Chapter 7.1

EunHa slowly lifted her heavy eyelids. She had finished dinner and had been thinking absentmindedly when she fell asleep without realizing it.

The room she was in wasn’t that dark, even at night. Next to the bed, there was a large window without any curtains or blinds. She could clearly see the headlights of the cars driving across the bridge.

“Phew…”

EunHa wet her dry lips and let out a deep sigh. Ten days had passed since she was locked up inside this room against her will. If she included the days she had been unconscious from her gunshot wound, it was closer to 2 weeks.

The doctor in the suit who was disguised as an office worker had come to her room at the same time every day to check on her. 4 days ago, he declared that she was on the road to recovery and hadn’t returned since. Therefore, KyungHyun was the one who came instead to disinfect her wound. He also washed her in the bathroom once a day, taking care to keep her bandaged arm dry. She tried to refuse, but it was no use. Thanks to him, she realized that it was a lot more comfortable to use both hands when washing her hair.

He was also the one who took care of her meals. If she whined about not wanting to eat anymore, he pretended not to hear her and shoved the spoon into her mouth. Therefore, EunHa helplessly ate all her meals regularly and ate the same amount as he did. Thanks to him, she felt that she had gained some weight while she was locked up in this room.

Clink.

When EunHa unconsciously moved, the lump of metal at her wrist rattled against the iron pole of the headboard. Two days ago, while KyungHyun was out of the room to talk on the phone, she had attempted to escape. He caught her and handcuffed her to the bed.

Frowning, EunHa grabbed the bell on the table and angrily rang it. Soon, the door opened and KyungHyun came inside holding a glass of whiskey.

“What?”

EunHa silently glared at him as he stared back at her. He indifferently asked her a question when she didn’t say anything.

“Bathroom?”

Instead of responding, EunHa bit her lip in frustration. He sat down by her bed and began to unlock the handcuffs. Whenever she had the chance, EunHa tried to attack him, but KyungHyun always subdued her easily. It didn’t take long for her to realize that it was pointless. She silently watched him as he unlocked her handcuffs.

Cling. A metallic noise sprang from the handcuffs as they became undone. EunHa sprang up from her seat and walked towards the bathroom. Before KyungHyun could follow behind her, she closed the door. She proceeded to do her business as slow as possible.

Just when was he going to let her out of here?

The back of her shoulder still throbbed, but she could move her arm just fine. As if he had read her mind, he always kept her handcuffed to the bed whenever he had to leave or if she was ever alone in the room.

EunHa took her time as she washed her hands in frustration before turning around to leave the bathroom. As soon as she opened the door, she saw KyungHyun standing there, keeping watch. Behind him, the door leading to the living room was tightly shut as always.

They were currently in a room on the top floor of a hotel that KeumOh owned. She knew that this was where KyungHyun lived from when she had initially investigated him. Back then, she had planned to infiltrate this personal space of his by seducing him, but she never imagined she’d end up here like this.

Judging from the size of the bedroom, living room, and study alone, this room seemed to be the size of a penthouse. However, because there was only a handful of furniture inside, it looked desolate and dreary. The living room only had a treadmill and a weight training bench, a long sofa, a cabinet, and a safe. That was it.

The bedroom where EunHa stayed was even worse. There was only a single bed with an iron headboard, a square table that looked like junk, and a backless chair. It was as if the room itself didn’t realize it was at the top of a 35-story hotel. Instead of a bedroom, it was more like an interrogation room or a prison cell.

Still, she hoped to be able to sneak into the safe and find a weapon in there. However, she came to the conclusion that she’d never have the time to do this. But maybe she could grab his gun whenever it was in sight.

If nothing else worked, she planned on running into the kitchen. Even if it was merely a decoration at this point, wouldn’t she still be able to find a kitchen knife on a shelf somewhere?

If she could only fend off KyungHyun’s hand-to-hand combat for a little bit, she might be able to escape this hotel after all.

