*flops onto the dash* itâs opening, yay!! whatâs up, everyone? iâm jean (21+, s/h) and this is shin taeoh â just your regular rich boy with family issues and tendency to pretend everything is ok by throwing money at his problems. itâs been 2 months since heâs arrived at centre point and heâs been finding things đ interesting. more info below, but here are links to his bio and his stats.
like the post if youâre interested in plotting. no wanted connections page because i suck at making them (hahahaha) â so letâs wING IT! lmk if you prefer discord or tumblr, cause iâm flexible with both! đđ
tenant of T12s, #07, north! honestly, heâs only staying temporarily as the construction of his house is finishing up. (but seeing how things are at centre point, maybe heâll stay!)
rich, rich, rich đ¸đ¸đ¸ and annoyingly flaunts it. first off, heâs a venture capital principal. second, heâs the son of a real estate mogul from new york + an interior designer. third, his grandpa is the managing director and owner of the venture capital firm heâs working at. you say nepotism he say âso what? r u jealous??â
used to live in new york before his parents got divorced and his mom decided to nope out of there and return home to ville city.
since then, taeoh is essentially raised by his mom and his grandpa (who takes a liking to him and is mentoring him to be the heir of the company).Â
*spongebob narrator vc* meanwhile in america, his father remarried an actress whose parents are rich media conglomerates and they have three children together.
then, BOOM, the media company went bankrupt and taeohâs dad was all âyeah, letâs move to ville city and ask for help from my ex-wifeâ. click here for taeohâs reaction.
his father been leeching off the famâs business connections and â worst of all â his motherâs kindness đ¤Â he masks all of this under the guise of âtrying to reconnect with taeohâ.
taeoh doesnât buy it. he openly hates his father and his new family and could give less of a shit about them. but for his motherâs sake, he tries to behave (as much as he can).
the last straw is when it becomes clear that his fatherâs motive is to manipulate his way into inheriting the famâs venture capital firm.
taeoh kinda goes berserk and is all, âyeah, let me mess with his will so all his assets will go to my fam. JUSTICE WILL PREVAIL! RETURN OUR MONEY!â ever since, heâs just been trying to make his fatherâs life a living hell, bcs heâs very petty.
personality-wise, heâs a mixture of ransom drysdale (knives out) and harry osborn (mostly tasm but also other versions).
apart from the vindictiveness (and anger issues, he beat up a friend because he lost a math olympiad, we donât talk about that nor does the family or the tabloids after some bribesâ˘), heâs okay as a person â if you can deal with how bougie and cocky he is.
once you get to know him and can see beyond his mask, youâll find him to be a pretty good and loyal friend. heâs just super insecure and very emo and refuses to deal with emotions ÂŻ\_(ă)_/ÂŻÂ
at that, dowon laughs. âhe really seems to like you,â he says to taeoh as he flicks the little guyâs cheek. completely unaware of the fact that taeoh has misunderstood seonwoo to be his son. he had been so busy worrying about seonwoo engaging in overactivity that that part of the conversation had gone past him. and while it isnât true, itâs believable; to a strange extent, seonwoo shares similar features with dowon, doting the same lips and almond eyes and facial structure that screams, âweâre related!â and honestly, if you were to ask him, dowon thinks he wouldnât mind having a kid like seonwoo, even if he were to be sick.Â
âif youâre really okay with it,â dowon gives in to his cousin, âthat would be great.â
âwell, then lee seonwoo,â he says. "since youâre the expert, you need to tell me if iâm driving the car right, okay?â
taeoh acknowledges dowonâs introduction with a nod and a, ânice to meet you, manâ. with that, he begins ushering the two towards his car. producing the car keys from his pockets, he presses the button. the car beeps as it unlocks, the crisp sound echoing in the parking lot.
âitâs fine,â he reassures. âreally. not a burden at all. iâm free for the rest of the day anyway.â
long forgotten is that pang of loneliness. taeoh instead chooses to focus on how heartwarming the twoâs bond rather than how negatively it was affecting him earlier (thereâs nothing he can do anyway; itâs not like heâs willing to give his father a chance to amend their relationship or redo his childhood â no, no, he has new kids for that).
besides, how nice is it that seonwoo seems to be as fond of taeoh as taeoh is with him. they say childrenâs opinions bear the most weight and truth, because â unlike adults â they donât mince or sugarcoat their words. sometimes he wonder if heâs really a good person (heâs got a few skeletons in his closet, after all), so itâs nice to hear that he hasnât gone off the far end.
