Joo-wan, just waking up, stared blankly at the jaguar that was growling and pressing down on him. Even though the gag in his mouth was gone, he couldn’t even gasp. It was because of the unexpected sight that unfolded before him.
He looked around frantically. He thought he would wake up lying on a cold operating table. Or maybe he thought he wouldn’t even wake up, that he would just die.
But he was in a house. A house with a large feline predator. Was he dreaming?
“Don’t covet what isn’t yours.”
At that moment, someone approached and kicked the jaguar. The jaguar, keeping its eyes on Joo-wan, slowly moved aside. Finally, he could see the owner of the voice, Kwon Soo-hyuk. He was standing with his arms crossed, looking down at Joo-wan endlessly.
A jaguar with the eyes of a predator, ready to hunt.
That was the first impression Kwon Soo-hyuk gave him. He couldn’t explain it any other way.
Kwon Soo-hyuk’s thick eyebrows and jet-black hair were slick with moisture. His prominent nose bridge seamlessly connected to his sharp upper lip. His eyes were deep, almost shadowy, and his dark, obsidian eyes completed his uniquely sharp look.
He was incredibly tall. He had never seen anyone that tall in his life. His height was matched by his broad shoulders, his toned muscles visible through his unbuttoned robe, and his long, straight limbs. It was all unreal, like a perfect sculpture carved with a sharp chisel. But he couldn’t just call him handsome.
If he were a grim reaper, maybe. But he was definitely not human. Not even in the way he looked at people.
“You don’t look very fresh.”
After staring at Joo-wan for a while, that was all he said. Joo-wan still wasn’t sure what was going on.
He looked around the house again. The ceiling was unusually high. Men in black suits were standing quietly on one side. A wild animal, either a leopard or a cheetah, was still prowling around. It was certainly unusual, but it was definitely a living space. At least there didn’t seem to be any organ extraction facilities anywhere.
His eyes met Kwon Soo-hyuk’s again. Around that time, there was a commotion from the entrance. But their eyes didn’t stray.
Soon, a man with a medical bag came into view on one side. The man following him, like the others, was wearing a black suit. Surprisingly, he was even bigger than Kwon Soo-hyuk.
“Why are you making such a fuss about waking someone up?”
Baek Do-woon stomped his feet, expressing his dissatisfaction. Instead of answering, Kwon Soo-hyuk gestured towards Joo-wan. Baek Do-woon followed his gaze and his eyes widened. Joo-wan, dressed in a patient gown, had his hands and feet bound. He froze for a moment, then turned to Kwon Soo-hyuk and raised his voice.
“You really…!”
“What do you think? Useful, huh? I paid a hefty price for him.”
Baek Do-woon put his hands on his head and sighed heavily. Was he going to keep a living person as a pet? To draw blood from him whenever he needed it? It was inhumane. He couldn’t accept that.
“I said there wasn’t any left, right? Well, I guess I’ll have to prepare in advance.”
“Kwon Soo-hyuk!”
“Draw it.”
Kwon Soo-hyuk ignored Baek Do-woon’s protests. He just stared at him calmly, urging him to obey.
Baek Do-woon frowned and looked at Joo-wan again. Joo-wan was noticeably thin. His neck, arms, and legs were so slender that he hardly looked like an adult man. His collarbone was sharp and defined. And what bothered him the most was his empty eyes, which remained unfazed by the situation.
How could he do that to someone like this? Baek Do-woon’s mouth shut tight. As he remained silent, a deadly silence descended.
Kwon Soo-hyuk, who had been waiting silently, slowly clenched and unclenched his fist. His face was now even colder than before. The men watching the situation from behind exchanged uneasy glances. Then, the man with the imposing physique approached Baek Do-woon and quietly urged him.
“Doctor, do as the CEO says.”
“I can’t. No, I won’t.”
Before Baek Do-woon could finish, Kwon Soo-hyuk moved. He grabbed Baek Do-woon’s head and slammed it against the wall with force. If the big man standing beside him hadn’t quickly put his hand in between, he would have hit his head against the wall.
For a moment, a terrifying silence fell. Kwon Soo-hyuk’s gaze, which had been fixed on Baek Do-woon, shifted to the man who had blocked him. Baek Do-woon forcefully pushed away Kwon Soo-hyuk’s hand, which was still gripping his head.
“Look at him, you bastard! He’s practically dead already. How can you even talk about drawing blood? What good will it do? Are you going to kill him?”
Kwon Soo-hyuk slowly straightened up. Then he pushed Baek Do-woon aside and approached Joo-wan.
Strangely, Joo-wan didn’t seem intimidated at all. No, he had been strangely detached from the beginning. It was as if he thought humans were just another kind of animal, and instinctively sensitive to the flow of energy, but he was completely numb to it. His expression remained unchanged. Was he out of his mind?
Kwon Soo-hyuk grabbed Joo-wan’s chin. It must have hurt, but he didn’t even groan. He didn’t even frown.

He scrutinized Joo-wan’s face, turning it this way and that, as if inspecting a piece of merchandise. Joo-wan didn’t resist much. He just stared at Kwon Soo-hyuk with his large, round eyes. He released his chin. Then, he slid his hand down his neck, chest, and abdomen, before standing up.
“Go buy some food. Preferably things that will make him plump.”
He emphasized “plump,” then turned to Baek Do-woon, as if to ask if he was satisfied now. The men said, “Yes,” and hurried out.
Kwon Soo-hyuk was about to go to the bedroom, but he stopped in front of the man who had blocked him earlier when he tried to punish Baek Do-woon. The big man hung his head, as if he had committed a great sin.
