't have risked his life because of her. It should've been her; she was the one who Young-soo wanted, so she had to make sure she was the one he got. She had to go back in time again and change the future; She had to save Sohnjaeh.

She looked at the black wristwatch that accompanied her through time and space and waited for the clock to strike midnight. As she wiped away a tear, she gave Sohnjaeh of the present a final goodbye and finally pushed the button.

–

Expecting to resurface in early 2009, sohl was more than surprised when the people around her were all walking in fashionable clothes and the latest smartphones in their hands—both very uncommon for the year 2009. She quickly looked through her pockets to find her phone but when she did, she wished she had stayed unaware about the date. A feeling of panic rushed through her body; her palms sweating as she shivered from anxiety and with each, deteriorating, breath, her heart beat faster. What had gone wrong? Why wasn't she in the past? Why of all days, was she sent back to the day Sohnjaeh was attacked?

She looked for his number on her phone, yet his name didn't show up and she cursed herself for not memorizing it, although, if she remembered correctly, at this time they'd already exchanged numbers. In the previous timeline, she had been at work fighting the urge to call him, but now, she was in the middle of Seoul instead with no new numbers nor conversations to be seen. The only logical thing left for her to do was to look him up and figure out where he might be so she could find him but when she typed inRiu Sohnjaeh, nothing showed up. No news articles, no album or movie covers, and not even a Wikipedia page. It was as if he didn't even exist.

"No, please..." sohl felt the heavy feeling in her chest weighing her down to her knees, clutching onto her shirt as she tried to stabilize her breathing but she couldn't stop the tears. Was he not an idol in this timeline? Had he gotten into a scandal and they removed everything about him? Or had everyone just decided to erase any memory about him?

"Why isn't anything showing up, why, why why?!" She yelled in agony, not caring about the judging looks she got from passersby; She could only think of Sohnjaeh. And the pain in her chest grew stronger the more she did. She had lost him just when they got together, she didn't even have the chance to process his first death. sohl wouldn't be able to withstand another loss, not again. She desperately wished to have not failed, praying that she still had a chance.

"Yes, I'm honoured that our company has made it to the KOSDAQ listing. It's a great accomplishment, but this is only the beginning for Doogo." sohl suddenly heard a familiar voice echo in the streets. "We will work even harder and achieve more."

When she looked up, she saw Sohnjaeh's smile on a big screen. Her legs were still trembling when she tried to stand back on her feet with the weight on her chest slowly disappearing but she couldn't stop herself from crying.

"Sohnjaeh...Sohnjaeh-ya, I found you!" She whispered with a note of relief, but as glad as she was, he was still in danger. She took her phone and looked up Doogo, no matter how confused she was about what it was and how Sohnjaeh was the CEO of it. All she hoped for was that the address she found would take her to him.

–

After what felt like an eternity of trying to find the headquarters, she was finally in front of a tall building guarded by security. Before entering, she made sure she looked presentable, and not a complete mess from her both emotional and literal journey. Taking a deep breath, she slowly walked towards the entry and bowed slightly to the guards, hoping that she didn't look suspicious, though it felt as if they didn't acknowledge her as a stranger. Judging by their looks, even the people at the reception seemed to be familiar with her.

"Good morning, how can I help you?" The receptionist asked.

"I'd like to speak with Riu Sun–"She stopped herself, realizing that no one here would call him by his actual name– "I'd like to speak with the CEO." She corrected herself and smiled, fully aware she was deluding herself into thinking this was all it took to meet any CEO ever.

The receptionist must've thought she was joking because after hearing her request, she let out a chuckle and looked at her with an apologetic, yet amused expression on her face.

"I'm sorry, but you must know that the CEO doesn't meet anyone without an appointment." She explained and waited before she added:

"I don't think they'll accept the offer, it's no use to keep coming here, PD-nim."

Offer? PD-nim?

Was she a PD in this timeline as well? Just what had changed then, when everything else remained unaffected? Figuring out how she lived in each timeline had been frustrating, but this one was the most annoying so far; everything felt the same, yet so different.

"I understand, but it's really important. I have to speak with him!" She urged, not willing to give in to defeat. She saw the receptionist exchange looks with her co-worker and smiled at her forcefully.

"I'll see what we can do. Meanwhile, please wait in the lobby." She ended up saying, but sohl knew in reality, this was code for "We won't do anything and make you leave on your own."

But she was determined; it didn't matter how long she would have to wait, sooner or later Sohnjaeh had to walk past here, shewasgoing to see him.

And it didn't take long, just after half an hour, everyone in the lobby had turned into a flustered mess, bowing and greeting someone who had entered the building, someone em sohl didn't have to look twice to see who it was.

"Sohnjaeh-ya…" She breathed in disbelief, taken aback by how he felt like a stranger despite looking the same. He was wearing a suit, hair slicked back and eyes glued onto the tablet in his hand, not acknowledging the people around him. But he was finally here, she had finally found him, and before she knew it, her legs were running towards him.

"Sohnjaeh-ya!" sohl yelled, in hopes he would notice her, but instead, security came and guarded him as if she was a threat.

"Sohnjaeh-ya, look at me! It's me, em Sol!" She desperately cried out, yet the men between them didn't allow her to get closer to him, holding her back as he continued to walk away. There had to be something she could do for them to let her go, for him to see her and stop them, she thought.

"The CEO is in danger, Ihaveto talk to him! Please, let me talk to him!" She shouted out and achieved what she wanted; Sohnjaeh stopped in his tracks and turned to the two men next to him, said something to the one with glasses and returned to his course, without giving her as much as a glance.

However, sohl still counted herself as lucky; Instead of getting thrown out of the building and receiving a restraining order, she was brought into a room to get interrogated by the man in glasses.

"How many times do I have to tell you, your CEO is in danger, I'm not supposed to behere, I'm supposed to bewith him!" She pleaded again and was slowly growing tired of the guy sitting in front of her.

"How can we be sure you're not the danger?" He replied in return, which, to be fair, wasn't wrong for him to assume. It wasn't the first time she was thought to be a stalker, but if he really thought so, he wouldn't have told the security to leave.

"Im Sol-ssi, be frank with me, is this because of the contract?"

Contract?

"I understand your company is desperate for the partnership, but this is a very cheap tactic to use, even for you."

Sol felt suffocated by the frustration of not remembering her life in this timeline, but for a moment it was overthrown by the feeling of disappointment; the partnership between the companies had meant that they had seen each other before, so why was Sohnjaeh giving her the cold shoulder? Could it be that in this universe, Sohnjaeh grew resentful towards her after her rejection?

"It has nothing to do with that. Please, just…let me talk to him, let me talk to Sohnjaeh." She sighed, fidgeting with her fingers as she dreaded the reason behind Sohnjaeh's indifference towards her.

"You don't even know his name and you think I'll let you see him?" He exclaimed and took out a phone from his inner pocket.

"I'll make sure Doogo never cooperates with your company again." He said and stood up from his seat, walking to the other end of the room.

As confused as she was with his remark, she saw this as an opportunity to sneak away to find Sohnjaeh. Slowly tiptoeing her way to the door, she opened it gently so it didn't make any sound. When she got out, she made sure to be completely quiet until she heard a loud "YA!" coming from the room she had just left and sprinted toward the elevator. Though he hadn't caught up to her until after she was in the elevator, she was now left to figure out which floor Sohnjaeh might be.

"CEOs are usually at the top, aren't they?" She spoke to herself and pushed the button with the highest number, hoping that she was right.

When she arrived at the floor, she carefully looked for the word 'CEO' while passing the offices though when she finally found the sign, she was puzzled by the name written next to it.

"Riu Sheoh? Do they have two CEOs?"

Sol made her way towards the door and opened it just enough to peek into the room without entering it, but when she saw him standing in front of his desk, she was certain it was him and walked in without hesitating.

"Sohnjaeh-ya…" her voice was barely above a whisper but loud enough for him to hear and turn around, finally acknowledging her presence.

Suddenly, the image of him lying unconscious flashed before her eyes and she felt her lips quiver with tears warning to come out.

"Looks like I have to hire new security, they just let in any lunatic storm into my off–"

Sol's sudden embrace stopped Sheoh mid-sentence and took him off guard as she wrapped her arms around him.

"What a relief." She breathed out, as if she had been holding her breath all along, unaware of how startled the man she held was. He put his hands on her shoulder and tried to push away but she was clutching onto him tightly; she couldn't let go yet. She had to be convinced that this was not an illusion.

Although her hands were still behind his back, he eventually loosened her grip and placed her in front of him to face her properly. When she lifted her head, he saw her damp face and reddened, teary eyes, that widened as her gaze shifted to his neck.

"What is this?! Sohnjaeh-ya, did you get hurt, did someone hurt you?" She put her hands around his neck and tilted his head to examine him. He watched her shaking fingertips carefully trace the pulsating veins on his neck, her brows furrowed as if she was the one in pain.

Normally, Sheoh wouldn't have hesitated to push her away and put her in her place, yet he seemed paralysed by their unexpected intimacy.

"It must hurt so much…"

The concern in her voice bothered him. They barely knew each other so why was this stranger worried about him? It annoyed him. It was agitating how nervous her touch made him, striking an emotion he hadn't felt in a long time, if ever. As much as he didn't like the power she had over him at the moment, he couldn't bring himself to stop her. He followed her distressed eyes until they acknowledged him observing her. Sheoh was used to the fear that followed upon meeting his eyes, after all, he had a widely spread intimidating reputation but whenshelooked at him, he felt warmth and affection. She wasn't scared or alarmed by him, even with the black veins along his body.

"Don't worry, Sohnjaeh-ya. I'm here now." sohl told him, her thumb softly caressing his neck. "You don't have to hurt anymore. We'll figure it out."

She didn't know what the Sohnjaeh of this timeline had been through but it appeared life hadn't been easy on him. It was as if he was a stranger to touch, his gaze cold with disregard toward any form of care. But sohl couldn't let that stop her; she was tired of holding in her feelings so she had to show him her heart whenever she got the chance. First, she needed to find him help and grabbed his hand to bring him out of the room, but she was only pulled back into his arms.

"You…" He started, grabbing her hands and slowly letting them down.

"Just who are you?"

The heavy feeling in Sol's chest suddenly found its way back, accompanied by the fear that their relationship in this timeline was rather strained.

"It-It's me, em Sol. Don't...Don't you remember me?"

Maybe hehadstarted to hate her after she rejected him. But she wouldn't blame him. In fact, it would've been better for him not to get involved with her. All she needed was for him to be safe, that's all she was asking for.

"Im Sol…" He started walking towards his desk, repeating her name over and over, making it impossible for her not to notice the lack of affection in his tone.

"Ah! The PD?"

He suddenly turned around and sat against the table, his eyebrow slightly raised and an insincere smile on his face.

"I didn't think that company would go so low for a mere contract." He let out a chuckle in an attempt to hide his bitterness. Almost falling for her ploy made him feel pathetic.

"Why does everyone think I'm here because of a contract?! Sohnjaeh-ya, do you really not recognize me?!" She hoped that some of their memories had been rekindled by now, however, he seemed clueless about her. Either that, or he was playing out the worst joke on her.

"Sorry but, who is this Sohnjaeh? You keep screaming for a Sohnjaeh, maybe he's the one you should seek out," he asked her, an arrogant smirk on his lips. He couldn't figure out her motive; he only knew her as a pd yet she didn't seem to have approached him because of work. Whatever it was, she provoked his curiosity with each passing moment.

Sol, on the other hand, was slowly growing impatient with him. Sohnjaeh was right in front of her yet he was someone entirely different. His arrogance, his lack of manners- had he always been like this? There was no way sohl just ignored that out of love.

"It's you! You're Sunj—"She let out a sigh of irritation before the man in front of her interrupted her—

"Sheoh. My name is Riu Sheoh," he said indifferently, not even looking at her, which irritated her to the point where she suddenly started laughing.

"Ya!" she exclaimed out of nowhere and started striding in his direction, not knowing only a few dared to call him out like this, which made her even more intriguing.

"So what? You're saying you're not Sohnjaeh? Your face and voice are the exact same; what are you then, his clone? Does that make sen—"

"Also," he stopped her again, disregarding her outburst, and agitated her even further. "you keep talking informally to me; Am I your friend or something?"

She pressed her eyes together one step away from him and exhaled sharply. Even the teenage version of him hadn't annoyed her this much; not that he would remember.

"There's no need for formalities between us, right?"

She said through her teeth and forced a smile. If he really didn't know her, she was indeed being impolite but she didn't want to believe that he genuinely didn't remember her. Even if he despised her, she wanted him to remember at least their happy memories.

At the same time, Sheoh felt amused at her display of frustration, and leaned into her, hardly leaving any space between them.

"Between us?" he asked, his face only a breath away.

"And what exactly is there,between us?"

Sol's sudden burst of temper had vanished the same way it'd appeared, and she was left to deal with the lack of distance between them. Naturally, having his lips in immediate proximity, Sol's mind was brought back to their first kiss. The excitement had been taken away from her so quickly that she didn't have the chance to think about it properly. Her arms around Sohnjaeh's neck, his hands on her waist, getting pulled into the other's warmth with their lips pressed against each other. Short breaths and forehead touches as he led her against the wall—

She felt her face heat up and pressed her lips together, biting them to fight against the urge to kiss him, unaware of the mischievous grin before her.

