Ch.13Red Eye 1

Anna was drifting away like that.

Fortunately, she hadn’t shown up at the inn even once for over a week.

It’s for the best, since there won’t be any more bloodbaths at the inn.

But the place was still filled with rumors and questions about her.

Every guest wondered when she would come again, or why she had spared my life.

Each time, I simply answered, “I don’t know. She’s unpredictable.”

After repeated mentions, I too became curious about how she was doing.

Perhaps she was off somewhere killing people on another contract.

I just hope I never become her target.

I returned home carrying a bag full of beer.

I decided to take some of the stout beer I’d bought in bulk to make Black Velvet, as there was no more room to store it.

I recently received my first paycheck.

Of course, since the owner was absent, Jiwook, the manager, distributed the wages.

For my significant contribution to saving the business, I received 2.2 million won, double the usual salary.

With this money, I paid off all my overdue maintenance fees at once.

The problem is the overdue rent.

The rent… well, let’s think about that later.

Fortunately, given the current situation, there were other tenants who couldn’t even pay maintenance fees, and the landlord seemed grateful that I had paid mine in full.

Thanks to that, I could now afford the luxury of a hot bath.

As soon as I got home, I threw off my uncomfortable clothes.

Some habits from when I was a man remained unchanged in this body.

Wearing just a tank top, I run hot water into the bathtub.

The rising warm steam seems to naturally release the tension in my body.

Once the water had filled to a certain level, I closed the bathroom door.

Then I touched the water’s surface with my small, plump feet.

Perfect.

For the first time since my possession, I immerse myself in hot water.

A blissful warmth spreads throughout my body from my toes.

Intoxicated by the sensation, I lay down in the tub.

Looking at my protruding knees, I fell into thought.

Whether I should continue living just as an inn NPC.

I’ve been too busy to register as a healer at the Hunter Association.

But that actually helped create an image of me being powerless, which ultimately helped me survive.

Now I’m even thinking it might be troublesome if my abilities were revealed to the world.

Especially if Anna found out…

She thinks I made Black Velvet for her by mere coincidence.

If she discovers that I peeked into her memories and intentionally made it…

I probably wouldn’t die pleasantly.

I might experience something even more painful than death.

Just thinking about her menacing face makes my legs go weak.

I lifted my hand from under the water.

Since we’re on the topic of hunters, let me organize the effects of my abilities.

First, peeking into others’ memories.

Second, showing happy memories when in contact with someone.

And these abilities apply to me as well.

I’m not some delusional teenager, yet I have such abilities.

I look at my palm and chuckle.

Does this mean I’m that sexually frustrated?

Even if it’s not apparent on the surface, everyone has inherent desires.

Desires that even I wasn’t aware of.

Perhaps it’s the dreamy effect of the bathtub.

Since we’re on the topic, I try using Angelic Hand.

A soft light envelops my fingertips.

I place that light directly against my neck.

I know it’s a futile fantasy.

But I want to see my sister’s face again after so long.

Even if it’s just an illusion.

If I could receive comfort from her, maybe I could find a bit more will to live in this harsh world.

With such thoughts, I sank into the fantasy of the Angelic Hand.

Soon, my body goes limp.

My mind becomes distant, as if intoxicated.

“…”

What’s going on?

The moment bar that should appear in the fantasy isn’t visible.

All I can see is still the bathroom ceiling.

What… did the skill not work properly?

I frowned and sat up.

“—!”

Then I felt a sharp pain in one of my wrists.

I turned my gaze following the pain.

“What is this…”

My right wrist is handcuffed to the bathtub handle.

Only when I felt that cold touch did I fully come to my senses.

Let me first examine my body calmly.

I’m wearing the dress shirt I had on over my tank top before undressing.

Below, I have on the short shorts I wear at home, now damp from the water in the tub.

“I should be seeing a happy fantasy, why am I in this state…”

My heart starts racing violently.

Did I use my ability incorrectly?

Or maybe someone entered my home while I was using my skill and tied me up.

If so, who could it be…

I hear footsteps from the bathroom door.

A familiar sound of heels.

I know that sound.

No, I can’t forget it.

“No way…”

The door opens.

Familiar jet-black combat boots step onto the bathroom tiles.

I slowly raised my head, following that gaze.

Above the boots, black work pants come into view.

Above that, smooth abs and a white tank top, with black underwear visible underneath.

Even without seeing her face yet, I know who it is.

“Hello.”

It’s Anna.

How did she find out where I live?

She approaches me leisurely as I’m tied up.

Then she gently sits on the edge of the bathtub.

“Sleep well?”

“What are you doing… this is breaking and entering.”

“Do I. Look like. I care about that?”

Anna twirls the handcuff key on her finger.

Then she accidentally drops it, and it falls toward the bathroom drain.

