Chapter 8: If You Dare Face Me
The cold metal pressed harder against Yeon’s neck. Even blindfolded, the sharp sting told him it was a knife.
“You couldn’t have mistaken the room while blindfolded…”
Dohyuk’s voice was low, seething with quiet fury. The blade’s intent was clear—it was meant to kill. Yet Yeon didn’t flinch. He didn’t plead for the knife to be removed.
“What’s your game?”
Dohyuk tightened his grip. Yeon felt a trickle of warmth down his neck—blood, as the blade bit into his skin.
“There’s only one reason I’m here. You know that.”
“I don’t care if you’re scamming me or doing your job. As long as you stay where you’re allowed—”
This was a warning. The moment Yeon stepped into the bedroom, he had crossed a line.
“Tell me why you came into my bedroom.”
The knife dug deeper. One more press, and it wouldn’t just graze skin—it would sever a vein.
Yeon took a deep, shuddering breath.
“I need you asleep.”
A heavy silence followed. Yeon didn’t know how Dohyuk would react, but he offered no further explanation.
Given the number of malevolent connections Dohyuk had, it was clear he trusted no one. There was no way he’d allow someone to stay by his side while he slept. Yeon had known that from the start, so he never asked.
Dohyuk’s cold nature and complete lack of trust in him meant it wouldn’t have been strange if he had slit Yeon’s throat right then. But Yeon wasn’t afraid. He was only frustrated. If he died so pointlessly by Dohyuk’s hand, this relentless cycle would just repeat in the next life. That was what gnawed at him.
Swish.
Contrary to his expectations, Dohyuk withdrew the knife. Even through the blindfold, Yeon could sense the room brightening—Dohyuk must have turned on the light.
“Looks like you weren’t here to kill me.”
He was pointing out the blindfold. Dohyuk clicked his tongue, his voice dripping with irritation.
Indeed, if Yeon had snuck in to kill Dohyuk, covering his eyes would have been foolish. Whether by luck or misfortune, that detail seemed to ease Dohyuk’s guard.
“Explain why you keep covering your eyes.”
To Dohyuk, every one of Yeon’s actions must have been incomprehensible. Yeon himself didn’t usually cover his eyes like this when working on other assignments.
“Too many things are visible.”
Few people had as many connections as Dohyuk.
“Even so, what’s the point of covering your eyes?”
“It’s easier to focus on only the strongest connections—those I can sense without sight.”
And because I don’t want to see your face, if I can help it. Yeon swallowed the second reason, keeping it to himself.
“Huh…”
Dohyuk exhaled in annoyance.
“So you’re saying you’ll sneak in here every night unless I kick you out right now?”
“You could just let me stay by your side from the start.”
Yeon found it perfectly reasonable, but Dohyuk let out a hollow laugh, clearly displeased.
“I’ve never even let a woman stay the night.”
The implication was clear: How dare you, of all people, think you can stay by my side?
“You’re comparing the wrong things. I’m not asking for that kind of arrangement.”
Dohyuk’s eyes narrowed at the bold response. It sounded like Yeon was saying he’d repeat this every night unless Dohyuk stopped him.
Dohyuk’s gaze dropped to Yeon’s neck, where the skin was split from the knife, blood trickling down. A wound like that should have hurt, but Yeon showed no sign of pain or distress.
Does this guy even feel pain? Are all shamans like this?
The red blood stained Yeon’s white clothes as it flowed down his neck. The sight was strangely striking.
Dohyuk had genuinely intended to cut Yeon just moments ago. If Yeon had shown even a hint of malice or any other intention, Dohyuk would have snapped his slender neck without hesitation.
But there was only silence. No malice, no emotion at all. It was as if every feeling had been drained from him. Was that even possible? Everyone Dohyuk had ever met, no matter how composed, had shown some kind of emotional reaction in extreme situations.
Yet Yeon was different. Even with his life threatened, there wasn’t the slightest fluctuation in his emotions.
“Your purpose doesn’t matter.”
Dohyuk lowered the knife and closed the distance between them. He reached behind Yeon’s head and untied the knot of the cloth covering his eyes. The fabric slipped away, revealing those clear, blue eyes, which now met Dohyuk’s gaze.
