Pain was the first thing on my mind when I regained consciousness. My neck was sore, and my lungs hurt with every breath I took. It was a burdening sensation, sparking unease in my belly. Unable to open my eyes just yet, I remained motionless, surrounded by darkness. A memory flashed through my brain and I recalled what had happened shortly before I had lost consciousness. Fear gripped me when I remembered the ruthlessness in Baekhyun’s eyes and how he killed Li without hesitation. He had snapped his neck like it was nothing, and only moments later, Baekhyun had turned to me as if he wanted to do the same to me.

But I was alive. The pain served as constant proof I hadn’t been murdered in cold blood, and yet I couldn’t grasp what had happened instead. Where was I? Did I still lay in the cold, dark basement with Li’s body? Raw panic consumed me at the mere thought of being close to a dead body. Nausea took over, prompting me to take deep breaths, but I couldn’t bring myself to calm down. I was petrified in fear.

Slowly, my senses returned to me, allowing me to feel that I wasn’t lying on a cold floor, but on something soft. Was it a bed, or a sofa perhaps? As I held my fright at bay, I strained my ears to listen to any noises, but it was dead silent around me.

Did my uncle lock me up after I fainted? Did Baekhyun do anything to me? Where could he be now? Thousands of questions raced through my tired mind and my frustration only grew when I couldn’t find answers to them. I was losing patience with my body’s slow recovery from the oxygen depletion. It felt so weak and didn’t listen to anything I wanted it to do. Come on, move! You can’t stay here; it might be dangerous.

Gritting my teeth, I forced my eyes to open, but it cost me a great amount of strength. I blinked and looked at a ceiling shrouded in shadows. Light fell through a window, but it was sparse, hinting that it was either early morning or evening. As my eyes roamed around, I found myself lying on a bed in a small hotel room. It was nothing special, on the contrary. The furniture was worn, the walls had dirty stains, and it appeared shabby and cheap. How in the world had I ended up here? And where was Baekhyun?

The pain in my throat flared as I sat up, making me grunt. I touched my neck, surprised to feel a light bandage around it. Someone appeared to have taken care of me, but who? While I gasped for air, my eyes came to rest on a bottle of water on the nightstand. I grabbed it, opening it to drink. The water was cool and soothed the burning in my throat, making it easier to endure. I put the bottle down but flinched when the door opened and someone walked in, kicking it shut. I caught Baekhyun’s gaze and flinched again, remembering the rage within it when I had last seen him. He seemed calmer now if his blank expression was any indication, but I was shocked when I saw his face. Where Li had attacked him with a knife, a jagged red line was visible, stretching horizontally over his cheekbones and nose. It made him appear more intimidating than he already was. Baekhyun wore a dark shirt with short sleeves, allowing me to see angry red marks where the bracelet had been.

“Are you still in pain?” he asked in a tone that sent shivers down my back. I recalled all too well what he had said to Li before he snapped his neck, and I didn’t want to be next on his murder list. My pulse began to race when he walked closer to the bed, and every muscle in my body tensed. I didn’t want him near me. What if he hurt me too? What could I ever do to stop him? He was ten times as strong, and I stood no chance against his ability. I had witnessed what he was capable of many times, but until now, it had never scared me.

I was naïve.

When we had been ambushed by a group of thugs on the university campus, he hadn’t shown mercy and used much more violence than necessary to beat them.

When I had almost been abducted, he had lost control over himself as well.

I remembered the deranged look he had sent me after nearly killing the criminals; it had been downright frightening. He hadn’t recognized me at first. Back then, I had been shocked about it, but I had soon been distracted by his bullet wound and forgotten about the madness he had displayed. I had pushed the memory to the back of my mind. It was easier this way.

Baekhyun stopped in his tracks when he saw the fear and confusion on my features, his lips setting in a thin line. I failed to answer his question, not trusting my voice. Was I even able to speak with my injury?

