ALL BARK NO BITE | SADISTIC BEAUTY SPINOFF

Chapter 32

6 YEARS AGO

AN HOUR AFTER CHA WOOKYUNG'S LAST PHONE CALL

~ 102-3, Yujin Apartments, Sanggye-dong, Nowon-gu, Seoul

Minho tugged at the jammed handle of the last drawer in his study desk. Fucking open up he whined under his breath as it took him both hands and a foot on the leg of the closet to pull it. THUD Minho flew back as the heavy, overfilled drawer popped outwards. The top of the shelf cartoonishly overflowed with loose sheets with scribbles on them, some folded while many simply fluttered out like trapped moths. Moth eaten indeed, Minho sat up, dusting his hands and butt, collecting the papers one by one.

He had started writing in his freshman year of middle school. He was shoddy, dull, clumsy and disjointed in his expression but as he practiced and read more books, he slowly began grasping serious writing and by high school, he had some fixture in terms of form and unique style. Minho peered into the drawer, having a fit of sneezes because of the dust motes. He spotted an old, black notebook and pulled it out, his heart beating a mile a minute.

Junior Year in college is when he felt inspired enough to come halfway close to writing something original...

Although he wrote randomly, collecting his ideas and then just leaving them on paper, most of them didn't really matter until much later but this one was different. It was his most recent, most detailed and emotionally rendered writing. An idea he had entertained and kept close to his heart for nearly an year now. He opened the notebook, feeling the pale pages crinkle and peel. He was almost afraid to look but he caught a glimpse of the key heading.

Falling to Dawn
~ By Byun Minho

Minho fell still, stroking the spine of the diary and then his own words. Only a few days ago, he would have shuddered to bring it up, to look for it or even hold it in his palms. But tonight, the night of the first kiss of his life, he didn't feel as afraid. He took the diary to his bed and sat down next to his phone. Minho had been especially overwhelmed after Wookyung's phone call. Was he already so taken with him? he couldn't help but feel happy and hopeful.

He wanted to show Wookyung his work... and even wanted him to edit it for him.

He wanted to tell him about Mr. Wang... or maybe he would know about him beforehand because of his family. Minho thought how meeting Wookyung's parents would feel like. The emotional block guarding his heart was cracking. Minho felt in his heart that for the first time in his life, he would be accepted, his writing won't bring failure and together, with Wookyung, he could actually be happy and do something he loved to do without letting anyone down

And what about mother? Minhyuk and the babies? That evil voice tried to get to him...

Minho was strangely serene. Maybe the only problem was that all along he was making himself seem stronger than he felt but with Wookyung on his side, he truly did feel so. Strong enough to be happy. Strong enough for his family too. Minho thought to call him up after the line got cut but he wanted to look into his eyes, to touch him and talk to him. He wanted to show Wookyung everything, he even had a feeling that he would love Falling to Dawn too.

He was relieved to finally have someone to run to. Someone who was going to be there, right next to him. Wookyung was too stubborn to ever leave even when he hated him... so why would he leave if Minho actually opened up his heart to him. Minho smacked his forehead Are you falling in love? he asked himself and fell back on his bed, squealing and clutching his diary. He couldn't wait. Tomorrow was starting to feel like nothing less than a new life to him.

****

THE NEXT DAY

~ Literary Review Class, Hanguk University, Daehak-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul