Three Days Later
Three days had passed. I was now sitting face-to-face with Lee Hayoung in a cafe downtown. I clenched my fist tight as I stared into her sorrowful eyes gazing at me.
"...Have you, uh, been well?"
Lee Hayoung broke the silence first. But as soon as the words left her mouth, she flinched, her face twisting with anxiety. Did she think there was no way I could have been okay?
"Yeah, I've been fine. You seemed to be doing great with that pig bastard."
"....."
Lee Hayoung lowered her head, fidgeting with her hands. If that was an act, she had real talent for it.
I let out a smirk and tossed out a line to lighten the mood.
"It's been a while, huh? Even this place."
She lifted her head again. With a small smile, she said, "Yeah. When I was picking a meeting spot, this was the first one that came to mind."
"Hmm. Yeah? It's the perfect spot for some nostalgia trip and emotional bullshit."
"....."
She dropped her gaze again, her face anxious once more. What a shitty concept she's locked into.
"This isn't the you I knew. If it's an act, tone it down."
"...Seongmin. I..."
"You used to be my mistress, after all. Is it okay to show that side in front of a slave? You could talk casually like before."
".....I'm sorry. Back then, I—"
"Weren't in your right mind? Easy excuse."
"....."
"People don't just flip like that. Amazing. It feels like yesterday you kicked me out, mocked me, treated me like dirt. What's with the pretentious bullshit now?"
"....."
"Don't you remember? When Lee Sin-a submitted to Master. You laughed your ass off watching it. You grabbed my dick, blew air into my ass, stuck your tongue in and out mimicking Master's insertion. Hell, you even egged me on to rape Jeong Seong-a myself."
Lee Hayoung closed her eyes. Tears streamed down from beneath her lids.
"My family was destroyed. Jeong Hyeonjae got into a car accident and he's hospitalized. Lee Sin-a turned into a beast mocking her bedridden husband. Now she's being even more brutally tamed by Master. And Jeong Seong-a's fallen to being a sugar baby selling her body for profit."
"....."
"I've changed a lot too. I gave up on cooking and now I'm serving under Master. Learning his business, trying to become like him—"
I was about to say I wanted to become a man like him when suddenly Lee Hayoung clamped her hand over her mouth and started sobbing. She stifled the leaking whimpers, clutching her chest and bowing her head.
I watched her breakdown with my hands shoved in my pockets.
"Ugh... uuh... I, I did... kkhuh..."
I couldn't tell. Was it an act, or did she genuinely feel sorry for me? I'd thought facing her would let me see through her cunning lies at a glance, but now that we were together, I had no idea. Even though I'd steeled myself, seeing her cry in front of me made my chest ache. And now she was the Savior's woman.
"Hoo. You didn't call me out here to bawl your eyes out, did you?"
So I decided to harden my heart even more. I'd excise her from my mind, judge the situation rationally without emotion.
"Kkhuh... s-sorry... huuh... I, I really..."
"Enough. Why'd you want to meet? Get to the point. No emotional sales pitch."
She sniffled, trying to hold back tears at my words. But she couldn't contain the surging grief and clutched her chest again. I closed my eyes, waiting for her to calm down. Staring any longer might drag me into the emotions and cloud my judgment.
"Huu... huuup."
After a bit more time, I heard her steadying her breathing. I opened my eyes. Her bloodshot eyes stared back at me.
".....Now explain. Why'd you want to see me?"
Her tear-streaked face nodded. In a nasally voice, she began.
"I wanted to apologize. And... I missed you."
"Apologize. How?"
"I'll... I'll somehow fix everything back to how it was. If you accept, I'll talk to my father, get your family back to normal, and you too—"
"Kukukukuku..."
Laughter burst out suddenly. After all that, her big plan was begging the Savior? Did she really think that could work?
".....Lee Hayoung. Hanging with that pig must've dulled your senses, but does Master look like a pushover to you? You think that's possible?"
".....Father might be able to. His influence in this country—"
"Master's the same. You don't get it? The pig you serve and Master are the two pillars of the underworld. Even if you begged, he'd say he can't touch Master's woman."
".....Sorry... I didn't know. That Master was that kind of man."
"...Why's a smart girl like you acting dumb? Got some other agenda?"
