CBL Ch 18

The pleasure sweeping down her spine made her stop twisting her hips. As she did, the fingers that had been scratching at her areola grabbed the nipple and slowly pulled it. The more he pulled, the more her inner walls tightened around him, a sensation that didn’t feel like it was coming from her own body.

“Huh…”

As Yisoo leaned back, Kwon Siheon, still holding her nipple, lifted his upper body. Now her breasts were completely surrendered to his lips and tongue, being sucked and bitten greedily. Oh, uh! Before she knew it, she was crying out, pulling at his hair.

Her whole body felt like it was melting, a sweet, heavy languor. At the same time, each new wave of pleasure made her tingle from head to toe. There was even an illusion that another, dormant sensation was slowly awakening under Kwon Siheon’s caresses and desires.

Every time he sucked the tip at a different angle, her lower body, engulfed by his shaft, twitched. When her hips moved slightly, the sensation of her left and right inner walls being rubbed and pierced made her breathless. Her heart ached with the relentless onslaught of pleasure from top to bottom.

“Siheon, Mr. Siheon… just a bit, just a moment to rest…”

His lips, moving away from her chest, let out a chuckle. Saliva stretched out like a spider web between the now sticky tip and his tongue before breaking off.

“Do you need a break in the middle of sex? I haven’t even pulled out once yet.”

“It’s too hard… please let me come quickly…”

“Well, your pussy did tighten up nicely just because I gave your tits some attention.”

He laughed coldly while gently stroking the creases of her buttocks with his thumb. He seemed to enjoy her being overwhelmed by the situation.

“Hic… I can’t take it anymore like this…”

Before she knew it, she was clinging to his neck, pleading. With him thrusting hard, in and out, occasionally rubbing her clit, the urgent sensation felt like it was reaching its limit. Her entire vagina was contracting and relaxing wildly, as if her inner walls were silently screaming.

This thrill, almost suffocative, was something she knew all too well from experience. Before meeting Kwon Siheon, she had no idea that women could even have orgasms.

“Since you want it so desperately, then…”

Kwon Siheon held her tightly and thrust his hips up powerfully. Yisoo, with her arms tightly around his neck, tried to stifle her moans. With each deep thrust, the impact of his balls against her lower buttocks made her unable to even scream.

“Ah…!”

Joined as one, Kwon Siheon laid her down flat. Overwhelmed by his strength, she instinctively pushed back a few more times before they rolled across the floor together. They had rolled all the way to the corner of the large living room. The carpet was long soaked with bodily fluids.

He swore as he lifted Yisoo up. After rolling around on the floor like beasts for a while, he seemed to regain some sense. But the moment he threw her roughly onto the bed, Yisoo sensed he would turn even more beastly.

In a blink, his massive body was on top of her delicate, naked form. The series of sensations was both starkly real and yet dreamlike.

His hands spreading her legs, the instinctive quivering of her entrance before it suddenly sucked in his glans. The thrill from the glans piercing her tight vagina, spreading from the ridge down to the base. His relentless push until there was no more room to enter.

The stubborn persistence to penetrate all the way, almost piercing through to her lower abdomen, continued until she voiced her discomfort from the heavy pain.

“Ah, stop…! Sob…”

“Why. Didn’t you ask to come quickly?”

He inhaled deeply and then moved his hips while still in that position. But it was slightly different from before. Instead of using brute force to thrust, he was now grinding his entire lower body against hers, fitting perfectly.

“Ah!”

Yisoo kept lifting her hips. His pubic bone, protruding just above his penis, kept hitting her vulva. With that intense stimulation, a shiver ran from her perineum to her clit. As the motion stimulating her vulva repeated, the thrill grew larger and more intense.

As his thick penis thrust into her inner walls, his hard pubic bone swept over her labia minora, labia majora, and up to her mons pubis, making her whole body tingle and start to gush with heat. The more his pubic bone rubbed and ground against her plump lower belly, the more disordered Yisoo’s breathing became.

“Ah, uh, uh, ah!”

“…Are you satisfied now? Feel like coming?”

“Ah, you, so, good… Uh! Yes!”

