Taming (4)
“...Then follow me.”
He grabs my wrist as I nod and starts walking somewhere. Unlike before, when he’d just kept moving straight ahead, he now walks with a clear destination in mind. After trudging along endlessly, what comes into view is…
…his gym, already closed for the night.
“Wait here a sec. I’ll grab something to eat.”
“What are you suddenly—”
“Let’s have a late-night snack together to celebrate getting closer. …If you want to go somewhere nicer, I can take you there. If you don’t like that either, you can just follow me to the convenience store.”
He gestures toward the busy street with his eyes, once again cutting off my options. Stopping by the convenience store wasn’t something I could choose either.
“Figured my sister-in-law’s probably never had late-night snacks in her life because of being an idol. …I’m just trying to treat you once. Don’t want it?”
“…You’re disgusting, seriously.”
“Then I’ll go get it.”
In the end, I can only vent my revulsion and step into the elevator alone. Standing in front of the firmly shut gym, I wait endlessly for him to return, clutching my growling abs and biting my innocent lips for no reason.
“…Ha.”
I never believed the “just a walk” line from the start. But now, the thought of running away doesn’t even occur to me. Even if I went back to his place, he’d just follow me. Even if I ran to my own house, he could barge in anytime. This night wouldn’t end until he was satisfied. Rather, a place where no one could catch us felt more comfortable. No matter what he did to me here, no one would notice.
…Except for the CCTV staring right at me.
“Hey, I’m back. Get up.”
“…Okay.”
He returns not long after, carrying a heavy plastic bag in one hand. I follow him inside the dark, empty gym after he unlocks the door. The interior feels cooler than expected, probably because it hasn’t been long since closing. As I stand there blankly after taking off my shoes, he pulls out a long can from the bag and holds it out to me.
“Want a drink too?”
“…No thanks.”
It was obvious. Even in the dark, it was easy to tell it was alcohol. I reject his offer with a displeased smile, knowing full well the sinister intent behind it. …If I got drunk here, there’d be no telling what he might do to me.
Instead, I pull out a hot bar from the bag and put it in my mouth, only for him to snatch the half-unwrapped hot bar away, leaving me awkwardly waving my empty hand.
“What?”
“Gotta heat it up. There’s a microwave in the break room. Follow me.”
“…Okay.”
He heads to the break room carrying both the hot bar and cup ramen, turns on the lights, microwaves them, then pours hot water from the purifier into two cups each. A surprisingly appetizing smell fills the building. He dumps the ramen water in the bathroom, sets the cups on the break room table, and mixes in the seasoning. While I look away from the ramen that smells almost too spicy, he hands it to me with chopsticks and places a pitch-black beer can beside it.
“Rinse your mouth if it gets too spicy.”
“I’m not drinking. Take it away.”
“I’ve got my own.”
I put up a wall against his obvious attempt to get me drunk and reach for the cup ramen instead. After removing everything covering my face and placing it on the table, I take a bite of the cup ramen I haven’t touched since debuting as an idol. An indescribable taste spreads across my tongue. Spicy, yet slightly sweet. The chemical taste of instant food wrapping around my tongue. The moment that stimulating flavor makes my brain flood with dopamine, a sharp pain stabs my tongue.
“Ha, wait…”
“What, can’t handle spicy food?”
“I can eat it just fine. It’s just…”
It wasn’t bad. After years of strict dieting, there was no way I didn’t crave this kind of intense flavor. But because I’d only eaten bland chicken breast for so long, even one cup of ramen was spicy enough to make me breathless. Still, I couldn’t spit it out in front of him. …And I didn’t want to hear him mock me for not being able to handle spice. I force myself to chew the sauce-covered noodles, then take a bite of the hot bar that seems milder. I hoped it would calm things down, but because he’d heated it up, my tongue only burned twice as much. When my lips finally swell to twice their size, I can’t take it anymore and crack open the beer beside me, gulping it down.
…An oddly bitter coffee taste and alcohol scent fill my mouth, and strangely, all the pain I felt moments ago turns into dopamine.
“Haa… haa…”
“Seriously, getting this worked up over fire chicken ramen?”
“…Isn’t it spicy for you?”
“I’m used to it since Haeun makes it when she’s bored. Aren’t women supposed to go crazy for spicy stuff?”
“I wouldn’t know. Whatever.”
I pull the beer away from my mouth and snap at him for no reason as he eats the ramen without breaking a sweat. …Just the fact that he was forcing this calorie bomb on me pissed me off. His obvious intention to shove alcohol down my throat was far too sinister.
