POISONED YOUTH: TWISTED

CHAPTER 26

Five days had passed since their last meeting, and for both soulmates, those days had dragged by like a blazing thunderstorm—loud, uncomfortable, and impossible to ignore.

Now, they were tucked away in the comfort of Yeoreum's bedroom.

Haechan was lying across her bed while Yeoreum sat against the headboard, her laptop resting on her lap as she worked through the pile of homework she had missed during the two days she was absent.

The trip back to the cousins' apartment had been painfully quiet for Haechan.

The anger Yoonoh held toward him still hadn't faded, and the tension between them had become so thick that Yeoreum eventually called his soulmate, Hana, and asked her to take Yoonoh out for the day.

Thankfully, Hana agreed.

That left the apartment to the two of them.

Yet somehow, being alone together didn't make things any less awkward.

Neither of them knew how to start a conversation. Most of their exchanges consisted of short, meaningless phrases.

Stay here.

Go there.

I'm fine.

Drink your water.

That was it.

Yeoreum eventually let out a long sigh, stretching her arms above her head. Haechan heard the faint cracks from her joints and glanced in her direction.

His eyes then wandered toward her laptop. A moment later, he caught sight of the screen.

Submitted!

She was finally done.

Haechan cleared his throat.

Nothing.

Yeoreum didn't even look at him.

He frowned slightly.

After a few seconds, he cleared his throat again, this time a little louder.

Still nothing.

He glanced at her.

She knew exactly what he was doing. She simply refused to give him the attention he was silently asking for.

Instead, she reached for the bottle of water beside her and held it out without looking at him.

"Drink your water, Hyuck."

Haechan stared at her.

He slowly sat up and turned toward her.

"Do you have anything better to do?"

The moment the words left his mouth, he knew they sounded wrong.

Yeoreum's head snapped toward him. She scoffed, clearly offended.

"Wow."

Haechan opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

He hadn't meant it that way, but his tone had betrayed him again. Now he was back to receiving the cold shoulder.

Yeoreum turned away and picked up one of her books, deciding that the mythical creatures printed across its pages were much more interesting than her soulmate.