Monster (ONEUS Seoho x Ravn/Seojo)

Week 3, Day 4

The morning was quite serene as I lounged on the window seat, reading my book and nibbling away on my breakfast sandwich. I had naively believed that today was going to be a good one, especially if I stayed out of Dong Myeong's hair, however, after setting my tray outside, I was met with an anxious Young Jo.

He was alternately rubbing his hands together and biting his fingernails. He was desperately chewing when I stepped up to him and practically swatted his hand away from his mouth.

"Stop that," I hissed. I remember it used to be a bad habit of Keon Hee's when he was first brought in as a servant. I would always sneak into his quarters with Ji A's nail care supplies to mend his nails like I had seen Ji A do when hers were either chipped or uneven. He soon grew out of it when he came to realize that he was safe with Ji A and me.

I wished it could've been that simple with Young Jo.

I intended to inquire about his state, but he beat me to it.

"I'm sorry about yesterday," he started. I sighed as I felt my shoulders relax. I was worried something else had occurred, and little did I know something else would indeed happen at my cause once more.

"It's fine, really, you don't have to-,"

"No, you don't understand!"

I was taken aback for a moment. I had never heard Young Jo raise his voice before, and I concluded from this experience that I never wanted to ever again.

I bowed my head as I began to fiddle with my fingers.

"No, no, please don't," he begged of me as he placed his hands on my shoulders.

I framed his face with my hands and assured him, "I hope you know that you don't have to apologize for everything and anything because it's genuinely not your fault. The curse is something out of your control, and I can only imagine how frustrating it must be."

His hands moved to my cheeks, and he pulled me into a rough yet passionate kiss.

When it ended, he murmured against my lips, "I'm praying this attitude of yours persists because this is the most troublesome part of the curse."

"Hey, listen to me," I started softly, lifting his chin to catch his eyes, "We're going to get through this together," and without even thinking about it, I blurted out, "I love you too much to let you go a second time."

He started to shake his head as he backed away from me as if my face had shifted horrifyingly or like something of nightmares was looming behind me. I saw tenderness mixed with rage; soft brown mixed with stark red. At first, I was perplexed but then I recalled what I had said just a few mere seconds ago and my hands flew to cover my mouth.

One of the conditions of the curse is these built-in impulses where certain things that are supposed to be good anger me.

"No, no, Young Jo, I didn't mean-."

But it was too late because he, whose tears began to streak his cheeks, was being forcefully sucked underneath the bed. I acted as fast as I could to latch onto him, but he was already gone.

I slumped against the bed with a defeated sigh as I closed my eyes and my mind sounded off with scoldings at my foolish, careless self.

My room door creaked open, and I heard light footsteps tread towards me. I didn't even bother to see who it was because I was utterly devastated at how rash I had been.

A gentle and what felt like a rather small hand tapped my shoulder. I reluctantly peeled my eyelids open to reveal Si Woon standing next to me. His tiny figure just reached my head, but if I were to sit up properly, I would easily surpass him.