Trap (3)
Trap (Part 3)
"Wow~ So Ye-rim is in the top 0.1% of players in our country? Then wouldn't it be better to become a pro gamer instead of a streamer?"
"I did think about becoming a pro gamer, but around the time I finished my military service, streaming seemed to offer better income and popularity, so I started streaming!"
"Your channel is huge too—aren't you about to get signed by a major company? Such an amazing woman... I'm getting interested, hehe~"
"What are you talking about~"
Kim Ye-rim and the man were now speaking casually and chatting naturally as if they'd known each other for ages.
At first, he was just someone assigned to assist her—an ordinary person who might have been a burden to Ye-rim—so her initial fluster was short-lived.
The man, who seemed to know everything about her, led the conversation so naturally that Ye-rim unknowingly became engrossed in talking with him. Within just 10 minutes of meeting, they had dropped formalities and were chatting like old friends.
Just like when she first met Kang Cheol...
'Ah, that's right, Oppa...'
Why had she come here again?
Amid the captivating conversation with the man who charmed her so effortlessly, she remembered her original purpose.
But for some reason, the man's image kept overlapping with Kang Cheol's, and she found herself wanting to continue this conversation.
As if she were under some kind of spell...
"By the way, what's with this scented candle? I didn't notice it at first, but the more I smell it, the sweeter it gets. The fragrance is so rich—it doesn't seem like something you'd buy off the shelf."
The scent of the candle, which she hadn't noticed earlier when she was furious, now filled the air.
The more she inhaled it, the more her mind grew hazy. The rage that had been boiling inside her gradually faded, replaced by an inexplicable, rising pleasure that began to dominate her body.
"Ah~ That? Kekekeke, looks like the effects are already kicking in."
"Eff...ects?"
The man, who had been acting gentle while impersonating Kang Cheol, now smirked and openly mentioned the suspicious term "effects." But Ye-rim, already exposed to the aphrodisiac, could only stare blankly and repeat his words.
That's right.
Unbeknownst to Kim Ye-rim and Kang Cheol, the scented candle placed in their room was made using the same aphrodisiac that had tormented Kang Cheol the day before. Unlike when ingested in alcohol or drinks, where the effects are immediate, the candle worked slowly—burning gradually and slowly consuming whoever inhaled its scent.
"Aah~ I let that slip. Don't worry about it. More importantly, isn't it a bit hot in this room, Ye-rim-ah?"
As he said this, the man blatantly began taking off his shirt.
It was strange, so incredibly strange.
Not only was it surreal for a man she'd just met to undress in front of her, but she, who had a precious boyfriend like Kang Cheol, felt a vulgar desire welling up inside her—an urge to pounce on his naked body.
"N-no, I can't... I have Oppa..."
Her body felt hot.
Her rationality tried to stop her, reminding her that she had Kang Cheol, but her instincts urged her to attack the man right then and there.
"Kya~ You're really stubborn, huh? Even I, who drank the antidote wine, am starting to get excited. How can a woman resist this?"
Watching Ye-rim's struggle, the Viper—who'd sell his body for money as easily as breathing—began to move in earnest, no longer pretending to be Kang Cheol.
Ye-rim, intoxicated by the aphrodisiac and her consciousness hazy, probably didn't hear it, but the security team from Selena's side, waiting in the opposite room, had just knocked on the door, signaling him to begin.
"There, there~ Don't stubbornly resist. Just hug me, Ye-rim-ah~ You're so drugged up you can't even tell if I'm Kang Cheol or some other man, right?"
"N-no, you're not Kang Cheol Oppa..."
"Damn, you're annoying till the end!"
Finally, the man pulled the resisting Ye-rim toward him, collapsing onto the sofa with their bodies pressed together.
Even in that position, as Ye-rim tried to pull away, he grabbed the back of her head and forced her face toward his.
To anyone who hadn't seen their earlier interactions and only witnessed this scene, it would look like Ye-rim was pouncing on the man to kiss him. And just then...
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'No way, no way, no way...!!'
My mind went completely chaotic at the unbelievable, brutal scene before me.
The suddenly parted wall, and the man and woman visible beyond the glass partition.