âseonwooâs got good taste, then,â he jests, but he shifts the conversation to a more serious tone, âi havenât spend more than 15 minutes with him, but i can tell as much that heâs a pretty good kid too. you raised him well.â
they arrive at the car and taeoh opens the passenger door, âwait, do you want to ride at the front or do you want to sit at the back?â he turns to seonwoo, getting the feeling that the boy might want to sit in front with him, but is it responsible to have him sit in front? âsorry, bud, itâs your fatherâs call.â
as they decide on their choice, taeoh turns on the car and the engine hums to life. he canât never get tired of the sound. donât ask him, he doesnât know why he finds it so satisfying. he guesses that seonwoo must be feeling the same thing too.
shin taeoh can excuse the strange happenings within the apartment building. the items appearing and disappearing, the weird black animals in the hallway, the flip-flopping between good and bad luck and how thereâs no in between for him. he finds himself capable of dealing with those things in a graceful manner.
but the thing that he cannot excuse â
the lift breaking down.
the fucking lift.
heâs not even claustrophobic, but the idea of being stuck in a metal box for longer than 10 minutes is unbearable for him. forgotten is how late heâs going to be for work â the only thing he can focus on is...
... is it just him or did it just get stuffy?
breathe, taeoh, breathe. calm down.
he doesnât know what to do, heâs never been in this position before. from the stories heâs heard, he knows what he needs to do is press the emergency button, which he is doing â but wait! is he supposed to hold the button, is he supposed to press it repeatedly?
his frustration gets the best of him as he pretty much abuses the button, repeatedly pressing it too harshly. he wouldnât be surprised if the whole thing pops off.
he turns to the only person next to him, @f0ulfellow, and taeoh lets out a tired sigh.
( đŹ ) not reallyÂ
( đŹ ) whose idea was it to do this again
( đŹ ) so i can Thank Them. :)
( đŹ ) you didnât pay me enough
[ sms: kim yisol ] i see youâre excited /s
[ sms: kim yisol ] iâm not going to tell you
[ sms: kim yisol ] iâm trying to protect the person and their identity
[ sms: kim yisol ] i transferred you $5000, how is that not enough?
so, the best scenario was that he initiate the next move, honestly. mostly because it seemed like he was kind of in the same mindset as she was; flirting was a game, a match of back-and-forth ping pong, and they had just taken it out of the playing field. he was probably as befuddled as her. the rules didnât apply here and it left much (and uncertainty) up for grabs.Â
against her better judgment, she gave him some information to start on, âi live right there, actually.â siyeon pointed at the apartment complex that was coming into view.
âiâm not a creep. i donât follow girls home unless they invite me,â he teases while kicking a pebble he found on the sidewalk to the side. âbut isnât that a coincidence?â
a coincidence indeed.
a coincidence that slowly morphs from something heâs elated about to being conflicted of.
thereâs another code he abides to. he makes sure the girls he hooks up with wonât ever see him again, because he wants spare both parties from the awkwardness of meeting each other again (he wouldnât be opposed to being called a saint for his considerateness, but we all know this move is bred from his cowardliness).
thankfully, since ville city is a large city, he hardly ever re-meets those girls. if they live within such a close proximity within each other, it would be a bit of a problem â
and she just has to point to centre point, huh?
âoh,â he says flatly, though he tries to retain the smirk on his face. âheard great things about the place.â he grimaces. in disbelief, he repeats â more so to himself, âso you live there, huh?â
on the bright side, itâs a miracle that she revealed where she lives before he initiates anything beyond innocent flirting. taeoh really dodged a bullet there, didnât he? but heâs dug himself a hole and thereâs no way for him to reverse the situation. regardless of his next move, there remains the possibility the two might cross paths in the next...
well, heâs not sure how much longer he has to stay centre point. the construction of his new house is still underway and itâs his fault for insisting on a wine cellar.
so, heâs left with two choices: leave the conversation and hope they will never see each other (heâs been feeling lucky lately, so he hopes that luckiness would stay with him as long as he avoids her) or he can just go for it.
whoâs to say that this will lead to a one-night stand? why canât he just spend some time with a girl innocuously? get your head out of the gutter, taeoh. they might even end up being friends (and despite his loner tendencies, having friends is always... good.)
yeah, letâs just go for it.
