Chapter 186:
The man collapsed at the sight of them, like a puppet with its strings cut.
“…Gasp… pant…”
Park Jung-soo looked even more disheveled than before.
His hair was matted, his beard overgrown, his body thinner, his hands trembling, his clothes torn and dirty.
He was so gaunt and disheveled that she wouldn’t have recognized him on the street.
“My, my. Seems like you had fun in the dungeon.”
Seo Jae-yi chuckled, finding his pathetic state rather amusing.
“Gate… the gate… the gate…”
But Park Jung-soo, his eyes vacant, didn’t even see her, the very person he had so desperately craved. His gaze was fixed on the gate behind them.
The escape route he had finally found after days of searching.
He just had to get through that gate. Then he could go to prison, not this hellish dungeon! He would rather rot in a cell than stay here!
“Gate… gate! Gate!”
He scrambled to his feet, a flicker of hope rekindled in his despairing eyes, and started running.
Seo Jae-yi found the sight… distasteful.
“Logi.”
Airok flicked his tail at her call.
A translucent stream of water shot out, wrapping around Park Jung-soo’s ankle like a rope.
“Oof!”
He tripped and tumbled to the ground, his hands scrabbling at the earth, desperately trying to reach the gate, but his bound leg wouldn’t budge.
“Ugh! Release me! Let go!”
He struggled to his feet and thrashed wildly, trying to break free, but the water rope held firm.
“Why are you so eager to leave after having so much fun here?”
Seo Jae-yi knelt before him, her chin resting on her hand, her gaze cold and devoid of any sympathy.
“I’m right here, the very person you craved. I’m offering you a chance to stay with me, and you’re refusing? You’re hurting my feelings.”
“Let me go! Please, let me go! I’m begging you!”
Park Jung-soo’s pleas turned to desperate begging as he realized he couldn’t break free.
His eyes, which had always held a smug sense of superiority when he looked at her, were now filled with rage and frustration, as if he couldn’t bear his current predicament.
Seo Jae-yi chuckled.
“You have the same look in your eyes as I did back then.”
The memory surfaced, vivid and clear.
The sterile white lab, the transparent walls, her body restrained, subjected to his experiments, his gaze cold and calculating as he observed her from behind the glass.
He had felt a sense of superiority then, controlling a powerful Esper, while she had been filled with rage and despair.
But how could he compare himself to her back then?
She had been subjected to those horrors for no reason, while he was merely receiving his just desserts.
She, the child in that lab, would never be truly free, not even if he suffered a fate far worse than this.
He, Park Jung-soo, was too insignificant to offer her salvation.
‘But she’s already been saved.’
Seo Jae-yi glanced at Baek Joo-won.
He had saved her life, and now, he had freed her from the constant threat of overload.
She had become a living Yeouiju in return, but she didn’t care; she didn’t feel any different.
What mattered was that she was alive, and that he loved her, cherished her.
She was happy now, truly happy. And the younger Seo Jae-yi, still wounded and hurting, would also heal eventually.
“I… I was wrong! I’ll accept my punishment! Just let me out of here! I’ll turn myself in!”
Park Jung-soo, yelling, reached out to Seo Jae-yi.
“Don’t touch her.”
Baek Joo-won stepped forward and grabbed his hand, his grip so tight that Park Jung-soo’s bones cracked.
“Agh! Aaaaaargh!”
He screamed, even though his hand wasn’t broken, just twisted. Seo Jae-yi clicked her tongue at his exaggerated display of pain.
“Park Jung-soo, you don’t have to confess. You’ve been running away because you didn’t want to, haven’t you? I won’t force you. People should only do what they want.”
She smiled at him, a sweet, chilling smile.
“Just like you.”
Her words were a death sentence.
Park Jung-soo stared at her, his eyes wide with terror, his body convulsing with choked sobs.
Yes, this was the look that suited him. This despair, this hopelessness, was his just reward for tormenting a child.
“But don’t worry; I won’t resort to experiments like you. I’m not interested in that.”
“Ah…”
“You’ll just… stay here until I’m satisfied. Eleven years seems a bit too short… How about fifty?”
“No… No! I don’t want to!
“And you also have to pay for stealing and using my father’s Guide Factor. So fifty years seems about right.”
“Aaaaaargh! No! I don’t want to! Let me out! Let me out of here!”
Park Jung-soo started crawling towards the gate, scrabbling at the ground.
Seo Jae-yi stood up and gave a curt order,
“Take him away. Somewhere where I can’t hear his screams.”
“Yes, Master.”
