The Bad Life – Chapter 17.1 – My Villain, My Monster, My Lover

Author: nicotine

<I’m disappointed in you, Christopher.>

A faint smell of tobacco wafted. Inhaling the scent that lightly brushed my nose tip and dispersed, I opened my eyes. I was sitting leaning back in an armchair with my head bowed. Had I dozed off? My nape felt stiff. Blankly blinking and looking down at my toe tips. Sunlight beaded on the tip of the glossy polished shoes. Is it morning? Since when?

Christopher replied coldly in a low, snide voice. Slowly blinking to shake off the heavy drowsiness pressing in, I looked at the shoes with neatly tied laces, and suddenly goosebumps prickled over my entire body. The shoes, socks, and even the suit were all clean and brand new. As if the events of last night had been a dream. Flinching, I raised my head.

A huge glass window was right in front of me. The large rectangular wooden-framed window was so big it filled from floor to ceiling. Square-cut sunlight poured abundantly into the room. Beyond the window, a fountain with a beautiful statue stood. Water droplets rising and splashing from the fountain reflected the sunlight, sparkling dazzlingly. I blankly lost my mind to the unrealistically peaceful and serene outer courtyard. The conversation sounds of the two men continuing from behind gradually faded away.

The thought that I needed to get up came only much later. Barely standing on my trembling legs, the murmuring story sounds that had been continuing stopped. My head spun, and with the sudden onslaught of pain, I barely clutched the armrest and caught my breath. Barely propping against the chair back and turning around, my eyes met the two men who had been silently watching me. Christopher in the same attire as last night, and Jerome.

The drowsiness was completely shaken off, but because of the pain, I stood silently for a moment. I was so exhausted I could not even stand still, but clutching the chair tightly, I endured. Only now could I finally understand the conversation Christopher and Jerome had been having. Jerome was reproaching Christopher for not giving prior notice about my appearance at last night’s dinner. As if they were on the same side. Come to think of it, did not those two people in front of me look remarkably casual and intimate?

The atmosphere flowing between the two was as strange as the well-manicured peace of the outer courtyard. The sight of the two men standing side by side facing me as if they were allies felt somewhat awkward. It could not be. Jerome, the top-floor boys had sold Christopher to a brothel. Because of that, Christopher’s parents committed suicide, and Christopher left his hometown. Jerome was that kind of bastard. All the top-floor boys without exception were that kind of bastards…. Clutching the chair so hard that my knuckles turned white to suppress the pain, I opened my mouth.

The tobacco smell that woke me seemed to come from Christopher. He threw the cigarette burned to the filter on the floor and ground it out with the tip of his shoe.

After extinguishing the cigarette, Christopher crossed his muscular arms firmly. He looked stubborn as a rock. He answered in a low voice without falsetto.

<It’s not a mistake. We’ve known each other again for a while.>

<…….>

As soon as I shouted with all my strength, my legs gave way, and I toppled forward. Before my nose could smash into the marble floor, a firm hand caught me.

It was Jerome. Startled by the bastard suddenly approaching right in front of my nose, I reflexively pushed him. When I staggered back and nearly fell over the chair again, Jerome reached out and yanked me harshly. Jerome half-forcibly seated me in the chair and stepped back one step. It was unfamiliar. The calm gaze of the boy who had charged like a demon on horseback, who had swung a riding crop while mad with madness, felt alien. It was unbelievable that the guy who had not stopped laughing even while becoming bloodied from my fists had calmly supported me and seated me in the chair.

Christopher replied coldly.

<…So that’s why you chased me out without saying a word until the end. Because you’re on the same side as that bastard. You did it to protect Jerome.>

<…….>

The boiling anger choked my breath. While searching for Christopher over the past eight years, I had never even imagined such a situation. Regarding my predecessor colluding with a top-floor boy, that was, I ended up recalling George with all his skin peeled off. The eyes stained with madness looking at me beyond the squishy silicone mask, those blue eyes, I raised my head and met Christopher’s sky-blue burning eyes.

<…I see, you really….>

Christopher answered only with stubborn silence. Clutching the armrest tightly, I turned my head toward Jerome. Glaring at the hateful face watching us from one step away as if observing, I shouted.

