Black Paradise Chapter 3.5

A lie. Then was what I saw earlier really a misunderstanding? As his eyes traced Seo Juhyeok’s waist, Seo Juhyeok’s other hand gently lifted his chin.

“This happened last time we ate together, and in my room too. I was puzzled back then as well, but I just let it go. I can’t stand being curious twice, so Mr. Kwon Ilyeong, you should just give up and tell me. Why are you self-harming?”

Self-harm? Could this be called self-harm? It was more like a safety measure to escape from pain. As he kept his lips firmly shut and fidgeted, the finger that had been stroking his jawline moved up to toy with his earlobe as if to soothe him. Regardless of that, Ilyeong drifted off into another world.

When he was running away earlier, he was certain Seo Juhyeok was chasing him to kill him. Was his brain really breaking down? As he thought that, his strength drained out through the soles of his feet. Ilyeong, completely limp, stammered as he opened his lips.

“Self-harm…. This is just a habit. It’s not like that.”

“There must be a reason.”

“……Because of a bad headache.”

Ilyeong said it himself, but he shut his mouth, thinking it was a sophistry. However, it was also the truth, without a single lie mixed in. The man in front of him would never believe that a son of a bitch and a winter wind lived inside his head. If he confessed that this was the only way to calm the parasites running wild because he couldn’t get his drugs, he would probably sneer with that characteristic expression of his. He didn’t want to become that pathetic.

When Ilyeong kept his mouth locked shut until the end, Seo Juhyeok flicked an eyebrow and then backed down a step.

“It doesn’t seem like a simple headache. Any other symptoms besides that?”

“……Other than my head being a bit foggy and hearing ringing in my ears, I’m normal. No, my wrist is starting to hurt, so please let go now. I don’t have the strength to cause any more trouble anyway.”

The hand that was stroking his earlobe stopped dead.

“I’ve heard of similar symptoms from someone around me recently.”

It was then that Seo Juhyeok’s black eyes strangely changed their light.

“Feeling anxious, head is foggy, the headache is ceaseless, feeling insecure that someone might harm you…….”

“…….”

“Could it be a coincidence that the symptoms are this similar?”

The tip of Seo Juhyeok’s fingernail dug into his skin, making his earlobe tingle. Ugh, a groan escaped through his closed lips.

Unable to free his captured hand, Ilyeong hunched his neck. The heat spreading from his ear was scorching.

“It hurts. What are you thinking about?”

“Well. The idea of forgetting pain with pain was rather impressive, I guess. Mr. Kwon Ilyeong, you surprise me every time. Are you doing it on purpose?”

Contrary to his thought that he would torment his ear more without restraint, he quickly released the pressure from his fingertips. However, his somewhat complicated gaze remained the same. It was a gaze like an awl that would dig through every corner of his very soul. Seo Juhyeok, having shed the skin of a thoughtless hooligan, now wore the face of a meticulous investigator. It was a face that always made Ilyeong feel powerless and frightened.

Ilyeong couldn’t withstand the pressure and dropped his head. The pattern on the carpet that came into view looked like a person’s face. When their eyes met, the floor waved its hand. The solid floor undulated like water, and he felt a wave of motion sickness.

It wasn’t just because of Seo Juhyeok’s hand that he couldn’t move. The silence flattened his brain. His limbs were tied up tight. The fear that wherever he ran, it would ultimately be within his own delusion, consumed his mind.

“Don’t look at me…… like that.”

Ilyeong mumbled. The voice, thick with a sense of defeat, sounded utterly helpless. He wanted to disappear somewhere right then and there. He had absolutely no confidence to look at Seo Juhyeok’s face, so he focused on counting the patterns on the carpet.

Seo Juhyeok stared at the white nape of his neck, exposed and defenseless before him. He wondered what on earth had happened in the past few days; he had put up his guard endlessly, making one feel frustrated, yet his actions were so full of openings. Just what rhythm was he supposed to match…….

Only after a long while did he murmur in a raspy voice.

“Shall I check?”

What? Just as Ilyeong was about to lift his head at the humid voice falling from above, something suddenly intruded into his lowered line of sight. At the same time, something hot touched his lips.

It wasn’t difficult to grasp the situation. Instead of lifting Ilyeong’s chin like before, Seo Juhyeok lowered his posture and kissed him at an angle. Pushed by the gentle force of the lips moving up from below, Ilyeong’s head was naturally lifted. As his neck gradually tilted back, instead of binding Ilyeong’s wrist, he stroked the nape of his neck with his hand. His body trembled automatically at the hot sensation, and his lips parted.

