Leader | Seongjoong ✔️

25

I tossed and turned, frustrated that I kept thinking about it. It was stupid anyways... I should just forget about it. Yet the feeling of his touches gnawed at the back of my mind, making me feel hot and squeamish.

'Why would he do something like that?' I thought. A kiss like that... why? And it wasn't just a kiss - he tried to more. I shivered at the thought of how far we would've went if San didn't open the door and knock sense into him. I had to keep telling myself that it really was nothing more and Seonghwa was just.... I didn't believe myself because I didn't have an explanation, but I eventually managed to fall into uneasy sleep, the familiar nightmares haunting me as they did every night.

-

"Over here!" Eden called, waving a little so that I could spot him through the vast mass of people. I smiled at him, walking to the table and sitting down. "How are you?"

"I mean I could be better," I said, taking my jacket off.

"Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" He asked, flipping through the menu. "I could help you out."

"There's not really anything to tell."

"Okay then... I won't pry."

We ordered some food and after it arrived, we were comfortably talking about whatever came to mind. The conversation varied from light squabbles about red grapes or green grapes, to deep discussions about our existence. It felt good to be able to talk to him freely. He seemed trustworthy and knowledgeable; as though he could give me real advice that would work. Of course, the conversation slowly steered to our pasts. There wasn't much to tell from my side, but Eden had a lot to say. I was thankful that he trusted me, so maybe I could do the same for him.

Eventually, the topic of Mr. Hwang came up, since Eden suffered a lot thanks to that old man. He told me about how they met and their friendship before. He told me about when it all began and how he felt. It made me realise that we were more alike than we are different. The way he spoke about the experience made it sound like it was exactly the same horror as mine. He talked about what happened after he threatened Mr. Hwang with the recording and how it took a year or so for him to fully stop.

"Is that going to happen to me then?" I asked, stirring my milkshake with the straw.

"What do you mean?"

"I kind of told him that I knew about it too..." I mumbled, loud enough for him to hear. "He seemed pretty worried, but if it's anything like you're story, then I'll be stuck with him for a while."

"What exactly did you say?" He asked, sort of surprised, considering he only told me about it two days ago.

I began to explain everything that happened after I met Yoo Kwon in the corridors all the way to when I stormed out of the room. He didn't say anything, but look at me, whilst absentmindedly poking his plate with a fork.

"Ok... ok," He said louder the second time. "We can work with that I suppose... next time he does something let's just do it - but bit by bit... that way he can see we're not bluffing, but at the same time, we won't lose all our power at once."

"Good idea!" I said, my mood lifting. Talking to Eden makes me feel so much more at ease. How did he come up with such a smart idea? His level of understanding was so much greater than mine. No surprise there though.