Speak of The Devil

As a precaution, I checked once again, but there was not a single corner to leave the villa. Not even a window opened to let me out. The two bedrooms and bathroom on the second floor were the same. Although the bathroom window opened about 10cm, it was still impossible to escape.Fury surged through me. I even considered pulling out a dining chair to break the window. If it wasn’t bulletproof glass, wouldn’t it be easy to shatter? Yet, seeing not only the two men guarding the door but also men stationed along the walls, I couldn’t bring myself to break the glass.Even if I managed to leave this house, I wouldn’t be able to cross that wall. Realizing this drained the strength from my body, leaving me unable to summon the courage to even lift a chair.I returned to the bedroom where I had fallen asleep and sank onto the bed.Trapped. Initially, rage consumed me, but now, in its absence, absurdity filled the void. In my thirty years of life, did I ever imagine being imprisoned somewhere? Despite meeting countless people, making mistakes, and accumulating debts, imprisonment was something I never even considered.Who could have thought such a thing? Even if one wished it, would it make sense to carry it out…? A shiver ran down my spine. Jung Yiyeon was far crazier than I had ever imagined. And the reality that I had come to this villa on my own, lacking the foresight to see through it, chilled me to the bone.After the fury subsided, my body, exhausted from frantically searching the house, had no strength left. Feeling too restless to sit, I collapsed onto the bed, but found no comfort. Instead, it felt as though icy water had been poured over me. The trembling of my fingertips wasn’t just from the previous day’s exertion.Rage. Followed by absurdity. The next emotions were immediately replaced by anxiety and fear.Jung Yiyeon. What exactly does he intend to do with me? How long am I supposed to remain trapped here…?In the oppressive silence where not even a sound could be heard, my heart began to constrict.The house was too spacious. The rooms too vast. The only sound I could hear was the pounding of my own heart, which only served to intensify my fear.Jung Yiyeon returned around eight in the evening.Not wanting to stay in the room where I had been imprisoned and had sex, I sprawled on the sofa in the living room on the first floor. I kept the TV on to dispel the silence, but the content didn’t register. Caught in a state of anxiety, I drifted in and out of shallow sleep.When I heard the door opening, I snapped my head up to see Jung Yiyeon entering. At the sight of the open door, I almost sprang up, thinking I could push him aside and escape outside.But it was clear I couldn’t leave the confines of the garden. The image of the men standing guard around the villa, seen from the second floor, still lingered in my mind.“Did you rest well?”As Jung Yiyeon chattered away, the door closed behind him. Now, there was no way out. Even if I tried to leave, I couldn’t escape. Yet, as the door closed, a sense of despair engulfed me anew.“Have you eaten dinner?”I couldn’t tell if he had gone somewhere, but Jung Yiyeon, dressed in slacks and a polo shirt, treated me as he usually did. His casual inquiry about dinner left me bewildered, wondering if my imprisonment had been a figment of my imagination.“I told you to prepare dinner.”I glared at Jung Yiyeon, but he didn’t stop his nonsense.“I’m hungry. I’ll heat it up, so let’s eat.”I couldn’t stand it any longer. I rose from my seat. Although I had rested for a whole day, I didn’t feel refreshed. But I wasn’t so weak that I couldn’t move.I followed Jung Yiyeon into the kitchen. He took out a container filled with soup from the fridge. I knocked it out of his hand onto the floor.With a resounding crash, the plastic container hit the ground, spilling its contents. But I wasn’t concerned about that. My frayed nerves were solely focused on Jung Yiyeon.“Are you kidding me?”The guy who never shut up until now remained silent, offering no retort.“Do you think I can just swallow down the food right now? What’s wrong with you? What exactly are you trying to do?”“…Just come out. I’ll call someone to clean it up.”“Open the door. I’ll leave.”“That’s not possible.”“What…?”“You can’t leave.”I knew Jung Yiyeon was audacious. There were times when his unexpected remarks at unexpected times amused people and times when his audacity backfired.But I never expected him to brazenly declare that he would continue to confine me. It was so outrageous that it left me speechless.