Chapter 21: The Moment the Rope Snapped

“Your treatment’s going well, right?”

I followed him into the practice tent, hovering around Gyesa as I asked.

Without saying a word, Gyesa silently focused on what he was doing.

Though he ignored my persistent presence as if I didn’t exist, it seemed different to everyone else.

“You crazy b*tch….

Why are you so damn annoying lately?!”

To the ringmaster, the sight of me must have been irritating enough to make his hand itch.

“You can’t even earn your keep…!”

His thick palm struck my right cheek.

With a sharp smack, my head snapped to the side.

I heard gasps being sucked in from all around.

“You can’t even perform a trick, so why are you hanging around like this?

Do you still not know where you belong?!”

His hand cut through the air again.

I lost my balance and collapsed to the ground.

No matter how many dozens or hundreds of times I endured it, this kind of violence never became familiar.

“You wretched b*tch.

What makes you think you’re so special….”

With dull thuds, his heavy boots stomped my back, my stomach, my legs—everywhere.

“Huh….

Not answering?”

As his raised boot swung toward my head, I squeezed my eyes shut.

If he stepped on me like that, I felt like I might actually die.

But even with my eyes closed, the pain didn’t come.

Instead, warmth wrapped around me—and a heavy thud echoed.

“Gyesa, you….”

The one shielding me was Gyesa.

The moment our eyes met, his gaze shook minutely.

It was obvious—his body had moved on instinct.

Gyesa clenched his teeth and looked away from me.

“That’s enough.”

Avoiding my eyes, Gyesa’s jaw jutted out.

He spoke as calmly as he could, but his slightly trembling voice betrayed a rage he couldn’t hide.

“Ha, haha!

You crazy pair….”

The ringmaster’s face flushed red and blue, as if it might burst.

But Gyesa only held on to me and helped me stand.

“I’ll make sure she understands.

Please stop now.

This is disrupting practice.

We still have a show to put on.”

At his words, the ringmaster ground his teeth.

He likely wanted to dispose of both Gyesa and me on the spot,

but as Gyesa said, the show had to go on,

so he couldn’t say anything more.

Instead, he stomped away furiously.

“Gyesa, are you okay?”

I asked him, pale-faced.

Gyesa’s expression twisted.

“You….”

He grabbed my arm tightly and dragged me outside the tent.

Even as I was pulled along, I worried whether he’d been hurt when the ringmaster stepped on him.

When he brought me to a deserted spot, Gyesa sucked in a deep breath.

His chest heaved violently as he panted.

“Are you insane?”

“Gyesa….”

“Do you have no sense at all?

Why do you keep following me around and getting beaten like that?!”

Perhaps he didn’t realize it himself—

that unlike his harsh words, his eyes were painfully distorted.

“Just get lost already!”

“Gyesa.”

At my call, his body flinched.

He muttered “damn it” under his breath and turned his gaze away.

I stepped closer and gently wrapped my arms around him.

“It must have hurt a lot, didn’t it?”

At my question, Gyesa ground his teeth, then grabbed my shoulders with shaking hands and pushed me away.

“I hate you….

I can’t stand you.

So just…!”

He forced the cruel words out.

Eyes twisted as if he might cry, lips trembling—

they proved he was saying things he didn’t mean.

Even knowing that, hearing him say he hated me stabbed my heart deeply.

I couldn’t even imagine how it must feel to say those words, and that made my chest ache even more.

“I know everything.”

“…What do you know?”

“You’re doing it on purpose, aren’t you?

So I’ll leave by myself….”

Gyesa bit down on his lips.

A cold silence settled between us.

Breaking it was his low, grief-laden voice.

“Then can’t you just leave?”

He looked desperate, biting his lower lip hard.

But I was just as desperate.

I shook my head firmly.

“If you stay, I stay too.”

“Aedong!”

“If you get sold off, then I’ll….

I’ll go with you.”

Gyesa’s gaze wavered aimlessly.

Then he clenched his teeth and turned away.

“I’m not leaving your side.”

I took his hand.

His fingertips trembled faintly before he pulled away and bowed his head.

He inhaled sharply, as if collapsing inward, then spoke quietly.

“Then… there’s only one way left.”

When he lifted his head again, his eyes were no longer wavering—

they had sunk deep, like a bottomless abyss.

“Gyesa….”

He slowly turned and walked away.

His back, his heavy steps, looked strangely unstable.

Like a candle flame about to go out, swaying precariously.

After that, Gyesa disappeared for a while.

He didn’t come to meals, nor to practice.

The ringmaster was furious, but Gyesa remained hidden.

Still, the day of the performance arrived, and that day alone, he had no choice but to appear.

When Gyesa emerged from the tent after so long, there was no vitality left in him.

To me, he looked worse than Obaltan had when he faced his enemy.

But it seemed the ringmaster didn’t see it that way.

“If you’re fine, then earn your pay.

Arrogant bastard….”

It was strange.

His wounds had faded a lot, and according to Ggeoksoe, he wasn’t even in pain and was just pretending.

Yet to my eyes, Gyesa looked like someone about to die.

“Gyesa.”

At my call, he briefly met my gaze.

His eyes held no light at all, as if he’d transcended everything.

No anger at the ringmaster.

No tension before the performance.

No concern or affection for me.

Nothing.

My heart dropped.

“Hurry up and get ready!”

We weren’t given time to linger in emotion.

Performers swarmed him, covering the remaining bruises and scars.

Through it all, he stood still, like a dead mouse.

When the assistant shoved Gyesa onto the stage, jeers and gasps flew again.

“Wow, he’s really pretty.”

“Hah, wonder if he’s even got the goods!”

Normally, Gyesa would have smiled slyly and flustered the audience.

But now, he silently took the microphone.

The band’s accompaniment began, yet he just stood there, unmoving.

“f*ck, has that bastard lost his mind?!”

The ringmaster raged.

Even so, Gyesa stood there blankly.

“That crazy bastard’s trying to ruin whose show?!”

The ringmaster fidgeted, then opened the box where Geummok was kept.

“No!

If you release it now—!”

I tried to stop him, but the ringmaster ignored me and released Geummok.

As the large snake—thick as a wooden pillar—appeared, the murmuring audience screamed.

As trained, Geummok slithered up Gyesa’s body.

When the snake coiled tightly around Gyesa’s motionless torso, the audience buzzed.

“Isn’t this an accident?”

“No way….

It’s part of the show, right?”

Geummok slowly tightened around Gyesa’s throat.

It squeezed hard enough to draw blood to his pale face, yet he didn’t make a sound.

Normally, this was when Gyesa would kiss Geummok to signal it to play dead and loosen its grip.

But as Gyesa stood still, unaware Geummok continued to crush him with full strength.

“Ghk…!”

At last, a death-rattle-like groan burst from Gyesa, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed backward.

“Kyaaak!”

“H-he’s—!”

The audience screamed in chaos at the sight of him falling.

Backstage erupted as well.

“That crazy bastard…!

Get him off, now!”

A few clowns rushed onto the stage, but hesitated, unable to approach the massive snake.

“Idiots!”

Without realizing it, I climbed onto the stage.

“Hey, you crazy b*tch—!

Where do you think you’re going?!”

Ignoring the ringmaster’s shout, I approached Gyesa and Geummok.

The snake, still coiled around him, turned its black eyes toward me, flicking its tongue as if warning me not to come closer.

Facing the sharp, animal black eyes—so unlike Gyesa’s—I felt my heart pound.

“Geummok.”

Still, I moved toward it slowly.

All the while, Geummok continued to constrict Gyesa, hissing softly.

I pressed my lips to the bridge of its nose.

The snake paused, watching me.

“Geummok.”

When I kissed it there once more, Geummok loosened its body and went slack.

Groaning with effort, I lifted its heavy coils and carried it backstage.

As if on cue, the clowns rushed to Gyesa’s side and carried him away.

Left alone on the empty stage, the audience jeered and shouted.

“What a garbage show!”

“Total waste of money!”

Ignoring the noise, I placed Geummok back into its wooden box.

Before slipping inside, the snake met my gaze, its eyes glittering gently.

For the first time, the wooden box that fit Geummok so perfectly looked unbearably cramped.

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