As if he had been waiting, Seo Juhyeok bit his lower lip. Then, he wet the lip, which had a scab from being abused by his teeth for the past few days, and sucked on it suckingly. It was a kiss so tender it could have passed for one between lovers.

The soothing and coaxing was brief; Seo Juhyeok gnawed on the scab and finally drew blood. He sucked up even the blood as if it were holy water. Ilyeong’s mind grew faint, as if his very soul was being sucked out.

“Ha, ugh……!”

“Why. Mr. Kwon Ilyeong, you like it when it hurts, don’t you? Relax.”

How could he interpret it like that? He was choked with anger, but there was no time for the words to come out of his mouth.

Seo Juhyeok pushed through the gap between his lips and bit Ilyeong’s soft tongue. Pushing past the bursting moans, he went in deeper and immediately swept the root of his tongue. He repeatedly fumbled the deepest part with the tip of his tongue, as if to confirm something, and then pulled out.

At some point, an arm that had slipped between his back and the wall wrapped around Ilyeong’s waist. His body, held in a firm embrace, was pressed tightly against Seo Juhyeok.

A thick thigh that invaded the space between his legs rubbed slowly against his lower half. Heat quickly began to pool in his nether regions. At the sudden stimulation, Ilyeong’s eyes flew wide open.

“Heut!”

“Hah…….”

Seo Juhyeok, too, pushed his own lower body, which had become hard at some point, and rubbed slowly. They shouldn’t get any more entangled. The relationship with Seo Juhyeok would become poison someday. But the act of breaking a taboo was so ecstatic and sweet that all the strength drained from his body.

Seo Juhyeok’s hand, which had been stroking his waist and side, moved further down as smoothly as flowing water. The hand, sliding over his clothes like a snake, fumbled over Ilyeong’s semi-hard penis.

Ilyeong let out an involuntary moan and his hands trembled. Seo Juhyeok fumbled with the zipper of his pants with a rough touch and pushed into his mouth with even fiercer momentum.

Suddenly, the murmuring voices of a man and a woman could be heard from beyond the hallway. Ilyeong’s body stiffened as if struck by lightning. He hurriedly pulled his lips away.

Seo Juhyeok, unable to tolerate even that moment, bit down on his lips again. A moan escaped at the spiteful kiss. As if further stimulated by it, Seo Juhyeok exhaled a hot breath and pushed his hand under Ilyeong’s sweater. The cool sensation climbing up his skin made his stomach muscles quiver.

In the meantime, the presence of people drew a little closer. Ilyeong used all his strength to pull out his captured arm and pushed him away. He punished the resentful tongue that was stirring inside his mouth, as if it had forgotten everything around them, by biting down hard on it.

“Ah.”

“Ha, ah…….”

Seo Juhyeok’s body, which had been clinging stickily to his, finally pulled away. The eyes, like well-honed blades, revealed a chilly light from under their lids. They were the savage eyes of a hunter who had lost his prey just before the most opportune moment.

A glimpse of blood could be seen inside his mouth as he opened it to exhale. As his crimson tongue licked over his lips, it was faintly smeared with blood.

Seo Juhyeok wiped his mouth with his hand, smearing the remnants of blood there. Even while doing so, he did not take his eyes off him, making Ilyeong’s heart drop with a thud.

Why are you looking at me with those eyes? It’s your fault for pouncing on me even though I told you to stop. Ilyeong endured the terror that made his limbs tremble and glared at him fiercely.

Finally, his other arm was slowly raised. He flinched and squeezed his eyes shut, but what came was not a harsh fist. The hand that coolly brushed past the nape of his neck went down and wrapped around his waist again.

Seo Juhyeok tilted his head loosely and this time, he sucked on his ear. The sound of him licking the shell of his ear with his tongue and sucking on the fleshy part filled his ears. Ilyeong’s eyelashes trembled.

“People are…….”

“Shhh. It’s okay.”

The low voice soothed and placated Ilyeong’s tension. What was okay? He couldn’t tell, but everything that struck his eardrums was so tender and ecstatic that Ilyeong just bit his lower lip hard. It felt like not just his body, but his brain was melting into mush. It was an irresistible temptation.

