ALL BARK NO BITE | SADISTIC BEAUTY SPINOFF

Chapter 77

(Spoiler and heavy TRIGGER WARNING in comment:-)

15 YEARS AGO

~ 72-4, Angye Housing Provisions, Suyu-dong, Gangbuk-gu, Seoul

Minho sank into the safety of his subconscious as he slept. Dreaming vividly and yet being able to feel the room around him. The clunking of the fan at a slow pace, the sheets rustling, the floor cold under him, Minhyuk's belly under his arm as he had put him to bed right next to him. There had been endless screaming and weeklong fights. Mostly his mother's voice at his father. He had simply locked Minhyuk and himself out of it. After seeing his father almost jump off the roof, he felt ashamed for having tried to intervene in their marriage.

Then again, what kind of marriage was it if all his father could do was sit on the curb as his mother slowly lost herself in her strange whims? Her desires, her insecurities. From what Minho couldn't help but overhear, she would keep saying that love wasn't supposed to be this way. That she wanted to feel pretty, be taken care of, have a house and a car. That it was what they promised her at her wedding. He heard his father cry and his mother sighing. Why would they promise a young girl all these things? Minho couldn't help but wonder. It's like they trapped her with the fantasy of it.

And now she refuses to believe otherwise. Minho used to feel bad for his father, but he was starting to question him too. Why marry a girl at such a young age when he knew he's not financially stable and that she isn't working and probably won't be working in the future? He wished his father could do what his mother asked of him. That's what he wanted himself, didn't he? To be strong, protective, successful and do better for his family. But then again, he didn't know if it was ever going to be enough for her. He wanted to fix everything but it all felt futile.

So Minho decided that he wanted no part of their marriage or any marriage for that matter of fact. From his perspective, it was just a longer more painful road to loneliness because it was one thing to be alone but to be tied in a so-called loving relationship while feeling completely isolated... he hated even imagining the feeling. He prayed for it to end. Despite the shattered sounds of intermittent fighting from his parents' fights, just when he was starting to think that it would never end... that night there had been no fights. No tears and no clatter.

He felt a kiss on his forehead, a gentle stroke through his hair. He felt ticklish and stirred in his sleep, finding his father's rough cracked hand gently grazing his cheek. Minho realised he had forgotten the last time he had been touched so lovingly. With such care and love, the meaning of the action fueled by a need to be close, to reassure and to offer comfort. He fell deeper into sleep, untainted by the myriad noises of the house, his parents or Minhyuk, studies, about the food burning on the stove. Minho wanted to preserve that touch and run to it whenever he felt restless.

It's not like he had a choice.

Because the next day, his father was gone.

All his clothes and belongings, his glasses on the stool and his sweater hung over the back of a chair, his slippers and shirts clipped to the clothesline on the roof... everything had seemingly disappeared. When Minho woke up that morning, he felt well-rested and like he had properly slept in a long time. And yet he felt like he wasn't awake as if the nightmare had just begun. Leaving him defenceless and unprepared for what might happen next. He had walked around the house for weeks, thinking he might see a glimpse of his father. Misun would look away or leave because she was tired.

He was gone. Such a small thing, to walk up and leave.

But for Minho, it felt like he lost everything.

****

1 YEAR LATER

~ 72-4, Angye Housing Provisions, Suyu-dong, Gangbuk-gu, Seoul