***

How many times had they done it? Twice? Three times? No, maybe it had taken all night.

Twilight crept in through the dark cracks in the windows. Her entire body was drained – so exhausted she couldn’t even move a finger.

Thank God tomorrow was the weekend. Otherwise, she would have called in sick as soon as she got to work.

Soo-min turned to the side. Yuhyeon, who had just finished his last *rgasm, was in the bathroom taking a shower.

‘I should have looked at his body… but I couldn’t…’

He had thrust so aggressively that she hadn’t even had a chance. By the time she came to her senses, it was already dawn.

She slowly lifted her hand and looked down at her wrists – the marks from being tied up were still clearly visible. She bit her lip hard.

‘He’s… the kind of man who enjoys sadistic s*x.’

No matter how you looked at it, tying someone up during s*x didn’t seem normal.

What if it left bruises? The pain flared up in her wrist, which had always been weak to begin with.

Soo-min struggled to raise her hand and gently rubbed her sore wrist.

‘It hurts… ugh…’

But the pain below her waist was even worse. It felt hot, like she had a laceration, and it still felt like something large was inside her.

Should she be thankful that she hadn’t fainted from taking on a man who usually slept with several women at once?

Still, there hadn’t been any pain during s*x.

Strangely, her body had responded to him – she had become wet.

‘My body. Has it become an obscene body?’

She had engaged in countless acts of pseudo-s*x with him before, and strangely enough, it seemed to have helped during their actual s*x.

Soo-min blushed as she remembered how she had moaned like a temptress the night before.

She buried her face in the sheets.

Rustle, rustle – the sound of slippers brushing the marble floor reached her ears.

‘He must be coming…’

Her heart pounded in her chest.

One side of the bed sank heavily. Soo-min tensed up, afraid he might try to initiate s*x again.

‘I can’t… not anymore.’

Fortunately, he lay still. She could hear his regular breathing.

‘Is he asleep?’ she wondered, sneaking a glance – only to meet his eyes. Startled, she quickly buried her face in the sheets again.

‘Why isn’t he sleeping? Does he never sleep?’

He was still wearing only a robe. After such intense s*x, it would have made sense for him to be completely exhausted – but he hadn’t fallen asleep.

She felt the limits of her own endurance. No, there was no comparison between her stamina and his, but her eyes kept closing.

“No, I can’t sleep… When will I get another chance?”

She forced her eyes open and pinched the back of her hand, but the wave of sleep was impossible to fight.

Eventually, Soo-min fell asleep first.

The quiet bedroom was filled with the sound of her breathing.

Yuhyeon sat up quietly and looked carefully at Soo-min’s face.

His big hand cautiously reached out as if to wrap around her pale neck – but then he clenched his fist instead.

The marks on her wrist caught his eye. Veins bulged on the back of his tightly clenched hand.

Yuhyeon rose from the bed and quickly left the room.

***

He went down to the basement storage and brought up a bottle of wine.

Drinking had become a habit—by now, it was like a sleeping pill. He filled a wine glass to the brim and downed it in one go without even pausing to breathe.

That wasn’t enough. He poured more wine until it almost spilled over and gulped it down again.

Even though he had s*x with her as much as he wanted, he still wasn’t satisfied.

“You crazy bastard. Think about what you’ve done. If she found out that you systematically destroyed everything she had, do you have any idea what the consequences would be?

The shock would be immense.

It would be enough of a surprise to learn that Junhwan is still alive – but if she finds out that he’s the one who ruined her marriage, she’ll hate him for the rest of her life.

It was all planned from the beginning.

Yuhyeon had lured Yeodo, who had a weakness for women, into a fake business scheme and convinced him to invest his money. Then he used women to get him to gamble. It was all Yuhyeon’s doing.

Alcohol, women, gambling, failed investments –

Over the past five years, Yuhyeon had slowly driven Byeon Yedo to ruin.

It wouldn’t have been enough to kill and devour the man who stole his wife, but in the end he drove the Daeseong Group into bankruptcy.

It was all driven by his desire for revenge against her.

Not love, but a mixture of resentment and obsession – a desperate need to possess her. That was what had caused everything.

“Ugh.”

His back burned.

The area where he had undergone surgery for the burn often throbbed with pain, tormenting Yuhyeon.

His mind drifted back to five years ago. He had waited for her until columns of red flame rose in front of his eyes.

‘If only she had made a single phone call, left a message… no, even if she had just attended the funeral…’

Would he have lost himself to such revenge?

The searing pain was in his back, but the truth was – what really hurt was his heart.

Yuhyeon let out a small laugh.

‘No, it’s not that. I’m just in a good mood because I’m enjoying this too much.’

He refilled his empty glass and finished the drink.

It felt like the tension had eased a bit, but the alcohol tasted horribly bitter.

Yuhyeon sat in a chair and stared blankly at the computer.

He had the feeling that even sleeping would be a waste of time.

***

Soo-min opened her eyes at noon, when the sun was already high in the sky.

Her whole body hurt. It felt like she had been cut, and hot breath came out of her mouth.

‘I should at least take some medicine…’

Gasp!

As she tried to get up from the bed, her legs gave out and she collapsed.

“Ah… I can’t move…”

Her leg muscles felt like limp squid. As she sat on the floor with a sigh, she saw Yuhyeon enter the room.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh, I just… have no strength.”

When Yuhyeon walked towards her with heavy steps, she panicked. She was scared.

“Relax. Even a madman like me knows when to hold back depending on the situation.”

“Th-that’s… a relief…”

Yuhyeon easily lifted Soo-min into his arms and laid her back down on the bed. He then put his hand on her forehead.

Fine lines appeared on his smooth forehead. She heard him mumbling a soft curse under his breath.

“I’ll call a doctor.”

“Gasp-no, no, it’s okay! I don’t need a doctor for this. I just need some medicine. Or maybe just a little rest…”

“That won’t be enough.”

As he started to get up from the bed, she grabbed his hand. Soo-min’s face turned red. She didn’t want anyone to see the aftermath of their s*x.

“Really, just the medicine is enough. I mean it.”

“……”

“I’m fine, except for a little weakness in my legs and a slight fever. Look, see?”

Soo-min clasped her hands and straightened her shoulders, gently rocking her hips from side to side. Each movement made her sensitive area rub painfully against her underwear, but she endured it.

“I’ll get the medicine.”

“Y-You’re leaving, Yuhyeon?”

“You don’t want anyone to see you like this, do you? Then I’ll have to do it myself.”

“Thank you.”

He was the one who caused the pain and now offered the cure, but as long as they understood each other, that was enough.

A moment later, Yuhyeon returned with medicine and water and handed them to Soo-min. After she took the pills, he took out an ointment from his pocket.

“What is this…?”

“Let’s take a look. I need to see if there are any tears down there.”

He pulled back the sheet and grabbed Soo-min’s legs. Her heart dropped.

“No. I’m not hurt.”

“I need to see for myself.”

He was insistent. Soo-min’s face burned with embarrassment – she thought she was going crazy.

Having his head between her legs in broad daylight was more than she could handle.

She pushed him away with all her strength. She didn’t know how she did it with hands too weak to lift a spoon, but somehow he was pushed back.

“I’m really fine. Just leave me alone.”

Soo-min turned her back to him as if she didn’t want to argue anymore.

‘Just go. I don’t want to see your face.’

“You seemed weak yesterday. Work on your stamina first.”

‘Yes, I should. I’ll do that.’

Soo-min wanted to snap back, but she didn’t even have the strength to speak.

She just nodded.

She could feel his gaze lingering on her back, but she didn’t care anymore.