Seo Juhyeok now diligently licked his naturally tilted-back neck and jawline. His moist fingers once again slipped into his sweater. The fingers that went straight for his chest gently rubbed his nipple. Every time he took it between his knuckles and slowly rolled it as he pleased, Ilyeong’s thighs would flinch.

Haa…. As if chasing the exhaled breath, Seo Juhyeok bit his lips again. The metallic smell of blood, he couldn’t tell if it was his or his own, rushed into his mouth.

Every moment felt surreal. Seo Juhyeok’s voice, the kiss with him, was a pleasure that made him forget the terrifying reality. As they pressed their bodies together like this, Paradise, Colonel Jamie, the carrier pigeon, all of it lost its boundaries and crumbled away. His vision flickered, perhaps because of the fever. He had to admit it now. That he had been attracted to Seo Juhyeok from their very first meeting, more than he had ever imagined. That it was far too late to regret it.

“Seo, Juhyeok, heut…….”

Ilyeong exercised his last bit of patience and pulled the hand out from inside his clothes. When he pushed against his chest, Seo Juhyeok obediently backed away. At a close distance, their hot breaths mingled stickily.

“……This is difficult.”

Seo Juhyeok furrowed his brow and straightened his posture. The face standing with its back to the moonlight looked somewhat angry, and also somewhat anxious.

“I take back what I said about not wanting things to get serious.”

“Ha, ah…….”

Ilyeong panted rapidly and stared intently at his face. Out of character, Seo Juhyeok hesitated slightly before stroking the area around Ilyeong’s feverish eyes. The touch was as careful as if handling something fragile and hard to manage. It was unlike the person who had been roughly pushing his lower body against him just moments before.

Suddenly, he let out a hollow laugh as if in despair.

“Is it too late to say this now?”

It was a self-deprecating tone. Seo Juhyeok, his face stiff, added no more words. However, he quickly straightened out the clothes for Ilyeong, who was preoccupied with breathing.

Ilyeong pretended not to see his core, standing fiercely as if it would burst through his pants.

“Saying you were going to ‘check’…… that was just an excuse, wasn’t it?”

Ilyeong asked, wiping his blood-stained lips with the back of his hand. His breathing was still shaking unsteadily. Seo Juhyeok finally relaxed his rigid expression and smiled.

“You figured it out now? For someone who just figured it out, Mr. Kwon Ilyeong was quite eager too, wasn’t he?”

His hand, having finished tidying the clothes, swept over the bulge in Ilyeong’s pants.

Ilyeong gritted his teeth and pulled his hand away. Whatever it was, he had no intention of doing it in a place like this, especially not in front of onlookers. Fortunately, Seo Juhyeok seemed to agree, as he drew his hand back.

“I feel like we lack conversation, but an intruder keeps showing up. It’s starting to piss me off.”

Seo Juhyeok’s fingers, as if playing a piano, lightly brushed past Ilyeong’s cheek.

“Unfortunately, I’m going to be busy for a while again, thanks to Mr. Kwon Ilyeong. It’ll be difficult for now, but try to give me another chance soon.”

The busyness was likely because of Colonel Jamie, and the request for a chance…… was he suggesting they talk soberly and then actually have sex this time?

His mind was in a daze, and unable to find a response, he frowned. Seo Juhyeok let out a low laugh.

“No, should we just set a deadline?”

“What are you…….”

Seo Juhyeok lowered his head and suddenly bit down hard on the nape of his neck. His whole body flinched at the forceful strength, which made his skin tingle.

Ilyeong grabbed Seo Juhyeok’s firm shoulders and pushed him away. Heat rose to his cheeks and earlobes. A mischievous smile played on Seo Juhyeok’s lips as he stroked the mark.

“Let’s meet again before this mark disappears. In the meantime, Mr. Kwon Ilyeong, you should rack your brain about what kind of compensation you’ll give me. That way, I’ll be more motivated to work like a dog.”

The two eyes, which had been gasping with unfulfilled desire, finally seemed to shine with a bit of satisfaction. He put on his mask again by playfully wrinkling his nose. No one was unaware that the time for their brief rendezvous had come to an end.

Thump, thump. The sound of footsteps, driving reality forward from the far end of the hallway, grew closer.

Before long, the well-ripened moonlight infiltrated the hallway through a window. Ilyeong walked down the corridor, firmly pulling up his stretched-out sweater. With every footstep on the carpet, the memory from a little while ago came to mind.

