Chapter Text
Episode 65 — Rewritten
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She gasped as he carried her to the bed, laying her down with a reverence that clashed with the feral hunger in his eyes. The rhythm built quickly. Hungry, relentless, every thrust driving her deeper into the sheets. Her moans grew louder, mixed with his grunts. Her nails raked down his back, desperate, almost punishing, as if she wanted to carve his name into his skin. Every thrust shook through her bones, pushing her further into the sheets until her body bent helplessly to his will.
Hae-soo (voice breaking): “Ahhh! N-no more… I can’t!”
Tae-ha (rasping against her ear): “Yes you can. You’ll take everything I give you… until you can’t breathe without me.”
Her cries hitched as his rhythm grew rougher, harder. The slap of skin against skin filling the room, wet and shameless. She tried to bite back the sound, but his hand caught her chin, forcing her to face him.
Tae-ha (demanding): “Look at me when you break. Only me.”
Her lips trembled, whispering his name over and over, each syllable pulling him deeper into madness. The overwhelming pleasure pricked tears on the corners of her eyes.
Hae-soo: “Tae-ha… Tae-ha… ahhh, Tae-ha!”
His hair plastered to his forehead from sweat and rain, lips parted as he groaned with each violent snap of his hips. His pupils were blown wide.
Tae-ha (inner monologue, frenzied): That’s it. Drown in me. Forget everything but not me. Your voice, your body, your soul mine.
Tae-ha : "Are you still trying to push me away?"
The coil inside her snapped. Her whole body spasmed, walls tightening mercilessly around him. Her scream tore through the air, raw and unrestrained, as waves of release consumed her.
Hae-soo: “Tae-ha… I think I'm about to c*m"
The force of her climax dragged him over the edge. With a guttural groan he drove deeper, holding her crushed against him as he spilled into her, heat filling her in thick pulses. He buried his face against her neck, biting down hard as if to mark her. Hae-soo collapsed into shoulders, bodies slick with sweat, breaths shattering into each other’s mouths. His arms refused to release her, holding her trapped, locked, claimed.
Tae-ha (hoarse whisper against her ear): “Now you can’t deny it. You belong to me.”
Hae-soo (broken, whispering through gasps): “If this is what belonging to you feels like… then ruin me more.”
Tae-ha : "If it's too much, should we stop now?"
Her chest rose and fell rapidly, tears streaking down her cheeks from the unbearable force of it all. His hand clutched her hair, pressing her closer. Her thighs trembled, straddling him, his length still buried inside her, thick and throbbing, refusing to soften. Their breaths mingled, skin flushed, as the room thick with heat and the aftertaste of their climax.
Hae-soo (voice trembling, half-moan, half-tease): “That’s a lie. No matter how much we do it, I never get tired easily… ahhh ! Try experiencing it yourself… see if you can get tired of this. How could anyone get tired of something like this?”
Tae-ha (low, husky, obsessive, eyes locked on hers): “Then tell me to stay over every night. Tell me to bring all my clothes here… go to work from here… and never leave your side again.”
He gripped her waist tighter, grinding up into her, his voice breaking into a plea wrapped in dominance.
Hae-soo (moaning through her words): “Nngh… Stay over… every night… bring your clothes here…”
The words tumbled out between shuddering breaths, and for a moment, she didn’t know if she was saying them just to appease him or because her heart secretly wanted them too. Tae-ha’s eyes darkened at her words, something feral flickering in the depths. He seized her mouth in a crushing kiss, swallowing her gasp, his tongue claiming every corner of her. She gasped into his lips when she felt him twitch inside her. He hadn’t pulled out. Her body clenched instinctively around him, wet and messy, their hips still pressed flush together.
Hae-soo (gasping, startled): “H-huh? Why… why is it getting hard again?”
Her voice was in half disbelief, half excitement. Her hands clung to his shoulders as her own body betrayed her, already aching for another round. Her body trembled on his lap, still filled by him, heat pooling low as if her release had only primed her for more. She tried to steady her breath, but every movement and every small twitch of her hips dragged another moan from her throat.
His lips curved into a dangerous smile.
Her eyes widened as he pin her down. He thrust up suddenly, sharp and deep, making her cry out against his lips.
Hae-soo (screaming softly): “Ahhhhnn.. T-Tae-ha!”
