Betrayal. That's what this was. His own damn body was betraying him, reacting in ways he didn't want, couldn't stop. His breath came in sharp, humiliating pants, his skin burning with the heat of contact.
And the worst part? Caesar saw everything.
"Hah," the bastard exhaled, licking his lips like he was savoring the moment. His eyes glinted with wicked amusement, knowing damn well what he was doing.
Eun-Jae's face burned. He wanted to claw his own skin off.
Then—hands.
On his chest.
Eun-Jae jerked violently, eyes snapping open in horror.
"HEY!!" he yelled, twisting desperately to escape. His hands flew to Caesar's wrist, gripping it tight, trying to pry him off. But the bastard was unshakable, relentless, smug.
"Oh?" Caesar hummed, watching his reaction like a cat playing with its prey. "Sensitive, are we?"
Eun-Jae wanted to die. Right there.
"Get your hands off me, you—ah—" His breath caught when Caesar's fingers closed over his nipple, twisting cruelly.
Eun-Jae whined—actually whined—and he wanted to strangle himself for it.
He hated this. He hated him. He hated his own body for betraying him so cruelly.
"Wow," Caesar murmured, mocking, smug.
Eun-Jae squeezed his eyes shut. He was going to kill him. Right after this. Murder. Brutal, bloody murder.
But then—the friction intensified.
Eun-Jae's whole body shuddered violently, his breath coming in ragged, shaky gasps as the overwhelming sensation crashed through him. He didn't want this. He didn't want this. He—
His body convulsed.
White-hot humiliation spread through his veins, burning, suffocating. His nails dug into his palms, his teeth clenched so hard his jaw ached.
And Caesar? He fucking smirked.
Eun-Jae's eyes snapped open, blazing with hate. He was furious. Humiliated. Disgusted beyond words.
And Caesar—Caesar had the audacity to be pleased.
Eun-Jae shoved at him, frantic, shaking with residual tremors of unwanted pleasure and overwhelming rage.
Caesar merely let out a low groan, rolling his hips one last time before pulling back just slightly. Eun-Jae barely had a second to react before—
Hot. Wet. On his face.
Eun-Jae froze.
His brain short-circuited.
And then—rage. Pure, burning, soul-consuming rage.
Caesar's chest rose and fell with uneven breaths, his expression still lazily amused. That smug, insufferable smirk lingered on his lips as he gazed down at Eun-Jae, eyes dark with satisfaction.
Eun-Jae saw red.
With a violent shove, he ripped himself free, scrambling to his feet. His legs were shaking, his whole body felt weak, but he refused—refused—to let this bastard see it.
Eun-jae stormed into the bathroom, his entire body buzzing with frustration, disgust, and—goddamn it—something else he refused to acknowledge. His breath was ragged, his jaw clenched so tight it ached. The moment he reached the sink, he grabbed a handful of water and splashed it onto his face, scrubbing furiously like he could somehow erase the memory of what just happened.
He hated it.
He hated it. He hated it.
His fingers curled into fists, knuckles turning white.
Fucking disgusting. That damn pervert—who the hell does he think he is?!
His fingers dug into his skin as he rubbed at his face, as if sheer force could scrub away the sensation, the heat, the humiliation. He turned on the faucet full blast, letting the cold water rush over his hands before bringing them up again, wiping with an almost desperate aggression.
"I swear to God, one day, I'm going to strangle that bastard with my bare hands," he muttered through gritted teeth, staring at his reflection in the mirror. His own flushed face stared back at him, wild-eyed and furious.
His lips curled into a sneer.
"And he had the audacity to smirk? To act like—like he won something? As if I'd ever—ugh!"
He let out a frustrated groan, gripping the edge of the sink so hard his knuckles turned white. This is a nightmare. An absolute fucking nightmare.
Water dripped from his chin as he leaned closer to the mirror, glaring at his own reflection. His hair was damp, sticking to his forehead, his breath still uneven from the sheer insanity of the last few minutes.
I should've broken his damn fingers when I had the chance.