The person who had come all the way to this remote place to find them was said to be Seo Juhyeok’s aide. While they were kissing, he thought he had vaguely heard several voices, but it seemed his wretched brain had distorted his senses again.

The man, explaining that he had been ‘a little’ flustered because Seo Juhyeok hadn’t shown his face for days, was pale with fright.

Seo Juhyeok made the absurd remark that the tagger had changed, so now it was the aide’s turn to hide, which finally made the man’s face turn blue. Despite that, the aide didn’t say much, which suggested that Seo Juhyeok usually acted like such a hooligan even towards his own entourage.

Amidst it all, the aide kept glancing at Ilyeong, as if bothered by the unfamiliar presence. Noticing this, Seo Juhyeok shrewdly took him and left. His staggering footsteps were unusual for someone who had been making eye contact and conversing perfectly fine with him just moments before. That too seemed to be a part of the masks he often wore.

“Mr. Kwon Ilyeong, one last piece of advice. Don’t trust the people around you too much.”

Before turning to leave, Seo Juhyeok added those meaningful words. It was a playful tone that didn’t match the polite, formal speech, but his eyes were serious. It seemed he was conscious of the aide standing beside him.

For Ilyeong, it was still an incomprehensible statement. The person he should be most wary of from his own perspective was saying such a thing. Who did Seo Juhyeok have in mind when he said that?

When Ilyeong creased his eyes as if he didn’t understand, Seo Juhyeok burst into a light laugh and walked away.

Tap, tap. Until the very end, he didn’t forget to remind him of their promise by tapping the nape of his neck, where he had bitten, with his fingertips.

“He’s a psycho.”

A voice he had forgotten suddenly cut into his thoughts.

Nam Kiyoon had made that harsh assessment as if he knew Seo Juhyeok very well, as if it wasn’t even worth considering. It was certain that Seo Juhyeok’s way of thinking was unpredictably difficult to follow. He was more superior than anyone, yet he acted bold as if he had nothing to lose, and he was stronger than anyone, yet he feigned being an ordinary person as if to hide that fact.

Dishonorable nicknames like psycho and lunatic must have originated from that very behavior. However, Ilyeong had glimpsed, in every detail, just how meticulous the true face beneath that ridiculous mask was. He also had a rough idea of how grand a play he was preparing behind that mask.

Today, the drug he had supposedly taken was, based on the circumstances, Black.

If that was the case, was Black too…… merely a prop for his play?

“Ah…….”

Whoooosh……. A typhoon was brewing in his head.

Ilyeong briefly leaned against the wall and stopped walking. Though he didn’t know his precise inner thoughts, Seo Juhyeok had simply left him alone today. His interest was solely focused on kissing him and talking to him.

He was a man impossible to figure out. Because of that relaxed atmosphere, he felt himself becoming relaxed too, as if he had been assimilated.

A strange feeling bloomed at the thought that Seo Juhyeok might have been a customer of the drug he created. With what desperate heart had he sought out that drug? What thoughts had he had while swallowing it?

Ilyeong had entrusted all drug sales in the evacuation zone to the truck driver and had never once been curious about the customers who bought this drug. But at this very moment, he was a little curious about Seo Juhyeok’s impression of it.

Would Seo Juhyeok also receive that strange comfort from the drug, the feeling of being trapped alone in a sinkhole? The feeling of his whole body being crushed by an invisible pressure, and the world that had been drifting aimlessly, calmly settling down.

It was a complacent curiosity that didn’t fit the current situation, but once it started, he couldn’t stop the thought. It felt like he had become an artist presenting a work he poured his soul into to the world for the first time.

Of course, he was just a drug offender, a far cry from such a noble profession, and it was doubtful if any artists even remained in a muddled era like this, but anyway, he just lumped himself in with them, figuring that the artists who had made their mark on history must have felt this way too.

Suddenly, he had an intuition.

“Speaking of which, I’m about to go blind these days from looking for an actor to cast in the finale. I still haven’t even identified one of them, so I’m still searching, but excluding him, the list is more or less complete.”

That the actor Seo Juhyeok was looking for might be the creator of Black.

That meant he was the final puzzle piece that would complete Seo Juhyeok’s play. If so, his end becomes even more certain.

“……When that play is over, what happens to all your actors?”

“Of course, I plan to push them all off the stage. No exceptions.”

