Toward me, who was busy pumping myself up with “One-two, one-two, heave-ho,” Baek Sahyun gestured with his chin toward the shower room and said.
“If you’re done eating, go in.”
“Okay.”
I jumped up, pushing back my chair. I tried to walk as manly as possible with heavy steps, but damn it. Baek Sahyun’s gaze seemed ominous, so I sighed and placed both palms and both knees on the ground.
It was because I suddenly recalled the part in the later story development where Baek Sahyun, when torturing Nam Heejae, deliberately made him crawl around the warehouse to crush his pride.
I struck first before the bastard could spout dog-like words and crush my pride, but Baek Sahyun’s expression showed no signs of softening. Feeling suffocated, I wondered if I needed to go even lower.
‘Forget it. How could I possibly understand this world-class psychopath bastard?’
I had no confidence to persuade him, no confidence to deal with him, so my breathing just kept getting choked up.
What aspect of a bastard like Baek Sahyun did Jang Haesu find charming enough to buy *Excessively Brilliant*? Could she have bought it for the taste of junk food? No. As I remember, Haesu really hated junk food.
This was the Jang Haesu who would look at me pitifully when I bought her snacks worth a few hundred won from the stationery store in front of school, asking why I brought her such things. She would nag me to save coins in a piggy bank instead.
But then why… did she seek out and purchase this kind of book that seemed even lower quality than junk food?
It was a moment when I wasn’t focusing on Baek Sahyun because I was reminiscing about memories with Haesu.
“Heejae-ya.”
It was most troublesome when the bastard called me “Heejae-ya” like that. His tone was always polite and kind, which had the ability to drive people even crazier.
Before the bastard could continue speaking, I frantically moved my limbs and crawled toward the bathroom. It was a humiliating posture, but surprisingly, as time passed, my mind was becoming peaceful.
Right. This is inside a novel anyway. Baek Sahyun isn’t even a person who exists in reality, and everything the bastard says and chooses is just the result of printed text, isn’t it?
‘I’m a game NPC. An NPC. I have no ego. No ego.’
I recited like a spell, trying not to feel any emotions. I could feel Baek Sahyun’s persistent gaze, but I tried to let that pass nonchalantly too. Looking closely, that bastard seemed to enjoy it more the more I raged.
I didn’t want to leave Baek Sahyun alone to enjoy this situation.
“Haah…”
When I arrived right in front of the bathroom, I carefully regulated my breathing. By now, wouldn’t that bastard Baek Sahyun be satisfied? I just turned my head to glance back, and the bastard had evaporated like smoke.
“Wh-what?”
Where did he go? It was enough to make a ghost weep, so I was just gaping when, unfortunately, Baek Sahyun hadn’t completely disappeared. If he had, I would have cheered “yahoo” instead.
The presence felt right next to me pressed down on me intangibly.
“Do more.”
The bastard’s voice was sunken deep like a cave. It was a voice that didn’t match his face at all. Compared to what seemed like it would only be gentle, it was very low and chilling.
That’s why I couldn’t dare confirm Baek Sahyun’s face. Whether he was smiling or expressionless, it seemed like it would be terrible. As I stayed frozen in the same spot, Baek Sahyun pressed me.
“I said do more?”
“…O-okay.”
Right, fuck! Let’s see who wins, you bastard. I pushed open the slightly open bathroom door and crawled diligently. The reason the bastard chose the bathroom must all be because of waterboarding, so after massaging my swollen knees, I changed my posture.
I wrapped my arms around the toilet bowl in front of me and glanced at the water inside. That bastard Baek Sahyun, who had poured water on me with the shower head, had definitely mentioned the toilet. Last time stopped at the shower, so today surely… he intended to torture me using the toilet bowl.
‘Ah, I think I’m going to throw up.’
I truly thought that. Thinking I had to stick my face in there, no matter how hard I tried, nausea kept surging. But Baek Sahyun didn’t consider the other person’s circumstances and only let out a mocking laugh.
“Is that the end?”
“No, fuck. There’s still more.”
Maybe because it was a luxury hotel, even the toilet smelled good, but that didn’t make it easy to immediately bury my head. I disparaged Baek Sahyun with a miserable heart.
‘A bastard who’d be rejected even at hell’s entrance. Damn sadist bastard.’
