Chapter 80
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 80
Her pupils were vacant.
It was a face straining to form a smile, the corners of her lips pulled up with great effort. But the expression was full of an unsettling awkwardness, as if she had simply yanked her facial muscles taut.
Tension flooded him, followed by a chill that shot up his spine. His fingertips trembled.
Dokyun understood what was happening to him.
The thick emotion pressing down on his entire body was fear.
The moment he saw those eyes, a conditioned terror made his body shake.
He had to steady his breathing.
He had to grasp the situation.
Fortunately, the fear crushing him was enough to instantly wash away the last vestiges of sleep.
After catching his breath, Dokyun glared fiercely at the girl looking down at him.
Their eyes met, and then her lips parted.
“No.”
Her tone was low, devoid of any inflection.
She then added another sentence.
“I’m Eun-ah.”
A twitch.
The corners of her mouth curled higher.
“You’re a fool, Honeybee. I’m Eun-ah.”
Goosebumps rose on his skin again as her hand caressed his cheek.
It was undoubtedly the same body, yet the warmth he felt from her touch was colder than ever before.
A dry swallow echoed in his throat. Dokyun took a deep breath to steel himself, his expression hardening as he spoke to Eun-chae.
“Stop your fucking bullshit.”
He spat the words out more harshly than intended, a desperate attempt to overcome the fear and calm his trembling body.
“Bad words…”
The hand on his cheek tightened.
Squeeze—
“…are not allowed.”
“Kkheup…!”
Her hand gripped his cheek so tightly it felt like it would tear the flesh away.
“Why won’t you listen to me?”
She squeezed even harder, but unlike that one time before, his cheek wasn’t scratched.
He had been meticulously trimming her nails whenever they grew even slightly too long, so her blunted fingertips couldn’t break the skin.
Did she notice?
She stopped squeezing his cheek and lifted her hand, inspecting her own nails before letting out a laugh.
“Keuheup…”
Her shoulders trembled faintly, her eyes forming a smile that was a forced contraction of muscle.
After examining her nails, she shifted her gaze back to him and spoke again.
“Did it hurt?”
There was no need to ask, ‘What?’ He knew, and she knew.
While she was inspecting her nails, Dokyun had managed to regulate his breathing. He curled his lip and spat out a curse.
“You should’ve been less of a fucking bitch.”
In the next instant, her hand flew out and struck his cheek.
Crack—!
“I told you not to use bad words.”
Crack—!
“Is the punishment not enough? Why do you keep disobeying me?”
Crack—!
“Eun-ah hates people who use bad words the most. You’re supposed to say nice things.”
Crack—!
“You’re bad, Honeybee. You make Eun-ah sad.”
Crack—!
“This is all your fault, Honeybee.”
Crack—!
“Keuheup…”
A pained groan escaped Dokyun’s lips as she continued to slap him with each word.
It throbbed.
His left cheek burned as if it had been pressed to a fire. The metallic tang of blood spread through his mouth. The inside of his cheek must have burst.
Thump. Thump.
His heart began to race. He needed to calm his breathing and shake off the fear, but the stinging pain in his cheek paralyzed him.
Calm down…
Dokyun clenched his jaw, forcing down the rising terror, and stared at Eun-chae with cold eyes.
Tears streamed down her face.
And yet, she couldn’t erase the smile she had plastered on, creating a bizarrely contorted visage.
“You crazy bitch.”
“Again.”
Crack—!
Her raised hand struck his cheek once more.
The impact rattled his skull, his thoughts scattering for a moment. Dokyun squeezed his eyes shut. Seeing this, Eun-chae’s shoulders began to heave as she burst into tears.
“Huu, heuuu… Why won’t you listen to me…?”
The sight sent another wave of shivers through Dokyun’s body.
He couldn’t tell if she was faking the emotion or if this was Go Eun-chae’s true self.
If it was an act, the reason for it was so incomprehensible that it terrified him. If it was genuine, her crazed, rampaging state was so irrational that it terrified him.
As Dokyun clenched his fists, trying to fight back the fear, she stopped wiping at her face and leaned down to hug him.
“I’m so sad… My heart hurts…”
Burying her face in the crook of his neck, Eun-chae wrapped her arms tightly around him and exhaled.
“Huuu…”
A damp warmth touched his neck.
Though her breath was warm, the energy it carried felt utterly frigid as it seeped into his skin.
Again, his heart began to pound.
He had to calm down. He had to find a way out.
Dokyun’s mind raced.
She thinks she has the upper hand in this situation.
So, she won’t resort to a self-harm show just yet.
If the injuries to Eun-ah’s body become too severe, control will pass to Eun-seol. Self-harm is a last resort for her, too.
Furthermore, her thoughts aren’t completely separate from Eun-ah’s.
As long as Eun-ah likes me, she can’t inflict any serious harm on me.
He was fairly certain of this point.
Among her bizarre behaviors on the first day, he remembered how she had tearfully treated his wounds right after injuring him.
In other words, if the injuries to his body crossed a certain threshold, Go Eun-chae would be pushed back by Go Eun-ah.
It seemed that slapping or pinching didn’t cross that line, but he could endure that much.
Next.
Only my arms are tied.
His current state.
After Christmas, before Eun-seol had retreated, they had discussed this very scenario.
What should he do if Go Eun-chae suddenly appeared when he wasn’t aware?
First, they had removed the strap that tied him to the bed.
They couldn’t get rid of the handcuffs, as Eun-ah would immediately notice something was wrong, but the waist strap was easy enough to hide away.