Her arms tightened around his neck anchoring herself, but her eyes burned, because deep down she knew he wasn’t just chasing her body. He was demanding everything.
Hae-soo (panting, half-protest, half-desire): “N-no… Tae-ha, we just.. we just finished…”
Her words dissolved into a gasp as he rolled his hips upward, hard and slow, pressing himself deeper inside her as if to prove her wrong.
Tae-ha (voice rough, fevered): “Then let’s start again. I don’t want to stop. Not when you’re this tight around me… not when you’re holding me like you’ll never let go.”
He grabbed her hips firmly. The obscene sound of their bodies meeting echoed in the quiet apartment, mingling with her broken cries.
Hae-soo (moaning, clinging tighter): “Ahhh… y-you’re… nghh, you’re insane… you’ll ruin me…”
Tae-ha (whispering against her lips, possessive): “That’s what I want. Ruin me back. Make it so I can’t live a day without you.”
Her walls clenched violently at his words, betraying her, and she threw her head back with a strangled cry as he began to thrust in earnest hunger. Her fingernails dug into his shoulders, leaving crescents on his skin.
Hae-soo (inner thoughts, unraveling): Why… why does it feel even better now? Every time he moves, it’s like I’m falling apart. Even when I try to resist, my body betrays me. Am I the one clinging, or is he the one who won’t let me go?
His mouth traced her neck, sucking hard enough to mark her, his hands roaming to memorize every inch of her body.
Tae-ha (obsessively, between thrusts): “Say it again. Tell me you want me here. Tell me I belong to you.”
Hae-soo (half-crying, half-pleading): “Y-you belong to me… ahhhhnngh… Tae-ha, don’t stop…!”
Her words pushed him over the edge. He growled low in his throat, clutching her to him as if he could bury himself deeper, chasing her cries, chasing the proof that she couldn’t live without him either.
Tae-ha (inner monologue): I waver back and forth at your words, swaying like a rope on a swing. That’s right. It’s all a lie. The truth is… I want Na Hae-soo to have me. I want her to pick me up and take me away. Don’t throw me away. Always keep me somewhere your eyes can reach. Cherish me. And then… the thing you said to that creep trailing you… say it again. But this time… say it in front of Mincheol.
Her cries filled the room, as Tae-ha drove into her with a rhythm that bordered on savage. Each thrust sent a shock through her body, her legs trembling around his waist.
Hae-soo (panting, voice breaking): “T-Tae-ha… ahhhhnnn! I.. I can’t, it’s too much!”
But even as she pleaded, her hips betrayed her, moving to meet him, grinding down greedily, hungry for more.
Tae-ha (ragged, desperate): “Then fall apart with me. Don’t hold back. I want to see you break, only for me.”
He pressed his forehead to hers, their breaths colliding, sweat mingling, and his eyes burning into her. The tension in his jaw, the way his chest heaved, it was as if he was staking his entire existence in the way she clenched around him.
Her body convulsed, head tilting back with a strangled scream as waves of heat tore through her. She tightened so violently around him that he cursed low against her ear, his rhythm faltering into something uncontrolled.
Hae-soo (mind unraveling): I’m… I’m dissolving. He’s inside me everywhere. Even if I wanted to push him away, my body won’t… my heart won’t…
Her release hit hard, trembling through her body in waves that left her shuddering uncontrollably in his arms. And in that moment, her voice keeps crying his name, Tae-ha snapped.
Tae-ha (groaning, voice hoarse): “Na Hae-soo… nghhh !!”
He buried himself deep, clutching her like she were the last tether to his sanity. His release tore through him, violent and consuming. His entire body seizing as he spilled inside her. They clung to each other, gasping, trembling, their bodies sticky with sweat and heat, their heartbeats pounding against each other’s chests. He didn’t pull away. Still seated inside her, his arms tightened, almost crushing, as if letting go even an inch would mean losing her.
Tae-ha (whispering, obsessive, broken): “See? You can’t get tired of me. You’ll never tire of me. Because I won’t let you.”
Her lips trembled, body still twitching from the aftershocks. And though she wanted to scold him, to tell him he was wrong, what slipped past her swollen lips was a quiet, dangerous truth.
Hae-soo (soft, spent, but honest): “You’re right… I can’t.”
