CHAPTER-18: PREDATION

As Dayun entered, he saw that his bedroom was a mess with broken and scattered things. His eyes fell on small pieces of the broken mirror, shattered all over the cold floor. 

That pissed him off even more but he had to hold back his anger. Cassie was standing near the window, staring outside, with her arms crossed and a bitter look on her face. 

''It's time to deal with this nuisance'' He thought to himself and hugged her from behind-

DAYUN: Sweetheart.. did I hurt you?

Cassie angrily pushed him away 

CASSIE: Why? Do you think my heart is made out of stone. I don't feel emotions. (Arrogant tone)

DAYUN: Hey! I know I was at fault. But don't you think you should trust me more when I'm with another woman or do you consider me some playboy jerk. why are you over-reacting?

CASSIE: (raises her voice with teary eyes) What! I'm over-reacting? Seriously? Then how do you expect me to react after you insulted me in front of that b*tch. 

As he was whining on Dayun, Snow sneaked in there and began to rub against her feet. ''Meow!'' she mewed. 

CASSIE: Gosh! stay away from me.. you filthy thing.. (kicks her away) 

Dayun narrowed his eyes and picked him up. 

DAYUN: ''Hey calm down.. okay. (Sighs in frustration) Listen, If you think that I didn't meet your expectations then we can end our relationship here.'' (serious tone)

Cassie never intended to break up with him no matter how coldly he would treat her. 

With an intention of having full control on Dayun, she pulled off the whole drama in front of him but ended up dragging it too far and found herself falling in her own trap. 

She knew that she couldn't find herself such a rich and handsome boyfriend ever in her life.. so she wanted him all to herself. 

After hearing those cold words from him, she burst out in tears which she was holding back. 

DAYUN: ''Please don't cry... You know that I couldn't bear to see you crying. You're gonna melt my heart like this'' (hugs and consoles her)

She tightly hugged him back while sobbing in his arms. ''Shall I consider that.. you don't wanna leave me.. right?'' he asked for her confirmation. 

She couldn't let this chance to get slipped out of her hands. So, she nodded her head without uttering a single word.

Dayun's face got filled with a mischievous grin -

DAYUN: ''Good girl.. Now go wash up until I clear up the place.'' 

Cassie wiped her tears and quietly stepped towards the bathroom. 

After half an hour, she came back wearing a night gown and looked around. 

She was amused to see the whole room was cleaned and Dayun was sitting on the couch, waiting for her. Additionally, he had prepared some champagne for her. 

That scene made her heart flutter and she switched to her usual femme fatale personality thinking that Dayun was making efforts to impress her. 

As he noticed her coming out of the shower room, he made a warm gesture at her to sit on couch beside him. 

After pouring wine in the glasses, he whispered while handing it over to her- 

''let's have a round of your favourite wine before heading to the bed''

Cassie smirked and excitedly accepted the drink given by him. He kept on filling the glasses for her until she began to show the signs of intoxication. But didn't have a single sip by himself. 

She was so lost in savouring the taste of liquor that she failed to notice it. 

It didn't take too long for her to finish more than half of the bottle's content and she got drunk. 

She poured herself on Dayun's lap and hugged him passionately. He slowly ran his unscathed hand through her wet hair locks and sniffed them lightly. 

''(sighs) Usual nasty odor, guess no one is to blame if you're born that way''- he thought to himself.

CASSIE: ''Do I smell nice? (Pulls away from his embrace and smirks)'' 

DAYUN: Of course you do sweetheart (smiles) 

She began to mutter in her tipsy voice- ''You know what...you are.. bad.. but I still love youuu.. I love you... above anyone else. No one can love you.. like I do. So stop glaring at other b*tches otherwise I'll claw out your eyes'' 

Dayun chuckled at her nonsense and looked in her eyes. While tucking her hair strand behind her ear, he mumbled -''Have the drug already kicked in?''

CASSIE: (frowns) - ''what's so funny.. I really mean it cuz.. I love you.. to death.''

DAYUN: Oh really... then that means.. you could die for me. (Smirks) 

Dayun's words sent shivers down her spine. She could see his eyes growing darker which discouraged her to utter even a single word. 

Dayun cupped her face and came closer to her. He narrowed his eyes and asked her- ''Tell me darling.. I want to know.. can you die for me? 

As she stared into his dark and intense eyes, her intoxicated mind struggled to make sense of his question. 

''Is he testing me? Does he really want to know if I could die for him? Okay then, I'll give you an answer'' - she thought to her self as she continued to gaze into his mesmerizing eyes. 

Although she couldn't trust her own thoughts but still dared to answer him bluntly in her staggered voice - ''wh.. what kind of question is it? Of course, honey, I love you so much...and if you want to know then yes..I could die for you'' 

As she stumbled further into the depths of intoxication, Dayun's grip tightened on her waist, his dark eyes burning into hers as if he was waiting for something.

She couldn't help but feel uneasy being in his arms and wonder what his intentions were. 

His fingers traced the outline of her jaw as he smirked, and looked at her neck. 

DAYUN: ''Do you know... what is the most vital point in a human body?'' (looks in her eyes). 

Her eyebrows drew closer and she asked, ''what?'' 

He moved his index finger on her neck from side to side as if searching for a spot and stopped at one place on the right side. 

''hmm... This area seems to be perfect.'' he mumbled. 

A cold sweat broke down on her forehead as his hold on her tightened even more. 

He pulled her closer and softly whispered in her ears, "you love me.. Right!..Then prove it by giving me your life" 

That scared the crap out of her as she noticed the bloodthirst in his eyes. 

She vigorously tried to release herself from his grip but didn't have much strength because of drug consumption. 

He pushed her against the couch and gripped her wrists tightly, ''what happened sweetheart.. Is it all the love you had for me? (Mocks her by making a sad face). 