Her heart began to race. She pretended to follow him obediently before she ran towards the door like a crack of lightening. As soon as she exited the room, she realized something. She didn’t have the time to search for a knife in the kitchen. This large room was extremely wide, almost as if it was using up the entire floor. The moment she opened the door to the kitchen, his large arm wrapped around her hips.

Curses burst out between her teeth. She had believed that she couldn’t lose to anyone when it came to running, but it seemed that all those hours KyungHyun spent on the treadmill every night weren’t for nothing.

“Ugh…!”

“It seems that your recovery is getting better every day.”

KyungHyun easily lifted her into his arms and walked across the living room towards the bedroom. Unlike her panting breaths, KyungHyun’s breathing was calm and steady.

After having entered the bedroom, KyungHyun laid her down on the bed. When her back touched the mattress, he gently took her wrist and put it back into the handcuffs once again. EunHa heard the familiar click of the handcuff locking into place.

“Good night.”

KyungHyun picked up the glass of whiskey he had placed on the table and began to leave the room. Suddenly, EunHa spoke up in a hoarse voice. Her heart was racing so fast that she felt as if it was going to burst out of her throat.

“…Let’s talk.”

KyungHyun stopped in his tracks. This was the first time he had heard her voice in ten days. He slowly turned around with a calm expression on his face. Because her wrist was restricted by the handcuffs, she moved awkwardly as she tried to get up from the bed. KyungHyun walked up to her bedside and tenderly helped her sit up before sitting down next to her.

“I thought you went mute from the shock.”

“I just needed some time to sort through everything in my head.”

“So did you sort some things out?”

EunHa nodded.

“For the most part.”

“Good.”

KyungHyun spoke apathetically next to her side. His hand was still on her hip, and she could feel his heat through the thin fabric. She could smell the faint aroma of whiskey.

“Is that Irish whisky?”

“Yeah.”

“Can I have some?”

“A patient isn’t allowed to drink alcohol.”

She wanted to ask him if it was okay to handcuff a patient as well, but she suppressed that thought and softly spoke about something else instead.

“Fine. Then can you at least take these off?”

“Do you need your hands to talk? It’s not like I blocked your mouth.”

“I feel like I’m being interrogated, so it doesn’t feel that great. Please take them off.”

She lowered her eyes as she pleaded, but KyungHyun merely stared at her with his signature blank expression as he gave her a meaningful smile.

“Are you going to run away if I take them off?”

“I won’t run away.”

“Then what were you trying to do just now? Were you playing a game of tag at this time of night?”

“I just wanted to make you feel a bit nervous, that’s all. It’s no fun if I’m too quiet.”

KyungHyun chuckled. He felt relieved to hear her voice after ten days, but he also felt the slow stirring of desire in his gut. Instead of staring blankly at the ceiling for hours on end, having her look straight back at him and running her mouth seemed to suit her a lot better.

“How do you feel?”

KyungHyun suppressed the urge to embrace her until her body almost broke and tried to calm himself.

“It hurts so much that I think I’m going to die.”

“The doctor said you were recovering well. Actually, he said you were recovering faster than normal.”

She thought that he was the type of person who wouldn’t understand when she was being sarcastic, but he took it in stride and gave her a dry rebuttal. She held back her own comeback and merely stared at him unhappily.

He was only wearing dark gray sweatpants. It looked like he had just gotten out of the shower because his hair was still damp. He wasn’t wearing a top. Because of this, she could clearly see his muscled chest and the tattoo that ran across his forearm to his back. She could tell that the tattoo hadn’t been achieved in a day. What was he thinking as he got that done?

“You’re pretty sharp. No wonder you’re police.”

“Do you feel repulsed now that you know I’m police?”

KyungHyun wet his lips with the glass of whiskey as he asked her.

“Yes, I don’t like police all that much. They’re so full of themselves.”

“What a pity.”

