Codename Anastasia Novel (End) - Chapter 54

“…It’s a tiger, you know.”

Olga muttered, staring over Kwon Taekjoo’s shoulder. He turned his head and saw Zhenya walking down the hallway.

Zhenya stopped abruptly in front of Kwon Taekjoo. He didn’t even glance at Olga, who was tense, wondering if she’d be kicked out. A gaze too intense to ignore settled upon him. Kwon Taekjoo had a bad feeling.

“Why…”

As soon as he spoke, Zhenya’s hand reached out. Before he could react, his arm was grabbed. Zhenya abruptly pulled him up and dragged him somewhere. It was towards the bedroom. From behind, Olga watched them with wide eyes. Could Zhenya really be heading straight for the bed like this? It wasn’t as if he ever cared about time or place, but still, his sister was watching.

He held onto a slender hope, but Zhenya brazenly unbuttoned his shirt. It was practically torn open. Kwon Taekjoo, terrified, suddenly bent his upper body, feigning pain.

“Oops.”

“…What?”

Only then did Zhenya stop and turn around. He seemed annoyed by the sudden halt. Kwon Taekjoo deliberately groaned and exaggerated his pain.

“My stomach hurts. I think your bastard’s force-feeding gave me an upset stomach.”

The hand that was gripping his wrist suddenly loosened. Taking the opportunity, Kwon Taekjoo sprinted to the bathroom. As soon as he entered, he firmly locked the door. He closed the toilet lid and slumped down onto it. A sigh escaped him.

He had averted the immediate crisis, but he was at a loss as to what to do next. He couldn’t feign stomach aches every day. Zhenya wasn’t the type to easily believe it, and judging by the size of Olga’s luggage, she didn’t seem to be leaving anytime soon either.

He wished someone, anyone, would appear to break the monotony of living alone on the island with Zhenya. But this wasn’t what he wanted. The situation seemed to be going from bad to worse. He furiously ruffled his hair. Another deep sigh escaped him.

He suddenly woke up. He flinched at the silhouette covering his entire body. Zhenya was standing by his headboard; he didn’t know how long he’d been there. “What?” he mumbled, sitting up. The floor he instinctively touched was hard. He must have fallen asleep on the sofa after going in and out of the bathroom, feigning a stomach ache.

He slowly rubbed his goosebump-covered arms and sat up straight. His neck was stiff from being curled up. He turned his head from side to side, stretching and avoiding Zhenya’s gaze.

“Why are you doing this here?”

“I was going back and forth to the bathroom and dozed off.”

He offered an awkward excuse. Zhenya’s intense gaze pierced him from the side. Every time Zhenya looked at him like that, he felt as if he was being meticulously dissected.

“This is all your fault, you bastard.”

“Are you feeling better now?”

He stopped grumbling and looked at Zhenya. A blank expression was on Zhenya’s face. He hadn’t expected Zhenya to ask such a profoundly human question. Did he eat something wrong? He nodded reluctantly, when suddenly Zhenya’s hand reached out. He reflexively flinched and pulled back. The approaching hand also paused.

Zhenya slowly alternated his gaze between his own hand and Kwon Taekjoo’s face. His silently moving eyes choked him. The more he looked, the more they resembled an alligator.

After a long silence, Zhenya twisted his lips.

“You’re too unlikable, even without being particularly cute, aren’t you?”

“I didn’t ask you to find me cute.”

“A beast that loses its cuteness gets boiled alive.”

Zhenya’s taunting tone made it clear he regarded Kwon Taekjoo as a domesticated animal. It wasn’t an idle threat that he would die if he didn’t act cute. Death, when spoken by Zhenya of all people, had a high probability of coming true. Yet, instead of fear, Kwon Taekjoo felt absurdity. How could a person be born and raised to have such a mindset?

Zhenya soon reached out his hand again. Just as his hand was about to touch Kwon Taekjoo’s face, he twisted his head away.

“Don’t.”

Zhenya’s brows furrowed. His pale face clearly showed displeasure. Kwon Taekjoo glared at him with an annoyed expression. Their sharp gazes met fiercely. Breaking the momentary tension, Zhenya suddenly clutched Kwon Taekjoo’s jaw.

“I said don’t!”

Kwon Taekjoo irritably shook off his hand. Immediately after, he was violently grabbed by the collar and pulled back onto the sofa. He thrashed his limbs, trying to escape Zhenya. Angry movements went back and forth many times. He desperately pushed Zhenya’s chin and kicked his abdomen. The more he did so, the more Zhenya’s face hardened. His brutal strength also intensified, as if it would crush his whole body.

