Chapter 83
I coughed violently and slumped to the floor.
Clutching my neck with my hands, I gasped for breath. Tears dripped onto the floor.
I couldn’t calm down easily. I really thought I was going to die.
“Did you forget that you can’t die now?”
When I finally lifted my head, I saw Kang Tae-jun lying on the floor, not far away, his face streaked with blood from his burst lips. He was smirking as he wiped his lips with the back of his hand, and a high-pitched giggle escaped him.
“Right. I forgot.”
This crazy bastard…
For the first time, I felt a murderous impulse.
If my body had been in better condition, I might have lost control and punched him.
My arm, resting on the floor, trembled uncontrollably. My whole body ached. Especially my neck; even the slightest touch made it sting.
“If you want to kill him, do it after the job is done. If you kill him just because you’re bored, I’ll kill you first.”
Yuhwa shot a cold glare and then left the room.
Kang Tae-jun, chuckling, stood up using the bed for support. He wiped the blood from his lips roughly while checking his reflection in the vanity mirror.
Our eyes met in the mirror, and I immediately looked away.
Damn. Why is instinct so honest, and why is my instinct so weak?
I couldn’t bring myself to look at him out of fear.
“Are you okay?”
Kang Tae-jun, now right in front of me, asked with a laugh in his voice. I clenched my trembling fists.
In the darkened room, his reddish hair appeared almost russet.
A bloodstained hand suddenly reached out and gripped my chin. Kang Tae-jun examined me.
Every time his hand brushed my neck, the memory of being strangled came flooding back.
Tears, not yet dried, threatened to well up again. I bit my lips, swallowing the heat.
“44! Is this guy going to die? Take a look! Aren’t you a doctor?”
Kang Tae-jun shouted loudly.
44. He had definitely called Angel that before.
Is that his real name? But why is the name like that? It’s stranger than Angel.
“Do I need to worry about something like this?”
I flinched at the familiar voice.
‘That’s right. I told you not to go.’
The memory replayed vividly in my mind.
With all the stinging and burning in my eyes, nose, and mouth, the harsh reality was laid bare before me without any preparation.
“It would be problematic if your value decreases.”
Angel walked into the room.
He knelt down in front of me, and the emotionless gaze visible under his hat was chilling.
I wondered if he might hit me from behind…
As he reached out for my neck, I grabbed Angel by the collar and pulled him toward me.
His face stopped right in front of mine. He still showed no signs of agitation.
“What are you?”
My voice came out strained.
He looked at me with a cold face, like someone I’d never seen before.
The person who had told me not to get hurt. The smiling face with flushed cheeks seemed like an illusion.
“What is it?”
The white fabric of his shirt crumpled as I gripped it tightly.
Instead of a shirt and suit, he wore a white T-shirt and a leather jacket. The distance felt unbridgeable from his light attire.
Everything felt like a lie, distant and unreal.
He neither pushed me away nor held me. His reaction made me feel even more helpless.
“44.”
The emotion that surged to my chin made my reason waver.
“Is that your real name?”
Confronting him directly, I couldn’t deny this feeling.
The feeling that made me most confused was not shame or betrayal, but a sense of loss.
Even though I knew in my head that I shouldn’t trust anyone, somehow, from a certain moment, I had foolishly.
“What are you really?”
I wanted to shout, but I was too exhausted.
At that moment, a faint laugh escaped from my dry lips. Seeing his twisted emerald eyes, my thoughts seemed to freeze like a stopped frame.
“Help?”
“I don’t need it.”
Angel responded to Kang Tae-jun’s playful question as he stared at me intently.
My fists clenched as his lips twisted.
“Why does it matter what my real name is?”
Angel gently removed my hand from his clothing, which I had clutched.
From close up, I saw his eyes, reminiscent of a summer forest, slowly lower.
With an indifferent gaze, he examined my neck and spoke quietly.
“Whether I’m Angel or 44, nothing will change.”
* * *
Every time his fingers touched my neck, I bit my teeth to suppress my moans. Angel, with an unchanging face, focused on applying the ointment.
I can’t describe how shocked I was when I saw my reflection in the mirror.
My skin was red and blue with handprints, looking like it had been drawn on with a marker.
