𝐂 𝐀 𝐌 𝐁 𝐈 𝐎 𝐍 | ᴀᴛᴇᴇᴢ [𝘴𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘭 𝘵𝘰 𝘐𝘯𝘤𝘶𝘣𝘶𝘴]

𝐗𝐕𝐈

The woman had no doubt, anymore, unwillingly she had to give up and admit that Hee-Young was Seonghwa's daughter and, probably, there was nothing that could link the girl to who was supposed to be her real father, namely San.

Areum's voice shook before begin to talk again, but someone snatched the phone away from her ear. The woman lifted her hands to catch the device, but as soon as her eyes met a pair of blue ones, the blood froze in her veins, together with her movements.

Seonghwa was there and he was holding her phone. San's metallic voice could be heard on the other side of the line as the tension in the kitchen grew and the silence was thunderous. For a brief second, the only noise Areum could hear was her heartbeat pounding in her brain, her attention was focused on the demon in front of her. Tears started to fill her eyes, but none cut her cheeks.

"Who are you talking to?"

Asked Seonghwa with a deep and velvety voice that made the woman shiver and her stomach doing cartwheels. His long, cat-like eyes fell on the display of the phone and Areum could see his jawline clenching for the bother. His plump, red lips thinned into a line as he placed his stare back on his prey.

Areum gulped when he crashed her phone between his fingers and with ease as if the device was made of paper, an action that emphasized his demonic nature that the woman still hadn't gotten used to. The demon opened the same hand he used to destroy the phone and let what remained of it falling on the floor with his tongue pressed against the inside of his cheek.

"Why are you calling him?"

Sang Seonghwa with his dark voice while tilting his head to the right. Areum didn't know what to say, she still couldn't believe that he was back and that this time, he wouldn't have hesitated to kill her and her group of friends.

However, Seonghwa being the sadistic demon he was, wanted to hear Areum's voice, he wished to hear how her voice was broken from the fear and how desperate she sounded whereas attempting to push him away from her like the last time they met.

He smirked, before taking a few steps towards her, finally deciding that the fun part began at that moment.

"Why are you calling him when I am the real father?"

He asked with a pinch of malice in his tone. Even though Areum was already aware of the truth, that San wasn't Hee-Young's real father, hearing those words hurt her more than she expected. Her breath shook in her throat as she took a few steps backwards, hoping to create some space between her and Seonghwa.

"You're not her father, you can't be. We haven't met in three years, there's no way it's you."

The woman claimed in a murmur, almost as if she was talking to herself. Seonghwa scoffed and tried to repress an evil laugh and his want to explain to her that she was terribly wrong, other than delusional. Though he had to be quiet, his plan was only at the beginning.

"Are you sure?"

He replied, proceeding his slow walk to reach Areum. The latter's eyes trembled and the demon realised that she, in the first place, wasn't convinced about what she was saying. That question rumbled in her mind and let it take control over her entire body. No, Areum wasn't sure about anything that had happened in the last four years, she had accustomed herself to live her life the way it was, without searching for plausible explanation and meanings, because sometimes there weren't any.

Even so, the way Seonghwa skillfully played with her mind and heart... She hated it and also despised the control he had over her, starting from prohibiting her to sleep.

Areum gulped a knot of tears that was lumping in her throat before managing to reply.

"I didn't hesitate."