Christopher said irritably while putting a cigarette in his mouth. Jerome lit it for him and said nonchalantly.

<Don’t I? If you heard what I’ve been through in the last month, you wouldn’t say that.>

I blankly watched their friendly conversation and gestures in a daze. No matter how much I wanted to deny it, they were on the same side. There was some bond between Christopher and Jerome. Moreover, Christopher seemed to feel a deeper bond with Jerome than with me.

I could not understand it at all. My chest felt so frustrated that it seemed my head would explode like this. On Christopher’s face looking at Jerome, I could not find traces of hatred or contempt. There was no anger or loathing like mine. No, far from loathing… what should I say. That attitude… yes, it looked like friends in an equal relationship. The two treated each other as if they were close friends. That appearance felt not just heterogeneous but unreal to me, like looking at a scene from a dream.

It was just the night before last. Not years had passed, but just a few days ago! Christopher had tangled with me in a miserable and pathetic state. We had caressed each other’s genitals with hands or mouths to reach climax like ordinary men, but in the end, we could not ejaculate. The one who had made us into such monstrous wretches was Jerome standing in front. The one who had made it so we could not live ordinarily like ordinary people and had to relive the past until the moment of death was that bastard.

I was still floating in hatred that burned the roots of my chest, but Christopher casually conversed with Jerome… like George. Once Hugh’s pet dog but eventually becoming his lover, creating his own successor, with a face so similar to George who had done that, Christopher stood side by side with Jerome. I could not calm my trembling body at all.

Christopher, who had been staring intently at my trembling body from across, opened his mouth.

<…….>

The silent Jerome drawled <This is touching.> but Christopher ignored him and continued.

As Christopher’s words continued, the anger and trembling gradually subsided, and I calmly replayed his words. Christopher had used my anger toward Jerome as bait to gloss over the dinner with Timothy as if it had not happened. He was desperately trying to deceive me while pretending to be calm.

Amid the mental chaos from last night’s events, with Christopher and Jerome standing side by side pressuring me, I had been half-swayed, but that did not mean I had become a complete dazed idiot. Last night was not just the horrific events at <The Club>. I had attended the dinner. I had heard Timothy’s innermost thoughts as he tried to uncover the deaths of Hugh and George. Moreover, I had witnessed in detail Christopher and Jerome trying to hide the <real> Sergio Terres that Timothy was searching for.

It was clear that Christopher and Jerome had some conspiracy. It was not hard to guess that the conspiracy was centered around Timothy. They shared the same secret and were on the same side. Suddenly, I recalled Christopher’s appearance last night, turning away from me and leaving. I was the fatal weakness of that strange alliance. I slowly exhaled. However, the alliance between Christopher and Jerome was not my goal.

No matter what they were scheming, it had nothing to do with me. What I wanted to know, what I had strived so hard over the long years to find out, was only the top-floor boys. Hugh and George, Jerome and Simon. About these four hateful boys. What I wanted was to take revenge on those boys. That alone was what I wanted to do. There was no reason to feel betrayed by Christopher. Whether Christopher colluded with Jerome or not, it was none of my business… I gritted my teeth and glared at them.

<…….>

Continuing amid deep betrayal.

Christopher’s eyes narrowed. Jerome outright burst into laughter. I glared at the laughing Jerome as if to tear him apart. Not the type to cower from a glare, Jerome put a cigarette in his mouth with a cheerful face and casually offered me one too. That cigarette was snatched away by Christopher standing beside him.

<Exactly, I said he was pretty tenacious. If he seemed like he’d be swayed by coaxing, we wouldn’t have reached this situation.>

At the words of knocking out, I tensed up and stiffened my entire body rigidly. Jerome stared at such me intently and then brought a chair. Placing the chair in front of me, he brazenly sat facing me. It was a distance close enough for our knees to touch.

Pale smoke rose from the cigarette bitten between his red lips. The sunlight stretching from behind softly illuminated the man’s face. Through the cigarette smoke, Jerome’s face shone beautifully in the sunlight.

