Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Despite the tension in her throat, her eyes caught glimpses of his sharp nose and light wood-coloured iris. His hair, which had grown long enough to cover his neck, was messy, and his loose-fitting hospital clothes were shabby. Although his body shrank in size, his thick bones were still strong.

Besides, his gaze. His light-coloured eyes wavering like flames gave away a strange feeling. It caused certain movements in her stomach.

She was terrified to look into his glowing eyes that looked polished. His clean eyes were rather like an empty pit.

He got on his feet and instinctively tied her up. Lee-yeon turned anxious and started to sweat. Such a man would never forget the woman he was trying to kill. Worst of all, the face he saw before he rolled down the hill was her!

She prayed earnestly that Kwon Chae-woo would not recognize her. Lee-yeon knew if he was harbouring malice, there was a possibility that he’d pour out all his anger on her.

“You look familiar.” His face looked blank as if he had emptied everything inside him. She lost the colour of her face.

On receiving no response, he smirked. “Kwon Chae-woo. Kwon Chae-woo,” he whispered with a low voice as if mimicking Lee Yeon’s tone. “That would most likely be my name.”

This time his face grew serious. “Are you important to me?”

Lee-yeon heaved a deep breath. It was a strange intuition. She couldn’t point out if it was a feeling of joy or fear that was making her heart race endlessly. Joy?

“Or, are you someone who I can just kill?”

Lee-yeon’s gaze followed his movements. Chae-Woo Kwon took out the needle he had been hiding the whole time and pressed it repeatedly like a ballpoint pen.

She resisted to run away. He started poking his thumb with the needle a few times. Dark red blood dripped down.

She breath in rough gasps. To her, his gaze resembled that of a butcher. She could feel him taking a good look at his meat. Frightened, she poked him without a second thought.

“Don’-don’t say that. I am very important to you,” she tried to catch her breath, “for real! Don’t you remember me?”

His perplexed face answered how confused he was. “I’m very close to you! We’ve met each other longer than you are thinking,” her eyes were spinning because of the stress that had already crossed the threshold, “and we’re intertwined in a complicated way.”

She remembered the contract which she was forced to sign. Those men who dragged in black suits at night still haunt her.

“And we can’t just end our relationship at will,” she added, rubbing the skin of her forehead. Shouldn’t she have simply told him to go to court back then? Maybe this would’ve saved her from this vicious vegetative man.

“Ahh!” She trembled with fear as Kwon Chae-woo suddenly grabbed her face. He squeezed her cheeks so hard that they started to tingle. He wasn’t controlling his power at all and she felt her jaw would break anytime.

“You told me you’re important to me, then why are you trembling?”

“N-no, I’m not!”

“Were you sold here with your fingers cut off or something?” She couldn’t believe her ears.

“To suck the dick of a guy who can’t even move or think?”

At his harsh words, Lee-yeon felt her cheek twitching.

“Why can I only remember such trashy words?” He rubbed his forehead with a confused look.

He transferred more strength to his hand, grabbing Lee-yeon’s face. All her focus was on his fingers which were on the verge of suffocating her. She noticed tendons appearing over the back of his hand.

“Please don’t scream. My ears hurt.”

Lee-yeon clenched her teeth. A stabbing pain spread all over the bones of her face. She had no power to push his hands off.

She was crying at her fate. She knew nothing about this man. All she had an idea of was his name which she heard from his brother. Everything else, be it his age, occupation, education, hometown, family or medical history, she had no clue.

She was constantly trying to focus her mind on what could convince him. After seeing his real side at the mountain, nothing else appeared. Not even a single escape plan to save her from the man, standing right in front of her and showing wild emotions.

Even if the land is unsuitable for living, you have to adapt and change according to the environment. Like the way those plants, she loves and adores, live. The locust tree that lives lying down even if it collapses, and the maple tree that grows crooked due to the wind. It was a battle. Yes, a battle! She now knew.

Clenching her teeth, Lee-yeon grabbed his wrist in a hurry. “Kwon Chae-woo, Kwon Chae-woo!”

Slightly frowning, he lowered his hand. His eyes popped out of sockets seeing red handprints on both of her cheeks.

***

“But we are not in that kind of relationship! Don’t get me wrong. We—we,” she raked her mind, searching for the right words, “we got along very well! You were very kind.” She lied hoping it would persuade her.

Her fingers touched the weapon around her neck, “You even put a necklace around my neck.” All the way she tried to speak naturally, but her voice cracked. The man looked down at her with an expressionless face.

“So, did you suck it?”

“What do you mean?”

“I must have f*cked you like a dog.”

Her demeanour was on the verge of breaking apart.

“Because you speak like someone who has been brainwashed.”

“No, no, no!” She exclaimed and shook her head, screaming internally. It was her who was trying to brainwash him, only if he gave in.

Lee-yeon felt strangely annoyed at his silence. The feeling of being swayed by him was terrible. “You neither treated me badly nor forced upon me anything. You never used violence or threatened me.” Big time lies!