ânow that i know where you live and i can walk you back,â he starts. âyou wanna grab something to eat?â tilting his head, sporting a puppy dog look, he says, âunless you already have something else to do?â
STUPOR.
Overlapping dreamscape, late, ft. Taeoh @taeaoh
[...]
Thereâs his old room, old doorframe, and he leans against it. Peers inside and watches the strange image of his mother flutter around, details warped. She almost looks like a painting in the lighting. âItâs annoying, isnât it?â Harang asks, and even as he does he can feel his attention slipping, like heâd gone and yanked free a handful of wires in his head. An emotional disconnect from this scene, this memory. Harang folds his body away, looks over at the face of his companion. âDo you know how to leave?âÂ
He wants to. Badly.Â
to shin taeoh, sleep is a rare commodity. an incredible feat would getting a measly four hours in and, even then, he can only get that by downing one or two glasses of wine. itâs a surprise he can function like a normal human being the following day.
he sets down the glass on his coffee table, and â too lazy to move to his own bed â lies on the sofa. he watches as the digital clock on the wall blinks. itâs almost hypnotising, lulling him into some needed sleep.
but, suddenly, he feels his muscles jerking violently for a split second. his eyes shoot open and before he knows it, he finds himself in front of a building, with a person who he has never met.
itâs childish how he pinches his arms, trying to gauge if this is some bizarre dream or what. when he feels numb despite how red his skin got, taeoh understands.
why canât he just have a good nightâs sleep?
at the manâs sudden explanation, taeoh merely hums. heâs right. the place isnât very nice â and heâs talking objectively, not even based on his standards. still, against all his better judgement, taeoh is compelled to follow along, maybe thatâs the only way heâll get to escape this.
he just hopes this isnât one of those dreams that leaves him more tired than before.
they make their way to the unit and the wail is a precursor of the horrific sight that awaits taeoh inside.
while the man backs himself to the wall, taeoh steps to the centre of the room. he kicks the laundry and the toys to make space to walk on. he crouches down and to pick up and look at the medicine on the coffee table.
âsick with what?â taeoh asks, ignoring how the man moves about. after he sets down the medicine, taeoh scans the unit, observing how the colours on the walls had faded, some stained by water trails. no one should live in a place like this.
do you know how to leave?
taeoh can only chuckle darkly. âif i know, i wouldâve left immediately.â he stands up again. âi thought you were supposed to be my guide in whatever the hell this is.â taeoh knocks on the wall, hoping it would crumble or disintegrate into ashes, but the structure still stands strong.
âare we stuck here?â he crosses his arms â
and the floors begin to shift, tiles folding into one another.
one of taeohâs legs give way and he falls into the void.
he lands on some sand, head banging against a pool of water. he properly sits up and feels the water trickling from his head to the corner of his mouth. itâs salty. is he on some kind of beach? rubbing the salt out of his eyes, the sight comes into focus.
not even five feet from him, itâs him... around 6 years old, eyes glued to his new gameboy despite sitting down in the middle of the beach. his eyes move and land on the woman walking up behind him and handing him some ice cream.
âwhereâs dad?â his little self asks.
âon a phone call, taeoh, donât worry,â his mother answers while she brushes the hair away from his face.
taeoh searches for his father in the crowd. itâs not hard to spot him, since for some reason itâs always easy to spot people you hate. his mother is right. heâs on a phone call.
back then, little taeoh assumed it was about work, but you donât smile and grin like that when you pick up a call from work. now that heâs older, taeoh understands what these phone calls mean.
his fist clenches and he turns away to stop his blood from boiling. he sees the same man from before, still with him.
âwhat?â taeoh spits out before he gets up and leaves.
if this is a dream... he can punch his dad with no consequence, right?
not even registering his thoughts, taeoh has made a beeline towards his father.
to dowon, the man looks vaguely familiar; heâs probably seen the guy around the apartment complex. dowon figures that he canât be much of a threat to the little kid, whose fervor is getting too much to keep under wraps. rubbing the back of his neck in resignation, he says to the guy, âsorry about this, itâs just⌠the little guy is obsessed with cars. do you mind if he just takes a quick look?â
thereâs nothing money canât buy for taeoh â but it doesnât change the fact thereâs still a lingering sense of loneliness that wonât go away no matter how much money he tosses at it. he doesnât know when this fear, insecurity, uncertainty began to take root; before he knows it, itâs found a home in the deepest corner of his mind.