The lips biting the cigarette were ragged from me biting them last night. Nevertheless, they were beautiful. Rage rose to my chin, making me gasp. The bastard’s hand suddenly touched my thigh. He slowly stroked up my tautly tense thigh and calmly asked.

<No.>

I replied through gritted teeth.

Jerome had a thoughtful expression. He, who had been silently smoking, dropped ash from his cigarette between my legs and muttered.

At that moment, the ecstasy surging up making my nape prickle, I unwittingly closed my eyes tightly. I felt ashamed at the satisfaction that one word from Jerome had brought me. It was because of the contradictory fear that had been piling up layer by layer inside over the long years. I had been terribly afraid that Jerome would no longer chase me, that Simon would no longer love me, and thus my life, which had been dominated by the top-floor boys, would be entirely negated.

That one word from Jerome that he had not forgotten me, the satisfaction and shame that single phrase brought, made my mind whirl in an instant. I could not even imagine bursting into triumphant laughter like last night or biting his lips, and just exhaled roughly.

<…….>

<Yes.>

Jerome smiled so dazzlingly bright. From his brightly smiling face, I could fully grasp how much satisfaction my answer had given him. The fact that at this moment, he and I were feeling the same satisfaction was contradictory and shameful, but that too was satisfying….

<Yes, you bastard.>

Jerome, who ground out the cigarette with his shoe heel, grabbed the armrest of my chair and pulled it close. It felt like I had been drawn into his embrace with the chair. Even facing my glare that could kill, Jerome remained utterly calm. Rather, he even leaned his body closer to me.

Jerome was so defenseless and nonchalant that I could climb on him and strangle his neck right then. However, I did not twitch a single finger and just glared at the bastard.

<…….>

<Jerome, he can’t distinguish empty words.>

Christopher, who had been listening silently, interjected with an uneasy expression, but Jerome did not even turn to look at him. Staring piercingly only into my eyes, he moved his ragged lips.

It was a sweet and charming voice. How tempting were the words uttered in that hypnotic voice. Kill me. Killing him was precisely the lifelong task I had dreamed of. Just like with Hugh, just like with George, I had to bestow death equally and fairly upon him too.

It was as Jerome said. Over the past years, I had lived thinking only of the top-floor boys. It was not just my own revenge. It was also revenge for Carl and James and Matt, and for the countless lives ruined by their hands like Jamie last night. I could not end that revenge like this. I could not snap Jerome’s neck in one go just to satisfy my own thirst for revenge.

Jerome bared his canines and laughed. He gripped my knee tightly and leaned his body in. We glared at each other from a distance so close our nose tips almost touched. No, only I was glaring. Jerome had an unbearably leisurely attitude.

<…….>

Jerome, who pulled his body back, this time leaned back leisurely in his chair and even crossed his legs. He continued in a light tone as if joking.

<…….>

<Raymond….>

Jerome asked with flickering eyes.

It was a question that pinpointed my insides so accurately that rage surged. That bastard was right. Over the past eight years, I had wandered searching for ways to kill Jerome and Simon. Searching for a way to somehow sever the chains of the past.

Simply killing was not enough. With that alone, I could not call it revenge. It did not even have to be killing. I wanted to leave the same mark on them. The same as what they left on me. The traces they left on people like me, those vestiges, I needed revenge that could burn them out by the roots. I spent the past years for that. Jerome had precisely discerned what I wanted.

Jerome stood up from the chair. He said leisurely.

<…….>

He was right. Jerome was entirely right… At that moment, I was seized by some sense of defeat. However, it was not because Jerome’s words were right. It was not that….

What on earth was going on? I looked at Jerome, who was calmly looking down at me, in bewilderment. What happened, Jerome. I was to the point of wanting to ask that outright. Where did you throw away all the madness that possessed you, and how can you spout such words as if you’re another person. Where did the madman who replied with a promise when I screamed I would kill you go, and where did this gentleman in a tailcoat spouting calmly come from. I, who lived like a madman possessed by you bastards over the past years, what am I to do with this mania still pounding wildly in my chest right now.

Glaring at his face, so different from in Bluebell, swept up in anger. Due to the unexpected sense of loss, I felt like quarreling with Jerome. We were the same madmen. I wanted to gouge out those eyes calmly looking at me. I was still bound to you, but you, you are looking at me so ordinarily….