".....I was short-sighted. Father dotes on me specially, so I thought if I asked, he'd make it happen somehow..."
She trailed off, lowering her head again. My eyes gleamed as I glared at her. Time to pull out my prepared trap.
"So what now? How are you gonna atone?"
I said that and signaled Lee Heeyeon behind me to execute the plan. I heard hurried footsteps. Lee Hayoung stayed silent, head bowed.
"....."
"That's all you came up with? That's the end of your atonement ideas?"
".....Give me a bit more time. I'll figure something—"
"Forget it. Do one thing I tell you from now on. Just that, and I'll forgive you. Can you?"
I stared straight into her eyes. If she refused here, I'd assume she had ulterior motives and launch my prepared plan.
"...Yeah. Anything. Whatever I can do, I will."
She'd do anything I asked. I signaled again to abort. Next, I'd push her with unreasonable demands to test how far she'd go for me.
"Then follow me. Can't do it here."
I brought Lee Hayoung to a quiet motel. I'd scouted it beforehand for the operation—next door, five bought-off thugs, Lee Heeyeon, and Park Ha-rin were waiting.
"....."
Lee Hayoung sat demurely on the chair, awaiting my words. Her face was fixed in the expression of a grave sinner.
Hands in pockets, I called her name flatly. "Lee Hayoung."
She looked up at me. Time for the first demand. I'd keep piling on unreasonable ones to test her feelings. If they proved fake, revenge as planned.
"My life was ruined because of you."
"....."
"My dream of becoming a top chef? Shattered. My family? Completely destroyed. I can never go back to who I was. I've twisted into something dark too. Just like Master—the kind of person I hated most."
She stared blankly, tears flowing. If those were real, she'd meet my demands to a point. Half-serious, I laid out what I wanted.
"I want one thing. I'm miserable, so you should be too. You living cushy while free of Master's grasp? That hurts too much. Right?"
She nodded calmly. Stone-faced, I delivered the next line.
"So I want you to die. Right here, today, in front of me."
"....."
Her face didn't twitch. No idea what she was thinking. I added quickly.
"And I'll follow you. Remember our Gapyeong trip? We promised to be together forever. I'll keep that."
"....."
She fell silent, seemingly lost in thought. I'd expected refusal with a troubled face, but she was at least pretending to consider. Then she smiled faintly and gave an unexpected reply.
"Yeah. What you did was as good as murder. I'll do as you say."
...No way she'd clear the first hurdle. This was off-script.
"But I'm worried about my remaining family. You must be too."
...Ha. There it is. Using family as an out.
"So after I die, take care of your family. Promise not to harm them."
".....Sure."
I answered flatly, but chaos swirled inside. I'd figured she'd bail with the family excuse, but no.
.....Maybe probing slowly with other words? I'd watch for now.
"So how should I do it? Never thought about this."
Her eyes dull, dark circles hollow under them. I swallowed hard, tore the curtain from the window, rolled it tight into a taut rope, and looped it into a noose over the chair.
".....Hang from that."
She nodded and climbed onto the chair. I forced a calm face looking up at her. Tears in her eyes, she said,
"But... could you turn around? I don't want you to see..."
She sobbed. I clenched my fists, holding back my own tears. If I backed down now, I'd lose ground for the next demands. This cunning bitch might be calculating that.
"...Okay."
I turned away. Fists tight, I waited for her pleas to be saved.
But what reached my ears was unexpected.
Thud.
The chair toppled. Then came the grotesque gagging—kkk—kkk—as her throat constricted. Her feet thrashed in agony mid-air, the sounds hitting my ears.
This fucking bitch, what scheme is this? Her subordinates coming to save her?
I'd bought off five thugs for contingencies. If Savior's men came for her, they'd buy time at the entrance.
"Kkuuuu... uuuu...."
The struggling grew louder. Sweat soaked my back. But doubt crept in: maybe she was bluffing. Thinking I wouldn't really kill her, pulling this reckless stunt.
"Kkuuu.... uu....."
I steeled myself again, waiting longer. Until this fucking bitch showed her true colors.
But that moment never came.
"Ump................"
Only the sound of her breath stopping, followed by liquid trickling out.
Panicking, I whipped around. Her body hung limp from the rope, drooling spit and piss. She wasn't breathing anymore.