~Chapter 30~
It all happened so fast, I thought I’d fall backwards, but thankfully, I didn’t. What I landed on was soft and squishy—definitely not the floor.
If it was something soft in Yushen’s office, it could only be the couch I’d been sitting on earlier.
But honestly, in this situation, that was not a good thing.
‘Maybe it would’ve been better if I’d just hit my head instead.’
The tables had completely turned.
Just moments ago, I’d been the one in control. Now, it was Yushen.
But unlike me, Yushen didn’t act threatening or intimidating.
He just sat so close beside me I could hear him breathing, and held my wrist tightly so I couldn’t get up.
The way he did it, I could tell he wasn’t planning to let me go until we were finished talking.
“…Are you not letting go?”
“Why should I?”
The way things had flipped was so unbelievable, it made me mad.
How did it end up like this?
I bit my lip out of frustration and said,
“Let go.”
“Isn’t it funny to expect me to do something you wouldn’t do yourself?”
Yushen even replied with a sarcastic tone, totally unlike his usual self.
Now I was really getting annoyed, since he was just giving me a taste of my own medicine.
It seemed clear that I couldn’t beat Yushen with words. Running away wasn’t an option either—he’d already blocked that route.
It was obvious I was no match for someone who’d used a sword his whole life, so there was no way I’d get my hand free.
‘In that case… my only option is to go on the attack first.’
Even if I couldn’t beat him with strength, maybe if I surprised him, I could create a chance to escape.
No idea how likely it was to work, but I had to try. Luckily, one of my hands was still free.
I stared hard at Yushen’s face.
But he just looked relaxed, as if my glare was nothing.
When his eyes were focused on my face, I balled up my free hand into a fist.
“Move!”
I punched Yushen’s shoulder as hard and as fast as I could.
Not just once—I threw several punches.
And it wasn’t just random hitting—I remembered from somewhere that it hurts more to hit with your knuckles than your fist, so I used that little trick.
‘If it hurts, he’ll move.’
Right before my fist hit, I twisted my wrist a little.
Sure enough, Yushen’s face showed a reaction—he winced, as if surprised by the pain.
Seeing that, I thought I’d succeeded and stopped punching—
but immediately felt despair.
Because even though he flinched, Yushen didn’t budge at all.
‘Was I not strong enough?’
I tried again to punch the same spot, but this time Yushen caught both my hands in one big hand.
It dawned on me—humans have two hands, so just because I had a hand free didn’t mean he didn’t.
I’d made such a basic mistake!
‘How could I mess up something so simple…’
But there was no time for regret.
“Aren’t you going to let go?”
“If I do, you’ll hit me again.”
“Of course I will! I’ll keep hitting until you move!”
“Ah…”
Yushen let out a short sigh.
And then, he gave me a strangely bright smile.
“Then I really can’t let go, can I?”
Seriously, he was starting to sound like one of those obsessed male leads who likes to lock people up.
But Yushen was never like that!
Sure, the novel said he was “obsessive,” but compared to other leads who actually imprisoned the heroine, Yushen was pretty harmless.
‘It was always the second male lead’s fault the story got dark, not Yushen’s.’
But after being inside the novel, Yushen felt a little different from how he’d seemed on the page.
Of course, anyone would feel more real and human in 3D than just words on a page.
‘I can’t quite put my finger on it… but he’s a bit different.’
I just hoped it wasn’t my presence causing a butterfly effect—and if it was, I prayed it wouldn’t get any worse.
If he changed too much, it’d be harder for me to go back to my own world!
“How can you just grab a woman’s hands so roughly?”
“Didn’t you just say you weren’t a woman?”
Damn it, if I knew this would happen, I wouldn’t have said that.
“I take it back! Let go! Move!”
Having no way to escape, I just started yelling, hoping someone would hear.
Maybe there’d be someone outside the door.
But Yushen didn’t seem fazed at all.
He even moved his arms along with mine, so it almost looked like we were dancing together—if you ignored how ridiculous it was.
“Don’t bother. This room is soundpro—”
Before Yushen could finish, I heard the sound of the door opening.
‘Thank goodness!’
Both of us turned to look.
And then, seeing who walked in, my eyes went wide in shock.
“…Aydin?”
Yushen muttered the name in disbelief as Aydin stepped in.
He seemed just as surprised as I was.
But Aydin, unlike us, looked totally calm as he walked inside.
But after a quick glance around, his calm face turned stormy.
“…What are you doing, Captain?”
Yushen’s eyes flicked from Aydin to me, and his face turned red.
Only now did he seem to realize what he’d been doing.
He quickly let go and raised both arms like he was surrendering, moving away from me.
It wasn’t what I’d planned, but things had turned back in my favor.
Aydin strode over to us.
“Are you okay?”
“Ah, yes.”
I nodded, glancing at Yushen who stood there awkwardly.
Aydin let out a sigh of relief, then shot Yushen a cold look.
Aydin’s face was so scary I got goosebumps.
He’d seen everything just now, so no wonder.
“Captain.”
“A-Aydin, this is all a misunderstanding!”
“A misunderstanding?”
Even without seeing his face, you could tell Aydin didn’t believe Yushen.
Yushen looked at me with pleading eyes, silently asking me to help explain.
But I didn’t plan to help.
He’d made things so difficult for me—it was only fair.
‘Do you know how much trouble you’ve caused me?’
I know it’s petty payback, but so what? When else would I get a chance like this?
Besides, the two of them had known each other forever—they’d figure it out on their own.
I looked away from Yushen.
He let out a groan.
“Look, Aydin, I admit this looks bad—”
“You never used to be like this, Captain.”
“Just calm down and listen to me, will you?”
“Are you going to make excuses?”
“It’s not an excuse, it’s the truth! Shouldn’t you at least hear the full story before deciding?”
“If you want the whole story, I’ll hear it from the victim, not the perpetrator.”
…Aydin didn’t look like he planned to listen to Yushen at all.
This was getting more serious than I expected.
‘Maybe I should step in now.’
Aydin wouldn’t actually go overboard, but I didn’t want the two of them to ruin their relationship over this.
Eventually, Aydin turned to me.
Before he could say anything, I spoke first.
“…Aydin, please calm down.”
“Miss Montrose, I saw what happened. I can’t just ignore this.”
“Just like the Captain said, nothing happened.”
“Don’t just say what the Captain wants to hear—please be honest.”
Aydin squinted at me, as if he thought I was only defending Yushen because I had to.
His sense of justice was admirable… but enough was enough.
I was starting to feel sorry for Yushen.
I could guess why Aydin was reacting this way.
‘It’s because we aren’t just regular coworkers.’
Unlike others, I was under Aydin’s sponsorship.
He’d even vouched for me to get me into Luche, so he pretty much was my protector.
He even thought of himself as a guardian for everyone he sponsored.
So to Aydin, it must have looked like I was being harassed by Yushen.
‘But it’s odd—Aydin should know Yushen isn’t that kind of person.’
But it didn’t take me long to figure out why.
“…Then what about all the rumors?”
So that’s why Aydin was so upset—because of the rumors.
Yushen let out a frustrated laugh and answered,
“Of course they’re not true.”
“…”
“If they were, I never would’ve let Miss Montrose in here.”
That’s true. Yushen would never have faced things head-on if he really cared what people thought.
Even I understood that, so Aydin, who was even closer to Yushen, must have realized too.
So Aydin was silent for a long time, clearly deep in thought.
After a while, he finally lifted his head and met Yushen’s eyes.