"This Sohnjaeh must be lucky."

He whispered, watching her rosy cheeks get even more flushed, and straightened his posture.

"Still, you have the wrong guy."

Just when he was about to walk away, sohl grabbed his hand once again and held it firmly, taking a deep breath as she closed her eyes. Although she remained clueless about the mess she had been pulled into, she knew there was a reason she'd arrived in this timeline. There was a reason for meeting this version of him and if he claimed he didn't remember her, or that he wasn't Sohnjaeh, she'd have to accept that as well.

"Listen, I only have one favour to ask."

Nevertheless, she had to ensure he didn't face the fate that was destined for her, she couldn't lose him again.

"Please let me stay by your side. Just for one day."She opened her eyes and pleaded.

"And why is that?" Sheoh still couldn't figure her out; what was it that she so desperately wanted to achieve?

"So I can protect you."

Sheoh stood silently, watching her with awe as he didn't expect this outcome. It was a first; to have someone who cared about him with such sincerity, who worried about him and put him first.

It scared him.

Because he wanted to believe her; the stranger who barged into his life and turned it upside down within minutes.

"Whether you're Sohnjaeh or Sheoh—I don't care. It doesn't matter what your name is, or where you are, or who you're with—"She held his hand even tighter and looked him straight in the eyes—

"I will be there to keep you safe. I won't let you be alone."

Sheoh inhaled deeply; these were the words he had longed for his entire life, yet upon hearing them, it felt too good to be true, especially coming from someone he barely knew.

However, one thing was certain.

"You…"

Im sohl had changed his life for good.

"are truly something."

Chapter 2

Notes:

I didn't expect so many to like the story this much so I wanted to thank all the kind comments by writing a second chapter. I feel like this one is even messier than the previous but I still hope you like it 33
I personally will now watch episode 15 and hope it doesn't make me bawl.

(See the end of the chapter formore notes.)

Chapter Text

Im sohl wasn't a stranger to Riu Sohnjaeh's charms; when he was an idol, he knew exactly what made his fans swoon and stole everyone's heart with a single look. Even in high school, it hadn't taken long for her to fall in love with him; he was a sweet, caring boy who made her heart flutter with just a simple smile.

Sheoh, on the other hand, didn't smile. And if he did, it wasn't sincere. At least that's what sohl thought when he stood one step away from her, an intrigued smirk on his face. She was still holding his hand, waiting for a response but before he could answer, the room was barged into by the earlier man in glasses and security guards.

"I'm truly sorry for the inconvenience, we shouldn't have let her in here. Get her!" the man in the glasses ordered the guards, making sohl hide behind Sheoh and hold onto his arm.

"No, it's okay." Sheoh glanced over to her and gestured for the men to stop. "She's staying with me."

Sol's eyes widened when she finally heard his answer, much like the man in front of them, who looked at his superior in disbelief.

"Sir, are you sure?" he asked, with sohl taking offence as he glared at her with suspicion.

Sheoh exchanged looks with his assistant and ensured he didn't have to repeat himself, making the man bow hesitantly and leave the room.

"Ha! Coming after me with four guards! As if I'm a threat!" sohl exclaimed when the doors closed and she let go of Sheoh.

"If only I could—"she punched the air with frustration.

"Do you want to? I can bring him back."

The man next to her suggested indifferently, and although sohl wasn't quite fond of the guy in glasses, she quickly declined his offer.

"But do you mean it? Can I stay?"

Sheoh knew that letting a stranger get this close to him was too dangerous of a choice but his curiosity was speaking louder than his voice of reason; he was interested to see the sincerity of her intentions.

"Have you eaten?" he asked instead, answering her question with another.

Sol shook her head with a grin on her face, making him feel uneasy. There weren't many who smiled at him, and when they did, they weren't real. All his life, people only smiled if they either took something from him or wanted something from him; he never knew what a sincere smile was. Until now. The unfamiliar expression was filled with such affection and sincerity, that he feared the wall he built to protect himself was slowly crumbling. How did she turn him into an emotional mess with just one look?

He quickly averted his eyes and walked towards the door,

"Wait for me at the lobby then," he said as he grabbed for the handle.

"Where are you going?" sohl asked after following and stopping him from leaving.

She was not willing to let him out of her sight for even a minute, it was too dangerous for him to be by himself.

"Let me come with you, it might not be safe, someone might hurt you—"she tried to explain but he was not interested in her reasoning.

"There are many people who want to see me dead, but I have yet to see someone going through with it."

"What?!"

Sol was astonished by how nonchalant he was, yet incredibly conflicted with his lack of concern. It bothered her that he didn't value his life as much.

"More the reason for me to join."

She opened the door, ready to leave with him but was held back by a hand on her wrist.

"I have enough guards who could protect me better," his voice grew quieter as his eyes inspected the one-foot smaller, petite woman in front of him,

"than you, em Sol-ssi."

Too occupied with being offended, he had already left by the time em sohl regained consciousness.

"mannerless jerk."

She whispered to herself, suddenly missing the shy Sohnjaeh who barely spoke back to her, yet this one always had to have the last word.

But as she made her way out of the building, she had a guilty feeling weighing on her chest. Who knew what'd made him become this way, she thought. It was clear that Riu Sheoh had lived a different life than Riu Sohnjaeh, but as unlike they were from each other, she could still feel a part of Sohnjaeh in Sheoh. When she'd told him she wanted to protect him, his eyes had reminded her of Sohnjaeh's after she finally had confessed her feelings. It felt as if he thought it too absurd, impossible even, yet glad and maybe even excited. His character was too much of a contradiction that she struggled to figure him out. However, she hoped they would have sufficient time for her to do so.

After waiting for twenty minutes, and telling her boss she was sick with the flu to stay with Sun— with Sheoh the entire day, he finally came out to the lobby and gestured for her to follow him as he headed to the exit. The winter cold carried with the strong wind and sohl hid into her scarf as she hurried into the car waiting for them. She quickly opened the door to the passenger's seat and waited for Sheoh to get the keys from the valet. Despite having entered the car, sohl was still feeling the cold breeze and reached for the AC, her hand accidentally brushing against Sheoh's as he did the same. It was then that she noticed he wasn't wearing anything but his suit; no coat, no scarf whatsoever.

"Ya! Aren't you old? Look at your hands, they must be frozen!"

Sol instinctively took his right hand and cupped his rosy fingers with her palm, only for him to pull his hand back, visibly alarmed by the sudden touch.

"I grew up with extreme colds, it isn't as bad as it looks."

He said as he turned away and started the engine, his eyes fixed on the road. sohl nodded and shifted her attention to the road as well, fighting the urge to look at him. She wanted to hold his hand, interlock their fingers and kiss his flushed knuckles, but in this life, they were as good as strangers, nothing more nothing less. She tried to ignore the pain in her chest but it only grew stronger as she remembered their once shared memories. If sohl had known she would be the only one who remembered them, would she have taken the same decision?

Although it took much effort her, eyes ended up on him anyway and a small smile formed on her face, knowing that even if she failed again, she would still choose to save Sohnjaeh.

–

Sheoh had brought her to the restaurant inside a tall hotel building, with windows overlooking the entire city. As someone who was destined to be middle class in all timelines, she couldn't help but wonder if he earned more money as an idol or CEO, though seeing how the restaurant had gold-plated silver cutlery, it was clear who held more money between them.

"Isn't this place a bit too expensive"

Sol whispered behind the menu after they sat in a private lounge, a smug smile greeting her when she looked up from it.

"Don't worry, it's on me."

It was sly remarks like these which reminded her that it was indeed someone other than Sohnjaeh sitting in front of her, but somehow it felt she was just seeing a different side of him, maybe the one who didn't like her.

After the waiter took their orders, sohl caught Sheoh staring at her with canny eyes.

"What?" she asked.

"I'm waiting for you to start explaining."

"Explain what?"

"In how far I'm in danger."

She couldn't tell him what would happen in the near future but she at least had to make him believe her or at least allow her to stay with him. That way, if Young-soo attacked him, sohl could stop him and accept the fate that was meant for her.

"I can't tell you, but something terrible might happen, so I just need you to trust me."

Sheoh let out a chuckle upon hearing the word trust. He had stopped trusting people a long time ago, yet she was asking him for the one thing he had vowed to never do again.

"Trust you? How are you so sure it will happen, are you psychic?"

"In a way?"

"Then let's hear it."

Sol let out a sigh and pressed her eyes together. This method hadn't worked not even once but she still hoped he would just go along with whatever she said.

"Never mind, you wouldn't believe me even if I told you."

Sheoh rested his arms on the table and folded his hands together, a mischievous smile on his face. He was curious to see where this story was going.

"Try. Make me believe."

Sol slowly opened her eyes and for a second she felt as if he was truly willing to hear her out. Maybe telling the whole truth would work out for the best after all?

"I'm from the future."

She muttered hesitantly, her eyes glued onto the glass in front of her, though Sheoh's slight laugh made her look up again.

He didn't know what he expected, but it was not this.

"Are you now?" It was clear that he didn't believe her but sohl had run out of ideas.

"Well, kind of. I'm not sure anymore," she said with a note of irritation. It was easier with the past time slips; go to the past and then back to the future. But this was the first time she had experienced something different. Not only was she just sent back to only a few hours earlier, but it also seemed to be completely different from hers, at least considering Sohnjaeh. Whatever timeline it was, it was worlds apart from hers.

"Everything is different from where I came from," she tried to explain, now looking at the man who had changed the most.

"Especially you."

"How can you be so sure? You barely know me."

He replied after a moment of silence and sohl realized what he said was true. She had assumed on her own that his life was entirely different than Sohnjaeh's but what if she had been wrong?

"Then…Let me tell you about your life from where I'm from." She moved closer to the table and started to tell Sheoh about Sohnjaeh's story, in an attempt to see if there were any similarities.

"We used to be neighbours during high school, I didn't find out about that until after though. You were a really good swimmer, even qualified for the national swimming team but," her voice went quiet, her eyes on his shoulder, "You injured your shoulder and had to quit your dream."

Sheoh felt weird listening to this life he was a stranger to. It didn't sound like something she made up on the spot, had it been true? Was there a world where he was an average person with dreams and hopes?

"Your dad tried to get you into rehab but—"

"My dad?" he interrupted her, clenching his jaw as he felt a sudden pain in his chest.

"Yes, you lived alone with your dad. He was very supportive of you; when you decided to quit swimming as well."

Sheoh inhaled deeply and felt pathetic for envying a version of himself he wasn't even sure existed. He always wondered how his life would've been, if his father had never abandoned him, and now he had the answer, though he would've been better off without it.

"At leasthedidn't dump his son off somewhere."

Sol saw a smile appear on his face, but maybe it was because of how well she knew Sohnjaeh, she saw through his attempt to seem nonchalant. He couldn't hide the grief she saw in his eyes and she realized this pain was something he had carried with him for a long time. She felt the need to hold him and share his sorrow but she hesitated, knowing that their relationship wasn't what it used to be.

They continued to sit in silence when the food arrived, unsure of how to continue the conversation until Sheoh broke it.

"What else? What did I do after I quit swimming."

Listening to her talk about this mysterious life would help him out his thoughts because even if he wasn't fully convinced of what she was saying, he liked how she talked so enthusiastically about it.

Sol smiled playfully, knowing that the suit-wearing, strict CEO sitting in front of her wouldn't believe that he had been an idol in another life.

"You became a singer. In an idol group."

He stopped cutting the steak in front of him and looked at her in disbelief. If he wasn't doubting her story from the beginning, this would've been the point for him to start suspecting the credibility of it.

"I'm serious!" sohl said as she tried not to laugh at his expression, hiding her grin behind her hand.

"Riu Sheoh might find it unrealistic that he was an idol, but Riu Sohnjaeh was a very talented and loved one."

Although Sheoh still questioned whether she told the truth or not, the weight on his chest disappeared as he watched her fail to hold back her laugh. He didn't know what she had done but it was as if she awakened an entirely different feeling within him. Suddenly he wanted to see her laugh, smile again and feel the warmth it was giving him.

"Then what about you? What was your relationship with me?" he asked unexpectedly, causing sohl to go quiet with flushed cheeks.

How was she going to tell him about the relationship she had with Sohnjaeh without it being awkward for both of them, when they weren't better than two strangers?

"I'll tell you later sometime." She said after clearing her throat, ignoring his smirk.

When they left the restaurant the sun had started to set slowly, the weather colder than when they'd arrived. sohl wrapped herself in her coat as they waited for the valet and saw Sheoh clench his fists, the cold air creating steam when his warm breath left his lips.

"Growing up in extreme colds, my foot." She removed her scarf and moved closer to Sheoh.

"Just say you're cold, no one will punish you for it." she put it around his neck while standing on her tiptoes, oblivious to his eyes following her every step. He wasn't used to such acts of kindness and couldn't help but be amazed by her.

"About earlier," her voice was wary as her hands rested on his chest, "what...what was that on your neck?" she asked cautiously when she realized the black veins had disappeared.

