#3

Click.

The seatbelt unlatched.

Without another word, he stepped out of the car, leaving me alone.

For a brief moment, my mind remained blank, still reeling from what just happened.

Then, like a slap to the face, reality struck.

This was my chance.

If I was going to run, it had to be now!

Just as I swung the car door open and planted one foot on the ground, a long leg stepped right in front of me.

“You seem to be in a hurry.”

“……”

“Don’t bother thinking too hard. You’re not getting out of here without a car. And just so you know—there’s no chance of catching a taxi, either.”

He casually slung an arm over my shoulder, the weight pressing down like a shackle as he dragged me forward.

Scuff, scuff.

The sound of my shoe soles scraping against the pavement echoed in the quiet.

Desperately, I scanned my surroundings.

No landmarks. No street signs. Just trees and flowerbeds lining the road.

The wide, perfectly paved asphalt stretched straight ahead—leading only to a single, two-story mansion.

“This… Where the hell are we?”

“You go to Seoyeon University, don’t you? Thought smart kids were supposed to figure things out fast.”

He punched in a door lock code as he spoke.

“I told you—I’m taking you to my place.”

“That’s exactly what I’m asking! Why am I going to your house?!”

With a soft beep, the door lock disengaged, and the heavy metal door swung open.

“No need for formalities just ’cause we just met.”

When I stubbornly refused to step inside, a firm hand grabbed the back of my neck.

Effortlessly, he hauled me forward, dragging me over the threshold.

From the outside, the mansion had already looked massive.

But once inside—

It was vast.

The living room alone felt expansive, yet not in a way that seemed empty or excessive. Sleek, modern furniture, sophisticated lighting, and striking pieces of artwork filled the space with a careful balance of luxury and taste.

Everything screamed expensive.

I could practically hear the price tags whispering—That vase? 50 million won. That painting? Easily over a hundred.

But among all the extravagance, one thing stood out the most.

Something that felt… out of place.

“What… is that?”

“What do you think it is?”

The man tossed the question carelessly, already distracted as he fidgeted with his phone, having unceremoniously dumped me in the middle of his house.

But I couldn’t take my eyes off the structure before me.

A space enclosed by sleek, metallic panels—all except for the glass window at the front. Rows of buttons lined the console beneath it, and inside, a single chair sat eerily vacant.

A harsh white light beamed down onto the cold, tiled floor, casting sterile shadows that only amplified the laboratory-like atmosphere.

A chill ran down my spine.

This wasn’t some movie set.

This was his house.

So why the hell was there something like that inside it?

Slowly, stiffly, I turned to look at him.

The man, now tucking his phone into his back pocket, arched a dark, knowing brow.

“…You’re not planning to put me in there, are you…?”

“Damn. You really do go to Seoyeon University.”

The moment I saw his smug expression, I spun around to bolt.

I didn’t even get a full step in before a firm grip latched onto my arm.

“The house tour isn’t over yet.”

“Let me go! Let go, you psycho kidnapper!”

“Oh? We’re at the struggling phase now?”

“You’re a human trafficker, aren’t you?! You trap people by exploiting their weaknesses, scaring them shitless before you snatch them up—you absolute piece of trash!”

“…I want to say no, but…”

He scratched the back of his head, looking almost sheepish.

“Human trafficking? Yeah, I do that when necessary. Scaring people? Also true. Damn… I really suck at lying.”

A casual confession.

My stomach plummeted to my feet.

Karma. Retribution. Poetic justice.

They weren’t just words.

After everything I had stolen, every time I had gotten away with it—this was it.

This was my punishment.

If I had to go to trial and end up in prison, so be it.

But I refused to die like this. Not in some sick, twisted way.

Besides, yeah, I stole things—but I never used them for personal gain. I always returned them.

…Well, except for the ring I swallowed today.

But still! That had to count for something, right?

Please, God, consider this when judging my case.

“Hic… hhk…”

Fear sent tremors through my fingertips, and heat pooled in my eyes before I could stop it.

Tears spilled over, streaming freely down my cheeks.

The man wiped them away with the back of his hand, his tone maddeningly indifferent.

“Crying won’t get you out of this.”

“Hhk— I… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I said earlier. Please, just let me go home.”

“I’m sorry too,” he replied flatly.

“But that’s not happening.”

“You crazy bastard… Why the hell are you doing this to me?”

“Wow, your attitude flips like a switch. Kinda charming.”

“You’re a fucking lunatic… hic, hhk…”

It was useless.

Begging wouldn’t work. Fighting was out of the question.

No matter how I looked at it, he wasn’t going to let me go.

