Joohyun watched her grandfather died in a small hospital room, for the first time when she was sixteen.

While they were prepared for his death, seeing his life slowly fade away was chilling. Joohyun's parents, brothers, and herself surrounded the bed, waiting in muted silence for him to take the final breaths.

The heaviness of the situation bore down on Joohyun until it felt as if she were the one struggling to breathe. She had to say something.

"Aren't you scared?" Joohyun finally whispered to her grandfather.

"Not at all," her grandfather whispered back. Then he smiled. "I'm at peace."

Joohyun's mother stepped in before she could reply, but her grandfather's words lingered in her head. How could there be peace in death?

The second time Joohyun felt the cold hands of death, is now. The peace her grandfather spoke of? It is slowly wrapping itself around Joohyun. No wonder she is so relaxed.

The knowledge that she's going to end her life was dissolving and the only thing that seems to matter now was how she lived, how she loved, and what she sacrificed for that love.

That's how Joohyun knows what she is about to do is right. Good, in fact, because in less than a second, every single bad thing will end. All she has to do was pull the trigger.

That didn't mean Joohyun is ready. She still has so much to do. To say. But the edges of her life are burning, crumbling in on themselves.

Joohyun is sitting, but the small room she is in feels as if it is stretching, trying its hardest to run from her. She exhales shakily and rests her head against the cool packed earth wall behind her.

Water seeps between the wooden slats above, dampening her hair. Directly above her head is wooden shelves holding empty jars, cobwebs looped between the jars. Old, weathered bamboo pipes ran above, leaking water through cracks. The drops slowly fall onto the hard-packed dirt floor.

Drip... drip... drip.

The wooden trapdoor above is barricaded as best as possible but that does nothing to alleviate Joohyun's fears. Anyone can  throw it open if they really wanted to.

The only light in the room comes from a candle, weak flickering light appearing for a minute before threatening to fade away at any moment. 

On the opposite wall is a small opening, covered with a thin paper screen. Hardly any light came through the grimy screen. The air smells musty, as though damp earth and old wood has come together to form their own close scent.

Joohyun's gaze drifts to the head on her lap. Gently, she brushes his hair back from his forehead.

She is afraid to move. To breathe. Inside, she is dying to hang on to him as tightly as she could. But she holdds back; she has already done enough damage to him. To his life.

Blood matts his hair and drips down his face, mixing with the water leaking from his eyes. Colored tears. Even he knows what is about to happen.

His breathing becomes slower, shallower, as if every breath is a chore.

Frantically, Joohyun turns toward the closed door. In a few minutes, someone will open it. She feels it in her gut. Her time is running out. So she looks back at him.

"I'm so sorry," she whispers.

Her fingernails are caked with dirt, her hands filthy. That doesn't stop her from brushing her fingers across his skin. She is only spreading dirt across his cheek, but she can't not touch him. Her minutes and seconds with him are down to the wire.

Drip... drip... drip.

"You know the people who chose love over the world?" she says.

He nods. "I can’t do that." Her voice breaks as a tear slips down her cheek. “It’d be one of the most selfish things I’d ever do.”

Footsteps sound above their heads, rattling the floorboards so hard, dust rains down on them. Her hands shakes as she reaches for the cool metal object to her left. It is almost time.

This is the right thing, she tells herself. So why are the walls around her heart crashing down?

"I brought you to this point," she whispers.

This was their last moment of peace.

Fists pound against the wooden trapdoor above. A muffled voice shouts. Her heart accelerates. She gazes down at him. His eyes are pleading, desperate for this to not be the end.

But it is; Joohyun is all out of options.

The trapdoor is thrown open with a crash. Splintered pieces of wood tumble down the earthen stairs. Dim yellow light from an oil lamp floods in, outlining a figure silhouetted against the lantern glow.

Heavy footsteps reverberate through the tight earthen room, matching the rapid pounding of Joohyun's heart. The old bamboo jars behind her rattle and shake. A few collapse from their perch and fall to the dirt floor with a thud.

Broken shards of pottery scatter everywhere. They are tucked away in the far corner. It is only a matter of seconds before he sees them in the flickering shadows.

So Joohyun touches him one last time. "I'm so sorry."

She is doing the right thing. But she hold still because if she thought about this, she fears of what will lay in wait for her—a life without him.

Fresh tears fall, trailing down her cheeks and landing on his forehead.

Truth be told, Joohyun thinks she is always been the one that slipping away. She has been walking the tightrope between all the yesterdays and tomorrows for a long time.

At some point, she is bound to fall. In a few seconds, everything will be over.

In a few seconds, his pain will disappear.

With a shaky hand, Joohyun raises the gun and presses it against her temple. He make an odd choking sound, and the person directly in front of them appears momentarily shocked.

But the person's shocks only lasts for a second before the man raises a gun of their own.

Joohyun squeezes her eyes shut right as the man shouts his name.

"I love you," she whispers, then she pulls the trigger.

Then Joohyun is outside, falling from a second-floor. The world moves about in a gnarled shade of gray and onyx. Air whooshes around her as she wildly claws for something to grasp.

In front of her is a black outline of a body. It is the man who was in her lap moments ago. He holds out a hand and tries to grab her, but she slips farther away, into a vortex, pushed by gravity. She opens to scream for help, yet no sound comes out.

Her vision blurs, and before she knows it, a dense fog slowly curls around his body until poof. He is gone, yet she can still hear him calling her name.

Frantically, Joohyun glances behind her. She is seconds away from hitting the ground. She closes her eyes and prays for the world to swallow her whole.

And then it does.

hihi back with a new story, hope u enjoy!!

Btw  some of you asks if i'm gonna continue seducing mr workaholic - yess im gonna continue, but it might take a while...

and tbh i'm in the mood for writing only when there's no wenrene drought...you know what i mean hahah