Jin-won, maintaining a facade of composure, exuded an aura of danger that made every nerve in Yi-soo’s body tense with fear. Armed and unpredictable, he held her fate in his hands, a single misstep potentially sealing her doom.
Amidst the oppressive blackness, Hyun-seong’s image flickered in her mind like a beacon of hope, his unwavering determination a source of strength in her darkest hour. With each passing moment, she clung to his memory, willing him to appear and rescue her from the abyss of despair.
Whenever despair threatened to consume her, Yi-soo found solace in the mere repetition of Hyun-seong’s name, a silent prayer for his timely intervention to shatter the chains of her captivity.
“Please let him appear. Please pull me out of this hell,” she whispered into the void, her voice barely audible amidst the suffocating silence.
I miss you so much…
But when the door finally creaked open, it wasn’t Hyun-seong who stepped through to her rescue; it was Kang Jin-won, his presence sending conflicting waves of relief and revulsion through her.
At that moment, a mixture of emotions flooded Yi-soo’s senses. Relief washed over her at the prospect of potential escape, yet the realization that Jin-won might be the mastermind behind her ordeal tainted even the air she breathed with a sickening sense of dread.
Whether Jin-won was privy to Yi-soo’s inner turmoil or not, his lips curled into a repulsive smile, and his eyes narrowed with a disturbing intensity.
“Do you know? Ever since I first laid eyes on Prosecutor Seo, I’ve harbored a burning desire to possess her. From my earliest memories, I’ve always been driven by the need to claim what I covet,” he spoke, his voice dripping with unsettling confidence.
Yi-soo remained silent, her gaze steady yet filled with unease, refusing to dignify his words with a response.
“Especially… I derive greater pleasure from acquiring things that belong to others, rather than those that are freely available. The more cherished the possession, the stronger my craving becomes. I was intrigued by the prospect of witnessing the owner’s reaction when their prized possession is stripped away,” Jin-won continued, his tone laced with a disturbing sense of entitlement.
It dawned on Yi-soo that the man she once thought she knew was nothing more than a master manipulator, his charming facade now a facade unraveling before her eyes, leaving behind a sense of revulsion and rejection.
Was he boasting about stealing someone else’s happiness?
Yi-soo furrowed her brow in disgust, her thoughts racing as Jin-won’s words sank in. Before she could react, his hand reached out and seized her chin, his touch invasive and repugnant.
“The mere thought of possessing Seo Yi-soo was enticing enough, but knowing she belonged to Hyun-seong… That only fueled my desire further. He’s just like me, you know—unable to rest until he has everything within his grasp,” he declared with a sickening grin.
Yi-soo remained silent, her lips pressed tightly together in defiance, determined not to give him the satisfaction of a reaction. Yet, Jin-won seemed unfazed by her silent resistance, his indifference casting a chilling shadow over the bleak confines of the room.
“I’ve been this way since childhood. Our father was always the second in command, unable to rise above the rank of vice president as long as Representative Yoon Min-sik remained in power… Eventually, he made a choice,” Jin-won confessed.
“A choice?” Yi-soo prompted, her curiosity finally breaking through the tension that had gripped her mind.
Sensing her interest, Jin-won’s gaze intensified behind his glasses.
“One day, out of the blue, Representative Yoon Min-sik fell into a coma, throwing the succession into uncertainty,” he explained. Behind closed eyelids, Jin-won’s lips twisted into a perverse smile as he delved into his twisted philosophy on the fragility of human life.
“People… are so fragile, aren’t they? Their lives hang by a thread, easily severed. I’ve always despised that fragility. I wished human life could endure a bit more, withstand a bit longer. It’s no fun if they perish too swiftly,” he mused, his words tinged with a disturbing fascination.
As if lost in his own morbid fantasies, Jin-won’s flesh quivered with anticipation, his eyes closed in vivid reverie.
Opening his eyes, Jin-won’s demeanor shifted abruptly, his once sorrowful smile turning icy in an instant.
“But why aren’t you… shedding tears?” he demanded, his voice cutting through the eerie stillness of the room.
Confusion flashed across Yi-soo’s face at his sudden accusation.
“What?” she responded, her voice barely a whisper in the tense atmosphere.
“I expected you to weep as beautifully as you smiled… Why aren’t you crying, Prosecutor Seo? Is this situation nothing more than a game to you?” Jin-won’s tone turned accusatory, his words dripping with malice.
In the blink of an eye, the atmosphere shifted, the air thick with tension as Yi-soo instinctively moved her hand behind her, her senses on high alert.
Jin-won’s lips curled into a smug expression of victory, but his eyes betrayed a chilling emptiness, devoid of any semblance of humanity. A shiver ran down Yi-soo’s spine, causing goosebumps to prick the skin beneath her shirt sleeves as he leaned in closer.
“Why… aren’t you crying?” he questioned, his voice low and menacing. “The USB, I didn’t care much about it. What I truly desired was to witness your anguish, to capture that moment of desperation and revel in it endlessly. Yet here you are, defying my expectations. I warned you, Prosecutor Seo Yi-soo. I detest when my plans go astray.”
His words poured forth in a relentless stream, devoid of emotion, like a machine executing its programmed commands. Yi-soo knew he wasn’t in his right mind, but the man before her now seemed like a deranged lunatic, his grip on reality slipping away with each passing moment.
With a dry laugh that sent chills down her spine, Jin-won stiffened his expression and reached into his jacket, his movements deliberate and ominous.
“You will cry, won’t you, Prosecutor? Swear it. You fear death, do you not?” he goaded, his voice dripping with malice.
Yi-soo’s response was a hollow chuckle, a feeble attempt to mask her rising panic.
“Good… Now it becomes interesting. You know what’s inside here, Prosecutor,” Jin-won taunted, a sinister gleam in his eyes.
Aware of the gun concealed within his inner pocket, Yi-soo’s pupils dilated with a primal fear, her entire being consumed by the looming specter of death.
Slowly, Jin-won closed the distance between them, the gap narrowing with each passing second. Yi-soo held her breath, her bound fingertips trembling behind her back in silent prayer.
No, please…!
With a desperate plea echoing in her mind, she squeezed her eyes shut, seeking solace in the memory of a single face.
Then, in a sudden burst of sound, the iron door swung open with a deafening bang, interrupting the tense standoff. Jin-won’s gaze reflexively snapped towards the disturbance, his features contorting in surprise and frustration.