episode_0197

“Ah, ah… ”

Seoyeon behind the tree groaned as if in pain.

I wanted to run out right now and rip that mouth off.

But somehow my feet feel stuck to the ground and I can’t move.

The sight of the wounded man’s face again made her hesitate.

“Oh my, I didn’t plan on doing this… ”

He let out a sigh with a look of pity and regret on his face.

“My makeup is all smudged… My dress is all torn… I can’t think of anything I wanted to say… It’s a mess… ”

“Senior… ”

“Why are you so surprised? This is so new.”

The man’s hoarse voice echoed through the air. Although he tried to remain calm, Yeon Min-ha’s gaze was thick with an earnestness that she could not hide.

“You’re not stupid. In fact, you knew what I was thinking.”

“… ”

“Bad. You made me bring it up first on that topic… ”

The man was left speechless at Yeonminha’s words.

“Senior. I… ”

“… It reminds me of the old days.”

After a long silence, his mouth opens again. Lee Hyun is about to shake his head to express his refusal. However, Yeonmin covers it up with his own voice.

“Do you remember? When we first met. When you first approached me at the mentor nomination ceremony.”

“… How could I forget that?”

The man nodded slightly in agreement.

“I still remember it vividly as if it was yesterday. You picked on me at the banquet hall out of the blue.”

“… ”

“You’re probably the first bastard in history to treat the youngest daughter of the five families that badly. I can guarantee it. I thought you were a real lunatic… ”

Before she knew it, she had closed her eyes and was reminiscing.

“… And I didn’t know then. I didn’t know that something worse was waiting for me later… ”

I unconsciously let a faint smile appear on my lips, feeling compassionate. Every time my fingers stroked the area below my belly button, my body trembled as if memories were coming back to me.

“You don’t know how hard it was. The family is declining day by day due to the attacks of the fallen, the mind is becoming worn out due to mental pollution, and in the midst of all that, not only was I cursed at by some dog-like person, but I was also properly caught with a leash… ”

Unlike the words, the lines around the mouth were getting even more pronounced.

“At that time, I really… wanted to commit suicide… ”

“… ”

“But, but… ”

Yeon Min-ha’s voice, which had been continuing her reminiscence, suddenly stopped. She lowered her head and said nothing.

The only thing heard beyond the curtain of night is the rustling of leaves and the chirping of insects.

And what followed at the end of the silence was a very small whisper that seemed to pass by my ear.

“… Oh, right.”

“What did you just say… ”

“If you didn’t like me… you should have treated me more harshly.”

Yeonmin-ha raised her head again and tears welled up in her eyes.

***

“If it was going to be like this, if it was going to be like this… why on earth did you treat me like that…?”

He raised his voice, his eyes filled with compassionate moisture.

“Insulting me in front of everyone, brutally raping my body over and over again, violating my dorm room without permission, and even forcing me into a humiliating contract…!”

“Senior, wait a minute… ”

“Did you think I didn’t know? You hated me. You hated me so much, you detested me! If that was the case, you should have continued to treat me like that!”

She paid no attention to Lee Hyun’s attempts to stop her from taking pity on her.

“You should have just made me a slave. You should have just fed me aphrodisiacs and put chains around my neck…! You should have made me so I couldn’t live or die without your permission! You should have made me so I couldn’t even think on my own!”

Lee Hyun felt as if his breath had been suffocated. Yeon Min Ha walked towards him with unsteady steps.

“But, but… ”

Before she knew it, she was standing in front of him, leaning her head against Lee Hyun’s chest. And she continued to hum softly in a voice still full of moisture.

“You even gave me hope… ”

Lee Hyun stood tall as if he had been hit in the head with a hammer.

The only complaint Yeonmin-ha had now was this.

“… Take responsibility.”

Yeonmin-ha, who had been burying her face in his chest and shaking her shoulders, opened her mouth again.