Zhenya ruthlessly pulled up his shirt. The opening was forced apart. The buttons seemed about to rip off immediately. At that moment, Zhenya abruptly bit into his exposed abdomen.

“Don’t…!”

He shuddered and kicked his legs. It seemed like he was about to have morning sex first thing in the morning. And in the wide-open living room, no less.

Just then, an unwelcome presence was felt from the second floor. Olga seemed to have woken up. Kwon Taekjoo flinched and looked at Zhenya. Zhenya also raised his head and met Kwon Taekjoo’s gaze. But it was only for a moment; he provocatively licked from Kwon Taekjoo’s lower abdomen up to his right flank. Kwon Taekjoo’s core tingled. His anxiety heightened. He couldn’t let them see such a disgusting sight.

He clenched his teeth to prevent any sound from escaping and frantically pushed Zhenya away. But Zhenya stubbornly resisted. He put his hand under Kwon Taekjoo’s shirt and tightly gripped his chest as if to burst it open. When Kwon Taekjoo flinched and startled, Zhenya even gently rubbed his nipple with his thumb. Kwon Taekjoo’s eyes widened in horror.

“Good morning.”

Olga, who had been greeting them, froze. It was right after she encountered the two tangled on the small sofa. She said, “Oh,” as if dazed, then quickly scurried away.

Finally, Kwon Taekjoo covered his eyes with his arm in despair. His jaw clenched involuntarily. Zhenya, who had been staring at him, suddenly twisted his nipple.

“Ah!”

Kwon Taekjoo yelled irritably and glared at Zhenya. Zhenya’s expression had grown even colder.

“You’d better not behave rudely.”

It wasn’t the first or second time he had been rejected, but this time Zhenya seemed truly offended.

He even skipped meals to clean the empty room. If he couldn’t escape this island immediately, he felt he needed his own room. He absolutely wanted to avoid a repeat of the morning’s situation. And falling into the habit of taking over Zhenya’s bed.

There were many spare rooms in the mansion, but bedding was severely lacking. If he slept without a blanket, he could die of hypothermia without a trace. He had no choice but to take the ones he used from Zhenya’s bedroom.

Zhenya was resting in a bedroom chair. His head was tilted back, and his eyes were closed. Kwon Taekjoo walked carefully, careful not to wake him. Yet, Zhenya had already opened his eyes and followed Kwon Taekjoo’s movements. Kwon Taekjoo tried to ignore his quiet yet intense gaze and picked up a pillow. He also took an extra blanket from the closet.

“What are you doing?”

“Now that there are witnesses, we can’t keep sleeping together like this.”

He opened a drawer and took out a few pairs of underwear. All were new and unopened. He went to the bathroom and grabbed his own toothbrush, razor, and other items. As he moved busily, he dropped the pillow he had tucked under his arm. He naturally bent down to pick it up, but Zhenya, who had approached, stepped on it with his shoe. Kwon Taekjoo slowly raised his head. Zhenya’s face was as stiff as Kwon Taekjoo’s hardened expression.

“Whose permission?”

“Mine, of course. Get out of the way.”

He growled slowly. The emotions he had suppressed for so long seemed on the verge of erupting.

“Don’t get cocky just because I’ve loosened up a bit. You need to know your place.”

He bit down hard on his molars. His fists clenched tightly. Normally, he would have just endured it. He knew from experience that provoking Zhenya would only lead to trouble. But this time, he couldn’t let it go. There’s a limit to how much you can disrespect a person.

He straightened his posture and lightly tapped Zhenya’s shoulder.

“That’s enough.”

Zhenya’s gaze went to his pushed shoulder. When he turned his head back to Kwon Taekjoo, his eyes sharpened.

Until now, they had lived relatively smoothly, without much friction. Kwon Taekjoo had resigned himself to many things in order to survive, and because of that, he endured whatever was done to him. In almost every situation, Zhenya held the upper hand, and Kwon Taekjoo’s life and death depended absolutely on him. Zhenya was the only conduit to the outside world, the only being that made Kwon Taekjoo aware he was still alive.

Then a new person appeared. That one fact alone changed a lot. At least for Kwon Taekjoo. Olga’s arrival had jolted him awake. He was forced to confront his own laziness in passively adapting to Zhenya and compromising for his own comfort. The relationship with Zhenya, which he now revisited, was so distorted that it was impossible to define. He felt that if he continued to be swept along carelessly, it would become uncontrollable.