Her tongue moved of its own accord in response to his leisurely taunt. She truly felt like she was thrown into the depths of pleasure hell.

Her outer erogenous zones were being relentlessly pressed, and with his penis fully inserted, it was thrusting hard but slowly right up to her cervix. The overwhelming pleasure felt like her entire body was being steeped in ecstasy.

“Ah-.”

Finally, she cried out, her muscles between her legs completely relaxing. The ecstasy of something hot rising made her open her tightly shut eyes. At the same time, she saw Kwon Siheon’s face, drenched in her fluids, with the sensation of relief.

“Damn it…”

Kwon Siheon lazily licked his lips. He rubbed his face with his hand, then licked the sticky residue off his palm with a mad glint in his eyes.

“It’s delicious. Good enough to want to make you come again.”

Then she realized he had deliberately not avoided her release. Overwhelmed by an indescribable, strange feeling, Yisoo just closed her eyes. Her face was flushed red to her earlobes, but she felt no new shame.

They had already tasted each other’s bodies, swallowing each other’s fluids like water. As their fluids and flesh mingled indistinguishably, reason faded like a waning moon, leaving only the primal breath of animals and life force.

“Ah…!”

That was as far as her idle thoughts went. The moment Kwon Siheon buried his head between her legs like a dog, Yisoo let out a short moan. His sharp tongue darted in and out of her depths, licking up the wet flesh, then cleaning every drop of fluid that had splattered on her mons pubis, clit, perineum, and inner thighs.

“Huh… Uh…! Stop…”

Just after her release, her whole body felt drained, but the relentless movement of his tongue brought back the heat between her legs. As Yisoo gripped his shoulders and groaned, Kwon Siheon, sensing this, withdrew his tongue and straightened his waist.

Even while she was basking in the afterglow of her climax, his erection showed no signs of subsiding, still flushed dark red at the tip. He grabbed her hips and inserted only halfway.

“Haah…”

A heavy sigh escaped as he filled her moist insides. Keeping his penis at a right angle, he resumed thrusting, but only with half its length, unlike the deep, large movements from before. With a different kind of pleasure, Yisoo threw her head back and swallowed her moans.

The thrill was different from the usual pounding; it felt like being hit and crushed with a fist, causing cold sweat to break out. With quick, shallow thrusts, the sensation of her vagina opening and contracting was overwhelming.

It was surprisingly good. It wasn’t just a white flash in her mind; it felt like she was falling endlessly into a bottomless pit of pleasure, losing all sense of reason.

Yisoo surrendered helplessly to the heat that was pulling her in relentlessly. Even as warning bells rang in her mind, she wanted to ignore them. She was addicted to this primal joy and perverse ecstasy, perhaps never to escape.

“Haah… Huh…”

“Feel that good?”

“Uh…”

He brushed back his disheveled hair with a sly smile. Raising his hips slightly, his penis, which had been halfway in, now only had a third inside.

“Seems like you’re feeling it more even though you’re not screaming like when I thrust hard.”

His face, feigning innocence, was cunning and sly. This was a deliberate skill. He knew she would feel this way. He must have used it on other women before.

Did he do this with Park Seohye too? His frequent late nights probably included regular sex with his fiancée.

Suddenly, her mind cooled like she had been doused with cold water. The inner turmoil quickly spread to her body.

Yisoo steadied her panting breath and pulled back. His penis, which had been shallowly inserted, slid out, and his sweat-drenched large body moved a few feet away.

“I, I want to stop. I want to stop now.”

“…What?”

Kwon Siheon’s eyes sharpened. His mood seemed to sour at Yisoo’s sudden change in attitude.

“Just do it like you normally do… in your style, Kwon Siheon. Because I want to finish this quickly…”

“Why. Did you suddenly lose interest?”

Who’s he mocking? After his additional remark, his large body quickly blocked her view. In a flash, he grabbed her hair, gripping her jaw tight enough to break it.

“Shit. That’s why you can’t show any weakness to Yoo Yisoo. She’s so quick to climb up if you treat her well.”

His threatening voice, his hand pulling her hair harshly, was merciless.

As soon as she let out a scream, his grip loosened, and his ragged breath quickly subsided. However, the way he grabbed her ankles and spread her legs to the limit was nothing short of barbaric.