The tautly pulled tension snapped with Christopher’s indifferent mutter. Startled more than necessary, I flinched and looked at him. Jerome also turned around. Christopher was frowning while looking down at his smartphone screen.

<Why?>

Jerome nodded and strode toward Christopher. Taking the smartphone from him, Jerome soon lightly furrowed his brows.

Unable to adapt to the suddenly changed atmosphere, I alternated looking at the two men. Christopher crossed the room with an urgent expression. Ironically, the sound of high heels clacking on the marble floor was just cheerful. Opening the closed door and checking outside, Christopher locked the door. He also opened the opposite door, looked around outside, and locked it similarly.

Meanwhile, Jerome stood motionless in place, intently staring only at the smartphone screen. The lightly furrowed brow expression was utterly unfamiliar. He did not look like he was in distress. From last night’s dinner until now, Jerome had only shown faces I did not know. Unfamiliar… and unsettling.

Finally, Jerome muttered in a low voice.

<What?>

<No.>

Jerome, handing the smartphone to Christopher, replied firmly. They conversed ignoring me as if I were not there. On the other hand, I perked up my ears to not miss a single word of the conversation and watched them. Throughout the conversation, Christopher did not use falsetto even once and spoke only in a low voice. Moreover, the atmosphere of their exchange was familiar to each other. The words that they had known each other for a while were merely modest. Christopher seemed to truly trust Jerome. And at the same time, my trust in Christopher melted away like snow.

<Didn’t you say there’s no eyes at this hour?>

<That’s unknown. And I have many tails behind me too.>

The two men’s gazes gathered on me. I stared intently at Christopher.

Until now, I had never thought of Christopher as a complete ally, but neither had I thought of him as an enemy. Even seeing him whispering with Jerome right in front of me, the thought that Christopher would put me in danger did not occur. The day I drank late with Harry, when I argued with Christopher who returned around dawn, he said this too. He would never throw me as plaything.

He would never harm me. Recalling the time we had spent together, even if he himself would deny it, Christopher did have a kind of fondness for me. Because he revealed it too secretly, it was hard to know what kind of fondness it was, but like how I felt toward him, Christopher also felt a strong bond toward me. If we had not bonded, Christopher would not have invited me that night and confessed that he himself was a monster. He would not have called me a <monster>.

Protecting me in front of Timothy inviting me to the dinner was not solely for the purpose of hiding some secret. He had repeatedly told me to <run away>. As if separating me from danger. Therefore, I was convinced that Christopher would not harm me. However, in exchange for safety, I would grow ever farther from the truth. Christopher would never help with revenge. Our bond was clear but at the same time secretive, so we could never stand side by side as friends. Moreover, if Christopher stood with Jerome, we would have to face each other as enemies.

If I continued to be swept up in Christopher like this, it was as clear as day that I would be pushed ever farther from revenge. Even if something like last night happened again, it had come to the point where it would be better to uncover the secrets of the top-floor boys alone in <The Club>. Instead of the two silent men, I opened my mouth first.

<Christopher. Now I have nothing I want to hear from you. Even if you say something, I have no conviction that it’s not fabricated. Now it seems it’s time for us to go our separate ways.>

Christopher looked at me piercingly with his sky-blue eyes blazing fiercely.

<…….>

<Misunderstandings?>

Christopher asked coldly.

<My name is Raymond, and I need to tell him that I’m the <real> Sergio Terres you’re looking for. And one more thing.>

I turned my gaze to Jerome, who was watching us like a spectator across the river.

<Of course, I need to tell him who gave me the mask for <The Club>. I didn’t have the chance to answer then because of the chaos. You two saw it directly, so you know well.>

Christopher could no longer hold back and approached, seizing my collar. With no strength to resist, let alone the energy to sit properly, I was weakly dragged by him. Staring intently at that face, I suddenly asked.

Christopher furrowed his brows and looked at me puzzled. Looking at the lightly colored eyelids, I asked again.

Without waiting for a reply, I groped the body of him dressed in the evening dress indiscriminately. We glared at each other as if to devour one another.