Sheoh looked at the yellow scarf covering his neck and back to the woman standing in front of him with curious eyes. He found himself putting his hands slowly onto hers and pulled her slightly closer to him.

"I'll tell you sometime later," he answered quietly and let go of her hands, approaching the valet who had arrived with the car, and leaving behind a dazed Sol.

"Aren't going to tell me your address?" He asked a few minutes after getting into the car.

"Why?" sohl didn't intend on going home yet, there was still a chance that Sheoh would get attacked, and she couldn't leave him yet.

"So I can drive you home."

"No need."

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to your place."

Their back and forth was held short by Sol's sudden declaration. He watched her in awe, not because he was startled but because he was amused by her sudden candour, and instead of declining her visit, he leaned into her and whispered into her ear–

"So this was the kind of relationship we had?"

Sol quickly pushed him away and avoided his gaze on her.

"I told you I'd stay by your side for a day, it hasn't been a day yet." she rushed in a panicked voice, fanning herself as Sheoh started the car. She just wanted this day to be over already before she embarrassed her even more.

–

Sheoh's place was just like how she imagined it to be; similar to his office, it was spacious with a dark interior and tall windows. Looking out, the winter sun was almost entirely gone but its warm hues were still colouring the dark sky.

"I'm going to take a shower," Sheoh informed her as she watched the sunset, causing her to get flustered just after she had lived down the previous humiliation.

"Oh...Okay." She said, hoping he wasn't implying anything.

With Sheoh leaving for his shower, sohl wandered around the living room, curiously looking through the books and records he had. After a few minutes of rummaging around the room, she sat down on the sofa and took out her phone. Having some spare minutes for herself, she took it as an opportunity to look up Riu Sheoh to see if she found any basic information about him. From what she had seen of him so far, it was more likely that he wouldn't talk about himself so she took the internet as a guide to get to know Doogo's CEO.

The first articles that showed up were about the company and how Sheoh was the youngest CEO to enter the Kosdaq listing. They were praising him for his capabilities and ambition and sohl found herself smiling over the compliments given to him. It seemed that no matter where he was, he was destined to be successful.

However, the articles that followed seemed to be more hateful and bashing towards him; rumours about his success being caused by drug trafficking and relations to the Russian mafia. sohl was left speechless by how far these reporters were reaching and even the comments were maliciously written, cursing him off and demanding him to step down. At some point, she couldn't handle her frustration and ended up throwing her phone across the sofa standing up in anger.

"These reporters should get fired for spewing lies!" she exclaimed annoyed and crossed her arms as she inhaled deeply.

"What? He has relations with the Russian mafia? Ha! They should've made up a more believable lie!" She forced a laugh in an attempt to get over it but she still felt the rage hover inside her.

"It's true though." a voice suddenly said.

When she turned around, she was met with a shirtless Sheoh drying his hair with a towel, which she immediately looked away from.

"Ya! Wear a shirt or something!" She stuttered while covering her eyes, yet still seeing bits of his uncovered chest.

"Is this not my place? I'll walk around however I want." He said with a smirk as he walked closer to her.

Mannerless jerk, she thought to herself but then she remembered what he said when he entered the room.

"Wait a minute, what did you say?" sohl let her hands fall and looked right at him, ignoring the lack of clothes.

"You seriously have ties to the mafia?"

Sheoh looked at her for a moment and contemplated whether he should tell her the truth, but even if he did, it wasn't like she could do anything about it. She either wouldn't believe him or leave right away, too scared to be associated with him.

"Yes."

Sol wasn't sure if he was joking or not, but judging by his expression, it was far from being a joke. Yet she didn't want to believe it, he had to be teasing her so she would leave him alone.

"You're also selling drugs?" She asked in disbelief, not taking him seriously.

He put the towel over his shoulder and waited before he answered.

"Yes."

His gaze was different than before; the way he looked at her was cold and distant as if he wasn't actually there. He knew what would happen next and was prepared to be left again. But he wasn't in a position to complain; he knew no one understood why he did what he did, that it only drove people away with fear, but as much as he didn't like to admit it, somewhere deep within him, he had hoped for someone to show up, someone whodidunderstand him. But as time passed, he figured it was only childishness to expect something like that.

"Then," sohl paused, afraid of what the answer would be. "The veins on your neck...were they because of drugs?"

She hoped that she was reaching, that he would correct her and tell her it was something else, but when he turned his head away, rolling his eyes with annoyance, she felt all the anger rise in her again and let it out by hitting him on the chest.

"Ya, are you out of your mind?" She started quietly but her voice grew louder as she continued.

"Have you gone crazy?! Have you no idea how dangerous drugs are, how dangerous those people are?!"

Sheoh suddenly grabbed her wrists and made her look at him, stopping her from throwing a fit. He wasn't expecting her to be angry, she should have run away by now but here she was, bothering him with her never-ending concern.

"What makes you think I'm not as dangerous?" His tone was intimidating, threatening almost as if hewantedher to be afraid of him.

"Do you even know anything about me? Do youknow, what I had to go through in life?" he let go of her hand but started to walk towards her, making her walk back with each step.

"I was abandoned by my own father as a child and had to fight, tokill, to survive. Do you know what it's like to get beaten by someone three times your size? Being handed a gun to shoot someone and getting shot yourself if you hesitated?"

She couldn't ignore the pain in his voice, his teary eyes as he spoke and the way his lips were trembling. She couldn't imagine in what kind of agony he must've been his entire life to turn to these methods but it must've been the only way to escape those people.

"You have no idea what it's like to be all by yourself your entire life, hanging on by a thread someone else is holding–"

She suddenly had no longer a place to walk to and was cornered between the wall and Sheoh who had leaned into her–

"I don't care how your Sohnjaeh lived, but I'm not afraid to do anything to get what I want." he finished by hitting his palm against the wall, and startling Sol.

This was the scene he was more familiar with; being someone people were afraid of. It was for the best that em sohl was one of them, that way she could leave on her own and he could stick to being alone.

Yes, it is for the best.

However, when he looked at her, he was met with immense sadness rather than fear. He had tried so hard to drive her away, to give her a chance to escape him, so why was she still here, looking at him with a worried expression?

"But you're on the losing end." She said softly, taking him off guard after having talked to her so harshly.

"Is risking your life worth all that money and power?" She asked, tears rolling down her face as she failed to hold them back.

"It is." He replied without hesitation.

"I had to become more powerful so no one could hurt me any more." he found himself confessing like a child, his voice trembling involuntarily.

Sol's eyes wandered across his face, his gaze softening when she put her hand on his cheek and wiped away the tear even he didn't know had fallen. He couldn't explain how he always found himself vulnerable in front of her. It was as if something in him allowed him to show his true emotions before her.

"I wish I found you earlier." She almost whispered, gently caressing his skin.

"I can't heal your wounds from the past but," she looked him in the eyes and smiled at him.

"I'll treat them now so they don't fester."

Notes:

although it lacked a lot, I really hope you enjoyed it 33

Chapter 3

Summary:

After revealing himself to Sol, Sheoh gets the comfort he had wished for his entire life.

Notes:

Hello again!
I'm so sorry for making you wait for so long, I genuinely didn't think this many people would enjoy this silly story I started but I'm very happy to see you guys like it this much333
Once again, I'm not entirely confident about my writing but hopefully it will be worthy of your time, please enjoy 33

(See the end of the chapter formore notes.)

Chapter Text

For all his life, Sheoh was tossed around by people who never wanted him. First, it was his father, who'd abandoned him when he was but only a child, starting the cycle of mistreatment he had to endure. Then, he was sent to a foreign country, serving foreign people and being less worthy than the dirt on their shoes. Safety or sympathy weren't things he was familiar with; he only knew how to survive, so he neither chose a safe path nor one where people would greet him with understanding.

But then she showed up.

The only feeling that had persevered in his life so far was resentment; to avenge himself and the childhood stolen from him. However, in the few hours he was met with this peculiar woman, his emotional state had turned upside down, making him feel things he had never felt before. In his life of being treated like filth, she held him between her little hands like a rare jewel she had to protect; in his life of being unwanted, of never being a choice, not even an option, he finally felt like he belonged somewhere– someone.

The child he buried somewhere within him felt safe between those hands and wanted to hold on to them, fall back and rely on them; but that child grew up ignoring those needs and recognized them as weaknesses. And once you showed your weakness, it was only a matter of time until they took advantage of it.

Im sohl and Sheoh stood in the living room; her hand still on his cheek, wiping away the tears that fell without his permission. He watched her, a painful smile on her face, contradicting her crying and for a moment, he wanted to follow her movement, feeling his hand reaching towards her until a sudden sound interrupted their moment of vulnerability.

Someone outside was trying to enter the password to Sheoh's apartment, failing a few times and waiting until they tried again and succeeded in entering the correct code.

"Did you invite someone over?" sohl whispered with her eyes toward the living room door.

"No," he whispered back, his head turned in the same direction.

Sol was awaiting that unexpected visit; after all, it was the reason she was there. It had been only a matter of time until that man showed up and harmed Sheoh. But she was ready for it; this time it would be different.

Instinctively, Sheoh moved his body before Sol's, hiding her behind him, and they slowly walked towards the door. Making sure he felt Sol's presence behind him while his eyes were fixated on the entrance, he thought of what to do once they arrived at the front door; he was experienced and strong enough to take down whoever dared to break into his home and was ready to strike the second the intruder was in sight; it would be a definite victory. What he didn't expect was Sol– once they left the living room– leading the way with a vase held above her head. Though confused by her action, he followed her immediately, meeting eyes with the man who entered his home.

"Sir, I brought you the documents you have asked for–"Before he could register it was one of the secretaries of his assistant, sohl was charging toward him, about to break the vase on his head if Sheoh hadn't reacted quickly and picked her up by the waist.

"What are you doing?! Let me go, can't you see the intruder?!" She yelled as he effortlessly carried her.

"It's an employee," he answered calmly.

"No, it's no–"she properly looked at the man standing in the corridor and saw he was wearing a suit with a large envelope in his hand and besides that; he didn't look anything like Kim Young-soo.

Sheoh let her down carefully, as she did with the vase, and walked toward the employee. The stern look on his face was enough to turn the man into a stuttering mess as he tried to explain the reason for his visit.

"Mr. Yoon told me to deliver these and– and gave me the code so I don't–don't disturb you. I'm sorry that I–"he looked between a shirtless Sheoh and a flushed sohl and one could only guess to what conclusion he had come to– "interrupted you."

As if he knew what reaction this statement would cause, Sheoh glanced over to her and saw her eyes widen, cheeks redder than before and tried to hold back his amusement.

Normally, he wouldn't have let this pass, but seeing how he enjoyed the outcome of this matter, he decided to take the documents and dismissed the employee.

"What–What could he have possibly interrupted?!" sohl exclaimed afterwards, flustered as ever, when she realized he was still half naked in front of her.

Sheoh, on the other hand, seemed indifferent; with sohl alone in the corridor, he put on a shirt and took the envelope, leaving for his office without saying a word. She stood there for a moment, her mind racing with countless thoughts. It kept rewinding to a few minutes earlier and she couldn't stop herself from thinking of him. She followed him to the office and watched him sit at his desk as if nothing happened. His behaviour made more sense now that she thought of it; he had seemed to be on guard, even with her, who was less than capable of harming the man almost a foot taller than her. She believed that it was the first time he let anyone know of his most vulnerable side, himself included, and she wasn't sure if she was deserving of it.

Truth be told, she wasn't sure if her time here was limited or not; it wasn't where she initially wanted to be, let alone close to her original timeline.

But even if she had only one hour left with him, she wouldn't give up on him. She had come to save Sohnjaeh, in all forms in shapes and didn't just mean from others, but also from himself. If he continued living this way, risking his life for revenge, he would end in ruin.

Sol couldn't let that happen.

She continued to stay in the room, staring at the man who pretended to be unaware of her presence. He still couldn't make sense of the situation he had wilfully put himself in. Throughout his life, he had carefully cultivated the ability to overlook his feelings, ignored them to the point that even he had been a stranger to the agony he'd involuntarily expressed a few minutes ago. It had been necessary for him to do so; if he had been controlled by those emotions, he would've fallen victim to them; he wouldn't have survived this long.

So what was it about this woman, who burst through the gates of his heart, when it was locked for even himself? Why was his heart aching for her, a longing rushing through his body each time he thought of her?

No matter how much time he spent on it, he couldn't find an explanation for his emotional turmoil. For all that mattered, Sheoh felt the foundation of his hard-earned work fall apart one by one and he wasn't sure if he wanted to stop it.

Suddenly, Sol's stomach started growling, so that even if he wanted to, Sheoh wouldn't couldn't ignore her any more. She covered her belly, and looked at him embarrassed while he put down the papers in his hands and stood up from his chair–

"Do you want something to eat?" he asked, walking towards her.

Sol only smiled at first but then replied shyly,

"What are you offering?"

"Ramyeon?"

He asked in all seriousness, but sohl had managed to humiliate herself again by avoiding his eyes nervously with a flushed face and left him no choice but to provoke her further.

"Your mind always seems to be going somewhere else with me, em Sol-ssi," he started, implying she chose to understand the different meaning of the dish,

"Just what kind of relationship do we have in your world?" adding to her nervousness, he leaned into her, interrogating her as they locked eyes.

