Jeong Taeui felt his whole body freeze at the low, whispering sound of that voice.

Ilay.

Ilay Riegrow.

The man he never thought he would see in this place was now standing right in front of him.

Goosebumps. A chill ran down his spine, and his tongue felt stiff, unable to speak.

Unbelievable. It was unbelievable how accurate his prediction had been.

He had imagined how scared he would be if he met him. He thought the scenario could be so terrifying that it would make him want to run away immediately. He knew Ilay would give him goosebumps and paralyze him with fear.

And it was exactly like that.

The moment they met, his legs felt like they weren’t his own, and he could only stand frozen in place. The instant he saw that faint smile, his tongue became too stiff to say anything.

He had thought that if he got beaten, he would try to explain things to him during that time, like it was some kind of joke. Now Jeong Taeui realized how naive that thought was.

“If I were you, I would just keep running from Rick forever rather than go back and die as soon as you see him.”

His uncle’s words echoed in Jeong Taeui’s mind.

Now he belatedly realized that perhaps his uncle was right. Jeong Taeui had never seen Ilay as furious as he was now. No, it was different from anger; it was an expression he had never seen before and couldn’t understand.

With a smile on his face, Ilay was clearly very different from usual.

When Ilay’s gloved hand reached up to brush the hair away from Jeong Taeui’s forehead, he wanted to faint right then and there.

“Wait, wait…… wait a moment……—……—”

Jeong Taeui opened his mouth. He had to say something.

However, before he could get a word out, Ilay interrupted with a slow smile.

“You don’t need to say anything.”

He said, extending a pale hand towards him. That hand grabbed Jeong Taeui’s chin tightly. Without any leniency, it prevented him from saying anything.

“If you want to lie, you should also cover your own ears first. Otherwise, you’ll end up deceiving yourself*”

(*”말은 입을 속이고, 귀를 속이고, 이윽고 자기자신까지 속이거든.”)

Right before his eyes.

Ilay’s face was just inches away.

Ilay whispered in a smooth, terrifying voice. Then suddenly he laughed. The soft feel of the glove gripping his chin wasn’t even the most frightening thing.

‘—……—NO. That’s not it. I mean, I was just trying to come back to you.’

Jeong Taeui grabbed the hand that was gripping his chin, wait a moment, if only he would let go, then he would immediately explain that he was just trying to come back to him. He would say that right now he was on his way to the airport to meet him.

‘—……—Hold on, wait a moment, you bastard!’

It seemed Ilay could read the desperate desire in Jeong Taeui’s eyes.

His eyebrows gently lifted, a smile flickered in his eyes.

“What’s the matter? Do you have something to say?”

“……—……—.”

“Do you think shouting now will get someone to help you?”

Ilay sneered. The bus stop in the early morning was almost deserted. Occasionally, one or two passersby glanced at them with curious eyes.

Suddenly, Ilay laughed loudly. He quietly released the hand that was gripping Jeong Taeui’s chin.

As soon as that hand let go, Jeong Taeui groaned, clutching his aching chin and yelled at him.

“I was going to the airport……”

‘I was going to the airport to find you’ – Jeong Taeui had intended to say, but his words were immediately cut off.

When he hurriedly shouted, Ilay glanced down at his hand, a faint hesitation in his eyes. But finally, he took off his gloves and, without hesitation, stuffed them into Jeong Taeui’s mouth.

Then, Ilay smiled and punched him in the stomach. 

“…….—!!!”

A very precise, very calculated force, just enough not to knock him out.

Jeong Taeui’s eyes filled with tears, the nausea in his stomach coupled with the dizziness made his head spin all at once. He doubled over, disoriented.

His mind went blank.

In retrospect, Jeong Taeui had taken a punch from this guy once before. It had been excruciating. Yes, but even then, it wasn’t as painful as this. <Xtimes pain>

Jeong Taeui tried to cover his mouth but couldn’t because of the glove. He collapsed, trying to regain his fading consciousness.

Ilay easily picked Jeong Taeui up.

“Even if you scream here or call for help, it won’t do you any good, but it would be a nuisance.”