The storm outside still lashed against the windows. The world was hushed and slowed. Hae-soo slumped against his chest, her body trembling faintly, thighs still quivering around him. The room was thick with the scent of rain-soaked clothes, sweat, and heat. His weight, his warmth and the steady thrum of his heart pressed her deeper into the realization that she had given him all of her, again.
Tae-ha stayed buried inside her, as if anchoring himself there, arms locked tight around her back. Hands grasping her buttocks. His cheek pressed against the crown of her damp hair, and for once, he wasn’t smirking, nor teasing. He just breathed long, uneven, shaky trying to calm a storm in his chest.
Tae-ha (soft, almost trembling): “Hae-soo… don’t regret this. Don’t you dare regret me.”
She could feel the desperation trembling in his voice and the fear clawing under his obsession. Her lips parted slowly, her hand rose, caressing the side of his face, her thumb brushing the damp strands of hair clinging to his temple.
Hae-soo (gentle, hesitant): “I… don’t regret you.”
He pulled back just enough to see her face. Her eyes were glazed, lips swollen from his kisses. The sight hit him like a blade and a balm at the same time. His thumb traced her bottom lip, lingering there.
Tae-ha (hoarse whisper): “Say it again. Say it until I believe it.”
Her throat tightened, but she didn’t look away. She let the truth slip past her lips.
Hae-soo (breathing unsteadily): “I don’t regret you, Tae-ha. Not even once.”
Something broke inside him. His arms crushed her closer, lips pressing against her temple, her cheek, her jawline, frantic, almost reverent.
Tae-ha (inner thoughts): If you knew what I’ve done for you… if you saw the darkness I hide, would you still say those words? Would you still hold me like this?
But he didn’t dare ask. He just held her, breathing her in, engraving the softness of her against him like a man desperate to memorize a dream before waking. She nuzzled closer into his chest, eyes fluttering shut as the exhaustion washing over her. She felt safe, as if the chaos outside couldn’t touch her in his arms.
And Tae-ha, staring down at her fragile trusting face, realized with a sharp ache that he could never let her go.
Her small murmur slipped through the quiet. Half-asleep, unconscious.
Hae-soo (mumbling faintly): “Don’t go…”
It shattered him. His throat burned. He pressed his lips to her hair, tightening his arm around her.
Tae-ha (whispering against her): “I won’t.
The rain softened into a steady patter, like a lullaby against the thin glass of her basement window. Inside the cramp apartment are two bodies muffled by the warmth and tangled together.
Tae-ha couldn’t take his eyes off her. Even as drowsiness pressed heavy on his own lids, he fought it, desperate to etch every detail of this moment into his memory. The way her hand still rested weakly on his chest. The faint furrow of her brows that hadn’t quite smoothed out, she was still battling the remnants of her fears.
Tae-ha: “Are you sleeping?”
Hae-soo (rolling her eyes): “No. I couldn’t sleep because my back hurts… because of someone.”
Tae-ha (laughing): “Hahaha!”
Hae-soo: “Because of you, it still feels like my stomach is full.”
Tae-ha: “That’s… a strange way to put it.”
He sobered, smile fading as his gaze locked onto hers. His warm hand slipped into hers.
Tae-ha (serious): “Hae-soo… I have something I want to say.”
Something in his voice with a low, steady urgency made her chest tighten. Her hand went cold instantly.
Hae-soo (nervously): “What is it? Is something serious going on? The way you’re looking at me… it makes my heart sink.”
Tae-ha: “Hae-soo… from now on, whenever you’re in danger or anxious or even when you just… want me there.. like what happened yesterday… can you promise to call me? So I can be there. So I can protect you, no matter what. I’ll always be right here whenever you need me.”
He leaned closer, his voice dropping to a whisper that grazed her lips.
Tae-ha (pleading): “Promise me, Na Hae-soo.”
Her heart softened, breaking under the weight of his vulnerability.
Hae-soo (whispering): “I… promise. Is that it?”
He nodded, eyes bright with something childlike contentment just with those words.
Hae-soo: “I promise. Just… don’t get tired of me, can you?”
Tae-ha (laughing again): “Hahaha.”
Hae-soo (pouting): “But you have to promise me something too.”
Tae-ha (curious): “And what does Hae-soo want from me?”
