Chapter 2

The man’s brows furrowed at my response. He didn’t seem pleased.

“Not even worth looking at…”

“Quit the useless act already, before I kill you.”

“…Uh, excuse me.”

“Speak.”

“I do like cats, though.”

At least they stay still unless I approach them. Worried he might misunderstand and think I have a fear of animals, I added that clarification. But it didn’t seem to help much. The man remained stoic, arms crossed, his expression unchanging. He seemed to be having a rough day. Well, I suppose it’s hard to keep up that much energy all the time.

I used to lead a quiet, uneventful life—ordinary and inconspicuous. Even though I wasn’t the most social, I was content with my peaceful days, free of drama. That’s why this situation was so hard to believe, even as I experienced it firsthand. My uneventful existence, where people often didn’t even notice I was there, seemed like a distant memory now.

There was definitely some big misunderstanding here—both with the woman earlier and now this man.

Suddenly, the man grabbed me by the collar and lifted me off the ground. My body dangled like a paper doll.

“I told you to stop acting.”

“Uh, huh, uh…”

Dangling by my collar, I could barely breathe, and the pressure on my skin hurt. Maybe because I wasn’t used to this kind of pain, tears started falling automatically.

“It hurts, it hurts…”

“……”

“It’s not an act… sniff…”

The man seemed to lose steam and let me go. Freed from the pain, I immediately touched my neck where it had been squeezed. It stung—probably bruised from the pressure. My face, stomach, and entire body ached, and my neck throbbed. Silent tears streamed down as I clutched my neck.

I couldn’t remember being this much of a crybaby before.

“Stop.”

The man spoke, as if telling me to stop crying, but I couldn’t control it. Instead, I cupped my hands over my mouth to stifle any sound. The tears kept falling anyway. It hurt too much, and I felt so wretched.

“How on earth did you manage to pull off those stunts with this kind of nerve?”

I could hear the man muttering to himself. I didn’t understand what he meant. The word “nerve” couldn’t be more mismatched with me. I chalked it up to being too disoriented to hear correctly and didn’t dwell on it.

As I continued to cry, the man suddenly grabbed my face and tilted it up.

“Stop crying before I bury you.”

His tone wasn’t kind, but he used his thumb to wipe my tears. He kept talking about burning or burying things—must be a verbal tic of his. Though, judging by his antisocial demeanor, he might have a hard time with social interactions. Then again, with his looks being far from ordinary, people probably tolerated his personality quirks.

‘But how long does he plan to keep holding my face?’

Even though my tears had stopped, the man didn’t let go. Instead, he kept kneading my face like dough.

Given his serious expression as he touched my face, I couldn’t bring myself to tell him to stop. Maybe it was some strange hobby of his. If so, I wanted to respect his preferences, but unfortunately, my face bore multiple injuries from his earlier punches. He was pressing right on one of those spots.

“Ow.”

At the sound of my groan, the man finally stopped his fiddling. Acting as if nothing had happened, he pulled his hands away. Seizing the opportunity, I escaped his grasp and touched the spot he’d been pressing. Not that I could figure anything out by doing so—it just hurt more.

The man stared at his hands, looking as if something had broken in him. Did he get my tears or something else on them while touching my face? Either way, it wasn’t my fault, so I decided to play dumb.

Sneaking a glance at him, I cautiously spoke up.

“Excuse me…”

The man raised his eyes to meet mine, silently signaling me to speak.

“…Can I go home now?”

“No.”

“Oh…”

“How can I trust you won’t pull something if I let you go?”

“I have overdue bills… rent…”

And most urgently, tuition. I’d scraped together enough for the entrance fee, but I needed to work nonstop to cover the tuition balance. The payment deadline was just around the corner, and I had to deposit my paycheck the day after tomorrow. These were some of the busiest days of my life.

The man asked, “Why are you worrying about stuff like that?”

“Well…”

Because I’m an orphan.

The words rose to my throat but stopped there. I hadn’t lived long, but I’d learned it was better not to mention things that made me different from others.

“Don’t even think about anything stupid. Just stay put.”

With that, the man stood up. He seemed ready to leave, so I stood too. As he started walking, he suddenly stopped and turned back, glaring at me with wide eyes.

“You don’t get it, do you? Want to go back to the basement?”

“So… I’ll live there?”

“I’m not letting you go.”

With that, the man turned sharply and left, slamming the door behind him. I instinctively covered my mouth with my hand. I couldn’t stop myself from grinning.

‘At least I’m off the hook for rent for a while!’

The rent had already been unbearable, and I was on the brink of being kicked out in a week. I’d even considered crashing at the student clubroom. But just when I thought there was no way out, life somehow found a way, solving the problem in such an unexpected manner.

Though the spots where I’d been hit still hurt, it wasn’t unbearable. Compared to the muscle aches I’d gotten after labor-intensive part-time jobs, this pain felt manageable. Besides, having a roof over my head made me ignore it completely.