"Love!" sohl suddenly blurted out, taking both of them off guard with her answer.

"I mean, I was a huge fan of you as an idol, so I loved you...as a fan!" she tried to explain, though her rambling was rather unconvincing.

"So you're doing all of this...because you're my fan?"

Undeniably, basing her relationship with Sohnjaeh only on fan-idol relations was beyond dishonest, but at some point, it had been the motivation to save him, so technically, she wasn't lying to him.

"Yup! You shouldn't underestimate the love of a fan!" She exclaimed almost too enthusiastically, to which both reacted with an awkward silence.

"Ramyeon is fine." She quickly said and left the room, hoping to forget that moment as soon as possible.

It felt like a deja vu for sohl when she sat at the kitchen counter and watched Sheoh cook for them, though by now, she could sense the difference between Sohnjaeh and him. Even with the little things, such as preparing the food or setting the table, Sheoh seemed more precise and careful about it, overthinking the simplest of decisions.

Later, when putting down their bowls, he sat down in front of her on the other side of the table, focusing on the noodles before him, unlike Sol, who couldn't move her eyes from him. They kept wandering off to his neck with multiple questions in her head that she wasn't sure how to ask. After a few bites, she fidgeted with the chopsticks in her hand instead of eating with them; enough for him to notice her indecisiveness.

"Just ask." He said without raising his head from the bowl.

"Since I told you about our relationship–"she cleared her throat and put down the chopsticks–

"Will you tell me about the thing on your neck?"

It was clear he didn't want to talk about it and sohl understood. He had already revealed so much to her, she wouldn't blame him if he didn't answer any more of her questions but there was only one she wanted to have answered the most:

"Does it hurt?"

He stopped eating upon hearing that and moved around his chopsticks in the bowl instead.

"I can take it."

"But for how long? Even if you can take it, at some point it will become unbearable for you–"

"I'm not a child so I neither need your pity nor your comfort whenI'min pain, got that?!" he warned in a rasping voice while finally facing her.

Sol was perplexed by his determination to keep her at a distance, as much as his stubbornness to hide his feelings; she slammed her hands on the table out of frustration and stood up, giving him a distraught look.

Realizing the harshness of his words only after they had left his lips, he was sure that having greeted her genuine concern with an ungrateful outburst had been the breaking point for her. She knew what kind of person hereallywas now, there wasn't a chance in the world she would spend another second with him, he thought, but it seemed he still didn't know em Sol.

Instead of making her way out of the apartment as Sheoh expected, she ended up standing right next to him and rested his head on her chest, putting her arms gently around his neck.

"Adults need comfort too."

Her voice was soft if not more than her touch that lightly caressed his hair. Sheoh decided to stop counting the number of times she had taken him by surprise and only focused on the faint heartbeat he felt.

"We only learn to hide our pain as we grow older; that doesn't mean we don't need to be held and cared for."

Sol was aware he was someone who saw vulnerability as a flaw but he had to learn there was no shame in hurting and showing his feelings; even if he had been taught otherwise. However, the longer his silence lasted, the more she felt she overstepped a boundary. She was ready to let him go of her embrace, but to her surprise, he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, pulling her closer at once as he felt a knot in his throat, holding back tears.

They didn't know for how long they stood like that, but in that moment it felt as if time had stopped just for them.

Sheoh didn't know if he believed her story, but if there was an alternate life he was truly happy in, he thought she must've been why.

—

With the sudden pretence that both didn't remember the intimate moment they shared, they were slowly getting ready for bed, or rather; Sheoh preparing her bed in the living room but sohl following him to his bedroom.

"Do you want me to give you some clothes?"

She hadn't uttered a word the entire time withholding an explanation as to why she followed him.

"No need." She smiled without further explanation.

"Then why are you here?"

"To stand guard." Although nothing dangerous had happened so far, it wasn't midnight yet and anything could happen. And if that was the case, sohl couldn't risk it by leaving him out of her sight.

"You'll stay in my room?" He looked her up and down; a smug grin on her face filled with confidence that whatever happened, she would be able to protect him, though her behaviour suggested she was the one he should be protected from.

"The entire night?"

Sol scoffed at his suspicious expression and put strands of hair behind her ear in frustration.

"Ya, am I gonna bite you or something?!"

"That's what I'm scared of." He replied with a smirk and turned the lights off, leaving the room to be illuminated only by the street lights outside the window.

Sol was dumbfounded that within the few hours of knowing each other, she had already cultivated the reputation of a pervert.

"I'm just going to sit here and watch the door." She sat down at the corner of his bed and folded her arms together to take as little space as possible.

"I won't get even near you." She declared as he was getting into bed.

"What a devoted fan," Sheoh said more to himself than to her and put his head to rest on the pillow, knowing sleep wouldn't visit him anytime soon with her in his room; on his bed.

She let out a chuckle and threw a glance at him before turning back to the door she pledged to watch. It was going to be a long sleepless night and she was determined not to close her eyes for even a second, successfully taking on her role as the self-proclaimed guard.

But when she opened her eyes after what was supposed to be a quick rest, sohl found herself right next to Sheoh, entangled in his arms under the covers. Her head was laid gently on his chest, his arm under her head like a pillow, his hand on her hair. When she carefully moved up in the bed, she saw his lips right in front of her, his long eyelashes flowing onto his cheeks and hair covering up his eyes. She slowly reached out to the strands of hair of softly moved them away, her fingertips tracing on his forehead, nose and lips before her hand rested on his face.

He looked different as he did the night before; he seemed calm, almost peaceful and she was glad that at least in his sleep, he could get away from the pain inflicted on him. She couldn't imagine the suffering he had gone through from a young age and felt a heaviness weighing on her chest as she thought about it. It must have been so lonely for him to know his own father abandoned him, having no one to turn to while fighting for his survival. If he had just one person to share his sorrows with, maybe he wouldn't have hurt this much, maybe he would've been happy.

"Im Sol-ssi," A raspy voice suddenly said.

"Are you sure you were just a fan?"

Sheoh slightly opened his eyes and saw the startled look on her face followed by her attempt to remove herself from his embrace, only for him to grab and pull her in closer, wrapping his arm around her waist. He had found a liking in teasing her and enjoyed seeing her flustered as much as he enjoyed her looking at his lips.

"Because I'm starting to doubt that." He whispered in her ear, leaving the bed with a smile on his face after a moment of silence. Sol, baffled by his unexpected boldness, fanned herself and removed the covers, her body heat rising unreasonably fast. Nevertheless, she was glad he got up fast; she feared that if they were left like that for any moment longer, she couldn't have resisted the urge to feel his lips against hers again.

"Are you going to stand up or do you want to stay longer in my bed? It seems you quite like it." He asked suggestively while taking off his shirt, to which sohl immediately stood up and walked to the bathroom to wash up without saying anything else.

In his room, Sheoh found himself laughing at her reaction, feeling a sense of relief rush through him as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He didn't remember the last time he had slept without waking up in the middle of the night, drenched in sweat from his nightmares. He still felt the warmth of her body against his, her touch engraved in his skin; her mere presence was antidote enough for his pain but as much as he knew that, he also knew it was no use to get attached to someone who was bound to leave; someone not meant forhim.

Although her story sounded unrealistic, he– him and his abilities–was proof enough that the unimaginable was possible to achieve, and if that was the case, it was better to let go of her without having any attachments.

When sohl got out of the bathroom she saw Sheoh already dressed, waiting for her in the hallway as if he was rushing their farewells.

"Now that you've spent the day with me, I guess we can go our separate ways." The expression on his face was similar to when they had first met; cold and distant, as if nothing had happened between them.

"As you can see, I'm safe and sound and no longer in need of your protection."

"Why are you so eager to see me leave?"

"You won't stay for long anyway." He answered, avoiding her eyes as she was too good at seeing through him.

"You'll go back to...wherever you came from, won't you?"

Sol hadn't expected him to believe her, and maybe he didn't, but what he said wasn't wrong. She was not only in the wrong timeline but an entire lifetime as well; she was destined to leave this place one way or another and leading him on, promising to be by his side when she herself didn't know when she'd be sent back, would only cause him harm than good. There hadn't been an attack and he was more than capable of dealing with any danger coming his way. She didn't want to leave him behind and regret it later on, but maybe Sheoh was fated to have a different life from Sohnjaeh anyway, maybe it would be alright?

In the car all sohl could do was watch him; she had only spent a day with him but she knew it would be difficult to send him back to the world he deep down wanted to get out of. She was the first one he had unknowingly reached out to, how was she supposed to go back without worrying about him, when the one he needed the most protection from, was himself?

"This is the correct address, right?" Sheoh had driven her to her workplace as she hadn't told him her home address, not that she would be able to answer. But it was the same production company she worked in the previous timeline, so she just nodded along and got out of the car. Joining her, he stood at the door and watched her walk in front of him, waiting for a moment to find the right words.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Riu Sheoh. It truly was." She said softly, though the trembling in her voice was still noticeable.

"It was a pleasure meeting you too." He replied hesitantly, struggling to look at in the face even if he knew she was about to disappear from his life.

"Take care of yourself." She added and forced a smile, which he reciprocated.

She slowly walked away from him toward the entrance of the building but then turned around at once, rushing to him and grabbing his hand as he was entering the car.

"If I go back," she breathed heavily, hoping that he would truly listen to her words,

"The sohl from your universe will still be here." her hold on his hand was firm as if she was unwilling to let go.

"Don't push her away."

Her gaze moved along his face and then stopped again at his eyes.

"Don't give into your loneliness."

With whatever amount of time was left for her, she was to leave only by having sohl from this universe fight for Sheoh. She didn't know how, but she was willing to do anything for it, she couldn't let him succumb to his pain.

She finally let go of him and walked into the building, leaving behind Sheoh in anguish at their unwanted farewell.

The people in her office were all strangers, no one from her previous lifetime seemed to be working there, something she didn't know she was happy about or not. There was a stack of folders laid on her desk as she arrived and no personal belongings hanging around whatsoever but her mind was still occupied with Sheoh that she didn't have the energy to think of anything else, so she took out a pen and started writing:

"I might not be able to remember some things,

but there's only one thing I cannot forget;

Riu Sheoh needs me."

She looked where to place the note while hoping it would push the sohl here to get closer to him just likeshedid, but as she opened a journal to put the note in, she found a leaflet with Sheoh's face on. At first, she didn't question it and reasoned that it was related to the companies' relations, but then she turned it around and saw her handwriting;

"Be on his side, no matter what."

Notes:

cliffhanger !
I decided if I go into a ~dramatic~ direction, I don't want to include the taxi driver that made us lose our minds so we can just focus on them.
It's the first week without lovely runner and, well, I hope you enjoyed the story inspired by it instead.
I will try to update within a week again but since I'm not really used to writing this much, please forgive me if it takes bit longer
much love and thank you always for the kind comments 33

Chapter 4

Summary:

Riu Sheoh finally meets the sohl of his universe.

Notes:

I am back with another chapter!
But writer's block kicked my ass with this one so I'm not as happy with it since it feels messier than the other ones. However, it was still exciting to write it because i got to create some ~lore~ on my own (my apologies to sol's sweet family).

I hope you enjoy ittt333

(See the end of the chapter formore notes.)

Chapter Text

It was the peak of summer with the sun shining brightly with overwhelming heat, but for Sol, the days felt cold and dull, as if the seasons had never changed. That was the first time em sohl had seen Riu Sheoh.

She was laid off from her job, the company claiming they faced financial issues and were forced to fire some of their employees only that she was the only one affected by those issues. It wasn't like she was sad about it; it wasn't necessarily a job she'd finally found a job that made enough money for her to live off of, if you could even call it a life, that is.

Every day, she would wake up, go to work and then back home. She didn't go out much–not that she had the money to do so– and spent most of her time alone in her flat. Occasionally, she would meet her grandmother and brother but ever since they grew out of touch, each gathering would feel more and more forced, as if the only reason they met her was to make sure she was still alive.

Each passing day after her father died, she struggled to get along with her mother, which caused a big fight between them, making sohl pack up her things and leave when she hadn't even graduated yet. It had been years since, but neither her mother asked about her whereabouts nor sohl ever returned.

Since then, Sol's life depended on each cent of every paycheck she received. During her last year of high school, she worked multiple part-time jobs to afford her one-room flat until she finally got that office job after graduation; it wasn't somewhere she'd imagined herself to work, but it'd brought in good money so she kept working there, giving up the prime of her youth for a place that didn't bring her joy.

It had felt like the end of the road for her; everything had been too much, nothing seemed to go well and while people her age were thriving in their lives, sohl was still stuck in the same place, not moving forward even an inch. At the time she was busy trying to stay simply alive, others were able to go after their dreams and all she was now was a twenty-something failure with a life headed nowhere.

She wandered around aimlessly on her way home, holding on to the box with the possessions she brought back from work. A devastating pain in her chest she was afraid to acknowledge. She was fighting so hard for a life she didn't even enjoy, so maybe it was the best to give up; to finally end all of her pain and let go. She was too tired of living. She'd felt the tears rolling down her cheeks as she finally made the realization that she'd wasted her life. She felt the pain weighing her down, causing her to fall to her knees as it started to rain. This wasn't how she had imagined her life; all she wanted was to be happy, belong somewhere, love and be loved but she was so lonely and lost.

