Chapter 5.
Please Untie Me
The world swayed in zigzags.
Pressed tightly against the apartment hallway wall, Seo-ah shuffled forward one careful step at a time. Yet no matter how cautiously she walked, the floor seemed to tilt beneath her. Her ankles kept giving way, and the room spun before her eyes.
Accepting every drink people handed her had been a terrible mistake.
She should have done what Assistant Manager Choi had—pretended to drink, secretly pouring some away whenever no one was looking. Instead, she’d obediently emptied every glass until the alcohol had risen all the way to her head.
Am I even going to make it to work tomorrow?
Massaging her throbbing temples, she stopped in front of her apartment door.
She waved a hand in front of the digital lock, bringing the keypad to life. Bracing herself, she carefully entered the passcode one digit at a time.
Beep.
Access denied.
“…Huh?”
She tried again.
Beep.
Another failure.
“Tch… You little… You think I can’t get in just because you’re acting up?”
Clicking her tongue as though arguing with the doorknob, she grinned foolishly and pressed her thumb against the fingerprint scanner.
Beep.
The lock clicked open.
Normally, Ji-hyun would have immediately started scolding her for coming home so late.
But Ji-hyun had left to study abroad.
The apartment was unnaturally quiet.
You don’t notice someone’s place until they’re gone…
Kicking off her high heels, Seo-ah rubbed her swollen feet before dragging her handbag inside.
She headed straight for the bathroom.
After stuffing her clothes—now saturated with the smell of grilled fish, alcohol, and food—into the laundry basket, she stood beneath the shower and nearly fell asleep.
Only after banging her forehead against the tiled wall did she finally wake enough to soap herself up.
She was far drunker than usual.
If she stayed under the hot water any longer, she felt certain she’d pass out.
After a quick shower, she put on the underwear she’d left drying on the rack…
…and immediately started nodding off again.
“Mm… no… Wake up, Bae Seo-ah…”
Startled awake, she slapped her cheeks several times before shaking out her half-dried hair and stumbling into the bedroom.
Only after changing into her pajamas and pulling on her fuzzy sleeping socks did she finally feel ready for bed.
No matter what anyone says… there’s no place like home.
Although, strictly speaking…
This wasn’t really her home.
It was someone else’s luxurious apartment—one she could never have dreamed of renting on her own salary.
Can I really live here by myself while Ji-hyun’s gone?
How much were the winter maintenance fees again…?
Snuggling beneath the blanket, Seo-ah buried her face into a large stuffed animal, hugging it tightly as she mumbled sleepily.
“Mmm… Manager… I don’t wanna drink anymore…”
The bear seemed much larger—and much firmer—than usual.
Must be because I’m drunk.
Without a second thought, she threw one leg over it.
Completely unaware that the mysterious “bear” she was clinging to was steadily growing stiffer by the second.
“…What the hell…”
The eyes of Min Seung-hyun—who had only just managed to fall asleep—snapped wide open.
6:30 a.m.
Right on schedule, the latest hit song she’d set as her alarm began blaring.
It had gone off at exactly the same time every morning for the past four years.
But despite the deafening alarm, Seo-ah couldn’t move.
She sat frozen in a hard chair.
Is this because of all the alcohol I drank at the company dinner?
Or am I still dreaming?
Then… what is this feeling around my wrists?
Realizing she was restrained, panic flooded her.
She tried to leap to her feet—
—but failed.
She wasn’t waking up in bed.
She was sitting in a chair.
Something tightly wrapped around both wrists, which had been pulled behind the chair, prevented her from moving.
Frantically looking around, Seo-ah spotted a figure sitting with the living room window at his back.
She sucked in a sharp breath.
“W-Who are you?”
Had her eyesight suddenly gotten worse?
She could only make out his silhouette.
If only her hands were free, she could rub her eyes…
The shadow had been silently watching her wake.
Slowly rubbing a hand over his face, he raised his eyes and asked in a deep, cold voice,
“Who are you?”
His voice was so low it seemed to vibrate through the room.
A man?
D-Don’t tell me… a burglar?
Instinctively, Seo-ah looked down at herself.
Thankfully, she was still wearing her pajamas.
Even her fuzzy sleep socks were still on.
And besides—
this was definitely the apartment where she lived.
Yet the man stared at her as if she were the intruder.
“You some kind of pervert?”
“A stalker?”
“Too young to have anything better to do than follow men around?”
“Talk.”
“Who are you?”
“…Huh?”
Frowning deeply, the man rose from his chair.
Seo-ah’s breath caught.
He was enormous.
Broad shoulders.
Long legs.