(but, honestly, if he were to guess⌠it all probably started when he was around seven. itâs not too long after the divorce, but long enough for him to see the repercussions of the separation and the subsequent move on his mom and his grandfather.)
seeing the two interact only feeds the darkness. which isnât fair considering how he just met them.
is this jealousy heâs feeling? nonsense. why should he feel jealous?
fuck, wouldnât it be nice to have little siblings? at the very least, itâll make the whole experience of uprooting his life and moving to ville city less empty. the burden wouldnât fall solely on him, and he and his siblings can share the same hatred towards their father.
but thatâs a story for another time.
âi donât mind at all,â he answers while offering a gentle smile. for some reason, he feels some kind of kinship with the young child. taeoh crouches down to meet the boy at eye level. âyou like cars, huh?â he scrunches his nose. âme too. and youâre so right, audiâs engines are very silent indeed. exactly why i like it.â he jokingly extends his hand out for a handshake. âiâm taeoh, by the way.â
then, a sudden idea hits him. itâs genius, really. itâs something that can satiate the boyâs curiosity and solve taeohâs lack of plans today.
he stands up and turns to the man.
âhey, thereâs an ice cream shop two blocks from here. if you donât mind, i can drive your son and you to get something from there. if youâre okay that is. my treat.â
âiâm so sorry about that,â jo finally says after fishing through her bag to find tissues from the froyo place to clean alexâs face. tossing the tissues into a nearby bin with impeccable aim, she grimaces at the guyâs ruined shoes before meeting his eyes, a sheepish smile lining her lips. âokay so, those look like theyâd cost me a kidney. i probably canât get you new ones, butâŚâ
digging through her bag again, she produces a pomegranate lollipop and offers it to him. âi got this and connections with the dry cleaning place down the block.â
with every inopportune accident, thereâs a silver lining⌠(he guesses?) yes, his shoes are expensive, but at least heâs not wearing sandals â so good on him for not getting vomit directly on his feet.
and, of course, the culprit has to be a kid. a freaking kid. now, where the hell is he suppose to direct his anger? what kind of person gets mad at a kid for being, well⌠a kid?
âdonât worry about it.â he wills his tone to remain flat. he reaches out and musses the boyâs hair. âyou probably ate a lot, huh, buddy?â alex looks confused by his actions, and taeoh canât blame him for the reaction. the poor boy did puke on taeohâs shoes. thatâs not something that warrants a pat on the head.
taeoh asks again, âyou got an upset stomach?â
alex offers no answer. instead, he steps back and hides behind the womanâs legs. taeoh sighs.
unsure what to do, taeoh looks at her and purses his lips. no point in getting mad at her either. itâs not like giving her a piece of his mind would magically clean his shoes. whatâs done is done and judging by the way she looks (the fact the two shares no resemblance) and the way she carries herself, sheâs probably just the kidâs underpaid babysitter.
he eyes the lollipop that sheâs holding. with a grunt, he takes it and quickly puts it in his mouth. ugh, it tastes like shit.
âiâll just throw these out or something. i'm due for a new pair, so itâs fine.â is it, though? he tries to bite into the lollipop. damn, itâs one of those tough candies. âyou gotta watch your kid better next time. canât have him puking on people can we?â
[ sms: kim yisol / @ltuscter ] do you want to drop off your bags at my place?
[ sms: kim yisol ]Â weâre using my car tomorrow
[ sms: kim yisol ]Â before you ask, no you canât back out
[ sms: kim yisol ]Â i paid you
how to politely reject an invitation, a guide by shin taeoh.
first, butter up the inviter. say something like âhey, mr. kang, is that a new suit? that looks really good.â second, break the news that you canât come because you have prior plans, something urgent that you simply canât postpone because really important people will get really angry if you do. third, close with something nice, say that the invitation sound very tempting and that youâre sad you canât come â
wait. what does he mean taeoh said the same thing last time?
he blinks at mr. kang as the realisation dawns on him.
oh...
to escape the kangsâ weird gathering last time, taeoh said that he had a meeting with ville cityâs renowned university to talk about their mentorship program. so, a perplexed mr. kang asks, how can he have another meeting with the university?Â
it appears that the concept of reoccurring meetings is lost on mr. kang as he kept pushing for taeoh to join the family downstairs for a meal with their daughter. at least, taeoh has done his part as a dutiful son, aiding his mother and grandfatherâs escape with some flimsy reasons.
he breathes in and out. how bad can things get? itâs just one dinner. but what can he expect from the family that he wouldnât be surprised of, if they have paimon in their home? even when he was younger he could sense something was off about them. others would dismiss his concerns, chalk it up to how fuzzy he is when it comes to people â but even their own daughter hates them.
why else would @intensicns look so pale right now?