Airok fluttered towards the deeper parts of the dungeon. He dragged Park Jung-soo, still bound by the water rope, his hands clawing at the earth, trying to hold on, but he was no match for the dragon’s strength.
“No! I don’t want to go there! No! Please! I was wrong! I was wrong! I’ll repent! Please, please!”
Seo Jae-yi and Baek Joo-won didn’t even flinch at his pathetic pleas.
He disappeared into the dense undergrowth.
“I’ve created a maze of vines deep within the dungeon. He’ll be trapped there. There are fruit-bearing trees, so he won’t starve.”
Baek Joo-won explained, looking at Seo Jae-yi, whose gaze was still fixed on the spot where Park Jung-soo had vanished. A Guide wouldn’t be able to escape the maze alone. He or Airok would check on him occasionally to make sure he didn’t die too quickly.
There was no need for Seo Jae-yi to go; why would she want to see him? She didn’t have time to waste on him; she needed to spend that time with Baek Joo-won.
Park Jung-soo would die alone, consumed by fear and loneliness. Showing him to Seo Jae-yi would be an act of mercy he didn’t deserve.
“…How do you feel, now that you’ve had your revenge?”
Baek Joo-won asked, his voice slightly subdued, seeing her still staring at the spot where Park Jung-soo had disappeared.
“People say they feel empty after getting revenge. Do you feel that way?”
He was worried she might become consumed by it, that she might dedicate her life to revenge.
He didn’t want that. He didn’t want to share her, not even with the memory of Park Jung-soo.
“Huh? What are you talking about?”
But his worries were unfounded. Seo Jae-yi’s eyes, as she turned to look at him, were clear and bright.
There was no darkness, no burning obsession with revenge.
It was the same strong, bright gaze he loved.
“Empty? Empty? Who would say such a ridiculous thing? That revenge is meaningless? That’s hilarious. Tell them to try it themselves. They won’t be saying that afterwards.”
Her voice, like her eyes, was bright and cheerful. She was smiling, her face radiant, like the sun.
“I feel so… refreshed! Like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I can finally sleep soundly!”
She clenched her fists, as if she had been waiting for this day for a long time.
Baek Joo-won couldn’t help but smile, seeing her reaction.
Yes, this was Seo Jae-yi.
The one who never lost her light, even when facing death. The one whose flames burned so brightly that they captivated even monsters.
The strongest, most resilient, and beautiful woman he knew.
The woman he loved.
“…I’m glad… that you’re at peace.”
He pulled her close, their foreheads touching, her warmth seeping into his skin.
Her scent, now mingled with his, filled his senses.
It was intoxicating. His heart pounded.
“Now, can you finally focus only on me?”
Seo Jae-yi, also enveloped in his warmth and scent, blinked at his words.
“I already was.”
“But your attention was divided, focused on that… creature. I tolerated it because it was necessary, but I won’t anymore.”
Baek Joo-won lifted her into his arms. Her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist as he held her.
And as he did, his form began to shift. His hair lengthened, his height increased slightly, and his eyes turned green.
Seo Jae-yi stared at him, mesmerized. She should be used to it by now, but it still took her breath away. It was a beautiful sight.
“I don’t want to hide my true nature, my monstrous side. And I don’t want to hide my desire for you.”
His eyes, no longer human, burned with a possessive intensity that made even Seo Jae-yi catch her breath.
“So want me, just as much as I want you. Look only at me. Consume me completely. Quench my thirst, so I don’t lose control. Keep your attention on me, keep loving me.”
His words, filled with a desperate possessiveness, were almost suffocating. They might have been overwhelming, even terrifying, for others.
But Seo Jae-yi, equally consumed by her desire for him, her need for him growing with every touch, every shared moment, only felt her heart flutter.
It was a plea, a desperate confession, disguised as a possessive demand. A plea for her to never leave him, to love him always.
“I understand. I’ll love you so much that you’ll never feel… incomplete. I’ll love you so much that you’ll forget what thirst even feels like.”
Seo Jae-yi smiled brightly, promising him an eternity of love.
They kissed, their lips meeting in a passionate embrace, their love reaffirmed.
Soft moans, as deep and sweet as their affection, escaped their lips. They couldn’t bear to be apart, not even for a breath.
He had thought the kiss would quench his thirst, but he was wrong. It only intensified his desire, his need to be closer, to merge with her completely.
His lover, warm and pliant in his arms, was so precious, so captivating, that he couldn’t control himself.
Baek Joo-won, unable to contain his desire, lifted her and carried her away.