She drew closer, cupping his cheek tenderly, their pinkies hooking sealing a vow.
Hae-soo: “From now on… can you promise me not to get hurt again?. No matter what happens. Can you do that for me, Tae-ha?”
For a moment, silence. He wrapped his arms around her body, but no answer came. Hae-soo's brows knit, lips pushing into a pout.
Hae-soo (whining): “What? Why aren’t you answering? I’ll punish you! Hurry up and promise me too! You—really! ”
But his eyes were already closed, his breathing evening out.
Tae-ha (inner monologue): I’m sorry, Na Hae-soo. I can’t promise that. I can’t give up being hurt… not when it keeps you close to me. Not when it makes you turn your eyes back to me. Getting hurt… is the cheapest way to stay in your world.
Her small fists tapped against his chest, her pout deepening.
Hae-soo (grumbling): “You just keep smiling at me. You don’t even promise me back! So unfair!”
She nudged him again, rolling her eyes.
Hae-soo: “Don’t pretend to sleep! … Wait. Huh? Are you actually asleep?”
He didn’t stir. His face was peaceful, softer than she’d ever seen it, lips curved faintly. With a sigh, she shifted carefully and pulled the blanket over them both. His warm scent, faintly sharp, lingering of rain and shampoo settled around her like a second skin.
Hae-soo (inner monologue): So this is what it feels like… to be claimed, even in silence. To be wanted without words.
She brushed his hair slowly, tenderly.
Hae-soo (whispering at his sleeping face): “Tae-ha, you sly fox. When I ask you something, you dodge the answer. When I ask you to promise, you just smile. So self-indulgent. How dare you… with that angel face. So unfair.”
Hae-soo shifted slightly, she burrowed closer into the curve of Tae-ha’s chest. His arms, even in sleep, adjusted instinctively, tightening afraid she might slip away.
She smiled faintly at that, her heart warming in spite of her doubts. “You really… won’t let me go, will you?” she whispered into the quiet, knowing he wouldn’t answer. Tae-ha’s chest rose and fell, steady, his warmth enveloping her like a cocoon. His hand twitched once against her waist, almost like he was reaching for her even in his dreams.
She groaned softly, clutching her lower back.
Hae-soo (muttering): “Ugh. My back hurts!”
Half-asleep, half-awake, she glanced at him again. He was soundly asleep, breaths steady, body relaxed and vulnerable that the world couldn’t touch him. She traced his features with her eyes, memorizing every detail. The curve of his lashes, the softness of his jaw, the faint scar that the shadows couldn’t hide.
When she couldn’t resist anymore, she pressed a gentle kiss against his lips, careful not to wake him.
He didn’t move.
She smiled to herself, settling down at last. But in the quiet of her heart, a tremor of unease lingered.
Hae-soo (inner monologue): I don’t even know… how long this will last. How long until these smiles and promises fall apart. My heart already fears it. My heart already expects it.
Her eyes fluttered closed. For once, she allowed herself to let the weight of the day dissolve, to let herself believe in this simple peace. No arguments, no dangers, no shadows lurking. Just the safety of his arms.
Her lips brushed against his collarbone before sleep overtook her. “Goodnight, Tae-ha,” she murmured, barely audible. She pressed her forehead against his chest, letting the rhythm of his heartbeat lull her. Slowly, she drifted into sleep beside him, uncertain but unwilling to let go. Only the sound of their breathing in rhythm with one another.
Their bodies tangled drifted together into fragile rest.
Warmth into morning..
The first touch of morning light crept through the thin curtains, as the soft and golden gleam of the sun is painting faint streaks across the small window of the apartment. The air was still damp with the scent of rain. The road was washed clean, hushed and unwilling to disturb them.
Hae-soo stirred first. Heavy with sleep, for a moment she forgot where she was. Then the weight around her waist reminded her that his strong and possessive arm, were holding her all through the night that he hadn’t loosened his grip once.
She tilted her head slightly. Tae-ha’s face was so close and peaceful. His lashes casting long shadows, lips parted with steady breaths. Without the sharpness of his usual expression, he looked younger, almost vulnerable, like the boy he had once been.
