Cha Gil-Do’s eyes rolled sharply as he searched for the dog that had tried to bite Baek Eun-Seong. Each time he turned his head, there was a chilling crack. But when he entered the bathroom, no one was there. Bang. His fist slammed the bathroom door. With that single blow, the door broke, tilting sideways and hanging loosely. Someone who had entered the bathroom late saw it and bolted out in shock.
Unable to swallow his rage, Cha Gil-Do clenched his molars and ordered his secretary over the phone to take care of the situation, then walked out of the bathroom. The first thing he did was check on Baek Eun-Seong. Had he ever felt fury surge up this violently in his life?
Even far from the gallery, Baek Eun-Seong was still trembling.
‘Damn it.’
He should never have let him go alone. He wanted to scold him for not using the watch he’d given him to strike back, but that would sound like blaming Baek Eun-Seong, so he bit back the words.
Instead, he asked,
“That bastard dog….”
“Dog…?”
At the curse that slipped out, Baek Eun-Seong, already shaking, flinched like a frightened rabbit and stared at him. Cha Gil-Do closed his mouth again. He pieced together a sentence in his head, trying to find a way to ask without startling him further.
Finally, a softer question left his lips.
“Do you remember who tried to bite you?”
At that, Baek Eun-Seong shuddered again, then shook his head. He didn’t even want to recall it. Watching that, anger surged in Cha Gil-Do’s gut once more. But he clung to reason, telling him gently to speak if he remembered. When Baek Eun-Seong asked why, Cha Gil-Do answered with unsettling tenderness.
“So I can kill them.”
Baek Eun-Seong hesitated, then muttered,
“But what if you get arrested….”
How laughable. As if he, of all people, hadn’t been dragged away and imprisoned by him.
“You can’t do things like that.”
“Baek Eun-Seong, that’s not what you should be worrying about.”
What he should be worrying about was his own position. From now on, Baek Eun-Seong might even have to live under constant watch inside the house. But still oblivious to the situation, he answered without a shred of wariness.
“Why shouldn’t I worry? I want to live with you….”
“…Are you saying that seriously.”
Unbelievable.
Did he not even realize he had been kidnapped?
“I mean it.”
Seeing the seriousness on his face, Cha Gil-Do realized he really didn’t. He didn’t even know he was being held captive.
But strangely enough, more than that, he wanted to hear him keep talking.
“Why.”
“?”
“Why do you want to live with me.”
Pressed again, Baek Eun-Seong faltered, glancing at him nervously as if troubled.
“Because you said it was okay… is it not?”
Those eyes, which he had thought only glared fiercely, now looked meek. Every blink looked like he was about to cry, just like that time he had sobbed in front of him. For some reason, he wanted to tease him a bit more.
“What if I say no.”
At that, Baek Eun-Seong dropped his head with that familiar sulky look and whispered,
“Please say yes….”
“Keep going.”
“…?”
“Beg harder.”
Instead of whining like a child, Baek Eun-Seong suddenly clutched his sleeve and whispered,
“Master… won’t you give me permission?”
For a moment, Cha Gil-Do thought his heart would stop.
‘What kind of thoughts does he walk around with, to say something like that….’
He should have gotten angry, insisted he had no such tastes. But his heart pounded so hard he could barely breathe. Covering his mouth with his hand to hide the heat in his face, he stared at Baek Eun-Seong.
“…This is insane.”
And it was all Baek Eun-Seong’s fault. If he hadn’t been reckless enough to tempt a beast that could devour him whole, he wouldn’t be like this.
“You really dare to say that without fear.”
Cha Gil-Do had never once thought of a man as a sexual target. The idea was unpleasant, even revolting. When men had occasionally tried to approach him, he had crushed them without hesitation.
But from them, he had learned how men courted other men. Maybe it was just those types who approached him, but they always tried to provoke raw, unfiltered desire.
And in his head, Baek Eun-Seong’s words from the gallery resurfaced, more vivid than those square paintings.
‘Raw ambition, wasn’t it.’
Turning that over in his mind, Cha Gil-Do felt untamed lust thrash like a wild beast. Looking at Baek Eun-Seong, who was teasing him with those words, he thought,
‘Should I play along a little.’
Cha Gil-Do pressed his lips to Baek Eun-Seong’s. As he plundered his mouth, a thirst rose with the sweetness. Baek Eun-Seong tried to push him away, suffocating, but Cha Gil-Do couldn’t let go. No—he gripped tighter, devouring him greedily.
‘More.’