The man had hair just like mine and a similarly petite build. Ye-rim had pinned this fragile-looking man down on the sofa, their faces pressed together.
As if they were sharing an intense kiss.
I couldn't believe it.
That had to be fake!
'Yeah, that's definitely a manipulated video Selena made! Ye-rim... Not some other girl—our Ye-rim would never do that, right?'
It was a perfectly plausible explanation.
In this age of advanced video technology, creating a deepfake like that would be easy.
"Oh my~ How could she do that? Kang Cheol, behind your back, with another man..."
"Shut up! That's a fake video you made! You think I don't know? No wonder you let me go so easily—you're trying to shake me with this cheap fake?!"
As I shouted in desperation, Selena looked at me with pity, approached the glass wall, and knocked on it as if tapping for attention.
Then...
Knock knock!
No sound came through.
But at the knocking sound, Ye-rim—her face flushed with excitement—jerked away from the man and looked toward our direction.
"Unfortunately, it's not a pre-made fake video. This is actually happening in real time in the room across from us, Kang Cheol-ah?"
"L-lies... Why is Ye-rim here..."
My head spun.
Even if the scene beyond that glass wall was really showing the opposite room, why was Ye-rim in a place like this?
And kissing some man I'd never seen before!
"Kim Ye-rim, that cute girl didn't tell you, did she? The fact that she already knew you were being blackmailed because of her and her family, Kang Cheol-ah~?"
"W-what...?"
She already knew I was being blackmailed by Selena?
"You know, that day we enjoyed our date at the amusement park and I walked you home. I met Kim Ye-rim that day and told her everything~ I was so tormented by hurting you, the one I love, that I confessed everything to Kim Ye-rim. But I guess Kim Ye-rim cared more about her own and her family's safety than you, Kang Cheol-ah? Why do you think she never told you?"
In reality, at that time, Ye-rim had been blinded by the pressure to win Kang Cheol back immediately. After they reconciled, she couldn't find the right timing and had planned to confess everything during their date today.
But Kang Cheol, unaware of this, could only misinterpret the situation—believing that Ye-rim had been using him all along, sacrificing himself for her and her family.
"And while she was trying so hard to keep you, it pissed me off, so I sent her the photos I took of you yesterday. That's why she came here. And when I asked her to wait a bit so I could talk to you, oh my... She ended up like that with one of our male employees..."
"Stop! Please stop talking... Ugh..."
As Selena's explanation continued, the brutal reality tightened around me, and unbearable tears burst forth.
For a moment, I wondered—since when did I, a man, cry so easily? But as if under some intoxicating influence, the question vanished instantly. All I could do was accept Selena's embrace as she came to comfort me, holding me while I cried.
"I love you..."
Those three short words shattered my heart.
I had been betrayed by the only woman I trusted in this world.
I had endured so much pain and hardship for her, only to realize I'd been used. In contrast, I crumbled under the love confession from Selena—the one I'd pushed away, calling her love twisted.
"Forget Kim Ye-rim. The woman who loves you is me. Everything I put you through until now was because I loved you, wasn't it?"
It was sophistry.
Anyone who truly understood love wouldn't have done such things.
But...
"Yeah, you're right..."
I lifted my head from her embrace, looked into her face, and agreed. Her eyes widened in surprise, as if she hadn't expected me to consent.
My love had already crumbled.
If this twisted love was still love, then I wanted to accept it.
Because otherwise, I didn't think I could endure...
Her rounded pupils curved like crescent moons as her lips drew closer.
"You made the right choice! Now you're mine, Kang Cheol-ah. Not anyone else's—mine!"
Our lips met, and as her rough tongue pushed into my mouth, I opened up and accepted it.
My consciousness grew hazy.
Her tongue ravaged my mouth as if determined to dye me in her colors—it was ruthlessly rough. The arms holding me tightened, squeezing my entire body.
Like a hungry venomous spider slowly constricting its prey caught in a web, injecting poison into its body.
Selena's dark emotions began to swallow me whole.
'Ye-rim-ah...'
That day, I did not return home.
The next day, the next week, the next month—I 'couldn't' go back...