145 The Beast’s Struggle (1/2)

Hyuk woke up from his rest and sneaked back home at around 3 a.m. in the morning.

”Oppa...?” Yeo Ri mumbled, still half-asleep. She had bags under her eyes which showed just how long she had stayed up to wait for her brother.

”...” Hyuk stifled his voice after he realised that it was Yeo Ri. He hadn't expect her to still be awake at this hour. ”What are you doing? Go back to sleep,” he harshly scolded her with a low voice.

”What about you, Oppa? Why were you so la—” Yeo Ri's eyes widened as her eyes finally adjusted to the dark. She could somewhat make out his battered body.

Hyuk stood with slackened shoulders, one hand supporting his pained torso. Careful so as to not stumble around, he held himself up by leaning against the wall with one arm.

Yeo Ri hurriedly came to his side to help him. But just as she touched his arm, he pushed her away.

”Don't touch me!” He hissed.

Hurt flashed in Yeo Ri's large eyes. She bit her lips, looking as if she was about to cry.

The sight made something in Hyuk twist painfully, but he bore with the pain. His fingers twitched as he summoned all the strength in his body to stop himself from impulsively embracing the fragile girl with his arms. 'Stop it. You can't. You have to stop this,' he whispered to himself in his mind.

”S-sorry,” Yeo Ri stuttered. She lowered her head guiltily, thinking that she might have touched an injury. ”Do you need help, Oppa? I-I can go find the first aid kit—”

”Don't bother. I want to rest. Just go back to sleep. I don't need your help,” he coldly said. Every word he spoke felt like a stab to himself, but he had to do this. He couldn't get any closer to her. He had to put a stop to his confusing emotions before he did something unforgivable.

”O...okay,” Yeo Ri reluctantly agreed. She was worried about him, but Hyuk was firmly refusing her help. She could only nod and accept his choice. She wanted to approach him but Hyuk was closing himself off. The wall between them was so thick and strong; she didn't know how to bypass it anymore.

As she slowly followed Hyuk back to their room, she wondered what had changed. Although Hyuk was brusque before, he was even colder to her lately. Not only that, he started to come home late and most of the time, he'd be hurt. The wounds were sometimes even worse than when their father had beat him, and it scared her. The thought of Hyuk getting hurt or dying made her heart hurt so much that she wanted to burst into tears. She was so, so worried. Hyuk was slowly descending to his destruction and she had no idea how to stop it.