She kept on struggling and tried to scream but her voice was muffled by his hand. ''Try to scream and I'll slit open your throat right here.'' 

He stared into her eyes with a wicked glint on his own.

She was already intoxicated and the continuous struggle only drained her energy. As her movements slowed down, he finally loosened his grip on her. 

After inspecting her closely, he noticed that she was still conscious 

DAYUN: ''(frowns) Maybe the drug wasn't enough.. Jesus! what a pain.

He stood up and went outside, leaving her alone in the room. A few seconds later, he came back with a metal box in his hands. 

He crouched near the sofa on which Cassie was lying, facing the table and put the box on it. He impatiently took out a syringe and a vial from the box. 

As he was filling the drug in the syringe, he noticed that one out of the two glasses, was missing from the table. 

It didn't take too long for him to realise that something was off. He suddenly turned back and grasped Cassie's hand which held the glass with an intention to blow an attack on him. 

But in an attempt to defend himself, he reflexively used his right hand which was injured. He tried to hide his pain by putting on a straight face. 

DAYUN: (smirks) So bad! You missed the shot, babe. You think you could beat me at my own game. Now be a nice girl and hand over the glass. 

He tried to snatch the glass from her hand and tightened his grip on her hands. 

She struggled hard but his grip was too strong for her to break through it. Due to continuous scuffle among them, Dayun's hand had to undergo repeated trauma which led to staining of the bandages with blood. 

Even after going through the progressive suffering, he wasn't ready to back out. She realised that his hold began to loosen up due to pain. 

He quickly pulled out the filled syringe, he was holding in his other hand and was ready to inject it in her body but before he could do so, she pushed him with all her might. 

Dayun stumbled and hit his back against the table. The syringe slipped away from his hands. 

''Damn! You little b*tch'' he exclaimed in pain. 

She quickly stood up and staggered towards the door. She opened her mouth to call out for help but couldn't bear to scream too loud. 

She kept on crawling towards the door thinking that she could escape but as she reached out her hand to unlock the door, she felt a sharp prick on her neck and then... everything went dark.

She got knocked out and fell on the ground with a thud sound. 

DAYUN: (breathes heavily and throws syringe on the floor)- ''So close... even after being drugged... she still had energy to crawl up to here... What a piece of work. Just a single mistake and I could have f*cked myself. (looks at his bleeding hand) Gosh! look at all the blood ... forget it. Let's clear up the place'' 

He dragged her to the painting room and tied her up with a chair. Meanwhile he heard a knock on the main gate. 

A sudden knock made him anxious and flared up at the same time. He hotfooted towards the door and looked through the peephole. 

It was Evelyn, standing in front of his door with worried expressions on her face. 

He frowned and thought to himself ''Was i too loud?'' 

He corrected his composure and opened the door for her. 

He opened the door for her and welcomed her with a warm smile. Two buttons below the collar of his shirt were opened which were exposing his upper chest. 

She blushed and tried to look away. His expressions were calm and composed but she couldn't shake off the feeling that something was off about him. 

DAYUN: ''Eve-Chan! why are you still awake?''

EVELYN: ''Dayun-sshi, I heard some faint screams and then a loud thud noise, coming from here as if a heavy thing had fallen on the ground. Is.. everything alright?''

Dayun smirked and nervously ran his hand through his silky hair as if feeling shy, 

DAYUN: ''Everything's fine, Eve-Chan. Just a little accident. Actually... those faint screams were.. not screams.. (whispers) I was trying to have some sweet talk with Cassie but she ended up making too much noise. And... the loud thud was when she-...

Evelyn's face got red as she stopped him from saying another word- 

EVELYN: ''I.. I got it, Dayun-sshi.. I don't need explanations. (Blushes and avoids eye contact with him). 

DAYUN: (chuckles and teases her)- ''I guess we were too loud... I'm sorry, Eve-chan. I'll make sure she behaves herself. 

She felt a sharp ache in her heart as she heard his words. She didn't know why she was feeling that way. Was she attracted to him or she had fallen for him, she had to idea. 

Suddenly, her eyes fell on his bleeding hand. She wanted to ignore it but couldn't bring herself to do so. She knew what she was feeling for him was wrong but masked her feelings with the name of humanity. 

EVELYN: Dayun-sshi, you must take care of your injury. It feels like it's getting worse every time I see it. If you are not busy then let me help with your dressing. (Grabs his wrist but he resists going with her) 

DAYUN: Eve-chan, it's already too late. I think you should go to bed. I'll take care of it myself. 

EVELYN: (determined) But It's gonna get worse if you'll leave it like that. It would take just 2 minutes... Let's- (stops her in middle)

DAYUN: Please Eve-chan, I don't like you getting all worked up over my injury. And Cassie's already here to take care of it. You just need to sit back and relax. Have some rest. (Greets her and closes the door)

It was the first time his tone was filled with coldness rather than concern for her, as if he wanted to warn her not to be so caring towards him. 

She stood at the door, spaced out, wondering how much he changed after Cassie's arrival. 

With a heavy heart, she came back to her apartment. She tried to divert her attention towards the project, rather than worrying for the one who could never be by her side. 

After seeing off Evelyn, Dayun went straight to the painting room to check on Cassie. He saw her body lying unconscious and tied with a chair. 

He looked around and mumbled to himself- 

DAYUN: ''These tiny apartments are not soundproof. You can practically hear the person breathing next door. I must slow down the things otherwise it would only stir up more trouble. 

(Looks at Cassie) First, I need to shift this pest to some isolated place

. Let's work on it tomorrow. Rest well until then. 

(Sets a timer of 7 am in the alarm clock and places it near the chair). Good night, my love. (Smirks and locks the painting room behind him)