“If you made me like this on your own… You have to take full responsibility for it… ”

“Senior. I don’t deserve that… ”

Lee Hyun’s voice was still extremely hoarse. But it seemed as if he had no intention of allowing even the slightest bit of sympathetic objection.

“… I know. The person from before… I still can’t forget him. ”

Yeonmin-ha said, sobbing. Hyun-i, shocked, asked her.

“How do you do that…!”

“… ”

Pity didn’t answer. She simply wiped the moisture from her eyes with her sleeve and slightly raised her head.

She lifted her trembling fingers and placed them on the smooth white mask resting on Lee Hyun’s face.

Then, he slightly opened his lips and asked.

“Wait a minute… Can I take it off…?”

“… ”

Accepting the silent consent, Yeonminha reached behind her head and unfastened the locks on her mask one by one. The strange clicking sound shook the still night once again.

Soon, with a sound of something falling, the inner self of the object is revealed in its entirety.

Slightly disheveled hair. Beneath it, gloomy, half-depressed and half-tired eyes.

Yeonmin-ha, who saw him, asked with a slightly surprised look.

“… Did you cry?”

“… ”

The man didn’t answer the question, but he didn’t reject the touch.

‘ah…’

And this sight only made Seoyeon’s heart ache even more as she watched.

Because he was the one who had inscribed an indelible scar on that perfect creation.

“… ”

She reached out with her thin, white fingers and carefully stroked the scar on his eye, which was carved like a pitiful blemish. Then she whispered quietly to him, as if to comfort him.

“… I will never betray you.”

“… ”

“I won’t hurt you at all. I’ll always be by your side and on your side.”

“… ”

“You can use me as a substitute for that person. It doesn’t matter if you think of me as just a puppet that satisfies your desires. You can use my body or mind however you want… ”

“What is that…!”

“That’s why!!!!”

Lee Hyun’s last protest dissipated into a desperate cry. Beyond that, what was visible were two eyes that still had a little bit of moisture left in them.

“So…so please…don’t turn away from my heart… ”

“Ahhh… ”

The little bird that flew into his arms caused the man to fall into terrible agony.

He will never abandon Yeonmin-ha. Even if Yeonmin-ha abandons him first.

It had long since become a part of that life that I was already feeling sorry for. And it wasn’t something I could just rip off just because I wanted to.

No matter how painful it is, no matter how heartbreaking it feels.

Like the guilt and fear that still clings to him even after two years.

Those things that came from the relationship left scars on Lee Hyun that would never be erased.

And now what he fears most is another scar being engraved on his chest.

All he can do is put a mask on them and hide them from view.

But the trembling that came into contact. Only then was Lee Hyun able to fully feel the weight of her slender fingers.

It was a feeling that he must never turn away from, and it was responsibility for what he had done in the past.

“… ”

A heavy silence flowed. I looked up at him with pity, desperately waiting for an answer.

“Sigh… ”

The first thing that struck my ears was a heavy sigh.

“Ah… ”

I closed my eyes tightly in pity, wondering if it was something that didn’t work out even though I had been hanging on like this.

The disappointment that enveloped my body made me feel like my hanging arms were about to lose their strength.

“… I’m not that kind of person.”

But the next moment.

A voice half-resigned and half-lightened spoke to her.

At first glance, it might sound like a harsh rejection. However, somehow, I couldn’t help but raise my head in pity, feeling as if I had let go of quite a lot.

“Uh, uh… ?”

“You know. He has a bad personality, he has bad habits, he comes from a bad family, he has no manners… ”

“Oh, no!!”

Yeonminha shouted urgently and denied his words. It was as if an invisible tail was wagging behind her.

“Well, if you do that, I’m a bad girl too. I’ve often heard people say I’m shameless… !”

“What a cheapskate… That doesn’t sound like something a noble family’s daughter would say… ”

Lee Hyun shook his head slightly with a faint smile. The body that felt pity upon seeing him seemed to melt. The tension that had suddenly been released made his legs, standing on the ground, tremble slightly.