She tried to pick up the things that dropped out of the box, but at once, she was flooded with a wave of agony, making her sob in the middle of the street as passersby walked past her, offering nothing but a judging look on their faces.

Her clothes and hair were soaked from the rain, the box and everything in it scattered on the ground, a feeling of both anger and frustration grew stronger the longer she looked at it.

"Alright, let's do it!" she announced, ignoring the presence of the people around her.

"Let's give up! Give it all up!" although she sounded confident, she only cried more, the sharpness digging deeper in her chest the more she made up her mind, gasping for air as she sobbed and clenched her hands.

"Don't give up." A male voice suddenly said, as if he had been watching her.

"Even if it may look like a dead end, don't give up yet."

When she lifted her head, she saw his face on the big screen of a building. He had a faint smile on his face while looking into the camera.

"Believe in yourself," he added and turned back to the person sitting next to him.

Upon hearing his words, she felt a sense of comfort embracing her, something she hadn't felt in a long time.

Riu Sheoh's advice to young entrepreneurs.

When she read the text on the screen, she saw that it was an interview with someone called 'Riu Sheoh', one of the youngest among the most successful CEOs in Korea despite growing up with nothing. She was aware what he said didn't carry much thought; it was to make others think they could have the same luck as his, but at that moment, she was thankful for having been right there to hear him say those words because, with his unexpected assurance, he had stopped her from giving up; he had saved her life.

—

The second time em sohl had seen Riu Sheoh was on her first day of work; two years had passed since that rainy summer day and sohl had finally found a passion for herself and made the first step on the path toward her dream.

She had been hired as an intern for a known production company and her supervisor told her they would work out of the office to visit somewhere calledDoogofor an ad production. Although the name had rang a bell, she was too nervous to remember where she recalled it from.

Arriving at the building, they'd been sent to a room to wait for the marketing director and when she arrived, they'd discussed the project for almost two hours before they finally concluded the meeting. sohl had quickly put the files back into the folder and hurried after her supervisor and the director, who had already walked out talking about the project but with her luck, the second she had rushed out of the conference room, she ran into someone head-first and dropped all of the documents in her hand.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed while bowing but when she looked up, she was more surprised with the face she met than the mess she had created.

"Riu Sheoh…"

It was as if she was starstruck when she saw him in front of her and at once, she was reminded of the emotions she'd felt that very day she'd seen him for the first time. He looked slightly different in real life, she thought. For once, looking at the one-foot height disparity between them, she didn't think he would be this tall. His hair was longer and the look in his eyes wasn't as warm with the glaring expression on his face, a reasonable reaction to getting called by his name without any honorifics.

Halted in her movements, Sol's supervisor came to the rescue and apologized for her rude behaviour, bringing sohl out of her thoughts to grab the papers on the floor.

"I'm sorry sir, it's her first day. She doesn't know much yet."

Sheoh had looked at the woman in front of her and kneeled to help her pick up what she let fall.

"Don't worry, I should be the one to apologize," he replied while handing her the papers, the serious gaze from before replaced with a soft smile.

All sohl could do was nod along and take his hand that was offered to her, grabbing it carefully and feeling her heartbeat quickening as she stood up.

"Congratulations on your first day." He'd said and walked away, not knowing that he was the reason for her to be there in the first place.

His kindness had kindled a spark in her she couldn't explain, her eyes always searching for him from that day on. She always watched him from afar when she was at the company, filled with admiration when she saw him. He felt like a warm light in her dark, dull life, giving her the energy to continue on her path as he did before.

Yet, she made sure to keep a distance between them.

She was used to a life alone, isolating herself from others to protect both her and them. She didn't want that one thing that made life better to be taken away from her because of her ability to drive people away. It was better to be not known at all than to know her as the broken woman she was.

However, she couldn't stop her excitement three years later, when she found out the companies were planning a long-term partnership. She was now promoted to an actual PD, which meant that in case of approval, she would get to see Sheoh more frequently and go to the company herself instead of tagging along with her seniors.

Unfortunately, the excitement was short-lived after Doogo had declined the production's offer. According to the director, they'd rather stick to working on occasional projects together instead of all of them. sohl was told to go and persuade them into agreeing but even if she got to catch a short glimpse of him during her countless visits, she was unsuccessful at getting their approval and had failed her first assignment as a PD.

She'd blamed herself for the loss of the partnership, that if she had spent more time thinking of work instead of Riu Sheoh, she might have been capable enough to do well at her job. He was barely aware of her existence anyway, so maybe she should distance herself even further, she thought. That was until she was faced with him again.

—

The third time Riu Sheoh appeared before her was a few months later; it was a cold January day, and a bleak winter sky, glistened with slowly falling snowflakes as sohl watched outside the window. The man in front of her leaned against his desk, observing her as she stood in the middle of the room. sohl had been hesitant to visit the place that reminded her of her failure, let alone be in the presence of someone she had tried so hard to remain distant, but when she was asked to meet him, she'd figured it might be related to the mysterious note she had found in her journal,

"I might not be able to remember some things,

but there's only one thing I cannot forget;

Riu Sheoh needs me."

It was certainly her handwriting but she couldn't remember why she would write such a thing. What had she forgotten and why did Riu Sheoh needherof all people?

Weeks had passed since Sheoh had seen em sohl for the last time and forced himself to ignore the number of feelings that followed her absence. It should've been easy for him to do so, after all, he was used to loneliness, but as soon as they separated, he couldn't get her out of his mind. Even if he tried to erase their time together, he eventually gave in and arranged a meeting, unaware that it wasn't the sohl he had met.

The person in front of him might've looked the same but she behaved like a stranger; she was distant and seemed confused as to why she was there. In an attempt to see her reaction, he slowly walked closer and leaned into her, much like how he did the first time they'd met.

"Sir, why–why are you getting so close to me?" Sol's heartbeat fastened with each passing moment; she already struggled to stay calm when they were in the same room, how was she supposed to deal with him being only a breath away?

For a brief second, Sheoh felt relieved, seeing her avoid his gaze, looking away flustered as her cheeks turned red but when he heard her talk formally to him, he knew that something had changed. Not only was she putting a distance between them but he could also see the shift in the way she looked at him; the familiarity was gone.

"You seem different." He confessed, slightly moving back yet his eyes still fixated on her.

Sol was puzzled by Sheoh addressing her informally despite being known to not talk down to his employees, let alone how he was able to judge her behaviour if this was the first time they actually held a conversation.

"How so? You barely know me." sohl responded, returning the informality, and regretted it the second the words came out.

Upon hearing that, a smirk formed on his face; he understood how sohl must have felt when he had said the same thing to her.

"This is funny," He muttered to himself, although he felt his throat tightening as he looked at his hands instead of her.

"So you don't remember anything?"

Sol couldn't think of what to say; there wasn't much between them to remember anyway so what was he referring to?

"Is it related to the contract?" She asked carefully, concluding the partnership as the potential reason he had invited her.

He scoffed, amused by hearing the same words he had once said.

"No, it was a personal matter."

"Between us? What personal matter can there be?" her voice was quiet, trailing off as she felt nervousness in her chest. She didn't think that he noticed her interest in him but was worried that she might've been wrong.

Sheoh, on the other hand, didn't think he would reminiscence a person who was standing right in front of him. Everything he had shared with her, all the emotions she made him feel were gone, left for him to deal with by himself, just like everything else. It was no longer the sohl he had bared his soul to and he didn't have the strength to open up to someone again.

For the first time, sohl saw him look sombre and it made her think of the note again. After suddenly finding herself in the office, neither remembering how she got there nor what happened the day before, she had seen the note lying between the pages of her journal. Except for confusion, there wasn't much she thought of it but now, as he forced a smile in an attempt to hide his disappointment, she felt a sense of frustration. Whatever it was she'd forgotten, she didn't want to be the reason for him to be sad.

So she gathered up all her courage and took a step forward, asking him carefully,

"Have...you eaten?" She suddenly said, ending the silence between them.

He slowly raised his head, making sure he'd heard her correctly.

Given the difference in their status and the lack of familiarity between them, sohl wasn't sure if it was appropriate to ask him out to eat and was scared he would decline, but as the gloomy look on his face changed into curiosity, she took it as an opportunity to ask him confidently:

"Shall we eat together?"

"Why?" he asked softly in disbelief that even without their shared memories together, she wanted to spend time with him.

"To create a personal matter," she replied carefully, a shy smile forming on her lips as she waited for his answer.

—

The place sohl brought Sheoh was different from the place he had brought her; it was a small local restaurant sohl usually went to after work. It looked a bit shabby but the food was delicious and not too expensive. Besides that, sometimes when she was drinking by herself, she would think how it would be if he were with her and now that he was sitting in the seat before her, it was a dream come true.

Out of habit, she found herself staring at him now and then while they waited for their food to arrive but as soon as he looked in her direction, she would turn her head and act nonchalant. Noticing her behaviour, Sheoh struggled to believe it wasn't the same sohl as it was a few weeks ago. She would still be flustered whenever their eyes met, avoiding him he looked at her but at the same time, she had a shyness he hadn't met before, holding her back from treating him the way she used to with her straightforwardness gone almost entirely. Instead, she was more timid and careful of the words she chose and how she acted.

"I see you brought your boyfriend this time." A woman suddenly said, putting down two trays on the table.

Sol's eyes widened upon hearing the owner of the restaurant, her head turning between her and Sheoh as she laughed awkwardly while gesturing with her hands.

"No, no, auntie. He's not my boyfriend, no."

"Why not? The first time you bring someone along and it's a good-looking boy, just date already!" She nudged sohl on the shoulder and winked at Sheoh before walking away. sohl let out a chuckle, looking at her supposed boyfriend with an embarrassed smile.

"Don't mind her, she's just saying stuff."

"Why did you oppose so strongly?"

She almost let the spoon in her hand fall into the soup in front of her as she heard his unexpected question.

"Huh?" was all that came out of her mouth.

"Your reaction makes it look like I'm someone you'd hate to date," he argued, finding himself teasing her again.

She put up her hands and began to shake her head,

"No, no! It's the opposite!"

Although he had been curious to see her reaction, he hadn't expected an answer like this, let alone the strange feeling in his chest.

"I mean–"she pressed her eyes together and took in a deep breath. If she talked any further she would end up exposing her feelings which was the last thing she wanted.

"There's nothing wrong about you, you're very handsome and successful and–"she started to ramble but stopped herself quickly.

"But I didn't want to mislead her since there's no way you could be my boyfriend."

She looked at him for a moment, her heartbeat rising with the appearance of a dimple next to his smirk, and turned around to call for the owner:

"Auntie! A can of beer please!"

In hopes of getting an agreement on the partnership after all, her supervisor had given her the day off when she heard of Sheoh's invitation so now it was up to em sohl to drink her humiliation away. But just when she thought it couldn't get any worse,

"Why not?"

Startled by his remark, she burnt her tongue on the soup she was about to eat and watched him in confusion.

"Wh–What?"

"Why can't I be your boyfriend?"

Trying to ignore both the excitement in her chest and the alarm bells in her head, she was dumbfounded to find any proper reply to his question and could only turn around to shout out to the owner;

"Auntie! A bottle of soju as well!"

With em sohl pretending the previous conversation didn't happen, and Sheoh being generous enough to let her, they continued the rest of their meal in silence until a news report in the restaurant mentioned Doogo.

Both of their attentions shifted to the screen, although once they mentioned the various rumours considering its CEO, his involvement with mysterious sources and unethical methods, sohl turned back to the table and watched him carefully instead.

"Don't worry about it, those rumours are always around." She assured him with a soft voice.

"You don't care about them?"

"They're all made up anyway, aren't they?" She answered and proceeded to eat. Sheoh turned his gaze to the bowl in front of him, hesitating to offer her the truth he'd already told her. What if she reacted differently? What if she didn't accept it as easily? Despite these fears, an emotion he had long forgotten, he found himself urging to reveal himself to her. He couldn't explain it to himself, nor did he want to find an explanation for this feeling, but he ended up listening to what sohl had told him before they bid their farewells; for the first time in his life, he didn't want to push someone away.

"What if they aren't?"

Sol halted; his voice was quiet with a trembling he couldn't hide. She thought about all the information she had cultivated about him throughout the years; though his success was admirable, everyone liked to forget that his past wasn't as easy as it sounded. Sheoh had mentioned once in an interview that his childhood was difficult growing up without any parents but news outlets had turned that story into an 'appreciate what you have' story, disregarding the difficulties he faced in life. She was convinced what he told about himself wasn't near what he actually experienced so she had no right to judge him for how he lived his life; she was aware of how hard it was to stay alive when you're left on your own but at least she was an adult, who knew how difficult a child would have it?

"Sometimes, it doesn't matter what you do for survival."

Her response took Sheoh off guard; he had expected her to be shocked and disappointed, enraged even, but she didn't change her demeanour in the slightest. She continued to eat and poured soju into her glass, drinking it quickly without hesitation. It wasn't something one could just make up so he doubted she interpreted it as a joke; had she not heard him?