The key dangles precariously over the hole, glinting.

Get a grip.

This is an illusion.

This can’t be real.

“What do you want… you’re not going to kill me, are you?”

When I ask, Anna stares at me intently, like looking at a fish in a tank.

“That’s right, it would be too much of a waste to kill you yet.”

Her soft hand reaches for the faucet.

As her touch caresses the knob, the bathtub soon fills with the noisy sound of running water.

“I told you. Before I kill you. I’ll strip you bare.”

I never imagined her method would be so crude.

Soon my back and feet begin to soak in the cold water.

“That fearless look you had. It will all crumble today.”

Anna brings her face close to mine.

Her braided hair tickles my chest.

“You’re truly insane.”

Anna smiles at those words as if she’d been waiting for them.

Then she grips my chin with her hand.

“I wonder. If even before death. You can maintain such a bold expression.”

Is it because of the cold water, or because of her madness?

My whole body trembles.

I glared at her, trying to push that feeling away.

But Anna shows no sign of finding it dirty or unpleasant.

She simply releases her grip on my chin, as if pushing me off a cliff.

At that moment, I slowly sank into the water filling the bathtub.

From my hair to my cheeks.

From my cheeks to my lips.

Finally, tap water flows into my nose.

I gasped, resisting the rising water.

“Don’t do this… what do you even gain from killing me…!”

Anna wears an ecstatic expression.

The corners of her mouth twitch like an angler looking at a fish they’ve caught.

Anna reaches out her hand to grab that fish.

And before striking with a knife, she pushes my neck deeper into the bathtub, as if securing gills.

Though it was just a gentle push, to me it felt as painful as being stabbed with a knife.

This crazy woman, she really intends to kill me…

She’s completely different from the fake psycho villains you see in movies.

Only then could I abandon the arrogance of thinking I had moved her with alcohol.

Desperate to survive, I kicked at Anna and twisted my body in all directions.

But the more violently I move, the more I tire like a hooked fish.

My body soon becomes a mess.

My arms and legs are covered in bruises from hitting the tub, and my completely soaked shirt pulls me further down into the water.

From the pouring cold water, I barely manage to stretch out my arm.

My tightly closed mouth finally opens.

“Save me.”

I desperately mouthed the words.

But Anna’s hand was still pushing me into the bathtub.

From the rippling water, I look at her face.

Anna’s lips say “Again.”

“Save me…”

“Say it again.”

The whole world seems to flow away.

Now she doesn’t even look human anymore.

“Please save me…”

Each time I unconsciously mutter, she lifts me a little from the bathtub.

Eventually her lips approach my ear and whisper.

“More.”

My hair is soaked and sticking to my face, and water I’ve swallowed drips from my mouth.

Having given up everything, I barely managed to utter five words.

“Please save me…”

Only then does Anna smile benevolently.

And holding my face preciously, she steps into the bathtub.

Then she slowly lies down in the tub with me.

Soon the damp water begins to soak her clothes.

I freeze up completely in Anna’s embrace.

As my hot body rubs against Anna’s chest, the heat seems to transfer to her.

Thanks to that, her chest, which had felt cold, now feels warm and soft.

That warmth makes my body extremely sensitive.

“Next time I come to kill you. You should make this expression again.”

The killer whispers as if speaking to a baby.

My heart, which had been struggling violently, calmed at those words.

I didn’t want to acknowledge that unpleasant sense of calm and pleasure.

Inwardly, I cursed Anna hundreds of times.

It’s absurd to feel such similar emotions for this crazy murderer instead of Sister Jisoo.

This is just a false emotion created from being tortured.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

But Anna’s breathing still stimulates my ear.

As if exploring my highly sensitized body, she puts her nose to my shoulder and takes a deep breath.

All I could do in my helplessness was curl up my body even more.

But the more I did so, the more she pushed her face in, tasting even my neck.

My shoulders were fine, but the moment her nose touched my neck, my whole body tingled.

Being violated like that, I soon lost consciousness.

I didn’t want to feel this contradictory, creepy sensation with a clear mind anymore.

I turned off my ability myself.

I rose from the hot water.

Whether from the long half-bath or for other reasons, my whole body feels hot.

I jumped into bed without even drying myself, completely soaked.

And buried my face in the blanket.

The freshly washed blanket smells of soap.

Breathing in that scent, I made a resolution.

I won’t use this ability on myself anymore.

I can’t forgive an ability that even manipulates its owner.

But despite that resolution, my mind was filled with Anna’s face pressed close to mine.

Beautiful terror.

Could there be anything as bizarre and contradictory as these two opposing words combined?

Perhaps Angelic Hand doesn’t simply show happy memories.

It might be a frightening ability that predicts the distant future.

If that’s the case…

What will become of me?