Episode 16

“From now on, report everything she eats, everything she buys or sells.”

“…Understood, hyungnim.”

Gye Won-ho zoomed in on the photo, his gaze fixed on the screen as he exhaled a slow stream of smoke.

Under the dim terminal lights, her face was illuminated as if kissed by sunlight. Eyes closed, she looked as though she had drifted off to sleep.

His eyes traced the delicate lines of her features, finally settling on her lips. Swollen, as if they had been sucked and bitten, they stood out in a deep flush against her pale skin—almost like fresh blood.

The memory crept in.

That small, hot mouth struggling to take him in, lips stretched wide around his cock, sucking and whimpering. Her flushed face, gasping for breath, unable to keep up. Those trembling, slender fingers.

Soft, damp breasts, slick with sweat.

That thin patch of hair clinging to her soaked folds, glistening with her own arousal.

No matter how hard he had pushed in, she had barely opened up—her tight, burning heat resisting him at every thrust.

Gye Won-ho’s throat moved in a slow swallow.

That night—if he hadn’t caught himself at the last moment, if he had lost control just a fraction more—her tiny pussy would have been stretched raw, left so wrecked she wouldn’t have been able to close her legs for days.

Why had she fumbled through that clumsy act? What had she been trying to pull?

It was undeniably his mistake—letting himself get swept up in the moment because of that brazen little thing. But he had no intention of regretting it. Not even for a second.

As Gye Won-ho stared intently at the girl in the photo, his gaze grew strange.

His cock stiffened instantly, swelling against the front of his pants.

“…Fuck.”

He hadn’t even gotten a proper taste, and yet here he was, getting hard just looking at a damn picture of a soft-skinned little brat.

He knew he should cut off this irrational lust, this excessive fixation on Yoon So-hee. But time and again, his self-control slipped through his fingers.

Even Baek Mu-gyeong had started to notice how much he was dragging this out. That alone was enough proof that this was unlike him.

Was it because she was just that pretty?

Or was it because she instinctively did all the things that got under his skin, teasing him exactly the way he liked?

Gye Won-ho pressed his tongue against the inside of his cheek, adding one more condition to his thoughts—for now.

His darkened gaze remained glued to the screen, layered thick with hunger.

Beneath the coat that barely covered her knees, she wore a long skirt, the hem swaying just enough to reveal her slender ankles.

Seeing the soft curve of her ankle bone, flushed red from the cold, his lower body tensed unbearably.

Clicking his tongue once, Gye Won-ho flicked his finger across the screen.

“Geon-hui. Let’s drop by the kid’s place.”

* * *

So-hee exhaled into the still night air, her breath turning white in the cold. She passed by the house where her father had hanged himself and climbed the hill toward her rooftop room.

The narrow alleyways of this shantytown were untouched by snowplows, the fallen snow left to pile up undisturbed.

Her mother had always despised this neighborhood. She would rant about how unbearable it was—how the ceiling leaked in summer, how the entire place turned into a sheet of ice in winter, making it impossible to walk.

But So-hee had been foolish. It wasn’t this town her mother had wanted to escape.

It was her.

She had only realized it once she was old enough to wear a school uniform.

If it weren’t for you, my life wouldn’t be such a fucking mess.

It’s your fault.

If only I hadn’t given birth to you…

At some point, after getting a boyfriend, her mother had stopped coming home.

She sold her body, sold her smiles—whatever it took to support Koo Myung-chul.

Her absences became longer, and her father’s anger found a new target.

After her father’s death, it was Kim Joong-sik’s fists that left their mark.

Violence had always been a constant in her life, yet lately, the bruises that used to stain her body deep blue had vanished without a trace.

Ever since that man, Gye Won-ho, had bought out her father’s debt.

A sudden thought crossed her mind—had he contacted her?

She pulled out her phone, but the only unread messages were from Hae-mi, which she had deliberately ignored.

「Hae-mi unnie: So-hee, are you seriously gonna keep ignoring me? I went out of my way to talk to the manager and get you special consideration, and this is how you act?! How else do you plan to pay off that massive debt if not with this job?」

A powerless sense of emptiness washed over her as she ran a weary hand down her face.

She didn’t know why she kept repeating meaningless actions all day, as if she were waiting for something.

Her tired steps carried her up the stairs toward the rooftop room—but then she stopped.

The lights were on.

She had been so distracted by her phone while walking that she hadn’t noticed earlier.

A tangled mess of thoughts swirled in her head as her heart pounded faster.