Whatever the reason was for her underwhelming reaction, no matter which version of sohl it was, Sheoh now understood that he was bound to be captivated by her warmth and her kindness. With just a few days of knowing her, she had offered him the care he hadn't seen his entire life and now that he had a taste of it, he wasn't sure if he could let go of it as easily as he did before. She had illuminated the dark room he was stuck in his entire life and led him out the door, there was no way back now.

—

When they left the restaurant, the sun had already set; both the winter cold and the heat of the alcohol turned the colour on Sol's cheeks and nose a rosy pink. She put her hands into her pockets and wrapped herself in her coat,

"It's freezing!" she exclaimed with a drowsiness in her voice as they walked to the car.

Sheoh opened the door of the backseat and took out a bag; he pulled out a light yellow scarf and slowly wrapped it around her neck without saying anything.

"Huh? This is my scarf," she said as she found the scarf she had been looking for days,

"Why do you have it?" She blamed the liquor for having dropped the honorifics with him but she knew it was also the growing feeling of familiarity between them why she felt comfortable enough to address him informally.

Sheoh's eyes widened as he heard her speak to him normally again and before he knew it, his hand reached for the strands of hair that covered her face, gently putting them away with his fingers.

"I told you it was a personal matter." he almost whispered but it was loud enough for sohl to hear. Despite standing right in front of him, she couldn't believe she had just eaten with Riu Sheoh and was now being taken care of. Maybe it was because she was tipsy that she felt a sudden wave of liveliness hit her, causing her to giggle with the biggest smile on her face.

"I have personal matters with Riu Sheoh," she muttered to herself with satisfaction.

"Why do you seem amused by that?"

Of course, Sheoh couldn't have known that she had been infatuated with him ever since she'd seen him for the first time and didn't understand what it meant for her to be this close to him, but sohl only smiled and shook her head instead of giving him an answer.

"It's a secret."

She didn't want to tell him her feelings yet, if ever; right now, all she wanted was to enjoy their last moments together. Once she was home and closed her eyes, they would turn into strangers again, or rather she would become a stranger to him and go back to watching him from afar.

However, there was one thing she had to let him know;

"Riu Sheoh–"she grabbed his hand as he was getting into the car and looked him in the eyes.

"Thank you." A smile formed on her lips as she held back the tears in her eyes.

"For what?"

If it hadn't been for him, she never would've found a dream, never felt all these new emotions and never found joy in living as she did today. He had been the one who encouraged her to stay alive,

"For... everything."

And now,shewas the reason forhimto live.

Notes:

some ~parallels~ throughout this chapter.
I feel like some might find it disappointing that we don't have our sohl anymore but I thought that she needs to find her way back to her sohnjaeh so these two can also face their destiny.
hopefully it wasn't too much of a mess
once again, thank you soooo much for the kind comments and the next chapter will (hopefully) come out in a week333

Chapter 5

Summary:

After a (not) date, sohl sees a side of Sheoh she wasn't familiar with.

Notes:

IT'S HERE!
I'm so sorry for the delay, I've been quite busy these past weeks :((
Nevertheless, we now have new chapter and once again, I apologize for the messiness and hope you enjoy it 333

(See the end of the chapter formore notes.)

Chapter Text

Sol didn't know that the day she left home would be the moment she bid her final farewell to her youth and entered the world of adulthood. Though her mom's controlling behaviour and burdening sohl with her problems had already given her a short childhood to the point that she couldn't put up with her any more and left for good. However, it had caused her to face financial struggles that she could neither focus on herself nor what she wanted to do in life. All that mattered was to survive the month.

Even with her once-best friend Hyunjoo, she ended up estranging because she never did anything besides work. Hyunjoo had reached out to her, worried that she'd work herself to death, but Sol's determination and willingness to prove herself as capable had created a rift between them and slowly, yet surely, they saw each other less and eventually not at all.

Sol blamed herself; it was her fault she had failed the people closest to her but instead of opening up to them and talking about it, she only drove herself further into isolation. There was a certain fear vulnerability brought along sohl wasn't strong enough to face. Instead, she chose the loneliness of solitude. That way she could neither hurt others nor herself.

—

Waking up with a little headache the next day, sohl was sure the afternoon with Sheoh had been just a dream. The alcohol might've been the reason why but all she remembered from the previous day was the warm feeling in her chest and the excitement she felt when she thought of him. But it was time to get over it. Maybe the rejection of the partnership had been a blessing in disguise; before she enjoyed watching him from afar but now knowing what it was to be close to him, she was certain that if she spent more time with him, it would only be a matter of time before she couldn't hold herself back any more.

Although with the contract on her desk, the nameRiu Sheohsigned neatly, she knew that her fear had become unavoidable.

"Sol-ah! I don't know what you did to convince them but you did a great job!" Her supervisor suddenly appeared and unusually hugged her. Her co-workers congratulated her as well yet sohl didn't know what she possibly had done to convince Sheoh to accept the offer anyway; it's not like they talked about work or anything so why had he signed it?

"It seems they were particularly impressed by you." A co-worker said with an implied smirk sohl didn't understand the meaning of.

"How so?" she asked innocently, still taken aback by the paper in front of her.

"Riu Sheoh's assistant conveyed that his only condition was for you to be appointed leader."

"Leader?!" she exclaimed in disbelief at her unexpected promotion.

"I've been a PD for only a few months, how can I be the leader?!"

"You got Doogo in the sack; you can do anything." Her supervisor assured her while patting her on the shoulders which suddenly felt heavier.

"You should hurry up and go now." The bag she had dropped out of surprise was handed back to her and she was pushed toward the door.

"Go where?"

"The CEO requested a personal appointment with you, now, hurry!" And with that sohl was sent out of her own office, off to the man she thought she wouldn't see again. She couldn't explain to herself why they had changed their minds after declining her offers in the past and now even giving her the position of leader when she was known to be a beginner. She would have to ask Sheoh what prompted his request but as she was planning what to say to him, she suddenly received a call from an unknown number.

"Hello?" she picked up, wondering who it might be.

"It's me, Riu Sheoh." Out of all people, she didn't expect to get a call from Riu Sheoh himself.

"Ah, daepyo-nim. I'm on my way to the company right now." She replied formally, ignoring his casual tone and putting a distance between them again.

"No, don't come. I'm going to send you an address. I'll wait for you there." Before she could ask him any further questions he had already ended the call and sent her an address that was half an hour away from her. She sighed out of irritation and started her journey to the ambiguous place they were supposed to meet. A few months ago, she would've broken out in ecstasy upon finding out she was going to work with Riu Sheoh but after yesterday, she didn't know for how much longer she could deny her feelings and let them live on in secret. She was afraid that at some point she could no longer take it andbear him her heart, ruining everything for both.

She had to be strictly professional, she vowed to not even look at him if not necessary and only talk about work with him, yet when she arrived at the location he'd sent her, something told her she would fail at that.

Bright colours, screams, laughs and all kinds of sweet scents were filling up Sol's senses. For a moment, she contemplated whether she was at the right place; certainly, Riu Sheoh wouldn't have invited her to an amusement park, right? But when she looked over to her side, she saw a tall man in a suit walking towards her. She felt her heart almost jump out of her chest after seeing the warm look on his face but forced herself to be indifferent.

"I'm happy you came." He said, his eyes carefully watching her.

"It's not like I'm able to decline." She mumbled quietly to herself, realizing he might not be aware of their difference in rank.

"Shouldn't we find a more...suitableplace to talk?" sohl suggested as she saw the loud crowds of people surrounding them.

"We can talk here." He assured softly. He had spent the night thinking where to take her and after considering what she might like, he ended up taking her to an amusement park, forgetting that the sohl in front of him was different to the one he had initially met. Surely,shewould've loved it; cotton candy, colourful headbands, roller coasters and carousels– she was a joyful person who enjoyed all of these things but for the sohl standing in front of him, all she felt was emptiness. Looking around her, she saw happy families or people with their loved ones spending time together, mothers and fathers with their children, reminding sohl of her loneliness and something she would never have again. She felt uncomfortable being surrounded by them yet seeing Sheoh be excited in front of her, she didn't want to disappoint him and told herself to withstand the inner turmoil she was facing.

"Then…" she began, taking a deep breath before continuing.

"Why did you suddenly decide to accept our offer?"

Truth be told, he simply saw the partnership as an opportunity to spend more time with her, though he wasn't sure if he should tell her. But before he knew it he had already uttered the words:

"To see you more."

In her presence, Sheoh had felt emotions he hadn't before, a lack of darkness and emptiness he usually felt and needed to see what these feelings were. Besides that, he wanted to see howshewas different from the sohl he had met because despite looking the same, he could sense there was something different about her he needed to find out.

Taken aback by his answer, sohl didn't know how to reply to his bluntness.

"Wh–why would you want to see more of me?" She stuttered, afraid that he had caught on to her feelings and was teasing her or worse–

"To get to know you better. And I want you to get to know me as well."

He had caught feelings for her as well.

Sol shook her head; it was more than impossible for Riu Sheoh to fall forher.There was no use to bother her mind with useless thoughts, she had to focus on the matter at hand: they were business partners now and shehadto stay strictly professional for her own good.

"Well, since we'll see each other at work more frequently now–"she avoided his gaze as it was wandering across her face–

"I guess it'll happen naturally."

Sheoh took a step closer to and leaned toward her and said softly:

"I don't want to see you just at work."

She looked at him wide-eyed, confused at what he was implying and worried about her heart beating faster the longer their eyes were fixated on each other. Of course, she couldn't have been aware of the disturbance she had caused in his life. Without knowing, he had opened himself up to the em sohl of a different universe, and now, despite thinking she wasn't interested in him, Sheoh felt a spark of hope in his chest whenever she was around, taking the advice she had given him to heart:

He wouldn't push her away, in fact, he would allow her into his world he vowed to not show anyone.

Before sohl could even reply, he took her by the wrist and brought her further into the amusement park as if he knew what he was doing. Having spent his childhood somewhere a child shouldn't be, he wasn't familiar with such places. While others his age would spend their time here with their parents, he was fighting for his survival in a foreign land all by himself. Instead of cotton candy or a candied apple, he held a gun in his hand, covered with the blood of people he didn't even know, forced to prove his value so he wouldn't be at the other end of the gun. This was a world he didn't know and was sure he would never enter, but with sohl by his side, he could see himself exploring this new world.

–

The first place they entered was an accessory shop they ended up at after following a group of people. Dumbfounded by all the bright colours and ridiculous pieces people were buying to put over their heads, they looked at each other expectantly, waiting for the other to say something.

"Are...we going to buy some?" sohl asked carefully, still hesitant to be with him.

"Don't people usually buy these kinds of this at parks?" He asked back, an awkward smile on his face.

"I'm not sure, I don't visit places like this," sohl replied and made her way toward the exit of the store.

"Really? I assumed you'd like it." He said shyly, embarrassed that his assumption was made with the other sohl in mind. Considering his ignorance, he looked at the woman in front of him and realised only now that ever since she arrived, she'd looked uncomfortable and didn't enjoy herself like he thought she would.

"I thought you would be the one who knew his way around here." She mumbled looking back at him, dropping the honorifics without realizing it. He smiled, thinking that the distance between them was slowly disappearing and put on a slight smile on his face although her assumption was as wrong as his.

"I'm not accustomed to these places either."

The look in Sheoh's eyes was familiar to Sol. It was the look she saw whenever she saw her reflection in the mirror; a feeling of a lost childhood, a longing for the happiness they couldn't have as children with the pain aching well into their adulthood.

Maybe there was a reason they were there together. They could finally experience something they never got to and maybe it would help ease the pain.

Sol grabbed Sheoh's wrist and walked back into the middle of the shop, taking out two headbands. One with bunny ears she, after a moment of hesitance, put on and another with bear ears she picked out for Sheoh. With their height difference, she struggled to put it on to which he slowly bowed down, his face right in front of hers, looking at her lips as she carefully put the headband on and ignored the lack of distance.

"Just today then," she began, a soft smile on her lips,

"let's enjoy ourselves."

—

It felt awkward for sohl to ride the carousel. It was as if all eyes were on her and making fun of her being an adult doing something made for children but seeing Sheoh on the horse next to her, trying to hide his 6ft body behind his hands as he looked away flustered, she couldn't help but laugh at the situation he had put himself in.

"What's so funny?" he asked with a smile himself. He didn't think he would hear that laugh again but seeing her like that in front of him was worth all the humiliation he felt.

"I'm sorry," she said while trying to hold back, only to laugh harder,

"but you did this to yourself."

Although he should feel offended, all he could think of was the dimple that showed up as her laughter grew bigger. Without a doubt, she made him feel things he didn't know he was capable of, such as the feeling of joy he felt watching her right now. There was no denying his interest in her had gone beyond curiosity and the more time he spent with her, the more certain he was that he wouldn't be able to let go of her ever again.

After having ice cream, sitting together almost in silence with sohl ignoring the voice in her head saying it's a date, they ended up in front of a roller coaster she was rather hesitant to get on. But seeing the excitement on his face, she didn't have in her heart to not get on and ended up following him on the ride. She could feel her heart beating faster when they sat down, her breath getting shorter with the passing seconds. She pressed her eyes together and held on tightly to the handles of the seat, hoping Sheoh didn't notice her anxiety, which he wouldn't have if his eyes didn't find their way back to her as they did.

