CHAPTER 223: WHAT DISAPPEARS, WHAT REMAINS (1)

Kwon Oh-Jin stared blankly at Isabella.

“Huh?”

Dressed in a maid's outfit, Isabella smiled seductively and slowly trailed her hand from his cheek down to the nape of his neck.

“You remember what I said, right? How scared I was when we were separated?”

“Yeah... I do.”

“I never want to be that scared ever again, Mr. Oh-Jin.”

But now you’re scaring me, ma’am.

“I can’t leave you alone, Mr. Oh-Jin. Who knows where you might run off to again?”

“Is that why you tied me up?”

“That’s right!” Isabella grinned brightly as if expecting praise.

Cold sweat ran down his back.

What the hell is going on with her?

Things had clearly taken a bizarre turn. She had shown some unstable signs before, but this incident had finally made all her pent-up emotions explode.

“Would you like to eat something first?” she asked.

“No, how about untying me first?”

“I made abalone porridge today.”

Something felt wrong. The conversation wasn’t flowing.

“Come on, say ‘Ah,’ Mr. Oh-Jin.”

Isabella brought over the bowl of porridge, scooped up a spoonful, and held it to his lips. Kwon Oh-Jin parted his lips slightly and accepted the steaming porridge.

The nutty aroma of sesame oil and the tender abalone filled his mouth.

Isabella smiled as he ate obediently. “Oh my, you spilled a little.”

A bit of porridge dripped onto his chin because of his awkward position.

“I’ll wipe it.” He reached for a tissue.

“Stay still.”

His arm froze in midair.

Isabella had immobilized him with a command without even touching him. She pulled out a tissue and gently wiped the porridge off his chin.

“There, there. Good boy.”

Isabella licked her lips as she looked at him, still frozen stiff in the act of reaching out. She softly caressed his cheek and set the bowl of porridge aside.

“I-Isabella...”

“Do you have any idea how much I regretted it? After that day?”

She slowly leaned over him on the bed and tenderly embraced him. Something soft and heavy pressed warmly against his chest.

“I couldn’t stop regretting it every day, every minute, and every second.”

She rested her head on his shoulder and lightly traced the Stigma on his left chest.

“Regret what exactly?”

“None of this would’ve happened if I made you my obedient slave back then.”

Ha-Eun. Where are you, Ha-Eun?! Hurry up and come save me!

“Don’t you think so too, Mr. Oh-Jin?”

With a dangerously alluring smile, Isabella pressed herself even closer to him. She climbed on top and covered him like a blanket.

The hospital’s luxurious bed with the finest linens paled in comparison to the sensation of Isabella pressing against him.

“Answer me,” she commanded.

Her voice dripped into his ear as she lightly nipped his earlobe. She no longer felt like a maid in her uniform, but an arrogant queen commanding absolute obedience on her throne.

The Leech Queen.

He thought it was just a nickname the Black Star Society executors tossed around, but seeing her now, she was undoubtedly a queen.

“Please... make me your slave, Lady Isabella...” The words slipped from his mouth before he could even think to resist, dragged out by the command echoing in his mind.

Isabella delightfully laughed after forcing what she wanted to hear out of him. “So you do feel the same way.”

The respectfully courteous Isabella from before could no longer be found. Her eyes gleamed with a blood-red aura as she gazed down at him. Slowly, she lowered her head and sensually ran her tongue along the nape of his neck.

Kwon Oh-Jin trembled from the ticklish and thrilling sensation.

“Don’t tense up... Just relax.” Isabella softly stroked his cheek and sank her fangs into his neck.

A shiver of pleasure shot down his spine. He could feel his blood being drawn out, along with the sensation of her mana seeping into him.

This is insane. Is this seriously how it ends? Am I going to spend the rest of my life as her blood slave?!

Kwon Oh-Jin panicked, overwhelmed by this nightmarish scenario.

“Haha. I’m just kidding.” Isabella giggled jokingly and finally pulled away.

She opened a potion and carefully applied it to the wound on his neck.

“Were you surprised, Mr. Oh-Jin?”

“How could I not be in that situation?”

“Oh my, as if I’d actually turn you into my slave.” She gently touched the wound, which instantly healed, and brightly smiled. “At least, not right now.”

“So you could in the future?”

“Hmm, who knows? I guess that depends on how you behave, Mr. Oh-Jin.”

In other words, she would really make him her slave if he acted out again.

What a terrifying warning.

He recalled Isabella’s gleaming and vivid blood-red eyes. Next time, it probably wouldn’t end with just a warning.

“Alright. I won’t do it again,” he said.

If the same thing happened again, he would probably make the same decision regardless. For now, it was best to reassure her.

“Promise?” Isabella poked his cheek and lightly sighed.

Kwon Oh-Jin nodded and pointed to the red chains wrapped around his wrists and ankles.

“I promise, so how about you take these off first?”

“Just a moment.” Isabella reached out to undo the chains, but suddenly stopped.

