Actually, It’s a Messy Melodrama Chapter 10

“Ugh…!”

With a short groan, Haeshin’s body collapsed onto the soft grass. Blood quickly filled his mouth. His cheek had been thoroughly busted.

Youngmin usually avoided hitting the face, but today he seemed truly enraged. It was as expected. Haeshin had defied Youngmin’s wishes in front of another man and even openly conversed with him. By this point, it was practically a death sentence.

But instead of cowering in fear, Haeshin spat out blood and sneered at Jin Youngmin. What a pathetic bastard. Cowering and unable to say a word in front of Han Taejun, only to resort to violence now—it was utterly laughable.

“Urgh…!”

“You still haven’t learned your lesson, have you? You bastard, do my words sound like a joke? Huh?!”

Grabbing Haeshin’s hair and yanking him up, Youngmin slapped his cheek harshly again. This time, the wedding ring on Youngmin’s finger struck Haeshin’s eye area. His vision flashed, and something wet trickled down his cheek.

“Please, save me! Please, save me!!”

Haeshin curled up on the ground, screaming at the top of his lungs. It wasn’t directed at Youngmin. It was in the faint hope that, by some slim chance, Han Taejun had heeded his words and followed. He hoped Taejun would hear him.

Han Taejun surely had the power to somehow open the locked door of this house. It was a desperate effort for the less-than-one-percent chance that Taejun would hear his voice and break into this prison. Haeshin had always thrown himself at such near-impossible odds.

“Go ahead, make a scene. What’s screaming going to do? Huh? What’s it going to do?”

Jin Youngmin spat out his words in short bursts, kicking Haeshin with each syllable. The promise that he’d make Haeshin the most precious person in the world if only he’d come to him and accept his heart had long been thrown into the gutter.

Gasping for breath, Haeshin crawled across the ground as if trying to escape. He didn’t know if Han Taejun would come, but he wanted to buy as much time as possible. The likelihood of dying inside the house was higher than in the garden, so Haeshin wanted to hold out here if he could.

“Get over here.”

“Let go, let go!!”

But Youngmin grabbed Haeshin by the collar and began dragging him toward the house. Haeshin thrashed with all his might.

“Save me! Please, save me!!!”

There had been a day when he genuinely wanted someone’s help. Toward the people doing housework in his place, the bodyguards monitoring him, the countless others who could have helped Cha Haeshin if they wanted, Haeshin had desperately pleaded.

Please let me out. Please report this. Please open the door. It hurts. I’m going to die. Please, please, someone save me.

It was futile. All of it was meaningless. Though he wasn’t locked away alone on a deserted island, Haeshin had died over and over again amidst the indifference of many.

“Save me!!”

So, the screams Haeshin let out now weren’t truly because he expected Han Taejun to save him. They were to gauge Taejun, to use him to ultimately save himself.

The true screams of Cha Haeshin were heard only by Cha Haeshin himself. Always.

“Go on, scream more. Scream louder, go ahead.”

Despite the continuous screams, Youngmin scoffed and kept dragging Haeshin. Soon, Haeshin’s battered body, scraped across the ground, disappeared into the house, and as the heavy iron door closed, his screams vanished as if they had never existed.

☂️

—The door should be left open. You can just walk in if you want.

“Got it. Good work.”

Receiving Secretary Choi’s report, Taejun parked the car and let out a long sigh. He had arrived in front of Jin Youngmin’s house. On Cha Haeshin’s single plea, Taejun had actually come all this way.

Ringing the doorbell and entering confidently was an option, but for some reason, Taejun had a gut feeling he needed to enter without Youngmin knowing. He didn’t want to give him time to prepare.

Taejun slowly got out of the car and looked up at Jin Youngmin’s imposing house. The last time he’d been inside, he’d witnessed Cha Haeshin’s death. What scene would he encounter today? Why had Cha Haeshin insisted on luring him here?

They hadn’t had any real interaction, and if anything, Taejun was closer to Jin Youngmin than to Cha Haeshin. Why would he, someone Taejun barely knew, go out of his way to involve him?

Taejun pulled a lollipop from his pocket and popped it into his mouth. It was a habit he’d picked up a few cycles ago.

In one cycle, when his disillusionment with life had reached its peak, Taejun had taken up smoking, something he’d never done before. For a while, cigarettes seemed to help with his ennui.

The surprised reactions from those around him, wondering why he’d suddenly started smoking, were amusing. When repeating the same timeline and life, there were times when he became obsessed with doing anything different from before.