“Ah!”

His penis pierced through her vagina to its very end. As if to give her what she wanted, rather than gentle pleasure, he thrust in a way that felt like it would tear through her lower abdomen, violently and ferociously, showing his malice in his movements.

He thrust his hips mercilessly until Yisoo burst into tears again. As if pondering how to go deeper, he lifted her slender calves over his broad shoulders, pounding into her with such force it seemed like the bed might break, making her feel like she might pass out.

When she was on the brink of losing consciousness, Kwon Siheon stopped moving and grabbed one of her breasts. His hand, which had been squeezing painfully, moved up to her collarbone, then along her throat to just below her chin.

“Why did you do that earlier? You suddenly got upset.”

A rough bass voice came out between his heavy pants. As he applied pressure to her neck, Yisoo closed and then opened her eyes. Kwon Siheon didn’t have a habit of choking during sex.

At first, when she resisted or showed signs of refusal, he had grabbed her neck for physical control, but he never took it as seriously as some perverts might. When penetration was too painful for her, he never tried anal sex again. He didn’t hit her during sex either.

“Seems like you do everything else…”

“…What?”

Confused by her non-sequitur, he furrowed his brows. His hand that had been on her neck slid back to her collarbone. His penis was still fully inserted, but unlike before, he wasn’t ravaging her vaginal walls with the same furious intensity.

“Why did you suddenly get angry?”

But with each breath he took, the vibrations were still transmitted deep inside. Every time Kwon Siheon breathed, the side of his shaft twitched, poking at her inner walls.

“How many women have you slept with?”

With his eyes flickering more than before, Yisoo calmly continued her question.

“Did they all react like me? Did Park Seohye too?”

The subtle vibrations in her lower body intensified, feeling like they might be stronger than her own heartbeat.

“I was just curious about that. That’s all.”

“What are you trying to do right now?”

The bed creaked again. Yisoo bit her lip to stifle a moan. He inadvertently twisted his hips, and the heavy penis pressed against one side of her inner wall, suddenly sending a piercing sensation of pleasure.

“I was just asking for an answer. You asked what I was twisted about… Ah!”

The last thrust was clearly intentional. Her pelvis, gripped in his hands, felt like it might break under the pressure.

“What I hate the most is answering a question with another question.”

His hair was disheveled over his forehead where veins were popping, and on his beautiful face, like a mark of savagery, was etched a cruelty that not even half could contain, overwhelming Yisoo’s vision.

“I… I guess I got angry because I’m afraid I might end up like those women from your past.”

“…”

“Jealousy… That might have been there too. About your past and present women.”

“There’s no reason for you to feel that way. You are already…”

Kwon Siheon, who had been speaking almost in a trance, suddenly stopped. His face was stunned, as if he’d bitten his tongue. Every time he shook his head, biting down, the vibration from her pelvis resonated.

The moment a drop of sweat fell from Kwon Siheon’s sharp nose, Yisoo suddenly sat up. She wrapped her arms around him. They were still firmly joined below. As she leaned her cheek against his firm chest, she could hear his heartbeat, thud, thud, in her ear.

“Yoo Yisoo.”

“Just stay like this. Just a little, longer…”

When he took a deep breath, his broad chest heaved. Confused breaths flowed through the air. Kwon Siheon embraced her in return, burying his nose deep into her hair.

As he rested his chin on her crown and caught his breath, he released the embrace. Then, he whispered softly:

“Kiss me.”

The only sound echoing in the humid room was Kwon Siheon’s characteristic deep voice. The faint sounds of breathing and heartbeats quietly dispersed into his continuing voice.

“Kiss me.”

The cold command had turned into a calm plea. Yisoo, leaning on his shoulder, slowly tilted her head. Their lips, once dry, met again. She lightly traced his dry lips with the tip of her tongue, and the response was immediate.

Her inner walls, which had taken him in, convulsed slightly. As she pushed her tongue between his lips, caressing the mucous membrane then slowly brushing his teeth, this time his erection swelled even more. The veins on his engorged member were vividly outlined.

