Chapter 126: Choker (1)

R‌ea​d​ o​n​ K‍a‍t‌​R‍e​a​d​i​n‌g​C‍a‍f‍e‌​

‘Is this how a condemned criminal feels?’

Sugar spent the entire day sweating through her classes. Riley, sitting next to her, looked completely at ease, which only made her more anxious.

Since that time, there had been zero physical contact. What on earth was he planning?

She had described it as a death sentence, but surely he wouldn’t actually kill her. She knew that. She knew everything.

Sugar calmly thought about the kind of punishment Riley might give her. He had specifically said to meet after class, so it probably wasn’t something ordinary.

“…”

■■, or ■■ and ■■, or ■■—even if she cried and screamed, he wouldn’t stop—

Wait a minute.

All of these are just weird thoughts!

Her face turned red, cold sweat poured down her forehead, and her body trembled. It was a rabbit’s instinctive reaction when faced with fear.

She wondered if Riley would really do something like that but then again, knowing Riley, he might.

Her mind was in turmoil. Anxiety, worry, and fear mixed together, screaming in her head. Lately, whenever Riley played pranks, she felt strange. She hated the feeling that something might happen to her body, and it made her feel powerless.

In this extreme stress situation.

‘But… is breaking into his room really that wrong?’

Sugar’s brain began to escape reality.

‘It’s not like I broke in in the middle of the night and kidnapped Riley… or crawled into his bed while he was sleeping. I just stole a white shirt during the day. And I even put a new one back, so it’s not a big deal.’

She conveniently left out the part about smelling his underwear.

‘That was unavoidable! The underwear was just there…’

Anyway. Sugar prepared to play the victim. Her shamelessness from childhood hadn’t gone anywhere.

But then she slumped down again.

‘…But I still lied.’

She had deceived her precious friend. She had gone to great lengths just to get a shirt.

If it were someone else, she might have been able to act shamelessly, but this was Riley.

‘I skipped classes using the excuse that I was sick… Riley must have been really worried because of that… I was wrong. I should be honest and apologize…’

She bowed her head, tormented by guilt. At her core, she was a good person. It was this warm heart that had influenced Riley since they were young.

Having decided to humbly accept her punishment, Sugar headed to the pavilion next to the greenhouse after school.

***************

Riley, who had arrived first, looked exasperated.

“I’m sorry for lying!”

Seeing the girl he cared about bowing so deeply in apology, he quickly lifted her up before she could go as far as doing a handstand.

“What are you doing, you idiot?”

“The ultimate apology…”

She was interrupted mid-performance. Sugar, dangling in the air, sighed.

“…Enough. Let’s talk. Why did you break into my room? Be honest about how and why.”

He let her go and asked. It seemed he wasn’t going to get angry right away. How kind of him. Sugar, with her moist eyes, began to explain everything in detail.

As she spoke, Riley’s expression grew more and more grim.

From the air freshener to the lantern that appeared in her dream, to analyzing the security system, he couldn’t help but groan. Knowing how much she hated studying, it was even more frustrating.

“So… you did all that just to steal a shirt I wore?”

“Yeah…”

She covered her face with a loud clap.

Breaking into someone’s room just for a shirt. All that meticulous preparation, analyzing the security system, using rare magic—all for a shirt he had worn.

He felt like he had been hit on the head and could only rub his face in disbelief.

“I’m sorry for lying…”

“No, hey, really… forget the apology. Why did you go that far for my shirt…”

He couldn’t understand it at all. He knew she had a strange mind, but he hadn’t expected it to be this bad.

When he asked, Sugar rolled her eyes and opened her mouth.

“I… couldn’t sleep alone…”

“What?”

“Ugh… this is, this is partly your fault.”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

“It’s not nonsense… during the holiday. At Leon’s house, I slept in your arms every day… ever since then, I haven’t been able to sleep alone. I haven’t slept properly for a week.”

As she spoke, she lowered her head, embarrassed. Watching her, Riley felt like he had been hit in the heart.

‘Was that all? Damn, that’s so cute—’

Riley swallowed the words that were about to spill out.