<…….>

Before my words could finish, Christopher slammed me back into the chair. He gripped both armrests and bent at the waist, facing me in an oppressive manner as if caging me.

<That’s enough, Rachel. If you think I won’t break your nose just because you went through that last night, you’re mistaken.>

Another silence. We glared at each other without yielding an inch.

At that moment, Jerome muttered from behind.

As soon as those words were heard, Christopher released his hands from the armrests without hesitation. Jerome stood in front of me and unfastened his wristwatch, putting it into his pocket.

I kicked off the chair and stood up, but my legs gave out, and I only fell wretchedly to the floor. Jerome stood beside the fallen chair, just looking at me. Christopher stood motionless with his arms firmly crossed. I glared at the stubborn Christopher with hatred. Scraping the floor, I somehow managed to stand my body up. I had not the slightest intention of being dragged along obediently. Staggering, I hurriedly backed away.

Jerome’s eyes, watching me standing still, took on a strange gleam. I did not miss the faint trace of the madness I had been searching for flickering in those eyes. Jerome took one step forward. I gritted my teeth and backed away. He took another step forward. Backing away until my legs gave out, and I toppled wretchedly. It was a body already too exhausted to twitch a finger. I had no choice but to glare powerlessly at the approaching Jerome.

Jerome approached leisurely with a strange expression that was neither smiling nor stiff. I glared at him standing in front with bloodshot eyes.

Ridiculously easily, the bastard seized my wrist.

There was no need to struggle or anything. When Jerome lifted me up, I had no choice but to lean on him. The gripped wrist was twisted cunningly so that no strength could enter my arm. If I tried to put even a little strength into my hand, the muscles tensed like cramps, making it impossible to move. When I glared fiercely, he smiled amiably.

I craned my neck as much as possible to look back at Christopher. He was righting the fallen chair. Unable to overcome the rage, I shouted.

My voice cracked.

Christopher did not answer. Instead, the one who answered was Jerome. He said softly.

I wanted to kill him. Jerome opened the large window facing the courtyard and immediately stepped out into the garden. Startled by the pouring sunlight and the suddenly rushing cold air, my breath caught.

Jerome lightly led me, who was nearly 2 meters tall, without much effort. If I refused to walk, he half-carried me, so it was better to move my feet. Each time I forcibly stepped, the gripped wrist pulled, and my buttocks, harshly abused last night, ached as if dying. Before long, I was not only unable to resist Jerome but even lacked the strength to open my mouth and utter a single word. Rather than being supported by Jerome, sweat poured from me like rain. The body that had been handled roughly hurt, and below throbbed unbearably. Suppressing the groans that threatened to burst out involuntarily was all I could do.

Jerome noticed me suffering in pain but neither spoke to me nor slowed his steps. He silently crossed the garden and proceeded step by step along the mansion’s outer wall. By the time we finally turned to the back of the mansion and exited to the parking lot, I was completely drained and had to lean my entire body on Jerome for support. By then, Jerome was also breathing roughly, but his walking speed never slowed. When crossing between the luxury sedans, his steps even quickened slightly. I, far more exhausted, panted and could barely move my feet. Jerome silently wrapped his arm around my waist firmly, supporting my entire weight with his body, and continued walking.

With his breathing right by my ear and walking while completely relying on Jerome, suddenly a certain summer afternoon in Leatherham came to mind. The touch of Jerome’s hands carefully tending to me drugged out, the kind and intimate hands focused only on nursing me, came to mind, making the hand gripping my waist suddenly extremely uncomfortable. At the same time, the memory of a certain night when he stripped and pressed his bare skin against my shivering cold body to warm me, the sound of Jerome’s breathing by my ear, revived, making my ears suddenly burn hot. Without realizing, as I pushed him away, Jerome stopped his feet. And absurdly, Jerome pulled my body close as if soothing me, saying <Just a little further.>

While we paused, suddenly a voice calling us from behind came.

Jerome, who had been firmly supporting my side, stiffened his face. I looked at his coldly hardened face with some curiosity. However, as soon as he turned around, Jerome’s face changed to the expression of a proper gentleman, as if wearing a mask.

