Yujin (1)
Yujin (1)
Along with a woong-woong ringing tinnitus, my eyes snapped open from the horrific pain squeezing the back of my neck.
"Euk......."
I tried to raise my body, but my stiffened muscles convulsed and screamed.
A cool leather choker was still wrapped around my nape like a snake, and as the unfamiliar sensation of being electrocuted flashed through my mind, nausea surged up.
In the dimly lit room, only the faint diffuser scent stinging my nose told me this was an unfamiliar space.
'Where is this.......'
Staggering as I got up from my spot, I groped along the wall and headed toward the door where light was leaking in.
When I tried to turn the handle, a door lock was installed on the door.
But the important thing was, the door lock was different from the common sense I knew.
It was installed in reverse, structured so that if you didn't know the password, you'd be locked in.
As the conclusion that I was trapped here settled, I leaned my forehead against the door with a despairing heart.
I needed to know where this was first of all...
Then suddenly, the words Yujin had told me came to mind.
And that dressing room also had a door lock.
So I wondered if this was the dressing room, but in the spacious room, there were no flashy clothes or luxury bags anywhere.
Instead, a king-size mattress filled one side of the wall in the room.
I approached the small side table next to the bed as if possessed.
There, the specific brand of bottled water I usually drink and the nutritional supplements I take every morning were neatly arranged.
On the bookshelf filling one side of the other wall, the books I read from time to time and the movie Blu-rays I had casually mentioned wanting to watch someday were densely packed.
Inside the half-open closet, not luxury sponsorship clothes, but achromatic indoor clothes and underwear in sizes that perfectly fit my body type were hung with knife-like precision.
A space that perfectly grasped and matched my tastes, my habits, even my size.
It was like a breeding pen meticulously designed to confine just one human.
"Crazy......."
Then, a faint door lock operation sound was heard from outside the door.
The heavy door opened and the living room lighting poured into the dark room.
Yujin entered the room, standing with her back to the backlight.
In one of her hands was a tray holding a bowl of abalone porridge with warm steam rising.
"Did you wake up, oppa? How's your stomach."
It was so peaceful that it was hard to believe it belonged to the person who sent electricity through a person's neck last night.
"Yujin-ah... what the hell is this you're doing. Where is this, and the other kids. Where are the other kids!"
A metallic sound mixed in because my throat was choked.
"The kids went to radio recording or... or to practice. I stayed because I have a solo photoshoot schedule today."
Yujin said softly as she carefully placed the tray on the side table next to the bed.
"Ah, right. I told the company well about oppa's promotion. That you won't take charge of the new unit, and just stay as our dedicated manager forever. When I sent the text myself from oppa's phone, CEO-nim was even moved, you know?"
"What...? What are you talking about right now...!"
"If you take the new unit, you'll just work overtime every day, not even eat properly, and only wear yourself out. I can't watch our oppa fall apart like that."
When Yujin tried to stroke my cheek, I flinched in surprise and stepped back.
"Give me the cell phone now. Do you think what you're doing now is right?"
"No. I don't have the cell phone with me right now. I'll give it to you later. And..."
Her gaze turned toward my neck, then she immediately took out a black remote from her indoor clothes pocket.
"Oppa. The outside world is too dangerous, and oppa is too kind so if left alone you always just get hurt. Now just look at us here, eat only what we give you, and rest comfortably."
Yujin's thumb slowly caressed the red button.
The cool sensation of the leather tightening around my nape reminded me again of that horrific pain from last evening.
"This isn't made to torment oppa. It's the minimum safety device to protect a child who keeps throwing tantrums trying to go to dangerous places."
Yujin smiled softly again and scooped a large spoonful of porridge.
The porridge cooled by blowing hoo-hoo approached my mouth.
"Here, say ah. You must have been startled from the shock on an empty stomach, so hurry and eat to regain your energy."
The abalone porridge approaching my mouth smelled of savory sesame oil.
But nausea was boiling in my stomach.
The culprit who locked me up and put a collar on me is trying to feed me with a nonchalant face.
In this bizarre and horrific situation, the suppressed anger finally snapped my reason.
"Don't be ridiculous!!"
I roughly slapped away Yujin's hand floating in the air.
The silver spoon rolled on the floor, and the abalone porridge boiled with care was messily splattered over the luxury carpet.
In an instant, a heavy silence settled in the room.
Yujin's hand stopped in the air.
And her gaze quietly looking down at the porridge spilled on the floor.
It was just a fleeting moment, but I saw her round and affectionate eyes sink coolly.
"......Youngwoo oppa."
Yujin slowly raised her head.
A smile was still hanging on her lips, but there wasn't a speck of warmth left in her eyes.
"A bad child who throws tantrums about side dishes needs punishment, I guess."
Her thumb firmly pressed the red button.
"Aaaak!"
Electricity struck my whole body riding up from my nape.
I screamed and collapsed onto the bed.
My breath was blocked and it seemed like white flashes in front of my eyes.
"Heok, heoeok......."
As I gasped for breath writhing in pain, Yujin's affectionate voice flowed softly into my ears again.