My mind spiraled, bombarding me with the worst possible futures—

Getting gutted alive with no anesthesia. My eyes being ripped out. The unspeakable horrors that could happen to me as a woman.

“…I’m scared.”

The second I admitted it aloud, the fear crashed over me like a tidal wave.

My breath hitched.

Everything in my head turned pitch black, swallowed whole by terror.

“…I don’t want this.”

“Just stay still and—hey. Hey. You okay?”

His once-clear voice grew faint, distant.

The crushing weight of my own fear pinned me down, suffocating me from the inside out.

“I said no….”

“Can you hear me? Hey!”

A burning sensation churned inside me.

It wasn’t just fear anymore.

Something else was rising—

Something twisting beneath my skin, shifting, awakening.

“I don’t want this! I don’t want this!”

“Ha!”

A massive wave of terror swallowed me whole.

The fear coiled tighter, suffocating, until something else surged through my skin.

<勁正啊.>
TL/N: This is something in Cantonese not entirely sure but it should mean very cool,” “super powerful,” or “extremely awesome.”

The man chuckled, murmuring something in a language I didn’t recognize.

Meanwhile—

Snap. Crack.

My muscles twisted. My bones shifted.

I felt it happening.

My body swelled, stretching, expanding.

My shadow grew.

Then—

Rip.

A sickening tear rang through the air as massive wings burst from my back, slicing through the space behind me.

Crash!

Furniture shattered. Glass exploded.

His house was in ruins, but I didn’t care.

My vision bled red.

Every heartbeat thundered, rattling through my veins like war drums.

I exhaled—and watched my broad, black chest heave with every breath.

A raw, primal urge surged through me—

A hunger to destroy.

It built, clawing its way up my throat until I roared.

“KRRRAAAAAAGH—!”

A voice that wasn’t mine echoed through the room—thunderous, inhuman.

But I couldn’t even process the wrongness of it.

Dizzy. Sick. Suffocating. Terrified.

Help me. Make it stop. I don’t want this.

A whirlwind of agony and fear raged inside me.

Everything in my vision wavered, distorting.

Everything—except him.

The man.

He was smiling.

Watching me unravel with something close to awe.

In his pale-colored eyes, I saw it—satisfaction, curiosity, possession.

<好刺激啊.>
TL/N: <好刺激啊.> roughly means “So thrilling!” or “How exciting!” in Chinese.

He murmured under his breath.

Then—

Pain.

A fresh wave of it.

My muscles twisted again, ripping apart and reforming in ways they shouldn’t.

I screamed—long and raw.

Why?

Why was I suffering like this?

Why was he smiling while I was breaking?

I hated him.

How dare he stand there, untouched, while I drowned in misery?

He had no right.

If I was in agony, then so should he.

We should both suffer.

Kill him.

Kill him. Kill him. Kill him!

A violent impulse surged through me, filling every inch of my mind.

My wings unfurled—powerful, monstrous.

The razor-sharp edges of my black feathers sliced through the air with lethal precision.

A storm of wind erupted through the room, forcing the man to shield his face with one arm.

CRASH!

Anything that came into contact with my wings shattered, splintering apart and crashing to the floor.

The grand chandelier hanging from the ceiling came undone, its countless crystals bursting into pieces, raining down like shattered stars.

But I didn’t stop.

I couldn’t.

The only thing that mattered was destroying that bastard.

“Ugh—!”

I lunged.

My beak aimed straight for his head, ready to tear through flesh.

But—

SWOOSH!

At the last second, he dodged, twisting his body just enough for me to miss.

CRACK!

Instead of his skull, my beak obliterated a marble table behind him.

Fragments of tile and stone shot outward, scattering in every direction.

I barely noticed.

My eyes snapped up, locking onto him again.

And then—

“That was expensive, you know. How do you plan to pay for that?”

—That smug, insufferable tone.

He was still calm.

Still unbothered.

I roared, wings beating furiously as I shot upward, shattering everything in my path.

The sharp tips of my feathers sliced through a nearby display case—

SMASH!

Vases, ornaments, delicate decorations—

They all tumbled to the ground, crashing into a chaotic mess of destruction.

No matter how hard I struck with my beak or how wildly I thrashed my wings, he dodged—effortlessly.

As if he already knew where I’d move next.

“As strong as you are, your attacks are way too predictable,” he mused, sidestepping me again.

“Guess it’s true that Seoyeon University just lets in rich kids who buy their way in.”

“KRAAAH!”

You motherfucker!

Did he just disrespect the years of blood, sweat, and sleepless nights I spent studying?!

Three years of walking on eggshells, of barely surviving high school hell—

All so I wouldn’t be treated like worthless trash by my father?!

He thought I bought my way in?!