[Taekyun's residence]
It was already ten at night.
The residence was quiet in a way that felt too large for only a few people living inside it.
Soft lights glowed faintly along the corridors, shadows stretching across the marble floor like something breathing slowly in the dark.
Haneul lay on the bed beside Haru.
She had fallen asleep not long ago, her small body curled slightly toward him, one hand clutching the edge of the blanket as if afraid it might disappear.
Her breathing was even, calm, the innocent kind of peace that only children carried so naturally.
Haneul stared at the ceiling, eyes unfocused.
My world…....
Taekyun's voice echoed faintly in his head.
Don't you want to go back to your world?
Did he want me to leave?
Or was he just asking?
Haneul slowly turned his head and looked at Haru.
Without thinking,
He reached out and placed his hand gently over her hair, fingers brushing through it softly, protectively.
"I can't leave anymore,"
He whispered to himself.
Not her.
Not Taekyun.
"I love them,"
He admitted quietly, the words heavy but honest.
"Taekyun, Haru, and hyung."
They are the only people that matter to me now.
The only ones i have left.
Hyung is already here.
Taekyun and Haru are here too.
Then why should I leave?
Once I find hyung, I'll make him stay here.
I won't tell anyone the way back.
No one will force me to leave.
His chest tightened with resolve.
"I won't go,"
He whispered.
A strange sense of peace settled inside him.
"I'll stay here. With them. Happily."
He exhaled slowly, then sat up.
"I should talk to Taekyun,"
He thought.
"I'll ask him for help.
He'll help me find hyung."
But as soon as he stood, hesitation crept in.
He'll be awake by now.
What if he asks why I came downstairs?
What if he thinks I'm being selfish?
Haneul looked around the room, then spotted the water bottle on the side table.
"I'll take this,"
He decided quietly.
"I'll pretend I needed water.
If he asks I'll talk."
He picked up the bottle, slipped into his slippers, and carefully left the room, closing the door softly behind him.
Downstairs,
The villa felt colder.
Snow fell gently outside, visible through the tall glass windows, white flakes drifting down in silence.
Dim lights illuminated the vast space, shadows pooling in corners, the cold seeping through the walls and into his bones.
Yet somehow it felt good.
Calm.
Haneul filled the bottle at the counter, the sound of water echoing faintly in the empty space.
"Maybe he's in the study,"
He murmured.
He turned and walked slowly towards study.
Inside the study room,
Taekyun sat completely still.
He was facing the wall, eyes unfocused, body tense as if frozen mid-breath.
But his mind was racing.
Haru's face replayed over and over.
Her tears.
The way she had tried to swallow them.
The way she had cried like someone far older than she should ever be.
His breathing grew heavier.
It was the same.
The same suffocating pressure he had felt as a child.
Whenever his parents scolded him for acting like a child.
Whenever they pushed him aside, reminding him that his elder brother could handle everything better.
The brother he loved.
The brother who loved him back.
And then,
He left him.
He died.
After that, they took Taekyun not with love, but with expectation.
They forced him to grow up before his time.
Crushed his teenage years.
Made responsibility his only identity.
The same pain returned when his sister's eyes filled with hatred instead of affection.
So he learned to endure.
He learned to hide everything inside.
To never cry.
To never let anyone see weakness.
A leader could not be weak.
Sacrifice became his duty,
But it wasn't chosen.
It was forced.
He married.
He lost.
Harin was never his love but she was his trust.
They were both wounded souls, suffering in silence.
Her brother's death mirrored his own pain.
They understood each other without words.
But then even that ended.
His brother.
His wife.
His friend.
His trust.
All gone.
The fire inside him only grew.
And now Haneul.
Haneul was ruining him.
He hated being controlled.
Hated losing control.
Yet he kept saving people.
Sending others back to their worlds.
Protecting lives he claimed to despise.
But Haneul was different.
The urge to send him back wasn't duty.
It was fear.
Taekyun felt like his heart was slipping being pulled, trapped, controlled by Haneul's presence.
And inside him,
There was nothing but hatred.
What if Haneul saw that?
What if he opened his heart and found only hate?
Taekyun clenched his fists.
"I wanted this life to hurt,"
He whispered.
His eyes burned.
He buried his face in his hands.
"I didn't want Haru to be like this,"
He said brokenly.
"She doesn't need to be strong.
She doesn't need to grow up."
"She should be soft,"
His voice cracked.
"Even if it's like Haneul."
"She shouldn't become like me."
A knock echoed faintly.
Taekyun didn't respond.
The door creaked open.
"Haneul?"
The bottle slipped from Haneul's hand and hit the floor.
Water spilled across the carpet.
Taekyun looked up.
The room was thick with pheromones
heavy, sharp, suffocating.
Taekyun's eyes were red.
"Taekyun"
Haneul whispered.
Something inside Taekyun snapped.
"Get out,"
He said.
"I..... " Haneul tried.
"For now,"
Taekyun said sharply,
"go to your room."
Haneul saw it.
Not anger.
Fear.
Raw, overwhelming fear hidden beneath a violent protective layer of pheromones.
Instead of leaving,
He stepped closer.
"Leave,"
Taekyun warned, stepping back.
"Before I hurt you."
Haneul moved closer anyway.
Taekyun's knuckles whitened.
"What's wrong?"
Haneul asked softly.
"Why are you like this?"
He had never seen Taekyun like this.
Broken.
Crying.
Unstable.
Taekyun turned his face away.
"Haneul, go."
"It's okay,"
Haneul said gently.
"It's going to be okay."
"You don't know anything about me," Taekyun snapped.
"You have no right to speak like this."
"I like you,"
Haneul replied quietly.
"And I know something is wrong."
Taekyun collapsed onto the couch, breathing heavily.
Haneul sat beside him.
"You want me to leave?"
Haneul asked.
"I hate this,"
Taekyun said.
"I hate everything."
"You hate me too?"
Haneul asked.
"I hate you,"
Taekyun said coldly.
"If you don't leave, I'll kill you."
Haneul listened quietly.
Then he stood and wrapped his arms around Taekyun, pulling him close.
"Everything will be okay,"
He whispered.
"Haru was scared just like you."
Taekyun's head pressed against Haneul's stomach.
His heart burned.
Why is he like this?
How does he know I'm scared?
Why can't I control him?
For the first time in years.
Taekyun didn't have answers.
And that terrified him more than anything.