I couldn’t make sense of the situation, and the constant fright in my mind didn’t help. After my uncle had stabbed me in the back without warning, I was hesitant to trust Baekhyun. Especially after I had witnessed him kill someone right in front of my eyes. A shiver shook my body. I tried my hardest to suppress it, but Baekhyun still saw it.

“You’re scared of me,” he muttered when I never replied to him. His brows furrowed, deep regret flashing through his blue eyes, but it was gone in an instant, leaving them empty. He walked to the window, not coming anywhere near me as he passed the bed. His vacant gaze moved aimlessly over the scenery, not focusing on anything in particular. I studied him with caution, expecting him to get angry at me, but nothing of the sort happened. He stayed at the window, evoking a sense of hopelessness in me as he gazed outside.

I wasn’t sure how to behave around him, walking on thin ice that might break any second if I said or did something wrong. I didn’t dare to take my eyes off him. The silence made me uncomfortable, prompting me to finally open my mouth. “What happened?” I rasped with some difficulty, my throat aching.

He continued to stare outside as he spoke. “You lost consciousness. At first, I thought you were dying, but luckily I was wrong. You nearly suffocated because that bastard Li choked you,” he began to explain with reluctance. “I… I didn’t know what to do to help you. Your body was so cold, it was… frightening, and you didn’t move at all, didn’t react at all. I couldn’t risk staying in the mansion with you in that state, so I picked you up and carried you outside. However, Park was already waiting for us. He was flanked by a group of armed guards, and I couldn’t risk engaging them in a fight while protecting you, so I used my ability to conceal us. Under the cover of darkness, I managed to flee to your car and escaped before they could stop me. Your uncle was determined to keep us from leaving, even at the cost of your life.”

I swallowed hard. Minho truly didn’t give a about me anymore. His actions had proven it more than once—I genuinely despised him for everything he had done. However, what surprised me the most weren’t my uncle’s actions, but Baekhyun’s. He had acted like a completely different person in the basement, and I hadn’t expected him to help me while controlled by his irrational emotions. Why had he risked his life to take me with him? Shouldn’t he have fled on his own?

“Why didn’t you leave me there?” I forced out with some trouble, touching my aching throat. Now he finally turned to look at me properly. An emotion I couldn’t describe shimmered in his blue eyes as they studied me, his gaze coming to rest on the bandage on my neck.

“Because you’re not safe in Park’s home. I don’t want you to get hurt again.”  

I didn’t know what to say, rendered speechless by two simple sentences. Had he been worried about me? Did he care so much about me? As far as I understood, he had been rid of his obligation to work as my bodyguard as soon as the bracelet had been removed. Everything he had done from then on had been directed by his own will, starting with Li’s death.

Feeling overwhelmed by the situation, I observed him silently. He stood with his back to the window and kept his eyes fixated on the ground. They were filled with melancholy and bitterness, not the smoldering rage I had seen in the basement. He didn’t seem to be angry anymore. His seething fury had burned out and left behind an emptiness he couldn’t fill. No madness remained in his eyes, and his slightly hunched posture didn’t convey any danger to me—I had judged Baekhyun too quickly. His anger had never been directed at me. It was true that he was a threat, but not to me. He would not hurt me. That much I realized after hearing what had happened. He could have left me behind and fled on his own, but he didn’t, even though he must have known being with me would put a burden on him. Not only were my uncle’s people after him now but also the ones who had threatened to kill me. He was willing to go to great lengths to protect me, although I was the niece of the man who had hurt him.

I moved to the edge of the bed and got up slowly. My body hadn’t fully recovered, but I was impatient and not willing to wait any longer. Baekhyun took a hesitant step in my direction when he saw how unstable I was but paused and froze. I wasn’t sure what I was planning to do, but I felt the sudden need to be closer to him and my body simply moved on its own. I stood in front of him, my lips forming a sad smile while my eyes traced the painful-looking scar on his face.

“Does it hurt?”

“Not anymore,” he mumbled.

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