“Crack!” A sound like leather tearing. At the same time, the man’s head swiveled sharply to the left. Even though he was in pain, the man gritted his teeth and endured it. Kwon Soo-hyuk stared intently at the man before disappearing into the bedroom. The jaguar, which had been circling Joo-wan, followed him leisurely.
Baek Do-woon, who had been glaring at Kwon Soo-hyuk the whole time, quickly grabbed the man’s shoulder and turned him around.
“Are you okay? Let me see.”
“I’m fine. I’m okay.”
“It looks like you might have a concussion. How can you be okay?”
“I’m really okay.”
The man kept backing away. It was always like this. Baek Do-woon sighed heavily and asked the man.
“Then untie him. I need to give him a warm bath.”
The man hesitated for a moment, then readily untied the ropes that bound Joo-wan. Baek Do-woon helped him sit up, supporting his back.
“Come over here first. It’s okay, don’t be scared.”
He kept reassuring Joo-wan as he led him to the bathroom. The bathroom was filled with a warm, comforting air. It was still filled with Kwon Soo-hyuk’s unique scent, as he had used it recently.
While Baek Do-woon filled the bathtub, Joo-wan took off his clothes without hesitation. As he removed his loose patient gown, his skinny body was revealed. He bent down and took off his pants and underwear. Baek Do-woon, who had been casually watching, suddenly stopped. He had noticed something suspicious.
The warm air felt pleasantly comforting. He wanted to get in and soak. He was drawn to the bathtub, but Baek Do-woon suddenly grabbed his arm. Joo-wan looked back at him, confused.
“That thing on your….”
He couldn’t finish his sentence. There was a dark, dried blood clot stuck to the inside of Joo-wan’s buttocks, around the hole. It was clear what it meant.
“What… what happened to you?”
He asked, feeling lost, but also apologetic. He didn’t want to touch him rashly. Joo-wan smiled wryly, without a sound.
It felt like I was serving a life sentence. I had no idea when I would be able to go back out into the world, and I just lived through each day without any hope. For the first year, I really thought I was going to die. I tried to understand my mother’s feelings for putting me in the hospital, but no matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand why she did it.
I just wished someone would explain it to me. I thought maybe things would get a little better if I understood why she had to do it.
But no one at the hospital really listened to me. They just smiled insincerely and lied. They said they understood, that they understood how I felt.
Every time I yelled that I wasn’t crazy, I had to get an injection. Once, I got poked with a needle over ten times in a single day. Do you know what happens to a person when that happens? You go completely numb. Your body sags, your thought processes slow down, and you can’t think straight.
If you stay there, you’ll become crazy, whether you are or not. It was a place where you couldn’t survive without going crazy. Maybe dying would have been better.
I endured it with sheer willpower. That’s all I had. My grandfather had raised me with so much love. If I abandoned myself for my own comfort, I would feel so guilty. I was also angry, wondering why I had to live like this.
I didn’t even realize time was passing. That’s why I don’t remember exactly when I met him.
We were allowed to leave our rooms once a day and relax in the lounge. That day, I happened to find a book on humanities.
Have you ever imagined being in a situation where you couldn’t speak, listen, or read for years? I was so unfamiliar with the Korean language after so long. When I tried to read aloud, I couldn’t remember how to pronounce some of the characters.
Then I became afraid. I wondered how long I would be able to remember my own name. Even if I went back out into the world, like the hope I held in my heart, would I be able to live a normal life?
I met him around that time. It was a face I had never seen before. He must have started working there around that time. He wasn’t my doctor.
He was a man with a kind smile. He didn’t seem to mind that a mental patient was reading his book. He just asked if I was having fun.
So I had hope. I foolishly hoped that maybe he would help me.
But he was just a cunning snake. I met him, a ray of light, and then a worse hell unfolded than before.
Jang Jin-woo drove his car down a narrow, unlit hillside road. The clock on the center console showed 3:00 AM.
His body was heavy. He had attended a conference with his father that morning. He had been dragged around by his father, greeting people, and had met some old classmates. Their expressions were a sight to behold. Some pitied him, some looked down on him, and some said, “You should get back to work soon.”
He had also gone back to his parents’ house for dinner, which his mother had prepared. After that, he was held captive by his father again, who nagged him about how long he was going to hide in that rural area.
He angrily threw off his glasses. He also massaged his temples, which were throbbing constantly. He was exhausted, and he needed a good sleep, but he was stubbornly heading towards the hospital. He didn’t think he could fall asleep easily in his current state.
In the dark dawn, the hospital, surrounded by mountains, looked like an abandoned cabin. He parked in front of it and got out of the car. He strode towards the consultation room.
He took off his coat and hung it on the chair, then put on his gown. Then he took out the medical records from the bookshelf. He was just putting on a show so that his pointless visit wouldn’t attract attention.
He flipped through the records, which were organized alphabetically. He knew that what he was looking for would be in the middle.
“……?”

“No.”
Kwon Soo-hyuk flatly refused. He had fully expected this, but he was still deflated. He had just been rejected when he asked to take Joo-wan back to his house for the night. Kwon Soo-hyuk looked intently at his hand, which was clutching Joo-wan’s clothes, making it clear that there was no room for negotiation.
“I’m not going to eat him. So let go.”
Kwon Soo-hyuk wouldn’t be happy to have a guest staying with him. But there was no other choice. If he left him with Baek Do-woon, he would definitely be taken away.
Baek Do-woon, as if silently protesting, looked at the jaguar next to Kwon Soo-hyuk. He seemed to be thinking about using the beast as an excuse. His flimsy scheme was quickly seen through.
“I’ll feed this guy too. Then he won’t be drooling for a while.”
“…But…”
“It’s okay. I’ll stay here.”