ALL BARK NO BITE | SADISTIC BEAUTY SPINOFF

Chapter 54

8 YEARS AGO

~ Library, Hanguk University, Daehak-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul

After waiting long enough, Minho blinked his eyes open in the library, the dull ghost of the tubelights and deep flushes of the greying sky danced across his vision. His neck had a crick, his back was stiff and his legs felt numb from being in the same position for too long. Get to class on time, angel... he heard Cha Wookyung's deep voice whisper gently before he left. His skin was still tingling as he slowly pushed himself off the desk.

Idiot

He had been writing before that fool came along, a confused flock of thoughts fleeting across pages that he tore from his personal journal. Unable to understand anything, he had put his head down on the books, resting his eyes and allowing his mind to wander and make sense of what he was thinking. Just then, he walked by, sitting next to him, staring, grazing against him and talking to himself. Minho had kept his breath steady.

Eyes shut

Body still

He kept his lashes from fluttering too much...

And tried not to flinch or...

Gasp no matter what he did...

If Cha Wookyung realised that he was awake the whole time... What would he do if he realised he was awake?? That guy was the one in the wrong for approaching him like this so why was he so nervous when he was here... if he did wake up, he should be mad at him and brush him off like he always did but... why did he want him to stay? Minho sighed as he dabbed his eyes, reaching for his glasses. He held them and stopped at the metallic end.

He had propped it against his books but it was lying flat against the desk... Cha Wookyung must've done it, he dragged his fingertip across the cold metal. He hmphed, ever since that boy has been around... there has been something stranger and stranger in the air. He fell asleep more... saw more dreams... his thoughts were more tumultuous than usual... the winters were... warmer. He shook his head and put his glasses on.

Even though his and Cha Wookyung's worlds were eons apart, he had somehow caught his eye and he didn't know how to feel about it. On one hand, his wealth felt like a slap in the face, his cars and sexual escapades like a huge wet, tongue sticking out at him and then, there were things like these... things that couldn't be seen as anything aside from... affection... because who else would waste an hour staring at him, coming close to touching him and then cowering... he had him acting like a fucking fool.

What did that say for either of them...?

His eyes caught upon the crushed piece of paper... It had now been straightened out, a corner missing off its end. He gingerly touched it, pulling it closer. Cha had made sure not to tear into anything he wrote... leaving behind all the things he started out with but just with... one missing piece... What did he use it for? Should he ask for it back? Minho gulped, picking the paper and pulling it close, taking a deep breath of a fading perfume... it was light and obscure, so simple yet so difficult to catch...

An unpinnable craving...

Something that forced you to beg...

For another whiff...

Minho slipped the paper between his old, black journal, shutting it back just as quickly.

If anyone were to run through the pages that flipped open as the book fell from being opened so much... they'd find small renders of the sky in various stages of lightening, spangled with windborne birds and of course, the new story that the new boy had inspired in some strange, bashful way. Minho picked the book up, putting it up to his forehead and hitting himself with it. He hated to admit it... but... Cha Wookyung was becoming... a muse he was unwilling to accept.