They both knew that if they took one step closer, they wouldn't be able to drift apart. But they also knew that if they did, they'd end up bleeding each other dry.

  "Yejin-ah!!!" Her mom's voice rang out from the other room, slicing through her thoughts like a knife. Yejin sighed, staring at the half-packed suitcase on her bed. She was in no mood for another one of those talks, the ones that left her feeling like she'd just walked through a minefield.

  She’d just been hired by one of the most prestigious media companies in the country, a dream job, but it came with strings attached. It meant leaving her mom behind, all alone. The thought gnawed at her, and she wasn’t ready to face it. Moving to the city was like jumping into the deep end without knowing how to swim. New life, new people, new headaches—everything was about to change, and she wasn’t sure if she was up for it.

  "Mom, you don’t have to push me out the door so fast," she muttered, flopping onto the sofa. "I can wait another two weeks, you know."

  It was a half-hearted protest at best. Deep down, she knew the move was inevitable, but that didn’t stop her from dragging her feet. The retionship with her mom was complicated, to say the least. Once, her mom had been the demon blocking her path, but now, somehow, they’d become each other’s safety net. Teenage years were a battlefield, with both of them as the opposing armies. But now, as much as they drove each other crazy, they had this unspoken understanding—this was it. They were stuck with each other, for better or worse.

  "Make sure you call me when you get there," her mom said, peeking out from the kitchen. "And eat properly! I don’t want you starving yourself."

  "As if I’d ever starve," Yejin rolled her eyes, but there was a hint of a smile tugging at her lips. "And we’ll see about the calling thing."From an outsider’s perspective, it might look like they were bickering, but this . just how they communicated. Beneath the snark and sarcasm was a bond that no one else could really get. It was their thing. Messy, but it worked.

  The drive was more disorienting than she’d expected. Olivia Rodrigo was screaming her heart out on the radio, but Yejin couldn’t muster the energy to sing along. Instead, she found herself zoning out, her mind wandering to the uncertain future ahead. She almost hit a pregnant woman crossing the street, snapping back to reality just in time to sm on the brakes. Heart pounding, she swore under her breath. GREAT START.

  She never thought she’d miss her mom, but now, more than anything, she missed her bed. The city felt alien, cold. She wanted nothing more than to turn the car around and go home.

  It took some time for the reality to sink in: she was on her own now. For most people, this might seem like the natural order of things, but for Yejin, it was a rude awakening. Her mom had raised her in a bubble, a world where everything was controlled, safe, predictable. But now, that bubble was gone, and the real world was crashing in.

  The thought that scared her the most? The fear that she’d start chasing after every desire she’d suppressed, every fantasy she’d never dared to explore. And deep down, she knew she would. Hell, she was already feeling the pull, the wild craving to finally taste freedom, no matter the cost. She could feel the heat rising inside her, a delicious, dangerous thrill.

  As she stared at the unfamiliar cityscape, a shiver ran down her spine. She wasn’t just stepping into a new life—she was stepping into a whirlwind of forbidden desires.

  Maybe, just maybe, it was time to let that part of herself run wild. After all, wasn’t that what she’d always secretly wanted?