Chapter 5
“Hahyun. Do you like seeing Juwon suffer?”
Hahyun jutted out his lower lip. “But…”
“Locking Juwon in the basement was our last resort. If Juwon would stay with us without being dragged to the basement… would we really need such extreme measures?”
Tears streamed down Hahyun’s face. Hajin knew all too well the emotional turmoil Hahyun had been through, and seeing him cry only made him more sympathetic. After a moment, Hahyun’s expression gradually hardened, and he replied in a changed tone.
“Fine, I’ll follow your lead, hyung. But only if Yoon Juwon behaves. If he tries to betray us again, I’ll finish what we couldn’t do today—even if I have to do it alone.”
With a complex expression, Hajin slowly nodded.
“Alright, Hahyun.”
***
They returned shortly after leaving. The moment the door opened, I immediately checked for the wheelchair. Thankfully, his hands were empty.
Ah… I’m saved.
But my relief was short-lived—seeing the scissors in Hajin’s hand made my heart pound again. I half-expected him to cut off my toes, but thankfully, the scissors were for cutting the ropes binding me, not my appendages.
Breathing heavily, I gave them an awkward smile.
“Thank you. Hajin-ssi, Hahyun-ssi… I believed you would save me.”
Spouting such a romantic movie heroine line made me want to gag. Still, for the first time in my life, I was deeply grateful for my background as a screenwriter. Sure, I only wrote mediocre commercial scripts that barely broke even, but in this world, that knowledge was keeping me alive—and that was something to be thankful for.
Hahyun, who’d been staring at me blankly, grinned. “Hyung, let’s clear up your misunderstandings one by one.”
Hajin helped me sit up and lean against the bed. Maybe because I’d been lying down for so long, pain shot through my muscles like they were screaming in protest. When I grimaced, Hajin came over and massaged my shoulders.
“Huuh… Oww, ah, it hurts.”
A strange sound escaped my lips. Making noises like that at a man’s touch—I wanted to crawl into a hole and die.
It’s because it hurts! Anyone would get stiff after lying down this long. Of course I’d groan when someone touches those muscles!
That rationalization made me feel slightly better.
Hajin massaged my upper body with surprisingly delicate hands. “If I don’t loosen these up, they’ll hurt even more later. It’ll take time before you can walk properly too, so let’s practice gradually.”
“Thank you, Hajin-ssi…”
Trying to project innocent brightness, I turned my head slightly and looked up at Hajin through half-lowered lashes. The moment our eyes met, his eyebrows twitched and his lips trembled. That’s when it hit me:
He’s genuinely attracted to Yoon Juwon’s face. How beautiful must it be…
Having never seen a mirror, I started wondering what Yoon Juwon actually looked like. Kim Hyunju’s descriptions were all flowery metaphors like “heavenly beauty that makes everyone turn to look” or “eyes with such profound depth they make you want to confess your sins,” so I couldn’t picture his actual features.
Hajin stuttered slightly.
“F-first… I’ll massage you while you listen to what Hahyun has to say. You need to recover your memories. You should know why you were tied up here.”
I was terrified that if they tried to help me “recover” by telling me about the crimes they’d committed, all my efforts would be for nothing.
“Ah… right. But can we take it slowly?”
“Why?”
Hajin pressed firmly into the center of my back as he asked. I frowned and placed my hand on my forehead, channeling my inner innocent, pitiful protagonist.
“I just—I think my head hurts from thinking too much.”
“That’s understandable. You were acting pretty crazy.”
Huh? Crazy? What?
Yoon Juwon being crazy was information I’d never encountered in the book or since arriving here. My head started spinning with confusion.
“Excuse me? I was crazy?”
Hahyun answered.
“Yes. You went a bit crazy and started harming yourself, so we had to tie you up.”
“…”
I stared back and forth between them, eyes wide.
They suddenly changed their attitude, untied me, and now they’re lying that Yoon Juwon was crazy?
The brothers must have found hope! They wouldn’t lie to cover up their crimes unless they thought they could build a new relationship with me.
