His butler should shut up.

Chiko doesn't pay the old man to nag him about his fucking eye bags or about his decision to stay up and sit by the fire with a clear view of the front door an hour past his bedtime or about his classes tomorrow morning.

"David," he drawls, not turning his head, "who's the lord of this manor again?"

Even without looking, Chiko knows the old bastard is rolling his eyes. "As you like to remind me every so often—you, Sir."

Chiko tries really, really hard not to roll his eyes, too. It's quite difficult. "Then go away."

David shuffles to the kitchen, probably to make him tea or coffee, grumbling about his 'messed up sleeping schedule' and 'arrogance from his father'.

Chiko looks at the door again and glares at it when it doesn't open in the next five seconds. His teeth grits. Where the fuck is she.

He kneads his forehead with his fingers, leaning his elbow on the armrest of the couch as he stares at the fire. He shuts his eyes and his eyebrows furrow together when a particular sharp pain jabs at his temple. God fucking damn it—

His eyes fly open the second keys jingle outside the door.

Chiko stands up before David can turn around and throws it open. "Where the fuck—"

Ricci grins at him. "Hey, hyung."

Chiko pushes his tongue against his cheek and turns away, dragging his feet back to the couch.

Ricci chuckles as he steps inside, shaking the dampness away from his hair. "Waiting for someone else?"

"Fuck off." Chiko massages his head again.

"Your bag, Mr. Jeon." David holds his hand out to him, meeting him in the entryway.

Like always, Ricci shakes his head and pats his shoulder. "I got it, Dave. Thanks." He plops down on the couch, and on instinct, Chiko moves further away, putting distance between them.

Ricci takes a cookie from the jar on the center table and blinks up at him. "You're wearing gloves. In pajamas."

"Accidents happen," Chiko hisses. "Can you just fuck off and go sleep with my sister? She fell asleep waiting for you."

Ricci grins. The little shit. "If you say so, hyung."

Chiko grabs a cookie and throws it in his face. Ricci laughs at him. "You know what I fucking meant."

"Tea, Master Chiko." David goes to put down the cup in front of him.

"No," Chiko bites out. God, his head fucking hurts.

"Rude. Isn't he rude?" Ricci takes the cup and smiles at him. "Thank you, Dave."

"David," the butler correct monotonously. Like he does every day since Ricci fucking moved in.

He nods like he's going to start calling him David tomorrow (but never actually does) and moves to take a sip of the tea, but he nearly shatters the cup when a door slams open upstairs. "Ricci?"

Fucking hell.

Chiko moves out of the way when Myc tosses herself on Ricci's body on the couch, giggling like a fucking schoolgirl. Her arms are around him and his arms around her and she cups his face and kisses him.

Chiko looks away. He can never get used to the sight of his sister being able to touch someone freely.

And be touched so freely in return.

Chiko knows Ricci is smiling when he mutters, "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"S'okay," Myc whispers. "Come on." She catches sight of him when they stand, holding hands, and frowns. "Why are you still up? You're not possibly waiting for Patch, are you?"

"You're becoming reckless," he hisses instead of answering her question. "Short sleeves? No socks? You want to accidentally kill me or David?"

Her eyebrow raises. "Jealous?"

Chiko doesn't bother giving that a response.

Ricci grins, hooking an arm around her neck and leading her to the stairs. To Chiko, he says, "Hyung. A tip: try being nicer."

Then they disappear.

Chiko grits his teeth and stares at the fire again, clenching his hands into fists. He doesn't feel his nails in his skin because of the fucking gloves and he wants to tear them apart.

He does. He takes them off and almost throws them in the fire, but he doesn't because he needs them tomorrow. And the day after that. And the day after that.

His gloves are the only things that can touch him freely.

Keys again. Outside the door. Chiko storms towards it. "Where the fuck have you been."

Isolde puts her palm on the door to push it open further, not giving him a glance. She walks past him and mutters, "None of your business."

He stalks after her when she makes a beeline to the stairs. "You were the one who forced yourself to move in here," he snaps, and he doesn't know why he's angry, why she's so indifferent and cold—"If you can't follow the rules—"

"David." Isolde turns around on the steps to look at his butler, face blank. "Are there rules here?"

David blinks at her. "Well, for Master Chiko and Miss Myc, they—"

"No," she says. "For Ricci and I."

Chiko's fingers tighten on the railing.

"There are none, Ms. Samaniego."

Chiko sneers at him. David subtly avoids his gaze and turns to the kitchen once again.

He watches Isolde turn around and head up the stairs. His fingers twitch.

A week. She's been coming home past eleven in the evening from God knows fucking where. Avoiding him. Not talking to him, looking at him, eating with him, smiling at him. It's so fucking different from the Isolde who, all those months before, tried so hard to get his attention with her sunshine smiles and eager conversation starters.