The ends of his lips calmly lifted as he stared at her. He didn’t look regretful at all. Even thought it seemed as though he’d loosened up in his personal space, he was still full of himself, and his attitude hadn’t changed. Now that she knew he was police, his personality seemed even dirtier than when she saw him as a gangster.

“What will happen to me now?”

“What do you think?”

She still didn’t like the way he looked at her… as if he was trying to figure her out. EunHa slightly pulled her head back.

“Will I be taken into custody? For the crime of shooting a gang leader?”

“You won’t go to prison. What you did is off the record.”

“Then let me go.”

“What will you do if I let you go? Are you going to return to Serim and shoot at Kang SungHo this time?”

“No.”

“Your eyes tell me the opposite.”

“I won’t use a gun. I’m going to stab him with a knife.”

“……”

“I’m going to hack and slash a few times. Just like that bastard did to my parents.”

KyungHyun’s smile faded, and his brows furrowed. A silence settled in the room. Clink. He placed the glass of whiskey on the table, and the sound of the rattling ice rang inside the room.

“What happened to your parents is a shame. Along with everything else you had to go through after that.”

His Adam’s apple shook as he spoke. KyungHyun looked a bit more earnest now than he had just a moment ago. Did he pity her life? Yeah. Most people would be sympathetic of someone who had been living as a puppet for a man who had killed their parents.

Even though she knew he wasn’t a man who was easily overcome with emotion, she was grasping at straws right now. EunHa’s eyes tilted down as she looked at him before letting out a sigh.

“Then, can’t you… help me?”

She put her hand on his arm as she pleaded in a pitiful voice. She moved her fingers along the dragon on his arm as if she were counting each delicate scale. As her slender fingers moved down his arm, the veins in his neck became more pronounced.

“Don’t move your wounded arm.”

EunHa ignored his husky voice and slowly moved her free hand down his body.

She swept her palm down his hard, muscular chest. His skin felt hot and stiff. His long eyes narrowed and seemed to grow darker with desire as they watched her. EunHa softly whispered to him.

“You definitely said so. You said you’d help me kill Kang SungHo… Were you lying to me?”

“No.”

“Then let me go. I’ll do whatever you say.”

EunHa’s voice sounded pitiful as she gave him a feeble look.

Please. Please, just… fall for it. Shin KyungHyun!

“No.”

“…Why not? Why can’t you let me go?”

“Now isn’t the right time.”

Damn it. EunHa’s pitiful expression that seemed to suit a female lead of a tragic romance suddenly twisted and became fierce like an angry, wild animal. Her fingers clenched into a fist and she punched him hard in the chest.

“Don’t get too worked up. You’ll open your wound.”

She continued to punch him with all her might, but it was like punching a boulder. KyungHyun’s body didn’t move at all, so she became even angrier.

“I can deal with you acting like a spoiled child, but if you keep punching me like that, you’ll only hurt your hand.”

All the rage and fury she had been bottling up inside for the past ten days came bursting out. EunHa glared at KyungHyun’s calm face and grit her teeth as she spit out her response.

“This is why I hate the police. Only lies come out of their mouths, and all they care about is looking good in front of their superior officers. They’re all incompetent morons. How are you any different from all the thugs who cater to their bosses and obey them like dogs? ‘The people’s protector’ my ass. You can all die for all I care. I just told you I’d do the things you guys can’t do. I told you I’d kill those evil bastards and follow them all to hell!”

KyungHyun watched coldly as EunHa continued making her biting remarks.

“After enduring it all for 10 years, you can’t even wait the small amount of time it takes to lay a trap?”

“…What do you know? How dare you talk back?”

EunHa’s lips began to tremble on her pale face.

“Do you even know what I did these past 10 years?”

“I know.”

“If you haven’t seen it with your own eyes, you don’t have a right to say you know.”

KyungHyun held her spiteful gaze and spoke in a low voice.

“I fully understand. When I joined the criminal organization, I had to do many dirty things as well.”

“How are you and I… even in similar situations? You chose that life, but I didn’t!”

“No, you did choose it.”

