Declaration Of Extra Strike

 

I irritably fixed my messy hair, and Tae Jae-heon’s lips curled into a slight smile.

 

“You said you were going to escape.”

 

“Escape??? Stop calling it running away or escaping. You know that’s not what it is.”

 

“Then should I call it betrayal?”

 

I shut my mouth in dissatisfaction, unable to argue with his calm voice.

 

I couldn’t understand his behavior. I had clearly detonated myself in front of Tae Jae-heon and then woke up in Joo Ho-hyun’s body. If it hadn’t happened to me, I wouldn’t have believed it either, yet Tae Jae-heon was accepting all of it as if it was the most natural thing.

 

“How did you find me?”

 

“Tch, you’re so stupid… If you really wanted to run away, you should have left everything behind. Did you think you could hide with just the potion in your hand?”

 

“I…”

 

“Right. You couldn’t throw away the potion, could you? Because I made you that way. And now you’re trying to run away from me?”

 

I bit my lip at his mocking tone. Tae Jae-heon was right. I didn’t know how to escape from him except through death. But…

 

‘I don’t want to die.’

 

I had tasted a world I never could have imagined outside of Tae Jae-heon. It was so much freer and more enjoyable than before. If I didn’t know it was possible, maybe I could have given up, but it felt like too much happiness to throw away. I didn’t want to give up everything and die. I wanted to go back to my workshop, be with everyone again…

 

“Argh!”

 

The hand that had been gently stroking my hair suddenly yanked my scalp. I grimaced in pain as an angry voice echoed above me.

 

“Don’t fool yourself. No matter what you look like, even if you threw away the potion, I found you. You’re mine. Kang Eui-jin.”

 

“Damn… fck off. Do you think I’m some kind of damn dog?”

 

That brought me back to reality. I wasn’t one to waste time with unnecessary worries. I wasn’t the type to indulge in

sentimental thoughts. If I didn’t want to die, then all I had to do was survive. No matter how many years it took, no matter how many times, I would escape again. Let’s see who gives up first.

 

Tae Jae-heon spun me around by my hair so that I faced him. The coldness in his eyes made it clear he was furious, but I glared back without backing down.

 

How long had it been? After a while, Tae Jae-heon’s lips parted, and a chilling voice slipped out.

 

“Beg for forgiveness.”

 

“…No.”

 

“Then you’ll be punished.”

 

“Just let me go…

cough

!”

 

A large hand strangled my neck. I desperately struck at the arm, struggling to break free, but the more I fought, the stronger the grip on my neck became. 

 

As oxygen dwindled, my head began to spin, and tears welled up in my eyes. Tae Jae-heon, who had brought his face close to mine, whispered as he pressed his forehead against mine.

 

“Do you want me to lock you up again? Do you miss the time when I was all you had, when you waited for me all day? If that’s the case, I’ll give it to you.”

 

“

Gasps, coughs

…..s-someone, let go…”

 

“Just close your eyes for a moment. When you wake up, it will be a familiar place. I didn’t expect that you’d need to be trained again. But now that I know…”

 

Tae Jae-heon spoke of the ‘training room,’ and eventually, I had no choice but to cry out in embarrassment, tears flowing.

 

“Ha, ugh, I-I understand! I understand, I was wrong. I was wrong, so sht……”

 

“Shh… now, that’s a good boy.”

 

“I don’t want to go there… I don’t.”

 

With a gasp for air, struggling to breathe as my neck was freed, he embraced me, gently rubbing my back and whispering.

 

“Don’t think about anything else. Your place is here.”

 

“Ugh, ha…” 

 

With trembling hands, I tightly gripped the blanket. Tae Jeheon, that fucking bastard…

 

***

 

“You have to eat today, Eui-jin nim.”

 

“Why are you being such a pain when I don’t want to eat? Get lost.” 

 

It was the second day without food, and they were causing a scene trying to make me eat. It wasn’t the hunger that was driving me crazy, but the fact that I was constantly with someone 24/7—it was driving me insane.

 

Tae Jae-heon, who knew better than anyone that I hated being confined, always kept the window open, but what good was that if it didn’t change anything?

 

“Why aren’t you eating?” 

 

“If I’m just lying here in this tiny room, what’s the point of eating? Let me out of here.” 

 

“No, that’s not possible. It’s the Guild Leader’s orders.” 

 

“Tae Jae-heon said I could leave!” 

 

“If Eui-jin nim hadn’t tried to slip past the guards and run away, you could have gone out.”

 

I regretted causing trouble less than a day after I promised Tae Jae-heon I’d stay quiet. But there was nothing I could do. Before I knew it, I was attacking their weak points and running away. With five bodyguards claiming to protect me, I’d been stuck with them all day, so I must have been a little out of my mind.

 

“I’ll report to the Guild Leader.” 

 

“Go ahead, you bastard.” 

 

“…You really are something else. How long do I have to cater to a kid’s tastes like this?” 

 

At that moment, I kicked the cart right in front of the secretary, tipping it over. The dishes shattered, and the food flew everywhere.

 

“What are you doing!

Ha…

here. Clean this up.”

 

At the secretary’s words, the servants hesitated and started to approach to clean up, but I raised my hand to stop them. I kicked a shard of the broken plate towards the secretary and gave a small nod.

 

“You clean it up.”

 

“…I think you’re mistaken. I only take orders from the Guild Leader. Do you still think you’re Nox’s Potion Master? Don’t be delusional. You’re nothing more than a traitor.”

 

“Nox’s Potion Master? When was that? I quit that a long time ago. Are you slow to catch up?”

 

The secretary’s expression twisted. I glanced around helplessly as chaos ensued.

 

“The room’s too filthy, so I guess I’ll have to leave. Call me when you’re done cleaning.”

 

“That bastard!”

 

***

 

My arms were restrained behind me, and I was forced to kneel. As a rough hand pressed down on my head, I lowered it, and the shiny black tips of shoes filled my field of vision.

 

“Are you planning to protest or something?”

 

“…”

 

“Kang Eui-jin. Lift your head.”

 

The hand gripping my head forced my gaze upwards. Behind the arrogant Tae Jae-heon, the secretary was smirking with a face full of irritation.

 

‘Small-minded bastard. Did he really report that?’

 

I glared at the two of them and spoke bluntly.

 

“What protest?”

 

“Do you think something will change just because you’re not eating?”

 

“Whether I eat or not, what’s it to you? If I collapse, just feed me a potion. As long as I’m alive, what difference does it make?”

 

At my sarcastic remark, the secretary’s face turned even redder than Tae Jae-heon’s. Unable to control his anger, he pointed a finger at me and shouted.

 

“Speak properly to the Guild Leader!”

 

“You speak properly first.”

 

“Ha, that… that’s outrageous!”

 

Maybe because the Guild Leader was present, the secretary didn’t dare to call him “this bastard” or “that bastard” and instead looked at Tae Jae-heon as if to say,

“Look at this rude bastard.”

 

 

It seemed like he was hoping for some kind of similar reaction, but Tae Jeheon’s expression remained calm. Seeing the secretary’s face, a bit flustered, I clicked my tongue in my mind.

 

‘What an idiot.’

 

He must have been new, because he didn’t know that Tae Jae-heon was a psycho with a broken mind. If I had really wanted to mess with him, I would have been using polite language, calling him “hyung” (older brother) and following him around. If I had done that, he probably wouldn’t have been seen again starting the next day.

 

Tae Jae-heon glanced at the secretary briefly and casually asked.

 

“If you don’t like him, should I replace him?”

 

“The old one was better. Where did all the other ones go?”

 

“They disappeared because of you.”

 

“Because of me?”

 

“When you tried to run, someone must have helped you, but you don’t even know who that was.”

 

“You crazy…! They had nothing to do with it! How could they have helped me? They hated me! Did you kill them all?”

 

“Not all of them. Because of what you just said, they’re alive. Looks like I’ll have to find the rest of your helpers in the places they’re hiding.”

 

“Fck, really!!”

 

“Tae Jae-heon, you bastard!” 

 

I slammed the floor in frustration, unable to hide my anger at how slyly he was probing, pretending not to know what was going on.

 

The secretary, seemingly confused by the situation, alternated his gaze between me and Tae Jae-heon with a puzzled look.

 

“Guild Leader? What exactly is…?”

 

“Leave now.”

 

“Ah, yes. I’ll wait outside.”

 

After bowing his head, the secretary left. Watching him go, it was clear from Tae Jae-heon’s attitude that a different secretary would likely be here tomorrow.

 

Following Tae Jae-heon’s orders, the guards who had forced me to kneel released my arms. I shook myself off and stood up.

 

“I’m about to die from this. If you’re done scolding, let me go. I need to rest.”

 

I muttered, but then I heard the sound of wheels from behind. Turning around, I saw another cart full of food being brought in. I glared at it, and Tae Jae-heon pointed to the space in front of him and said:

 

“Eat in front of me.”

 

“I’m not protesting; I just really don’t want to eat. I’ll just drink a potion to get by…”

 

“Eat.”

 

“I don’t want to.”

 

“You’re being rude in front of food. Did you forget your manners after being gone for just a moment?”

 

The servants cautiously set the food on the table. When they pulled out the chair for me to sit, I resisted, standing instead, and Tae Jae-heon’s eyes narrowed.

 

“There’s a gift. It’s better if I show it to you first.”

 

With a slight gesture of his knife-wielding hand, Tae Jae-heon pointed. Feeling uneasy, I turned toward the door. Soon, large figures in suits entered, dragging heavy burlap sacks. 

 

They were covered in dirt, with streaks of some brown, dried substance clinging to them. The sacks were the size of people… wait, it

is

a person?

 

“Open it.”

 

At Tae Jeheon’s command, the guards untied the knots of the sack. And inside, a battered, bloodied figure emerged—Lim Cheong, lying unconscious with a swollen face, covered in bruises.

 

“Cheong-ah!!”

 

I tried to rush over, but with just a wave of Tae Jae-heon’s hand, I was swiftly subdued and sent crashing to the floor.

 

“Cheong-ah, Lim Cheong! Wake up!”

 

Even though I screamed, it was clear that Lim Cheong had already passed out, and I couldn’t reach him. I reached out toward him, trying to crawl, but Tae Jae-heon stepped in front of me, blocking my view. Kneeling down, he raised my chin with his index finger.

 

“How do you like the gift?”

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