“I’ll heat up something else for you to eat. You need your strength to vent your anger, don’t you?”“Are you insane?”Jung Yiyeon just shrugged in response to my question. His actions seemed too normal to suggest madness. But pretending to be sane seemed even crazier, and it made me feel like I was losing my mind.“I won’t force you to eat if you don’t want to. Skipping a meal won’t kill you.”Jung Yiyeon turned away from me. I watched him leave the kitchen in disbelief. I didn’t know how to deal with a man who declared he wouldn’t let me out but wouldn’t engage further.Should I stab him if I have a knife? I even entertained such thoughts.I followed Jung Yiyeon again. I caught up with him in the living room and blocked his path.“Give me the keys.”“Wanna take a walk in the garden? I’ll let you out there.”“You’re really insane.”“Don’t lose your composure. You’re the only one suffering.”At that moment, something snapped inside me. Unable to bear it any longer, I swung my fist at Jung Yiyeon.Thwack! His smug face turned away. I hit him again. The satisfying sensation of the impact lingered on my fist. Hitting someone was unpleasant yet exhilarating. I’m not someone who prefers violence, but I couldn’t maintain my sanity without hitting that lunatic.“Give me the keys.”“…Lee Nan.”“Don’t call my name! Bastard, I’m leaving!”I rushed at Jung Yiyeon recklessly. But this time, my fist was caught by Jung Yiyeon’s hand. I reached out with my other hand, but it was effortlessly seized by Jung Yiyeon as well.I knew he was slightly taller and stronger than me, but I didn’t expect to be overpowered like this. I didn’t like violence, and I was even worse at fighting. Meanwhile, Jung Yiyeon clearly knew how to use his body.“Ugh!”With my wrist in his grip, Jung Yiyeon turned me around. My arms crossed in front of me. It was as if I had been pulled into his embrace. Feeling Jung Yiyeon’s warmth against my back made me shudder. I struggled against him. But even after wrestling with Jung Yiyeon for a while, I couldn’t bring him down. Even my anger-fueled strength couldn’t match his.“Let go…!”“Relax.”Jung Yiyeon’s whispered words behind me sent shivers down my spine. If I could, I would have hit him in the back of the head, breaking his arrogant nose. But Jung Yiyeon held me firmly around the waist, preventing me from retaliating. I struggled, but Jung Yiyeon’s support made it impossible for me to break free.“Bastard, what do you want from me…!”I didn’t stop resisting, but my body quickly grew tired and sluggish. Jung Yiyeon must have realized that I could no longer exert any strength. Yet he still didn’t release me from his embrace. It made me nauseous, but I was too exhausted to resist anymore.“Just stay here.”“Why the hell should I?”“I’m not letting you go. Do you have a choice?”“Are you threatening me now? Damn it, at least just threaten me!”“Can’t you see I can’t do that?”“…!”I was the one who brought up the word “threat.”Just like when I suggested sex ten times before. Jung Yiyeon had plenty to blackmail me with. In fact, he didn’t need much. Just my future and my brother. Those two were enough.“…I’m doing this because I don’t want to.”Jung Yiyeon sighed softly.Like my mouth was glued shut, I couldn’t speak. At the same time, my body stiffened.Confining someone because you don’t want to threaten them? Could there be anything more absurd? It wasn’t spoken aloud, but how was this any different from threatening me?Ha. A self-deprecating laugh escaped my lips. It was too absurd. And realizing my own powerlessness in the face of confinement and the word “threat” made me tremble with frustration.“You probably don’t want to share the same bed, right?”His audacious words filled me with indignation. Amidst this, Jung Yiyeon’s pretense of respecting my wishes was repulsive.“If you need anything while you’re here, just say so. I’ll do anything.”“Screw off, bastard.”I didn’t even want to respond. I couldn’t contain the curse spilling from my lips.Jung Yiyeon wrapped his arms around my stiff body. After confirming I wouldn’t resist further, he let go of me.