Chapter 9

Translator and Editor: Gina and Tea

Chapter 9

No sound came out of my mouth. I struggled in pain as if I was touching something on fire and wriggling like a bug on the floor because of the red snake that clenched my body. The snake flicked its black tongue toward me. It was as terrifying as the pain that gnawed my body such that I couldn’t struggle any longer, all I could do was swallow a scream inwardly. At that moment, I saw a familiar face in my shaky ruddy vision.

‘Huh… Baek Hawon! Baek Hawon! I– please–! I screamed as hard as I could, but the tape that blocked my mouth only shook as if it would explode.

“I didn’t know the head of Baekcheon would come in person.”

I heard a drowsy voice and saw brightly shining hair fluttering in the red flames. His was also a face I knew.

“The name,”

“…”

“Was it Yu-gyeom?”

Baek Hawon twisted the corner of his mouth and, wiping the blood from the gun, stared at Yu-gyeom clearly. At that moment, his normally empty eyes were filled with Yu-gyeom. A cold hand grabbed me by the collar and lifted me; I dropped helplessly. Yu-gyeom, who was glancing alternately at Baek Hawon and me, burst into laughter.

“It was quite difficult to find, but luckily you came to find it.”

Yu-gyeom’s fingers ran down my cheek and grabbed my chin, forcing my head to turn toward Baek Hawon. A groan squeezed between my lips as his strong hand pressed against me.

“But you don’t look alike at all? Isn’t the princess too pretty?”

Yu-gyeom’s mellow voice and smiling face seemed to melt sweetly and caused me to choke.

‘I have to run away.’ But contrary to my thoughts, my body did not move. Like a doll with a broken string, I couldn’t move at will.

“Do you think I came to get that returned?”

My heart sank at the words mixed with crooked laughter.

“That’s nothing.”

They say one can tell when they’re about to die.

“I’m here to show you what happens if you touch anything.”

Desperately. I grabbed and squeezed the hem of the clothes with the tips of my outstretched fingertips, desperate to breathe. As I pulled it out as hard as I could, I was dazed by the face that came into view.

What’s this?

Why you–

“…Cha Yeonbyeol.”

Why you?

I wanted to say something, but I could utter no words in front of the face that smiled terrifyingly and called my name.

Bang–!!

And then all was black.

* * *

“Ahhh–!!”

I screamed and jumped up. I inhaled raggedly and brushed back my hair wet with a cold sweat, but before I could feel relieved that it was a dream, I felt a slight sense of incongruity. Soon, the scenery surrounding me came into focus, and at the same time, real memories came to mind.

“Let’s go together.”

“…”

“To my hell.”

…Crazy.

It was one of those things you see just once in a lifetime.

The normal-sized room was surprisingly empty. There was nothing but a bed on which I was lying, a desk, and a bookshelf covering the wall. In addition, except for one small window, all sides were blocked off, so it was already suffocating. Breathing more regularly, I got out of bed and headed to the window.

“Truly insane.”

Buildings lined up densely under my feet and sparkling city lights. Perhaps because they wanted to create a structure opposite to Baekcheon even in this area, the base of Utopia was a 66-story building in the middle of the city.

My already forgotten fear of heights came to mind, and I backed away feeling nauseous. I had lived in Seoul for 25 years and due to my fear of heights, I hadn’t even been to the 63 Building.

[tl/n: Officially called 63 Square, is a skyscraper on Yeouido island, overlooking the Han River in Seoul]

The room had old furniture and fixtures that seemed worn, giving off the feeling of a used room. Seeing that dust had accumulated, it seemed that management and cleaning were done separately.

I looked around the room more, but couldn’t find what I was looking for.

‘What?’ I expected a locked door, but it didn’t exist at all. Walls and books were everywhere. Usually, in a room like this, there is a room beyond the bookshelf when you touch the thickest book. I walked by sweeping the books with my hands. Most of the books in the bookshelf reaching the high ceiling were titles I couldn’t read nor understand. I looked around like that, but no door magically opened.

‘Is it not enough if I slightly touch it?’ With that in mind, this time I took out one by one putting in and out repeatedly, and suddenly,

Dddrrrrr– a soft voice came from behind my back along with a sound similar to what I had expected.

“What are you doing?”

When I turned around, Yu-gyeom was leaning against the wall and smiling. When his languid gaze reached my hand that touched the bookshelf, he let out a chuckle as if a breeze was leaking out.

“Isn’t the secret door behind the bookshelf too boring?”

Embarrassed at the sight of the wall turning like a revolving door behind him, I hurriedly removed my hand from the bookshelf. Seeing me rolling my eyes while dumbfounded, Yu-gyeom burst out laughing and tapped the wall again.

“It can’t be opened from the inside, look.”

Ah. Right~ I was kidnapped just now. I tried to really face the reality before me, and the brutal dream came to mind. Was that dream made up of my tangled subconscious that recalled the contents of the novel, or was it a glimpse into the fate of the original Cha Yeonbyeol? Or– The thought that it could be my future caused goosebumps all over my body.

Only then did the white string in Yu-gyeom’s hand catch my eye.