As he collected his thoughts, Zhenya strode closer. Kwon Taekjoo instinctively stepped back and threw down the blanket he was holding. The blanket fluttered, obscuring Zhenya’s vision. Kwon Taekjoo swung a punch at the momentarily stunned Zhenya. However, his desperate attack was futile as Zhenya blocked it with his arm. His fisted hand was caught and twisted backward. The merciless brute strength felt like it would dislocate his joints. Despite the pain, Kwon Taekjoo half-turned his body and kicked Zhenya’s shin. At the unexpected counterattack, Zhenya bent his knee and fell. Kwon Taekjoo, who was being held by Zhenya, also fell with him.

“…Ugh.”

His head hit the floor first, and a sharp ringing echoed in his skull. If there hadn’t been a carpet, he would have had a concussion. His lungs were crushed, and he gasped for breath. He wanted to get up, but Zhenya was on top of him, making him unable to move. Now that he thought about it, it seemed Zhenya had fallen on purpose.

The next moment, Zhenya abruptly grabbed his pants. Kwon Taekjoo held on tight and pushed Zhenya away, preventing him from pulling them down. But Zhenya was unyielding. For a while, a silent physical struggle ensued. Rough breaths and sharp movements exchanged countless times. The end of it was signaled by an unexpected knock.

For a moment, both of them stopped moving. But it was only for a second; Zhenya grabbed Kwon Taekjoo’s ankle, who had paused, and pulled him closer. Then he crumpled Kwon Taekjoo’s shirt as if to tear it apart. Kwon Taekjoo hastily pushed Zhenya’s chin away. He also held onto his shirt tightly with one hand, resisting. His flustered gaze and Zhenya’s obsessive gaze violently intertwined.

Soon, Olga’s voice was heard from outside, saying, “Let’s talk outside.” Taking that opportunity, Kwon Taekjoo picked up the pillow from the floor and swung it at Zhenya’s face. Zhenya, whose face was unexpectedly struck, turned his head half-away and remained still. He didn’t even breathe a sound.

Taking advantage of the moment, Kwon Taekjoo stepped back and escaped from Zhenya. Then he quickly left the bedroom.

“……”

Zhenya remained still for a long time. It felt as if scarlet flames were spreading before his eyes. His jaw also tightened with anger. The sensation of all his bodily fluids evaporating at once. He himself didn’t know why he was suddenly so angry.

He stood up. He didn’t rush. Yet, a considerable oppressive aura emanated from his slow movements. Even the faint warmth that had been on his pale face had completely vanished.

He was about to chase after Kwon Taekjoo when Olga suddenly blocked his path.

“Get out of the way.”

He commanded in a flat voice. When Olga shook her head and resisted, he roughly pushed her shoulder. Olga, who fell powerlessly, got up again and ran back in front of Zhenya. His cold gaze fell upon her once more. Meeting his unusually twitching eyes, even Olga’s shoulders hunched.

“I have something to tell you.”

Zhenya ignored her plea and walked past Olga. Olga no longer held him back. She merely shouted at his indifferent back.

“Brother Bajim visited the house. The conversation he had with father was not normal. This time, you might really get hurt badly. So stop being stubborn and just give people what they want!”

The real purpose of the unannounced visit was that. But Olga’s worries did not reach Zhenya. He simply strode up the stairs as if he hadn’t heard a word.

“Aren’t you tired of always isolating yourself?”

She appealed to the very end. This time too, no answer came back. Zhenya’s figure quickly disappeared from sight.

Even talking to a wall wouldn’t feel this hopeless. Olga slumped her shoulders and let out a deep, despairing sigh.

Bang. A strong impact made the door tremble. But inside the room, everything remained silent. Zhenya hit the innocent door again. His fist, pounding the door, was full of rage, but the voice that followed was low and dry.

“Open the door.”

There was still no sign of movement from inside. Zhenya’s face grew even colder. He raised his leg and unhesitantly kicked the door.

With a violent tearing sound, the door split in half. He easily pushed aside the tattered door and entered. Kwon Taekjoo, who had been standing by the window, frowned in horror. Zhenya strode towards him and suddenly grabbed his jaw.

“…Ugh.”

Suddenly, both of Kwon Taekjoo’s legs lifted into the air. His jaw, held by Zhenya, throbbed as if it would shatter. Zhenya held Kwon Taekjoo up with one arm and stared at him calmly. His gaze was utterly devoid of emotion, as if appreciating an inanimate object, not a person. Kwon Taekjoo’s face instantly flushed red. His eyes squeezed shut.

He felt as if he would surely die at Zhenya’s hands. His struggling feet, desperate to survive, kicked Zhenya’s abdomen. Immediately, Zhenya slammed Kwon Taekjoo against the opposite wall.