Amid Jeong Taeui’s sobs, Ilay’s voice became even clearer.

As soon as they entered the room, Ilay threw Jeong Taeui onto the bed.

When Ilay carried Jeong Taeui over his shoulder into the nearest hotel to the bus stop—the same hotel Jeong Taeui had stayed at the night before—all eyes in the lobby were on them.

Early in the morning, so the lobby wasn’t crowded, but the hotel staff were staring at Jeong Taeui, who was slumped over Ilay’s shoulder, with very strange looks.

In the elevator going up to the room, Ilay spoke in a light, cheerful voice.

“If you were going to run away, you should have done it properly. Like last time, it was more efficient. What will you do if flights from Johannesburg to Hong Kong keep getting canceled like this? Even if you change your identity and escape by land, Mr. Jeong Taei?”

Ilay gently patted Jeong Taeui’s leg, carrying him effortlessly over his shoulder, and smiled with a cheerful mood.

Every time Jeong Taeui opened his mouth, the nausea surged (even though his mouth was stuffed with the glove, preventing him from vomiting) — but he still had to keep his mouth shut and struggled to maintain consciousness through the pain enveloping his entire body. It wasn’t until Ilay stepped into the room that he could regain some clarity.

The moment he was thrown onto the bed, he groaned in pain, but the sound was muffled by the glove in his mouth.

Jeong Taeui could barely stay conscious due to the pain, trying to remove the glove from his mouth, but as soon as Ilay entered the bathroom, he immediately came out with a towel. He effortlessly tore the long towel, shoved the glove Jeong Taeui had struggled to remove back into his mouth, and tied the towel around his mouth.

“Jeong Taei, you don’t need to say anything to me anymore.”

Jeong Taeui heard Ilay’s voice cutting off his words even though he hadn’t managed to speak. The slow, leisurely, familiar voice sent chills through him as he listened to each word Ilay breathed into his ear.

“No, it’s of no use. No matter what you say, whether you beg or cry……— Ah, yes, even if you get angry with me, I won’t listen to you anymore. Although, if you beg me, I might soften. But I don’t really want that.”

As he spoke, he revealed his bright white teeth. Jeong Taeui knew just how sharp and strong those teeth were.

They were enough to tear someone apart.

“Mm—! Eummp…………—!!!”

‘No, that’s not what I mean! Damn it, listen to me, you bastard!’

Jeong Taeui screamed frantically. But the sound only reverberated in his throat like a groan.

While Jeong Taeui couldn’t utter a coherent word and could only scream in frustration, Ilay easily tied his wrists with another piece of the towel. Then, he flipped him face down on the bed, laughing softly as he patted Jeong Taeui’s bottom.

Emotions surged within him, something rising in his chest. That hand, without hesitation, squeezed and slapped his buttocks repeatedly as if it had found something amusing to play with. Jeong Taeui felt utterly defeated; the cold, clear sensation of failure rose within him like the rage choked back in his throat. And the terror was no different from that sense of failure.

This madman didn’t care what he wanted to say, making his own conclusions that chilled Jeong Taeui’s heart to the core as he wanted.

……Was he really going to die? No, he might actually die. He couldn’t guess what was going on in Ilay’s mind.

Jeong Taeui’s face turned pale, and he shouted out meaningless words. Next to him, Ilay casually took off his shirt and threw it away, his pants meeting the same fate. Even his underwear was discarded, leaving him completely naked in front of Jeong Taeui.

Although he had seen Ilay’s familiar body so many times that he could engrave it in his mind, Jeong Taeui still tried his best to distance himself, crawling backward on his knees in fear and confusion.

Instinct told him that Ilay would kill him, right now. No, at the very least, he wouldn’t care if Jeong Taeui lived or died.

Jeong Taeui dragged himself desperately but soon reached the headboard. In front of him was a wall, but before he could touch it, a strong hand grabbed his ankle.

“.!?!!!..—!!”

That hand pulled Jeong Taeui’s ankle back without hesitation, so suddenly that he wondered if he would dislocate his ankle again.