With a fake expression of concern, I asked Hahyun:
“Did I cause you kind people too much trouble?”
Surprised by my question, Hahyun stuttered a bit like Hajin had.
“Hmm? Ah, n-no… not too much. You just worried us by not eating, not answering when we talked to you, turning your back on us at night, and making me out to be the bad guy.”
Hahyun’s unexpected honesty nearly made me burst out laughing. That wasn’t crazy behavior—that was completely normal! I bit my lip hard to suppress my laughter.
Hajin, realizing something was off, tried to salvage the situation.
“What Hahyun means is that you were throwing a fit about wanting to die before we tied you up. It was very difficult for us. We wouldn’t have tied you up for no reason, right?”
To avoid revealing my suspicion, I quickly agreed.
“I suppose so… When I first woke up, everyone looked so tired and sad. That was because you were worried about me?”
“…Yes.”
Hajin’s voice trembled. He seemed choked up, but even so, his hands never stopped massaging my shoulders.
A moment of silence fell. I unconsciously turned toward the window. The outside world, which had been bright when I first arrived, had grown dark. Dinnertime had long passed.
I hadn’t noticed my hunger until now, but after escaping that crisis and recognizing how much time had passed, extreme hunger crashed over me. After hesitating briefly, I spoke up.
“Um… I’m really hungry. Could I please have something to eat?”
At my request, Hahyun’s face lit up. It was a genuinely happy expression. I still couldn’t wrap my head around this atmosphere where I made a request and they seemed grateful.
“Hahyun, since I need to continue the massage, you go order food. No, since Yoon Juwon likes meat, focus on meat dishes… Actually, just order a variety of everything.”
At Hajin’s words, Hahyun’s eyes narrowed sharply.
“Why do you get to massage while I have to order food?”
What an exhausting way to live. Can’t just anyone place an order?
Hajin stopped massaging and glared at Hahyun. Though it was such a trivial matter, my heart shrank every time the brothers acted like this.
“Weren’t you the one who said you wanted to be responsible for everything Yoon Juwon eats, wears, and how he sleeps?”
“Shit.”
Seemingly at a loss for words after Hajin’s pointed reminder, Hahyun fumbled through his pockets. Seeing this, Hajin said with obvious disdain:
“Ever since Yoon Juwon got here, you’ve been saying he has no one to contact, so you keep leaving his phone in the room.”
Hahyun’s expression gradually twisted. Afraid that if he got angry he might try to lock me up again, I quickly redirected his attention.
“Hahyun-ssi, I’m hungry. I’d really like to eat soon.”
“Oh… I’m sorry. I’ll be right back.”
And so I cleared another hurdle. Why do I feel like I’m the one getting hit when they’re the ones fighting?
It was fortunate that Hahyun took Yoon Juwon’s words so seriously. After Hahyun left, the room fell quiet again.
And then Hajin’s touch began growing bolder. Even though I wasn’t tied up anymore, I couldn’t move an inch.
Suddenly, Hajin’s face appeared above mine. His grinning expression, like he’d finally seized his opportunity, was terrifying.
“Um, Hajin-ssi?”
“Haah.”
As if he couldn’t hear me at all, he ignored my words and buried his face in my neck. His rough breathing penetrated my ear. I squirmed, trying to avoid him, but my arms were caught in his grip.
“Why are you suddenly acting like this?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep it a secret from Hahyun.”
“That’s not the point. Haah…”
There was no escaping as he pinned me down with his strength, his lips traveling down past my collar.
“Please, listen…”
My skin burned wherever his lips touched. His hands were exploring various parts of my body.
Is something really going to happen?
I needed to snap out of it, but with this intense first-time contact with a man, I couldn’t think straight.
“Uh, hmm… the massage… you said you were giving me a massage.”
“That’s what I’m doing now.”
“Your hands must be tired too, Hajin-ssi. How about stopping now?”
I shook my shoulders, trying to escape his embrace. He pressed down harder on my shoulders and put his lips back on my neck.
“Doesn’t this help you remember a bit?”
