Chapter 105 Until the Day of Doom (6)
Chapter 105 Until the Day of Doom (6)
"......I love you."
The confession that burst from my lips felt like a scream torn from the deepest part of my being.
But the moment those words escaped me, cold rationality returned.
Love? How dare I speak of love?
I'm the son of a cult leader.
Until moments ago, I was groping strange women's bodies and wielding violence—nothing but trash.
And my lover isn't Chae-young—it's Gaeul noona. The woman who sacrificed everything for me these past six months... even if she later betrayed me...
Unlike me, Chae-young is an ordinary person. Someone who could live happily if she never got entangled with trash like me. Just like Gaeul noona once did.
"......No."
I hastily pushed her away from my embrace.
As her warmth disappeared, a hollow chill pierced through my chest.
"This isn't right. I must have lost my mind."
"Eun-woo...?"
Chae-young looked up at me with tear-filled eyes, confusion written across her face. That innocent expression only deepened my wretchedness.
Staggering to my feet, I backed away—desperate to keep my filthy shadow from tainting her face.
"I'm sorry. For showing up like this... for making a scene. I'm sorry."
"What are you talking about? Don't go. Come inside first, wash up, have some—"
"I can't."
I shook my head.
"Chae-young. I'll ruin you. If you stay by my side, you'll become... like Gaeul noona. Or those women earlier."
Perhaps it was the alcohol, but unfiltered truths spilled out. My voice trembled.
"Forget me. Just... think you played with some lowlife trash for a while and forget everything. That's the best path for you."
It was the only—the final—kindness I could offer.
I bit my lip and turned to leave. To flee back into that darkness, to the hell where Gaeul noona waited.
Then—
"......You stupid bastard!"
Chae-young's small hand clenched my sleeve with surprising strength. I couldn't take another step—not that I couldn't physically break free, but something inside me refused.
"Who said you could decide what I forget...?"
She stepped closer.
I hung my head, unable to meet her eyes. Terrified that my breath—reeking of blood and alcohol—might touch her.
"Look at me, Eun-woo."
Her palms cupped my cheeks.
As if cradling something precious, she carefully traced the bloodstains on my face.
"I smell like alcohol."
"You don't smell at all. And nothing about you could ever disgust me... Nothing about you scares me. Not the people cursing you, not the cultists chasing you, not even your noona... I'm not afraid of any of it."
"Chae-young, please—"
"No. You came to me. After I ran away first—you sought me out. That means you feel the same way I do. So I won't let go now. I won't... leave you alone again."
She rose onto her tiptoes.
Closer. Her eyelashes, her breath, her scent—all flooded my senses.
I panicked, trying to retreat, but my back hit the wall.
Her eyes fluttered shut.
And then—
Peck.
Our lips met.
It wasn't like Gaeul noona's suffocating, obsessive kisses. Nor was it the greedy, feral kisses with those street women.
It felt like first love—like two innocent lovers sharing their very first kiss.
Like cotton candy melting on the tongue.
Soft. Warm. Tender beyond measure.
"......!"
My eyes flew open. Time seemed to freeze.
All sound vanished—only the warmth of her lips against mine remained. Her soft mouth covering mine, still vibrating with the stench of alcohol and blood.
She pressed firmly, as if trying to cleanse my filth away.
No tongues. No exchange of saliva.
Just lips meeting lips, sharing heartbeats—the purest kiss imaginable.
'Ah...'
My clenched fists loosened. The tension in my shoulders collapsed.
Chae-young pulled back slightly.
Her long lashes trembled.
Rosy cheeks burning. Eyes brimming with shyness yet unwavering resolve.
"I... must reek of alcohol."
The dumb words slipped out. My mind had gone blank.
Chae-young let out a soft puff of laughter. A teardrop clinging to her lash line fell with a plop.
"Yeah. Really bad."
She whispered against my ear as she wrapped her arms around my neck, her lips brushing my earlobe.
"But... I still like it."
Her breath tickled my nape. My heart pounded—not from Holy Medicine or fear, but like a boy experiencing first love, chest swelling until it hurt.
Hesitantly, I raised my arms and encircled her waist.
I couldn't push her away anymore. No—I didn't want to.
With this single kiss, I could never return to Gaeul noona again.
Chae-young hooked an arm around Eun-woo's waist to support him.
Her body swayed under the weight of the muscular man leaning limply against her, but she didn't utter a single complaint. Instead, she tightened her grip, terrified he might collapse.
"Let's go inside. Careful now."
Like a sleepwalker, Eun-woo followed Chae-young's lead.
The heavy metal door clanged shut, sealing out the cold night air.
When the front door opened, warm air and soft lighting welcomed them.
A spacious foyer with gleaming marble floors.
Eun-woo hesitated, his mud-caked sneakers hovering over the pristine surface—afraid to let his filth invade this clean space.
But Chae-young didn't hesitate.
She knelt and untied his laces herself. As the bloodstained shoes came off, revealing dirt-streaked socks, not a flicker of disgust crossed her face.
