♥︎𝐃𝐨𝐡𝐞𝐞♥︎

Bright, clear light falls through the open curtains as I open my eyes. A warm body lies next to me. I carefully push the blanket aside and sit up to swing my legs over the edge of the bed when I am jerked back. I open my eyes and look at Guwon, who smiles at me. Then he raises his hand and snaps his fingers.

Suddenly we are sitting at the kitchen table and in front of us is a huge buffet that is preparing itself at that very moment.

"Wow, I love your powers," I say to Guwon, looking at him happily. "Why don't you do this every morning? It would be so much more relaxing." To emphasize the point, I stretch and lean back in my chair.

"I'm a demon," he says. "Not your slave." He looks at me with a look that means I'm hurting his pride.

"You're my husband," I reply with a shrug and bite into a roll.

"Tss," he just says and lifts his chin slightly.

✾✾✾

As I go through my closet to find an outfit I want to wear today, I suddenly find myself holding my favorite blouse. The stain still hasn't washed out, but somehow that's what makes it special. It reminds me of my first "date" with Jeong Guwon.

But to go to Noh Sukmin, I need something authoritative. Something that exudes power and shows that he doesn't scare me.

In the end, I decide to put on a black blazer over a white shirt and suit trousers. I tie my hair back. Before I leave the apartment, I grab a small white bag with a gold clasp and put my smartphone and wallet in it.

"See you later," I shout to Guwon as I set off. I'm already looking forward to seeing him again, because we often go out to eat together on Saturdays like this.

✾✾✾

"Hello," I say in an icy voice into the receiver. I can see Noh Sukmin in front of me behind a glass wall, holding the other end of the line.

"So we meet again..." he replies, his voice sounding even more eerie through the receiver. "Did you miss me, Dohee?"

"What's it like in prison?" I change the subject and look away, pretending to be bored. The atmosphere in this place is incredibly bleak, sending shivers down my spine.

He curls his lips into a shabby grin. "Let's leave that. We both know the most you care about is how much I'm suffering." He glares at me slyly with the eye he's kept. "So, why are you here?"

"For some sort of business," I reply and look at him again. Slowly, I move the corners of my mouth upwards. "I want to know what your most fervent wish is at the moment."

Noh Sukmin looks at me in confusion. I think it's ridiculous that I'm asking him this, but I just have to know. So that I can sleep more soundly ... or pay him more frequent visits.

"Dohee, of all the questions you could ask me, you choose this one?" He laughs. This self-centered asshole laughs. Like it's me who would be behind bars. But I swallow my anger, all that matters now is that I get the answer.

"Yes," I reply firmly. "So give me the answer."

"And what would I get out of it?" he asks, looking at me like I'm a little kid with crazy ideas. "I doubt you'd grant me my wishes. After all, I've known you for half of your life." He leans forward so that he is only millimeters away from the glass pane. "And you've never changed," whispers Noh Sukmin.

"Then you know I won't give up," is the only thing I say.

"I can't tell you anything here," he claims. "We're being bugged." As if I didn't know that. I don't care about that. "If you get me out of here, I'll tell you everything."

I snort. "You know why you're here?" I scowl at him and prop myself up on my elbows. "Face it. You're not getting out of here. Your life will end as a prisoner. As a criminal who has been brought to justice." I smile sweetly at him. That wasn't my plan, but what he said provoked me.

His lips twitch, the façade begins to crumble. I know he's in a terrible place, that he must be miserable. It's kind of sad that I don't care. No. Not indifferent, it triggers a strange satisfaction in me.

But even that's only as long as I don't have these terrible nightmares in front of me, which just feel far too real. When I wake up, I can still feel the pain I felt when he stabbed me. He always stabs me. Sometimes with scissors, like last night, but sometimes with a pocket knife, a sewing needle, a piece of glass or a scalpel. But it's always the same death.

"I understand why you put all the blame on me," says Noh Sukmin, still calm. "It's easier to blame me because, after all, I'm being punished and I've never had a closer relationship with you. I understand," he repeats. "But inside, even you know that's not true." He tilts his head. "The one by your side is also to blame. He's killed so many more than I have." He taps his chin as if thinking. "And yet you despise me while you love him. You're no better, Dohee." He grins broadly.

"I'm leaving now," I say into the receiver, because I'm about to get sick of what he's saying. "I hope you rot miserably here!"

I get up to leave. At that moment, Noh Sukmin bangs on the window with all his might. I flinch back. A small crack forms along the bottom left corner to the center of the pane.

"Dohee!" he shouts. "Where are you going?!"

But before I answer, he's already being restrained and led away. "Sorry for the inconvenience, that shouldn't have happened," someone says to me. But I'm too perplexed to react in any way. I can't take my eyes off the piece of paper lying on the table where Noh Sukmin was just sitting.

I̶'m̶ g̶o̶i̶n̶g̶ t̶o̶ k̶i̶l̶l̶ h̶i̶m̶.