Bound by Obsession || Jeongcheol ||

Part 28-The Price of Defiance

Jeonghan had tried, once again, to escape.

The mansion had become a gilded cage, its cold stone walls pressing in on him with every passing day. His attempts to break free had been futile before, every plan, every quiet plea to himself, crushed under the weight of Seungcheol's possessive gaze. But this time, something in him had snapped. Maybe it was the way the tension between them had built to an unbearable peak, the constant feeling of being watched, of being owned. Maybe it was the way Seungcheol's touch, once passionate, had turned suffocating, the love bites on his neck now scars of ownership rather than affection.

Whatever it was, Jeonghan could no longer bear it.

That night, under the cover of darkness, he slipped from his room with trembling hands, heart pounding in his chest like a frantic drum. He had waited for the perfect moment, Seungcheol's back turned, distracted by whatever work he was buried in. It was a risky move, a desperate one, but Jeonghan couldn't take the feeling of being a prisoner anymore. He needed to get out, to break free, to breathe without the weight of Seungcheol's shadow over him.

But as soon as his foot hit the cold floor of the hallway, the door creaked open with a sound that felt too loud in the oppressive silence. Before Jeonghan could even reach the stairs, Seungcheol's voice sliced through the air like a blade.

"Did you think you could leave me?" Seungcheol's words were calm, too calm, dangerously so. Jeonghan froze, his breath catching in his throat.

His heart skipped a beat as he slowly turned to face Seungcheol, standing in the doorway like a dark specter. His eyes glowed with a mixture of rage and disappointment, and Jeonghan's chest tightened in fear, the instinct to run surging through him. But Seungcheol was already advancing, the slow, measured steps of a predator.

"I told you once," Seungcheol said, his voice low, a dangerous lull. "There's no escape from me. You belong to me, Jeonghan."

The words, once laced with a possessive affection, now felt like a threat. Jeonghan's hands trembled as they hung by his sides, but his body was too weak to move. He wanted to cry out, to beg, but there was nothing he could say to stop what was coming.

Seungcheol's grip on Jeonghan's wrist was brutal when he reached him, his fingers digging in with a force that made Jeonghan wince. The grip was a silent warning, the weight of Seungcheol's control pressing into every inch of Jeonghan's skin.

"Do you think you can run away from me?" Seungcheol whispered, pulling Jeonghan back toward him, his lips brushing against the sensitive skin of Jeonghan's ear. "You're mine, Jeonghan. And no one, no one gets away from me."

Jeonghan's heart raced, panic rising in his chest like a choking smoke. He could barely breathe under the intensity of Seungcheol's hold, the fear and the dark, possessive love all mixing into something overwhelming, suffocating.

Tears pricked at the corners of Jeonghan's eyes. He was so tired, so exhausted from running, from hiding, from the constant battle inside his own heart. He had thought, for one fleeting moment, that maybe, just maybe, he could break free, but now, it felt like he had only dug himself deeper into the very prison he was trying to escape.

"I won't leave," Seungcheol murmured, almost tenderly, but there was a twisted edge to his voice, one that sent a shiver down Jeonghan's spine. "Not this time. You need me, Jeonghan. You always have."

Before Jeonghan could speak, could say anything to argue, Seungcheol pulled him in with a sudden, overwhelming force, pressing their bodies together. His lips crushed against Jeonghan's, rough and unforgiving, as though punishing him for his disobedience. Jeonghan gasped into the kiss, the taste of Seungcheol's lips sharp and bitter. His hands moved instinctively, trying to push Seungcheol away, but the man's strength was too much. His arms were like iron bars, holding Jeonghan in place.

"You're crying," Seungcheol observed, his voice low, the intensity of his gaze never leaving Jeonghan's tear-streaked face. "Why? Because you think you're going to get away from me?"

Jeonghan wanted to scream. He wanted to tell Seungcheol that it wasn't that simple, that he wasn't some object to be controlled, but his voice caught in his throat, swallowed by the sobs that wracked his body. He couldn't explain how he felt, how the love and the pain had blurred into something so confusing, so wrong. His heart hurt, not from the pain of Seungcheol's hold, but from the constant ache of being torn between wanting to break free and wanting to stay.

"Please," Jeonghan whispered through his sobs, his voice barely audible. "Let me go."

But Seungcheol only pressed him harder against the wall, his body a shield against Jeonghan's escape. His lips left a trail of bruising kisses along Jeonghan's neck, the same spot where his love bites were still fresh. Jeonghan gasped as Seungcheol's teeth grazed his skin.

"You're mine," Seungcheol murmured, his words a dark promise. "And I won't let you go. Ever."

The room spun, the walls closing in on Jeonghan as he felt the full weight of Seungcheol's possession, his body, his heart, his soul. There was no escape from this, not now, not ever.

But just as Jeonghan thought he would drown in the flood of emotions, Seungcheol's grip loosened. He pulled back, his eyes searching Jeonghan's face, his own expression softening ever so slightly. There was something in the way Seungcheol looked at him now, a vulnerability that matched Jeonghan's own.

"I didn't mean to hurt you," Seungcheol whispered, his voice cracking with something raw and unexpected. He cupped Jeonghan's tear-streaked face gently, wiping away the tears with his thumbs. "I only wanted you to see... I can't live without you."

Jeonghan trembled, his body still recovering from the storm of emotions, his heart a jagged mess. For a moment, the world felt like it had stopped, and all that remained was Seungcheol's touch, gentle now, tender even.

"I... I need you too," Jeonghan said softly, his voice breaking, the vulnerability in his words cutting through the darkness between them. "But I don't know how to deal with this. How to be... yours."

Seungcheol's eyes softened, his thumb tracing Jeonghan's cheek with a delicate touch. "You don't have to figure it out right now. Just know that I'm not going to let you go. Not now. Not ever."

And in that moment, amidst the tangled emotions and dark promises, Jeonghan allowed himself to lean into Seungcheol's embrace. The world outside seemed to fade, and for the first time in a long while, he found solace in the warmth of Seungcheol's arms. There were no more lies, no more pain, only the quiet comfort of being held.

As they stood there, Jeonghan in Seungcheol's arms, everything felt almost right.

Thank you for reading; your support means everything! If you're enjoying the story, please consider leaving a vote or comment, it truly motivates me to keep going, and your feedback lets me know if this is something worth continuing.