It took only a moment for the dream he once had in the junkyard to come to mind. The darkness whispering sweet nothings with its lips to his ear, and Seo Juhyeok, whom he met at the end of a death he had walked into, unable to resist temptation. Could that have been a prophetic dream?

His head throbbed. Seo Juhyeok was a man who would use anything around him to complete his plan.

The dilemma was that until he knew how he intended to use Black and what kind of pawn he intended to use him as, he couldn’t even try to strike a deal, offering to make the drug in exchange for information about the lottery. He couldn’t recklessly take on such a high-risk task. To put it bluntly, what if all of this was a giant trap set by Seo Juhyeok to catch him?

If so, the card he had left besides Black……. In this situation where everything was as hazy as fog, there was only one thing he could be sure of.

That whether it was out of curiosity or something else, Seo Juhyeok quite liked him as he was now. It wasn’t the best solution, but at the very least, he could try to make a deal with Seo Juhyeok using his own body.

After all, it was none other than Seo Juhyeok who had suggested they meet sober and have sex. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to sound him out for information when he was in the best mood.

If he really couldn’t find another way, he could just straightforwardly beg him to spare his life.

Only after thinking that far did he realize he was clenching his fist so tightly that the back of his hand had turned white, and that the wound under the bandage had burst open.

The pain was excruciating and blood was dripping drip, drip to the floor, but all he could do was stand there blankly. His heart tightened with an unknown emotion, then dropped, over and over again.

……Why? Could it be that I’m hurt? Because I resolved to sell my body to Seo Juhyeok?

The pain in his chest that returned like a certainty in response to the question was dumbfounding.

It wasn’t even the first time. Before becoming a researcher, he had sold his body a few times to survive, and he had been indifferent even when pointed at as a male prostitute for several years. So, something like this is nothing……. It’s just the same thing with Seo Juhyeok.

“I feel nauseous…….”

Ilyeong clamped his good hand tightly over his mouth and gritted his teeth. Suddenly, it felt like he had truly become Scheherazade of the Arabian Nights, and he could only let out a hollow laugh. Of course, Scheherazade was a clever woman who captivated a mad king with her long, long stories, whereas he was merely a male prostitute prepared to sell his body, which made them very different.

He let his feet carry him where they would, and before he knew it, he was at a dead end. Ilyeong slowly turned his footsteps back around. The fluttering in his heart had calmed down a lot.

It was just as he was turning a corner that a rough hand grabbed his arm. Ilyeong was instantly pulled into the shadows. There, he met a pair of eyes burning with hostility.

The face, filled with raw emotion, spotted Ilyeong—or more precisely, the nape of his neck which must have been stained red and purple—and contorted viciously.

“Disgusting.”

It was Ji Taeun. His glaring gaze was so sharp it felt like he could run at him with a knife at any moment. Ilyeong pulled his captured arm away a half-beat too late.

“Did you follow me?”

“Ha! So what if I did? I was worried you were being chased by Seo Juhyeok, but I did a useless thing. I thought the rumors about you being a male prostitute were just nonsense!”

Ji Taeun’s jaw muscles bulged, so much so that the sound of his teeth grinding could be heard. His demeanor was so menacing it looked like he would pounce at any second.

Ilyeong faced him with an expressionless face. A male prostitute. The last time he heard that to his face was when he had a dogfight with his cousin Alex, wasn’t it? A wave of exhaustion washed over him. He let out a long sigh like pouring water.

“Whether I really sell my body or do whatever else, it’s not something for Mr. Ji Taeun to get angry about. I guess my hearing the voices earlier wasn’t a mistake. You didn’t come alone, did you?”

“Why, are you embarrassed to be seen by someone else? Something felt strange so I sent them back first, but I shouldn’t have. To think you’d hook up with someone from Paradise, of all people, and Seo Juhyeok at that. I should have shown that disgusting sight to him too!”

“Who are you talking about?”

“…….”

Ji Taeun shut his mouth. Ilyeong rubbed his throbbing temples and scrunched his face.

“No, I think I have a rough idea since I heard things too. I actually had something to ask you about that matter anyway.”

“You’re not even going to make an excuse?”

“What excuse do I have to make to you?”

“Did you forget everything I told you last time? Seo Juhyeok is our…….”

“Our?”