In addition, they had prepared a way to unlock the handcuffs.
Under the living room sofa.
He had taped the key there.
First, he had to free his body.
Once his hands and feet were free, he could fight Eun-chae physically.
Her strength was unnatural for her physique, but that didn’t mean she was stronger than him.
He was nearly twice her size.
No matter how strong Eun-chae was, if his limbs were free, he would win. Unconditionally.
First, unlock the cuffs and subdue Eun-chae.
Forcing her back inside her own mind was something he could worry about after that.
Dokyun’s gaze shifted to the girl with her head buried in his neck.
How do I get her off me?
That was the key.
She knew his restraints were incomplete, so she wouldn’t take her eyes off him.
The fact that she was still clutching a box cutter in her hand was proof of that.
As Dokyun’s thoughts churned, she lifted her head.
Her face was stained with tears, twisted into a grotesque mask.
Wearing the face of a monster, she looked at Dokyun and once again pulled the corners of her lips upward.
“Honeybee.”
Her voice was a whisper as she stroked his cheek.
When Dokyun didn’t answer, she called his name again.
“Honeybee. Honeybee.”
Dokyun remained silent.
But she hadn’t expected an answer anyway. After rolling the word ‘Honeybee’ around in her mouth a few times, she continued.
“Eun-ah is the person you love most in the world, right?”
Ssssk—. Stroking his cheek, she leaned forward, pressing her own cheek against the one she had just slapped.
“Honeybee is the person Eun-ah loves most in the world.”
Her cool skin soothed his burning cheek.
“So… because I love you this much, you have to only look at me, Honeybee. You have to stay with me forever. You have to only pat my head, only hold me, only love me.”
Her words were devoid of reason, logic, or anything of the sort.
It was the tantrum of a child.
A chilling purity, uttered with that level of thinking.
Yes, that was why he had always been afraid whenever he saw Go Eun-chae.
He could feel no malice in her actions, and that was what terrified him.
Even now, in this moment, as he searched for an opening, that chilling purity made his body tremble.
Exhaling another shaky breath, Dokyun watched her as she rubbed her cheek against his and continued to speak, his hands beginning to move slowly.
“…So, Honeybee and Eun-ah will live happily ever after.”
His moving hand passed over her shoulder, which was trembling with laughter, as if she were drunk on her own words.
“For children… hmm, one son, and one daughter.”
It passed her lips, which were whispering on and on.
“Stop your fucking bullshit, you bitch.”
He snatched her left hand, the one holding the box cutter.
“…Huh?”
A dazed sound escaped her lips.
In the next instant, Dokyun threw his upper body back, shoving her away. He then snapped his head back before slamming it forward, driving his forehead into the bridge of her nose.
Crack—!
“Ggeup!”
A choked scream sounded as she tumbled off the bed, clutching her face.
This was it.
This was what he had realized during his outing with Eun-ji.
Even if another personality was out, the body was still one, so the sensations it felt didn’t change. She felt pain, too.
The reason she hadn’t shown any pain when she’d harmed herself before was…
Because she’s used to it.
The pain of a sliced wrist was familiar to her.
Watching her roll on the floor, Dokyun quickly left the bedroom.
The living room was dark.
He reached out, flicked on the light, and then shoved his hand under the sofa. He quickly snatched the key and unlocked the handcuffs.
Click—.
The pressure on his wrists vanished.
“Hoo-wook…!”
So far, so good.
Dokyun lifted his head, scanning his surroundings for anything he could use as a weapon.
The most readily available was…
A kitchen knife.
His mind made up, Dokyun walked to the kitchen, pulled a knife from the block, and stared toward the bedroom, weapon in hand.
Thud.
The sound of footsteps.
Thud.
Louder this time.
Dokyun felt a tense breath escape him as he focused all his senses on the bedroom entrance.
“Honeybee…”
Her voice drifted out.
Then, as she emerged from the bedroom, Dokyun saw what she was holding and sucked in a shocked breath.
“Why are you hurting me?”
A monkey wrench.
And then, he remembered something he had forgotten until now.
The toolbox!
He had forgotten about the toolbox he’d brought into the bedroom a while ago to remove the waist strap.
Shit…!
This was bad.
“Honeybee…”
Her voice came again.
He lifted his head to look at her face and saw her vacant pupils, from which tears were trickling out.
Then.
“Ah.”
A creaking, broken smile superimposed itself over her face.
“It’s because I’m a bad child, isn’t it?”
At the sight of her shrugging and giggling, Dokyun flinched.
No way.
As the thought crossed his mind, he stared at her.
“Wait. I’m going to get my punishment.”
She plopped down onto the floor.
“If I get punished, you have to praise me, okay?”
With those words, she raised the monkey wrench over her head.
Dokyun’s heart plummeted. He moved.
The thought ‘No way’ was meaningless. This was Go Eun-chae.
He finally, truly understood his own complacency.
Subdue her? What a ridiculous idea.
As long as Go Eun-chae was moving that body, he could never gain the upper hand, no matter the situation.
That body was Eun-ah’s body. The body of the person he had held so preciously in his arms just the day before.
And that was a fact Go Eun-chae also knew.
His vision stretched.
His breathing hitched.
It felt as if the entire world was slowing down.
Dokyun sprinted toward her, his slowed vision fixed on the falling monkey wrench.
The wrench descended, passing her smiling face, then dropping below her shoulder.
Then, gathering momentum, the wrench passed her navel. Just as Dokyun opened his mouth to stop her—
“Sto—”
Crunch—.
The wrench slammed down on her shin.