Chapter 8: It started to get tamed.

“Ugh…!”

“Only six left. Just hang in there a little longer.”

Happy carefully removed each wire embedded in my fingers.

It wasn’t an act of cruelty for her amusement.

If anything, it was filled with genuine care—love, even.

The wires had been driven in so deep that pulling them out carelessly could rupture a blood vessel or tear muscle.

She was making sure that didn’t happen.

“All done. It must hurt a lot, right?”

With the last wire removed, my fingers were finally free.

With her goal of understanding me completely now fulfilled, she had no further use for the torture device.

“Hehe. Now, stay here with me forever.”

Her face came into focus between the haze of blood loss and exhaustion.

Her pink-dyed hair, brightened by her magical transformation, was streaked with my blood.

Even though she had been careful, I had lost too much blood for it to be avoided.

She should have at least wiped it off her face.

Looking at her now…

Smiling while blood dripped down her cheek—

It was the kind of image that could turn into a lifelong nightmare.

“Yeres Sis, you look really tired. You seem sleepy.”

She called my name again.

She called me Sis again.

I wished she would stop.

I prayed that her love for me would disappear.

But Happy had no intention of granting any of my wishes.

Instead, she had plenty of her own.

And each and every one of them was a living nightmare for me.

“Yeres Sis, let’s make a deal.”

A deal?

No.

I had no rights to negotiate.

I had fallen from a queen to a commoner—

No, even worse than a commoner.

There was no right or wrong anymore.

Her words and actions were absolute, and I couldn’t stop them.

Ignoring her wasn’t an option either.

“Sis. Answer me.”

My mind was slipping, drifting in and out as if I were blacking out from alcohol poisoning.

Every time I closed my eyes, I lost track of the conversation.

Happy didn’t like that.

“Ghh…!”

She pressed down on my injured fingers, forcing a sharp pain through my body.

My wounds were already raw, and just the slight pressure felt unbearable.

This time, I didn’t even bother to hold back my cry.

“W-What kind of deal…?”

As soon as I forced the words out, the pressure eased.

Happy lifted her bloodstained fingers and studied them as she spoke.

“If you grant my wish, I won’t punish you, and I’ll heal all your wounds.”

She called it a wish.

But to me, it sounded like robbery.

She dangled punishment and healing before me like a leash, ensuring I couldn’t refuse.

“Don’t overthink it.”

I already had.

The very thought crossed my face, and Happy noticed immediately.

Her expression twitched slightly, just for a moment, before she continued.

“It’s a wish for me, but for you, it’s just a small favor.”

She reached out, fingers moving toward my head.

Was she about to pat me?

Or… was she about to grab my hair and pull?

Either way, she stopped.

Not because she changed her mind—

But because she realized her hands were still covered in blood.

She quickly wiped them off before pulling away.

She had definitely planned to pull my hair.

Her eyes fell on my fingers again, and I panicked.

“What… What’s your wish?”

“Say my name.”

She answered instantly, as if she had expected my question.

A simple request—

Too simple to be called a wish.

But I knew better.

There was weight behind it.

Happy wanted me to accept her into my heart.

Even if I avoided punishment and received healing,

Saying her name felt like losing something.

Still…

My situation was dire.

If I refused, she would punish me even worse.

If I didn’t accept healing, I might not survive.

Not that she would let me die.

Even if I wanted to end this, she wouldn’t allow it.

In the end, I slowly parted my lips.

“…That’s all?”

Happy puffed up her cheeks in mock offense.

“Have I ever lied to you, Sis?

You’re being so mean.”

Her reaction seemed genuine—

But I forced myself to think of it as an act.

Because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to keep up with her emotions.

“If it’s too hard to decide, I can tell you what the punishment will be.”

Before I could answer, she stood up.

Slowly, she reached into her outfit and pulled out a dagger.

The blade gleamed as she channeled magic into it.

“This.”

The metal turned red-hot, glowing from the heat of her magic.

She lowered it slowly—

Until it was inches from my eye.

“I’m going to take your left eye out.”

“…What?”

“And I’m going to put it in here.

I’ll carry it around with me.

That should be fine, right?”

