Timeless Love || Jinx (Manhwa)

Chapter 14: Inner Thoughts, Intrusive Thoughts

―No, please, no, no, no. ― Dan murmured to himself, hitting the device with the side of his hand as he tried over and over to turn it back on, but it wasn't responding, and the only thing looking at him back from the other side of the screen were his teary eyes staring at him. His own reflection letting him know it was over. How did it ran out of battery? Wasn't it fully charged when he took it?

He tried to turn it on desperately, feeling a rush of adrenaline going up and down from his pumping heart all the way to the tip of his fingers as he pressed the 'On' button like a maniac, but it was useless: the device was dead. With hands that trembled as if they couldn't fathom to believe his new destiny, Dan left the device on the table and walked back a couple of steps from it, impotent. He looked around, feeling a shiver walking down his spine when it hit him: He was never going back home, and would probably stay as Jaekyung's sex toy forever.

'I thought you liked it.' One of his thoughts whispered in his head.

He couldn't have liked it that much, can he? Dan quickly shaking it off as if he was going crazy. He couldn't live like this, even if Jaekyung acted differently that night, it wasn't what he wanted. He wanted to go back home, with his grandma, his uncle who was coming back after what seemed a problematic eternity, his job as a physical therapist despite having to deal with that creep. Even if Jaekyung was fairly decent that night, nothing assured him he wouldn't go crazy like in the very first time they met, and he wasn't on the expectancy to wait for the moment he decided he'd had enough of him. He had to take the manners into his own hands before someone took them for him.

He wandered in his room for a couple of hours, tracing circles around it. He had walked so much his legs were starting to feel sore, and there was the possibility his path was already traced around the wood. He stopped in his way, looked at his feet, his hands, and wondered just how sure he was to do it. There wasn't anything he could use in that room to fulfill his objective: There were a couple of pillows, some cushions, a table, but that's pretty much it; He had to look for an alternative. He found himself walking outside of his room, where a fresh breeze of air hit his hair and the silence of the night murmured in his ears. Surprisingly enough, Kyong wasn't right outside his door like usual.

'I bet Lord Joo killed him for your incompetence."

It was a possibility, but also it could be that they were in the middle of the shift change. It was late at night, and if this was his only window of opportunity then that was it. He looked left and right, finding the entrance guard patrolling his area. The man stopped in his tracks once he noticed the cure was outside of the room and, fearing the worst, approached him in a frighten fast pace.

―Sir, I'm going to ask you to go back to your room.

Dan gulped, making something up before this guard ruined it all.

―I'm just heading to the kitchen. I'll fetch a cup of water and then I'm going back... You can even see me from over here if you'd like.

The guard, although still skeptical of his intentions, nodded, much to Dan's relief. He stood still in his spot as Dan looked around and quickly found the kitchen's doors, letting his feet walk on their own. His hands were still trembling, thinking of his grandma, his estranged uncle, his creepy boss and over it all, Lord Joo. He was going to find someone else soon anyway, so why is he thinking of him in this decisive moment? Was it the fear of being caught, or of what was going to happen once the only thing left of him was his lifeless flesh?

Under the stare of the guard, Dan walked slowly towards the kitchen, assuming it would be empty at that time in the night. He opened the door softly, looked at the guard one more time, and proceeded to walk in. He was decided: The pain was ending that night.