Three.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice slightly drowned out by the countdown to the start of the ride.

Sol inhaled deeply with her grip growing stronger as they slowly made their way up.

Two.

"Actually," she started to say out of breath,

One.

"I'm incredibly terrified of heights!" As the cart rode down, she suddenly wrapped her arms around his arm held his hand after interlocking their fingers, and buried her face into his shoulder with her eyes closed tightly.

Sheoh's heart skipped a beat. His eyes widened as he acknowledged how close she was to him. He felt his skin burning, a thrilling sensation overwhelmed him as he felt her against his skin. He didn't know he could become this flustered because of someone but he wished the ride would never end and they would just stay as they were. When they arrived at the end of the ride, sohl was back in her senses and immediately removed herself from him, her cheeks taking over a rosy colour.

"You should have told me, we didn't have to take the ride," Sheoh assured her when they were back from it, as if he wasn't grateful she hadn't.

"It's alright" She tried to laugh it off, not sure if the restlessness in her chest was because of the roller coaster or the sudden intimacy between them.

"I guess we won't go on the Ferris wheel then."

Looking up, sohl saw a big Ferris wheel lit with different colours standing near the exit of the park. She didn't know why but despite her fear of heights, she felt the need to get in there with him.

"No, let's go." She said as if in a trance and walked towards the Ferris wheel.

Inside it, both felt oddly familiar with the scene, though none of them spoke about it. Instead, seeing her look out the window with a nervous face, Sheoh stood up and took the seat next to her when the Ferris stopped moving.

"You can hold on to me if you want." She knew he was joking about her reaction earlier but for some reason, she did feel safer with him by her side.

"It's the first time I visited a place like this." he looked out the window and the people outside, not feeling envious as he usually did when he saw them laugh together.

"I'm glad it's with you," he said and turned his eyes to sohl whose gaze was fixated on him. She smiled and fidgeted with her fingers, remembering the last time she was at an amusement park.

"When I was a child, we would go to a park on my birthdays. But after my dad died, my mom stopped taking me even if I begged her." She hadn't admitted it to anyone so far but it had left a scar in her heart. Even if her mother was grieving, she didn't have the right to take away the one place she associated with once the happiest moments of her life and take away her childhood. It was then she had a glimpse into adulthood; that you had to let go of the past– even if it hurt you. But now as she sat next to him, reliving moments from her past, it didn't hurt at all. Maybe you didn't have to forget your past but embrace it.

"I'm glad you invited me." she turned her head toward him with a thankful smile on her face, the wheel moving again. sohl had tried to not let her guard down with him but in that moment it felt only natural to share this part of her. He was aware she hadn't told anything about herself before this moment and felt a warm feeling in his chest that she was comfortable enough to do so. It was as if they shared more than he had thought, a certain brokenness that made them understand each other even without saying anything.

For a moment, they just looked at each other in silence, her smile slowly disappearing as she realized how close they were. Without knowing, she was looking at his lips and back to his brown eyes that were watching her attentively. Sheoh's hand reached towards her face and gently put the strand of hair behind her ear– something he had made a habit of– and instead of removing his hand, he carefully placed it on her neck without moving his eyes from her. Her heart was racing, staring at him in disbelief as if entranced by his touch. While making sure he wasn't doing something she didn't want, he slowly leaned into her with their lips only inches away from touching. Just when their lips would finally meet, the carriage suddenly stopped, bringing sohl back to reality. She stood up quickly disregarding the existence of the man she was entangled with a moment ago and headed towards the door

"I'm sorry, I have to go." She called and hurried out, leaving Sheoh by himself.

—

Sol didn't know how she had arrived home; it was when the adrenaline rush had died out she realized she was in her room and hours had passed. After inhaling deeply she let out a scream of frustration. She couldn't believe she made a mistake like that. She knew the consequences she'd face if she spent time with him yet agreed to it anyway. It was solely her fault, though she couldn't tell what had prompted him to behave that way.

Yet, when she sensed a feeling of regret, she wasn't sure if it was because they almost kissed or because they didn't– when she closed her eyes, she still saw him moving closer to her, his rosy lips being only a breath away and feared that if such thing were to happen again, she wouldn't be able to stop herself.

Taking out her phone, she saw the messages and missed calls Sheoh made since she had left abruptly. His apologies weighed on her chest, giving her a guilty conscience. As reasonable as she thought leaving was, she owed him an explanation as to why she'd walked out on him. She had to take responsibility for her feelings and let him know it wasn't his fault so she took her coat and walked out of the apartment, making her way to him.

Sheoh was sitting in his office thinking over what he had done. Just when he had gotten rid of the distance she put between them, he had gone and put it right back due to a moment of weakness. He was angry with himself, frustrated that even with her, all he could do was ruin things.

With the rage growing inside him, he took out a small container with white powder in it and dipped his finger in it before putting it on his tongue.

The drug entered his bloodstream in an instant, dilating his pupils and giving him an adrenaline rush with his veins pulsating all over his body. This had been his way of ignoring his feelings; instead of feeling pitiful and pathetic, it was better to stimulate his strength and his anger, that way he was reminded of his true self. There was no use for him to be hopeful for anything, his life had already proven itself to be the worst, so why even bother thinking it would get better? He blamed himself for his foolishness and deemed sohl walking away from him as justified. He would only ruin her just as he'd ruined himself, the sooner she realized that, the better it was for her.

A sudden knock at his door irritated him after he had specifically told his employees he didn't want to be disturbed. Without waiting for his answer, one of his assistants entered his office and bowed before saying the reason he had come,

"Sir, you have a visitor."

"Send them away," Sheoh ordered immediately.

"But–"

"Do I have to repeat myself?!" he interrupted him, his black veins pulsating with fury.

"No, sir!" the assistant exclaimed and bowed again.

"There is, however, another thing," he said hesitantly, afraid of agitating his boss further.

"Just say it." Sheoh stood up from his seat and walked towards the golf bag near his window.

"There has been a mistake with the shipment; we are missing a few jackets."

Sheoh scoffed, a forced smile on his face when he heard the report.

"Are we now?" he asked, not expecting an answer, and slowly took out a racket.

Trying to hide his fear when he saw what was in Sheoh's hand, the assistant bowed almost ninety degrees and hid his head.

"I'm sorry, sir! We are working on finding–"A hit on his back stopped him from finishing his sentence, making him fall to his knees in pain.

"What use does an apology have now, huh?!" he exclaimed while repeatedly throwing a hit with the racket.

"Be sorry before you make a mistake!"

Having wasted his time with unrealistic hopes, he had forgotten the terrifying creature he was. Hurting people was in his nature, after all, he was taught to torture people to survive. It was only a matter of time until he hurt people close to him as well. He was a monster to begin with–

"Riu Sheoh!"

Sol.

"What are you doing?!"

And he could no longer hide it.

Notes:

(for those who aren't familiar with strong woman gang name soon or forgot about it, doogo transports the drugs in the jackets and that part has been heavily inspired by the show itself.)
okay there we go!
I really hope you enjoyed it although I must tell you we're slowly reaching the end of the story. however! I feel like the next chapter will be nice so stay tuned
As always, thank you for your kind comments, they really motivate me to continue writing and this story wouldn't have gotten this far without your support333

Chapter 6

Summary:

Sol confronts Sheoh about his actions.

Notes:

I'M SORRY IT TOOK SO LOOOONG!
okay so this one took me long to write and I'm still not sure if it's good enough to show you guys but I really really hope you like it.
giving my usual apologies for the messiness and possible mistakes and without stalling anymore, enjoy this chapter3333

(See the end of the chapter formore notes.)

Chapter Text

The company wasn't far from Sol's place but as she made her way, it felt like an eternity to get there. It was definitely far enough for her to doubt that stopping the kiss was the right call and she sensed a feeling of regret, although it was overshadowed by excitement.

As she waited for a taxi, her mind kept replaying their moment of weakness– his hand on her neck and lips only a breath away–she couldn't help but question if he had feelings for her as well, as unrealistic as it sounded. She still felt his touch on her skin, making her cheeks burn despite the winter cold, and couldn't find any other explanation for his behaviour.

The closer she got to the building the more nervous she grew; she didn't know what to tell him nor how to ask why he'd almost kissed her because each time she imagined him in front of her, all she thought of were his lips.

For the first time, she found herself wondering, hoping and even believing that maybe all these years of loneliness were ending, that maybe all it took was her to meethim. Sol's mind didn't hesitate to tell her she was fooling herself, that she was blinded by her feelings and walking to her doom but having found the key to her heart, she didn't want to lose it again; she finally felt alive with what he made her feel and even if it ended in pain, she rather live with the memories he had given her than an empty vessel, just existing. For once, she wanted to allow herself to live like others her age, like someone who wasn't broken, someone worthy of love.

As she got out of the taxi, it felt as if her heart was going to jump out of her chest. She was afraid he didn't want to see her, that he had changed his mind or that she had been deluding herself into thinking he was interested in her, but despite those fears, she was impatient to see him. With a warm feeling surrounding her chest, she entered the lobby and walked towards the reception.

"Hello, I'm em sohl PD. If it's possible, I'd like to speak with the CEO." sohl said and slid a business card on the counter, using their work relations as an excuse to meet him.

"Im Sol-nim? Of course you can, give us a moment please." One of the receptionists answered without looking at the card, only for the other to tuck at her sleeve, slightly shaking her head as she pulled her away from the counter. sohl tried to hear what they were whispering to each other but didn't understand anything they were saying. She couldn't have known that Sheoh ordered them to allow sohl to his office no matter the circumstance, yet, didn't mention what to do when he didn't want to be disturbed.

"You will be escorted to his office in a moment." one of them finally said, though she appeared rather nervous.

Seeing how troubled the receptionists were, sohl looked around the lobby and noticed the overall atmosphere. Everyone looked stressed and overly cautious with what they were doing. It seemed something had happened that caused them to tense up in fear but she couldn't tell what it was. Even the man who walked her to Sheoh's office, someone about a foot taller than her with a strong build, hesitated to enter the office after telling sohl to wait outside.

She thought the uneasiness she felt was due to seeing him again after such an intimate moment but when she still wasn't called in, she knew something wasn't right, which the sudden thud from the room confirmed. She took in a deep breath and opened the door slightly, wide enough to sneak a peek of what was going on.

"What use does an apology have now, huh?!" she heard a loud voice; a male silhouette holding a golf racket in his hand.

As she stepped into the room, she first didn't know what she was looking at but when she realized that the man in front of her was Sheoh, she was unable to move any further.

"Riu Sheoh…" she breathed out in disbelief, him being unaware of her presence as if he was entranced. Her gaze shifted to the man who'd brought her to the office, now lying on the ground as he tried to shield himself from the racket. He growled in pain, pleading with Sheoh to stop and kept apologizing. She felt her heart sink, a heaviness weighing on her chest while she tried to approach them as much as her feet allowed.

"Be sorry before you make a mistake!" Sheoh exclaimed again before getting ready to throw another hit.

"Riu Sheoh!" She suddenly yelled, surprised by the volume of her voice. When he turned his head, it was as if someone else was in front of her. His eyes were filled with rage as if he was possessed by something. Judging by the way he was looking at her, sohl wasn't sure if he even recognized her. The warm and kind smile she saw him give her was gone and replaced by something almost emotionless.

"What are you doing?!" she asked in the same tone, her breath quickening as she struggled to understand what she had just witnessed. Before she knew it, she rushed towards to push him, making the racket in his hand fall and told the employee to go away after helping him stand up.

Left alone in the room, sohl turned to face Sheoh, who stood in front of her and pushed him again.

"What are you doing?!" she asked him without allowing him to answer, not that he knew what to say.

"What do you think you're doing?!" she exclaimed and pushed him again before noticing the veins covering his neck and hands. sohl thought that she was supposed to be scared, to run away as fast as she could, but even after seeing what he had done, she was worried he was in pain. She reached out her hand to see why his veins were black but Sheoh, avoiding her eyes, backed away and held up his hand against her.

"Don't come any closer," he warned trying to sound intimidating but he couldn't hide the trembling in his voice.

Sol let her hand fall in disappointment, pain all over her body when she suddenly thought of all those rumours they'd spread about him; they were true. She had witnessed his inhumane strength and the veins across his body first-hand and couldn't find an explanation other than drugs. However, instead of fear, she felt an unexpected anger rise inside her.

She didn't want to accept that the image she had of him was false, that he was capable of harming himself as well as others; that the person who made her want to live again didn't even value hisownlife.

"what are you doing…" her voice had gotten more quiet, asking more herself than the man standing in front of her. Despite all she had seen, she still couldn't bring herself to leave him, she didn't want to believe it.

Sheoh rarely felt any guilt whenever he hurt someone. If you made a mistake, you ought to pay for it– at least that's how he was taught. No one had shown him mercy, so why shouldhe? Nevertheless, having sohl see him in his true form awakened a rare feeling of regret in him and he felt the effect of the drug lessen the longer she watched him with a distressed expression. He had to face the truth sooner or later though; no one would be able to ever love a monster like him and he had to make sure that she didn't end up a victim of his miserable self.

