𝐑𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 || 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐋𝐞𝐞

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟑

"I am Atlas."

Atlas.

Bearer of the celestial heavens.

A Titan who was condemned to hold up the sky on his shoulders for eternity after losing the war against Zeus.

Velvety and deep—a voice so sinfully attractive, luring her into a dark abyss. The boy's tanned skin glowed under the moon, illuminating his face. Captivated by his gaze alone, she stared at his face dazed, like she was in some dream induced state.

Atlas frowned when the girl didn't say anything, just continued to stare at him even without her signature blinking. His eyes blazed with an emotion foreign to him at her prolonged silence though it was gone as soon as it came, veiled by his usual blank gaze.

Did she not like his name?

Her lips parted on their own accord but no words escaped her mouth. The flash of disappointment in his eyes didn't go unnoticed by her. To Yunhee, the boy looked like a little pup waiting to be complimented.

"That's a nice name!" she chirped cheerily, giving him a thumbs up.

"Really?" he asked in a small voice, laced with childlike innocence.

And for a moment, she felt lost.

The uncertainty in his tone somehow reminded her of all the love deprived children back at the orphanage, with their sad little faces and longing looks as they watched the other kids get adopted- hoping that they would be adopted soon as well.

"Yes!" Yunhee smiled and nodded her head vigorously, trying to assure him. However, his focus was no longer on her face but rather on her hands- more specifically on her scraped knuckles.

Hands which were still enclosed in his much larger ones.

"I hurt you," Atlas stated, the pad of his thumb hovered over her knuckles, caressing the broken skin ever so gently. Now that he realized, his head didn't smash against the hard ground which meant she had cushioned his head during their fall but got hurt in the process.

It looked soft and small in his hold.

It was warm.

"Oh, it's alright. It barely hurts."

Lies.

It hurts like hell but she didn't have it in her to say it out loud and guilt trip the boy for something that wasn't his fault.

Contrary to Yunhee and her thoughts, Atlas didn't feel any guilt whatsoever. He was just fascinated as to why she would even help him- a stranger she barely knows. When he realized he was still holding her hand, he quickly retracted his hands away as if he had been burned.

"Mama said I am not allowed to touch pretty things because I will end up destroying them." Atlas murmured with a faraway look in his eyes, lost in his memories.

Her heart lurched painfully in her chest. Was—was he abused as a child? Poor thing, he must have felt so alone and scared.

Why bring a child into the world if you can't care for them?

No one deserves that.

With a determined look, she holds his gaze. "First of all, I am not an object. I am a human- just like you. And second of all, as long as you have a person's consent, it is okay to touch them." Yunhee spoke softly as if she were explaining something to a five-year-old.

Suddenly everything around them became deafeningly silent.

As if sensing something is wrong, his ears perked up and body tensed. Atlas scanned the area for any threats- just when the sound of a gunshot in the distance probably a few meters away from them reverberated through the calm night startling them both, upsetting the tranquillity of the surroundings.