Passion Novel - Volume 5 - Chapter 113

Ilay, oblivious to Jeong Taeui’s presence, went to the window, took off his suit jacket, and hung it on the back of a chair. He then loosened his tie and draped it over the jacket. He walked past the slumped Jeong Taeui to the mini-bar and took out a beer.

“…”

When he tried to move, his stomach throbbed like muscle pain, but if he lay still, it was fine. Jeong Taeui decided to remain still for a while.

By the way, he was strangely silent. He wasn’t usually very talkative, but in situations like this, he would usually throw in a word or two. What was he thinking about, remaining so silent?

Jeong Taeui rolled his eyes around, then slowly lifted his head. And lightly rubbed his stomach. Damn it, he hit me pretty hard. He must have thought that if he just told him to stay put, considering his situation, he wouldn’t understand, so he personally resorted to punching him.

Jeong Taeui glared fiercely at the back of Ilay’s head, who was holding a beer can and looking out the window. Meanwhile, he couldn’t help but feel a little sad for himself, as he didn’t forget to subtly watch out for the moment the guy might suddenly turn around.

It was then. Ilay, who seemed to have quickly emptied the beer can and placed it on the windowsill, suddenly kicked the chair next to it. CRASH!—With a furious sound, the large wooden chair flew through the air and crashed into the desk. The mirror on the wall directly behind the desk shattered into countless pieces.

Jeong Taeui, who had been rubbing his stomach on the bed, froze, his eyes wide.

Ilay’s expression as he turned from the window was no different from usual. Indifferent, and somewhat languid. He walked towards the broken mirror and the chair lying on the floor, then stomped on the chair frame as if striking it. Crack, the thick wooden frame broke like a rotten branch. Crunch, crunch, the sound of mirror pieces clashing was heard. Jeong Taeui raised an eyebrow slightly.

He had seen this man’s abnormal behavior countless times. No, his very existence was abnormal. Hadn’t he just beaten someone like a butcher a moment ago? If he could beat a person like that, what was so great about breaking some objects?

But Jeong Taeui had never seen Ilay unleash violence on objects like that, as if taking out his anger, without a specific purpose—for instance, breaking a table leg to hit someone with it, or pressing someone who attacked him with a weapon under a table.

If he at least broke objects out of anger, that would be more human, but he wasn’t the type to do that. If he got angry, Ilay was the kind of person who would simply kill the source of his anger on the spot.

“…”

He seemed to be in a good mood just a moment ago, so why is he suddenly kicking things around?

Jeong Taeui sighed, glaring at Ilay with a strange expression, who, despite creating menacing sounds, showed no change in his usual demeanor.

“Why are you taking out your anger on objects? It doesn’t suit you.”

Jeong Taeui realized his mistake only after muttering to himself. It was a remark that could easily be misunderstood. No, I definitely didn’t mean for you to take it out on me, he quickly added.

But then again, what did this guy have to be angry about? Jeong Taeui hadn’t even tried to escape and find Xinlu. In fact, just a moment ago, even without the punching, if he had just used words—since he wasn’t confident he could win anyway—he would have had no choice but to obey him.

It seemed that his sudden change of mood was because Jeong Taeui had said he wanted to meet Xinlu. That meant he didn’t like Jeong Taeui meeting Xinlu. If so, the reason was that he liked Jeong Taeui or Xinlu…

Jeong Taeui stared blankly into space, lost in thought for a moment, then came up with the simplest hypothesis. But as soon as he thought of it, he immediately shook his head vigorously.

No, that couldn’t be. That was absolutely not it. He wasn’t the kind of person to have such human emotions. Moreover, that emotion was the kind most distant from this man’s true nature among the countless human emotions. It would be easier to understand if you linked a goldfish with space shuttle development.

If so, then there must be some reason why he shouldn’t meet Xinlu. What could it be? Or if not that…

“Ah.”