EunHa’s eyes filled with rage as her sorrowful tears began to drip out. These weren’t tears to entice him. These tears were truly filled with the unfairness she felt in her heart.

She chose it? When did she do that? Was he telling her that she chose to hold Kang SungHo’s hand and follow him without realizing he was her parents’ killer? She was overwhelmed with rage and humiliation that she began to grind her teeth. KyungHyun stared at her as he continued speaking in his low voice.

“You chose to survive.”

“…What?”

“You escaped that house with your own two feet. In order to live. You didn’t even realize that your ankle was half-broken and ran out of the house as if your life depended on it.”

He was talking about the incident 10 years ago. When she had risked her life to escape the house her parents had been murdered in. The tip of her small, sharp nose felt cold. Her eyes became cloudy as she looked up.

“You and I both decided to survive no matter what, so we came all the way here kicking and screaming, refusing to die.”

Even though KyungHyun’s expression was cold and his voice was like ice, his gaze on her seemed to be bursting with fireworks.

“So don’t treat that body you’ve worked hard to protect so poorly. I’ll help you. I’ll help you get your revenge. I’ll do it.”

His voice sounded sincere as he repeated himself. EunHa shook her head as if to shake that thought out of her head. Her bloodshot eyes glared at KyungHyun.

“You said that you were working at Serim around the time of my father’s death. Doesn’t that mean you were also a part of it?”

“I never knew Kang SungHo would kill your father.”

EunHa snorted and shook her head at his answer.

“Liar.”

“Do you really think Kang SungHo would have given an order like that to a rookie who just joined? Kang SungHo killed all the underlings he took with him that night. Because he wanted to conceal his involvement and frame it on YongSung.”

“…Then why were you there that night?”

EunHa’s voice trembled towards the end of her question.

“I heard that Kang SungHo was moving in the middle of the night. It was strange, so I decided to run after him. When I finally realized what was going on, it was already too late.”

KyungHyun carefully answered her questions one by one. His expression looked serious, but he couldn’t shake off EunHa’s suspicions very easily.

“But if that bastard ordered you to kill my parents, you would have done it.”

KyungHyun immediately began to shake his head.

“I wouldn’t have done it.”

“If you’re going to lie about it now, forget it. Now that we know each others’ identities, there’s no need for you to try to look good in front of me.”

“There’s also no need for me to lie to you or make excuses. I’m only telling you the truth.”

As KyungHyun frowned, his long eyes sharply tilted up. His normally calm voice now sounded furious.

“If I had known about Kang SungHo’s plans ahead of time, I would have subtly placed the evidence before your father and tried to take down the organization from the inside. Because that would have been an opportunity to destroy Serim in the long-term.”

EunHa began to bite her lips when she heard his answer. His large hand approached her, and his thumb touched her lips.

“Whether you believe me or not, that would have been my choice as a policeman.”

He grabbed her face and clearly repeated himself once more.

“I’ll let you kill Kang SungHo.”

“Don’t give me that bullshit.”

EunHa scoffed at him with wet eyes. KyungHyun could understand why she didn’t believe him. However, that didn’t change anything.

“On the day of the founding party, I killed the bastard who shot you along with fourteen more of YongSung’s men.”

But he didn’t know whether telling her this would change her mind.

At the mysterious expression on KyungHyun’s face, doubt flashed across EunHa’s eyes. While she realized that it was thanks to KyungHyun she had been able to escape that situation with merely an injury, she hadn’t known that he had shot at the gangsters.

Why did he do it? Instead of shooting off her head and ending it once and for all, why did he risk revealing his true identity and do something like that?

“Do you still think I’m talking bullshit?”

“…Do you want to hear me thank you for saving my life?”

“I didn’t do it to receive your gratitude.”

EunHa silently listened to his languid voice and became lost in thought. KyungHyun hadn’t been able to easily kill her because he was police. Just as he had 10 years ago when he instinctively saved her due to his profession.

