The room lay shrouded in darkness, illuminated only by the pale glow of moonlight streaming through the open balcony door. Heavy moans and the rhythmic creak of the bed filled the air, mingling with the sharp sound of skin meeting skin. With a final thrust, Jaeha released, collapsing beside the woman next to him. Both of them were breathless, bodies still heaving from their intense session.
After a moment, Ye Jin—a raven-haired —recovered and shifted on top of him, a playful smirk on her lips. "How about a second round?" she murmured, leaning in for a kiss. But Jaeha turned his face away, gently pushing her off him.
"Ye Jin, that's enough," he said, his voice flat, distant. He couldn't do this anymore—not tonight.
She blinked, genuinely surprised. "Why? You never stop at just one round."
"It's nothing. I'm just… tired," he muttered, getting up quickly, pulling on his clothes before she could notice the marks that marred his skin—bruises that had formed not from their session, but from the toll his own body had taken, rejecting every moment of this encounter. The pain had been a constant, gnawing ache throughout, something he couldn't begin to describe. His hands trembled as he dressed, struggling to keep the agony from showing.
Jaeha had only done this to hurt Sab, as though somehow punishing himself would punish her. He'd even insisted on keeping the lights off, just so Ye Jin wouldn't see the torment etched into his face. Now, standing in the cold light, he realized just how hollow that satisfaction felt.
"We're done. That was the last time," Jaeha said flatly, leaving before Ye Jin could utter a word. The door clicked shut behind him, and he strode out of the hotel room, each step faster than the last. His mind was clouded, his body throbbing with unbearable pain, and he was desperate to escape before bruises began to mar his face as well.
Outside, he flung open the door of his car and slid inside, slumping forward over the steering wheel, breath heavy and shallow. His hands clenched tightly around the wheel as fresh waves of pain tore through him, adding new bruises to his face, while old ones still lingered beneath the surface. Yet now, the pain felt oddly muted, a faint echo of what it had been when he was with Ye Jin.
During that entire ordeal, he'd nearly blacked out, the agony almost too much to bear. But his twisted need to punish Sab had kept him awake. The thought of her, bruised and broken, suffering at his hands—the idea that he could make her feel the same torment he endured—had been his only fuel, his only purpose.
Through the searing pain, a dark, satisfied smirk crossed his lips. Sab would be destroyed by him, he was certain of it. In his mind, this was all her doing, her fault. And soon enough, she'd know what it felt like.
Jaeha's satisfaction only grew when he heard that Sab had skipped her classes. He knew exactly why, and it thrilled him. Every concerned glance cast his way, each whisper about the bruises on his face—like he'd been beaten senseless—only fueled his twisted delight. He wore each bruise with pride, a reminder of his own suffering, one he could almost imagine Sab sharing.
Even Hajoon hadn't joined them at their usual table that day. Jaeha figured he was avoiding Do Hyun, probably afraid his presence would only make things more awkward. It was a smart move. Do Hyun had been scowling all day.
Jaeha leaned back in his seat, savoring every second. His plan was working, and the ripple effects were just beginning. All he had to do now was wait for it to unravel further. Sab wouldn't escape unscathed—not if he had anything to say about it.
After a long day basking in his twisted sense of triumph, Jaeha decided to treat himself to a celebration. Picking up a few bottles of his favorite liquor, he allowed himself a self-congratulatory smirk as he paid at the counter. His plan was going smoothly; the thought of Sab broken, lying helpless beneath him, was a vision he eagerly awaited. As he stepped out of the store and lit a cigarette, he exhaled a cloud of smoke and slid into his car, placing his things in the passenger seat before driving off, humming a song under his breath.
Halfway home, his phone rang, interrupting his reverie. He groaned, lowering the music's volume and picking up. "What? This better be important," he snapped, his good mood slightly tarnished.
On the other end was Do Hyun, sounding just as irritated. "You're the one who asked me to dig into Sab," he replied.
Jaeha's interest piqued, and he adjusted in his seat. "So, what did you find?" he asked, pulling into his driveway and grabbing his things as he exited the car.
Do Hyun hesitated before speaking, his voice low. "Listen, man. You might want to stop chasing her because... she's not just a typical Alpha. She's dominant, yeah, but she's… abnormal."
Jaeha rolled his eyes, already aware of Sab's dominance, though the word "abnormal" caught his attention. He stayed silent, sensing something darker was coming.
"Apparently," Do Hyun continued, "she doesn't experience emotions the way we do, and pheromones don't affect her as much. But that's not all."
A chill ran down Jaeha's spine as he waited, feeling an inexplicable dread creeping in.
"She killed an Omega. Her Omega. The one she marked herself," Do Hyun said, his voice steady but grim. "It's all in the report I found. She wanted to see him covered in red. That's what she told the authorities."
Jaeha froze, the weight of the revelation sinking in. "What—" he stammered, barely able to process it.
"Yeah," Do Hyun continued, his tone unsettling. "She might look composed, but Sab's got a twisted mind. This is not someone you want to mess with, Jaeha."
Silence filled the line as Jaeha grappled with what he'd just heard. He barely heard Do Hyun asking if he was still there before he whispered, "I think I'm screwed."
"What do you—"
Before Do Hyun could finish, Jaeha's phone slipped from his hand, his body paralyzed with shock as he stared at the figure looming in front of him.
Sab stood there, her face bruised and eyes bloodshot, a metal rod clutched in her hand. Her gaze locked onto him with a deadly focus, her lips curled in a smirk that sent chills down his spine.
"S-Sab—" he stammered, backing up in terror, but before he could utter another word, she swung the rod, striking the side of his head with brutal force. He crumpled to the ground, blood trickling down his forehead and staining his shirt, his vision swimming as he clutched his head, trying to process the pain.
"You messed with the wrong person, Jaeha," she murmured, a dark satisfaction in her voice. He stared up at her, horror filling his gaze, but before he could react, she struck him again, the impact more violent than the last, and his world went black.
As Jaeha lay unconscious, Sab crouched down, lifting his chin with the bloodied end of the metal rod. Her smirk deepened, her voice a whisper of menace. "But I must say, Jay," she taunted, "you look pretty in red."