150. Taming (3)

Saturday night.

Ah, it’s past midnight now, so it’s early Sunday morning.

He didn’t share a bed with anyone today.

The superficial reason was probably ‘I’ll just hold out for one day since I have the day off tomorrow’….

But the real reason was likely the hassle of having to get away if I accidentally woke up.

He was in his room, and unnie and Hinami were in unnie’s room.

Lastly, I was supposed to be sleeping in the soundproof booth….

But I figured I’d feel bad if that guy woke me up for no reason.

So I just stayed awake.

Mask and sunglasses.

Bundled up in a hat, short-sleeved shirt, cardigan, and long pants, sitting on the sofa.

Dressed so I wouldn’t be recognized in the dark night.

“You’re all ready.”

“…You kept your promise, so I’m keeping mine.”

As I waited quietly, he came out of his room and spoke very softly.

We’re a bit more familiar now, unlike back when I was half-raped.

Of course, that doesn’t mean I’ve grown fond of him or feel comfortable.

…It just means I’m a little less scared.

That’s all.

“Follow me. …Like I’ve been all week, I won’t do anything weird.”

“…Just know that if you break your promise, I’ll break mine too.”

“I know. We’ll just walk for about an hour and come back.”

He stood still, wearing his shoes, without touching me, waiting for me to get up.

Even though my fear had lessened, I didn’t want to get close, so I hesitated for a long time.

Seeing him stand there silently, I finally got up from the sofa.

Creeping quietly to the entrance and putting on my shoes, he stood behind me, eliminating the option of turning back.

Once I was fully ready and standing at the door, he opened the door lock, which he’d somehow set to silent, and I stepped out into the summer night air, which was definitely muggier than inside the house.

“…What’s the point of this?”

“I figured you’d feel stuffy being cooped up in your room all week because of the Manager.”

“Ha. …You’re joking, right?”

“About half. …Well, whatever the reason. We’re literally just going for a walk.”

As we rode the elevator down, I kept my distance from him, and Kang Joo-hyuk didn’t approach me beyond a certain point.

Honestly, I was prepared to bite my lip and endure something like him grabbing my waist, so this was unexpected.

It was strictly a walk.

The superficial reason was that he felt sorry for me, a woman who usually traveled domestically and internationally every day, being stuck inside for so long and unable to go out, so he wanted me to get some fresh air for the first time in a while.

…Every word was complete bullshit I couldn’t believe even a little bit.

“….”

He kept glancing at me, smiling creepily as if thinking his ridiculous bluff was quite commendable.

His smile gave me chills the more I looked at it, but as we got closer to the ground floor, the heavy night air calmed the goosebumps that had erupted.

Finally, the elevator stopped, and as we stepped outside the building, the heavy night air felt even muggier.

It was definitely cooler than during the day, but…

For me, who had been confined indoors all day, it felt quite stuffy, and…

…just as he said.

Still, because it was outside air, even that stuffy air felt refreshingly pleasant.

If it weren’t coming through my mask, it would have been even cooler.

“Follow me. Let’s just walk this way.”

Pulling my hat down low, covering my face with sunglasses and a mask.

Even with all that, I hid myself as much as possible behind his body.

I could barely see ahead, just staring at Kang Joo-hyuk’s back as I trudged down the street.

…Except for that one day, no matter how famous an idol I was, I had never been out like this, trembling with anxiety.

The fear imprinted on my heart that day still slithered around, clutching my heart, making me afraid to walk outside with him.

My heart mocked me, telling me that he knew very well he could do anything to me without me being able to resist, as long as he didn’t rape me.

‘You know, even if he does anything, he’ll just cover it up as long as it’s not rape, right?’

“Ah, hey. Don’t step on my shoes.”

“Ah, …Yes.”

“Come over here. Stop hiding behind me.”

Getting annoyed by that mockery, I shook my head and accidentally stepped on his heel.

Kang Joo-hyuk frowned slightly and grabbed my wrist, pulling me next to him.

I definitely had the thought of shaking off his grip, but…

For some reason, the feeling didn’t reach my hand.

“Well, it’s not that hot for summer. Maybe because it’s early morning.”

“…I guess so.”

“You’re sweating buckets, though.”

“….”

Instead, I broke out in cold sweat, drop by drop.

My foolishness in revealing that I still feared him.

Feeling annoyed and frustrated by it, I straightened my hunched body and walked forward with large, confident strides.