“But if I ask for it, will you give it?”

KyungHyun swallowed, his throat dry. His Adam’s apple moved slowly. His naked upper chest was in full view because he didn’t have a top on. Every time he took a breath, his wide, hard chest rose up and down.

He was almost acting like a predator who was observing his prey. It was as if he was trying to figure out the right time to hunt. That’s right. Whether he was police or a thug, his sexual appetite hadn’t changed.

“……”

The moment she realized this fact, EunHa felt as if the temperature inside the room had risen. Her long eyelashes fluttered as she blinked and cast a shadow on her bare face. EunHa raised a hand and began to undo the buttons of her white, patient gown.

“What are you doing?”

KyungHyun’s low voice became even lower as it rang inside the room. Inside this large bedroom located at the top of this grand hotel, on top of the lonely bed… There was only the two of them.

“I want to pay you back for saving my life. Didn’t you just say that you wanted my gratitude?”

Pop, pop. Once the buttons became undone, the gown began to slide off, revealing her milky breasts. KyungHyun didn’t take his eyes off her chest as he asked.

“What do you mean by this?”

“…You want it right now. There’s no need to act innocent after everything we’ve done together.”

She wasn’t so naive as to misunderstand the gleam in a man’s eyes when he desired a woman. Whether he was a gangster or a policeman, it didn’t matter. The only thing that was definite in this moment was that he desired her.

“Do you think that the price of saving your life is just one round of sex?”

His voice and his breaths betrayed his arousal. He frowned at her as he chuckled.

“It doesn’t matter to me. Take it or leave it.”

EunHa raised her hand and began to fondle her breast. With moist eyes, she sent him a tempting look. Her perky nipple thrust up between her fingers.

“Don’t just rake your eyes over it. Come and touch it yourself.”

“Is this how you want to repay me?”

“Yes. I don’t like living in debt, you see.”

As soon as her whisper faded away, KyungHyun, who had not budged an inch all this time, slowly began to lean into her. The mattress began to sink, and the old springs began to creak.

“All right, then.”

He took one of his long fingers and slowly traced her face.

“If that’s what you want.”

As expected. EunHa slowly closed her eyes and opened them before giving him a faint smile.

“I want it.”

She felt that having a round of sex in exchange for saving her life wasn’t a bad deal. Her body would just rot and return to the earth once she died, so using it to the max would only raise its value.

“…Is that so?”

KyungHyun wet his dry lips and replied in a husky, hoarse voice. She could feel his arousal through the heat coming from his finger on her cheek.

“I think I’ll also have to receive interest for saving your life 10 years ago. Is that okay?”

“Do whatever you want.”

“You’re quite generous, aren’t you?

“I’m not a stingy woman.”

She had already experienced his stubborn bedside manners in the past. How long would this bout of sex last this time? It didn’t matter, though. She’d repay him with this, and she felt that things would work in her favor if she just did what Shin KyungHyun wanted for now.

“Since you’re offering, I’ll happily take it.”

His proud nose tilted, and his eyes on her deepened.

“I’m not an idiot who rejects a full course meal, you see.”

“Yes, all right.”

EunHa slowly blinked her eyes and gradually brought her face closer to his. No matter how many times she looked at it, his face was always attractive. If she did it with him, she wouldn’t be suffering a loss. His perfectly symmetrical lips began to move.

“But I’m very selfish, so there’s something I need from you.”

KyungHyun caught her gaze. His alcohol-laced breath smelled fragrant. EunHa opened her red lips and let out a soft sigh.

“I’ll do whatever play you want.”

“You won’t regret it?”

“Do you want me to pinky promise?”

“No, a kiss will do.”

EunHa lightly pecked his lips. KyungHyun let out a laugh.

“That’s good.”

“Tell me what you want.”

EunHa whispered as if she were a good child receiving a reward. KyungHyun answered in a soft but clear voice.

“From now on, until the day you die…

“…Hmm?”

“Don’t have sex with any other man but me.”\n