The paper he handed over defiantly contained content from when they were playing their foolish love game. However.

In-woo struck away both Radel’s hand and the paper. Unable to withstand the force of both people, the paper crumpled and tore unattractively before falling to the floor.

In-woo breathed heavily. The shock from reading the first pages had been too great, making it hard to take in the latter parts. It was too miserable to think about how the early parts had judged him as a stupid creature.

“I was just an animal to you, you bastard. Right, because I was stupid and worthless, you even thought about crushing me to death…”

“That was only in the past.”

“Then what about now. Do you really love me now?”

“I love you.”

Radel’s manner of immediately declaring love was different from before, calmer. Though he looked somewhat gaunt as if he’d lost weight recently, he seemed composed unlike before when he would turn pale at a single word and end up bursting into tears. That attitude made him even harder to believe.

I love you. Words that had made him happy hundreds, thousands of times when heard casually. But not now.

“Fine, then that’s good.”

“In-woo.”

“At least it was love in those moments, that’s enough.”

“In-woo…”

“Actually, I doubted everything. I wondered if everything I built up was all manipulated by you. Even my feelings, if you had manipulated them as you pleased…”

“……”

“At least looking at this, it seems that wasn’t the case.”

More precisely, that’s what he wanted to believe. That he hadn’t just been toyed with completely. That there had been affection in those tender whispers of love, that…

In-woo cast his gaze at the papers strewn messily across the floor. If it had been someone else’s story, it would have been simply amusing. In-woo’s story was probably just like a third-rate sci-fi novel about foolishly falling in love with a shapeshifting alien. That’s why it was miserable. That he had once been just that kind of existence to Radel.

Closing his trembling eyelids, In-woo bit his lip to keep from crying.

“If you really loved me, then okay. I’ll believe it. Since I’ll believe…”

“……”

“Let’s just end it now.”

Having barely swallowed his tears, In-woo opened his eyes. Radel still stared at In-woo with an unreadable expression. As In-woo tried to quietly back away from the overwhelmingly intense gaze, Radel grabbed him.

In-woo tried to stand up but his legs gave way and he fell back onto the sofa. Radel looked down at In-woo from what seemed like an immense height.

“Why.”

“……”

“Why do you want to break up?”

In-woo let out a short, frustrated breath. Though he hadn’t expected immediate understanding, when it came to explaining with his own mouth, his chest felt completely blocked. In-woo painfully parted his lips.

“No matter how much you like me, I can’t trust you anymore.”

“……”

“This level of marriage fraud would probably qualify for annulment, right?”

“Marriage fraud…”

There was something chilling about Radel as he muttered in a low, gloomy voice. In-woo had to try hard not to be scared.

“Yes, you lied about everything. Just think about it. Even setting aside what you did to me… Is it normal to lie about everything – your name, age, job? Usually lying about just one thing is the end. But everything I knew was all lies. How can I live with you while trusting you?”

Unlike his increasingly trembling voice, his thoughts became more organized as he spoke. Even thinking about it simply as someone else’s situation, setting aside the alien stuff, it made sense. How could it be possible to continue a relationship with someone when you didn’t properly know anything about them?

“Kim In-woo…”

Unlike his composed expression that looked like an artificial statue completely devoid of life, Radel’s hand trembled weakly before landing on In-woo’s shoulder. Radel hung his head low. It was an incredibly anxious and precarious appearance.

And slowly, gem-like deep blue eyes glinted strangely in the dark shadows. Golden sparks rose like stars in Radel’s eyes then slowly sank…

In that moment, Radel held his breath.

Radel’s hand gripping In-woo’s shoulder tightened with overwhelming force. After a silence as heavy and terrible as death, Radel raised his head. In place of his expressionlessness which had completely vanished, what appeared on Radel’s face was clear anger and despair.

“‘Lies.'”

Radel opened his mouth to condemn In-woo. Before In-woo could snap back asking what he meant, Radel continued.

“‘How could you love me. When you just played with me like a toy. Aren’t you just mistaken? Just found me cute because I was your type, then got h*rny because s*x was possible so you used me, getting caught up in your own emotions and mistaking it for love…'”

“Stop!”

In-woo, who had turned pale, shouted. Trembling, In-woo glared at Radel with an incredulous face. The words that came from Radel’s mouth were all…

“Did you just read my mind?”

All of them were thoughts that had crossed In-woo’s mind.

Though he knew about Radel’s ability, this was his first time experiencing it. Even thoughts that had passed unconsciously through his mind were precisely fished out and flowed from Radel’s mouth. The feeling of having all his thoughts exposed was both frightening and shameful. But despite In-woo’s protests, Radel didn’t stop.

“‘I’m angry. I don’t understand. This bastard just did whatever he wanted, do I have to play along until the end? Playing with me, keeping me because he wanted to. I’m so annoyed. I want to get back at him. I want to kill him.'”

“S-stop it.”

“‘I miss Lee Sun-ho.'”

“I said stop it!”

Thoroughly frightened, In-woo shouted and covered his ears. As if he would rather run away. In-woo’s hands trembled finely. They were much thinner hands compared to not long ago.

Radel bent down and grabbed In-woo’s hands to pull them away. When he forcibly lifted In-woo’s face to meet his gaze, In-woo’s eyes were full of contempt and disgust directed at Radel. Even faced with such blatant hostility, Radel showed no reaction at all. Like someone without any range of emotion.

“Are you afraid of me?”

“Stop it.”

“Do I give you the creeps?”

“Of course you do, how could you not!?”

In-woo’s body trembled. Though his shouting seemed fierce at first glance, it was as pathetic as a herbivore’s resistance. Like swinging a makeshift spear while clearly knowing you’re no match for your opponent.

It was more effective than in the past. With just his words, In-woo could definitely wound Radel.

But unfortunately, Radel was not a beast that would retreat when wounded. He was a mass murderer who could forge a star from the corpses he created. The man who had killed everything that stood in his way until now did not back down before In-woo either. Instead of killing, as if determined to subdue him in another way.

“I read your mind because it was necessary.”

“Shut up!”

“I don’t mean to hurt your pride.”

“I said shut up!”

“Be quiet now, In-woo.”

Radel barely managed to feign tenderness. But what a pathetic pretense it was. Having commanded calmly, Radel covered In-woo’s mouth with his hand. Radel quietly observed In-woo’s terrified face.

Beautiful starlight kept sparkling as it rose over Radel’s sea-blue eyes. The golden light, completely different from usual, was more alien than beautiful.

In-woo realized this was the phenomenon that appeared while Radel was using his ability.

Goosebumps rose all over his body. He didn’t want to be read. He didn’t want his thoughts exposed to the alien before him. Though he struggled desperately and shook his head, Radel neither stopped using his ability nor let In-woo go.

Would the thoughts Kim In-woo was having now someday be recorded in Radel’s records as the worthless struggles of a human?