How could it get any bigger when there was no more room for growth? Confused, just as she tried to pull her tongue back, Kwon Siheon engulfed her lips. Their tongues clashed again, teeth brushing against each other. With the aggressive sucking and pulling of his tongue, her vision blurred even with her eyes closed.

“Ah! Uh!”

Without warning, he thrust his hips powerfully. A moan escaped from between their locked lips. Thud, thud, his hips moved wildly, and suddenly her body fell back.

As his penis withdrew from blocking her entrance, a gush of fluid burst from her vagina. Kwon Siheon quickly thrust back into the slippery opening. While his shaft was fully inserted, Yisoo’s hips trembled.

The massive muscles pressed against her soft breasts, bodies fitting together without any gap. With every movement he made, an extreme pleasure overwhelmed her, causing her eyes to well up. Her eyelashes fluttered in spasms, the moisture incessantly wetting her eyes, making it hard to keep them open.

With each hard thrust to the end of her passage, a dull ache mixed with intense ecstasy and a hint of soreness clouded her mind.

‘There’s no reason for you to feel that way. You are already…’

What was he trying to say?

Amid the heavy pounding, Kwon Siheon’s last words echoed dully in her mind. For a moment, the sound of their heavy breathing and the slapping of flesh faded away.

Why would you be jealous? After all, you were brought here just for this.

Was that what he meant? Or else…

“Ah, sob!”

He picked up speed, panting. Finally, after violently thrusting like a beast, his member quivered and swelled to the point of bursting, then released, flooding her womb with warm semen.

Like finishing a marathon, their sharp moans and rough breaths intertwined. The thick fluids spread inside and out, mingling with the scent of sweat and tears, creating a rich aroma.

Yisoo was half out of it, only breathing heavily, unable to move. Even after his ejaculation, Kwon Siheon held her deep within his embrace without moving.

Like blind beasts, they held each other tightly for a long time, their breaths quiet.

＊＊＊

‘How many women have you slept with?’

‘Did they all react like me? Did Park Seohye too?’

Yoo Yisoo’s calm questions kept rustling in his mind. While fiddling with his cufflinks, his gaze was fixed on the bed in the distance.

The floor was a mess, as if a storm had swept through. Pillows and tattered clothes were scattered across the carpet, and decorative objects were lying around.

The situation on the bed wasn’t much different. Yoo Yisoo was lying there, half her face visible, looking like she was dead, amidst sheets stained with bodily fluids. In the dark room, her pale face looked like a pitiable ghost.

He picked up his jacket and stood in front of the sleeping woman. If her chest hadn’t been rising and falling faintly, he might have checked for breath under her nose. That’s how pale Yoo Yisoo looked.

Siheon reached out to straighten the half-folded sheet. Only then did the other half of her face reveal itself, showcasing her delicate features like a painting, making him realize anew how special Yoo Yisoo’s appearance was.

She was beautiful. But ‘beautiful’ or ‘pretty’ alone wasn’t enough to describe her. Some might call it ‘aura,’ while others with lustful minds would say she was ‘seductively alluring.’

And her body…

Swear words lingered on his tongue. Why get an erection when he was fully prepared for work? He pressed his throbbing temples with his wrist, but the headache persisted. The pain from suppressing desire was different from ordinary pain.

But this headache wasn’t just from carnal desire. It was accompanied by a strange, nervous restlessness. At times like this, watching Yoo Yisoo would bring an indescribable anxiety.

He put on his jacket over his bulging pants. As he took a few steps to leave, something heavy tripped him. Siheon picked up the decorative item from the floor and placed it on the table one by one.

Yoo Yisoo’s body was like a piece of paper, so weak that she often staggered or nearly fell over small obstacles. She had started exercising recently, which helped somewhat, but she still had a long way to go before gaining enough muscle.

Even until he sat in the back seat of the car crossing the garden, the dawn hadn’t broken. While listening to Secretary Kim’s daily briefing and gazing at the dark blue horizon through the window, he suddenly turned his head.

“Someone’s funeral?”

“Hyeon Geun-woo. He passed away last night at the age of 81 due to complications from his heart condition.”

“Ah. The owner of Hyeonsindang.”