“I’ve unlocked a few bedrooms, so sleep wherever you’re comfortable.”I didn’t reply, and Jung Yiyeon didn’t expect an answer from me. Uttering his one-sided remarks, he went upstairs.I stood there trembling with rage throughout the night. There was nothing I could do to escape from here. I felt suffocated just by the idea of being confined, even though I wasn’t tied up or trapped in a small space. Sleeping in this unfamiliar bedroom, unused for the past two nights in Jung Yiyeon’s villa, also kept me awake.I racked my brain all night trying to figure out how to escape from here, but no solution came to mind. If there’s one thing I’ve realized, it’s that without my phone, I’m utterly helpless. I didn’t even wish for external contact. Without a phone, I couldn’t even look up anything if I wanted to.As the morning sun rose, I heard the sound of the door opening. There was no lock on the door of this damn villa, so I couldn’t lock it from the inside. Maybe they repaired the front door to prevent me from opening it from the inside.“I’m leaving.”Jung Yiyeon called me with a very soft voice, as if he thought I was asleep. I almost ignored him, but a sense of hope made my body move involuntarily.When I raised my head, I saw Jung Yiyeon, of course. The sight of the man looking at me without even crossing the threshold stunned me. Was he planning to go to work? He was dressed in a suit as if he were.“I’ll be at the office.”Was teaching people how to dress like this part of some academy? Damn, now he’s saying he’ll go to work after confining someone?“The housekeeper will come. There’s also a chauffeur on standby, so if you need anything, just let them know.”What I needed was to get out of this damn villa and never see Jung Yiyeon’s face again. Or at least get my phone back. But since Jung Yiyeon wouldn’t listen, there was no point in saying anything that would only hurt me.Ignoring Jung Yiyeon, I lay back on the bed and pulled the blanket over myself.The sound of the door closing indicated that Jung Yiyeon had left. Anger surged within me at his audacity to confine me and then leave as he pleased. Yet, staying in the same space was even more unbearable.In the end, amidst the unbearable situation, I had to endlessly control my mind with my eyes closed.I don’t know how much time passed, but as Jung Yiyeon had said, the housekeeper arrived. The kind lady who had brought me food the previous day came to my room and offered me a meal. But I ignored her as well. I wasn’t concerned about having a meal while Jung Yiyeon turned everything upside down like this.As time passed, hunger gradually gnawed at me, but I couldn’t bring myself to get up. Now, the only means of resistance left to me was hunger strike, as I knew better than anyone else.After a short time, which felt like less than an hour, Jung Yiyeon returned. Unlike the housekeeper who knocked and didn’t open the door, Jung Yiyeon knocked lightly, then quietly opened the door and entered.“Lee Nan.”This time, I didn’t react at all to his call.I sensed Jung Yiyeon entering the room. I felt the bed sink on one side, as if he had sat down. What if he tries to touch me or initiate sex? Should I resist? Would resistance even matter? If Jung Yiyeon mentions threatening me, would my resistance make any difference?“Are you going to keep starving yourself?”His voice was firm and unyielding. Surprisingly, there was no physical contact this time.“Are you bringing me here just to starve me? Get up.”He could have easily forced me to get up if he had wanted to. But Jung Yiyeon didn’t force me up. It was just words. Although it was a command, it sounded more like a request.“Get up. I’ll give you anything you want to eat.”“Jung Yiyeon.”My voice sounded unpleasant. Come to think of it, this was the first time I had spoken since the little scuffle with Jung Yiyeon last night. Because I hadn’t even properly drunk water, my voice was hoarse and subdued.“Are you surprised that I’m offering you a meal now?”“Yeah.”“What?”His response was so absurd that I couldn’t help but react. When I tried to get up, I momentarily felt dizzy, but I tried to maintain composure and glared at him.Jung Yiyeon, looking not much different from when he left in the morning, stared back at me indifferently. With his inscrutable expression, I felt like I would be the only one foolish if I got angry.Wasn’t I thinking about this all day?“What… do you want? What do you want me to do?”Eventually, to get out of here, I would have to compromise with Jung Yiyeon in some way.“I don’t know.”I tried to suppress my emotions as much as possible, but it was futile. Jung Yiyeon’s absurd answer reignited my anger. You don’t know? You don’t know? Damn it, if you don’t know, who does, you bastard who’s keeping me captive?Jung Yiyeon let out a short sigh under my fierce gaze.