I went to bed early that night. No—more accurately, I lay under the blanket with my eyes closed, pretending to be asleep.

If I looked like I was asleep, Joo Seunghyuk would come into the room to bring the manga. That’s when I could catch him.

I shot upright in bed.

What? Did I fall asleep?

I’d only meant to close my eyes—but I must’ve actually dozed off. And on the desk, there it was: a stack of manga.

Joo Seunghyuk had already come and gone.

Lee Yeonsu, you idiot! How could you fall asleep?!

I slumped into the chair and stared at the manga.

Joo Seunghyuk hadn’t missed a single word I said. He’d brought the manga just like I asked. Honestly, I thought it was more likely he either didn’t hear me or just chose to ignore it. But he hadn’t missed a thing.

What’s more, I didn’t know how he knew my tastes, but he’d brought the fantasy series I’d wanted to read—from volume one all the way to the latest release.

What on earth is going on in his head... I couldn’t understand him. I could barely understand my own heart, let alone his.

But one thing was certain.

I wanted to see Joo Seunghyuk. I’d missed my chance by falling asleep, but I wasn’t going to give up.

I bit my lip and opened volume one. Then I tore through the manga he gave me. There were a lot of volumes, but I didn’t take a single break. Right there in my seat, I read through all seventeen volumes.

And then I spoke up.

“Ah, I finished them all. Now I want something new...”

I made another request to Joo Seunghyuk. Then added:

“I want to drink a nice iced Americano too.”

That evening, while I was reading, the restraints activated again.

My body froze stiff, and I couldn’t turn to see the face of the person entering through the door.

The door shut, and the magic binding the shackles lifted. I turned and looked toward the door. A smile slipped onto my face.

On the tray were a full, hearty meal—and an iced Americano.

So he listens when it comes to food too...

After dinner, I sipped the Americano.

Tonight, no matter what, I wouldn’t fall asleep. I was going to meet Joo Seunghyuk for sure.

***

Despite all my resolve, I fell asleep again.

But in a completely sealed room with no windows or clocks, it wasn’t easy to keep pretending to sleep with my eyes closed. Not even the coffee helped.

Why won’t he show his face? When will I get to look him in the eyes again?

After that, I kept trying to meet him. No matter what I did, I ended up falling asleep every time.

Once, I tried sitting up in bed to wait for him, since lying down felt impossible to maintain. But as long as I was awake, he never came in.

By now, I didn’t even know how many days had passed since I was locked up in this basement. The captivity was starting to feel... familiar.

In my previous life, I dreamed of being a rich slacker.

I imagined lying around at home every day, reading all the books I wanted without ever worrying about money. Just the thought made me happy.

And now, I was living that dream I never achieved in my past life.

Every day, I said what I wanted, and Joo Seunghyuk brought it to me. If I asked for books, he brought books. If I asked for food, he prepared it.

But even while eating my favorite foods and reading all the books I liked, I didn’t feel very happy.

I was lonely...

I’d thought I was a homebody who liked being alone. I’d been an outsider since I was young, but aside from awkward group projects or gym class, being alone never really bothered me.

And since I’d always been paired with another outsider, Kang Inho, throughout school, there weren’t many awkward situations anyway.

But maybe I didn’t know myself that well after all.

Being locked up alone like this made me feel like I was going to suffocate from the solitude.

Yes, I was confined—but not in the way I’d imagined. Other than not being able to go outside, it was comfortable. So much so that I couldn’t even tell if it was imprisonment or a staycation. Still, I would’ve taken a week in the trash bin from the original story if it meant seeing Joo Seunghyuk’s face.

Among the ten books he first gave me after locking me up, there was one called The Prince of the Forest. It was a children’s book—but I hadn’t touched it.

The other nine were either books I’d already been reading or ones by authors I liked. But The Prince of the Forest... I’d never seen it before. I didn’t know the author either.

That meant Joo Seunghyuk had chosen it himself.

Maybe that children’s book held something he wanted to say to me. But that made me afraid to read it.

If I read it and understood his heart... I was terrified he’d never come back again.

And maybe, just maybe, if he had something to say to me, I wanted to hear it from him directly.

But he didn’t seem to have any intention of seeing me.

I pulled The Prince of the Forest from the shelf. The cover showed a cute little prince standing in the middle of a lush forest.