Was it Hyeon Gampansa or Hyeon Geumbosal? The news was about the death of his father’s favorite shaman. No matter the past connection, he had no intention of showing up at the funeral.

“The Shinmyeong Secretary’s Office will send an appropriate condolence gift.”

“Tell them to do so.”

Siheon gave the order without emotion and turned his attention to the tablet. Suddenly, he remembered his first meeting with Hyeon Geun-woo. What nonsense did he say back then?

‘You have the face of one who will hold the world in his hands.’

When he was over ten, at a time when his father was still mentally stable, he took his two sons to a shaman’s house to introduce them.

It was laughable enough to make even a passing dog laugh. The idea that a leader of a new religion, who considers himself divine and has millions of followers worldwide, would have his own fortune-teller. There was no more unique group of con artists.

‘Both are good, but the second one is extraordinary from birth. My advice to send him away to live separately right after birth was spot on, indeed.’

The shaman laughed heartily and tapped the desk with his fan.

‘My, what a face! You’re destined to command goblins and summon spirits! You narrowly escaped disaster; yes, indeed. With the care of the Heaven and Earth’s Shinmyeong, you were born in a good era, mastering both good and evil spirits, so there’s nothing under the sky you can’t achieve. The day you step out from the shadows into the light is not far off. However, …’

The elderly man leaned close to his face. The stench of a fraud made him want to leave, but his father, standing behind him, didn’t allow it.

‘Betrayal, betrayal from the one closest to you, endless betrayal…’

‘I’ll do it like eating meals. Yeah, I have the most fun when I screw people over from behind.’

These were not words that should come out of a twelve-year-old’s mouth. And Kwon Woohyuk added insult to injury with, ‘Me too. I find cheating people the most fun in the world,’ giggling. The shaman shook his head, slamming his fan hard on the floor.

‘You’ll be the one betrayed, you little fool. And you, the older one, too!’

The shaman looked at Kwon Woohyuk with goblin-like eyes before turning back to him.

‘But the one who will suffer more mentally is you, the second son. Do you know why?’

The shimmering eyes looked like live mackerel, making him shiver. He couldn’t resist the force of his father’s hand pressing down on his shoulder.

‘Because you have a weaker heart than the big one. That connection (因緣) will keep hitting you from behind, and each time, you’ll get beaten and kneel because you can’t let go. Then you’ll get hit again, and you’ll cling to it desperately.’

What nonsense is this? This crazy old man acts like he’s some great shaman.

‘Listen well. You will achieve everything and have it all beneath your feet. But there will be one thing you can never attain, and because of that one thing, you’ll suffer deep inside. No matter how much you try, it’ll be like cooking rice with sand. If you’re not careful, you might choke to death.’

‘What are you talking about, you crazy cult shaman!’

Unable to bear the nonsense any longer, he yelled and stormed out of the shrine. His father shouted after him, but he didn’t stop. When the bodyguards caught and dragged him back, the shaman, whether he was called Hyeon Geumbosal or Hyeon Gampansa, cackled like a goblin.

‘This one has quite the temper. It might sound like crazy talk now, but when you chew on my words in the distant future with regret, it will be too late.’

The colorful fan in his hand was dizzying. The man, unfazed by his glaring, calmly continued.

‘So, how do you avoid that great misfortune? You must watch your opponents closely, use deception and cunning. If someone seems trustworthy to you, treat them with sincerity and faith. I mean, don’t fill your own heart with resentment.’

“Director, just now…”

Secretary Kim Jae-won’s voice intruded on his wandering thoughts.

“Miriam has arrived at Heathrow Airport. She’s on her way to Holland Park and should arrive in about 30 minutes. After checking the house condition, she’ll head to the Paris branch as instructed, so her return to London is scheduled two days after your arrival.”

“Tell her to meet me next week. And… no, nothing.”

Siheon started to say something but then closed his mouth. Miriam, who was recently transferred from Hong Kong to manage the London residence for Shinuehoe, was to stay at the townhouse he would use during his upcoming one-week business trip to London.

Miriam, the head maid, had lived with Yoo Yisoo in Hong Kong as both a watchdog and a supporter, and they got along well. So, a while back, he asked Yoo Yisoo if she wanted to go with Miriam, but she declined.