But in the very next cycle, Taejun quit smoking. It was similar to why he’d quit drinking, which he’d once been heavily reliant on. He hated the feeling of being addicted to something. The idea that such an addiction would linger like a curse, even through death, was unsettling.

Because Han Taejun couldn’t escape any curse by using death as a means, he had no choice but to be cautious about ruining his life.

And after cigarettes, he’d started with these lollipops. When his mind felt stifled or he had something to ponder, he’d unwrap a lollipop and pop it in his mouth. They tasted better than cigarettes and were less addictive, so they were decent enough.

Hearing people comment on how he was eating candy, something he’d never touched before, wasn’t bad either. Though, even that was starting to get old, and he hadn’t yet found a replacement for the lollipops.

“It’s quiet…”

As Secretary Choi had reported, the gate to the garden was already open. That guy sure knew how to get things done. Wondering what kind of sweet talk Choi had used to convince the household staff, Taejun strode across the garden with a wry thought.

“…”

Taejun’s steps halted when he reached the spot where Cha Haeshin had fallen last time. There was no Cha Haeshin bleeding from the throat, but there were bloodstains, as if someone had spilled them.

Feeling a foul mood, Taejun tossed the lollipop he’d been sucking onto the ground, crushed it under his foot, and opened the front door to enter. Passing the shoe rack and an unusually long hallway, he reached an inner door.

“A prison, huh.”

The structure gave him an eerie feeling for some reason. Opening the inner door and stepping into the living room, Taejun frowned. The room was a mess, as if a violent struggle had taken place.

Vases and decorations lay shattered on the floor, crunching loudly under Taejun’s feet. Yet, no one came out to see him. Following the broken glass shards like Hansel’s breadcrumbs, Taejun walked on.

Soon, sounds reached Taejun’s ears. Someone shouting in anger, pained screams—they grew clearer and clearer.

“Ah…”

Finally, Taejun’s steps stopped in front of a half-open door. His breath caught, and his heart began pounding fiercely.

Through the gap in the door, on the bed, were Jin Youngmin and Cha Haeshin. Haeshin, his face bloodied, lay with his legs spread, trembling, while Youngmin, with a demonic expression, choked Haeshin’s neck and thrust violently between his legs.

“I told you, didn’t I? I said I love you!!”

“Guh…! Hic!”

“You’re mine… mine, Haeshin, huh? Damn it, look at me, please!!”

Jin Youngmin shouted. There wasn’t a shred of love in his voice. Instead of responding to his spouse’s so-called love confession, Cha Haeshin could only choke. Youngmin’s hands were tightly strangling his neck, leaving him no choice.

Haeshin flailed his hands, struggling to free his throttled neck, but it was futile. Even from outside the door, Taejun could feel his life slipping away.

“You bastard… what the hell are you doing!”

Snapping to his senses, Taejun kicked the door open, grabbed whatever was at hand, and hurled it at Jin Youngmin with all his strength.

With a thud, a small picture frame hit Youngmin’s shoulder and fell to the floor. It was a photo of Jin Youngmin and Cha Haeshin’s wedding. Only then did Youngmin stop his movements, staring blankly at the shattered picture before looking up.

“Han… Taejun?”

“This guy’s completely insane.”

Taejun spat out the words, taking a deep breath to calm his emotions. Seeing Cha Haeshin, swollen-faced and being choked while violated, nearly made him lose his rationality.

Imagining Cha Haeshin trapped in this prison-like place, enduring this amidst the indifference of those around him, filled Taejun with an incomprehensible rage.

It wasn’t just a universal human emotion. The fury Taejun felt now was thicker, deeper, and more personal.

“See… I was right… You were cheating with Han Taejun…”

Muttering like a madman, Youngmin spoke as if Taejun were someone with special feelings for Cha Haeshin.

“I’ll kill you…”

“Guh…! Ugh…!”

At that moment, Taejun heard the sound of Haeshin’s breath completely giving out. Only then did he realize that even after he’d entered the room, Youngmin hadn’t released his grip on Haeshin’s neck.

“You think… I’d let you go?”

Youngmin was laughing like a lunatic. He’d seemed cautious enough at the restaurant, not this deranged, but the Jin Youngmin before him now looked like he had nothing left to lose.

Though Taejun had come here unable to ignore Cha Haeshin’s warning, he’d still had doubts. But if he hadn’t come, would Cha Haeshin have died in this prison, unnoticed by anyone?