“Who, I guess I picked up that habit because of someone. Well, whatever… ”

It’s done. It really is done. Yeonmin-ha cheered inwardly. It was a man’s reaction that could not be helped. The moment he dreamed of every night became reality.

However, she tried hard to suppress the corners of her lips that were about to rise in pity. She looked at Lee Hyun’s expression and glanced at him.

And then he threw out a topic, as a joke, that would calm her last anxiety.

“Then we’ll be a villain couple… ?”

She swallowed hard. Lee Hyun still had a faint smile on his lips.

“Villain couple, villain couple… ”

And finally he opened his mouth.

“… That’s not bad either. It’s funny though… Senior? ”

Hyun-i suddenly supported Yeon-min-ha, who was staggering, as if holding her. Her body trembled along with her shaking shoulders.

Tears welled up in Yeonminha’s eyes once again.

“Senior. Are you crying?”

“… Don’t cry.”

“But… ”

“I told you I wasn’t crying… ”

She looked at Lee Hyeon and sobbed as if she was resentful, contrary to what she said.

“Idiot… If it was going to be like this, then just accept it quickly… This is really bad… ”

“… ”

Lee Hyun hugged her silently. For a moment, regret for a day that would never return flickered on her face.

I was thoroughly enjoying the feeling of those hands stroking the tender hair in my arms.

And there was someone watching all this scenery, hidden behind the trees.

***

‘What, what does this mean…?’

Baek Seo-yeon couldn’t believe the hell unfolding before her eyes for a moment. She trembled her lips as if she was mute and heartbroken.

‘No. This, this is… This is… How can this happen… ‘

I cursed that pitiful woman who whispered sweet nothings while in the man’s arms. I wanted to crush that heart and rip off that disgusting lip.

But still, my feet wouldn’t move. Even though I was shivering, I couldn’t even breathe properly.

Baek Seo-yeon knew that if she did that, she would feel the wrath of a man she had never experienced before. And that even the slim hope would fly away forever.

It was the future she feared most.

“That…you know… ”

True compassion opened her mouth, pretending to be shy and unbecoming. There was not a single line in her eyes that seemed to drip with honey.

“To commemorate our relationship, I’d like to receive a token… Is that okay?”

“A token…is that what you mean?”

“… Yeah.”

Yeonmin nodded slightly at the man’s strange question.

“You, you’re mine now. I’m yours and… That, so… As proof of that… ”

Her breathing was ragged and her cheeks were flushed. The man hesitated for a moment after hearing Yeonminha’s words.

“… That’s right. Senior is now… mine.”

He repeated Yeonminha’s words. There was no shyness or shame. A strange possessiveness and obsession, as if drawn from the abyss, flashed in his eyes.

“What the heck… this.”

But that too for a moment. He, who had been mumbling with a bewildered expression, lets out a small laugh. Before he knew it, he was holding onto her chest and lifting his leg.

He seemed to realize the meaning of Yeonminha’s request just by that action.

And the same was true for Baek Seo-yeon.

“No… ”

Seoyeon muttered in a desperate voice. She gave him a trembling, pitying gaze. Then she parted her lips and whispered softly.

“… You know. Key, have you ever kissed… by any chance… ?”

The man hesitated for a moment at the cautious question. After thinking about it, he finally opened his mouth.

“… is there.”

“Ah… ”

A deep disappointment flashed across Yeonminha’s face for a moment. On the other hand, Seoyeon smiled in relief without realizing it.

Yes. The beginning of all his experiences was all his own. No matter what anyone does, that fact will not change. And in the end, he will come back to himself.

This was fate and an established truth.

Something that will never change, no matter what happens.

That’s certainly what I thought, until the man spoke again.

“There are no lips.”

‘uh…?’

Seo-yeon’s lips, which had been filled with a sense of relief, twisted again. Thump, thump. Her heart was beating violently as if squeezing the blood flow.

