Episode 25: A Rough Start (6)

Sodam wiped her tears on the pillowcase, closing her eyes slowly. She fell into a deep sleep, hoping that when she awoke, it would all remain just a product of her imagination.

***

“Do you really think you’ll get away with this?”

“Yes, I think we’ll be just fine.”

“Disgusting. I never liked you from the beginning.”

“Good. I found you insufferable from the start as well.”

A sharp voice overlapped with a voice so soft it sent chills down her spine. The woman fell silent, likely stung by that last remark, but the man continued speaking without hesitation.

“All you’ve got is your face, and yet you act like you’re untouchable. It was almost laughable, how you clung to me. But fine, I’ll give you credit for Guiding Baek Juyul as ordered. That was your own hard-earned achievement, so be proud. Thanks to that, you can die a bit prettier, without seeing things get too ugly.”

“So this… all of this was just about pulling in Guides. Pathetic. Even the scraps left by Baek Juyul are worth more than you, ughk!”

“How I despise people who don’t know their place and still run their mouths.”

Though she knew it was a dream, Sodam could feel a tight, unrelenting grip around her throat. Darkness filled her vision as if something were blocking her sight, and the occasional flash of light felt like the only source of life left. She wanted to claw at the string around her neck, but all she could manage was to writhe helplessly, bound tight.

A faint breeze from someone shaking their head reached her just before the man’s voice came even closer, entirely shattering the impression of gentleness he’d left.

“Shall we end this quickly? A Guide who hung herself after Guiding Baek Juyul… guess who’ll be making tomorrow’s headlines?”

“Urk… please…”

“Any last words? I’ll indulge you.”

“My… friend is… on their way. If you kill me, they won’t… let you get away with…”

“Ugh. This is why I can’t stand it. Even dying, you just won’t go quietly.”

The string tightened around her neck, as if punishing her for her defiance, until her breathing nearly ceased. This was nothing like Juyul’s mock-threatening grip. These people truly intended to kill her, to rid themselves of Maeng Mo Guide for good.

Just before she lost consciousness, the string loosened, and in her dazed state, she heard the man’s voice drift in.

“How about we start with a suicide note? If you write it well, maybe we’ll end things quickly… without too much pain.”

***

“Ah!”

Sodam awoke, instinctively clutching her throat. The faint ache reminded her of Juyul’s grip, yet it felt so real, as if the dream had crossed into reality.

‘No, no… that really happened. I’m sure of it.’

She knew that meeting Samuyeon and hearing his voice would confirm it beyond doubt, yet the thought filled her with dread. She had no idea how she could face someone who could kill without a flicker of emotion.

Fearing she would lose herself in the memories of the dream, she forced her mind to focus on reality. Checking her phone, she realized that if she left now, she could arrive at the Association on time.

“Right, my priority right now is Baek Juyul. He said he’d kill me if I was late… he wouldn’t actually do it, right?”

Muttering to herself with a shaky laugh, she still felt far from reassured. She searched her drawers, slipping a small fruit knife into her bag, which finally eased her nerves slightly. Only then did her mind start to clear.

“Baek Juyul knows where I live and my debt situation, so maybe he’ll give me a ten-minute grace period, right? He has a conscience… probably.”

Having faced a true threat to her life, she now fully understood that Juyul’s grip had been a mere threat. Somehow, it completely erased any remaining fear she had of him. Remembering the character she had followed for months, from the start of the novel to the end, she felt surprisingly at ease.

Her steps grew leisurely, and it took her longer than usual to reach her destination. Arriving at the Guiding Room precisely at 4:05 PM, only one thought crashed through her mind.

‘I was careless.’

She hadn’t even done anything yet, but as her gaze met Juyul’s, that realization consumed her mind, making her feel as though her head would explode. That must have been why, the instant she closed the door, her instincts drove her to her knees.

“Do you have anything to say?”

