After laughing for a while, Cha Gil-Do suddenly placed his hand on my head with a firm motion.
“What’s inside here, I’d like to open it and see.”
“Wow…”
“Why.”
“I’ve heard that a lot before.”
At the facility, the director said it often. In middle and high school, it was usually during career counseling with teachers. They hadn’t scolded me, but I remembered how they would sigh deeply the moment they saw my face.
And yet I was hearing the same thing here.
Cha Gil-Do flicked my forehead with his finger.
“Ah!”
“It’s not a compliment.”
“…I know.”
Even someone as dense as me could tell that much.
“Hmm…”
Suddenly, Cha Gil-Do grabbed my face. Meeting his jewel-like blue eyes head-on, my body froze and I couldn’t move.
He said nothing, only stared. Feeling awkward, I tried to avert my gaze, but the hand that had been on my cheek slid to the back of my head and pulled me into his arms.
And then—bite. His teeth sank into my neck. The wound wasn’t healed yet, so the sting was sharper than before.
“Ugh, it hurts…!”
At first I was startled by the pain and tried to push him away, but his arms wrapped around my waist and pulled me back, forcing me onto the table behind me. My back hit it, and I was pressed down.
Cha Gil-Do looked down at me. He was so unbearably handsome that I didn’t know where to set my eyes, only breathing shallowly.
The sting in my neck made me raise a hand to touch it. The bite mark was clear, and everywhere I touched burned.
When I pulled my hand away and looked, there was even a smear of blood.
“Blood…!”
I whimpered without meaning to, and Cha Gil-Do caught my arm, smiling faintly before bringing it to his lips. The moment I thought something felt wrong, he bit down hard on my wrist.
Everywhere his teeth marked me, a sharp sting lingered.
“You don’t understand words, so you’ll just have to learn this way.”
I didn’t understand what he meant, and he didn’t explain. Instead, he suddenly lifted one of my legs. Flustered, I asked in panic,
“…Why my leg?”
“You said it was hard to forget. That’s why you’ve been in a shitty mood.”
“What?”
“Then think about it until your head bursts.”
His teeth pressed into my exposed ankle, gnawing and biting. No matter how I struggled, he wouldn’t let me go. Instead, he left bites and marks everywhere his mouth touched.
“St-stop… please.”
“Begging won’t help. It only makes it worse.”
Crying or pleading was useless.
Heat spread through my whole body, and marks were left everywhere, until I gave up trying to stop him. Then, suddenly, he grabbed my jaw. Gazing down at me with deep eyes, he leaned closer. When I realized he might kiss me, I hurriedly covered my mouth with both hands.
“What are you doing.”
Cha Gil-Do frowned as he asked. I wanted to snap back—when he was the one who had told me to forget, why was he doing this again?
“Take your hands down.”
He ordered. I shook my head hard.
His frown deepened. He grabbed my wrists, trying to force my hands down. I shouted in a rush,
“F-forget it!”
“…?”
“You told me to forget, so why do you keep—!”
“Tch.”
Then he yanked me upright by the arm and pressed his lips against mine. He bit at my tightly shut lips until they opened, then his tongue pushed in mercilessly. No matter how I twisted away, his tongue tangled with mine and ravaged inside my mouth.
Just like before, kissing Cha Gil-Do felt like…
‘Like I’m being devoured.’
His hot tongue reached deep into my throat, leaving me unable to think. When I tried to turn my head aside, he held my face and sucked hard, swallowing even my gasping breath before finally letting me go. My body, too weak to hold itself up, collapsed forward.
Cha Gil-Do caught me and asked, his voice full of laughter,
“You hated it so much, and this is what it was?”
“…What?”
“This was what I told you to forget.”
Smack—he kissed me again lightly.
“You idiot.”
It was a phrase I’d heard plenty of times before, but when it came from him, it felt different.
Maybe because he was the male lead—even his rough words sounded sweet. My heart pounded so hard it scared me.
Was I going to die today?
“You still have time to be thinking of other things?”
Smack.
He kissed me again. The press of his lips grew heavier, until the tip of his hot tongue brushed my lips. Realizing I’d just been staring blankly, I braced both hands against his chest and pushed with all my strength.
Once was artificial respiration, the second might have been a mistake. But a third time…!
‘I kissed Cha Gil-Do again…!’
He grabbed my wrists.
“What’s this—oh, you’re egging me on?”
“…Stop it.”
“Stop?”
He asked, amusement thick in his voice, and kissed my wrist. His tongue traced over the spots he’d bitten earlier, tickling my skin, making me try to pull away—but I couldn’t move him at all. His lips trailed down to my elbow.
“What, worried I’ll tell you to forget this too?”
His fingers slid under my shirt, brushing bare skin. He only touched the bitten spots, but my body shivered, and my stomach tightened so suddenly I gasped, blurting out,
“K-Kang Ji-a…!”
His hand stilled.
“…What?”
“Things like this, you should do them with Kang Ji-a, not—mmph!”
He clapped his hand over my mouth before I could finish.
“You fucking—”
The low curse made me shudder. His lips pressed tight, like he was holding something back, as he stared down at me.
“With who, what?”
His grip on my face was so tight it hurt, but the dangerous look in his eyes made me too afraid to complain. His fierce gaze felt like it would tear me apart.
“Baek Eun-Seong, I don’t give a damn what shitty thoughts you have, but don’t you dare put Kang Ji-a in them.”
His fury pierced my chest like lightning.
“If you understand, answer me.”
He loosened his hand from my mouth a little. But I couldn’t answer right away.
“……”
I looked around. The greenhouse studio. It was just like the one I’d seen in the drama’s promotional clips, the one made for Kang Ji-a. I pictured Cha Gil-Do and Kang Ji-a whispering love in this very place.
This was not a space for someone like me. It was for the main characters.
That was why I’d refused it before—because I didn’t want to be thrown out.
Cha Gil-Do seized my jaw again.
“Answer.”
“I… I want to leave. I don’t want to stay here.”
“You think you can leave?”
“…Yes.”
Even being thrown out was still leaving.
“…Ha.”
At my answer, Cha Gil-Do stared into space, then roughly raked a hand through his hair in silence. The stillness was suffocating, like all sound had vanished. When he looked back down at me, his gaze crushed me like a noose.
Then his lips parted.
“Why do you keep spitting out shit…”
The murmur rumbled low, his eyes sinking darker. He didn’t speak long—he only glared down at me with cold ferocity.
His grip on my jaw tightened. I grabbed at his wrist, but he didn’t let go. His strength grew harsher, making me tremble, yet I couldn’t push him away. It felt like if I did, he’d crush my tongue with his teeth.
Frozen under his gaze, I broke into a cold sweat.
When his fingers shifted slightly, my body flinched in reflex from the smallest movement.
Watching me, Cha Gil-Do clicked his tongue. The sound made my shoulders jolt. He finally let go of my jaw and pulled back a little.
“Baek Eun-Seong.”
“……”
“I won’t do anything more, so look at me.”
Trusting his words, I raised my eyes to him. His face was still rigid, but the terrifying sharpness was gone. As the tension eased, the strength drained from my body, which had been quivering like prey before a predator.
That was when Cha Gil-Do’s face suddenly blurred before my eyes.
“Ah.”
With a short grunt, his large hand cupped my face again. But not like before—he wasn’t crushing my jaw.
“What are you crying for, when you’ve done nothing right.”
Though his words were harsh, his rough hand gently rubbed around my eyes, clumsy but careful. Even as he looked at me with pity, his voice sharpened again, firm and unyielding.
“No matter how much you cry, you’re not leaving here.”