“Isabella?”

She froze in thought with her hand resting on the chain. After a moment of silence, she swallowed dryly and turned to face Kwon Oh-Jin. “Come to think of it, Mr. Oh-Jin, you kissed me back then, didn’t you?”

“What?”

Isabella continued innocently, “That was my first kiss, you know.”

“That’s...” Kwon Oh-Jin looked visibly troubled and couldn’t come up with any excuses.

Whatever his reasons were, the fact remained that he had kissed her without her consent.

“Do you have any idea how much a member of the Colgrande Family values their chastity?”

“What is this, the Joseon Dynasty?”

She wasn’t in elementary either. Wasn’t this a bit much over just a little kiss?

“Ahem! Regardless! You stole my first kiss, so you have to take responsibility.” Even as she spoke, a soft blush crept onto her cheeks. She knew how ridiculous she sounded.

Watching her pout adorably, Kwon Oh-Jin couldn’t help but chuckle. “Responsibility, huh? And what kind of responsibility are we talking about?”

“T-That’s...” she trailed off, and her eyes darted nervously while avoiding his gaze.

Isabella fiddled with her fingers, so shy and unsure that it was hard to believe this was the same queen who had just tried to enslave him.

“One more time,” she whispered.

“What?”

“P-Please do it... one more time,” she mumbled barely audibly.

Seeing her so impossibly cute, he burst out laughing again without meaning to.

“Ack! D-Don’t laugh at me!” Blushing like a ripe apple, Isabella lightly thumped her fists against his chest. “E-Even if you say no, I’m going to do it anyway!”

She huffed and puffed with flustered determination as she leaned in where he was still tied up.

Her warm, damp breath tickled him. She slowly closed her eyes and gently tilted her face toward his lips. Just before their lips touched, the door flew open with a loud crash.

Slam!

“F-Finally found you!” Song Ha-Eun appeared, panting heavily like she had searched the entire hospital. “What the hell do you think you’re doing to Oh-Jin, you bitch?!”

“Tsk.” Isabella clicked her tongue as she looked at Song Ha-Eun.

“Tsk? Did you seriously just go, ‘tsk?’”

“Oh my, calm down, unnie. As if I’d ever do something so undignifying.” Isabella tried to play innocent with a nonchalant shrug.

Song Ha-Eun stomped over, her gaze falling on the blood-red chains binding Kwon Oh-Jin’s limbs. She groaned and pressed her forehead.

“Unbelievable. Just fantastic.” She lightly smacked Kwon Oh-Jin’s head. “This is all karma, you idiot.”

He avoided her eyes, unable to protest.

“Ahem.”

“Hurry up and untie him,” Song Ha-Eun said.

“Okay, unnie.” Isabella released the red chains from his wrists and ankles in disappointment.

As the restraints came off, he stretched with a groan and loosened his stiff limbs.

“How are you feeling?” Song Ha-Eun asked.

“I feel like I could survive being thrown into the Demonic District right now.”

“Oh, shut up.” Song Ha-Eun flicked his forehead and laughed. “Do you wanna see me be worried to death again?”

Ha-Eun climbed onto the bed from the opposite side of Isabella and tightly embraced him like she would never let go.

“I thought I’d never see you again, you jerk.”

“Sorry.” Kwon Oh-Jin gently stroked her trembling shoulder as she buried her face and quietly sniffled against his shoulder.

Still sniffling, Song Ha-Eun suddenly tugged on his hospital gown.

“Hey,” he said.

What the hell is she doing to my gown now?

“Anyway, you feel fine, right?” she asked.

“Yeah.”

“In that case...” Song Ha-Eun turned to Isabella with a sly smile. “Mind giving us a little privacy?”

Isabella flinched. It was painfully obvious what would happen next. “Ugh. I-I don’t want to.”

“You don’t want to, huh?” Song Ha-Eun smirked triumphantly and hugged Kwon Oh-Jin even tighter. “You do know who Oh-Jin belongs to, right?”

Isabella could only remain silent.

“You’re not seriously planning to interrupt a private moment between a couple, are you?”

“Ughh.” Isabella bit her lip and trembled in frustration.

She knew that Kwon Oh-Jin was Song Ha-Eun’s lover, and she knew she was still far from being able to stand between them.

“Just you wait, unnie.”

“Wow. That’s the kind of thing a third-rate villain says when they make their escape.”

“B-Be quiet!” Isabella shouted and stormed out of the room.

The door violently shut behind her.

Slam!

Song Ha-Eun burst into laughter at Isabella’s flustered retreat.

“The more I see her, the cuter she gets. Seriously.” She playfully elbowed Kwon Oh-Jin in the ribs. “But don’t forget that I’m you’re number one, okay, Oh-Jin?”

Kwon Oh-Jin had been rendered speechless.

“Oh-Jin? What’s wrong?”

He vacantly stared at her like he was still lost in a terrible nightmare and murmured uncertainly, “Lover?”

Since when were we dating?