Jeong Taeui, who had been racking his brain, arrived at a very simple and easy-to-understand conclusion.

Perhaps he meant that he shouldn’t even contradict him. If he was annoyed because Jeong Taeui wanted to go back to the lobby when he told him to go to the room, then yes, that would make perfect sense.

That guy’s temper, Jeong Taeui grumbled. Ilay, who had been standing on the broken mirror pieces, staring blankly down at Jeong Taeui, suddenly spoke.

“Doesn’t suit me…? Haha, does it not suit me to do this? Then what does suit me?”

He muttered in a voice that was half-laughing, half-not, then slowly took a step. One step, two steps, approaching the bed where Jeong Taeui was sitting. Jeong Taeui inwardly clicked his tongue. Damn it, I stepped on it. I gave him an opening.

“Perfect timing. I need to ask you something. I, too, haven’t known what suits me lately. I’ve been quite confused recently. I never had that before, but lately, what this says… and what this says… are different.”

His index finger, which had been touching his head, moved down to his heart. Ilay paused his hand on his chest for a moment, smiling as if troubled. Perhaps he truly was troubled. That subtle smile vanished the moment he stopped in front of Jeong Taeui. And with an expressionless, doll-like, indifferent face, he stared intently down at Jeong Taeui.

“Taei. You sometimes do incredibly foolish things, but you’re quite intelligent. So let me ask you one thing. The counsel of the head and the counsel of the heart. Which is right?”

“…”

Ilay’s face was right in front of him. Bending at the waist, he leaned over Jeong Taeui’s head, whispering quietly and stroking Jeong Taeui’s neck. That hand, which had been soaked in blood just moments before, was incredibly smooth.

Jeong Taeui frowned.

He couldn’t pinpoint exactly what this man was saying. Nevertheless, Jeong Taeui suddenly felt that this might be a very critical issue. But he couldn’t tell in what direction.

Jeong Taeui fell into serious thought. And Ilay was looking down at him from about a handspan above.

“When you deal with others roughly. More precisely—yes. When you beat that man just now.”

“Hmm…?”

When Jeong Taeui spoke seriously, Ilay raised an eyebrow. He nodded as if telling him to continue.

“At that time, which did you follow, the counsel of your head or the counsel of your heart?”

Jeong Taeui, greatly softening the description of beating someone to within an inch of their life to “beating them down,” inwardly thought that whether his head or his heart advised turning someone into a bloody mess, neither was good. It didn’t matter if he rationally or emotionally destroyed someone. So, no matter how Ilay answered, he had to reconsider how he should respond.

But there was no need to worry.

“My head and heart are not that contradictory. In most cases, they get along very well. Whether it’s stabbing a knife into someone’s neck or tearing out their heart, neither has ever objected.”

Jeong Taeui fell silent at Ilay’s words.

He had known it, but he truly was a guy who didn’t know what a conscience was. My life, how did I end up associating with such a guy…?

Jeong Taeui scratched his head furiously. Whether it was his head or his heart, if he felt no remorse for harming people like that, it made no difference which one he followed. But if he answered, “Follow either one. They look the same to me anyway,” he wouldn’t get a good reaction.

Jeong Taeui frowned, lost in thought again, then gave an answer that wouldn’t be very helpful to someone like Ilay but would generally be somewhat accurate.

“The head is better, the head. It’s probably better to rely on reason than emotion; there will be fewer regrets later.”

It’s useless if your reason is already messed up, Jeong Taeui added inwardly, concluding.

Ilay stared blankly at Jeong Taeui, then slowly muttered,

“Head, huh. Follow what reason says rather than emotion…?”

“Hmm. I think that’s better.”

While he had serious problems with interpersonal relationships, Jeong Taeui actually thought Ilay Riegrow was frighteningly intelligent at times. It was a different kind of intelligence from Jeong Jaeui’s. He had an uncanny ability to discern people’s true intentions and predict future events based on those intentions and their behavioral patterns. So, his reason seemed likely to pave a path for him with no regrets.

