His voice was flat—no rise, no fall—and that even, matter-of-fact tone sent a chill crawling down her spine.

Ye-jin’s face drained of color in an instant. “I’ll take care of it”—what did that even mean? Was he planning to make the child disappear? A cold dread clawed through her entire body. Her clenched fists trembled. This was exactly why she’d run away: the moment he learned she was pregnant, he would surely try to get rid of the baby…

“You’re insane…”

“Yeah, I’m insane. About you, Yoo Ye-jin.”

His black eyes bored straight through her, twisted with a possessive obsession and poisonous possessiveness. Like a black jaguar that never lets go of its prey, he stared—savage, relentless.

Even his gaze was overwhelming. Those deep, dark eyes were intoxicatingly dangerous, like a sticky marsh you could never crawl free from once you fell in. His presence pressed on the air itself; it felt as if she might drown in it.

Her shoulders shook as she fought to steady her breath, when suddenly he grasped her wrist.

“…!”

Her frail body lost balance. She toppled helplessly beneath him as he mounted her like the apex predator that ruled its jungle—arrogant and absolute. The directness of his stare held an illicit hunger.

Her head spun into fog. Instinct screamed at her: she knew what was coming.

‘How could he, even in this deranged situation, still want me?’

He was an elite—born into one of Korea’s most prestigious chaebol families, a business major from Seoul National University with an MBA from Harvard. He rose through Shinseong Heavy Industries to become CEO and drove the company onto the global stage. An elite among elites—Seo Jung-hoo.

And yet, when it came to Ye-jin, he was nothing more than a filthy male—leering in his pants like a dog in heat, degraded and crude.

“Don’t do anything stupid.”

Ye-jin whipped her head away, avoiding his dark gaze, and snapped the words sharply.

But she was pitifully weak against a beast blinded by greed. He hauled her T-shirt up.

She blinked at the blinding expanse of pale skin revealed beneath. There were scars that did not suit the softness of her flesh: a long line tracing down her cleavage and clusters of smaller marks along her side.

Her thin bra, clearly the wrong size, covered only half her br*asts. Pregnancy had swollen what was already full; her slight, fragile frame seemed overwhelmed by the weight. He clicked his tongue in mild disappointment—perhaps because the sight made it painfully clear how much her body had suffered for that single child.

He undid the clasp.

Even along the rounded ridge there were small scars—left from the time he’d bitten her too hard, kisses that had become permanent marks. He traced one of them slowly with a fingertip and let a cruel smile curl his mouth.

“There’s my mark, nicely preserved.”

“I don’t have time to play with you.”

Her reply was icy, but he only flashed his eyes and growled low, unconcerned.

“You don’t get to act haughty like that.”

Then, like a carnivore pinning its prey with razor claws, he planted his knee against the inside of her thigh, pinning her so she couldn’t move. He smoothed the pallor of her cheek with the back of his hand, slowly and deliberately. Even that gentle touch failed to ease her tension—she knew all too well that tenderness from him always bore some poison.

“What will you do if I refuse to play? Have you ever seen me back down easily?”

he murmured, exhaling warm breath into her ear.

“You know, the more you act proud and aloof, the more it turns me on.”

“Jung-hoo…”

“Don’t throw a tantrum for no reason. Pride like that will only cost you.”

His gaze was as sharp as a tiger’s and conveyed the threat that he could destroy her without a second thought. Under his ruthless gaze, her resolve crumbled. The defiant gleam in her pale brown eyes faded, as if she were surrendering to the inevitable.

Yes. He had always been like this: a man who subdued her with his powerful body, pillaging and possessing her with an insatiable appetite.

He explored her body with l*stful hands, stroking it as if mapping every inch.

“Ah…!”

With maddening ease and precision, he located her most sensitive spots. No matter where they were, he always knew exactly how to touch her to elicit a response.

Her body had long been conditioned to respond to him, tamed until it reacted to the slightest touch. Even now, her flesh betrayed her, responding to his touch as if it had been waiting for it. The curse of a body that could feel pleasure in a moment like this made her teeth ache.

He trailed his tongue along the hollow of her neck and pressed his lower body against hers. A hard pulse of arousal pressed keenly against her belly.

“Jung-hoo…”

His hand slipped beneath her skirt. His long fingers toyed obscenely with her delicate skin, taunting her. A searing heat ran along her spine. Her thin frame felt utterly powerless against the sensations he was inflicting on her — her toes curled and her hips trembled.

When he tightened his grip, Ye-jin convulsed and let out a strangled cry. Her body was already enslaved by sensation. She knew she should push him away, but she couldn’t. In fact, she found herself longing for the even greater pleasure that might follow.

“Ha… stop….”

Clinging to the last thread of pride, she tried to deny the truth—that she wanted him, that every cell in her body hungered for him.

“Don’t stop here.”

“……”

“You always have, Ye-jin. Your body and your mouth never match up.”

He chewed over the words with contemptuous amusement. She couldn’t argue with his observation; it was cruelly accurate. When she remained silent, she glared at him, sharp and defensive. He laughed softly and ran his thumb along his tongue. The obscene gesture made her shudder.

“Gross…”

“Yeah. You’re filthy, Ye-jin. That’s why you’re carrying another man’s child.”

He pressed his palm lightly to her swollen belly and snorted.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make you clean again. Fill you with me, and everything will be purified.”

He spoke those absurd words with a straight face, his tone grave and unwavering. Soon, the marks on her thighs were laid bare—scars that told stories of pain beneath her graceful exterior.

But Seo Jung-hoo was no different; behind his flawless appearance, his body too bore traces of the whip.

As his gaze lingered on her scars, Ye-jin flinched and kicked out in panic. Her small foot struck his face, leaving them both startled—though he, instead of anger, burst into laughter, as if being hit by her delighted him somehow.

His eyes curved with amusement.

“My little cat has grown quite a bit. You even know how to fight back now.”

Embarrassed under his intense gaze, Ye-jin’s cheeks flushed crimson. Yet the man only seemed more fascinated by her trembling and her tears—finding a strange, almost tender pleasure in the sight.

“You’re beautiful when you cry. So lovely, it almost makes me want to devour you whole.”