His towering frame swallowed the light, casting a shadow over her.
Watching him approach, she desperately pushed against the floor with her free feet.
The chair scraped backward with a loud squeal.
“P-Please don’t hurt me! I don’t have any money!”
“You.”
“P-Please! Can’t we just talk this out? Mister… You’re not a bad person, right? I think you’ve made a mistake! I’m really just a poor— AAH!”
She struggled so violently that the chair tipped backward.
Just before it crashed onto the floor, the man caught the backrest with one hand.
She wanted to scream.
Instead, she squeezed her eyes shut.
“…Wait.”
“Are you… Min Ji-hyun’s friend?”
Seo-ah’s eyes flew open.
That was a name she knew all too well.
She looked up at him in surprise.
“…Mister… You know Ji-hyun?”
“Stop calling me ‘mister.'”
“I’m asking if you’re really Min Ji-hyun’s friend.”
Fine.
She took back the “mister.”
Seeing his face clearly now…
Even giving him the benefit of the doubt, he couldn’t have been older than his early thirties.
And he was absurdly handsome.
Not that his appearance mattered when her life seemed to be hanging by a thread.
Her personal philosophy had always been simple:
Live long. Live quietly.
She’d planned to survive until old age no matter what.
Sniffling as tears welled in her eyes, Seo-ah answered pitifully,
“I… I’m sharing the apartment with Ji-hyun.”
“So… could you please untie me?”
“I don’t know who you are, but I’m really not a bad person.”
“I won’t call you ‘mister’ anymore either!”
“Sharing the apartment?”
“That crazy idiot…”
Apparently irritated by hearing “mister” again, the man muttered a curse unlike anything she’d ever heard.
Running a hand irritably through his black hair, he placed both hands on the back of her chair.
Before she knew it, Seo-ah was trapped between his arms.
Large tears rolled down her cheeks.
“W-Why are you doing this?”
“I just came home and went to sleep!”
“This is my house.”
“…I know.”
“It’s not my house.”
“It’s Ji-hyun’s.”
“…Wait.”
“What?”
“I said…”
“It’s my house.”
Seo-ah froze.
Tears blurred her vision, making his features seem strangely clearer.
His dark hair.
His sharply defined brows.
His narrow eyes with faint double eyelids.
Something about him felt familiar.
She swallowed hard.
Seo-ah…
Have you ever seen a devil who’s ridiculously handsome?
At that exact moment, Ji-hyun’s voice echoed through her memory.
“For the sake of my beloved best friend, let me give you one piece of advice.”
“If Min Seung-hyun ever shows up…”
“Never get involved with him.”
“Since you’re my friend, you’ll probably meet him someday.”
“He’s my brother…”
“…but if you get tangled up with that genuine psycho…”
“Haah…”
“My best friend’s life is precious, okay?”
So…
This was the ridiculously handsome…
…genuine psychopath Ji-hyun had warned her about?
Ji-hyun…
I think… the man you were talking about is standing right in front of me.
“You’ve got some nerve.”
“Living in my house…”
“…and calling it a shared apartment.”
His lips twisted into a crooked smile.
Unable even to breathe, Seo-ah’s eyes darted wildly around the room.
Just as she opened her mouth to speak—
Her phone alarm erupted again.
This one reminded her it was time to run for the bus.
“Um…”
“C-Could you at least let me turn off my alarm…?”
“…Brother-in-law?”
One of Seo-ah’s greatest talents was adapting instantly to reality.
She’d learned early in life that survival often depended on changing tactics without hesitation.
That shameless flexibility had carried her through the jungle known as adult life.
Without a word, Seung-hyun reached over with his long arm…
…and pressed the phone’s power button.
“W-Wait! If you turn it off like—!”
But one icy glare from him was enough to silence her.
The screen went black.
Just like her hopes.
“Explain.”
Right…
People always say landlords are scarier than God.
Though technically…
He’s not just the landlord.
He’s the homeowner.
“So…”
“What exactly should I explain…?”
“Everything.”
“…Right.”
“I’ll explain.”
“Of course I will.”
Watching her nod with the expression of someone who had already accepted her fate, Seung-hyun silently dragged over another chair and sat directly in front of her.
The dining room light hanging above cast a bright circle over them, making the room feel exactly like an interrogation room.
“First.”
“The rent.”
“How much has Min Ji-hyun been charging you?”
“W-Well…”
Only then did Seo-ah realize…
The thing binding her wrists wasn’t rope.
It was his necktie.
Her fingers had already started tingling from the lack of circulation.
Fighting back another wave of tears, she slowly parted her lips.