Ji Taeun took a deep breath, his expression showing that he was suppressing a great deal. He looked frustrated, as if he wanted to pour out what had risen to the tip of his throat but couldn’t. Ilyeong pretended not to notice and continued speaking.

“I believe I’ve already told you that I have no intention of getting on the same boat as you. The reason I wanted to see you, Mr. Ji Taeun, wasn’t to talk about your zone.”

“Besides that, what other business could there be between us?”

“I heard you’ve been hanging out with Yuto these days. What are you thinking?”

“Do I need a reason? Both Yuto and I are alone, so we just naturally started hanging out together.”

“I didn’t think Mr. Ji Taeun was the type to hang out with others for a reason like that. I also heard that the two of you seem to be plotting something.”

Ji Taeun’s eyes turned sharp in an instant.

“You’ve got yourself a truly loyal underling. I suppose Haoran, that son of a bitch, is tattling on everything, isn’t he? Tell him to stop glancing over at us. I feel sorry for Yuto, who’s already plenty intimidated.”

“Sorry for Yuto?”

“The people in your zone are ostracizing him. Did you think I wouldn’t know? I saw with my own two eyes how Haoran treats Yuto. And you, Mr. Kwon Ilyeong, also moved rooms to avoid Yuto, didn’t you?”

Ilyeong was silent for a moment. He was about to retort that Haoran was just a son of a bitch like that to everyone, but he decided against it, thinking it would seem like he was defending Haoran.

“The reason I moved rooms was because of a personal matter between Yuto and me, and I have no other ill feelings. I’m just uncomfortable with everyone in our zone.”

“Lies. And yet you get along just fine with Haoran.”

“He’s a nuisance to me too, so you can pick him up if you want, Mr. Ji Taeun. Stop changing the subject like this and just answer my question. Why on earth is Yuto…….”

As he was speaking, a powerful headache crushed his brain. His eyeballs ached and the back of his head felt tight. His utterly exhausted body was protesting its fatigue.

Ilyeong roughly rubbed his eyes and lightly tapped the side of his head with his palm. Then, suddenly sensing an unnatural silence, he lifted his head.

Ji Taeun was staring blankly at him, as if looking at a crazy person.

“You were like this last time, too. Yuto said so. That your condition was a bit strange. Yes, then I can understand why you were bewitched by Seo Juhyeok.”

“What are you talking about. This is just a headache…….”

“Mr. Kwon Ilyeong, get a grip. Seo Juhyeok deliberately approached you, aiming for a moment when you were weakened. Because that’s his specialty. I’ve told you before, haven’t I? That man ruined our zone in the most cunning and vicious way.”

Ji Taeun fell silent for a moment, then continued in a slightly softer tone.

“Seo Juhyeok pretended to conciliate us, and when we had let down all our guard, he ruined the zone as if to make a point. Mr. Kwon Ilyeong must know what the end result was.”

“…….”

Ilyeong stood perfectly still and listened to Ji Taeun’s story. Ji Taeun finished his story with emphasis.

“I’m giving you advice for your own good, Mr. Kwon Ilyeong. You have to be able to distinguish between reality and ideals. What I saw today…… I’ll just pretend I didn’t see it.”

“What are you going to do if I tell Seo Juhyeok everything about you blabbering on like this?”

“You don’t have any proof. And if you were going to tell him, you would have done so already. I know for a fact that you won’t tell, Mr. Kwon Ilyeong.”

Annoyingly, that was the truth. It was hard enough just to keep himself alive, so what was the point of reporting on the other field mice?

As Ilyeong remained silent, Ji Taeun seemed to ponder for a moment before continuing.

“If you’re not going to help, at least don’t get in the way.”

Ji Taeun, who had been opening and closing his mouth as if he were about to say something else, just turned around and left abruptly.

Left alone, Ilyeong briefly fumbled and rubbed the indentations in his palm with his fingertips. A stinging pain followed.

“……You have to be able to distinguish between reality and ideals.”

The words Ji Taeun left behind grew there like a thorn. It soon returned as a rebuke, telling him he needed to be able to distinguish between reality and delusion.

The bite mark wasn’t the only thing Seo Juhyeok had left on Ilyeong’s neck. He had planted a great many seeds of doubt there. The seeds would grow heartily, feeding on the disturbances created by his brain. And at some point, they would swallow him whole.

He suddenly felt scared. He desperately needed to sort through what was reality and what was delusion. Ilyeong gritted his teeth and retraced the path from which he had fled.