Seo Tae-joon gritted his teeth. “But I feel wronged,” he continued, his voice raspy and dry. “It’s like I’m trying to start over, but my past—a past you know and I don’t—has already caught up with me. It’s ruined any chance I had to be something else. How can you expect me to just accept that?”
“So, I’m sorry,” he said, the words holding no apology at all. “I’m done being considerate. I’m going to see this through to the end.”
His large hands shot out, seizing her waist and yanking her hard against him. The heat blazing in his eyes was terrifying. Ji-woo’s cold fingers instinctively clutched the hem of his shirt.
“You didn’t hit me!” she cried. “That’s a… a misunderstanding. Where did you even hear something like that?”
“I didn’t?”
Ji-woo opened her mouth, but no words came out. The memory flashed behind her eyes—their first real meeting. Him, burying a body in the dark. Her, discovering him. The cold terror of realizing she was about to be murdered.
As she tried to look away, Seo Tae-joon’s hand snaked up, his fingers gripping her chin and forcing her head back up. He leaned in, his face so close she felt as if he might collide with her.
“Then tell me why you’re so scared of me,” he demanded, his voice a low growl. “From the moment I woke up until right this second. Why do you flinch every time I so much as touch you? Why do you insist on calling me ‘Mr. Seo Tae-joon,’ like you’re trying to build a wall between us? You’re always trying to run. I need the truth. Tell me.”
His eyes were like chips of dark glass. A desperate urge to flee seized Ji-woo. She never should have left the café. The rain pelted her face, each drop a tiny sting.
“That’s because… I…”
She faltered under his unwavering stare. It was impossible to untangle the knot in her chest—the fear that made her want to run and the frantic fluttering that made her want to stay. Her heart hammered against her ribs, a chaotic rhythm that blurred the boundaries she’d so carefully constructed. Scared of him, yet glad to see him. Desperate to escape, yet certain she needed him. The contradictions crashed together, leaving her breathless.
“What are you hiding from me?” he pressed. The guilt was a physical weight.
“I… I’ve been lying to you!”
“I know that.”
“No! We never even signed a marriage license!” she yelled, squeezing her eyes shut as the truth finally burst from her. It was the first time she had said it out loud. She didn’t dare open her eyes, feeling the rain stream down her face. The ensuing silence stretched on, thick and heavy. When she finally found the courage to look, Seo Tae-joon was smiling.
Goosebumps prickled her skin. It wasn’t a smile of relief or understanding. There was no surprise in his expression, no shock—only a cold, knowing cynicism, as if he’d expected this all along. He looked at her as if this confession was just another one of her lies.
“I really can’t be nice to you, can I?”
She didn’t remember the taxi ride home; it was a blur of rain-streaked windows and suffocating silence. The moment the apartment door clicked shut behind them, he slammed her against it. “Ah—!”
A cry was torn from her throat as his mouth crashed down on hers. It was a violent, punishing kiss, his tongue invading, trying to devour her. His teeth scraped against her lips, and his weight pressed her into the hard wood of the door.
The kiss grew frantic, more aggressive. She shoved at his chest with all her strength, but he only tightened his grip. The wrist he had grabbed as he’d pulled her into the taxi throbbed with a dull ache. All she could remember from the ride was the tense silence as he stared out the window, his profile a mask of stone, while she risked cautious, terrified glances his way.
She had tried to rationalize. Maybe he feels cheated, finding out everything he believed was a lie. The truth must have hit him hard. She’d told herself she needed to give him time to process it.
But he hadn’t given her a second. She’d barely managed to cry his name—“Seo…!”—before he’d smothered the sound. When she kicked out, her foot connecting weakly with his shin, he finally pulled back, but only after a last, bruising suck on her swollen lips.
His eyes were black pools of anger. Ji-woo gasped for breath. “Let’s talk about the misunderstanding.”
His cold, unyielding gaze made her feel impossibly small. “Seo Tae-joon, please…” she begged, her voice trembling. “What I meant was, some couples… they live together without being officially married…”
Seo Tae-joon let out an exasperated sigh. “Wouldn’t it be better if you just shut your mouth?”
Defeated, Ji-woo lowered her head. He watched her for a long moment before turning away to peel off his rain-soaked shirt. A shiver that had nothing to do with the damp cold wracked her body. The air felt sharp against her skin, and she knew, with a sickening certainty, what he intended to do next.
“I’m sorry for lying,” she whispered.
She hated the submissive tremor in her own voice, but survival came first. Now was not the time to fight him; it was time to soothe the beast. Her confession had clearly shaken him, and she had to tread carefully.
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?” he said, his voice laced with venomous sarcasm. “The fact that I can’t remember a thing. It lets you feed me one outrageous lie after another.”