I had never seen anything like this. If I walked around outside like this, I would definitely be reported to the police.
Even the slightest touch felt multiplied in pain.
“It will take more than a week for this to heal. Covering it with makeup is impossible.”
“It’s not like there are any holes, so this should be fine.”
The comment about not having any holes made me flinch, but I decided to think positively. Maybe that meant he wouldn’t touch me further…?
“Finish up and come out.”
Yuhwa, who had been sitting on the bed, stood up. She looked tired, as if she hadn’t slept properly for days.
“Close the door when you leave. I think we need to check your shoulders and back too.”
“…Aren’t you going to look anyway?”
Yuhwa gave Angel a confused look, and I shared the same expression.
“Were you possibly a man?”
The question seemed oddly sincere.
“I’m a doctor, after all.”
Angel answered shamelessly. Of course, if I had heard that in a hospital, I would have accepted it without question, but this wasn’t a hospital, and that guy wasn’t a doctor.
But in this place, there was no freedom for patients.
And I lacked the courage to voice any complaints.
Yuhwa closed the door and left. The room, now empty except for us, felt unusually quiet.
Angel, having finished applying the ointment to my neck, stared at me intently.
Was he asking me to take off my clothes?
“Can you unzip it for me?”
I turned my back to him, indicating the zipper. The dress had a zipper on the back, making it impossible for me to remove it alone.
Angel didn’t reach out his hand but instead stared at my back as if in disbelief.
Then, as if finding it absurd, he let out a sigh and turned his head.
“What?”
I managed to lower the zipper slightly with my own effort and waited, but there was no reaction from him. I turned back around.
Angel was putting the ointment away in the first aid kit.
“You’re really cooperative and proactive.”
He said sarcastically while keeping his eyes on the first aid kit.
I almost yanked on that golden hair out of frustration, but I held back.
“It’s not good to stay injured.”
I replied calmly, promising myself not to become the same as him.
It was my own loss if I didn’t get treatment. My body needed to be in good condition to escape or do whatever I planned.
“Aren’t you going to check my shoulders and back?”
I pointed to the zipper on my back again, and Angel replied brusquely.
“Bruises like these won’t kill you.”
“……Wow.”
I couldn’t help but marvel.
“You’ve always been rude, but now that you’re using informal speech, you’re really something else.”
I felt like he was acting like a petulant teenager with a twisted sense of social grace.
There had always been a certain vibe, but after exposing his true identity, it seemed like he didn’t care about image anymore and it had gotten worse.
His cold gaze met mine. With just the two of us left in the room, I found a bit of courage.
“How old are you?”
Angel frowned.
“Isn’t there nothing left to hide now?”
I had been curious for a while. Now I needed to know. Hearing him speak informally with that face felt oddly unsettling.
“Twenty-six.”
“Eh. That’s a lie.”
Angel slammed the first aid kit shut with a loud thud and looked at me with cold eyes.
“Seems like you’re not grasping the situation.”
Considering how he deflected, twenty-six probably wasn’t the truth.
It was a bit absurd that I had such thoughts even amid fear.
I found myself habitually reaching for my neck, only to stop just before touching it.
“What part of it was a lie?”
I turned my head to face Angel.
Since the atmosphere had already turned cold, there was no point in hiding anything. I felt like I would explode if I didn’t get answers.
“What part was a lie?”
I asked again. Only then did his sideways gaze finally focus directly on me.
When did it start? Was there ever a moment of sincerity?
My chest was filled with useless questions.
“All of it.”
A blatant sneer spread across Angel’s lips. He removed his hat and roughly swept back his golden hair.
“I killed everyone who was here, including the spy sent by that restless Yukyeom you’re so concerned about.”
The words he spat out pierced sharply into my insides.
The swelling anger and frustration inside me crumbled and disappeared. But Angel didn’t stop.
“I also cleared out everything that might have obstructed you from meeting Yuhwa at the department store.”
He spoke without taking a breath, looking somehow desperate.
I stared at him without blinking.
“Oh, and the messages.”
His pale face lacked vitality, appearing almost ghostly. Only his left cheek and lips, which had been struck, were red.
Angel’s face twisted into a grin.
“Did I seem natural? You came running right away.”