He knew the color was just a lack of pigment, but it was still mesmerizing—like blue marbles embedded in his eyes. At the same time, it stirred a strange, sadistic urge in Dohyuk. He wanted to see tears well up in those transparent eyes, wanted to see that expressionless face twist in distress.
He scoffed inwardly at the childish, impulsive desire. It was rare for him to feel such strong emotions toward someone. At least, not since he was a child.
“I’m not keeping someone who isn’t even sleeping with me in my room.”
Dohyuk reached out and gripped Yeon’s chin. He felt a slight flinch, but nothing more.
How far do I have to push before this pretty face crumbles? He knew it was pointless stubbornness, but he couldn’t stop himself now that he’d started.
“Or maybe you’d go that far for me?”
He had never felt sexual desire for a man before. He’d never even been interested in that direction. Of course, he felt something strange toward this guy, but it wasn’t sexual desire. He just wanted to see him flustered. He wanted to break that unshakable composure in another way, since even a knife to the throat hadn’t done it.
“If you say you’ll do it, I’ll let you come and go in this room as you please.”
Dohyuk grabbed Yeon’s arm and forced him onto the bed. The white hanbok fabric spread out over the sheets. Dohyuk loomed over him, pinning him down with his gaze.
“How much did they pay you? If you’ve been watching men undress this whole time, there must have been someone else willing to pay for that. If you’ve earned enough, why not go all the way?”
He ran the back of his hand along Yeon’s cheek. Yeon stared up at him, but there was no confusion in his eyes. If he really did this kind of thing, his indifference wasn’t surprising. But it was unsettling. Unsettling, but Dohyuk couldn’t look away.
His hand slid down Yeon’s cheek to his neck, pressing against the wound from the knife. For the first time, Yeon’s eyebrows twitched in pain.
So he is human after all.
A bitter smile tugged at Dohyuk’s lips. He turned his hand and wrapped it around Yeon’s slender throat. His own hand was now smeared with Yeon’s blood, but he didn’t care. He tightened his grip, and a choked sound escaped Yeon’s lips. His face flushed red from lack of air, but he made no attempt to pry Dohyuk’s hand away. His eyes, locked on Dohyuk, held a desolate glint.
It wasn’t resentment or injustice at being treated this way. Dohyuk had seen countless people beg for their lives—he knew the look.
It was as if he didn’t care if he died like this…
Dohyuk’s grip loosened. Yeon turned to the side, coughing violently.
This should have been warning enough. He could have killed Yeon right then and there. The organization Yeon belonged to was a nuisance, but breaking into someone’s bedroom without permission was reason enough. And since Yeon had no official records, killing him wouldn’t even lead to a murder charge.
But Dohyuk didn’t need to dirty his hands over a mere fraud like this. A threat alone was enough to scare him off.
“If you understand, then get—”
“You just want me to face you, right?”
Yeon sat up, meeting Dohyuk’s gaze as he repeated the question. Dohyuk glared at him, stunned.
“Ha. Do scammers these days offer their bodies, too?”
Yeon neither confirmed nor denied it. Where the hell had this guy crawled out from? The thought of him offering himself like this was disgusting.
“If Kang Dohyuk can face me like that, then I’ll do as you wish.”
This was getting more absurd by the second. Can I? Of course not. Anyone could see Yeon had a delicate appearance, but Dohyuk had never felt that kind of desire for a man. He had only been trying to threaten him, not act on any sexual impulse. He hadn’t expected Yeon to respond like this. His boldness was infuriating, but it also made Dohyuk look at him differently. At the very least, he knew Yeon wasn’t the type to cower and back down from his threats.
“Fine. You can stay here at night.”
Dohyuk’s eyes turned cold.
“But only if you come in naked.”
He wanted Yeon in a state where he couldn’t hide any weapons, but the demand was also meant to humiliate him.
“You said you’d face me, so I doubt you’d hesitate over something as trivial as being naked.”
Dohyuk smirked, watching Yeon’s reaction. Yeon’s gaze slowly dropped to the floor.
“…Understood.”
The quiet reply made Dohyuk clench his fist. It was still grating.
Just how much were you paid to agree to something like this? What was in it for Yeon to go this far to sever Dohyuk’s evil connections?
Dohyuk couldn’t tell if he was the most money-grubbing fraud in history or if he had an unshakable craftsman’s spirit, determined to complete any task he was given. The foggy, suffocating uncertainty continued to gnaw at him.