The one who stopped us was a burly man in his early forties with a mustache. Though his belly protruded a bit, his build was very solid. The man casually glanced at my face and then fixed his gaze. The indifferent gaze suddenly took on deep curiosity, and the corner of his mouth subtly curled up. It felt slimy, like cold water droplets running down my back.

It was the gaze of someone who recognized me. The moment my eyes met the man’s, I also felt like I knew who he was. Though it was the first time seeing his face, he must have been one of the men wearing masks in <The Club> last night. One of the bastards who had humiliated and gang-raped me.

<…As far as I know, you were supposed to be handling business in London.>

The man continued in a slimy manner with an unpleasant smile. Jerome replied politely.

<Yes. I came to see Mr. Dunwell briefly last evening and am now on my way back.>

<Yes. I planned to leave early in the morning, but because of various things last night, I overslept.>

<Everyone’s in similar situations.>

The man nodded toward me and smirked slyly at Jerome. Jerome nodded nonchalantly in agreement and then casually looked down at his own wrist.

<Hahaha, looks like you had some fun.>

The man laughed heartily and looked down at his wristwatch.

<It’s just noon now. Are you very late?>

<Yes. See you in London, Deputy Director.>

When Jerome bowed politely, the man did not hold Jerome any longer. However, he kept staring piercingly at me while nodding. Until Jerome turned his body, his gaze followed behind us. The turned Jerome walked leisurely, but his face was coldly set. We finally stopped in front of a black sedan. Jerome supported me into the passenger seat and then sat in the driver’s seat with a still leisurely attitude.

We said nothing. Jerome drove smoothly and exited the well-manicured parking lot. The man called Deputy Director stood in place watching and lightly waved his hand. Jerome opened the window, nodded, and completely left the parking lot. Until circling the mansion’s garden, Jerome did not speed up. Suddenly looking back, the man called Deputy Director had come out to the front entrance at some point and was watching us leave. He was making a phone call somewhere. Jerome seemed to have confirmed that sight through the mirror too.

As soon as entering the forest where the front gate was no longer visible, Jerome accelerated frighteningly. He floored the accelerator and turned on the smartphone power, calling somewhere. As soon as the other party answered, Jerome said urgently.

From a bit earlier, I watched him intently, losing words in surprise at Jerome’s expression and tone that I was seeing for the first time. Jerome, gripping the steering wheel tightly with a rigidly set face, continued.

Jerome paused for a moment. A voice saying something came from beyond the smartphone, but I could not hear clearly. Soon, he replied in a much calmer attitude than before.

<There’s no way to fool him, and Timothy never lets traitors go. You above all should know well, having gone through that in Chedstone.>

Jerome paused again. The car steadily increased speed, running so fast that the outside scenery blurred into afterimages.

<That’s even more ridiculous. Christopher, we don’t have time for this chatter. Get out of that house right this instant. We can remake any plan a thousand times from now on. Did you really think that after dragging Raymond into this, the plan would just proceed smoothly without any issues?>

While the call continued, the car sped like an arrow and escaped the forest. We entered a quiet rural road. Dazzling winter sunlight gathered at the edge of the hood. I held my breath and listened intently to every single word Jerome said, not missing a thing. As expected, it was clear that Christopher and Jerome had devised a plan together to bring down Timothy. Perhaps Timothy held the answers I needed. If what Jerome wanted most was to slander Timothy, then I would sabotage that effort more zealously than anyone and ruin whatever Jerome desired.

Jerome spoke coldly and abruptly ended the call. He roughly tossed Hugh’s phone onto the dashboard and clamped his mouth shut tight. He seemed completely lost in thought, as if he had forgotten I was sitting right next to him. I blankly stared at the unfamiliar face deep in contemplation. Hugh’s phone vibrated again on the dashboard, but Jerome did not even glance at it. When I swiftly snatched Hugh’s phone, he raised an eyebrow and looked at me. As soon as I checked the screen, a sly smile escaped me involuntarily. I showed Jerome the screen of Hugh’s phone. Timothy’s name was displayed there. Jerome extended one hand toward me and asked politely.

<Raymond, will you let me take the call?>

I slapped his hand away with a smack.