‘Are you trying to tie me up so I can’t run away?!’

Each time Yu-gyeom moved slightly, an ominous imagination was added to the swaying string in his hands. Numerous devastating kidnapping and confinement novels that I had once read flashed through my mind.

‘I’m going to die if I keep going like this!’ If it flows like the original story, the day Baek Hawon comes to Utopia in the name of saving me, I will die. At the hands of that person who is smiling prettily in front of me now.

“If the door opened this way, you might try to run away.”

There were already quite a few things that went awry, but in the end, the outline incident happened, and the first meeting between Yu-gyeom and Baek Hawon had already passed. No matter how bloody it looked on the outside, they were unaware. Without anybody knowing it, attracted to one another, they kept thinking of each other over and over again and fell in love with each other.

“Anything you want to say? Something you’re curious about?”

Yu-gyeom sat on the bed where I was lying, and pressed his lips together as if holding back a moan. As if conscious of my gaze, he grabbed the blanket with the hand that was about to touch the side where he was shot and continued talking.

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions.”

He was smiling brightly even before I could think I had seen something wrong, but I recalled his condition, which was a mess, the last time I saw him.

“Are your injuries alright?”

Yu-gyeom’s eyes widened slightly at my question. His reaction was not so surprising. I knew that he was someone who had never even received this much attention, and that was why I said it.

“I liked you.”

“But this is too much.”

Because I remember the words I spat.

“You said you liked me.”

“Even if I kill you as a hostage, I’ll have to listen to the reason before doing it.”

And even Yu-gyeom’s cruel words. If I wasn’t for Yu-gyeom, I would have pulled my hair out.

‘If I tell you I was lying, you’re really going to kill me, right?’

To be honest, I wanted to get involved with Baek Hawon or Yu-gyeom as little as possible. I cheered for their love, and above all, even if I had Cha Yeonbyeol’s appearance, I was not confident of winning if competing with either of the two.

However, the problem of liking and disliking had already become irrelevant. Because I didn’t want to die like Cha Yeonbyeol in the book.

“You were hurt a lot.”

I clenched my hands behind me and looked at him. The only way to survive here was to make it impossible for Yu-gyeom to kill me. I gave up on getting Baek Hawon’s favor without even trying, but Yu-gyeom was not just an option, rather, he was the only oath available for me.

“I was wondering if you got treated.”

Yeah, close your eyes. Furtively tempt him a bit. Just a little bit. It’s a pity to kill her? Just enough to think that way.

A wave broke in his pale pupils. After looking at me for a while, Yu-gyeom burst out laughing and got up from the bed.

“Are you worried about me in this situation?”

“I’m not fool enough to worry about the kidnapper.”

“If you’re not a fool, in this case, you just have to be one.”

At Yu-gyeom’s words, I realized what I had said and kept my mouth shut. I immediately regretted it, but I couldn’t take back the words that had already been uttered.

Thus, I chose to be shameless instead.

“Lies. You’re good to catch up and pretend.”

“Ngh, that’s right.”

“So I’m not going to lie. Because I don’t want to get caught.”

At my words, Yu-gyeom smiled broadly like a child who received a new toy.

“Woah, really?”

“…”

“Are you really not going to lie?”

Yu-gyeom approached me step by step and narrowed the distance. Every time he did, the string dangling in his hand was an unspoken pressure, unknowingly I stepped back and avoided his gaze.

As I took one step back, Yu-gyeom took two steps closer. Thus, I overlooked other important things and focused only on avoiding him.

“…”

It wasn’t until the moment my back touched the wall that I realized Yu-gyeom had come close enough to feel his breath. He looked down at me with his hand on the wall.

“Then don’t lie and be honest.”

The tilted wall moved little by little as it carried weight.

What are you trying to ask? I said I wasn’t going to lie, but I wasn’t sure if I could do it. Aren’t all of the things I said until just now a lie in the first place? The moment I was about to get nervous due to the darkened eyes, the mischievousness that popped in my mind made me even more anxious.

“Why did you like me?”

“No!”

Why is my ominous foreboding never wrong? I screamed involuntarily at the sudden question I wanted to avoid the most, and then I covered my mouth with my hand in surprise.

Crazy. You’re crazy Cha Yeonbyeol.

“N…no. It’s not that.”

Yu-gyeom’s head tilted as I mumbled while still covering my mouth.

“What isn’t?”

Brush~ He was close, and the soft touch of his clothes brushing my hand startled me into glancing at my hand, so close that I unwittingly removed both hands from my mouth and hid them behind my back.

At that moment, the gaze that had fallen to the floor was lifted– By a hand gently grabbing my chin.

“Looks like it’s your preference.”

His eyes, which should have been a warm color, were somehow cold and dark. Yu-gyeom grabbed my wrist with the hand holding the string and pulled it forward. The eyes that were scrutinizing my face touched my wrist, and I swallowed my breath feeling a creepy chill. The eyes that came back up intently met my gaze, and the languid voice tickled my ears.

“I–”

Tak-

The door that doesn’t open from the inside was closed.