Chapter 92: The Safest Place in the World

Ha-jin was closer than the distance between the omega serial killer and the wall where he had fled. Even then, one of Woo-seok’s men stayed behind to block the entrance and cut off any escape route.

“You idiots. You’re all so predictable.”

The omega serial killer sneered at them.

The knife he had thrown flew past Go Ha-jin and struck the small generator beside the desk.

A split second later, a series of thunderous explosions erupted.

Sparks and smoke shot upward.

“You’d better look forward to next time, Woo-seok. Next time, even you won’t make it out alive so easily.”

It happened in an instant.

The man pressed a spot on the wall behind him, and the floor seemed to collapse beneath his feet. His body vanished as though swallowed by a hidden opening.

Then chunks of stone crashed down and sealed the hole completely.

His disappearance was so absolute that the encounter almost felt like an illusion.

But Woo-seok had no attention to spare for that.

He knew chasing someone who knew this place better than anyone would be difficult.

And there was something far more urgent.

Crack!

The chair Ha-jin had been tied to shattered under a single kick from Woo-seok.

The restraints that had bound his arms and legs so tightly came off just as easily.

“Let’s get out first.”

Ha-jin still couldn’t support himself properly, so Woo-seok pulled him into his arms.

There was so much he wanted to say.

So much he wanted to ask.

So much he wanted to confirm.

But the flames that had erupted around the desk were already spreading rapidly through the basement.

Escaping came first.

“That…! We have to take that!”

Even in his dazed state, Ha-jin pointed at something.

The computer on the burning desk.

It was an odd request, but Woo-seok obeyed without questioning it.

Ha-jin wasn’t someone who would say something meaningless in a situation like this.

“Manager Kim. Take it with you.”

Only after Woo-seok carried Ha-jin up the stairs and out into the pitch-black night did Ha-jin finally feel truly safe.

He had finally escaped the serial killer’s grasp.

The cold night air filling his lungs.

Woo-seok’s familiar scent.

Those things alone brought him relief.

Woo-seok gave orders to the men he had brought before helping Ha-jin into the car.

Only after they left the dark, deserted neighborhood and reached the city did he finally stop the car.

Even while they had been driving, dozens of police cars had raced past them toward the building they had come from.

“…You’re okay, right?”

For a long moment, Ha-jin wondered whether the question was really meant for him.

Woo-seok asked it without even looking at him.

His voice was cautious.

As if he had committed some terrible sin.

“…Yeah. More or less.”

“I’m sorry I got there late.”

That apology made even less sense.

Woo-seok never said things he didn’t mean.

He didn’t do things he didn’t want to do.

He didn’t speak empty words.

So Ha-jin knew immediately that the apology was sincere.

But why?

Why was he apologizing?

Because Ha-jin had been kidnapped?

Because he thought he had arrived too late?

None of it had been Woo-seok’s fault.

“I was… really scared.”

The memory of death hovering right in front of him returned all at once.

Being trapped in the same room as a murderer whose identity he didn’t know.

The feeling of that man’s hands crawling over his body.

The certainty that if Woo-seok had arrived even a little later, the knife would have pierced his abdomen, and he would have become the twentieth victim.

Looking back, every part of it had been terrifying.

So terrifying that he never wanted to remember it again.

Until now, those murders had belonged to someone else.

Even when the body had been found in the gallery, he had still been an outsider looking in.

Perhaps because he had watched from a distance, he had somehow become part of the case himself.

“Thank you. For saving me.”

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Heavy rain began pouring from the dark clouds that had been hanging low overhead.

Just like that rain, Ha-jin finally let the weight in his heart spill out.

“A little while ago… there was someone I really wanted to see. I kept wishing that person would come save me quickly. Or if not that… that I could at least see them one more time. I think… I was thinking things like that.”

His emotions came out in a disordered rush.

Like the rain pounding against the car windows.

“I thought about you a lot… Chae Woo-seok.”

What Ha-jin had wanted to say was probably simple.

