DARK SIDE 🔞❤️‍🔥 {The Uncanny Counters 2}

Dark Winds 👣

"𝕺һ һᥱrᥱ 𝗍һᥱ ᥕіᥒძ, і𝗍 kᥒ᥆ᥕs mᥡ ᥒᥲmᥱ ᥲᥒძ һ᥆ᥕᥣs mᥡ ⍴ᥲіᥒ".
-𝕶ᥲrᥣіᥱᥒᥱ

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ── ─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

ᑕᕼᗩᑭTEᖇ ᙭᙭᙭VII: 🍂
【🔸Ｓｏ　Ｍｕｎ】

The sun streams through the towering glass windows of the skyscraper, casting a golden glow that bathes the interiors in light. Shadows retreat into corners, revealing objects that had been hidden all along. The atmosphere inside is as bright as the day itself—staff, executives, everyone seems lifted by the warmth, as if the sun's rays had spread a collective good mood. On most days, I'd be one of them. But not today.

Today, there's no sign of Adrian.

It's been two days since we returned from our little getaway, and our usual rhythm of life resumed. Mae-Ok and Mo-tak are back at the noodle shop, Hana has returned to her classes at university, and I've come back to my work experience here at the company. This is my final week before I dive into my last high school exams. Graduation is on the horizon, and I'm looking forward to it—finishing school, stepping into the future.
Yet today, everything feels off.

"Can you tell me where your head sails, every five seconds?"

Shin Hyeok-U's voice snaps me out of my wandering thoughts. My eyes reluctantly return to the cluttered table before me, strewn with papers, detailed diagrams, and open books. His tone is sharp, and I can hear the irritation bubbling in his throat.

"Do you want to concentrate here, and not elsewhere?" he scolds, his patience thinning.

I let out a quiet snort, knowing he's right. Lately, I'm too distracted.
I thought I was the capable one in this project, the one with all the answers. But it's clear now that Shin is the serious one—more focused, more driven. He wasn't bluffing when he said he wanted to prove himself worthy of running his father's business.

"You're getting distracted again!"

"Sorry!" I mutter, a little too defensively.

The sunlight catches Shin's reddish hair, making it shimmer like polished copper. His sharp, brooding eyes are fixed on me, and I'm startled when he suddenly reaches across the table to brush a stray curl from my face. The casual intimacy of the gesture leaves me scandalized, though he seems entirely unbothered. He returns to scribbling in his notebook as if nothing unusual had happened.

I scowl at him, wondering what's gotten into him lately. He's been unusually tolerant of me, almost gentle in his own way.

"If you're tired, we can take a break," he offers nonchalantly, not even glancing up this time, as if he hadn't just invaded my space moments before.

I nod, saying nothing.    

Shin closes his notebook with a snap, standing up from the table without another word. I watch as he stretches, his tall frame bending slightly, before he jerks his chin toward the door, signaling for me to follow. Wordlessly, I rise from my seat and gather my things, though I can't help but feel a small weight of irritation settling in my chest.

We leave the conference room, stepping into the long, sterile hallway. The walls are lined with the soft hum of distant chatter, muted by the thick glass offices we pass. Shin doesn't say anything at first, his footsteps confident and swift.
I struggle to keep up with his pace, my thoughts still lingering on the unfinished work piled up back at the table.

As we reach the elevator, he presses the button and glances at me briefly.

"You really need to focus more," he says in a low voice, though his tone isn't harsh this time. It's almost... concerned? No, that can't be it.
"I am focused," I say defensively, stepping into the elevator as the doors slide open. The cool, metallic interior feels starkly different from the warm sunlight that had filled the conference room. "Just... distracted lately."