Preferably, I wanted to get ahead of him.

Taking a few large steps forward, he widened his stride, overtook me, and moved just half a step ahead.

Then he turned, walked beside me, looked at me, smiled, and opened his mouth.

“What are you doing next week?”

“…I have schedules starting next week. The Manager situation is mostly sorted out, so I need to go to the company and practice. I also have to film content I made during my break. …And since the Manager doesn’t seem to be up to anything weird anymore, I’ll be sleeping upstairs.”

Everything I said wasn’t a lie.

It was true that I had to go to the company.

It was true that I needed to practice while preparing for the new album.

It was true that I had to create content for the fans.

…It was also true that the Manager seemed to have calmed down on the outside.

However, what I didn’t say was that I could still take time off if I wanted to.

Although the director had kindly allowed me to avoid going to the company yet, I could tell the general atmosphere there from what I heard.

That no one would blame me even if I took a whole year off.

That everyone felt sorry for me.

But I didn’t want to confide this to Kang Joo-hyuk.

Getting sympathy from him wouldn’t mean anything.

Besides, I didn’t want sympathy from anyone, let alone him.

“So, did they find a new Manager?”

“No. Not yet. …They’ll probably find one before I start activities again. Since I won’t be traveling much before then anyway, borrowing someone from another team is fine.”

What I wanted was simply to maintain the status quo.

I just wanted things to pass as if nothing had happened.

The crime the Manager committed against me,

The disgust I felt towards unnie and Hinami,

The wicked deeds he inflicted upon me,

All buried in the ground, as if time had jumped forward.

“If you need one, use me. My background is clear, after all. I’m also acquainted with your director. Isn’t that good?”

“…You’re joking, right?”

“I’m not joking. It’s not like I’m touring regional schedules; I can take you to your company.”

“….”

But he clearly had no intention of leaving me alone.

He wanted me to remain tied to that incident forever,

And he bound me so that the fear I felt towards him would never disappear.

“Well, if you really don’t want to, fine. …Let’s just keep having these late-night walks like today.”

“Why don’t you just say it honestly? You want me to drive you to work so you can hang out with Hinami.”

“No. I don’t want people to find out I’m close with Hinami.”

“Liar…”

“But I do want people to know I’m close with you. …We’re in a relationship where being close wouldn’t cause any problems, right?”

He gently placed a hand on my shoulder. Narrowing the distance in an instant.

And, in the deserted night street, bringing his mouth close to my ear, he spoke in a completely different voice than before.

“…Starting next week, your unnie is going to be active publicly. She has an event next week.”

“What…, an event?”

“It’s a popular game event. You just have to wear a game character costume and take some photos. …Well, that’s not the important part.”

For a moment, I wondered if it was a game event I was participating in.

Only when I felt his clumsy hand slowly removing my hat did I flinch and try to pull back.

But I couldn’t escape his embrace, which held me tight,

And I found myself gradually getting drawn in by his tongue teasing my ear again.

“The important thing is that she’s your unnie. …It’ll cause a bit of a stir if an idol’s older sister works as a cosplayer, right? It’s not exactly wholesome.”

“…So?”

“Even if it doesn’t make the news, people will eventually figure it out. That Ms. Sophia, who claims to be a cosplayer while masquerading as a YouTuber, is actually Seo Jia’s older sister, Seo Haeun. That Ms. Seo Haeun is actually living with Kang Joo-hyuk, a former baseball player and current gym owner. …And that you live right above them.”

…My sister.

Coming out into the light with a questionable reputation.

He seemed to be enjoying it subtly.

“…In the end, it’s inevitable that people will find out there’s a connection between you and me. If Haeun had continued to hide her face and stayed in the shadows, it would have been fine, but…”

“…What are you trying to say?”

“Let’s be friends. …It’s good, right? We can post photos of the three of us on Instagram sometimes. Let’s hang out together too. There aren’t many men who can be as close as a ‘future brother-in-law’ without raising suspicion, right?”

“….”

“If you don’t like that, you can just risk getting caught having scandals every time we’re seen having a late-night walk like today. …Well, I don’t want to be branded as a cheating bastard on the front page of the newspaper either.”

My eardrums being violated by his tongue,

Caught in this cold yet muggy night air.

“What do you say? …Isn’t it better to just ‘act friendly’ normally, rather than constantly having late-night walks like today?”

“….”

Biting my lip.

…I nodded silently.