“What reason says, huh.”

A whispered voice, like talking to himself, was heard. He stared at Jeong Taeui with eyes that revealed nothing of his thoughts, then suddenly his hand slid. The hand that had been stroking Jeong Taeui’s neck and cupping his cheek moved down again to encircle his neck. His thumb pressed firmly on the center of his neck, above his Adam’s apple.

Jeong Taeui’s face tightened slightly. Suddenly, a memory of a video he had seen long ago came to mind. A pale hand gripping a neck. Those fingers that tore through skin and muscle, piercing the neck.

Right now, if this man decided to, he could take Jeong Taeui’s life in an instant.

Their eyes met. Jeong Taeui remained perfectly still, staring at Ilay. He met his gaze without blinking, looking at the man who held his life beneath a single finger.

At some point, the fingers resting on his neck tightened. Jeong Taeui’s hands gripped the sheet. The fingers gripping his Adam’s apple slowly, gradually pressed into his skin, suffocating him. Gag, before respiratory distress, a sharp pain surged, and Jeong Taeui’s facial muscles twitched.

Ilay, who had been slowly pressing down on Jeong Taeui’s windpipe without taking his eyes off him, released his hand as if nothing had happened. And for a moment, he looked down at his hand with a strange expression. Perhaps he even looked a little regretful.

Jeong Taeui coughed, cough, cough, swallowing a few reflexive coughs and clutching his neck. He rubbed his numb, throbbing neck and glanced up at him. Ilay was still looking at Jeong Taeui.

“If I had followed what reason said.”

Ilay spoke. Jeong Taeui realized anew that those pale, beautiful hands, which slowly unbuttoned his shirt from the sleeve upwards, could kill a person at any time. He started to speak, then fell silent for a moment, finishing his sentence as he unbuttoned the last button of his shirt and cast it aside.

“Taei. You would have died several times already.”

“Did your reason tell you to kill me?”

That’s a rather gruesome and leisurely thing to say, Jeong Taeui muttered discontentedly, rubbing his neck.

“Well. At least I wouldn’t have kept alive the guy who tied me up and covered me with chloroform.”

“…”

If you say that, then as someone with a guilty conscience, I have nothing to say.

Jeong Taeui clicked his tongue bitterly and subtly averted his gaze. However, the way his hand unbuckled his belt after his shirt still bothered him, so he looked at his hand again.

“Ilay, the reason you’re taking off your clothes right now is—”

“Jeong Taei. You saw me with that kid before, didn’t you?”

Ilay cut off Jeong Taeui’s suspicious words. Jeong Taeui fell silent again.

He wasn’t stupid enough to ask, Doing what? The moment he heard Ilay’s words, the image of Xinlu and Ilay intertwining like beasts on the bed reflexively resurfaced in his memory. Simultaneously, the overwhelming confusion and discomfort he had felt at that moment also naturally returned.

“…Why is that?”

“It just occurred to me. I was foolish.”

Ilay said calmly. Clink, clink, with a few metallic sounds, his belt came undone. The sound of his zipper coming down followed vividly.

“You regret sleeping with Xinlu…?”

Jeong Taeui suddenly wanted to hit this guy mercilessly. How refreshing would that be if he could?

He knew perfectly well that Jeong Taeui had liked Xinlu so much at the time, yet he had slept with Xinlu simply for a transaction. He had sex with Xinlu right in front of Jeong Taeui, knowing that Jeong Taeui was watching. And now he was saying something like that?

…If I hit this guy now, he’ll finally listen to reason this time.

Jeong Taeui unclenched his fist, his discomfort clearly etched on his face. But even as he did, Ilay took off his pants. Now only his underwear covered his body. And even that wasn’t doing its job properly, clearly revealing the erect, prominent flesh.

“Wrong. That’s not it. What I think I did wrong is that it should have been the other way around.”