Her chest tightened. “You’re not supposed to look this gentle,” she whispered, afraid of her own heart, afraid of how much she wanted to stay in this illusion forever. She shifted, careful not to wake him, and brushed the strands of hair that had fallen across his forehead. Her fingers lingered a moment too long. Then, unable to resist, she kissed him softly.
Tae-ha stirred. His eyes didn’t open, but his hand moved against her back, pulling her closer until her face was pressed in his chest.
“Stay,” he murmured, half-asleep, voice rough slightly awake from dreams.
She caught her breath and paused. Instead, she smiled faintly, whispering gently into his ear, “I'll stay, just a little longer.”
Evening at his favorite hide-out..
Tae-ha stood on the roadside ledge, the city sprawling beneath him like a kingdom laid bare. High-rise towers glittered against the night, neon signs flickered, traffic lights pulsed like veins feeding life into the streets below. It was the view that always reminded him that this was his world to own, to bend, to conquer.
This was also the place where he first crossed paths with Lee Jay, his shadow turned confidant. Tonight, as usual, a line of black VIP cars idled nearby, bodyguards standing by like silent statues. At a distance, Lee Jay leaned against a car, smiling faintly at his master’s familiar ritual.
Tae-ha (mocking): “Did you change jobs to digging dirt on hillsides?”
Lee Jay (snorting): “At this point, I’d believe you if you told me you hunt down women who run off with your money.”
Tae-ha scoffed, amused, slipping both hands into his pockets. The pride radiating off him wasn’t about the skyline, nor the convoy at his back. It was about the shirt he wore. A black, long-sleeved, printed, simple. Cheap by his world’s standards. Not his style at all. But it was a gift from Na Hae-soo, and because of that, he could’ve worn it every day, every hour, like it was a badge of honor.
Tae-ha (bragging, tugging his collar): “Got it as a gift. Does it suit me?”
Lee Jay, staring at him, stifled the urge to laugh.
Lee Jay (inner thought): Yeah, it suits you. Suits you too damn well, lunatic.
Tae-ha smirked, almost boyishly, too wrapped up in his pride to notice the weight behind his guard’s silence.
Then Lee Jay broke it, shifting his tone.
Lee Jay: “Young master, I’ll only ask once… What does she think of you? Did she like you back?”
The question hung heavy in the night air, like the world was holding its breath. Tae-ha’s eyes narrowed faintly, gaze fixed on the horizon.
Tae-ha: “I’m curious about that too.”
His voice carried no hesitation, yet deep inside, the truth burned quietly.
Tae-ha (inner thought): By now… what does Na Hae-soo really think of Beom Tae-ha? Of the man who would burn this city to ash just to keep her?
Tae-ha stood alone on the hillside, staring down at the world lit up beneath him. The shirt clung to him in the night breeze, cheap fabric, precious weight. Every thread carried her touch, her choice, her unspoken claim on him.
Tae-ha (inner thought): Na Hae-soo… are you thinking of me right now? Or am I just a shadow you’ll push away once the morning comes?
Tae-ha (inner thought):This… this isn’t enough. Her smile, her gift, it only feeds the hunger. She gave me this shirt, but when will she give me herself?
His bodyguards loitered nearby, but their presence was meaningless. None of them could see how the ground shifted under his feet, how fragile he felt when her absence pressed in too sharply.
He dragged in a long breath of night air, his chest burning with the ache of it.
Tae-ha (inner thought): Don’t brush me off. Don’t treat me like something temporary. I want more than just your body. I want you to claim me… like you did in front of that man. Say it again, but this time, mean it.
He tilted his head back, eyes half-closed, the city glowing below him.
Tae-ha (murmur): “Hae-soo… tell me you’re mine.”
Hae-soo’s apartment.
Hae-soo sat on the floor with a small basket of laundry. Her hands folded clothes one by one—shirts, blouses, a faded cardigan. Each motion is careful, mechanical, yet her mind was nowhere near the task.
The words from her part-time job earlier lingered like a thorn in her chest. The elderly women had been arguing laughing, blushing, and debating shamelessly about physical intimacy, about the ties between body and heart. Some called it terrifying, others said it was the only thing that kept them alive.
Hae-soo had laughed along politely then, but now… the question gnawed at her.
Hae-soo (inner thought): Is physical intimacy really something to fear? If our bodies tangle together, if I give in completely… will I ever be able to escape if it doesn’t work out?