Hugh’s phone kept vibrating persistently. Jerome twisted his body slightly toward me. He floored the accelerator without even looking ahead, but since the road stretched straight ahead, neither of us paid it any mind. Jerome parted his beautiful lips and said.

<It’s an important call, so I have to take it.>

Instead of answering, Jerome stared at me intently. The car’s speed slowed down noticeably. I held Hugh’s phone to my ear and spoke in a deliberately casual, fabricated voice.

<Oh, Mr. Timothy. Thank you for calling first. By the way, have you heard the news? They say Jerome and Christopher already found the person you’re looking for. The one who killed Hugh and George. That would be me. When I killed those guys, Jerome was there with me, but he hasn’t told you yet?>

Jerome, who had been listening to my words carefully, smiled with a face so impassive that not a drop of blood would spill even if stabbed. The car’s speed, which had slowed for a moment, picked up again. It was so fast that if a curve appeared even by chance, none of us would escape a trip to the afterlife. However, neither Jerome nor I cared. At some point, his expression had become half-tinged with the madness I was familiar with. I found that expression immensely satisfying.

Jerome nodded his head.

<Really? Then I’ll take it.>

At that moment, the call ended. The disconnection was only momentary. Hugh’s phone vibrated again. The instant I slid my fingertip across the screen, Jerome added curtly.

By the time my finger stopped at those words, it was already too late. The call connected. However, I could not say a word. Jerome also said nothing. From beyond Hugh’s phone, connected on speaker, Timothy’s characteristically cheerful voice flowed out. Along with the voice came some kind of unidentified noisy racket.

<Jerome? Jerome, did you pick up?>

Jerome did not respond and sat straight in the driver’s seat. He kept his mouth firmly shut as he stared ahead and drove. Timothy called out to Jerome once more. No one answered. From beyond Hugh’s phone, where no voices exchanged, only the unidentified noise burrowed into our ears.

I could not bring myself to open my mouth. I had no idea if Jerome’s words were just a threat or if he meant them sincerely, but after hearing something like that, there was no way I could make a sound. Moreover, just moments ago, Jerome had called Christopher and told him to run away immediately. As I sat there silently, not even breathing, Jerome, who had been staring ahead while driving, turned to look at me with his lips curled into a wide, tearing grin. Without making a sound, he mouthed <You can’t do it, can you?> in an irritatingly teasing way.

With a face so leisurely that I wanted to slap him hard, Jerome spoke softly.

<Yes, Timothy.>

<Really? Must have been a signal issue.>

Jerome answered as if it were no big deal.

<What’s going on?>

Jerome replied without taking his eyes off the road ahead.

<I’ll charter a private jet all the way to London. Come back for a bit.>

Timothy spoke in a soft, gentle voice that sounded like Hugh’s.

<Timothy, I’ve gone too far for that. I’m already on my way to Portsmouth. Can’t we handle it over the phone?>

Of course, Jerome’s words were a lie. We were still racing along the rural road. A brief silence followed from beyond Hugh’s phone. Soon, Timothy spoke lowly.

<Jerome. I can see you right now.>

Jerome and I both glanced at the rearview mirror almost simultaneously. There was no car chasing us from behind. Silence filled the car. Jerome, me, and even Timothy were quiet. Only the incessant noisy racket continued from beyond the speaker of Hugh’s phone… only the noisy racket… A lightning-fast thought struck me, and I stuck my head out the car window. In the distance of the sky, a helicopter floated leisurely. A helicopter! I turned to look at Jerome. Our eyes met. He suddenly grabbed my arm and pulled me back properly into the seat, then sharply turned the steering wheel.

The car spun dangerously and charged into the coniferous forest lining the side of the rural road. Laughter flowed out from beyond Hugh’s phone. Timothy asked.

Instead of responding, Jerome took Hugh’s phone from my hand and tapped the end call button. The helicopter’s noisy racket disappeared. Without hesitation, he threw Hugh’s phone out the window. In its place, the sound of the helicopter’s rotors, as if flying right over the coniferous forest, grew somewhat closer.

