Seven days.
It had been a week since Joshua had screamed at Seokmin, demanding he get out of his house.
Seokmin obeyed.
He had sent John over to remove the cameras, every one of them. John had reported that while they worked, Joshua had locked himself in a room and didn’t come out until the job was finished.
That detail alone made Seokmin’s stomach turn.
When Seokmin reached for his phone to call Joshua, the familiar ache in his chest worsened as he saw the notification: blocked.
Not surprising, but it still felt like a punch to the gut. He had also called off the bodyguards, no longer watching Joshua’s every move.
It felt like cutting the last thread that connected him to the person he had failed so deeply.
In these days, Seokmin had never felt so hollow. He felt like a criminal—one who had blood on his hands, not from taking a life but from destroying something just as precious.
He had killed Joshua’s trust, his love, his belief that Seokmin could be anything other than the monster he feared.
Seokmin stared blankly at the ceiling of his dimly lit apartment, the silence pressing in around him. His mind replayed every moment, every mistake, every desperate attempt to justify what he’d done.
But there was no justification, no explanation that would undo the damage. He had crossed a line—one he couldn't step back from.
His phone buzzed, but it wasn’t the name he longed to see. Another work call, another meaningless distraction. He ignored it, letting it fade into the background noise.
Nothing mattered.
Not without Joshua.
The memories of Joshua’s face that last night, the pain in his eyes, the trembling in his voice as he whispered those words, haunted him.
"I wish I had never fallen in love with you..." Those words had echoed in his head for days, gnawing at his insides until all he could feel was guilt, regret, and something far worse—loss.
He had destroyed the one thing that mattered most. And for what? For control? For the sick belief that keeping Joshua under surveillance would somehow protect him?
Seokmin let out a bitter laugh.
It was twisted.
He was twisted.
He knew he couldn’t go back, couldn’t undo the damage. But he couldn’t let Joshua slip away either.
He had to fix this, somehow, even if Joshua never forgave him. Even if it took everything he had.
Seokmin grabbed his jacket, heading toward the door with a resolve he hadn’t felt in days. He didn’t know what he’d say, or if Joshua would even listen.
But he had to try. For once in his life, he couldn’t run from the consequences. Not when the person he loved more than anything was on the other side of that door, broken because of him.
Just as Seokmin reached for the door, the knob twisted on its own, and it swung open. He froze, his eyes falling on his brother, Seungcheol, who strode in with a purposeful gait.
Seungcheol’s gaze immediately locked onto Seokmin, his eyes scanning the jacket gripped in one hand and the keys clenched tightly in the other.
Clicking his tongue, Seungcheol kicked the door shut behind him, his expression unreadable as he turned to face Seokmin.
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Arrange Devotion | SS
FanfictionBOOK #2 They say love heals scars, but Seokmin's scars were lessons-bitter reminders that twisted him into a creature of darkness. His life was a series of brutal lessons that shaped him into someone who burns with an unquenchable fire. Protecting...
