Their eyes met. Jeong Tae-ui didn’t move a muscle, simply stared at Ilay. Without blinking once, he met his gaze—the man who held his life under a single finger.

At some point, strength tightened in the finger pressed against his throat. Tae-ui’s hand clenched the sheet. The finger pressing his windpipe slowly, gradually squeezed his skin enough to suffocate him. When the sudden, fierce pain flared before breathing grew difficult, Tae-ui’s facial muscles twitched and shrank.

Ilay pressed his grip on Tae-ui’s throat slowly without breaking eye contact, then as if nothing had happened, he released his hand. For a moment, he looked down at his own hand with a strange expression. Perhaps even a little regretful.

Tae-ui swallowed several reflexive coughs, rubbing his stinging, aching throat, then glanced up at him. He was still watching Tae-ui.

“If I had listened to reason,” Ilay began. Slowly unbuttoning his shirt starting from the sleeve with those white, beautiful hands—hands that could kill at any moment—Tae-ui realized once again just how deadly they were. Ilay hesitated briefly before continuing, unbuttoning the last button of his shirt and tossing it off.

“Tae-ui. You’ve already died several times.”

“Did your reason tell you to kill me?”

How brutal and pointless this was, Tae-ui muttered begrudgingly, rubbing his neck.

“Well. At least whoever tied me up and chloroformed me wouldn’t still be alive.”

“...”

With that said, someone with sins on their shoulders has nothing to say.

Tae-ui grimaced bitterly and turned his gaze away briefly. But the hand undoing the belt buckle behind the shirt caught his attention again, so he looked back.

“Ilay, why exactly are you taking your clothes off now――――.”

“Tae-ui. You saw me with that brat before, didn’t you?”

Ilay cut off Tae-ui’s suspicious question. Tae-ui closed his mouth again.

He wasn’t stupid enough to ask what exactly they were doing. The image of Ilay and Shin Lu tangled together on the bed flashed in his mind reflexively. Along with the vast confusion and disgust he’d felt in that moment.

“…Why?”

“Just a thought that suddenly came to me. I was foolish.”

Ilay spoke calmly. Click-clack, the belt loosened with several metallic sounds. Then the sound of the zipper sliding down followed vividly.

“You regret sleeping with Shin Lu…?”

Suddenly, Tae-ui wanted to punch him without mercy. How relieving that would be.

Knowing clearly how much Tae-ui liked Shin Lu back then, and yet Ilay slept with her simply as a transaction. Right in front of Tae-ui, as if flaunting it. And now he says things like that.

…If I hit this bastard now, maybe this time he’ll listen to reason.

Tae-ui unclenched his fists, showing his discomfort clearly on his face. But even so, Ilay pulled off his pants. Now all that covered him was a single piece of underwear—barely doing its job, clearly revealing the shape of his standing flesh.

“You’re wrong. That’s not it. What I think was wrong was that it should have been the opposite.”

Saying that, Ilay stood before Tae-ui. Barely a few spans away, his half-naked body facing him. Tae-ui sat on the bed, slowly leaning back. But as his back touched the wall, he regretted it. He hadn’t meant to back up and make space for Ilay to climb onto the bed.

“Hey, wait, um…—”

Before Tae-ui could say anything properly, Ilay, already on the bed, was draping himself inside Tae-ui’s pants.

“If back then, instead of showing you doing it with that bastard, I had shown that bastard doing it with you.”

“…—!”

As the skin below his waist was exposed, the bed sheets and blanket brushed directly against his skin. But colder and harsher than that rough chill, Ilay’s low whisper drilled into his ear.

“If I’d done that, maybe things would be easier now.”

“Easier? What do you mean… wait, right now…—”

“Don’t think. Forget it. There’s no reason or need to meet again. So don’t think about that bastard.”

Ilay’s trousers leg twisted around Tae-ui’s leg, the obstructive garment hindering movement. As he pulled up Tae-ui’s shirt, a soft sound tickled his ear and warmed his body.

Unfortunately, as Ilay said, Tae-ui had no mind to think about Shin Lu now. Every time clothes slipped off his struggling body and skin was exposed, the cool air chilled his spirit.

“Ilay, wait, what is this in the middle of our conversation? Why suddenly… damn it! Why the hell are you erect all of a sudden, you bastard!”

Trying to push Ilay away in embarrassment, Tae-ui’s last defense—the underwear—was easily removed. His exposed penis pressed against his thigh as the fabric was pulled aside, maybe making him even more upset.

At this moment, Tae-ui didn’t want to mix bodies with Ilay. He was unsettled by the mention of Shin Lu, exhausted in body and mind, and confused by the suddenness of lying on the bed.

Yet despite Tae-ui’s will, the situation kept moving forward, making him feel even more disgusted.

But no matter how much Tae-ui cursed, Ilay didn’t flinch. He pressed down on Tae-ui’s body, sprawling atop him, gripping his waist roughly.

“It’s only been less than ten days, and you’ve already forgotten. Tae-ui, don’t you remember what I told you last time?”

“What did you…—”

“This body is mine. You belong to me. That’s how you recognize it. I poured so much into you that if I tried hard, there should still be traces of me inside you. And you forgot? That can’t be.”

“...—”

Tae-ui lost his words. Or rather, his tongue stiffened momentarily, leaving him speechless. He hadn’t forgotten. That voice pressed close to his ear, whispering impossibly softly—“You belong to me”—sometimes suddenly resurfaced. The marks left by hands, tongue, and teeth carved into every corner of his body still faintly remained. Just this morning, he had discovered one of those faint traces during a shower and had held his breath for a moment.

Damn it.

Tae-ui opened his mouth, fumbling so obviously anyone could tell he was lying, muttering,

“No, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“…Ah. Don’t know…?”