Even if this was a fictional world inside a novel, I hoped that bastard Baek Sahyun would receive punishment appropriate to the sins he committed. If he did all kinds of trash things and still got a happy ending with glee, this novel would become cursed beyond unpleasant.
Go to hell, receive punishment, be forbidden from reincarnation… No. If anything, I hoped he’d be worked to death next to the King of Hell for life. I wanted him to experience all kinds of hell like I saw in some movie.
Having cursed as much as I wanted, I held my breath with a “hup” and tilted my neck. I never thought I’d end up headbutting toilet water in my life. Should I be proud of this or not?
But it was just before the toilet water touched my nose bridge. Baek Sahyun’s loud laughter echoed resoundingly.
“Haha, hahahaha!”
Actually, it felt like water brushed my nose tip, but fuck, I don’t know. I should think it didn’t. I burst out the breath I was holding and hurriedly straightened my upper body.
Baek Sahyun, leaning against the wall near the door, was roaring with laughter while covering his face with one hand. Whether the bastard’s palm was wide or his face was just small, most of his smooth face was covered and invisible.
“Haah, hahaha…”
Baek Sahyun seemed to try to suppress his laughter, then snickered again. Dumbfounded, I just looked up at the bastard while clutching the toilet bowl. Finally, Baek Sahyun removed his palm and said.
“It’s been a while since I laughed like this. Thank you, Heejae-ya.”
Slightly curved eyes and raised corners of his mouth. Unlike before, the bastard was very relaxed. Baek Sahyun, who helped me up from sitting, personally brushed off my knees and elbows. It was a disgustingly kind gesture.
“In the bathroom I sent you to wash…”
The bastard spoke intermittently.
“You’re doing comedy, so how can I not laugh?”
So I couldn’t help but feel futile again. Life was really… not easy. He sent me to wash? I opened my mouth, feeling bewildered.
“You didn’t send me to waterboard me?”
Baek Sahyun pressed his finger against my crumpled eyes and answered.
“Yeah. Since you went outside, I told you to wash.”
“…Don’t lie. Why would you?”
You’re an unparalleled psychopath. One who gets happy waterboarding people. Then wouldn’t it make sense to attempt waterboarding? When I sent him a suspicious look, Baek Sahyun ruffled my hair and grumbled.
“Heejae, what exactly do you see me as?”
Well. A son of a bitch? Just as I was selecting an answer, the bastard added in a whisper.
“If I was going to put you in the toilet, I would have put you in myself.”
“……”
“If I let you do it alone, it’s obvious you’d pop out saying it’s hard as soon as you put your face in.”
I ended up appalled by a way of thinking several times crazier than expected. Baek Sahyun roughly pushed my unmoving shoulders toward the sink and commanded.
“Comedy time is over, so wash up and come out.”
Crazy bastard. I think I only carefully muttered those words.
“I’ll order sweet dessert.”
❖ ❖ ❖
Even while washing my face with cold water and brushing my teeth, self-loathing struck my head. It was because I felt uncomfortable, as being with Baek Sahyun made me feel like I kept stumbling.
“Was the original Nam Heejae like this too…”
I wanted to ask if you also spent your days being screwed over by Baek Sahyun, but it was impossible. After splashing cold water on my face one last time, I left the bathroom.
‘He really ordered it, dessert.’
On the table, just as Baek Sahyun said, cake and drinks were neatly prepared. I didn’t know what kind of cake it was, but it certainly looked appetizing.
But still, my appetite didn’t return.
The reason was that I thought Baek Sahyun might have put something in it. You know, like sleeping pills. What if he put me to sleep and kidnapped me to some secluded place? That day would be the end of my life.
“Baek Sahyun, are you washing?”
It was during that time. At the sound of water coming from the opposite shower room, my heart suddenly started beating. It seemed like Baek Sahyun had also gone to shower.
Realizing I was free from the bastard’s sharp glare, I hurriedly searched for my wallet and phone. It was because I thought I should try running away first without thinking about the aftermath.
Isn’t opportunity for those who seize it? If I aimed for the gap while the bastard was showering, escape would happen in an instant. Right, whether it becomes porridge or rice, let’s try running. Just being pushed around like this wouldn’t preserve the dignity of man Jang Woohyun.
