not folded. Not hidden.
Just… waiting.
??????
On the fourth evening, Yul finally cracked.
“You planning to explain, or should I guess?”
Haneul didn’t look up from the mug of hot water he was nursing like tea.
“I don’t need a fucking dad, Yul.”
“Good. Because I’m already raising a nightclub.”
Silence.
Then:
“…He went to Jang’s house.”
Yul’s brows lifted.
“Seungho Yeol?”
Haneul nodded once. The motion was so slight, it barely registered.
“Alone. No warning. Just marched into chaebol central like he owned the ground.”
Yul exhaled slowly. “Goddamn.”
“He threatened the whole family. Their shipping company. Their legacy. All of it.”
Yul didn’t speak. Just let the smoke curl from his mouth like slow punctuation.
“I’m not a fucking maiden in distress, Yul.”
“No,” he said calmly. “You’re a fox. But even foxes need somewhere to curl up before their paws bleed out.”
“I didn’t ask him to do it.”
“That’s the problem, isn’t it?” Yul tilted his head. “You think love should only come when you ask for it.”
Haneul’s mouth twisted. “He’s trying to keep me. Like a—like a fucking pet.”
“No, kid,” Yul said, and this time his voice was softer, not mockingly so. “He’s trying to make room for you. There’s a difference.”
“I just needed a break.”
“A break from what? Being seen? Or being safe?”
Haneul put the mug down too hard. “He’s not safe.”
Yul didn’t flinch. “No. He’s not. But he’s not trying to own you either.”
The boy’s jaw twitched. He looked away. “You don’t know him.”
Yul exhaled through his nose. “No. But I know you.”
