#2

What do I do? What do I do?

My heart pounded so hard it felt like it would explode. Cold sweat broke out along my spine, and my legs—along with the hand clutching the ring—began to tremble uncontrollably.

The flashy jewelry hanging from the man’s ears and neck glinted under the café lights, almost as if they were additional eyes, silently condemning me.

I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t move. I was frozen in place.

Then—

“Dabi, let’s move to another table!”

My friends had returned from the restroom.

Startled out of my skin, I jolted. My bag, which had been resting on my lap, slipped and crashed onto the floor.

Thud! Clatter!

Textbooks, a pencil case—everything spilled out in a mess, like the insides of a gutted animal.

“Oh, wait. Where’s my ring?”

My heart plummeted.

The ring was still in my hand.

Seon-ah patted her pockets, her expression shifting from mild confusion to worry.

“Did you take it off when you washed your hands?”

“No… I don’t think I even had it on when I went to wash my hands.”

“I had a bad feeling about it being loose… Just keep looking. If you lost it here, it’s gotta be somewhere nearby.”

My friends began searching the table, then crouched down to check underneath. As they scoured the floor, someone glanced at my scattered belongings.

“Dabi, your bag fell.”

“Uh… yeah.”

Only then did I force myself to move, standing up with stiff, mechanical motions.

The man at the next table was still staring at me.

His face remained unreadable—neither amused nor accusatory. Just indifferent. As if he couldn’t be bothered. The uncertainty gnawed at me. Did he know and simply not care? Or was he waiting, deciding whether to expose me?

I thought I might lose my mind.

Then, as I knelt down to gather my things—

“Dabi, I’m not trying to accuse you or anything… but you were the only one who stayed behind.”

“……”

“…Have you seen my ring?”

Seon-ah’s voice was casual, but I could hear it—the subtle edge of suspicion.

I knew this tone all too well. Years of experience had taught me what came next.

Soon, she would search my bag. Then my pockets. Then my hands.

‘They saw Han Dabi rummaging through her bag!’

‘It’s all on CCTV, Dabi. Just tell the truth already.’

‘Typical. Rich kids are always the worst.’

‘I can’t even show my face because of you!’

A flash. A split second.

Memories I wanted to forget rushed through me like a tidal wave, drowning my senses.

I couldn’t get caught.

I couldn’t get caught.

I absolutely, absolutely could not get caught.

Panic clouded my thoughts, drowning out reason. Nausea surged up my throat.

The moment Seon-ah took a step toward me, I acted.

Without thinking, I shoved the object in my palm into my mouth.

And swallowed.

Crash!

A deafening shatter echoed through the café. Glass shards scattered, some sliding dangerously close to my feet.

I turned my head in shock.

The man.

He had thrown off his sunglasses, his eyes wide with pure disbelief as he stared at me.

Everyone’s attention—Seon-ah’s, my friends’, the entire café—shifted to him.

In the next instant, he grabbed my wrist and yanked me upright.

“Agh!”

A short scream escaped me, but he didn’t stop.

His grip was firm—unyielding. With long, quick strides, he dragged me straight out of the café.

Only when we reached a secluded spot did he finally halt, pushing me back against the wall.

“W-Who are you?!”

“Open your mouth.”

“…What?”

Before I could even finish speaking, a large hand clamped around my jaw.

Then, his fingers forced their way into my mouth.

“Ugh—urk!”

His firm fingertips pressed down hard, deep into my throat. A violent gag reflex shot through me, my body convulsing involuntarily.

I struggled, but his grip was unrelenting—no matter how much I thrashed, I couldn’t break free.

“Throw it up. Keep trying.”

“Urk—hic—gghhk!”

A burning sensation spread through my sinuses, heat pooling in my eyes. Tears, mucus, and saliva streamed down my face, soaking his hand.

But he didn’t care. His sharp gaze remained fixed on my mouth, unwavering, as if he were searching for something.

“Urk—ugh!!”

My stomach heaved violently.

Finally, I couldn’t hold it back anymore. Something surged up my throat and spewed out.

The man quickly withdrew his hand and gave my back a few solid thumps.

But all that came out was the green juice I had this morning.

The thick liquid seeped into the glossy black leather of his shoes.