Could it be…?

Lowering her gaze, she saw it.

Large footprints crossed the rooftop.

From the staircase to the front door of her room, a single trail of evenly spaced steps marked the snow.

One person.

Silencing her footsteps, So-hee followed the prints, noting how much wider each stride was compared to her own.

At the door, she hesitated.

A sliver of fluorescent light seeped through the slightly open entrance.

Her trembling hand reached for the handle, pulling it cautiously.

Just inside, a pair of straight-tip leather shoes rested neatly on the floor.

The scent hit her immediately—thick and overwhelming, consuming all thought.

A hesitant guess hardened into certainty.

There was only one person who had a key to this place. And yet, she had been afraid to believe it.

Ridiculously enough, relief settled in her chest.

It wasn’t a stranger.

It was him.

But that relief was quickly followed by unease.

She had already declared she would repay her debt with her body.

Had he come to finish what they hadn’t that night?

Fear and wariness tangled inside her, pressing down like a heavy weight.

Her feelings toward the man were too complicated to sort through.

She feared him.

Yet, she kept thinking about him—his face, his expressions, his tone, his voice, even his scent.

Forcing down the turmoil inside her, she pushed the door open fully.

There he was.

Leaning back loosely in her desk chair, flipping through a notebook.

The pink cover—ordinary in size but small in his large hands—was her ledger.

“You’re not terminally ill, so why do you keep getting thinner every time I see you?”

“Why are you here all of a sudden…?”

Before she could question why he had shown up without notice, his voice cut through her thoughts, issuing a command.

“Sit.”

“…What?”

“Don’t talk back. I said sit.”

When she hesitated, slow to react to the abrupt order, Gye Won-ho stood up, grabbed her by the shoulders, and turned her around.

Then, without another word, he walked her forward, guiding her with firm hands.

“Ahjussi—wait, wait a second.”

His unyielding push threw off her balance, making her stumble forward. She felt like she might fall flat on the floor.

“I won’t let you fall.”

The moment he said it, she felt an odd sense of reassurance.

Then, his hands pressed down on her shoulders, seating her firmly.

In front of her was a low dining table, set with multiple stacked lacquered food boxes.

So-hee blinked slowly, dazed.

“What… is all this?”

Across the table, Gye Won-ho sat down, his gaze lingering on the pale curve of her neck, where faint red marks remained from where he had bitten her.

“You really are a handful, being such a kid.”

Watching her stare blankly at the food, he reached out, almost annoyed, and unlatched the boxes with smooth, effortless movements.

Inside, a spread of neatly arranged dishes was revealed—braised short ribs, grilled eel, simmered sea bream, and an array of side dishes.

The rice wasn’t plain white but mixed with grains, gingko nuts, and jujubes.

The seaweed soup was milky with rich broth, a whole abalone sitting at the center, its surface scored in a lattice pattern.

She had never seen this much food in her own home before.

The rich aroma of the food quickly filled the small space.

A pair of chopsticks and a spoon, still wrapped neatly in their paper sleeve, were placed in front of So-hee.

“Eat. Before it gets cold. Hurry up.”

Gye Won-ho’s sharp gaze flickered with irritation as he looked at her hesitating.

Hearing the long exhale he let out, as if swallowing his temper, she reflexively blinked.

“What are you waiting for? Eat.”

The lavish meal felt out of place in such a cramped, shabby space.

It didn’t feel like it belonged to her.

She had no idea why he insisted on eating here of all places, but the sheer discomfort of it made her lose any appetite she might have had.

“I’m fine. I don’t really have an appetite… You should eat instead.”

From inside his jacket, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes, placed one between his lips—then snapped it in half.

“You’ve got no manners. A guest goes out of his way to bring you food, and you turn him down?”

A guest.

That single word made her bite down on her lower lip.

She already knew there was no undoing things, but hearing it like that still stung.

It wasn’t resentment she felt. It was shame.

“Do I have to feed you myself?”

His voice was low, unreadable, but there was a distinct edge to it.

And to her horror, he reached for her spoon as if he truly meant it.

“No, no! I’ll eat.”

Startled, So-hee shook her head and scrambled to remove her coat, setting it aside in a hurry before picking up the utensils.

She had said she would eat, but even now, she wasn’t sure what the hell was happening.

Meanwhile, the man who had created this entire situation simply sat there, watching her in silence, as if waiting for something.

“You’re not eating?” she asked cautiously.

“I already ate.”

So… he expected her to eat all of this.

Alone.

While he watched.