Jeong Taeui’s knees slid on the bed, causing him to fall face-first and bump his shoulder on the mattress. The soft, resilient mattress cushioned his body, preventing pain, but immediately, goosebumps covered his skin as a weight pressed down on him.

Jeong Taeui lay prone on the bed, one of Ilay’s hands pressing into his back with full force. Though Ilay used only one hand, he could keep Jeong Taeui pinned, unable to move. Jeong Taeui tried to squirm, even a little, to escape the grip of that hand, but it was futile, like having a thousand-pound rock pressing down on him.

“I told you to listen to me! You crazy bastard! Why don’t you listen to others!”

Jeong Taeui inwardly cried. He was furious and tried to turn his head to look at Ilay’s face from an angle.

A faint smile played on those lips, his face cold as ice but also burning like fire.

Jeong Taeui desperately looked at him, meeting Ilay’s gaze.

However, when their eyes met, it seemed as though Ilay’s eyes widened slightly, carrying a strange look. Instantly, Ilay gave a gentle smile. No, it was more of a crazed smile.

“Taei…… Taei. I told you already. Don’t think about running away anymore.”

Ilay spoke softly. That gentle yet terrifying voice brushed past his ear.

Jeong Taeui shook his head frantically. If only he could rub against the bed sheets to loosen the towel gag in his mouth. Now, it prevents even a whimper from escaping.

“At that time, I said I’d come back soon! Even though you couldn’t hear because your damn motorcycle was so loud, I was planning to come back to you!! Just listen to me!!”

Tears streamed from Jeong Taeui’s eyes, and he shook his head vigorously despite the burning pain in his throat.

Ilay gently stroked his hair. He whispered soothingly while licking Jeong Taeui’s earlobe.

“I know. It’s okay. Of course, I understand that being trapped in Al Saud’s mansion in Seringe wasn’t your choice. I get that. I can understand that. But that’s all.”

Ilay’s voice lowered. In the next moment, Jeong Taeui swallowed a cry of pain. His vision turned white.

His ear hurt terribly. It was hot and burning. Only then did Jeong Taeui realize that Ilay was biting his ear. Blood dripped onto the bed sheets, as if a thin layer of skin on his ear had been torn off.

“The moment that door opened, the way you rushed towards him as if you’d been waiting to escape with him for so long. I’ve thought about it countless times, but I still can’t understand it.”

Jeong Taeui shook his head, his ear throbbing and burning. But what he couldn’t bear more than the pain from the bite was that terrifying voice. It wouldn’t be surprising if Ilay killed him with that voice now.

No longer was there a voice mixed with laughter as usual. Only a cold, chilling voice filled with extreme anger and rage remained.

“Taei. I’ve thought a lot about it. I’ve been thinking about what to do if I found you. I really thought about many things. On my way here, I didn’t miss a single moment and only thought about you. What should I do with you now? Indeed, the simplest and most comfortable way is to just kill you and devour all your bones and flesh……—…….”

Every time Ilay’s tongue licked the torn part of his ear, a burning sensation immediately surged. He carefully licked each drop of blood flowing down Jeong Taeui’s ear and cheek. That tongue caressed his ear with a low chuckle.

“If I chew every piece of your bone, swallow every bit of your flesh without leaving any, you can never run away again; you will be completely mine. Ha…… it’s such an alluring idea, I really want to do that……. I thought like that exactly 10 minutes ago. Yes, until I got out of the taxi and saw you.”

The voice mingled with laughter continually flowed into Jeong Taeui’s ear like a cold stream.

He was going mad.

His mind seemed to go insane with fear.

This was different from the fear of facing death. Instead, it was like the fear of facing known pain. He didn’t know that not being able to predict what was going to happen next could be so terrifying.

Jeong Taeui couldn’t, couldn’t predict anything. Even when, in the end, the outcome was always ‘death’.

A hand gently stroked Jeong Taeui’s hair, while the other pressed down on his back, completely restraining him and making it impossible for him to move even a little with unimaginable strength. At some point, that hand had moved down to his waist and was removing each piece of his clothing until all his clothes lay scattered on the floor.

Finally, Jeong Taeui was stark naked, pinned down on the bed.