‘I’d like to see Miriam, but… I want to spend this year quietly. August is the anniversary of my father’s death too… Please send my regards to Miriam.’

He only recently learned about Yoo Yisoo’s acrophobia. Was it when she mentioned she liked winter and snow but had never been to a ski resort? She was extremely afraid of heights, to the point where she couldn’t even ride amusement park rides or lifts.

So, was that why in the office?

Occasionally, before reaching the high windows in the office, Yoo Yisoo would tense up. Now he realized it was part of her fear of heights. If he had known this earlier, he would have avoided the windows.

Upon arriving in London, he planned to discuss birthday gifts for both Miriam and Yoo Yisoo. There was nothing he could do for the deceased Yoo Incheol, but he wanted to make the birthdays of the living as meaningful as he could.

If there’s a person hardest to buy gifts for, it would be someone like Yoo Yisoo. She had no desire for material things, and showing off was unnecessary in her daily life; she wanted nothing. Expensive jewelry would be pointless. So, he wanted to make her smile, even if just for a moment.

‘They’re so cute… I think I understand why people keep birds.’

He remembered the day she laughed out loud at the birds outside the window. He couldn’t forget that moment when his heart sank. At that time, in front of her bright smile, which he had never seen before, the solid walls inside him crumbled.

He wanted to see that smile again. He considered buying her a bird as she wished, but he was skeptical if she would truly be happy with it.

Yoo Yisoo loved the moments when birds flew freely and rested on the windowsill. She wouldn’t welcome a bird in a cage.

She was the kind of woman who would open the cage and set it free.

＊＊＊

“Emergency room? She was hospitalized?”

His heart started beating rapidly at the sudden report.

Right after landing at London airport, he received the news that Yoo Yisoo had been taken to the emergency room. Considering the possibility of an attack, he even thought about returning to Korea, but he was stunned to hear it was due to an apricot allergy.

“The diagnosis is anaphylactic shock caused by an apricot allergy. Not only her face but also her tonsils swelled severely, and she received an epinephrine injection. On the advice of the attending physician to rest and monitor her condition for a few days, she was admitted.”

After receiving the report from Secretary Kim, he had a brief conversation with the attending physician instead of Yoo Yisoo, who was asleep in her room. The physician’s opinion was that due to extreme stress and trauma, an allergy might have developed which she hadn’t had before.

— Since there’s no history of this in her medical record, it seems to fit that case. It’s not uncommon for new allergies to appear in adulthood. From her movements, it seems she ate a lot of apricots with the skin on and then did intense treadmill running, leading to the immediate shock… If she’s careful from now on and carries an epinephrine injector, there should be no problems in her daily life.

The conclusion was that returning would be meaningless. The doctor said he would arrange for her to contact him once she woke up, and the call ended. Siheon looked at Secretary Kim Jae-won and headed towards the waiting car.

“Keep me updated while I’m here. And don’t forget to keep an eye on Park Seohye’s surroundings.”

“Understood, Director.”

His mind was in turmoil throughout the journey from the airport to the London branch, acting as if nothing had happened. From acrophobia to now, an allergy to fruit.

Well, it wasn’t surprising. Considering everything Yoo Yisoo had gone through as an ordinary person.

Unlike him, who felt no particular attachment to parents or siblings, treating them like stones on the street, and even feeling his secretaries as more distant, she had a strong attachment to her biological father, Yoo Incheol, and her older sister, Yoo Yijin. Not to mention the twin Lee Yihyun.

People often talk about separating the body and mind, but they are ultimately one. Psychological shock and emotional trauma inevitably affect the body in some way.

Even if Yoo Yisoo was someone with a strong inner core, the series of events over the past year and a half would have been hard to overcome in a short time. Especially since she was the type to keep her pain bottled up inside without ever crying out loud.

“Secretary Kim.”

“Yes, Director.”

Secretary Kim Jae-won in the passenger seat immediately turned around. Over his shoulder, the blue sky came into view.

“Tell Secretary Yang, anything she needs or wants, get it for her, give in to her wishes.”

“I will do so.”

