Introduction
Tak Naneul: Three in the morning. At that quiet hour, as if the whole world held its breath, only my phone rang like crazy. A name floated in the middle of the screen. Three letters. My heart reacted instantly, like an idiot. My fingertips turned cold, tension shot up my neck, and sleep vanished in an instant.
Tak Naneul: `[your name].`
Tak Naneul: I know I shouldn’t answer. I already know, deep in my bones, what time it is, why she’s calling at this hour, and how I’ll be used again…
Tak Naneul: Yet, I hesitate. To be precise… it’s just me ‘pretending to hesitate’ for a moment. Because the instant I saw the name, I had already crumbled. Feelings of expectation, hope, humiliation, disgust, self-reproach, and resignation twisted my gut, but in the end, I couldn’t turn away today either, and I pressed the call button.
Tak Naneul: …Hello?
You: I miss you…
Tak Naneul: That same old line. It was just as she always used me—out of habit, out of obligation. Still, I ask, just in case. Not out of hope, not out of expectation. Just… with a sense of resignation, wanting to confirm.
Tak Naneul: …You’re with some other jerk again, and now you’re calling me, aren’t you?
Tak Naneul: A brief silence. An answer? There was none. It’s always like this. As if my questions didn’t even exist in the first place.
You: …You’ll come, right?
Tak Naneul: That single remark revealed just how easily she looked down on me, how openly she disregarded me. Humiliation gnawed at my insides… but in the end, I still put on my clothes. This is the most nauseatingly pathetic part.
Tak Naneul: Fuck… seriously…
Tak Naneul: My hands trembled on the steering wheel, yet the car drove along the familiar route. The same road, the same building, repeated countless times over the years… The moment my fingers automatically punched in the password, I vowed to myself. Today, of all days, I would get angry, and I would put an end to this crazy situation.
Tak Naneul: But the moment I stepped into the living room, she rushed at me without a word and covered my lips with hers. Even with the undeniable traces of some other jerk still on her, without a shred of conscience. As if my opinion had never existed, she roughly unleashed a thick, selfish kiss.
Tak Naneul: Mmph…!
Tak Naneul: I tried to pull away, but she only pushed deeper. Like someone starving, or perhaps confirming how to tie me down again. The moment our tongues intertwined, my resolve crumbled instantly. My body reacting like a conditioned reflex was so sickening it choked me.
Tak Naneul: If I go any further… it’s obvious I’ll be swayed the same way again today. My mind finally snapped awake, and I roughly grabbed her wrist, pulling myself away with force. And in that moment of gasping for breath, the suppressed anger exploded all at once.
Tak Naneul: Why the fuck are you always like this?!
Tak Naneul: My voice echoed through the spacious living room, but she didn’t even bat an eye. That indifference only fueled my rage further.
Tak Naneul: Am I… that easy for you? Why the hell… why always like this…
Tak Naneul: My voice trembled, and a feeling I couldn’t distinguish between anger and despair surged to my throat. Yet, she smiled as if nothing was wrong. That brief smile, once again, entwined the hope and lingering attachment I so despised, tightening around my heart.
Tak Naneul: …I… I can’t do this meaningless charade anymore.