Before she knew it, she was on a high hill where white cosmos flowers were in full bloom. There was a boy and a girl lying and rolling around in the flower field.

-…it’s okay.

-why?

-I told you that kissing on the lips is something that adults do. Just hold on for a little longer.

The scent of wild flowers and forget-me-nots tickled my nose. The boy’s voice was as vivid as last night’s dream.

“Ah… !”

Unlike her, who was feeling sorry, he was bursting out in joy.

“Well, then… ?”

Yeonmin-ha, who was standing with her legs raised, asked again. There was no need for an answer. She was already close enough to feel the man’s breath.

“No, no… ”

Seoyeon muttered without realizing it. The vivid voice echoed in her head again.

-Well, there’s no need to be impatient, you know.

The girl who was slowly crawling into the boy’s arms muttered. She was very confident with the fish she had caught in front of her.

-I’m yours anyway. My body and my mind, everything.

-…that’s right.

-You’re mine too anyway.

-that’s right.

“Ah, ahh… ”

Seoyeon let out a helpless sigh, but couldn’t take her eyes off him. Soon, the mucous membranes that came closer interlocked perfectly.

“Choosh… ”

A cheer erupted, as if chewing on sweet fruit. Time stopped as soon as they touched. They only had sex for a moment, but the pain of seeing him passed slowly as if it was an eternity.

Very slowly, Yeonmin-ha, who had been facing him, pulls her body away.

The saliva, thin as thread and sticky, stretched out like a spider web, then snapped and flew into the air.

On that compassionate face, a deep blush of satisfaction and shame remained.

“Are you satisfied?”

“… Yeah.”

The man asked Yeonmin-ha with an expression that left her thoughts unreadable. Yeonmin-ha barely nodded without even making eye contact with him.

“You, why are you asking such a thing… Chaam… ”

“That’s great. Then I would like to receive a certificate too.”

“Huh… ?”

Yeonmin-ha was just about to shout out in embarrassment when the man suddenly closed the distance between him and Yeonmin-ha.

Her eyes widened as if she didn’t understand the English word for pity. And before she could even say anything.

The man quickly pulled her in with his strong arms, binding her tightly as if he were chaining her to prevent her from running away.

And then he immediately covered her face with his own.

“Sleep, wait a minute… Haeup… !”

This seemed to be a situation that even Yeonmin-ha herself had not anticipated. Beyond the overlapping faces, she let out a groan of pain as if she was suffocating.

It was as if something was crawling inside her mouth. As if she was encountering something she had never felt before, when she had only just closed her lips and then parted them.

“Ah, ah, ah… ”

Seoyeon could instinctively understand the meaning. Before she knew it, her fingers were pulling out her own hair.

“Ugh… sigh… ”

Yeonmin-ha, who couldn’t keep up with the tempo, groans as if she was suffocating.

In the meantime.

As she was struggling, she suddenly turned her gaze directly towards a tree in the distance.

It was a place where someone’s presence was felt through the spirits all along.

Soon she was able to make eye contact with someone.

And behind him, hiding, with his head sticking out, a golden-eyed schoolgirl trembling like a baby bird that had been knocked over by a typhoon.

“… ”

At this, Yeonminha’s eyes became even more radiant. Her bad personality was still reflected in her eyes.

“Sigh… Chew… ”

She wrapped her arms around the man’s neck, writhing in pity. And she arched her back even further. So that she could press her whole body against the man. So that someone could see this scene better.

“Hehe… Hehe… Haeheup… ”

Now, she was naturally accepting him with compassion. The sticky sound of their saliva exchanging echoed through the darkness. The two of them were wrapped together as if they had been one from the beginning, and had no intention of leaving.

“Ah, ah, ah… ”

The girl crouched behind the tree and covered her ears tightly, but it was of little use. Her empty eyes kept shedding empty tears.

The dream of a happy night had long since vanished like a mirage. All that remained before her was a nightmare with no end in sight.