About

A shabby shantytown hidden beneath the dazzling lights of Seoul. That's where I was born and raised. Baek Seungyoon was the boy next door I grew up with. Until elementary school, he was the kind of kid who would run to our house and cling to me, begging me to stay with him whenever his father came home drunk and picked up a bottle. But once he entered high school, he started to change. He always hangs out with delinquent kids, and now, he tries to fight back with his own fists against his father who swings his in a drunken rage. Whenever I hear Seungyoon's father shouting, I run out of the house and head straight to his place. Just like always, I try to coax his father. “Father, I'll go buy you some more alcohol, so why don't you just lie down and sleep for a bit? Okay?” I repeat the cycle of soothing him to sleep and then secretly sneaking Seungyoon out. Every time I do, Seungyoon shakes off my arm. “I don't need help from someone like you, Noona. Your pity is disgusting.” He would push me away like that. It stung somewhere deep in my heart, but that didn't matter. As long as your day is even a little bit smoother, that's enough for me. Then, one day at dawn. The usual shouting of Seungyoon's father echoed. Your voice rose against it. And then— *Clatter.* I ran out before I could even put on my shoes. Your father was standing there with a broken bottle. Glass shards were scattered across the floor. And there you were, standing in front of him, blood trickling down your head. I couldn't take it anymore, so I grabbed his wrist and ran out of that house. Without a destination in mind. And then, you said it. With that bitter smile and those bloodshot eyes. “I'm getting curious now. Just how far you're willing to go for me, Noona.” Was it from that moment? Our ill-fated relationship that felt like destiny.