Grinning to myself, I crawled back into bed and slipped under the blanket. It was my first time experiencing such a soft, warm quilt. Fascinated, I rubbed my palms against it, marveling at the absence of static electricity. Under that luxurious blanket, I drifted off to sleep, relieved that all I needed now was to use my paycheck the day after tomorrow to pay for tuition. Then, I’d have no more worries.

***

Suddenly, I woke to a loud, rhythmic pounding sound. Struggling to shake off the grogginess, I could barely make sense of my surroundings. The noise seemed to grow closer until, with a bang, the door burst open.

It was him—the man from before. Assuming I should greet my new landlord, I started to rise from the bed. However, before I could utter a word, he grabbed me by the collar.

“Do you really think this pathetic act counts as resistance?”

What was he even talking about? My brain wasn’t sharp to begin with, and the sleepiness only made it worse. Oblivious to my confusion, the man kept hurling questions.

“Do you honestly think this will make me flinch, even for a second?”

Though he had me by the collar, he didn’t yank me forward like last time. It didn’t hurt, and instead, his arm was positioned at just the right height to support my heavy head. Before I realized it, my head kept leaning toward his arm, like it had found the perfect resting spot.

“You won’t even get a sip of water from now—”

Thunk.

I couldn’t fight off the sleepiness any longer and ended up resting my head against his arm. The man seemed to notice something was off because he suddenly pressed his hand against my forehead, muttering softly.

“…You’ve got to be kidding me.”

* * *

“The fever will subside soon, but if you don’t start getting proper nutrition from now on, it could become dangerous. Your constitution is naturally weak, so you’ll need to rest for a while…”

A stranger’s voice echoed nearby. I tried to move my eyes toward the sound, but my vision was too blurry to make anything out. While I struggled to focus, someone who had been beside me came closer and covered my eyes with their hand.

Feeling stifled, I tried to pry it away with all my strength, but it wouldn’t budge. Just as fear started to creep in and I prepared to thrash around, I heard a voice.

“Here.”

It was a deep, steady voice.

Recognizing it brought a sense of relief. I let go of their hand and drifted back into sleep.

***

The next time I opened my eyes, I saw the IV line connected to my arm and the fluid bag hanging beside me. It didn’t seem like a hospital, though.

‘Can you even administer IVs at home?’

Growing up marked as a parentless child, I was always easy prey for criticism. Even a minor misstep would prompt comments like, ‘Of course they’d act that way. What did you expect?’ That stigma had made me cautious to the point of avoiding even the smallest legal infractions.

There was no one to protect me if I got entangled in trouble.

Back to the present…

‘There are home healthcare visits, so this should be fine, right?’

Still, I decided I’d never mention getting an IV at home. As I resolved to stay calm and lay still, the door creaked open. It was him.

Perhaps he hadn’t expected me to be awake, as he paused momentarily when our eyes met before approaching me. He was holding a tray in his hands.

Setting the tray down on the nightstand, he said, “Get up.”

Feeling awkward about lying down in front of my landlord, I tried to push myself up. But as soon as I attempted to rise, dizziness overwhelmed me, and I nearly collapsed forward. Thankfully, he caught me just in time, saving my face from an unpleasant collision.

“Tsk.”

He clicked his tongue out of habit, then helped me sit upright. I’d been lying down for too long, and now a headache surged, pounding in my temples. Holding my aching head, I spoke up.

“Excuse me, but could I get some water…?”

Without a word, he handed me a glass of water. My hands trembled as I tried to take it, and he sighed before gently pushing my hand away.

“Open your mouth.”

“I can drink it myse—”

“Before I shove it down your throat.”

What a charming personality… He must not have many friends.

Reluctantly, I opened my mouth slightly. He pressed the cup to my lips and slowly helped me drink. I wanted to gulp it all down, but he pulled the cup away anytime I tried to drink too fast. It took me several minutes to finish just one glass of lukewarm water.

When he finally set the cup down on the nightstand, I felt far from satisfied. A few measly sips didn’t even feel like hydration.

Still, he’s the landlord.

“…Thank you.”

“……”

He didn’t respond, but I hoped my gratitude got through.

Then, adopting a serious tone, he said, “If you’re ignoring my warning and hovering around Kang Ji-Ah out of sheer recklessness, I can almost understand.”

Kang Ji-Ah? Kang Ji-Ah… The name sounded vaguely familiar, though it could easily be misheard as “puppy.” I didn’t recall anyone I knew by that name.

What was he talking about?

“Baek Eun-Seong, are you insane?”

Baek Eun-Seong. That name also rang a bell. I didn’t know anyone with that name, but it felt like I’d heard it somewhere before.

“Why don’t you act cocky like last time and claim Cha Gil-Do’s nothing to worry about?”

Cha Gil-Do.

This time, something clicked in my mind.

Cha Gil-Do, Kang Ji-Ah, Baek Eun-Seong. These names shared one commonality. They were characters from the drama Please Obsess Over Me.

Kang Ji-Ah was the female lead, Cha Gil-Do was the male lead, and Baek Eun-Seong was…

“…dead.”

“What?”

“Baek Eun-Seong is dead.”

Killed by the male lead, Cha Gil-Do.

***Download NovelToon to enjoy a better reading experience!***