Ilay chuckled lightly above Tae-ui, who had turned his head slightly. At that moment, Tae-ui suddenly snapped back to reality. Oops.

“The bite marks on your neck haven’t even fully healed yet, and you say you forgot after only a few days? Yeah, Tae-ui, I told you. From now on, you’re mine every day. If you need daily reminders, I’ll give them. So that there’s never a day when semen dries between your legs. That’s the only way you’ll properly realize it.”

His warm tongue licked Tae-ui’s neck. The words crawling up his skin and into his ear sent chills down Tae-ui’s spine.

“It’s not me…—it’s you who recognizes it! Your words don’t match!”

“Hahaha. Finally remembered?”

Ilay laughed. His hand slid slowly from Tae-ui’s neck to his chest, pressing skin gently as he passed.

“Hey, don’t touch me! I don’t know! You said you recognized me, not me! Don’t touch me! Why am I yours? Who said you could own me!”

“Well, I thought about that too, but in the end, the conclusion is that you’re mine. I have some guesses why, but there’s no past evidence to judge whether it’s right or wrong…”

Ilay clicked his tongue, lightly biting Tae-ui’s earlobe. The delicate movement tickled. Tae-ui reflexively grabbed Ilay’s shoulder and pushed hard. It seemed for a moment Ilay might be pushed off, but he was rock solid, unmoving.

A hollow laugh escaped. Ilay glanced at Tae-ui with a look like he was dealing with a mischievous kid.

“Tae-ui. Let go of my hand.”

Ilay spoke quietly. Tae-ui stared back, glaring fiercely. The hand that supported—or rather pushed—Ilay’s shoulder while lying on the bed didn’t move.

“Let go. Don’t make me say it twice.”

His voice dropped slightly. Tae-ui hesitated briefly. Wisely, he thought it better to quickly say “Yes!” and withdraw his hand, but would that be too humiliating? Not that he could get more humiliated than now.

Seeing Tae-ui only scowl and glare, Ilay realized he wasn’t moving the hand and sighed shortly.

“You act like an idiot sometimes. …Well, whatever, I don’t care. Breaking that foolishness is pretty fun too.”

As he murmured that slowly, the strong, fierce hand, so unlike his beautiful exterior, grabbed Tae-ui’s crotch. His hand gripped both his penis and balls tightly, with no gentleness, squeezing hard.

“Ah! …—!”

He gasped. Stars flashed before his eyes. For a moment, everything blacked out, then sparks exploded everywhere. He didn’t even realize when Ilay’s hand left his shoulder. Tae-ui, face pale blue, clung to Ilay’s arm, digging his nails in.

“Let go, let go… let… let go, please, hands…—”

Yeah, I was wrong. You damn bastard, you cowardly son of a bitch. Just let go of my hands, you bastard!

Just managing to separate what was acceptable to say and what wasn’t was already an achievement. Tae-ui whispered faintly, his vision flickering.

But that bastard, who deserved to be torn to pieces, might really intend to cripple Tae-ui’s lower body. No matter how desperately Tae-ui begged or pleaded, Ilay seemed deaf to it, shaking his grip hard two or three times as if tearing at it.

Tae-ui fainted. Probably only for 3 or 4 seconds, but his consciousness flew away briefly. The pain from the shaking below was what brought him back.

“Let… your shoulder, let go, you bastard, so let go of that hand too…—!”

Muttering barely audible, Tae-ui thought in his dazed state that maybe he’d never be a man again. Ilay, who had ignored everything Tae-ui said until then, suddenly loosened his grip just a little. It was like pressing a boulder replaced by pressing a rock, but that small difference let Tae-ui breathe again.

His eyes were wet. When he opened his dazed eyes, Ilay was looking down at him.

“Tae-ui. Hand.”

Ilay spoke briefly. Tae-ui looked blankly at his own hand with a distant mind. He was holding Ilay’s arm without realizing it. Realizing that his own hand was trembling as it held Ilay’s forearm trying to remove his hand from his crotch, Tae-ui finally let [N O V E L I G H T] go.

“There. Let go. I let go. So you should let go too…”

“Wrap around my neck.”

“What?”

“My neck. Hug me. With your arms.”

For a moment, Tae-ui didn’t understand what he meant. Or rather, he understood briefly but doubted his head had gone a little crazy from the pain. Neck? Did he mean to choke him? No, he wasn’t telling him to choke his neck; he told him to hug his neck?

Tae-ui looked at him blankly, sweat pouring down his face. The indifferent face stared down at him just above. But blinking a few times, the grip on his crotch tightened again. He was nearly in a panic. Tae-ui hurriedly wrapped his arms around Ilay’s neck. Damn it. Fine. I’ll do as you say. Tightly.

As if about to choke him outright, Tae-ui hugged him fiercely. The hot heat from their touching skin surged. Holding the sturdy neck and shoulder tightly in his arms, Tae-ui whispered against the nape of his neck in front of his lips.

“Enough. Let me go a little… I feel like I’m really going to die. You’re a man, you know what I mean.”

He swallowed the curse “you damn bastard” stuck in his throat.

But if he let him go now, he’d be insane.

Ilay stayed silent for a moment, then suddenly squeezed even harder.

“Ah!! Mom…—”

A scream burst from his mouth. Tears welled up in his eyes uncontrollably. One of his screws finally came loose in his head.

“Hey, you damn bastard! What are you complaining about, huh? You did what I told you! You damn bastard, did you intend to make me impotent, you filthy and despicable bastard! Let go of my hand! Please!!! …Please let go…”

Raving curses that ended in begging, Tae-ui tightly hugged Ilay’s neck without letting go. In truth, he was too dazed even to free his arms. Then, a low laugh whispered into his ear.