Just a bit more, deeper.
Their eyes met, and Baek Eun-Seong’s face flushed crimson as if about to burst. Only then did Cha Gil-Do lightly nip at his fleeing tongue and reluctantly pull away.
Even then, Baek Eun-Seong only stared blankly at him, as if begging to be eaten alive. Meeting those eyes, Cha Gil-Do felt he might strip his flesh off piece by piece if he didn’t look away. Ignoring the ache tightening in his lower stomach, he focused on driving.
* * *
From the morning, Baek Eun-Seong didn’t look well. The moment he woke, he covered his mouth with a pale face, startling Cha Gil-Do.
At his words that he might vomit, Cha Gil-Do reflexively held out his palm.
He realized belatedly how stupid it was, but didn’t pull it back. It was better to let him spit it out and change the bedding. But though he gagged, nothing came up.
‘…Of course. He hasn’t eaten enough to vomit.’
It had worried him already, how little he ate. Now his condition seemed only to worsen. It felt like something clogged his own throat.
“Maybe you should get checked—”
“I’m fine! It, it’s just because I got scared yesterday….”
Cha Gil-Do seethed again at not having caught that bastard dog. Even after combing through CCTV, there was no trace, which only fanned his temper. Worse, Baek Eun-Seong couldn’t forget the encounter. That was what infuriated him most.
“Forget it.”
“…What?”
“Forget it.”
“It’s not that easy….”
“What’s so hard? Do you think it’ll happen again?”
His insides boiled, wondering what exactly had happened that he couldn’t forget. From now on, Baek Eun-Seong would never walk alone again. Just then, Baek Eun-Seong forced a clumsy smile.
“Ha ha, you’re right… I’ll forget it.”
It looked more like resignation than reassurance, as if nothing had changed. Cha Gil-Do suddenly felt he’d made a mistake and rushed to add something comforting, but Baek Eun-Seong spoke first.
“Thanks for the water.”
He drained the glass, as if shutting out any further words.
What had he even meant to say? To reassure him that though he had locked him up, he wouldn’t kill him yet?
Instinct told him something was going wrong, but he couldn’t tell where to start fixing it. He only watched Baek Eun-Seong, while something foul rose in him—something he didn’t recognize as self-loathing.
After finishing his preparations for work, fastening his watch last, Cha Gil-Do asked the servant beside him,
“The completion.”
“It will be finished by five this afternoon.”
Nodding, he stepped outside. Baek Eun-Seong sat on the sofa. Hearing only that he stayed in his room, it was reassuring to see him out in the living room.
But his relief didn’t last. Looking at Baek Eun-Seong’s dazed face after barely touching his breakfast, he quickly checked his forehead.
‘No fever, so why’s he so weak?’
Convinced it was from poor eating, he ordered him to finish even the snacks. And not to think about leaving this place.
He said he wouldn’t, but Cha Gil-Do didn’t trust that blank expression at all.
“This afternoon, go out to the garden. Don’t stay in your room like before.”
“Okaay.”
“You’re good at answering, aren’t you.”
…Was it really safe to leave him like this?
No matter how many eyes he had set to watch, he couldn’t feel at ease.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t go to work.’
As that thought crossed his mind, Baek Eun-Seong spoke.
“Um… he’s been waiting a while.”
Cha Gil-Do clicked his tongue softly and stepped back, so Baek Eun-Seong wouldn’t hear. He looked at the secretary fidgeting nervously nearby—the new field secretary, if he recalled right. He planned to fire him as soon as he got back to the company, yet couldn’t bring himself to walk away.
‘…Maybe I really shouldn’t go.’
He stopped, turned back. Baek Eun-Seong caught his eye and waved.
“Have a good day.”
Even though it was a half-hearted send-off from the sofa, it didn’t bother him.
It even lifted his mood. Before getting into the car, he told the secretary he had planned to dismiss,
“Stock the greenhouse with art supplies. If even one thing is missing, don’t bother showing up tomorrow.”
“Y-yes!”
Cha Gil-Do, who almost never reversed a decision, had changed his mind again—twice now, both because of Baek Eun-Seong. But he didn’t realize it.
Instead, his driver nearly gasped aloud, so startled he sucked in a sharp breath. In all his years working for him, he had never seen his employer give leeway like this.
‘Did he take a liking to this secretary?’
Mistaking the cause, the driver glanced at him in the rearview mirror, then hurriedly looked forward. He almost let the sound slip from his mouth.
Because what he saw was so unbelievable.
Cha Gil-Do was smiling.