SACCHARIN
CHAPTER 11

 

If even the authorities can’t help me, no matter how hard I try, I won’t be able to reach out for help from the outside. Just like how I can’t even escape from the man right next to me.

He also immediately saw through the fact that I was still entertaining reckless thoughts. Then, using my father’s life as leverage, he pressured me into staying put and avoiding any impulsive actions. Once again, he leaned in close, his lips almost brushing against my ear.

“If you want to at least save your own life, stay quietly at the factory.”

“I understand, I’ll do everything you say… Please, just let me live. No, don’t send me to the factory.”

“I don’t have the authority to decide that.”

“Still, please, help me.”

“Why would I?”

“…….”

“I’ve already helped you once, haven’t I? If it weren’t for me, you’d be dead by now.”

Shin Chi-woo smirked, tilting his head slightly as if he found me pitiful. Then, he leaned in even closer. Of course, I instinctively pulled back just as much. But still, was it really okay for him to say so openly that he had helped me?

“Won’t the listening devices pick up everything we’re saying right now?”

“…We’re outside the cabin now, so it’s fine. I installed them myself, so I know.”

He seemed slightly surprised that I was wary of being bugged. The way he looked at me, as if saying, See? I told you so, was infuriating. Just how little did he think of me to make that kind of face?

“What a shame. I was going to take proof of your betrayal to the chairman and sell you out.”

“Go ahead, try it. …By the way, are you really going to keep talking down to me?”

“Don’t talk down to me.”

“I’m only tolerating you because of Director Seo’s face, but that’s as far as it goes, so don’t push your luck.”

“…….”

“If you don’t want to have my stuff in your mouth again, just be quiet and walk.”

His right index finger tapped the knot of his tie. It was a warning—if I kept running my mouth, he’d undo the tie and gag me with it.

And without meaning to, I caught the underlying nuance in his words. My stuff in your mouth… He could’ve just said he’d gag me with the tie, but no, he had to phrase it like that. This perverted bastard—I hope he gets struck by lightning and dies!

Are thugs like this the only people working at my father’s company? No, my father must be the same kind of person to have served Chairman Pyeon all these years.

I don’t know anymore. I really don’t know anything anymore. I just wanted to slap Shin Chi-woo across the face, hard. My fingers clenched into fists within the handcuffs before relaxing again, but I ended up doing nothing.

Even if it was a lie, I wanted to hear him say something reassuring, something that would make me believe he was on my father’s side—that I could trust him. But his lukewarm attitude forced me to accept reality. I couldn’t be sure if Shin Chi-woo was working for Chairman Pyeon Jae-ho or if he had sided with my father.

Ding—.

The elevator I had been waiting for finally arrived, right in front of my half-defeated self. As Shin Chi-woo led the way, I stepped inside beside him. If I ended up in that factory, I might find myself longing for this moment—when I could still stand on my own two feet and walk freely.

What do I do now? Dad, what am I supposed to do? This is all your fault—I’m completely screwed because of you.

I was too exhausted to even imagine the worst anymore. I just lowered my head and stared at my feet.

Maybe that was why Shin Chi-woo had given me sneakers earlier. Because he knew how this would end. He must’ve thought that if I had to be dragged to the factory, at least I shouldn’t be barefoot.

The more despair seeped into my skin, the deeper my anger grew. It didn’t matter whose side Shin Chi-woo was on anymore. He was just like the rest of them.

I lowered my head even further. I didn’t want to show a trace of despair to one of the villains who had ruined my life. The more they saw my fear, the more they would enjoy it.

Frustrated, I struggled to slip my hands out of the cuffs, but it was useless. Worse, I had only ended up provoking him.

“You want to hold my hand that badly?”

“No! It’s too tight around my wrists—it hurts… It really hurts. Loosen the cuffs, please.”

“Then how about this?”

“H-Huh?”

“Does it hurt?”

“…….”

“It doesn’t, does it?”

For him, detaining someone like this was probably nothing. But for me, being trapped in an enclosed space with a man while maintaining even the slightest physical contact was unbearably difficult.

As if taunting me, he tightened his grip—not too rough, but firm and unyielding. The more our skin pressed together, the more unsettling the sensation became.

