As Hanuel's cold figure disappeared, Yeongsoo sat there, his hands trembling with pent-up frustration. The conversation had left him feeling stripped down, raw, and stinging with resentment that he hadn't fully confronted in years. Without thinking, he slammed his fist onto the table, the sound echoing sharply in the quiet bar. A few heads turned his way, but he didn't care. Everything about that encounter — the judgment, the reminders of his father's unyielding control — grated at him.
"Give me a cigarette," he muttered to the bartender, who quickly slid a pack across the counter. Yeongsoo lit one, taking a sharp drag as he tried to ground himself. The smoke filled his lungs, offering a brief distraction, but his mind wouldn't settle. Hanuel's words kept circling, igniting every bit of anger and frustration that had built up over the years.