Whatever. Chiko only needs her for one thing and one thing only. He knocks fifteen minutes later at her door and waits for her to open it.

She may be avoiding him, but she'll still open the door. When she does, she silently slips in the covers on the right side, back to him.

Chiko takes off his slippers and lies down on the left. Her hand is already in between them, open.

He hates this. He hates doing this. He hates how this one touch is all he allows himself to have even though it feels so fucking good.

Chiko slips his hand in hers and flinches, tries to keep in his shaky breath at the feeling of her skin.

It's like fucking opium.

His lips part and his eyes squeeze shut when his heart races to his throat, and the shaky exhale lets itself out of his mouth and his fingers are twitching under hers.

Before, Isolde would squeeze it tighter. Stroke her thumb along his skin, even tap her fingers against his knuckles so he feels every fucking thing. It used to drive him crazy. He turned away from her and gripped the bedsheets so hard with his free hand that they almost get pulled out of the mattress. He even handcuffed his other hand one time to the bedpost because his mind was screaming take more, more, fucking more!

Now, her hand remains stiff in his. Not moving. Fingers not even touching his knuckles.

God, this is fucking torture—

"I was worried."

His voice is strangely loud in the large room and he wishes it weren't.

"I'm not going to get myself killed," she says, and hers sounds quiet, "so don't worry about losing the only person you can touch."

It's the first time they speak in bed in a week.

Chiko's jaw hardens again. "That's not what I was worried about."

Isolde doesn't say anything else. She doesn't believe him.

*

She's gone when he opens his eyes at his butler's knock. "Master, breakfast is ready."

There's a hammer smashing against Chiko's head as he stands up and heads to the bathroom to wash his face. Even his nose bleeds, trickling down his chin. Chiko waits for it to stop and covers the tissue paper with blood with another tissue paper before he throws it in the bin.

He hears the water in the other bathroom running. She's taking a shower right now.

Before, Isolde would join them for breakfast, laughing and giggling with Myc and even Ricci. Now, she takes her shower and leaves for school.

Chiko hears the fucking giggles from the stairs towards the kitchen. As usual, Myc's hands are on some part of Ricci's body as they eat—his nape, his thigh, his arm.

There's a bright smile on her face and a shine in her eyes Chiko hasn't seen in more than twenty years—until Ricci came.

Myc was tired. She was tired of being alone and isolated, tired of being locked up inside the Dyer Manor, tired of being homeschooled, tired of the curse.

She was going to leave to find her person. Chiko shut her down firmly and said, "No. We're staying."

Myc had tears in her eyes whenever the discussion came up. "How am I supposed to find my person if—"

"And how will you find them?" Chiko growled. "Are you planning to kill everyone? Trial and error, a little touch on the arm to everyone you pass, see who doesn't die?"

She was going to leave regardless—didn't matter that she didn't know how to find her person.

On that night, she met Ricci. He didn't die.

That was a year ago.

Chiko tears his eyes away from her hands on Ricci and sits down, sipping his coffee. He winces when a sharp pain pricks his temple again.

He's in the middle of his eggs when Isolde comes down from the stairs in a v-neck sweater and jeans. She didn't straighten her hair today.

"Patch!" Myc grins at her. "Come eat."

Isolde sends her a small smile and shakes her head. "Running late. Next time."

"Noona, let's go to school together. You can wait in the car, I'll just finish the juice." Ricci tosses her his car keys.

She catches them and turns to the entryway to put on her shoes.

Myc turns to Chiko with a glare. "When are we going to school?"

"We have school here." Chiko puts down his coffee. "Mrs. Dalton is coming in half an hour for our lessons."

"Real school," she bites out.

Chiko grits his teeth. "Stop asking me that every morning, Myc. It's not safe. We're isolated enough here, I don't want to have to move when someone accidentally dies during fucking homeroom or PE from a shoulder brush."

Ricci stands up and puts a hand on her neck, stroking her skin. Chiko eyes it, feeling his stomach drop when he wonders what that feels like. "I'll be with her—"

"You can't be with her every second of every day," Chiko says, angry now. To his sister, he bites out, "You found your person, Myc. That's all you ever wanted. Be fucking grateful." That he's not running away. Yet.

Myc hisses, "What, like you?"

"Oh, I'm not grateful, sister." Chiko stares at his hand, the fingers that touched Isolde's last night. And the night before that, and the night before that. "In fact, I wish I never found her."

*

hyung is an endearment used by Korean males to address another male older than them who they are close to. it literally means "older brother"

noona is also used by Korean males to address a female older than them who they are close to, literally meaning "older sister"

what do you guys think!! let me know c: