Chapter 8

　　“I can walk on my own. Let go of my arm.” Yeonsu struggled against Seunghyun’s tight grip. It was a futile gesture of rejection; there was no chance he would let go.

　　Seunghyun scoffed. “So you can run off the first chance you get? Just walk.”

　　“Run away? In a situation like this…? Just let go of my arm, ah…”

　　Yeonsu froze in her attempt to wrench her arm from his grasp. The same energy as before began to spread from the man’s hand into her body. It was the sensation she had longed to feel again. Yeonsu welcomed it.

　　If this man could purify her backlash and restore her body, she might be able to create an opportunity to escape. Clinging to that thought, she surrendered to the energy flowing from him. A pleasant coolness, far more intense than what she had briefly felt before, swept through her.

　　“Ah? What is this…?” she gasped.

　　The energy radiating from Seunghyun suddenly intensified. Yeonsu staggered as it flooded into her like a deluge.

　　“Hey. I told you to walk straight…”

　　Unable to bear it, she collapsed. Seunghyun reflexively caught her as she crumpled.

　　“What is it? What’s wrong?”

　　He knelt, cupping her face in his hands to check on her. Gold and black light swirled together in her eyes, which she struggled to keep open. Her face, only faintly warm moments ago, was now flushed with a feverish heat—a stark contrast to her previous pallor. Alarmed, Seunghyun gently shook her shoulders.

　　“Hey. Where does it hurt? Are you injured?”

　　“No, it doesn’t hurt, so… let… let me go.”

　　Despite her words, Yeonsu gripped his arm tightly. The energy now pouring from his body was both ecstatic and terrifying. With every touch, her body changed so drastically it felt as if she might break. Just then, Seunghyun lifted her into his arms. She resisted weakly.

　　“I said… let go.”

　　“Stop being stubborn. You can’t even walk.”

　　Seunghyun clicked his tongue and used a hotel master key from his pocket to push open the door to a nearby room. She couldn’t understand who this man was and why he affected her so profoundly. Now, his very presence was terrifying.

　　“Ah… Suddenly, why… What are you doing to my body?”

　　“That’s what I want to ask you,” Seunghyun ground out.

　　He, too, felt on the verge of losing his mind from the heavy, searing energy radiating from her. If he let go of the reason he barely clung to, he knew he would unleash his surging desire on the delicate woman in his arms.

　　It even crossed his mind that her ability was to amplify sexual desire.

　　“If seducing men like this is your ability, don’t you think that’s a bit vulgar?”

　　“Wh-what are you talking about?”

　　“You may have always gotten out of situations this way, but it won’t work on me.”

　　He could feel a formless, heavy energy flowing from her body into his without restraint. The sensation of it touching some deep, forbidden part of him made Seunghyun grit his teeth, fighting for control. He would not be moved by her.

　　“What are you talking about? Cut the crap. What did I…”

　　Seunghyun tossed her onto the bed. Her thin frame sank into the sheets. The moment they broke contact, the current flowing between them vanished.

　　Dazed, Yeonsu’s unstable golden eyes flickered as she looked up at him. Seunghyun, meanwhile, was seized by a primal disappointment, like being torn from sex midway. Gritting his teeth, he clenched the hand that had unconsciously started to reach for her again. He would lose his mind if he touched her again. This woman was dangerous.

　　“It’s no use trying your ability, so stop. I’ll call an ambulance. Just stay there quietly.”

　　As Seunghyun turned away, he glanced down and saw that his erection had swelled, straining the zipper of his pants. A hollow laugh escaped him. How ridiculous he must look, spouting nonsense about it being “no use” while in this state. He roughly wiped his face and called Wonyoung.

　　“Sunbae. Where are you? The situation here is over. But the suspect I arrested is… not in good shape.”

　　—“Yeah? It’s chaos over here! We came for a drug bust, but what the hell is this… Hey, Heechan! Control the crowd!”

　　Wonyoung sounded frantic, barking orders even as they spoke.

　　“What? Did something happen?” Seunghyun asked.

　　—“Apparently, a man who identified himself as Hwang Seungmin called the emergency center and said he was going to kill himself at this hotel!”

　　Wonyoung’s voice grew louder over the background noise.

