At the chill that crawled over his voice, Seoryeong instinctively stepped back. Being alone with Lee Wooshin on Russian drugs was a lousy choice. She tried to slip away on silent feet, and he clicked his tongue like a ghost catching her in the act.

“Don’t move.”

Color drained from Seoryeong’s face. She had just told him he’d swallowed an aphrodisiac. So why lock the door, why draw the curtains, and... why was he playing with Natalia’s hair?

It felt like a flint sparking in her chest. She stood there, glaring at the Wooshin before her as if she could kill him.

If he so much as lays a finger on Natalia... If you do that kind of thing... I’ll forgive it even less than the two times you deceived me. Yes, I will....

She clenched her teeth to tamp her feelings down, then let her face go flat again. Then she held her breath and waited for him to come right up to her.

“Why doesn’t the housekeeper trim her nails? And the nail beds are awfully small.”

Closing in, Wooshin bent at the waist and drew in a deep breath.

“Most people only get a callus on the middle finger where the pencil rests. But yours were curiously all over. Old blisters, too, sunk deep like tree rings. Want me to guess?”

“......”

“You’ve got them in your palms, too. Like someone who’s been gripping a pull-up bar.”

Seoryeong’s heart dropped; she clenched her palms tight.

“I can see that rough, gritty pattern plain as day.”

When he reached for her hair again, she jerked her head away. His hand cut only air, and he lowered it, throat working dryly.

“...I’m going to touch you a bit now—”

Not a chance. Seoryeong sent the tray crashing and bolted for the door. But as if he’d expected exactly that, Wooshin beat her there, hefted the panting Seoryeong over his shoulder.

“—Don’t be startled.”

Her full chest crushed against his scapula; she could hardly breathe. She fought with everything she had, but her arms and nape were clamped in an animal grip, and she was shoved face-down onto the sofa.

Ugh...! Her nose mashed against the leather and went numb. She barely dragged air through her tightening throat. In that instant, Wooshin straddled her hips, tore her stockings, and took one bare sole in his hand.

He began to handle it as if counting every callus ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) embedded in the sole. Only then did Seoryeong start to writhe, stunned. This was the man who had seen through a woman with brown hair and brown eyes in a single glance. No doubt his monster’s instinct had flared again.

Grimacing, she tried to slip off the sofa. She kicked back and thumped the man’s forehead with her heel, and he bit down on her heel at once.

“Let go...!”

Wooshin said nothing, only clamped hard on her ankle. Seoryeong set her brows like iron and shot him a fierce look.

Just then, warm breath touched her skin—Wooshin was rubbing his forehead against her small sole. She could feel his hand faintly trembling.

“...I’d like you to work at my estate as long as possible. If you want, I’ll make you rich. I’ll raise your pay by dozens of times, and give you bonuses every season.”

What kind of maid gets performance bonuses...? The absurd offer made her frown.

“In return, take it as pity for a bastard who got thrown away and tell me something.”

He squeezed her slim ankle until it hurt.

“My wife doesn’t trust me.”

“......!”

“How can I take this heart out and show it, and be forgiven?”

He sucked in rough breaths, as if scraping together patience.

“What on earth should I...—”

He muttered like a man being strangled and clutched his forehead. Watching him wrestle his emotions down made something lurch inside her.

Then, as if panicking, he raked his hair back and hurriedly let her go, grabbed the cup left on the table, and knocked it back like poison.

“—!”

Seoryeong’s mouth fell open in shock. That—why would you drink all of that—! She rolled right off the sofa and slammed her palm between his shoulder blades. Wooshin hacked, coughing again and again, a low groan scraping out.

“Russian aphrodisiacs have been notorious since forever. If they wanted my bastard, they probably used the strongest stuff. When you jack up impulse control hard enough, some people lose their memory.”

“What were you thinking...!”

“The fever spikes like hell. The muscles start to spasm.”

“......”

“Even a brush of air makes the skin sting and ache.”

“......”

“After you black out, desire can run wild over reason.”

Then why...! Seoryeong couldn’t make sense of his madness.

“It used to be infamous as a Spetsnaz torture method. If you can’t beat the sexual urge, you spill classified information or get turned easily. That’s why the first thing you learn in sex training isn’t technique—it’s how to sever lust and endure.”

Through every sense she could tell he was getting worked up bit by bit. Sweat was beginning to seep from his body. At some point the drug’s heat had flared explosively, reddening his skin; the breath he let out through parted lips came hot and ragged.

She backed up, hand braced on the sofa; the leather creaked. Even that made Wooshin’s shoulders twitch, hypersensitive.

“For me, those drills were like drinking cold porridge.”

Suddenly he bared his teeth, yanking at his collar as if even the thin shirt choked him. Heat hives like raised welts bloomed along his nape from the forced rise in temperature.

Is this... safe? Worry crept in.

“The heat was laughable, and holding back was easier than blinking—”

He stood there staring straight at Seoryeong. She couldn’t make out his expression, but even bandaged, his eyes were fixed solely on her.

“Maybe it was because the thing I wanted most wasn’t right in front of me.”

Each time he opened and closed his fist, the tendons stood out thick. The heat pouring off his skin seemed to seep into her gut.

“Still, there’s always only one person first. Let me prove I’ll never hurt you again. If trusting is hard, start by using your own eyes.”

“......!”

“Protecting you is my instinct.”

But she could plainly see his body failing by the second. His knees buckled, and he sank, pressing his forehead to the sofa. His bangs, soaked in sweat, hung limp; he even muttered nonsense.

He tried over and over to brace his legs and stand straight, steadying his breathing, but his condition slid only further downhill. It was like gravity pressed only on him.

Seoryeong swallowed hard and steadied her wavering heart. She had to do something. First, get a wet towel... Tell someone he was having a reaction, that the drug wasn’t normal. There was no time to lose. The instant she moved—

“Baby, come here....”

A rough voice, metal rasping through it, leaked out. Seoryeong just stared at his broad torso. At that single unfamiliar call, the blood in her body drained to her toes in a rush; her legs twitched on their own.

What... is this? The headache that had been there all along vanished, and a tantalizing almost-memory hovered just out of reach. Even she couldn’t understand her own reaction.

Then Wooshin’s back suddenly gave out, and he lurched hard. She grabbed him on reflex, and it was like clutching a hot brand.

Haa, haa... Heat soaked into her earlobes and cheeks, and some thick scent throbbed in the air. At the same time, Wooshin let out a short gag.

“—”

She looked down and saw something darkening his linen trousers.

“Ah....”

Not pain—he was really... The drug was really taking hold.... She’d only ever dealt with sedatives that put Wooshin under; the opposite was a first, and her throat bobbed hard.

“Seoryeong.”

Being found out didn’t even surprise her anymore. She threw her arms around him again as he swayed, and—ugh—Wooshin groaned.

She could feel the gooseflesh race over his skin even through the shirt. At some point, the bulge had reared up under his pants; his thick pectorals swelled. Veins twined like roots along his taut neck, pulsing each time he exhaled.

At this distance, it felt like she was face to face with something wild. And each time he moved, something viscous squelched.

“That’s all fine... but don’t touch. Let’s keep it to your eyes.”

If she kept taking this unbearable heat head-on, something inside her might break. Even with a scarlet warning light flashing in her head, all she could think was that she had to use this chance to force a confession.

She ripped the voice-modulating film from her neck without hesitation.