ALL BARK NO BITE | SADISTIC BEAUTY SPINOFF

Chapter 50

5 DAYS LATER

~ 320 F, La Grande Maison, Haenan Acropolis: Apartment Complex, Itaewon-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul

Wookyung hunkered down on the couch, putting his dress shoes on as Ryeo, having returned from the manor, hovered around the house, wrapping up before Wookyung left for the party he was throwing for his editorial team that evening. As he stared down at his shoestrings, Wookyung zoned out for a while, thinking about nothing in particular... his fingers stayed winded in the lace.

This had been happening more often. The blanking out. Slowly, and with Ryeo's help, he had finally settled back into a decent sleeping schedule. He no longer woke up sweaty and disoriented in the middle of the night, but his days weren't any... better... because of his rest. He'd be typing something and blank out suddenly, or if he was showering, he'd stand there for ages without realising.

Something had... switched off inside his head and he could feel it. A loss of function maybe. How does one even explain this without sounding too strange... that... such a new change in his life has rendered parts of him to go dormant... his motivations had disappeared... he felt less and thought lesser and he... couldn't move. "Young sir?" Ryeo asked and Wookyung jolted to action, tying his laces from where he had left them. "Sorry" he uttered.

"..." Ryeo mildly stared at him and held up his neatly pressed coat for the event. Wookyung looked up, sighing as it came time to leave for the get together. He rubbed his eyes as Ryeo quietly seated himself next to him, the coat draped across his lap. "Is there something on your mind that you wish to say?" he said and Wookyung stared at his hand, opening and closing it without much thought.

"Not really... I was just... mentally preparing myself for the get together" he said and Ryeo nodded, "Are you looking forward to it, young sir?" he asked and Wookyung shook his knee, unfocused "What even am I looking forward to..." he let out a small laugh "I can't even drown myself in alcohol" he looked at Ryeo, wanting to make him laugh but dropped his façade upon seeing his sombre expression.

"Is this about Mr. Byun?" Ryeo asked and Wookyung's face fell "...". The Butler stroked the collar of the coat and cleared his throat "Did something happen when he was over?" he asked and a primal ache took over him as he tried to deflect his questions "It's... over now" he stood up, readjusting his shirt and belt, reaching out for his coat and Ryeo looked up at him with a questioning expression on his face.

Ryeo slowly got up and opened the coat to let Wookyung put his arm through one of the sleeves. "Did father say anything when you went to the manor?" Wookyung switched their theme of discussion and felt Ryeo stiffen at his side, even as he tried to adjust his coat, pressing the shoulders down and smoothing the fabric out. "Not in particular, sir" he responded in a clipped manner.

"Does he know about what happened these past few weeks?" he asked and Ryeo grimly responded with "He must have... he eventually comes to know" he stopped at that, unsure of what Wookyung was trying to get at. He gave him a small smile "You know, he wasn't always this bad..." Wookyung reckoned, toying with his shirt at the neck "When I was a boy, he used to treat me like I was his world... his one and only beloved son" he said.

"He would shower me with toys, build me huts, sing me songs, bring me along to his office rounds, his golfing jaunts, business trips, Disney World, even dinner parties... I was the centre of his universe because I was a part of him... his pride... he saw himself in me... like birds of the same feather. I wanted to follow in his footsteps too... to be successful, intimidating, I never realised how deep this earning was..."

"Even in my grudge against him, I am just the way he is... why Ryeo?" he looked at the man sourly "It's sickening, sickening that I know better and... I still didn't see the parts of me that were tainted... I... did horrible things... just to prove things to myself the things he expected of me... Minho... my..." his voice broke and Ryeo's eyes softened as he understood Wookyung's heart.