The response came a second later than usual, but he paid it no mind and picked up his tablet PC. He truly wanted to do so. Even now, if she changed her mind, he could give her money, jewels, land, anything she asked for.

He could do anything except make her part of his family through marriage.

Her eyes, swollen as if stung by a bee, would take at least a week to return to normal.

Yisoo looked at her face, swollen to the point of unrecognition, in the mirror, feeling like she had become someone else. After putting on a summer cardigan over her hospital gown, she pulled her hat down low and wore a mask. Fortunately, her limbs were functioning as usual.

After informing the attending nurse of her destination, she left the hospital room and was hit by the smell of disinfectant unique to hospitals. On her way to the VVIP patient’s rooftop lounge, Yisoo bowed her head to the nurses at the station, who bowed back respectfully.

On the second day of her hospital stay, with her face in this condition, she had told Secretary Yang she wanted to be alone, so he was on standby on the first floor.

There was no one else on the rooftop. Not only on the roof but throughout the entire VVIP ward, there seemed to be no other patients. It was probably an order from Kwon Siheon.

The sky, slowly sinking towards sunset beyond the sky awning, was beautiful. The twilight felt close enough to envelop her whole body. A flock of birds was flying somewhere in formation.

She called Kwon Siheon in London, adjusting for the time difference, and had a brief conversation, asking him to pass on her regards to Miriam, who was due to arrive the next day local time. He persistently asked her to take off her mask for a moment during the video call, but she didn’t.

‘When Siheon returns home, I’ll be back to my original face… Until then, I don’t want to be seen, please understand.’

Fortunately or unfortunately, her lips and chin were not swollen, so she could show the lower part of her face for a moment.

— They said you were unconscious and having trouble breathing when you were brought in. Are you really okay?

‘You can see I’m fine since we’re talking now. Stop worrying about me and focus on your work.’

She intentionally used a brighter voice before ending the call. Since it had come to this, she also agreed to stay in the hospital for a few days to rest, as suggested by Secretary Yang and her attending physician.

She too wanted to rest. She wanted to let go of everything and truly relax her mind.

＊＊＊

The profits from prisons operated in several countries adjacent to London had achieved quite an encouraging result, increasing by 1.8 times compared to the previous year. This wasn’t much different from the status of the forty-three private prisons managed by local companies in North America.

“Across the sea, this is quite an interesting place. The darker side of society makes money the worse the economy gets.”

The local Shinuehoe branch manager smiled as he briefed Siheon. Indeed, as he said, in times of economic downturn, the ones quietly making money are loan sharks, lotteries, gambling, credit information companies, and prisons.

Even in the U.S., state governments actively encourage the operation of private prisons by private companies to cut down on the ever-increasing budgets for state-run prisons. There was no reason for these companies to refuse.

The worse the economy gets, the higher the crime rate, and the lower the vacancy rate for private prisons. These companies not only run the prisons but also manage the ancillary businesses related to inmate management, making it nearly impossible for them to run at a loss. The income generated from inmate labor is also quite lucrative.

“I think that’s enough for the report… I have another appointment, so I’ll be going. I’ll contact you one more time before I return home.”

Siheon wrapped up the branch manager’s report and stood up. His London business trip included not only the M&A for local company expansion for Shinmyeong Group’s subsidiaries but also other unofficial tasks.

After checking the financial status of the private prisons secretly owned by Shinuehoe, he planned to conduct a ‘clean-up’ operation targeting fugitives who had embezzled public funds from the old Shinmyeong Church and current Shinuehoe and fled overseas.

“Kwo, Director Kwon! Please spare me…! No, please spare me! Look at all the years we’ve spent together… Ugh!”

Director Kim was pleading and crying, getting his nose and eyes all runny, before he was hit in the stomach by one of his subordinates and collapsed to the ground. He was a former executive of Shinuehoe who had embezzled 100 million dollars, hidden in Belgrade eight months ago, and was caught just before boarding a flight to Dubai.

“Huh, please, please… I’ll explain everything. Just give me 10 minutes, no, just 5 minutes to speak.”

“Alright then.”

