Chapter Text
Jongwoo looked at the screen, in total silence. He had been trying to think of a good scenario for one of the crimes of his serial killer, but nothing came to him. It was totally out of his mind, he had it for a few seconds but then nothing. He sighed and closed the laptop, rubbing his tired eyes.
“This is total bullshit...” he almost whispered to his empty room, annoyed with himself. “I just had it, for god's sake! At this rate, I will never end a single chapter...”
Maybe it was the heat of this damn summer, maybe it was he was working way too much for minimum wage, maybe it was having to endure all the shit his so-called friend gave him, maybe it was that he hadn't seen his girlfriend for almost three weeks and he felt they were pulling each other away, like two strings close to snapping. It was torturing his mind. Ji Eun was the only thing he had left here, the last thing that gave him hope for a better life. Or maybe...
Maybe it was this crazy place, full of crazy people. This studio, that gave him the creeps even just by walking through the single corridor it had, the little mediocre kitchen, or the smelly and broken bathroom at the end of the corridor, somewhere Jongwoo was sure that not even the Devil would want to step into. He was sure he saw a rat coming out of one of the toilets the other night but was unsure if he should complain or not.
The sensation of having someone next to him while he slept, the tickling on his skin as if something sharp caressed it each night. And, for some reason, when he wanted to open his eyes to see what was going on, nothing. He couldn't do it. His eyes were stuck as if someone had put glue on them. Sleep paralysis, Jieun said. You're just paranoid, getting used to the city life, Jaego said. Bullshit. Bullshit.
BULLSHITBULLSHITBULLSHIT justdie BULLSHITBULLSHIT you'relyingyou ALWAYSLIEYOUPIECEOF-
“Jongwoo-ssi, are you there? I've made some tea, would you like some?”
Jongwoo turned around quickly, almost as if a prey heard a wolf in the distance. He stared at the door, in total silence, gulping as he heard the landlady calling for him. He didn't want to go, he didn't trust her. But what else could he do? He had no other choice, he didn't want to create any enemies in this place full of psychos. With not so much joy, he gave a simple 'coming' and got up, with a soft chill going down his back. He wondered if it was simply a bug that had gotten inside his shirt.
He sat on one of the chairs of the little kitchen, sipping the tea. It didn't taste good but it also didn’t taste bad. He could hear one of the twins laughing. The pervert in his own room doing whatever god knows what he was doing. And then him. Jongwoo didn't know when he came or when he left, but he saw his shadow for a few seconds in the corridor, or maybe it was just him? It was his fault, always wearing black. Now that he thinks about it, where does that guy sleep? Does he sleep? When? He had never seen him go into a room when they say good night. Wait...
They say good night EVERY night?
“I'm going crazy, definitely...” he said, sighing as he finished the tea. He got up to go to the sink and wash the cup but he sensed someone in the room. He turned around, dropped the cup, and gasped, scared “OH GOD!”
Jongwoo felt as if his heart was in his mouth, an acid taste left on the tip of his tongue. He saw Moon Jo raising one of his eyebrows, as if he found him amusing. He hated that subtle smirk of his. The dentist just got closer to him, and the writer wanted to run away, but his legs wouldn't respond. So he waited, watching Moonjo's every step.
But he didn't expect the man to kneel down, picking the broken pieces of the cup, in total silence. He suddenly hated silence.
“When did-”
“You should be careful, dear. I would hate for your pretty fingers to get hurt” he said, without looking at Jongwoo, “Does me being here scare you that much?”
“What? No, no! It's just… Just… ”
Jongwoo kept his mouth in a tight line, not wanting to answer. He wanted to go somewhere else, not here. He could feel the man in front of him, but there was also something else. Jongwoo felt a strange sensation. A sharp and tiny thought that sank into his gut carefully, as if it was waiting for the moment for the boy to scream in pain. Moonjo got up slowly, his body a few inches away from Jongwoo, a shadow over a tiny candle awaiting the perfect wind. The smaller man felt taken over. He noted that he couldn't keep his eyes away from Moonjo’s, just as Moonjo didn't let go of Jongwoo's eyes. If he let go he knew he would fall into a pit with no end.
Or maybe he already was falling.
Jongwoo and Moonjo were silent, just looking at each other. There was no kitchen or studio, and there was no world. Just those eyes and him, those deep dark eyes that he wanted to dissect, to discover what dormant secret laid deep in them. There was definitely something hidden inside those eyes, and he was going to expose it.
Moonjo put the pieces of the broken cup next to the sink, without looking away from Jongwoo. Lately, the boy was even more on edge, looking at every corner he passed, at every little hole he found, to everyone that looked suspicious or looked for a second too long. It was difficult at first, the boy was very cautious and intelligent, but a few honey-coated words and beers and the complicity of a sane mind, the boy's barrier fell. Moonjo could dive deep into his mind, twisting and biting, searching for his dark pearl. He knew it was there, it HAD to be. Nothing and no one would get in the way of him claiming his prize.
“...You're blushing, dear. It suits you a lot”
“Stop calling me that. It- It's creepy and weird. I have a-”
“Girlfriend, yes, you said it several times. I didn't know calling you pretty would offend you. Just said a fact.”
Jongwoo didn't react at first, but then it hit him. Pretty? Did he just call him pretty? Him?? Jongwoo moved away, finally out of that trance and cleared his throat, searching in his mind for an explanation of what was happening. He needed to leave, right now, but he also didn't want to sound rude to Moonjo-
Since when did he care how Moonjo felt about him?
“I need to get going, I have to go to work. Thanks for...You know… Helping me with the cup...”
“It's alright, either way it was my fault. I startled you in the first place. Have a nice day”.
Moonjo smiled and took a bottle of water, leaving again, while Jongwoo stayed. He was alone. Always. But now, it hurt more than usual. It never hurt before. Why now?
“This place is fucking me up...”
Only when Jongwoo looked at the shards of the broken cup did he notice the pain in his hand. He looked down and saw a cut on his palm, his hand pulsing and burning. He tried to clean the blood before it spilled on the floor, but some had already fallen down. He hadn't let go of the cup. He had broken it himself.
He threw the pieces into the garbage can.