"I have no such dreams."
Yawning as if bored Yoon Seoyul uttered. It seemed like two hours of sleep wasn't bounteous. Taking advantage of his weariness he mumbled out randomly.
"Can I join your guild now?"
"No."
The speed he was rejected at was something to be ashamed about. Cheon Areum closed his eyes and nodded a few times accepting his fate.
"Erase that memory from your mind Rian."
"Him saying 'no'?"
Rian tilted his head and pointed his index finger at Yoon Seoyul. Cheon Areum bit his lips lowering his hand.
"That's considered rude."
"I know."
"...."
Yoon Seoyul the kind hearted man fortunately didn't take the little innocent kid seriously and walked away without anyone kind of rebuke. Cheon Areum sighed drawing Rian by his hand inside the apartment.
"Are you hungry? Wanna eat something?"
"No. I want to take a nap."
Rian clung to his hand tightly, dragging him toward the bed with small but determined steps. Once they reached it, he lay down first, patting the spot beside him with sleepy insistence. Cheon Areum followed without resistance, lying down as Rian pulled him close. He shifted to his side, gently brushing Rian's hair away from his forehead and caressing his head with slow, soothing motions. His gaze softened as he looked down at him.
"Rian, what do you think about going to an elementary school?"
Rian who had just closed his eyes reopened them staring at him. He pouted pondering over it.
"I don't mind going to school but...no nothing."
Rian begun soon shaking his head at his own unvoiced thoughts. He want to probe him until he saw him falling asleep. Cheon Areum continued to caress his hair as he slept limps spread all over the mattress. His hand paused midway his heavy eyelids closing involuntarily.
*RING*
*RING*
*RING*
Despite ignoring the consistent bell rings coming from the living room. The person stubbornly refused to go away. Cursing in his mind he finally got up to see who it was before Rian woke up from the noise too.
"...."
Standing outside was a familiar figure, only distinguishable by the change of clothes. Dressed in a gray sweatshirt with the hood pulled up and a white face mask concealing most of his face, Yoon Seoyul stood at the entrance with his hands indifferently tucked into his pockets.
"Can I join your guild now?"
"No."
Cheon Areum slammed the door in his face and stretched his arms heading back to the bed but then the barrage of bell rings lambasted him. Holding his temper he threw the door wide open.
"What??"
"....I can't sleep."
"So?"
"Ryung isn't at his place and Joon said he'd quit if I bothered him at night too."
Cheon Areum irritably scratched his neck tilting his head. He was trying his best to hold onto the sleep that was starting to slip away with each word coming out of his mouth.
"Can I join your guild then?"
"No."
"Fuck off then."
Cheon Areum slammed the steel door but before it could fully shut, a firm arm wedged through the narrow gap. Yoon Seoyul's hand gripped the edge, the force keeping the door open. His voice was calm.
"Let me sleep here just today."
"We only have a single bed where are you planning to sleep?"
Cheon Areum having lost the last remains of his sleepiness huffed peckishly.
"I can sleep on the couch."
At that he loosened his grip leading him therein. Both of them stood in silence staring at the empty living room. Yoon Seoyul was truly too pitiful. A real tragedy if you will. Cheon Areum was just as awestruck when he saw the living room for the first time.
"Be my guest I'll be in the bedroom if you need anything don't disturb me.... don't follow me either..."
Yoon Seoyul didn't say a word, not even when Cheon Areum shot him a pointed look. His silence wasn't awkward—it was frustratingly confident, as if he had already decided he was staying, and no amount of protest would change that. Cheon Areum lay back down on the right side of the bed, letting out an exasperated sigh. Rian, already curled up on the left, barely stirred. The only space left was a narrow sliver behind him, clearly not enough for another person. But Yoon Seoyul didn't hesitate. With all the casualness in the world, he climbed into the bed, squeezing into the limited space behind Cheon Areum like he belonged there hurling his mask on the floor.
"If you touch me I'm going to kick you."
"Okay."
Hearing the reply, he closed his eyes, trying to reclaim the sleep that had slipped away. He stayed in the same position for a few minutes, clinging to the leftover sleepiness. But then the bell rang again—this time more persistently, almost impatiently.
Whoever it was, they were about to experience his wrath. Cheon Areum's jaw clenched as he lobbed the blanket off. Sensing the movement, Yoon Seoyul quietly got up from the bed without a word, stepping aside to let him pass.
Cheon Areum pushed the door ajar, a dark cloud of vexation hanging over him. As his eyes landed on the person standing there, his irises dilated, revealing a faint glimmer of the unusual color they usually held.
"Who gave you the sleepover invitation granny?"
"I'd say you watch your tongue Areum. Return him right away or else I'll report you to the police."
Upon seeing the lady—dressed just as impeccably as the first time—the annoyance clouding Cheon Areum's mind flared into pure, seething rage. To him, she was nothing more than a stranger cloaked in the illusion of kinship; he held no fondness for her, not even the barest thread of familial warmth. But he wouldn't have gone out of his way to confront her—if only she hadn't taken Rian, hadn't dared to provoke him.
"Are you forgetting that I have Rian's custody? I been lenient with you since you are also my grandchild but it must be getting to you making you think you can go against me."
While Cheon Areum grinned and glared blankly. She gruffed him by the collar of his shirt almost lifting him from the ground. His feet barely skimmed the floor. He hadn't been able to notice before but now he knew why she could overpower him so easily. She was an alpha that's why her sole presence made him overwhelmed. The woman stared at him with viciousness but seeing him so unfazed by it her expression turned sour.
"What's there to smile about? Finally lost it huh?"
"I was just thinking about trying it out but you presented me the opportunity how can I not be happy right now? Hmm...to take over the custody I'll have to kill you."
Cheon Areum muttered coherently as if he were discussing something mundane. His head tilted slightly, a thin stream of black shadow coiling up his arm, hidden beneath the loose sleeves of his shirt. The darkness pulsed faintly, responding to his emotions. The woman stood speechless—not out of fear, but sheer disbelief. She had heard many things from Cheon Areum before, but never this. This version of him, calm and unshaken while talking about murder, was unfamiliar. And yet, it didn't seem like a bluff.
While the real Cheon Areum might never have gone to such extremes with her, the one standing before her now was different. There was no flicker of hesitation in his mind or words at the thought of killing her. His gaze was steady, voice unwavering, and presence unnervingly composed. Suddenly, the woman's features wrinkled in disgust or perhaps in fury. Her other hand rose into the air.
"Just try hitting me again!!"
Cheon Areum's voice roared through the apartment like a shockwave, raw and furious. It was no longer the sound of someone merely angry—it was the sound of someone unhinged, someone whose patience and restraint had finally snapped. The faint glow of violet in his irises vanished, swallowed by a creeping darkness that spilled into the whites of his eyes like ink in water.