You don’t have to blame yourself. Coming to save me was enough.

But the words failed to carry that meaning.

Seeing Ha-jin looking at him with a face that seemed on the verge of tears made Woo-seok feel as though a massive stone had been placed on his chest.

Maybe it would have been easier if Ha-jin had yelled at him for being late.

If he had gotten angry the way he usually did.

Thinking about how terrified Ha-jin must have been trapped alone with that madman made it feel as though someone was carving into his heart with a knife.

No words could comfort that.

The rain continued drumming against the car.

Neither of them spoke.

Their eyes met, filled with too many emotions.

I’m sorry. Thank you.

Neither of those words was enough.

Silently, Woo-seok reached out and took Ha-jin’s hand.

He wanted to tell him everything he couldn’t put into words.

“Why did we come here?”

“I figured you wouldn’t want to go home.”

Woo-seok had brought Ha-jin to the apartment where he had lived before the marriage.

Ritz Forest.

The place where they had gathered night after night to plan their fake marriage.

It looked exactly the same as it always had.

Ha-jin had assumed they were going back to the house.

Coming here instead left him momentarily speechless.

“Well… you’re not wrong.”

The truth was, he didn’t want to go back.

He didn’t want to see anyone.

He just wanted somewhere quiet to calm down.

He had no idea how Woo-seok had known that.

“Come here.”

Woo-seok led him to the sofa and sat him down.

Then he sat cross-legged on the floor in front of him.

“What?”

The unfamiliar eye level was already unsettling.

What Woo-seok did next unsettled him even more.

“W-what are you doing?”

Without saying a word, Woo-seok rolled up Ha-jin’s sleeves, checked both arms and legs, then lifted his shirt and examined him all over.

“Take your pants off too. I want to check for injuries.”

“I’m fine, really- ah!”

Apparently Woo-seok hadn’t heard a single word of Ha-jin’s protest.

He wrapped one arm around Ha-jin’s waist and simply pulled his pants off in one smooth motion.

As casually as if he were helping a child.

“You never know. You might think you’re fine because of the shock. Dr. Kim is on his way.”

It was mortifying having his ankles lifted and examined one after another, but Woo-seok’s voice was so serious that Ha-jin couldn’t even complain.

He thought Woo-seok was being unusually serious today.

“I’m okay, right?”

“I think so. Your wrists are a little…”

The rest of him seemed unharmed.

But the ropes had rubbed the skin of his wrists raw, leaving angry red marks.

Woo-seok stared at those injuries in silence.

“It’s nothing. Compared to almost getting my stomach pierced… No, I mean- I’m really okay.”

Ha-jin had only been trying to lighten the mood.

But the dark look on Woo-seok’s face made him immediately abandon the joke.

Thinking about it now, it really hadn’t been the right time for that.

He had only made the atmosphere heavier.

“Do you want to shower first? Or do you want to rest?”

“I’ll shower. I feel disgusting.”

He wanted to wash everything away.

The memory of those hands on his body.

The dust and filth of that basement.

He didn’t want any trace of it left on him.

“Okay. I’ll check on the situation while you’re in there.”

“…You’re not going anywhere, are you?”

“No. I’ll be here.”

After seeing Woo-seok sit down on the sofa, Ha-jin headed for the bathroom.

As he undressed, a thought crossed his mind.

‘Am I some puppy with separation anxiety?’

Why did he want to rely on Woo-seok so much?

This apartment was incredibly secure.

Nothing was going to happen if he was alone for a little while.

And yet, hearing Woo-seok say he wouldn’t leave made him feel relieved.

It had been a traumatic experience, yes.

But not enough that he couldn’t even stay home by himself.

He showered slowly on purpose.

Only after the hot water poured over him did he realize how cold his body had become.

The tension locked in his muscles gradually melted away.

It felt as though even his heart was beginning to thaw.

He repeated it to himself like a spell.

‘This is my safe place. Safer than anywhere else in the world. Nothing can hurt me here. Because Chae Woo-seok is here.’

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