“Fuck, that’s it?”

He stared at my vomit, his voice filled with disbelief.

Then, without warning, he grabbed my jaw again and shoved his fingers back into my mouth.

His fingertips dragged along my palate, pressed against my tongue, and probed the insides of my cheeks.

Humiliated and disgusted, I snapped.

I bit down. Hard.

“Ah—!”

Cough, cough! “What the hell is wrong with you?!” I wheezed, still choking on the aftermath.

“The hell’s wrong with you?”

He shot back, shaking off his hand.

“If you’re gonna steal, just quietly pocket the damn thing—why the fuck would you swallow it?”

“……”

The anger burning inside me fizzled out in an instant.

So he had seen everything.

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and swallowed hard.

“…What does it matter to you whether I steal or swallow it? It’s not even yours.”

“Oh, it matters. A lot.”

He took a step closer.

His looming shadow swallowed me whole, his piercing gaze tilting downward.

“That ring?”

His voice dropped lower, deliberate.

“It’s mine.”

“……”

“Well, shit. You’re seriously fucked now.”

* * *

The man—spitting curses and grumbling to himself—shoved me into his car.

Not that I went willingly.

Apparently predicting my resistance, he slung me over his shoulder like a damn sack of rice and carried me off.

People stared. Some whispered to each other.

But no one stepped in.

“Aagh! Let me go!”

“Stay still unless you want your ass smacked.”

Broad daylight. A full-on kidnapping.

And yet, all anyone did was murmur, “Are they filming a movie?” “Never seen that actor before. Must be a rookie.” “What’s his name?”

Pathetic.

With no effort at all, he shoved me into the passenger seat of an obnoxiously flashy red sports car.

I immediately grabbed for the door handle, but—

“Tsk.”

He let out a sharp hiss, like scolding a misbehaving child, before yanking the seatbelt over me and clicking it into place.

Then, in a voice dripping with mockery—

“If you don’t want your little theft exposed to your friends, you’d better sit tight.”

With just a few words, he completely drained the fight out of me.

As my stiff body slackened, he casually tapped my cheek with his fingers—the same ones he had shoved down my throat.

Disgusted, I wiped my face with my sleeve.

He strolled around the hood with long strides before sliding into the driver’s seat.

I clutched my seatbelt with trembling hands.

“W-Where… I mean, where are you taking me?”

“My place.”

He said it like it was nothing, shifting gears as if this were an everyday errand.

“What?! Why the hell would I go to—AACK!”

VROOOOM.

The engine roared, and in an instant, we were flying down the road.

He drove like a complete lunatic, weaving through traffic at reckless speeds, cutting between cars with inches to spare.

I swear, I saw at least five of my ancestors flash before my eyes.

My face went deathly pale, but he kept going—like the brake pedal didn’t even exist.

Any demand to know why he was taking me somewhere was swallowed up by sheer terror.

* * *

“Careful, careful.”

Screeeeech!

With a sharp screech of tires, the car came to an abrupt stop.

Even with my seatbelt on, my body lurched forward.

An arm shot out in front of me, stopping just short of pressing against my chest.

The car jolted once more before settling, and my body naturally fell back into place.

“Haa… haa…”

I felt like I had just been flung off a roller coaster. My hair was a complete mess, strands sticking out in every direction.

Still dazed, I could only stare blankly through the windshield.

“…Did you just get into a fight or something?”

Click.

The sound of a seatbelt unbuckling came from beside me.

Then, his hand reached over again.

His rough fingers combed through my hair—but not gently. He yanked strands from right to left, grabbed the back of my head, squeezed, and let go.

This wasn’t fixing my hair.

“You look like someone who just lost everything to gambling. Get out.”

He was messing it up on purpose.

I glanced at my reflection in the side window.

A vein throbbed on my forehead.

“What the hell are you—?!”

I didn’t even get to finish.

His face was suddenly right there.

The scent of cologne and cigarette smoke swirled together, filling the space between us. His nose barely grazed mine, close enough that I could feel the warmth of his breath.

I sucked in a sharp gasp, instinctively pressing myself as far back into the seat as possible.

“Why do you hate it so much?” he murmured.

“You’re gonna hurt my feelings.”