"This…" he started, his eyes slowly daring to look at her.

"This is who I really am." Although his tone was calm, the sudden raise of his voice startled Sol. He gave out a chuckle, a forced smile on his face as if he wanted to see her scared, knowing that she was the last person he wanted to be feared from.

"What you've seen now–It's not even close to the bad things I've done. I've…" Sheoh slowly walked towards her; he needed to scare her off to save her from himself, it was the only way he could help her.

"I've killed people," he whispered menacingly. He thought of all the lives he had taken throughout his life. The ones he was forced to to survive; the ones he did for revenge. He was convinced it was what he was supposed to do to gain power, to be feared by all so he no longer had to fear others. But all of them had the same look in their eyes he could never forget because it was the same look of dread he had when he killed for the first time.

Her heartbeat quickened with each breath the longer she thought of his words. She should've left him, gotten out of the room and vowed to never see him again. Yet, when she saw his expression, it wasn't someone proud of what he had done. She wasn't sure if he knew how bad he was at hiding his agony with the visibly painful smile on his face and the tears in his eyes. One had to look at him just for one moment to see the hurt behind those seemingly empty eyes. But he was adamant to show himself as the cold-blooded killer he wasn't, which only drove her more furious.

"Jerk." she suddenly pushed him, making Sheoh stumble and hold onto the desk to catch his balance.

"Asshole." he was taken off guard by her remarks. Considering this was the second time he had told the truth about himself, he only had the sohl in mind who cried in front of him once she found out about the life he had lived. Seeing her enraged was the final reminder for him that this was a different person—someone who had no attachment to him nor any lingering feelings.

But even meeting the other version of her was due to a resemblance to someone she loved, not because she lovedhim. He had been pathetic to think there was someone who could love him and pull sohl into this mess when all this time he'd been just fooling himself into thinking there was a possibility they were meant to find each other, knowing that the only thing he was fated to, was to be by himself.

"If you were such a bad guy," sohl exclaimed and hit his chest.

"Why did you have to be so kind to me?!" Sheoh froze with her words. Horrifying, evil, cruel— these were the words to describe Sheoh, butkind?

"Why?!" she screamed again, surprising Sheoh with the volume of her voice.

"your words made me hold onto life when I was ready to give up," sohl grew quieter again, her gaze falling to the ground as she thought of the time he had unknowingly saved her; his smile on the big screen while rain poured down on her and how much she cried feeling the support of someone she had never even met.

"you're the reason…"

Sheoh stood still in front of her, his curiosity as big as his confusion about what she saying.

"you're the reason I'm alive today."

Riu Sheoh had been the reason why many lives had been taken but never had he caused someone to stay alive. He didn't believe he had an important role in her life, let alone save it. He watched her in disbelief as she slowly raised her head, his chest aching with a sharp pain when she saw the tears rolling down her face.

"Now you're telling me you're the villain in this story?" Her voice was calm while she gradually closed the distance between them by taking one step at a time.

"How can I believe you're evil when you look this sad?" He couldn't hide his quivering lips or his clenched jaw when she was this close to him. She didn't want to accept that this was who he truly was. There was no possibility that someone so warm-hearted to her did those things out of pure malice.

"When your eyes speak of nothing but loneliness and regret?"

Sheoh knew that sohl was able to break down the walls he had built and let his guard fall without him noticing but he couldn't allow himself to ruin her life any further by being by her side.

"I have to be the villain." he finally said after a moment of silence and turned away from her so she couldn't see through him.

"Why?!" She followed him as he wandered across the room.

"To make them pay!" He kept reminding himself of the reason why he had chosen this path; it was his life force to seek out revenge for what they took from him. It had brought him this far and it would suffice to make him stay, no matter how much sohl made him want to walk on a different path.

"Make who pay?!" She finally managed to hold onto his arm and stop him, only for him to pull his arm away and face her with a grim expression.

"Those who forced me to hurt people—"he carefully walked over to her— "made me kill to survive," his voice was quiet but as he leaned toward her, it was loud enough for her to hear,

"and fight for my right to live."

Although the drugs had worn off, Sheoh's veins were pulsating rapidly with a rush of adrenaline. It was this vengeance that kept him alive and pushed him through the hardest of times. No, he thought, he couldn't waste all his hard-earned work now.

Sol stood steadily and didn't back down despite his efforts to drive her away with his intimidating looks and harsh tone— she knew that it was all an empty act he was putting on. Even if it wasn't, she no longer had anything to lose.

"if by making them pay you're harming others,"

Although they were only a few inches apart from each other, she couldn't help but raise her voice at him, her eyes filling with tears.

"How are you any different than them?!"

Sheoh furrowed his brows as if he didn't understand what she was saying but after so many years of believing what he did was for his greater good, he suddenly had doubts the path he chose wasn't the one she should've been walking on.

"You're doing the same thing they did to you!"

He slowly backed away, not wanting to listen to her as she showed him the truth of his life.

"Are your actions justified because you're avenging yourself?!"

Sol called him out, demanding an explanation he couldn't give. She didn't believe that this was just who he was, she wasn't going to take that as an excuse. If that was truly him, she would do anything in her power to bring out the good in himself, she couldn't give up on him like he did.

Sheoh couldn't say anything. All he could do was stare at her, without knowing how to explain himself. His sole purpose in life was to get as powerful as possible to fight against Pavel and his followers, it didn't matter what he had to do to achieve that. He thought of the little boy whose life they had turned miserable. How he had someone else's blood on his hands from a young age, the struggle to run away and save himself that ended in vain. He still couldn't shake off that fear to this age, waking up in a cold sweat from another nightmare that he was back in that forest he couldn't escape from. For the longest time, whenever he thought he was inflicting the same fear onto others, it was his form of retaliation—that because he went through it, they had to as well. He believed it to be a way to become stronger, to endure the pain and to evolve from it.

But now that she looked at him with tears and disappointment in her eyes, he could no longer trust the hatred that had fuelled him to this day. After meeting her, power wasn't the only thing he was greedy for. He found himself wondering about life outside the darkness, what it was to have someone beside you and finally belong somewhere. How was he supposed to turn his back on these newly felt emotions and live his life as if nothing had changed? It had been foolish to think he could ever forget about what she had made him feel.

Sol watched him as he walked towards the sofa in the middle of the room without uttering a word. She desperately wanted him to say something, anything to end the unbearable silence they were standing in. But all he did was sit with his palms pressed down the seat as if to support himself.

"Aren't you going to say anything?!" she pleaded, her voice cracking when she spoke to him. Even when she got closer and put her hand on his shoulder, shaking him up and urging him to talk, he wouldn't open his mouth.

"Is this how you're going to be?"

She didn't know what she expected him to do or if anything he'd say was even enough for her, but she was willing to stay for him, to try to understand him. Even now, she couldn't bring herself to leave him just like that, but his silence had hurt her more than his words. It was his unwillingness that was the breaking point for her to admit that maybe thiswashis true self. She felt a lump in her throat and tried to take a deep breath in an attempt to get rid of it but she only choked up with a heavy feeling in her chest. She slowly removed her hand from his shoulder and wiped away the tears from her face.

Sol took a step back in hopes that he still might say something but as he proceeded with his silence, she finally turned around and was ready to leave.

Until something grabbed her by the hand.

Sheoh didn't know what made him hold onto her. Maybe the little boy in him no longer looked for vengeance but a hand to reach out to. It was an instinctive reaction to not let her go no matter how selfish it was, no matter how much he knew she would be better off without him.

"This…"

Sol turned around and saw how his gaze was still on the floor. She moved closer, thinking he would look up as he spoke to her but he was determined to hide his face by fixating his eyes to the ground.

"This is the only life I know."

He almost whispered, his voice shaking. When he finally raised his head, looking up at her from his seat, she saw his red eyes and the tears that fell down his face. His lips were quivering as he tried to say something but his head fell again and he let go of her.

Seeing him in this state, the anger sohl had felt up until a moment ago suddenly vanished. Before she could dry his face, he dropped his head again, not allowing her to see more of his misery.

"I've lived this way since I was a child, I– I don't know how else to live."

The pain in front of her was the one of a boy who held a grudge against everyone for abandoning and not helping him and the more she thought that he went through all of that as a child, the heavier her heart grew.

"I'll show you."

The softness in her voice was almost as gentle as her touch when she put her hand on his cheek. She lifted his head, his glistening eyes looking at her in awe. For a moment, he was entranced by her words, imagining his life without the endless anguish– a quiet life with her by his side. It might've looked like nothing much but he believed that it would give him the happiness he thought he would never achieve. But he was certain the only reason she wanted to help him was out of pity, out of fear even, and it would only be a matter of time until she gave up on him.

"There's no use," he shook his head and moved his hand on hers,

"you can't teach a monster to be human."

Sheoh tried to move sohl away from him, only for her to put her other hand on his face as well.

"Do you think I'd still be here if I thought of you as a monster?"

She looked him right in the eyes, her frail voice now steady.

"Iknowthere is good in you."

This was a life he had no say in choosing. sohl believed that if there had been someone to show him there was light beyond the darkness, that he didn't have to cause pain to forget his, he wouldn't have lived in such agony. She believed in her love and in him, that he could learn that only by tending to them he could let go of past wounds.

She took a step towards him, making him see the tear rolling down her cheek. He didn't understand what she saw in him that made her come to that conclusion, especially after tonight. But hearing her say those words made him want to believe in it, as ridiculous as they sounded.

"You're what kept me alive. Because of you, I could find a dream and finally live for myself."

That rainy summer day nor all the times she saw him had never left her mind; whenever she had started to lose hope, she was reminded of what he said or the joys he'd given her and survived this long because of it.

"And now I'm here."

She was certain it was a game of fate that brought them together. Maybe she was meant to hear those words so she could live long enough to savehim.

"And I'm not giving up on you."

It scared him how determined she sounded. He had never been someone's choice and wondered if this was how being wanted felt like. He was at a loss for words since it was too good to be true– why would anyone ever choose him?

"Why?" he asked carefully, a part of him scared that she would change her mind.

Sol let out a chuckle, a faint smile appearing on her lips.

"You still can't tell?"

At this point, sohl had given up any subtlety about her feelings, yet he was too blind to see it. She caressed his face gently, just now realizing how close they were to each other and felt panic rush through her veins. However, it might've been excitement, after all, because when she looked at his teary eyes, his reddened nose and swollen lips, she couldn't hold back her feelings any more and decided to give in to her heart's desire.

She tightened her grip around his face and held her breath as she slowly leaned into him, her eyes closing before their lips finally met. It felt as if her heart was going to burst out of her chest as his skin brushed against hers, taking in his warmth with each breath. But with a sudden clarity, she realized she was kissing someone who was in his most vulnerable state and didn't even know how he felt about her and stopped herself. She moved her head and removed her hands from his face, watching him as he still had his eyes closed for a brief moment.

"I'm sorry!" She blurted out when he opened his eyes and turned around in embarrassment.

However, she was held back from leaving as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards himself, making her fall into his lap.

Sol gasped at the sudden shift of environment and stared at him wide-eyed. Sheoh was confused as to why she had kissed him and studied her face to find an answer. She was biting her lips, trying to hide her reddened cheeks as her eyes gave away her intentions by repeatedly looking at his lips. He had never felt this nervous that he was afraid something was wrong with his heart as it beat rapidly. Despite her being in his arms, after having kissed him, he couldn't believe that she had feelings for him because—

why would someone ever choose me?

"Will you truly stay?"

He never wanted someone to say yes the way he did right now; he desperately wanted her to choose him over and over again because from now on, em sohl would be the only ever option for him; he could never let her go.

His arm was around her back as his other was placed on her shoulder, his hand behind her neck with fingers between her hair. Laying on his lap, she nodded and felt the tension in her shoulders ease up when he drew circles on her skin with his thumb.

Sheoh didn't realize that he had been holding his breath until he saw her nod in agreement. Without hesitation, he found himself staring at her lips—flushed red from their kiss. He tilted his head toward her, carefully moving closer while his eyes followed hers until they gave into each other's warmth.

He was surprised at how soft his lips felt against his, even softer than a moment ago. His hand was entangled in her hair and he felt her hand slowly make its way to his neck, realizing how starved he was for her touch.

If there really was such a thing as fate, Sheoh cursed it for not letting him meet sohl sooner because as he held her in his arms, he knew there was no entity strong enough to separate him from her.

Notes:

Sheoh kissing his old life goodbye! (literally)
this one was a bit angsty and possibly cliche but what can I say i love me a little angst. Idk if it came off in the writing but I wrote this scene to highlight the difference between our sohl and this sohl that while both are worried about him, they have different ways to show it (which Sheoh also noticed).
Don't worry! this isn't the last chapter yet but don't hate please me if I take long to update again (ＴＴ)

(p.s: this was for the sheoh and villain apologists bc I may or may have not downplayed his deeds but shhhhhhh)

Notes:

Thanks for reading, I really really hope you enjoyed it 33
It's kind of difficult to write about informal/formal speech in English but I love that kind of scenes in Kdramas so I had to add one in here.
Again, I hope you enjoyed it and I hope today's episode won't hurt us as much :')