83

“Why are you smiling? What is there to like about being monitored?”

“It’s thrilling.”

“……”

“My heart’s pounding because Yeo Eun is monitoring me.”

Ah. This person truly was not normal. I looked down at the completed download screen with displeasure. On it, the two yellow dots marking our locations had merged into one. That was only natural, since we were in the same place. To think that this, to Yeo Hae-jeong, counted as affection. I could not understand it at all.

“Ahh, it really feels as though we’re dating.”

Whether I liked it or not, he stared at the two overlapping dots as though they fascinated him. I looked down at him in silence.

He had certainly changed these days. Ever since we had become bound as lovers, he had acted more affectionate, almost attentive. He would buy me flowers without warning, or hand me gifts out of the blue. At times he truly did behave like a boy in love.

That was not all. He still refused to let go of the CCTV and the tracking app, but he listened to most of what I said. Because of that, my range of movement had widened as well. The Yeo Hae-jeong who once would not have let me step outside now allowed me out, at least to some extent.

I spoke again, as though testing him.

“Senior, may I go meet a friend for a while?”

“What friend? You don’t have friends.”

“……I do have friends.”

For a moment I was left speechless, but I did not retreat.

“A classmate from high school. They said they’d buy me a meal since I was sick.”

“All right. But take my card. And report where you are each time you move.”

“……”

“That’s all I need.”

The instant I received permission to go out, my heart eased in a strange way. What exactly was this feeling? Perhaps I was the mad one, not him. I was staring blankly at the blinking yellow dot when he suddenly let out a small sound.

“What?”

“My cousin’s birthday party is next week. Do you want to come with me?”

“Why would I go there?”

Still unable to break old habits, I answered curtly. He looked disappointed.

“Why? You’re my girlfriend.”

“……”

“It’s a chance to introduce you to people I know.”

The moment I heard the word people, I felt pressed at once. I had never been to such a place, and the thought of linking arms with him and pretending to be his girlfriend already made my skin crawl. When I shrank back, he began to coax me with that familiar, pitiful face of his.

“Then I have to go all alone?”

“……”

“You want me to go by myself, leaving you behind?”

Hm? Yeo Eun-ah.

His wheedling voice made my thoughts blur.

“……I’ll think about it.”

I cut myself off coldly and pulled my hand from his. Only then did I notice the blood staining his palm.

“By the way, don’t you need to treat your hand?”

“Ah, right.”

“I think the bandage needs changing.”

At that, he pushed back his chair and stood. He brought over a first-aid kit from the storage cabinet. Naturally, tending his wound became my task. I did not especially want to do it, but the sight of him fumbling with one hand made mine move of their own accord.

With a blank face, I unwound the bandage and applied ointment. Doing so brought back, vividly, the memory of him charging at that man with a glass in hand. That time had truly frightened me.

And yet the man now sitting before me seemed almost like someone else. For once, he had let his hair down, and he even looked subdued. Like a dog, perhaps.

But he might bite at any moment.

That thought sent a chill through me. I suppressed the feeling and began to fix a fresh bandage over the back of his hand. Unable to restrain himself, he slipped his fingers between mine in play, lacing them together so tightly they would not come apart.

“Yeo Eun-ah.”

“……”

“Baby, honey, darling.”

“……What.”

I should have answered at once. I frowned at those mortifying pet names. Seeing my expression, he laughed until his shoulders shook. After laughing for a while, he tugged gently at my hand and asked in a lowered voice,

“Shall we kiss?”

“……”

“I think it would feel very good to kiss you right now.”

Whenever he became like this, I never knew what to do. He was selfish and spoiled, but more honest and more skilled at expressing feeling than anyone I had ever known. In his habits, in his nature, in the way he gave affection, he was entirely unlike me.

Is this relationship truly all right?

I was still lost in that thought when he pushed back his chair and rose.

In an instant he was standing before me, gently cupping my sun-warmed cheeks. The rough edge of the bandage brushing my skin felt strangely out of place. I blinked without thinking, and his straight nose came to rest against mine.

“What are you doing, baby?”

“……”

“Not closing your eyes.”

I almost laughed at the absurdity of it. At that very moment, as though he had been waiting, he stole my lips.

But unlike before, he kissed me with great care, almost with courtesy. I had not known he could kiss like this. Foolishly, I thought back over the kisses we had shared. They had been filthy and rough, or violent and lewd. Most of them had been like that.

“Mmm, hnn.”

Today was entirely different. He pressed his lips to mine as though handling something precious. The tongue that slipped between my lips was warm and damp. Flustered by a kiss unlike any I had known, I could only follow helplessly as he guided my tongue as if teaching me.

My face flushed at once beneath the skill of it. Was I truly going to be led about by Yeo Hae-jeong? The uneasy thought flickered through me, and then he raised a hand and closed my eyes for me.

Smack, smooch.

His hot tongue moved here and there, teasing the inside of my mouth. At last our tongues tangled together. He tilted his head, pushed his tongue in deep, and drew me into his arms. Tightly. So tightly that not the slightest space remained between us.

He held me so hard my chest felt as though it might burst. In his embrace, I gasped for breath.

“I can’t breathe, hah, hah.”

“I know.”

He missed not a single one of those small breaths, swallowing each as it came. Under the l*st-heavy kiss, all strength left my body.

⁕⁕⁕

The birthday party was being held at a lounge bar near Yeo Hae-jeong’s house. I did not know why anyone would rent out a lounge bar for a birthday celebration. I could only assume it was the usual extravagance of rich young men.

“Get out.”

As I stepped from the car, cold wind moved through my hair. Without thinking, I hunched my shoulders. At once, he spread his arms slightly, as if to shield me.

“What are you doing?”

“The wind’s strong.”

“……”

“I’m worried my Yeo Eun might be blown away.”

I passed him with a cold face. Behind me, I heard him laugh. Before I knew it, he had come up beside me and laid a hand naturally on my shoulder. I considered telling him to remove it, but it was obvious he would bring up the matter of being my boyfriend again, so I held my tongue.

Two men, who appeared to be guards, stood before the great door. When they saw him, they moved aside at once. Without sparing them a glance, he led the way down into the dark basement. As I followed, loud music struck my ears. Flashing lights came with it.

My body stiffened on its own. I had never been in such a place before. As I looked around with bewildered eyes, he flicked my cheek lightly.

“Scared?”

“No. Not really. It’s only my first time.”

“It will be your first and last.”

“……”

“So take it in while you can.”

With those irritating words, he drew me closer by the shoulder and led me farther inside. Thump, thump. At the music shaking through the floor, I found myself pressing unconsciously toward him, and the corners of his mouth lifted in satisfaction.

He moved easily through the winding corridor and came to a stop before a room at the very end. When he opened the door marked VIP, a group of men and women around his age turned their eyes toward us. Under those gazes, fixed directly on my face, my steps faltered of their own accord.