Saying that, Ilay stood in front of Jeong Taeui. Jeong Taeui, sitting on the bed, slowly recoiled from his half-naked body, which was only a few handspans away. But when he slowly backed up until his back hit the wall, Jeong Taeui regretted it. He shouldn’t have moved back and created space for him to get on the bed.

“Hey, wait, that, —”

Before Jeong Taeui, suddenly feeling urgent, could properly say anything, Ilay was already on the bed, his body straddling Jeong Taeui’s pants.

“At that time, instead of showing you me with that kid, I should have shown him me with you.”

“—!”

His skin was exposed below the waist, and the bedsheet and blanket brushed directly against it. But even colder than that cool, dry touch, his low whisper pierced his ear.

“If I had, it might have been easier now.”

“Easier, what… No, wait, now—”

“Don’t think. Forget it. There’s no reason, no need to meet again. So don’t think about him.”

His pants leg wrapped around his leg, the cumbersome clothing hindering his movement. With a hand that swept off his shirt, a low, tickling sound brushed against his body.

Unfortunately, Jeong Taeui, as Ilay said, had no mind to think of Xinlu right now. The cold air that touched his skin each time his clothes, which were easily removed from his struggling body, revealed his flesh, froze his mind.

“Ilay, wait, what is this in the middle of talking, why suddenly… Damn it! Why are you suddenly getting hard, you bastard!”

Jeong Taeui, who had been pushing Ilay away in confusion, suddenly erupted when his underwear, which he had tried to protect until the last moment, came off easily. It probably didn’t help that Ilay’s penis, which had poked out from beneath the fabric, touched his thigh.

At this moment, Jeong Taeui was not in the mood to have sex with Ilay. It was partly because his spirits had been dampened by the conversation about Xinlu, partly because he was physically and mentally exhausted, and partly because they had been talking about something completely different and now he was suddenly on the bed.

However, the situation was unfolding regardless of Jeong Taeui’s will, and that fact only fueled his nausea.

But whether Jeong Taeui cursed or not, Ilay didn’t bat an eye. He pressed down on Jeong Taeui’s body, straddled him, and roughly gripped his waist.

“It hasn’t even been ten days, and you’ve already forgotten, have you? Taei, do you remember what I said last time?”

“What did you—”

“That this body is mine. That you are my possession, that I recognize you as such. After pouring so much into you, there might even be traces of me still in your body, if it worked well. And you forgot that? That can’t be.”

“—”

Jeong Taeui was speechless. More accurately, his tongue suddenly stiffened, and no words came out. He couldn’t have forgotten. You are mine, every single whisper, countless times, with his lips pressed close to his ear, still sometimes vividly resurfaced. Along with those words, the traces carved into every corner of his body with hands, tongue, and teeth still faintly remained in places. Even this morning, while showering, he had momentarily held his breath upon discovering those barely visible marks.

Damn it.

Jeong Taeui gaped for a moment, then mumbled, stammering so obviously that anyone would know it was a lie.

“No, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“…Aha. You don’t know…?”

From above Jeong Taeui, who had slightly turned his head, there was a faint chuckle from Ilay. At that moment, Jeong Taeui suddenly snapped to attention. Oh, crap.

“The bite marks on your neck haven’t even disappeared yet, so it’s ridiculous to say you’ve forgotten after just a few days. Right, Taei, I told you. From now on, you’re mine every day. If I have to make you realize that every day, I’ll do it as much as you need. So that your crotch is never dry of my semen. If that’s what it takes for you to properly recognize it, then why not?”

His warm tongue licked Jeong Taeui’s neck. The words, traveling up his neck and piercing his ear, sent shivers down Jeong Taeui’s spine.

“My… no, you said you’d recognize it! That’s different!”

“Hahaha. Do you remember now?”

Ilay chuckled. His hand, sliding from Jeong Taeui’s neck to his chest, slowly pressed against his skin as it passed.