His back and the back of his head hit the wall hard, and he crashed into the table. He groaned, writhing his unbearably throbbing limbs. Meanwhile, Zhenya, who had been checking the area where he was kicked, tilted his head back and took a breath. A bright yellow anger spread in his eyes as he closed the distance again. It seemed he had already far exceeded his breaking point.

He hastily sat up. Then he threw the wooden stool lying at his feet. Zhenya easily blocked it with his arm. The old stool shattered into pieces upon colliding with his arm.

Zhenya lightly brushed off the wood splinters and sawdust from his arm. Immediately after, their gazes collided. Zhenya’s quiet gaze, looking down at Kwon Taekjoo, was not like a human’s at all. It was closer to a predator before the hunt.

Kwon Taekjoo instinctively flinched, and Zhenya lunged at him. Before he could even block, his entire face was gripped. He was then slammed against the wall, headfirst. As he stumbled from the impact, his neck was choked. His body was then lifted up. He frantically threw punches out of survival instinct, but it was useless.

As Zhenya raised his arm, Kwon Taekjoo’s feet left the ground. His body, with nowhere to stand, desperately thrashed for survival. Zhenya stared blankly at Kwon Taekjoo’s face, distorted with pain. There was not a shred of pity or hesitation in his blue eyes.

“There’s no need to keep a dog that bares its teeth at its master.”

The fingertips that were choking his neck tightened more and more. His painfully pressed skin felt as if it would finally pierce Zhenya’s fingers. The pressure in his eyes increased. Saliva flowed from his struggling lips.

Being with Zhenya felt like his life was constantly being put to the test. Even when Zhenya was utterly relaxed, he would suddenly change his expression and attack if he was displeased.

He was tired. Tired of this constant tightrope walk. Tired of living in a hopeless place, simply catering to Zhenya’s mood. If he couldn’t escape this island anyway, it was no different from being dead. No, it might even be better to die.

He barely opened his eyes and looked at Zhenya. A throbbing vein appeared on Zhenya’s smooth forehead. Despite the constantly surging pain, he stubbornly stared at Zhenya. No matter how hard Zhenya choked his neck, he only blinked intermittently, his eyes never closing.

Perhaps that persistent gaze was too much for him. Zhenya’s brows furrowed. Kwon Taekjoo, looking down at Zhenya endlessly, muttered haltingly.

“Yes, just kill me instead. I can’t keep whimpering under you anymore.”

Zhenya’s expressionless face was filled with displeasure. He relentlessly squeezed Kwon Taekjoo’s neck without mercy. The force was truly immense, as if it would crush his cervical vertebrae. His head instinctively tilted back.

Kwon Taekjoo, even with his neck exposed, didn’t struggle to survive. He simply went limp, his limbs drained of strength, and stared only at Zhenya’s menacingly distorted face. Zhenya’s nose wrinkled fiercely. He was so engrossed in punishing Kwon Taekjoo that he didn’t even realize why he was so angry.

Kwon Taekjoo, gasping for breath, offered a faint smile. With death accepted, Zhenya, who had always felt like a ghost, now seemed ordinary. He even felt pity for the always extreme Zhenya.

“…Pity, you too.”

He murmured in a voice as weak as his faint breath. Was it his imagination, or did Zhenya’s hand, which was strangling him, lose strength for a fleeting moment? But it was only for an instant. Kwon Taekjoo soon lost consciousness and went limp. His dark eyes, which had held Zhenya’s image, closed heavily behind his eyelids. Kwon Taekjoo’s fiercely pounding pulse was no longer detected.

Zhenya released his grip. Kwon Taekjoo’s body, which had been suspended in the air, crashed to the floor. Zhenya opened his sticky hand, and his fingertips were stained with blood. It was from Kwon Taekjoo’s neck. Zhenya stared blankly, alternating his gaze between Kwon Taekjoo, who lay fallen at his feet, and his own hand.

He had dealt with the audacity of the one who tried to climb over him, so why did he feel so disheartened? There was no one left to annoy him. But why? His heart, whose pulsations he usually couldn’t even feel, was now pounding fast and heavily.

He stared blankly at the motionless Kwon Taekjoo, then suddenly grabbed his arm and lifted it. But only the arm came up; Kwon Taekjoo’s body remained limp. Zhenya abruptly grabbed his collar and shook him wildly. His movements were frantic. His eyes also darted around aimlessly.

When Kwon Taekjoo showed no reaction, Zhenya slapped his cheek. In two slaps, his cheek turned red and swollen. His mouth might have been busted open, as blood pooled at the corner of his lips. But there was still no discernible vital sign.