“…So, you stole my shirt to replace me?”

In response to his question, Sugar silently nodded.

Well, this is something. He couldn’t get mad. She had been lonely sleeping alone, had wanted him so much that she came up with this cute plan—how could he possibly scold her?

She had skipped classes under false pretenses and done something that could have gotten her in big trouble if the school found out, but at least the shirt theft and breaking into his room weren’t things he could scold her for.

In fact, he wanted to hug her right now. He wanted to spoil her to his heart’s content.

He wanted to cover her body with the scent she loved so much.

He bit down hard to hide and suppress those feelings. He didn’t want to spoil her.

But Sugar seemed to interpret his silence differently and hesitantly spoke again.

“I didn’t want to bother you… that’s why I did it secretly…”

She didn’t want Riley to feel annoyed or inconvenienced by her.

Riley sighed. So you went and did something like this?

“Just ask next time. I’ll give it to you from now on.”

“…Really? Really? Really?”

Her gloomy expression brightened like a child going to an amusement park. Ha. The man let out a bewildered sigh. She was so happy about getting a shirt that it made his head spin.

Well, as long as she’s happy. Sugar looked best when she was smiling. As long as Sugar was happy, that was enough.

‘…But still.’

He had to do what he had to do.

“Aside from that.”

“Huh?”

“I have something to give you.”

He wanted to let Sugar have her way, but there were limits. He loved her free-spirited nature, but it also made him worry and feel anxious. Tormented by this contradiction, the man had ultimately made something.

While Sugar was coming up with and executing her cute plan, Riley had also been making his own plans.

How would you react to this?

With a dark sense of anticipation, Riley pulled out an envelope from inside his cloak. Sugar tilted her head curiously as she took it.

“What’s this?”

“A gift.”

“Wow… all of a sudden?”

Was this like giving a treat to a naughty child? Preparing a gift instead of a scolding. Sugar’s heart, which had been prepared for a harsh punishment, melted.

‘Really, Riley. You’re too kind for your own good.’

Feeling both guilty and even more drawn to him, Sugar fidgeted. Her rising affection made it impossible to stay still.

“Can I open it now?”

“Yeah.”

His casual, indifferent response made Sugar blush as she opened the envelope.

What could it be? It was quite light. Was it jewelry? When did he even prepare this?

Filled with anticipation, she reached in and pulled it out.

“…Huh?”

At first glance, she thought it was a collar. On closer inspection, it was a necklace of that design. Commonly called a choker.

Sugar blinked as she examined it.

“Riley… um…”

“I prepared it for you.”

“Ah… um… th-thank you. It looks really high-end. It’s lighter and softer than it looks. The material seems rare. It must have been expensive…”

“I made it myself.”

Sugar, who had been stammering out compliments, suddenly stopped.

“…You know, you’ve been going out every evening lately. Was that why…”

“Yeah. To get the materials. And to make it.”

“…”

Her mouth shut on its own.

She remembered when they had gone to a jewelry store to buy a scarf, and the man in front of her had been curiously looking at chokers.

So Riley had that kind of taste. She had brushed it off.

Men were like that, after all.

But now it was being shoved in her face. He hadn’t bought it from a store. He had made a collar-designed choker with his own hands and gifted it to her?

Even Sugar was flustered and broke out in a cold sweat.

“Your taste is really…”

“Be quiet. The problem is you acting on your own.”

“What do you mean…”

“I’ve told you before to report to me first if anything happens, but you keep forgetting. So I prepared this. If you wear it around your neck, you won’t forget in the future.”

What on earth was he talking about? It was absurd, but she touched the choker. At a glance, it seemed enchanted. The material itself was unusual, so he must have put a lot of effort into it.

It didn’t matter. This was within the range of normal tastes.

But there was a more important issue than taste.

“Riley. There’s something I want you to know… the reason I acted on my own was because I didn’t want to bother you.”

If she kept relying on him and showing her weakness, Riley might get tired of her. She wanted to show that she could handle things on her own. Ultimately, it was for Riley’s freedom—but he had told her not to leave his side.