“I guess what I want is that. Eat the food I give you, rest comfortably, and sleep well.”The sound of the door closing indicated that Jung Yiyeon had left. My anger surged again at his behavior of depriving me of my freedom and then casually leaving. But staying in the same space with him was even more unbearable.In the midst of this situation that I hated, I had to constantly control my mind with my eyes closed.I don’t know how much time passed, but as Jung Yiyeon had said, the housekeeper came. The pleasant lady who had taken care of my meals the day before came to my room and offered me food. But I ignored her as well. I didn’t care about having a meal prepared by Jung Yiyeon’s manipulation.Would I be allowed to leave once I starved myself? With such foolish thoughts, I closed my eyes in silence.***There was something I had overlooked. No matter how angry or irritated I felt, the fact that I was a living human being remained. Even though I couldn’t do anything and just spent my time numbly, the feeling of being alive was most clearly felt through hunger.People supposedly suffer from stress-induced gastritis and can’t eat or vomit and become emaciated. It was absurd that I felt hungry around lunchtime after refusing to eat. It was natural to feel hungry after not eating for over 24 hours since I had eaten breakfast cum lunch the day before, but was it normal to feel hungry in such a situation? Even my body, which was so instinctively obedient, surprised me.But people have their pride. I didn’t want to go out and eat. If the housekeeper had pushed me a little, I might have pretended to give in, but her attitude was polite.“I’m leaving.”Jung Yiyeon’s voice came from outside the door, as if he thought I was asleep. It was the first time I had spoken since the evening Jung Yiyeon and I had fought. My voice was low because I hadn’t even drunk water properly.“It was nice having you here when I came home.”“…?”“I had a lot of work to do, and it was annoying. But having you asleep next to me was enough.”It was the incident when we first came to the villa. I fell asleep drunk, and as a result, we had sex during the day. Jung Yiyeon must have bought hangover soup. I fell asleep immediately after eating, and when I woke up, Jung Yiyeon was working next to me. It was the first peaceful time between Jung Yiyeon and me since he had quit his job.I left the villa alone early the next morning, fearing that Jung Yiyeon might have some expectations because of it. Since then, I was confident that I had firmly drawn the line to prevent Jung Yiyeon from having any futile dreams. Jung Yiyeon had understood my words, hadn’t he?“I understand. Between you and me, there were only ten times of sex, and nothing will change after that. I understood everything.”“…Okay.”“But why are you doing this to me? Nothing will change. Do you think I can share my daily life with you just because you want me to? Is that possible?”“Well, we’re together right now.”I was speechless again. Jung Yiyeon knew my feelings towards him well. He knew that I disliked him to the extent of not wanting to face him and that my feelings towards him would never change.So he seemed to give up on seeking affection from me. Instead, he offered to make my living situation comfortable as long as I stayed in the same space with him. He had already erased the option of refusal by confining me.“How long do I have to do this?”My voice was still fierce. Even though he made absurd suggestions, I couldn’t accept his disgusting proposal with a gentle heart.“Until I’m satisfied.”“When the hell will that be!”“I don’t know.”I closed my mouth. It was as Jung Yiyeon had said. I couldn’t know when my feelings would end. I, too, had experienced days when I clung to Jung Yiyeon with both love and self-hatred, even though I knew it was the most self-destructive way.But does that mean I have any reason to accept Jung Yiyeon’s absurd demands?“Get lost.”I threw the pillow at Jung Yiyeon. It hit his shoulder and rolled under the bed.There was another pillow on the bed, so I pulled it over and covered myself, turning away from him completely.Jung Yiyeon made a scraping sound in my head as he got up from the bed. I felt him pick up the fallen pillow and place it next to me.Until Jung Yiyeon entered this room, I used to feel so hungry that I couldn’t resist the urge to go out and eat. But now, I didn’t feel hungry at all. Conversing with Jung Yiyeon was such a stress for me. Anyone would have felt uncomfortable having such a conversation.“…Just know that even if you starve yourself, there won’t be any need to clean up a corpse here.”Jung Yiyeon made a scraping sound in my head as he got up from the bed. I felt him pick up the fallen pillow and place it next to me.