Zhenya sharply pulled Kwon Taekjoo’s face close. Then he put his ear to his nose and mouth, checking for breath. He felt a breath, but it was hard to tell if it was Kwon Taekjoo’s or his own.

He laid Kwon Taekjoo back down on the floor and tore open his shirt. He put his ear to Kwon Taekjoo’s bare chest, listening for a heartbeat. A faint pulsation was felt beneath the skin. But it was so weak it seemed about to vanish at any moment.

He grabbed Kwon Taekjoo’s jaw and opened his mouth. He put his fingers in, pressed down on his tongue, and cleared his airway. Then, something that had slipped down his face fell onto Kwon Taekjoo’s forehead. It was sweet.

Zhenya’s actions paused for a moment. What was so urgent that he was drenched in sweat in such a short time? His empty eyes were just open, containing nothing. He seemed quite shocked.

He soon stood up. He staggered to the half-destroyed doorway. Then he abruptly threw the scattered debris and furniture around. The room, which Kwon Taekjoo had painstakingly cleaned, was instantly devastated. Still unsatisfied, he heaved his shoulders, breathing heavily.

He tilted his head back for a moment and regained his breath. An inexplicable sense of disconnection spread throughout his body. It was unpleasant. His heart was still pounding inexplicably. Why? Why exactly? What was so dissatisfying?

He stormed out. Olga, who had rushed over at the unusual disturbance, looked at Zhenya with wide eyes. She asked what was wrong, but he climbed the stairs without a word.

It was an expression she had never seen before. A sinister premonition made her frantically enter the broken door. Kwon Taekjoo lay sprawled in the ruined room, with nowhere to step.

She first checked his breathing. She even pulled back his closed eyelids to examine his pupils. Fortunately, he was still breathing. Blood stained his neck, where handprints were clearly visible. It wasn’t a large amount, but she felt she needed to stop the bleeding first.

As she was about to get the first aid kit, the untimely sound of propellers reached her ears. The helicopter had taken off and was rapidly moving away from the mansion.

FSB Director Oleg Khizhinsky left his office and headed for the Alpha Group 3 Command Center. He was rushing there upon hearing that Zhenya had come to work. Since Zhenya was always reclusive and only responded to calls when he felt like it, those who needed him had to seek him out.

Two armed elite agents followed the Director. This was to prepare for any potential armed conflict. Zhenya’s temperament was as unpredictable as a chameleon, making him incredibly difficult to appease.

It was when the Director and his party had just arrived on the second floor. Suddenly, a person was thrown out of a room. The man, who crashed against the opposite wall, then slumped to the floor. The room the man was thrown from was precisely their destination: the ‘Alpha Group 3 Command Center.’ The elite agents silently drew their firearms.

The inside of the room was even more chaotic than expected. All the windows were shattered, and the metal desk was overturned. Various documents and office supplies like telephones were scattered haphazardly across the floor.

At the sound from the doorway, Zhenya turned his head. His eyes, fixed on the Director and his party, were unusual. What had soured his mood this time?

The Director gestured to his agents to lower their weapons. Then he sent the two cautious men outside. He personally closed the door and sat on a sofa that had been pushed far from its original place. Zhenya stood in the same spot, watching him. Under Zhenya’s piercing gaze, he cautiously began to speak.

“You’re holding that Korean spy, aren’t you? Did you kill him?”

“……”

“If not, how about handing him over to us now? We need to consider the reputation of our FSB.”

Zhenya remained silent. There was not even a hint of hesitation. If he had intended to do so from the beginning, he wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of taking the spy and disappearing. A heavy silence followed.

Finally, the Director shook his head and let out a long sigh. As if resigned, he tossed the documents he had brought.

“If you don’t want to, then at least handle this matter. Wouldn’t achieving some results help restore your tarnished image?”

It hardly looked like a superior giving orders to a subordinate. It was closer to a conditional bargain.

Zhenya glanced at the documents at his feet, then looked back at the Director. The Director briefly explained what Zhenya needed to do.

“A military intelligence officer was assassinated recently. It was right after he visited a hotel with a woman. According to the on-site investigation team, he seems to have been subjected to a suicide bombing during sexual intercourse. It seems the rebels are now even resorting to honey traps. About twenty rebels, including the deceased woman, disguised their identities and entered Moscow. So, this is just the beginning.”

The Director paused for a moment, then commanded.

“Find them all and deal with them.”

Late at night. A man and a woman, tangled together, left a luxurious bar in downtown Moscow. The man, a high-ranking official belonging to the Ministry of Defense, got into a sedan provided by the bar, not an official car. Unmistakable sensuality flowed from the woman, his partner.