Shadows of Abyss

Chapter 22

She sat there on an isolated bench by the Han River, dressed in a white button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled back, paired with washed-out baggy jeans. It was the quieter part of the riverside where few dared to venture, but from a distance, So-hee could still see couples walking hand in hand, the laughter of children echoing across the pathways, friends relishing the warmth of each other's company.

The river stretched endlessly before her, its waters rippling gently under the evening light. The peace of the moment should have comforted her, but inside, her mind was a swirl of thoughts that refused to settle.

She and Namjoon had always been survivors, born into circumstances far from ordinary. Children of a prostitute, they had grown up in a brothel, where their mother, ever ready to sell them to the vultures of men circling like sharks, saw them more as currency than children. The thought of those days sent a shiver down So-hee's spine memories so dark they were almost hard to believe.

But with those memories in so-hee's mind , came Jeon Jungkook, their savior, who appeared when they needed him the most. It was Beast who had given them a roof over their heads and shaped them into who they were today. To the world, she and Namjoon were fiercely loyal to Jungkook, a loyalty deeper than anyone could ever know.

Despite her hard exterior, a small part of So-hee felt fragile. Deep down, beneath layers of cunning and ruthlessness, there was a little girl who simply wanted to belong, to feel like she mattered. Would anyone ever accept her for who she really was?

She knew the answer. She wasn't the kind of person people would give their name to. She had too many shadows, too many secrets. What she was and what she did defined her.

Chuckling softly, she shook her head as she gazed out at the river. Her reality would always be in the shadows, and she'd be bound to it no matter what. Her mind wandered back to those hard, angry eyes she had encountered once, eyes so angry that they showed no mercy. For a moment, she had wondered if they could ever be directed at her with love and compassion, but she quickly laughed it off. She knew better than to believe in fantasies.

Sighing, she shifted her gaze back to the couples on the riverside, sharing moments she would never experience. She had never known that life, and even if she tried to fit in, the world would spit her back out.

She glanced to her side as Namjoon approached. "I was passing by, and I knew you'd be here," he said with a small smile, settling beside her on the bench. "Thought I'd sit with you for a while."

"What are you thinking so hard about, little monkey?" he asked casually, grabbing her hands and pulling her closer.

So-hee shot him a cold glare, but Namjoon just laughed it off. "I was just thinking about our identity, hyungie" she murmured, resting her head on his shoulder. Namjoon looked at her intently; he knew she rarely called him "hyung" unless something was truly bothering her.

"Sometimes," she continued, her voice barely above a whisper, "I wonder if we'll ever be more than that. More than just the children of a prostitute, born in that hellhole with no idea who our father even is. If not for jungkook..." she trailed off her words hung in the air, heavy with the pain of their past. The thought of jungkook brought a strange mix of gratitude and longing.

"Now even our Jungkook has someone to return to," she said, her voice lighter yet bittersweet. A soft smile touched her lips as she thought of teahyung, now jungkook no longer the lonely figure she once knew. "He's found someone. And it's so good hyung, i'm so happy for him ..... but then I wonder," her words trailed off, barely audible, "will I ever have someone like that? Someone to return to? Someone special to call my own?"

Namjoon shifted, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as he pulled her closer. "You don't need someone else, So-hee. You'll always have me, jungkook, hawk and now even teahyung. There's no one who knows or respects you more than I do, Soh. We all loved you so much." His voice was firm yet gentle, reminding her of the beautiful bond they shared.