“If you really can’t eat it, just throw it away. I know a place that’s open late. Lots of people, tastes good too. I’ll take you there.”
“…Hiss, no thanks. I’m going to finish it.”
“Hey, eat slowly.”
…I should’ve snapped at him for suggesting a crowded place when he knew I couldn’t go, but the lingering alcohol scent in my mouth was making my head spin, so I didn’t even have the chance. Determined to finish as fast as possible, I shove more noodles into my mouth, desperately forcing the spicy mess down. Even as my brain screams in pain, the sensation of “it’s delicious” mixes in, leaving me confused. Every time the alcohol scent fades from my mouth, the pain intensifies, forcing me to drink again. I keep eating the brothless noodles soaked in beer. Even though I tried to finish quickly, it still takes me much longer than him. I only manage to finish one cup of ramen after emptying two cans of beer.
…Honestly, I wanted to drink water in the middle. But when I tried to get up, that bastard just pressed down on my shoulder with a smile, so I couldn’t.
“Hiss… haa. Hiss… haa…”
“Get up. Let’s go home. Now.”
He throws my empty cup into the trash, grabs me as I swallow hard, and pulls me up. Then he wipes the sweat from my neck and forehead with the back of his hand and rubs it against my chest.
“Don’t need the bathroom, right? We’ll be home soon anyway.”
“…No.”
He presses the hat I’d taken off earlier firmly onto my head, hands me sunglasses and a mask, then grabs my slightly trembling body and drags me out of the gym. Once outside, the sweat I’d wiped off grows damp again in the humid summer night air. With my arm linked through his, I stumble along and pull the mask down to my chin.
“Hey, you don’t need to cover your face?”
“…It’s fine.”
…It wasn’t because I was drunk. It was because the mask made the hot alcohol scent keep puffing out of my mouth. I couldn’t keep it covered; it was suffocating.
“Hey, you’re not seriously drunk off two cans of beer, are you? Even if the dark beer’s a bit strong.”
“I’m not drunk.”
I wanted to slap him for talking nonsense about me being drunk when I was just struggling with the spice, but my arm was trapped, so I couldn’t. I keep breathing through my mouth to soothe my tongue and let this irritating man lead me somewhere. It’s clearly a different path than the one we took earlier, but it’s definitely the way back home. Still, worried he might take a wrong turn, I look up at his face as he drags me along. Kang Juhyuk lowers his head and stares down at me.
“What?”
“…Don’t take any weird detours.”
“I won’t.”
I couldn’t exactly trust him, but I let him lead me anyway as he walks only on familiar roads. Two minutes, five minutes—I’m not sure, but after walking for well over ten minutes, we end up near the convenience store by the park.
…But wasn’t the gym closer to here than home? The moment I wonder that, he sits me down on a cheap plastic chair, removes my hat and sunglasses, and leans his face close to my ear.
“You don’t need the bathroom?”
“…What?”
“I asked if you don’t need it. …Wondering if you’re really fine after chugging two cans of beer.”
“Not at all… huh…?”
I hadn’t been paying attention, but when he presses firmly on my lower abdomen, I gasp without meaning to. At that primal reaction, Kang Juhyuk lets out a short breath with a blank expression and pulls me up by the wrist.
“…Not urgent?”
“I… don’t really… know… heh…”
Then he moves behind me, slips his hand under my clothes, and roughly kneads my alcohol-swollen abs.
…Forcing out an urge I hadn’t even noticed.
“…If it’s urgent, go into that convenience store and ask the part-timer if they have a bathroom.”
“Wait… a sec, my hat…”
“Wearing a hat and sunglasses this late at night will get you mistaken for a thief. …Just go in with the mask and ask. It’s not weird or anything.”
“That’s… heh…”
As he keeps tormenting me by grabbing at my abs that won’t stay still, I turn my half-lidded eyes toward the convenience store. …Then my gaze accidentally meets the part-timer’s, who’s fiddling with his phone with a bored expression.
“Ah, wait. Stop… that person…”
“Why.”
“Saw… me. The mask…”
In that instant, I snap back to my senses, frantically pull the mask up from my chin, and lower my head. …But the urge rising as he keeps tormenting my abs doesn’t go away. It’ll take a few more minutes to walk home. At least five more minutes. I could probably hold it that long, but if he keeps toying with me like this…
“…If you can hold it, we can just walk home slowly.”
“…”
…It wasn’t about whether I could hold it. He. Was never going to let me go home quietly. That chillingly cold voice of his…
…was proof of that.