She pulled the blade away and instead held up a cylinder—

A small, clear container, roughly the size of a 500mL plastic bottle.

Water sloshed inside.

“What do you think this is?”

She smiled.

“It’s a souvenir jar.”

I stared at her, unable to comprehend it.

Why…

Why the hell was my eye supposed to be a souvenir?!

She unscrewed the cap.

The unmistakable scent of formalin burned my nose.

It wasn’t just water inside.

She had already prepared it.

“For preservation,” she explained casually.

Then, she tilted her head and smiled.

“Now—choose.”

In the end, I surrendered to Happy’s terrifying imagination and forced my lips to move.

“…Ha… Happy.”

“No, not that name. Call me by my real name. You know it, don’t you?”

She shook her head furiously, pulling out her smartphone and opening a recording app.

Without making a sound, she mouthed the words:

Say it properly.

I swallowed hard under the pressure.

There was no way out of this.

My pride was sold off without hesitation.

“…Park Hyun-seo.”

“Hyun-seo.”

“Yes, Yeres Sis.”

Her face lit up with joy.

With trembling hands, she stopped the recording and immediately edited the file, extracting just the part she wanted.

[Hyun-seo.]

[Hyun-seo.]

[Hyun-seo.]

[Hyun-seo.]

[Hyun-seo.]

[Hyun-seo.]

[Hyun-seo.]

“Haa… I’m so happy.”

Her cheeks flushed as she played back my voice over and over.

I couldn’t bear to look at her.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block it out.

Then, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

Was she that upset that I closed my eyes?

I opened them quickly, expecting to see her usual madness.

But instead, Happy was carefully scanning my entire body, as if inspecting me for even the smallest injury.

Every time she found one, her fingers brushed over it, as if confirming its existence.

She did it a lot.

First, she touched each of my fingers—ones that had been pierced by wires.

Then, she pressed lightly on my broken ankle.

After that, her fingers traced over my swollen cheek, bruised from her repeated slaps.

Finally, she lifted the edge of my clothes and placed her face against my chest, where the spear of light had pierced me.

Even though she had healed it, the scar remained, uneven and raw.

“I want to fix this too… but I guess it’s not possible yet, huh?”

Then, she tapped my solar plexus.

There wasn’t even a wound there.

Yet, she kept touching it.

Maybe, in her mind, that was where my pride had shattered.

Maybe that was where my dream of a normal life had crumbled into dust.

All of it—the scars, the pain, the humiliation—had built up in just a single day.

My mind felt like a glass box filled with sand.

Something that should never break, but could be endlessly shaken from within.

Too many emotions.

Too much restraint.

All of it pushed me to the edge of despair.

And, as always, Happy noticed immediately.

She handled my fragile mind as if she were handling delicate glass—careful not to shatter it completely.

“Sis, let’s make a promise.”

She held out her pinky.

Only her pinky.

“I’m going to pour water on you to heal you.

But if you try to play tricks with it…

I’ll punish you.”

Punish me?

She had already done enough.

What more could she possibly have in mind?

“Hurry.”

“…Fine.”

I stopped thinking.

My hands trembled as I lifted my pinky to meet hers.

She knew my injuries were bad, so she didn’t hook her finger around mine.

She just gently touched it, as if even that was enough.

“Then, let’s begin.”

Finally, water touched my skin.

The feeling was blissful, an overwhelming relief washing over me.

I wanted her to drench me in it,

But, as expected, she was careful.

She poured only the exact amount needed to heal each wound,

One by one.

She started with my thumb, checking to see if the injury disappeared.

Then my index finger.

Then my middle finger,

My ring finger,

My pinky.

Then, she moved to the other hand,

And after ensuring my chest wound had faded,

She healed my broken ankle.

With only a little water left, she brought the bottle to her lips.

But instead of drinking it,

She held it in her mouth,

Then leaned in—

And left a damp kiss on my cheek.

“Hehe. If that felt bad, I’m sorry, Sis.

I just… really wanted to do it.”

That was it.

The last drop of water was gone.

Which meant…

Everything she had done.

Every wound she had inflicted.

Every slap.

Every torture method.

It had all been calculated from the very beginning.