In this slightly twisted situation, Sugar still held onto the thought of not bothering Riley.

And the man didn’t like that at all.

“Hey, what… what do you think of me? You can rely on me more. Who cares what anyone says? Why are you always worrying about my feelings? Why are you even thinking about that?”

“Because you’re precious to me… I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“Me too, hah. Sugar. I care about you more than you think—”

He bit his lip mid-sentence. Then he continued.

“I care about you. So don’t worry about that, and please don’t make me worry.”

He spoke as if pleading, recalling the empty space beside him when he woke up during the holiday. The eeriness of that moment was etched in his words.

Hearing this, Sugar quietly touched the choker. It wasn’t a shocking confession. In fact, it made her expect even more.

Bowing her head, Sugar directed her gaze at Riley and subtly revealed a question she had been holding onto.

“…As much as I care about you?”

“…”

“…Do you care about me that much too?”

Instead of answering, Riley placed his hand on the choker Sugar was holding. The design, mixed with a sense of possessiveness, spoke for itself.

And Sugar fell deeply into that desire.

She gently stretched out her neck.

“This… this is a punishment, right? Because I did something wrong… because I broke into your room and stole your shirt… so as a punishment… right?”

Punishment. If you commit a crime, you must be punished. You must pay the price for acting on your own.

So, it’s not like I’m wearing this because I want to.

Sugar hid her sinister desires behind justice, pretending not to know, and stretched out her white neck. With sticky intentions, she tainted justice and closed her eyes.

Soon, she heard rustling and felt a presence. When she slightly opened her eyes, she saw Riley’s hand and the choker close by. She closed her eyes again.

The hand gently stroking her neck was kind. She waited, trembling slightly, as the soft, smooth material of the collar wrapped around her neck and fastened perfectly.

His hand fell away. Sugar slowly opened her eyes.

“…How is it?”

The material was good, so it didn’t feel suffocating. But she could definitely feel something wrapped around her neck.

Feeling strange, she twisted her body and asked if he was satisfied, but there was no answer.

“…Riley?”

For some reason, his breathing was rough. He touched the choker again.

“What’s wrong…? Isn’t it on properly?”

The man silently undid it.

The slight pressure around her neck loosened, and just as she felt a disappointing sense of release, Riley leaned in.

He pressed his lips to the spot where the choker had been.

“Ah! Wait…!”

Startled, she stiffened and tried to stop him, but Riley pulled away, breathing heavily, and muttered.

“A wish coupon… hah…”

“What, what are you talking about…?”

“From now on, walk around with this mark.”

He whispered in her ear, deliberately saying he would make a new one whenever it faded.

Sugar jumped.

“What are you saying!”

“A wish coupon.”

“Ah…”

He said it firmly. A wish coupon. From their childhood, Sugar had given Riley three wish coupons.

No matter how much she disliked it, she had decided to grant his wishes as much as possible. She had received so much from him, and she wanted to cherish and embrace him, so she had given them to him.

“Ugh… um… that…”

Riley didn’t rush her. He didn’t touch her or pester her. He just held Sugar and looked at her.

His eyes were filled with desire. They were filled with a sticky affection, wanting to make the girl in front of him his own. But since he couldn’t cross the line, he wanted to at least leave a visible mark.

Sugar didn’t know what to do.

From now on, she would have to live with that, that, hickey. He would make a new one whenever it faded. And it would be hidden under the choker. Ah. Ahh.

‘Even, even lovers don’t do that…’

Sugar rolled her eyes and looked up at Riley. The man who had gone through so much trouble to get the materials and make the item. She wanted to ease his anxiety and make him feel better.

Honestly, it wasn’t a difficult request. It wasn’t like he was asking for her body or anything.

Wait, was he? If you thought about it broadly, was he asking for her body?

‘No! It’s just my neck, right?’

Her mind spun in circles.

Sugar made a decision. She didn’t know why there was a slight flutter in her heart. But in any case, as someone who cared for Riley, there was only one answer she could give.

“Okay. You can do what you want. And…”

“…And?”

“You don’t have to use the wish coupon…”

The man immediately pounced.