DO I DARE DISTURB THE UNIVERSE?

…good morning.

…goodnight.

…goodbye.

…where it hurts.

…where it doesn’t hurt.

…on a falling tear.

…to shut them up.

…in secrecy.

…in public.

…desperately.

…in joy.

…in grief.

…discreetly.

…casually.

…passionately.

…lazily.

…to distract.

…as encouragement.

…for luck.

…on a scar.

…on a place of insecurity.

…in a rush of adrenaline.

…in relief.

…in danger.

…as a ‘yes’.

…as an apology.

…as a suggestion.

…as a lie.

…as a promise.

…as comfort.

…after a small rejection.

…to wake yours up.

…forcefully.

…to pretend.

…to gain something.

…to give up control.

…without a motive.

…because yours is running out of time.

…because mine is.

…because the world is ending.

…because the world is saved.

…out of pride.

…out of greed.

…out of lust.

…out of anger.

…out of envy or jealousy.

…out of spite.

…out of habit.

…out of necessity.

❝ —- BETRAYAL  ?  that’s rather rich , don’t you think ? ❞  a wry twist of lips accompanies his words, the muscles in his jaw grow taut. he is a reservoir , rich with pent-up emotions— of years’ amassed ire towards the ones who planted the gun in his hand , thus marking his own nation as traitors in his eyes.  he’d once swore to never return , but here he was once again : a new identity , a fabricated clean slate.

his gaze is steady , of polished gunmetal and slate, as he regards her coolly ; neither man nor stare wavers.  ❝  we had one common goal, but that aside, shared no similarities : I WAS NEVER YOURS TO CONTROL . ❞  is he not merely one of many pieces on the board— what would one missing component mean to her when she had so much more at her disposal  (  lest he be the key to ensuring that final checkmate )  ?   THE RULES OF THE GAME DON’T CONFINE HIM : HE REFUSES TO BE HELD PRISONER TO ANOTHER’S COMMAND . 

    see, she was mistaken ––– she had thought him different from her. but choi yoojin knows better now. 

    her face is a mask, all traces of her earlier bitter smile gone. picture perfect and indecipherable. from years with an unfaithful, worthless husband, with a ‘ family ’ that sought to drag each member down in an attempt to reach the top –– she knows how to steel herself, tempering the fires of rage and despair in her chest just enough to survive. she should know how, and at any other time she might’ve cast him aside without another thought, but:

    she had thought him hers. if not in heart –– she would not fool herself, love was but an unreachable dream for someone like her –– then, at the very least, in loyalty. that he would stay beside her as she served her own brand of justice. their justice. “ you thought i was trying to control you ? ” her nose wrinkles, the only change in expression that slips from her. “ kim jeha. we both know i am capable of many things. but that –– that is not one of them. it is precisely why you have become an integral part in all of this. and now you want to leave it all behind ? ” 

   and now you want to leave me ? 

lakambini. lah-kahm-bee-nee. (n). the female equivalent of lakan, originally referring to a rank in the pre-hispanic filipino nobility in the island of luzon, which means “paramount ruler.” lakambini is best translated as queen of the palace.