Prologue

Squeak!

What she heard in the dark after waking up was the sound of metal scraping against the wall. Vivi shed tears, wanting to believe that she had heard it wrong.

Squeak!

Vivi covered her mouth with her hands, the blanket covered her body to the end of her neck. The sound of a man’s heavy footsteps was becoming louder and louder in the mansion where there should be no one but her.

Squeak! The door opened.

She heard the sound of something like a jackknife swinging. Right next to Vivi, there was a clinking sound, a match being lighted, followed by a click, then the sound of a lamp being lit.

Vivi knew she wouldn’t have a chance to escape if it weren’t now. However, her body, overwhelmed by fear, remained motionless.

She could feel the lamp brightening her surroundings, but she still couldn’t open her eyes. The room became quiet once more as if the noise that had been going on until before had not existed in the first place.

As if the man were checking her reaction.

Crunch. Suddenly, there was the sound of a glass shattering horribly.

“Is this what they call pretending to be asleep?”

Vivi unknowingly shuddered at the voice filled with boredom and cruelty. She wanted to beg for her life even now, but her body still didn’t budge.

“I know you’re not sleeping, but you don’t seem like you’re going to wake up either.”

I can’t get up, Vivi was crying inside. Suddenly, a shadow fell over her head.

There was a sharp, soft touch on her cheek. It was blunter than a knife and harder than cotton.

“Your acting is pretty good.”

He was poking at her cheek. The longer she remained silent, the shorter the interval of the poking on her cheek.

“Now, if you don’t wake up at the count of three—”

“Eek, I’m awake!”

Vivi’s face broke out in a cold sweat. Something blood-red filled her vision.

It didn’t take long for her to realize that it was Kid’s eyes.

“Hiiiy!”

Kid skillfully spun the knife, unraveling his curly ebony hair.

He smiled languidly as his eyes met hers.

“Instead of feeling sorry for you, I’m very angry right now.”

“…”

“You’re scared, but you don’t even ask who I am?”

As if he was offended, the knife slid under her chin. It seemed that if he poked a little deeper, there would be a scratch on her neck.

“Did Seniel tell you about me?”

“… N-No. I-I don’t know w-who you are.”

Vivi desperately denied it. The man hated it if someone confused him with Seniel, so it was best to say she did not know.

His gaze, carefully examining whether Vivi had lied or not, felt suffocating. She was so terrified that she wasn’t sure if she was managing her facial expressions properly.

His eyes narrowed.

“Well, if he had told you, he would’ve made you run away instead of making me move.”

She was unconsciously relieved that she had not been caught lying. Even though she knew he wouldn’t let her go like this, she had a weak hope that he might not kill her.

But as his knife was still on her neck, Vivi chose reality over hope. She rolled up the blanket and tried to look for an escape route.

His bright red eyes flashed dangerously in front of her.

“Well, that’s enough. Whether you know it or not, you’re gonna die now.”

Vivi fought back her tears for dear life. P-Please don’t kill me, she wanted to say. But the words hovered only on the tip of her tongue.

Suddenly Kid bent his eyes and smiled at her.

“Since you stayed quiet without screaming once, I will do you a special favor to let you go without pain. I hate noise the most. Any last words?”

“H-Hold on a second.”

“Is that the last thing you want to say? I’ll pass it on to your husband.”

The knife on her neck flashed, and Vivi closed her eyes tight.

Wook's notes:

A new chapter has opened... I'm so unmotivated not gonna lie...