If he really didn’t want to see me... then reading this book was all I had left.

Just as I reached to open the thick hardcover, something inside me snapped.

“Ah—I want fried chicken. I want ‘Lily Chicken’s’ Bling Bling Shining flavor. I want to watch a movie. It’d be best on a big TV. I need popcorn too. Caramel popcorn. I want to play games. The books are boring now—I need new ones.”

I started blurting things out at random. I didn’t even know what I was saying—just anything that came to mind.

“I want wine too. It has to be at least a bottle of Lascara-go or I won’t even enjoy it.”

Lascara-go was the top-tier wine for ability users. One bottle cost tens of millions of won. I’d never had a sip in my life. But I demanded it anyway.

I didn’t care if Joo Seunghyuk yelled at me, told me to get a grip. I didn’t care if he got angry—I just wanted to see him. Even if I was being ridiculous.

But no matter how much nonsense I spewed, Joo Seunghyuk didn’t open the door.

Still, I didn’t give up. I looked up at the ceiling and shouted:

“Seunghyuk, wanna play a game with me? We’ve never played one before. It’s summer—should we watch a horror movie together? We can drink wine too. Or... want to draw? We can draw together. You can draw me, or on me—I don’t mind. Even with a marker pen.”

Maybe I sounded shameless for someone who ran away. But it didn’t matter. Even if he scolded me, even if he said I was shameless, I just... I just wanted to see Joo Seunghyuk again.

That night, I lay in bed with the blanket pulled up over my face, waiting for him. I was determined to hold out through sheer stubbornness. And I lasted longer than usual. But still, Joo Seunghyuk didn’t come.

Maybe he wouldn’t enter the room unless I was fully asleep.

My eyelids started getting heavier. I was reaching my limit.

Honestly, I couldn’t even tell whether I’d lasted ten minutes or ten hours.

“Seunghyuk, I miss you...”

I whispered the words—and then fell asleep.

With a sliver of hope that when I opened my eyes tomorrow, he’d be beside me.

He’d given me everything I asked for so far. So tomorrow, he’d show me his face.

He would. I was sure of it...

***

When I opened my eyes the next morning, I was stunned.

The once-empty basement was now packed with things.

The new bookshelf was full of books. A massive TV had been installed. There were Blu-rays, a game console, a full set of name pens—everything I’d blurted out yesterday was there.

But Joo Seunghyuk was not.

I looked at the bottle of wine sitting on the desk. So this was the famous “Lascara-go.”

A bottle worth tens of millions... and he’d even brought cheese without me asking. And yet he still wouldn’t show me his face.

Do I really disgust him that much? Then just abandon me altogether—what is all this?

Looking at everything he’d filled the room with, something surged up inside me.

Do you really hate me this much? What the hell? I thought I was finally starting to understand you—but now I don’t know what you’re thinking at all.

“You bastard. If you’re not going to drink with me, I’ll just drink it myself!”

I popped open the wine and drank straight from the bottle. Being an ability-user wine, it burned like fire down my throat.

***

The basement door opened, and Joo Seunghyuk stepped inside.

He looked at Lee Yeonsu, collapsed on the floor.

Yeonsu was asleep, clutching the wine bottle tightly.

Joo Seunghyuk gently pulled the bottle from his arms. Lascara-go was infamous for its high alcohol content, even among wines. He’d thought Yeonsu would give up after a few sips—but over half the bottle was gone already.

Seriously... he never knows his own limits.

Joo Seunghyuk set the bottle aside and picked Yeonsu up.

The shackles clinked with a sharp metallic rattle.

He laid him down on the bed and pulled the blanket over him. Then he sat on the edge and stroked Yeonsu’s small face. His cheek was cold from sleeping on the floor.

“Why would you sleep there... ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) You’ll catch a cold.”

Joo Seunghyuk brushed a finger across Yeonsu’s lips, now tinted a purplish hue from the wine. Soft, even breaths grazed his fingertips.

Beautiful—and terrifying.

You never know what might come out of that mouth.

Joo Seunghyuk kissed him. After a moment, he slowly pulled away.

He stood to leave the bed.

But before he could go, a hand grabbed his.

“Got you!”

Lee Yeonsu, now wide awake, was holding onto his hand—beaming with a bright, radiant smile.