"Ugh..."
Eun-woo groaned as the alcohol and exhaustion hit him all at once, his tension finally releasing.
"Just a little longer. I'll clean you up soon."
Chae-young guided him straight to the bathroom.
The spacious ensuite attached to her bedroom. She sat him on the toilet lid and turned on the bathtub faucet.
Steaming water gushed out, filling the room with white mist.
Returning to the foyer, Chae-young found Eun-woo sprawled on the floor.
She wedged her hands under his armpits and dragged him into the bathroom. Then, with the care of a mother handling her child, she began peeling off his clothes one piece at a time.
The cheap, blood-and-dirt stained tracksuit hit the tiles.
Eun-woo's naked body was exposed.
Chae-young's hands froze midair.
Amid the steam and body wash fragrance, the stench of cheap perfume and female musk assaulted her senses—the unmistakable odor of unwashed post-sex bodies.
Her gaze landed on the red lipstick smears staining Eun-woo's inner thighs. The dried fluids crusting around his groin.
This wasn't just sex.
This was animals rutting—filthy evidence of exactly what Eun-woo had meant by "trash-like acts."
"......"
Chae-young pressed her lips together. Any normal lover would've screamed or fled in disgust. At the very least, they'd feel disillusioned.
But Chae-young didn't run. Taking a steadying breath, she rubbed at the lipstick marks with her fingers.
Gently but persistently—until another woman's marks were erased.
"This must hurt..."
Her gaze lingered on the scratches along his ribs and back—red welts left by pleasure-drunk nails. She poured warm water over them.
Lathering a sponge, she began scrubbing around his genitals—the dirtiest, guiltiest, most obscene part.
Without hesitation, she cupped him in her hand.
Her touch was firm yet tender, ensuring no trace of another woman's stickiness remained. Like performing a baptism, she meticulously cleansed his most intimate areas.
Drunk and dazed, Eun-woo let his head loll, offering no resistance as Chae-young handled him.
Pausing her ministrations, Chae-young buried her face against his now-clean chest.
Soap and warm skin scent.
Finally, the stench of filthy rags was gone—only Eun-woo's familiar smell remained.
She lifted her head to study his damp lips.
Lips that had touched other women.
Chae-young pressed her thumb firmly against his lower lip, wiping it clean.
Picking up the showerhead, she let clear water cascade down his body.
Reddish, murky bubbles swirled down the drain. Chae-young kept rinsing until every last trace disappeared, patting his back soothingly.
"Ugh... uhh..."
As Eun-woo stirred, Chae-young murmured, "Hold still."
Her hands moved to his chest, scrubbing between fingers, behind ears, into the hollows of his neck—gentle enough not to hurt but thorough enough to leave no impurity.
Relaxed by the warm water, Eun-woo rested his head against the tub edge, eyes closed, passively accepting her care.
White suds streamed through his black hair as Chae-young massaged his scalp.
Her gaze lingered on his face.
Closed eyes, straight nose, split lip crusted with blood.
Her fingers traced the wound carefully. Anguish pinched her brow before melting into relief.
He'd come back.
Broken and battered—but he'd returned to her on his own.
Chae-young wiped his face with a warm, damp towel.
Blood vanished. Grime disappeared. His clean, strikingly handsome features emerged.
"......"
Pausing, she studied his face.
Then leaned down to press a brief kiss to his damp forehead.
"Clean."
She murmured to herself.
Smiling contentedly, she reached for the sponge again to wash his back.
In that moment, the bathroom was peaceful—just the sound of dripping water and their synchronized breathing.
Bzzz— Bzzz—
The vibration shattered the silence.
A dull, unpleasant scraping against tile flooring.
Chae-young's face stiffened.
Afraid it might wake Eun-woo, she hurried out and fished the phone from his discarded pants.
[Gaeul Noona]
Cupping it in both hands to muffle the sound, she endured the violent vibrations until they stopped.
Fortunately, it didn't last long.
But just as she turned to return—
Bzzz— Bzzz—
This time, her own smartphone lit up on the vanity.
Chae-young didn't need to check the caller. She already knew.
Shivering despite the warm house, she hugged her goosebumped arms.
Again, it soon stopped.
"......Ha."
Finally. Quiet returned.
Or so she thought—
Riiiiing—!!!
From the storage room—
A dust-covered landline screamed to life.
Unlike cellphone rings, this was an ear-splitting, mechanical shriek.
"......!"
Chae-young startled, staring at the phone.
This made no sense.
Her father had kept it for nostalgia's sake...
She'd forgotten it even existed—didn't know the number...
Yet now, of all times?
Luckily, it too stopped soon—
Bzzz— Bzzz—
Bzzz— Bzzz—
Riiiiing—! Riiiiing—!
Eun-woo's phone,
Her own phone,
And the mystery landline—
All shrieked simultaneously.
The three different ringtones began carving up the penthouse's peaceful silence—drowning out even Eun-woo and Chae-young's breathing.