Her fingers lingered too long on one shirt, folding it and unfolding it again. She bit her lip, uneasy.
Hae-soo (inner thought): I thought I had already decided to just eat and live. Keep it simple, keep it shallow. Pleasure, no promises. That nothing that can break me again.
But the lie cracked the moment she whispered it to herself. Because the truth was shamefully, achingly clear. She was the one craving more. Her heart throbbed with every memory of Beom Tae-ha. His warmth, his hands, the way he demanded her presence like he could breathe only if she allowed it. Her defenses, the fortress she had built around herself, were crumbling brick by brick, undone not by his wealth or his arrogance, but by his unbearable sincerity.
Hae-soo (inner thought, trembling): It’s strange. I’m starting to trust you without even knowing who you really are, Beom Tae-ha. Without knowing your past, your scars, the dangers shadowing you.
Her eyes dropped, staring at her own hands.
Hae-soo (inner thought): Back then, when I was still naive… when I still believed in love, I thought trust was a simple thing. But now… aside from the good things you’ve shown me, there’s still something about you that feels suspicious. Something I can’t name. Something I’m afraid to see.
She pressed the last folded shirt to her chest, closing her eyes. But the truth was there: she wanted him more than she dared admit.
Hae-soo had stopped folding. She stared at the shirt in her hands.
Hae-soo (inner thought): I told myself it was only for a little while. Just comfort, just desire, no ties. But every time he looks at me, every time he holds me, I want more.
The words she refused to speak out loud burned on her tongue. Her throat tightened.
Hae-soo (inner thought): I want his warmth to stay longer. I want his eyes to be only on me. I want him to stop asking me to tell him to stay, because I’m afraid if he does, I’ll never let him go.
She lied down against the folded clothes on the floor, staring blankly at the ceiling as if she could quiet the ache that had taken root in her.
Hae-soo (inner thought): What am I doing? This isn’t supposed to happen. It was supposed to be simple. But the more I touch him, the more I let him touch me… the more I realize, I don’t just want his body. I want him. All of him.
Her lips trembled into the faintest smile, though her eyes betrayed a heaviness.
Hae-soo (whisper, barely audible): “Beom Tae-ha… what are you doing to me? You are being way too suspicious, and yet I don't hate that about you."
She grab the folded shirt, it was his sweater he left last night he stayed. Her hands lingered on it, restless. An the quiet room itself was too small to hold her storm.
Smoking Area..
The office smoking area was still thick with the stench of half-burned cigarettes and stale laughter. Mincheol stood a little apart, hands tucked in his slacks, nodding politely at his co-workers’ brags. They boasted about sales numbers, clients won, overtime hours logged like war medals.
The manager, old, balding, with a belly softened by years of office dinners clapped Mincheol’s shoulder with paternal pride.
Manager: “This one here, he’s different. Diligent, sharp, a real problem-solver. You’ll all see, in ten years Mincheol will be sitting in my chair.”
The group chuckled and praised him, and Mincheol gave a modest smile. For a moment, warmth swelled in his chest; it felt good to be seen, to be recognized for more than the boy who had grown up without guidance.
Then the manager’s phone rang.
The laughter broke off like glass shattering. His expression sharpened at the name flashing on the screen. The others leaned in with curiosity, whispering.
The old man barked, snapping his fingers:
Manager: “Alright, everyone, back inside. Overtime tonight.”
The manager’s voice dropped into a reverent tone, the kind he never used with anyone in the office.
Manager (into phone barely audible): “Yes, sir. Of course. Always. Your support has been invaluable. Without you, our company wouldn’t be where it is today.”
What employees didn’t know was that the man on the other end wasn’t the chairman. It wasn’t even his manager’s superior. It was Tae-ha’s shadow speaking as if he were the hidden pillar propping up their firm. And somewhere else in the city, leaning lazily in the alley, Tae-ha smirked while listening to the live call piped through the speaker. To him, it was more entertaining than a headline broadcast.
Tae-ha (inner thought): So how are you Kang Mincheol? Working hard huh, thinking you’re building something of your own. You don’t even realize the ground beneath your feet belongs to me.
His fingers drummed against the wall in a rhythm that sounded almost like amusement and a warning.
This wasn’t coincidence. It was a placement. A seed. And it was already sprouting..