Bound by Obsession || Jeongcheol ||

Part 20-The Fragile Illusion of Freedom

The days became an unending spiral of captivity, an echoing silence where every breath Jeonghan took felt monitored, every footstep muffled by the invisible chains Seungcheol had wrapped around him. Trapped in the sprawling mansion, Jeonghan felt like a ghost haunting a place that wasn't truly his, where he no longer belonged. Even the sunlight through the windows seemed foreign, distant, as if refusing to penetrate the oppressive gloom that shrouded him.

His only solace lay in fleeting moments: a cool breeze filtering through the open library window, a few moments spent watching the trees sway outside. But even here, in these rare patches of quiet, he was never truly alone. Seungcheol's presence haunted him, a possessive shadow that trailed him wherever he went, a gaze that bore into him, reminding him that every inch of his life belonged to someone else.

Tonight, that presence loomed stronger. As Jeonghan prepared to sink into what little comfort his bed offered, he felt the quiet shatter with Seungcheol's voice, a soft yet commanding call that rippled with power. He followed its pull down the dimly lit corridors until he reached Seungcheol's study. The room was bathed in the golden glow of firelight, casting long, grotesque shadows across Seungcheol's face, twisted into a mask of eerie calm.

"Come in," Seungcheol said softly, his voice a velvet-covered blade. Jeonghan's heart pounded as he stepped forward, sitting across from Seungcheol as the silence closed in like a tightening snare.

A cruel smile tugged at Seungcheol's lips as he leaned forward, his eyes narrowing with an intensity that made Jeonghan's blood run cold. "Do you even understand what you mean to me, Jeonghan? You're my light, the only precious thing in this godforsaken world," he murmured, his voice laced with dark fervor. "But people like you never stay, do they? They think they can walk away. That they have a choice."

Jeonghan felt a shiver run down his spine. This was a warning, a reminder that Seungcheol was not a man bound by moral constraints, that his love was a creature with sharp claws and no boundaries.

"But I won't let you leave," Seungcheol continued, his tone dropping to a dangerous whisper. "Everyone I've ever cared about has left me, abandoned me in a world that took everything from me. But you won't. I won't let you. I'll burn everything to the ground if it means keeping you with me."

Jeonghan's chest tightened. The weight of Seungcheol's obsession crashed over him like a storm, pulling him deeper into a darkness that had no end. But he steeled himself, forcing his voice to remain calm, the words he dared to speak teetering on a thin edge. "Seungcheol, I'm not... something to be owned."

A bitter smile crossed Seungcheol's lips, his eyes flashing with anger and something far worse, a need so deep it felt like a bottomless void. "You're wrong," he whispered, his voice trembling with suppressed rage. "You're all I have, Jeonghan. My only anchor in a world that would see me destroyed. I won't let you go. Not to anyone. Not even to yourself."

The silence that followed was suffocating, pressing down on Jeonghan as Seungcheol moved closer, his hand reaching out to cradle Jeonghan's face. His touch was surprisingly gentle, yet the darkness in his gaze made Jeonghan's heart hammer with terror. "You think you're afraid of me now?" he murmured, his voice a chilling caress. "This is only the beginning. You belong to me, Jeonghan, and I'll make sure that no one, no friend, no family, no fleeting hope will come between us."

Jeonghan felt his resolve falter, his mind racing with the realization that there was no easy escape from this nightmare. He was caught in a web woven from Seungcheol's twisted love and scars, and with every passing moment, the threads grew tighter, binding him inescapably to Seungcheol's dark world.

"I'll stay," Jeonghan finally whispered, forcing himself to meet Seungcheol's gaze. Satisfaction flickered in Seungcheol's eyes, a dark gleam that told Jeonghan he'd taken another step into the trap. But beneath the mask of submission, a small part of Jeonghan held onto a desperate promise, to find a way out, no matter the cost.

But then, Seungcheol's next words shattered that fragile hope.

"I want us to be bound forever," Seungcheol murmured, his voice filled with a possessive zeal. "I want us to get married, Jeonghan." His words hung in the air, a chilling declaration that wrapped around Jeonghan like a vice. Before Jeonghan could protest, Seungcheol leaned in, pressing a series of slow, possessive kisses to his face, each one branding him with the weight of a twisted vow.

"I've already planned everything," Seungcheol whispered against Jeonghan's skin. "This month, you'll be mine forever. No one will ever come between us again. You said you'd stay by my side, and I'll make sure you keep that promise."

Jeonghan felt the world spin, the walls closing in as Seungcheol's words sunk deep into his heart. He had thought he could survive this long enough to find a way out. But Seungcheol's love was not a storm he could weather, it was an unbreakable chain that would drag him down into darkness. And for the first time, he truly understood the depth of the horror awaiting him. Seungcheol would bind him for eternity, with no intention of letting him slip away.

As Seungcheol pulled back, a satisfied smile on his lips, Jeonghan felt the last fragments of his hope crumble. And yet, somewhere deep inside, a quiet voice stirred, a desperate spark refusing to be snuffed out. He would find a way, someday, to escape the shadows and free himself from the grasp of the devil who held him captive.

But as Seungcheol's gaze burned into him, that hope seemed fainter than ever, a distant light drowning in an ocean of unrelenting darkness.

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