After that, Jerome drove wildly through the coniferous forest with a silent, composed face, not uttering a word. I doubted whether he even knew the proper direction, but since I was the one who had never been to this area before, all I could do was watch as he perilously threaded through the gaps between the trees. The side mirror shattered and fell off after bumping into a tall tree, but Jerome paid it no mind. The uneven ground made the car body shake violently. Still, somehow, we could push through the forest. Above the endlessly stretching treetops, the body of the helicopter occasionally came into view. The rotor noise drew closer and then receded.

Because of the ominous premonition about Christopher and the persistent rotor sound of the helicopter chasing us relentlessly, my mind absolutely refused to organize itself. As I stared at the tree trunks flashing by and tried to swallow a sigh with effort, Jerome in the passenger seat clicked his tongue lowly.

I thought it was a mutter to himself, but Jerome continued speaking.

<…….>

I just stared at him wordlessly. Even as he focused on driving, Jerome smirked.

Jerome said playfully.

<You’ve completely burned bridges with Timothy.>

There was no more need to rack my brains. If Timothy was Jerome’s weakness, then I should naturally use Timothy against him. But unlike the way I had thrown a wrench into things for Christopher and Jerome, I could not approach Timothy recklessly. After all, I had killed Hugh, so I was in the position of having incurred Timothy’s grudge. I did not even need to think about how Timothy viewed me; the conclusion was obvious right away. To use Timothy, I needed to learn more about him. However, ironically, the only person who could provide answers about Timothy was Jerome, sitting right next to me.

As I watched Jerome deftly turn the steering wheel to swiftly avoid thick tree trunks, I asked.

Finally, beyond the thick tree trunks, a well-paved road began to come into view in the distance. Jerome raced fiercely toward that road while tilting his head with a nonchalant face. The moment we exited the coniferous forest, Jerome answered.

<How?>

The instant we burst out of the coniferous forest, the helicopter noise swelled to an astonishing volume. I stuck my head out the car window and looked up at the helicopter, then jolted in surprise. The helicopter hovered above the car with a gap so precarious it was barely there. I could clearly see the movements of people inside the helicopter preparing to lower a rope ladder. I pulled my head back into the car and stared at Jerome, who remained nonchalant.

An irritatingly calm reply came back.

<There’s no way to shake off a helicopter with a car on a road like this. You were a soldier too, so you know that.>

<What’s the point of changing the destination if you can’t shake off the helicopter?>

The car jolted as it climbed onto the road. I gazed at Jerome’s sun-tanned cheek, ear, and nape and asked.

On the straight rural road, as he unleashed terrifying speed, Jerome smiled faintly. He looked at me. Suddenly, a thick nostalgia washed over me. It was not the scent I felt from Jerome. This situation. Sitting side by side in a car speeding away, dreaming of escape from pursuit. The golden midday sunlight pouring through the car window and the vast, clear blue sky stretching out. The sudden rush of nostalgia choked my throat. Unaware of my agitation, Jerome whispered through his beautiful lips curved in a smile.

<What’s there to worry about? I’ve got a specialist right here with me.>

A feeling like my chest was being crushed made me turn away from Jerome. I stuck my head out the car window and looked up at the helicopter.

The helicopter did not chase us to the end. It pursued us along the rural road for about five minutes, then retracted the half-lowered rope ladder, changed direction, and flew off emptily in the opposite way. I watched the helicopter recede in an instant, and only when it completely vanished from sight did I pull my head back into the car. My ears were still ringing from the helicopter rotor noise. Jerome focused solely on driving, whether the rotor noise had faded or not.

Thanks to traversing the rural road at a spine-chillingly fast speed, we entered a small town. A small signpost reading <Mulsby> came into view. At last, Jerome reduced his speed. He slyly slipped into the line of other cars and proceeded along the road. Entering a road where we ran alongside other vehicles after the wide-open rural path, my body, which had been unconsciously tense, relaxed all at once. At the same time, the pain I had forgotten revived.

The wounds were minor. My torn lip corner and the scrapes from the carpet stung a bit, but they were not worth much concern. My lower body throbbed and ached, but as long as I did not move, I could endure it.

Author's Thoughts

There are numerous stimulating scenes involving rape, gang rape, violence, abuse, and drugs. Please practice discretion as you proceed.

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