"I set it so that electricity comes out automatically if you try to forcibly tear off the necklace, so don't try to take it off."
She picked up the silver spoon that fell on the floor and carefully wiped the porridge on her fingertips with a handkerchief.
"Of course, you'll calm down after adapting for a few days. But if you get hurt, it's only oppa's loss, right?"
Yujin sat close beside me again. Her cool fingers affectionately brushed back my sweat-soaked bangs.
"So Youngwoo oppa. Stop the meal tantrums now, and eat what I give you obediently. Got it?"
***
Along with a smooth engine sound, a luxury sedan was gliding along the roads of Hannam-dong.
"The weather is really nice. Right, oppa?"
Yujin sitting in the driver's seat hummed a tune as she turned the wheel.
Normally, it should have been me holding the steering wheel.
But now I was just buried in the fluffy passenger seat, blankly staring at the scenery quickly passing by outside the window.
The memory from just an hour ago was messing up my head.
Yujin washed and dressed me who had even lost the energy to resist, as if handling a doll.
Even this clothes I'm wearing was something she picked herself from my closet.
Even to hide the horrific leather choker around my neck, I had to forcibly wear a stuffy black turtleneck that didn't match the weather.
Throughout changing clothes, that remote with the red button was held in her hand.
'I'm going crazy, really.'
I let out a deep sigh while dry-washing my face.
Outside the window, people spending peaceful daily lives were visible.
Office workers going to work, college students laughing while drinking coffee.
If I just rolled down the window and screamed, it seemed like the police would come running right away to save me.
But I couldn't even open my mouth.
The moment the car stopped at the signal, Yujin's soft hand crawled up onto my thigh.
"Oppa, what are you thinking? You're not having useless thoughts again, right?"
The black remote was faintly visible between her fingers.
My body remembered the horrific pain from earlier and flinched reflexively like Pavlov's dog.
"...I wasn't thinking anything."
"That's a relief. When we arrive at the shop later there will be a lot of staff, so you have to manage your expression well. I set it that oppa is sick today and can't even say a word. Got it?"
Yujin's soft touch grabbed my chin that was facing the window and turned it toward herself.
"Where are you looking like that. You have to look only at me."
At the sensation of the remote tapping my thigh, I had no choice but to swallow my breath and lower my gaze.
Not long after, the car stopped in front of a large makeup shop in Cheongdam-dong.
Yujin got out of the driver's seat first and opened the door herself.
Yujin bent down to unbuckle my seatbelt, bringing her lips close to my ear.
"Remember this, oppa."
Her creepy cold voice pierced my eardrums.
"The moment you say even a single letter out of your mouth or look at other people, I'll press the switch in front of people. You know I do what I say, right?"
She grinned as she neatly adjusted my turtleneck collar, then affectionately led my arm out of the car.
The cold face that had been pouring threats just now was gone, and the perfect smile of the affectionate idol leader Yujin took its place.
As the shop's automatic door opened and we entered, the waiting staff approached with bright faces.
"Yujin-ssi, you're here? Youngwoo-ssi came along too? I heard the news! Congratulations on the promotion!"
The makeup director who usually hung out with me and often joked greeted me cheerfully.
"Ah, thank yo...."
The moment I reflexively tried to open my mouth.
The grip of Yujin who had her arm linked with mine tightened strongly.
She intercepted the words first toward the staff with her characteristic bright eye-smile.
"Director-nim, our Manager-nim overdid it a bit at the promotion party yesterday. He caught a severe throat cold so he says his voice isn't coming out at all today."
"Oh my, really? No wonder his complexion is so pale. The weather is nice but he's even wearing a stuffy turtleneck..."
"Yes. So today I'm going to take care of the Manager-nim during the schedule too."
"Aww, Yujin-ssi, aren't you too kind? Director-nim must feel really reliable. Right?"
The staff giggled at Yujin's cheekiness and guided us into the shop.
To anyone, it was the heartwarming and nice-looking appearance of a top idol and her dedicated manager.
"Manager-nim. Please sit quietly and rest on this sofa over here."
Yujin sat me on a fluffy imported sofa in one side of the shop.
Then she gently placed the small luxury bag she was holding on my lap.
"Oppa, hold this."
"......"
"It's my precious bag, so you absolutely must not drop it. Got it?"
She laughed playfully and overlapped her hand on the back of my hand.
Her snow-white slender fingers slowly dug between my fingers as if like lovers.
"There's a remote inside so you shouldn't open it carelessly."
Yujin's voice settled low in my ear.
"I don't want to make oppa punish himself with his own hands."
Inside the turtleneck, the leather choker wrapping my nape felt particularly cold.
Yujin hung a faint smile on her lips as if enjoying my reaction.
Under the shop's bright lighting, her long hair flowed softly over my shoulder and a sweet shampoo scent pierced my nose.
"Wait obediently."
Along with a low voice like a whisper, her lips nipped my earlobe and passed.
She lightly stroked my jawline with her fingertips, then soon Yujin turned her body as if nothing had happened.
Her glossy hair flowed over her shoulder, and her slender waistline under the thin blouse was softly caught in the lighting.