Eun-jae let out another huff before grabbing a towel, dragging it roughly over his face. His skin was burning—whether from embarrassment, anger, or something worse, he didn't know.
One thing was for sure, though.
That arrogant, smug bastard was going to regret ever pulling that stunt.
Because Eun-jae never let things slide.
And if Caesar thought he could get away with this, he had another thing coming.
Eun-jae stepped back into the cabin, his damp hair clinging to his forehead as he ran a towel over his head with rough, irritated movements. His body ached—not in the good, satisfying way after a workout, but in the I've-had-the-worst-possible-night-and-I-want-to-murder-someone kind of way.
The room was silent, save for the faint humming of the train as it cut through the night. The rhythmic sway of the carriage did nothing to soothe him. In fact, everything about this moment annoyed him. His clothes felt too heavy, his skin still tingled uncomfortably from his shower, and the worst part?
Caesar was nowhere in sight.
"Ugh. Where the hell is that bastard now? Always disappearing like some shady cryptid. What's next? Is he going to crawl out of the ceiling vents like some horror movie demon?"
Eun-jae huffed, throwing the towel aside before plopping down onto the bed, rolling his shoulders to shake off the lingering tension. He needed a distraction. Maybe some work, or anything that didn't involve remembering last night—
But, of course, his brain was a traitor.
The moment he closed his eyes, fragmented images invaded his mind like an unwanted fever dream. His lips curled into a deep scowl, his fingers twitching as if they could physically wipe away the memory.
The weight of Caesar's body pressing against his. The teasing smirk on that insufferable face. The way his hands had roamed without hesitation, like he owned Eun-jae, like it was his right to touch him however he pleased.
Heat rose to Eun-jae's face, but it wasn't out of embarrassment—it was pure, unfiltered rage.
"As long as that cocky bastard didn't stick that monstrous dick in me, I guess it's fine—technically—because that would've been rape. But let's be real, what he did? That shit wasn't right either. What the hell was he thinking?!"
His fist clenched, the irritation thrumming beneath his skin. The audacity, the absolute nerve of that man.
"I will get an answer from him. That smug piece of—ugh!"
Frustration boiled over. He grabbed a pillow and hurled it across the room with enough force that it hit the wall and flopped to the floor with a pathetic little plop. It wasn't satisfying enough. Nothing was.
He let out a deep exhale, shaking his head as he leaned forward, rubbing his temples. He needed to calm down before he gave himself an aneurysm.
Opening his laptop, he flipped it on with more force than necessary, the bright screen illuminating his still-scowling face.
But then, something nagged at him.
His eyes darted around the room.
"Wait a damn minute… Where the hell is Hyun-ji?"
The younger man had been there before, hadn't he? Eun-jae distinctly remembered his presence. But now? Silence. Emptiness.
His stomach twisted uncomfortably. His gut instincts had never failed him before.
"Maybe he just went to the bathroom or something. No big deal. I'll wait."
Ten minutes passed.
Then twenty.
Then thirty.
Eun-jae clicked his tongue in growing annoyance, tapping his fingers against his knee.
"Okay, what is he doing in there? Shitting out his entire soul? Is he composing a goddamn novel while on the toilet?!"
His irritation turned into full-fledged suspicion. Hyun-ji wasn't the type to just vanish without a word.
"That's it. I'm checking."
His movements were swift, efficient. Jacket on. Gun retrieved. Safety off.
He didn't like carrying his gun around unless absolutely necessary, but something about this situation made his instincts scream at him. He wasn't going to ignore that feeling—not when it had kept him alive this long.
Stepping out into the corridor, he moved with practiced ease, his sharp gaze scanning every inch of his surroundings.
"Not here," he muttered under his breath, moving past a few empty compartments.
The further he walked, the louder the train's restaurant car became. As soon as he stepped inside, the atmosphere shifted—chatter, the clinking of glasses, the low murmur of passengers too wrapped up in their meals and conversations to notice anything else.
The smell of food lingered in the air, but Eun-jae barely noticed it. His focus was razor-sharp.
"So damn noisy. How the hell am I supposed to find him in this mess? And, more importantly, where the fuck is Caesar?"