　　“Hwang Seungmin? Who’s that?”

　　—“You don’t know Hwang Seungmin? That sponsor scandal that’s been all over the news! Anyway, to cut to the chase, he’s really dead. Here.”

　　“At this hotel?”

　　—“Yeah, he jumped! We were the closest unit, so we’re securing the scene. It’s a madhouse! The news crews and streamers are already here!”

　　“All right. I’ll handle the suspect myself. We’ll talk later at the station.”

　　—“Yeah, okay! Good work!”

　　An unsettling feeling crept over Seunghyun. He opened his phone and pulled up a news video. It was already flooded with the story Wonyoung had mentioned. News footage showed a distant shot of the scene at the P Hotel, right where he was.

　　“This afternoon, a man believed to be Hwang Seungmin called 112 from a hotel in Seoul to announce his intention to jump from the building, an act he then carried out. Police are currently securing the scene…”

　　The moment Seunghyun saw a well-groomed photo of Hwang Seungmin, he roughly shoved a hand through his hair.

　　“Fuck…”

　　He’d run into that man just today.

　　Seunghyun turned and strode toward Yeonsu. She was sitting precariously on the edge of the bed with her legs dangling, her head bowed.

　　“You…!”

　　Her eyes were unfocused as she looked up at him, who was advancing on her with frightening intensity. Seeing her dazed expression reminded him of Hwang Seungmin, who had walked past him with the exact same look. If he had stopped the man then, would things have turned out differently?

　　“What happened in that room you just came out of?”

　　“Suddenly… what are you talking about? Please make sense…” Yeonsu answered, her voice fading.

　　His energy had recklessly stirred the dregs of backlash settled deep inside her, leaving her body a chaotic mess of power and pain. She couldn’t think straight.

　　“Room 2135! You were in there with Hwang Seungmin, weren’t you?”

　　“…I have nothing to say.”

　　As she clamped her mouth shut, Seunghyun gripped her shoulders tightly. “Hwang Seungmin jumped. He died right after leaving the room you came out of! Are you really telling me you had nothing to do with it?”

　　“He jumped…? That man?”

　　Yeonsu was genuinely shocked. In that instant, the same oppressive energy began to flow from his hands again. A splitting pain shot through her fever-addled head. She shook her head, still in his grip.

　　“Ngh, ah—I-I don’t know anything! He left quietly…!”

　　“He just left quietly? So you admit you were the last person he saw.”

　　Yeonsu squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip. The trembling of her small body under his grip grew more intense, becoming a violent tremor that was almost a seizure.

　　“You didn’t do something to him with your ability, did you? Answer me,” Seunghyun growled, no longer paying any mind to her condition.

　　“Hngh…”

　　“Did you use your ability on him just like you’re doing to me now? What the hell is your ability? Is it making people fall for you so you can make them do whatever you want? Is that it?”

　　“No, hey… Agh…!”

　　“Then what the hell—!”

　　Seunghyun’s words cut off abruptly. Yeonsu’s trembling hands had wrapped around his wrists. He could feel the desperation in her small hands, which were barely able to encircle his thick arms. They were as hot as fire. Through their connected skin, a heavy energy flowed from her. After feeling it, his sexual arousal, which had briefly subsided, began to swell once more.

　　“Hah. And you still deny it?” he said mockingly, looking down at his body betraying him.

　　Yeonsu, too, could clearly see the prominent bulge in his pants.

　　“Haah, it’s not… like that…”

　　The arousal wasn’t a slow build; it was an instant leap from zero to a hundred. A sense of crisis washed over Seunghyun, and he shouted, “Then what are you doing to me right now? Isn’t this your ability? Toying with people by reducing them to nothing but their instincts?”

　　“My… my ability isn’t like that. It’s just…”

　　Suddenly, Yeonsu gripped his wrists so hard her nails dug into his skin.

　　“When I touch your body… I… my body gets better.”

　　“…What? What nonsense are you—”

　　Yeonsu met his gaze. Her flickering golden eyes were now flecked with tiny black dots. She was sure of it now. When she touched this man, the backlash that had accumulated in her body flowed right out of her.

　　“My backlash… disappears.”