“Let go!”

“You said your wrists hurt, didn’t you?”

“What does that have to do with this? I said let go! I don’t want this! Let me go!”

“No.”

The more I tried to pull away, the tighter his grasp became. Even when I twisted my wrist in obvious protest, he adjusted his strength with infuriating precision—just enough to restrain me without causing pain. It felt like being caught in a trap that would never loosen.

Inside the elevator, heading down to the parking garage, an invisible battle of nerves was playing out. A woman desperate to break free and escape, and a man determined to keep her beside him no matter what. The tension between us was suffocating.

Ding—.

The elevator came to a stop in the underground parking lot. At the same moment, I felt Shin Chi-woo’s grip loosen slightly.

But no matter how lightly he held my hand, the dull pressure of his presence remained. Even when someone else appeared, he moved forward with me in tow, completely unfazed, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“Chief, everything is ready. You can get in the car right away.”

“Wait a moment.”

A car with its engine running was parked closest to the elevator. As a burly man moved to open the rear door for me, Shin Chi-woo gave a small shake of his head.

“She’s Director Seo’s daughter. I should be the one to escort her properly.”

How could someone be so irritating even while talking? I let out a long sigh of defiance, but I was still cuffed. There was nothing I could do but follow wherever Shin Chi-woo led me.

Even in this hopeless situation, I still had the nerve to feel annoyed. Shin Chi-woo personally opened the back door and, with a slight tilt of his chin, gestured for me to get in before finally letting go of my wrist.

You’re seriously the worst.

I mouthed the words silently as I reluctantly slid into the seat.

“You may not need handcuffs, but you should still wear a seatbelt.”

The moment I sat down, he leaned in. As if worried I might bolt, he bent into the car, reaching for the seatbelt. That was enough to make me lash out, shoving at his hand with all my might.

“I can do it myself.”

“…And the informal speech?”

“You’ve been talking down to me this whole time, too.”

“Then go ahead.”

But all I achieved was wasting my remaining strength. I had pushed against him with my entire body, yet he hadn’t budged an inch. Instead, he chuckled—as if he found my struggle amusing—and continued fastening the seatbelt.

Click.

The sound of the buckle locking into place echoed, and Shin Chi-woo grinned at me as he looked directly into my eyes. I opened my mouth to curse at him, but then I realized—our faces were way too close, our breaths practically mingling.

“Quit fooling around.”

As soon as he spoke, he pulled his body out of the car and slammed the door shut with enough force to make it rattle. I must’ve annoyed him by constantly talking back—so I guessed he was pissed.

But the way he had smirked just now didn’t seem like someone who was angry. Maybe my heart was just pounding from the way he slammed the door so hard.

I clenched my hands into fists on my lap, refusing to take my eyes off him. No, actually, it would be more accurate to say I was glaring at him like I wanted to kill him as he walked around the car to get in on the other side.

The opposite door opened, and the burly man gave a slight bow as Shin Chi-woo got in. At the same time, he settled into the seat next to me. The car was spacious, so our bodies didn’t touch, but it still felt like a giant block of ice had just sat beside me.

I immediately scooted as far away as possible. I didn’t care if he laughed at me.

“Drive.”

“Yes, Chief.”

His voice was flat and indifferent, as if I didn’t even exist. The burly man bowed deeply before closing the door.

Then, both the driver’s and passenger’s doors opened at the same time. The burly man took the passenger seat, while the short-haired woman who had been watching me earlier slid into the driver’s seat.

Surprisingly, it seemed like the short-haired woman outranked the burly guy. Now that I looked again, he was being just as deferential to her. It was unexpected, but it reminded me how deeply ingrained biases could be.

As soon as they settled in, the car started moving. Since the engine had been running while they waited, it accelerated smoothly.

Without realizing it, I grasped the seatbelt stretched across my torso. Was this car really taking me to that factory? And now, my wrists hurt so much from the cuffs that they were starting to go numb.

When the car left the hotel and hit the first red light, I realized something. They hadn’t turned on the navigation. They were being careful not to let me figure out where they were taking me.

I knew it.

 

 

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