Eun-jae's jaw tightened. Of course, when he actually needed that bastard, he was nowhere to be found. Typical.
"Useless blond menace."
His gaze swept across the room, but there was no sign of Hyun-ji. His frown deepened.
Then, his eyes landed on something else—a restroom door at the far end of the train car.
Suspicion gnawed at his gut.
"Could he be in there? Maybe he passed out or—"
A presence.
Behind him.
His instincts screamed danger.
Eun-jae reacted in an instant, twisting his body just as something sharp sliced through the air, barely missing his throat.
"Shit—!"
His heart slammed against his ribs as he stumbled back, hand flying to his gun. His vision locked onto his attacker, and for a split second, his breath hitched.
"Wait… Hyun-ji?"
What the hell was going on?
Eun-jae's mind scrambled for answers, but he didn't get the chance to react further before—
THWACK.
A sudden, brutal pain exploded at the back of his skull. His vision blurred, his body swaying as the world spun violently around him.
"Motherf—fuck! Why is it always my goddamn head?!"
His knees buckled. His fingers twitched. He tried to hold onto consciousness, tried to move, but his body wasn't cooperating. His senses were fading fast, drowning in the overwhelming dizziness.
Through the haze, through the suffocating darkness creeping in, he caught a glimpse of something.
No—someone.
A figure standing just beyond his reach.
Blond hair.
Tall. Unmistakably familiar.
His vision swam, but he forced his lips to move, his voice barely a whisper.
"Wait… Caesar?"
His mind screamed at him to stay awake, to fight it off, to not succumb to the darkness.
But it was useless.
That was the last thing he saw before everything faded to black.
Thick, suffocating, and endless. It swallowed everything whole, pressing down on his chest like an iron weight. His body felt trapped—no, pinned—like he was sinking into something heavy and inescapable. His breath came in short, ragged gasps, his throat raw from screaming, his arms burning from struggling.
"No—NO! STOP!"
His younger self's voice cracked as he thrashed beneath the suffocating force. His fingers clawed desperately, gripping at anything—fabric, skin, air—but it was useless. The pressure wouldn't let up. It only pressed harder.
"I HATE IT! PLEASE—PLEASE STOP!"
Tears burned down his cheeks, hot and shameful. His small hands pushed with all the strength he had, but it wasn't enough. It was never enough. The air smelled wrong, thick with something that made his stomach churn. The world around him blurred—faces melting into the shadows, voices warping into a sickening, muffled mess. His heartbeat pounded against his ribs like a wild animal trying to escape its cage.
"No... no... stop..."
His voice grew weaker, his body exhausted, his limbs trembling. The fear coiled deep inside him, wrapping around his chest like a vice. It felt endless. It felt like he was drowning. It felt—
A voice.
Deep. Familiar. Cutting through the suffocating void.
"Hey, Eun-jae—wake up."
His body jerked.
The world twisted, the darkness peeling away in shreds.
"Wake up, dammit."
Another hard shake.
And then—
"AAAAAAAHHHH—NO!!"
Eun-jae's scream ripped through the air, raw and primal, like a wounded animal in a trap. His body shot upright, hands gripping at nothing, chest heaving as if he'd just run a marathon. His skin was clammy, his breath uneven, and his vision was a blurry mess of colors and lights.
His surroundings snapped into focus all at once.
A car.
The dim glow of dashboard lights. The hum of the engine vibrating through the seats. Cold air from the AC prickling against his sweat-drenched skin.
And then—Caesar.
The blonde was gripping the steering wheel with one hand, rubbing his temple with the other, an expression torn between irritation and mild concern. His brows were furrowed, and for once, there was no smirk, no teasing glint in those sharp blue eyes.
"Owwww… my fucking head," Eun-jae groaned, pressing the heel of his palm against his forehead. His skull felt like it had been cracked open, the pounding headache making his vision swim. His whole body was still shaking, but he forced himself to ignore it.
"Jesus fucking Christ, Eun-jae—what the hell was that?" Caesar snapped, his voice sharper now. "You almost made me crash this damn car!"