âshould we call the police?â are the first words he said to her as soon as he steps foot into her home. god, he really needs some alcohol. âsorry, you got any drink or did your family throw them out?â
maybe they should have known. at least itâs entertaining. she takes a video of taeoh looking like a particularly sad wet cat to be sent to sungho, his car being towed in the backdrop. babyâs first convenience store! she captions, and cackles.
âsmile!â
would he say he has high pain tolerance? sure â but even the strongest can be broken.
fine. maybe âbrokenâ is an overstatement, but it doesnât change the fact the it feels like the universe has it out for him today. which is strange because, lately, things have been going so well. he hasnât had to work late nights (which leads to him actually getting some sleep), his father hasnât bothered him, and heâs got new clothes coming in. the week is shaping up to be a good one...
until this day.
if he were to describe today, itâd be a snowball that rolls down the hill and picks up momentum to the point it becomes uncontrollable. itâs only a matter of time before it runs over something and creates a fucking catastrophe.
he clenches his jaw, trying to quell his anger. once again, he is greeted by the obnoxious tone that indicates 'whoops! your cell has no reception, sucker!â woohoo. another failed attempt to call his grandpaâs chauffeur. maybe itâs good that he got soaked by the rain. the cold seeping through his blazer and onto his shirt and onto his skin is the only thing stopping his blood from boiling.
(the last time he got soaked like this was when he was around seven years old â and thatâs only because his younger self wanted to play in the rain. it wasnât a misfortune like this, rather a decision. a decision that was not worth 2 weeks of a cold. oh god, letâs hope he doesnât get a cold.)
he shrugs off his blazer, but he grows frustrated when he canât stretch out his arms without hitting a shelf. blame his apartment for being bigger than the whole convenience store.
itâs clear as day (how ironic given todayâs downpour) how out of place he is, and he doesnât need her cackling to remind him. he pinches the bridge of his nose, trying to stop the beginning of a migraine.
âcan you please stop documenting my misery and do something more worthwhile, like call an uber or some shit?â
of course, that wasnât all it took to garner her interest in scamming him. siyeon, in that moment, wasnât necessarily feeling the urge to bring her occupation to the forefront. laughable, but maybe they could just be two people who knew each other from the gym. regardless, she wasnât ruling anything out, so small talk it was. besides, he was cute. sheâd make conversation, dote on a small but sure smile, keep walking forward, and maintain whatever encounter this was, though she wasnât sure what category this would fall under.
âdo you live around here?â question number two. and did she mention he was cute?
no harm in flirting. flirting is fun, especially when you find someone who plays along. then, it becomes a game. a push and pull, if you will, or a tug-of-war, if you're looking for a more precise metaphor.
by no means is he well-versed in such art, but heâs had his fair share of experience. he knows how good-looking he is (well, he does pay attention to his looks and the way he presents himself â some might argue a little too much), so he has enough confidence to start something, vaguely certain that girls would more or less return his advances.
and would it be creepy to admit he has been eyeing this girl at the gym for a while? sheâs incredibly striking and beautiful. thereâs something in the way she carries herself that is simply hynothising. so, once again, whatâs the harm in sending a teasing smirk at her?
(oh â sheâs sending a wink his way too?
even better.)
he never considered coming up to her and asking her out. if the way he keeps himself buried in work and his tendency to repress emotions are any indications, shin taeoh and relationships are never a good combination. these habits basically tick all the criteria on the âshitty boyfriendâ rubric. to save him the pain hassle of breaking up, he doesnât see the point of entering a relationship in the near future.
besides, romance is a fickle thing and heâs had front row seat in watching one crumble right before his eyes. he might be young when it happened but the memory of his motherâs quiet rage was permanently seared into his mind. maybe if there were screaming and yelling and arguing, he could anticipate the downfall â but how his parents silently drifted apart really unsettles him.
by that logic, whatever taeoh and this girl have in the gym will remain in the gym. nothing will happen. nothing â
â huh. how strange is it that theyâre walking the same path? he tries to keep a considerable distance from her as if that imaginary boundary has manifested into a physical one. itâs one thing to tease each other at the gym, but outside? heâs not sure if heâs ready to cross the line.
but, shit, sheâs asking him a question.
should he just go for it?