Siheon sat down on a chair in the warehouse, took off his jacket, then his tie, and unlinked his cufflinks. He rolled up the sleeves of his still-clean dress shirt to his elbows. The series of actions were sleek and without excess, but not frivolous.

“Then, give me your excuse. Why did you pretend to be loyal and then stab us in the back?”

“Director Kwon, I had no grudge or ill will against you. I was just blinded by money… Please forgive me just this once, Director!”

He knelt hesitantly, looking up at Siheon with a tear-streaked face. Siheon looked down at the offender without any change in expression.

He felt no emotion. There was no surge of anger or hatred. At this moment, he was just an executor punishing a traitor who had coveted and stolen Shinuehoe’s assets, nothing more, nothing less.

‘Even if you weren’t my brother Kwon Siheon, I would have given you the leadership of Shinuehoe. That’s just the kind of person you are.’

Kwon Woohyuk’s voice, which he had once casually mentioned, came to mind. Siheon could only give a self-deprecating chuckle at why he was the best fit for the leader of Shinuehoe.

“I beg you. Please spare my wife and our children, punish only me. I beg you…!”

His accomplices, his wife, daughter, and son-in-law, were hiding in Tbilisi, Georgia, and were caught by Siheon’s subordinates while heading to the airport with forged passports. They had apparently planned to reunite in Dubai to plan their future.

They intended to buy new identities with over 100 billion won in stolen money, hide at the other end of the earth, eat well, and live well as a reward for betraying him.

Although he didn’t feel boiling anger, there was a sense of indignation. Mercy or leniency was not an option in this situation.

“Director, the reason, the reason was just money… I was blinded by money, that’s all. I deeply regret how foolish I was, so please forgive me…”

“Did you steal Shinuehoe’s confidential documents to screw me over because you were blinded by money too?”

“That, that was my son-in-law’s idea… to buy time, he suggested we do it.”

“……”

“Really… I’ve committed a mortal sin. Please forgive me just this once!”

“Shall we have a drink? You liked red wine, didn’t you?”

As soon as Siheon spoke, one of his subordinates turned a chair that was lying around into a makeshift table. In the blink of an eye, an opened wine bottle and a glass were placed on it.

“Drink.”

“Di-Director…”

Director Kim, not understanding the situation, took the glass Siheon personally poured for him. Wrapped in fear, he seemed not to notice any strange smell while bringing the glass to his lips.

The elderly man spat out what was in his mouth before he could even swallow a sip of the red liquid. His eyes, filled with fear and suspicion, were redder than the wine he had spat on the floor.

“This, this is…”

“Don’t you remember? I just recreated what Director Kim once said.”

At some executive gathering, someone once asked Director Kim:

‘What would you do if someone under you betrayed you? Of course, none of your subordinates would do such a thing, but…’

He had answered with bravado, half-drunk:

‘Betrayal is the greatest sin Shinuehoe despises, isn’t it? I would immediately cut that traitor’s throat, twist his organs, and squeeze out every last drop of his blood to drink it. No, it should be the blood of the person he cherishes the most first. Haha!’

“Y-You can’t!”

His wrinkled eyes turned bloodshot and trembled. He writhed in shock, but he couldn’t overcome the strength of the subordinates pinning him down from both sides. He seemed to finally realize what the strong smell of blood from the wine was.

“Argh!” With a roar like a beast, Siheon furrowed his brows. After his subordinate gagged him, Siheon stood up and looked down at the offender.

“Rest assured. It’s not your daughter’s organs; it’s your son-in-law’s.”

“Uh, uh, uh!”

“Your wife and daughter will be sent to a prison in Honduras. Be grateful that they are spared. At least you don’t have any grandchildren.”

With those final words, Siheon stood up and headed out of the warehouse. Despite the desperate groans of Director Kim behind him, he didn’t look back even once.

Even as he got into the car, throwing away the crumpled cigarette from his hand, the smell of blood from the glass lingered in his nose. Director Kim and his family would remain missing, along with their thoroughly emptied accounts.

There is no mercy for traitors. That has been the operational method that has sustained both the former Unified Shinmyeong Church and the current Shinmyeong Group and Shinuehoe.

If you show even a hint of a second chance, more and more directors would emerge.