“I’m sorry. I committed… a near-deadly sin… or rather, a not-deadly-enough sin…”

She fumbled to adjust the familiar apology, though it didn’t seem to make much difference. Despite the room’s set temperature of 40 degrees, it felt as if frost filled the air, so chilling that she knew without looking at Juyul’s face that this wouldn’t end well.

With her head bowed in shame, Juyul’s icy voice fell upon her like a heavy weight.

“In total, that’s thirty-five minutes.”

“E-excuse me?”

“The time I’ve spent waiting for you.”

“Ah… yes….”

To be honest, Sodam couldn’t help but think, *What exactly am I supposed to do here?* But outwardly, she maintained the perfect posture of a guilty sinner. She remembered how her submissive apology had slightly cooled Juyul’s anger yesterday, so she decided to try her luck again.

Fortunately, this tactic worked a little, even on someone who practically radiated the chill of a monstrous creature. The frostiness that had whipped around the room lessened a bit, and Juyul’s voice softened, if only barely. But the words themselves still had a chilling edge.

“I carved out time early this morning to be here, and yet, for the first five minutes, you were nowhere to be seen. Do you know what was going through my mind?”

“Um, maybe… ‘Let’s give her one more chance?'”

She wondered why he didn’t just adjust the time if he was so particular about it, but she held back from voicing that thought. Instead, she gave him a groveling grin, and Juyul clicked his tongue loudly, obviously unimpressed.

“If you’d been ten seconds later, I would’ve frozen your entire house. So remember, if you’re ever more than ten minutes late after I arrive…”

“I’ll make sure that never happens! Absolutely!”

“And why should I believe you? Unless you put it in writing, I doubt I’ll trust a word you say.”

“In writing…?”

“A contract. Break it, and it’s death.”

Somehow, she had known a verbal promise wouldn’t be enough. She’d just hoped it wouldn’t come to this.

‘A contract? Really? I’ve only known him for two days, and he’s already bringing up one of my banned keywords!’

Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine she’d hear one of her top three banned words on her second day here. Given the nightmare she’d had last night, it felt like adding insult to injury.

Unable to respond as easily as usual, Sodam simply bit her lip. Slowly, for the first time since entering the room, she dared to look up, though she kept her gaze fixed on Juyul’s neck instead of his eyes. She asked cautiously, almost in a whisper.

“Are you… are you suggesting a contract marriage?”

“You’re out of your mind. I knew no ordinary human could be this deranged. You really are a monster.”

“No, I’m sorry! Really! It’s just… that’s the only contract that came to mind!”

“So you’re telling me that the only thing in your head was a contract marriage? Of all things?”

‘Damn it! I guess the protagonist of this era wouldn’t know the ‘contract marriage’ trope from web novels.’

Sodam lowered her head again, stuffing her hands into her hoodie pocket and subtly raising her middle finger in frustration.

Juyul, blissfully unaware of the gesture, continued on. This little act of defiance felt strangely cathartic. Finally, she looked up with a silly grin.

“Esper Baek Juyul, you probably wouldn’t know, but it’s the trendiest term these days.”

“Weren’t you supposed to have amnesia?”

‘He’s annoyingly perceptive.’

Sodam forced an awkward smile and stammered out a reply.

“Oh, well, I went home yesterday and, um, looked it up on my phone… Turns out using a phone is quite simple, haha…”

This made her sound like a complete fool who’d only learned how to operate a phone yesterday, but if it kept her alive, she was willing to toss her pride aside. Juyul stared at her, as if deep in thought, and then added offhandedly.

“Come to think of it, you speak awfully well too.”

“Uh? No idea what you’re talking about? I mean, I don’t really…”

“And you breathe far too naturally.”

As soon as he said that, Sodam instinctively held her breath, mulling over his words. Only when her chest began to ache and her vision blurred did she finally take a sharp breath and look up.

“…Pfft. Isn’t that a bit much? How could a living being forget how to breathe?”

“Exactly. So why wouldn’t I be suspicious of someone who follows such nonsense to the letter?”

“Oh…”