(what are you doing, taeoh? youâre going against your code.)
((what? itâs not like youâre getting married. itâs just... a fun game.))
(((fuck it, whatâs the harm.)))
âwhy are you asking?â he coos and takes bigger steps to close the distance between them. tilting his head, he asks, âare you gonna follow me home?â he laughs and adjusts his gym bag. âwell, uh, iâm heading home. you?â
there are three things in life shin taeoh is proud of: his achievement, his money, and his car collection.
not that he has a lot of cars. he only has two (though the combined cost is enough to buy at least 10 standard family cars), but heâs on his way. one of these days, heâs going to outdo his grandpaâs collection.
until then, baby steps.
what he has now is still capable of causing envy in people â and thatâs enough. from that envy breeds two common types of responses. first, the one where peopleâs eyes would gaze over and their shoulders would slump at the realisation that what he has is unattainable. second, the one where peopleâs jaws would drop and they would praise him.
but, to him, his excessive need to curate this careful image is nothing more than smoke and mirrors.
the praises, more than anything, function to convince himself that his life is fine. through constant exposure to and repetition of these praises, he might be able to convince himself that his life is perfect as is and he should be grateful.
right?
(of course?)
he kills the engine to his car. today, heâs traded the bentley for his audi (now, the former is safely parked at his grandfatherâs mansion).
itâs the weekend, a time for a much needed break. taeoh doesnât know what heâs going to do. he could golf, he could drink some coffee in an artisan cafe, he can catch a movie. all those viable options, even if his heart isnât entirely into it.
he watches as @xdowonx is talking to a young boy. the man, taeoh has seen him around â he was one of the victims of his motherâs insistence that taeoh deliver rice cakes to people who lived in the building when he moved in â but taeoh canât seem to recall the boy. he doesnât know the other well, so, maybe, that boy is his son?
the boy is pointing at taeohâs car and it seems like the man is trying to dissuade him from possibly coming closer.
it could be because he has nothing to do, it could be because the boy is adorable, it could be because taeoh needs a pick-me-up, but he walks over to the young man and the young boy, a smile adorning his face.
âhi,â taeoh starts. heâs slightly fidgety, mostly because he knows that children can be a fickle judge of character. âcanât help but notice he keeps looking at me... or, i guess, my car.â
âyes â of course â itâs fun to house sit for @ltuscterâ. whatâs more fun than literally sitting in the middle of kim yisolâs pile of clothes and misplaced items?Â
how one could live in such filth is a mystery for him, to the point he thinks having her whole apartment and everything inside it disappear would be doing her a favour more than anything. but this is a better alternative to her barging in his apartment, because he canât âpossibly expect her to sleep on the floor!â
(he does, in fact, expect her to do exactly that, but heâs a merciful person, so he supposes thereâs no harm in helping. besides, with the favour heâs going to ask her, he needs to do even the dirtiest of work to get on her good side.)
here, he sits on the couch, scrolling through his laptop, absentmindedly reviewing the proposals that were sent through to him by the interns â who need to do a better job in filtering these. he pauses to watch as the clock ticks from 21:59 to... 22:00.
he looks around the place. yep, everything is still there.
well done, taeoh. he pats himself in the back.
his phone pings and he expects a message from her, something explaining why she is still not home (isnât it dangerous for a young woman to be out this later anyway?), but instead, he is greeted by a message from yoo sungho. the string of pictures of âniceâ girls is enough to clue him in on what the exchange is supposed to be about.
sungho, taeoh loves you, but this zeal is better poured into something else, like a new hobby perhaps. canât believe taeoh has to resort such... pitiful attempt to put a stop to this matchmaking.
suddenly, taeoh feels the need to raid yisolâs fridge. maybe, she has a bottle of beer he can poach.
but, as if on cue, the door chimes open.
âabout time,â he says, though he scolds himself for being too slow. he closes his laptop and stands up to greet her. âyou should pay me for sitting in the midst of your underwear. canât believe a serviced apartment can still be this dirty.â
âI became good at pretending. I became so good that after a while the lines blurred between my truth and fiction. And sometimes, when I did a really good job of pretending, I even fooled myself.â
â Ruta Sepetys, Salt to the Sea
(via wordsnquotes)
