The hyenas attacked again.
— So, Nari? No smile today?
— Maybe the boss didn't give her her dose of—
— She must be craving it, look at her, she looks miserable!
She turned around.
Slowly.
Too slowly for it to be impulsive anger.
Too slowly for it to be fear.
Her smile was thin, almost gentle.
But her eyes…
Her black eyes were burning.
— It's fascinating, really…
The two froze.
— This pathetic need you have to talk about me. It must be exhausting having a life as empty as your heads.
One step toward them.
They stepped back.
— You wanna know who I'm sleeping with? Ask the boss. He'll tell you I make him beg for hours. And you? You just bark like dogs in heat for crumbs of attention. So shut your fucking mouths. And go fuck yourselves.
Silence.
A thick, icy, sublime silence.
She turned around, grabbed her bag, and walked out.
For the first time in a long time…
she felt alive.
Truly alive.
7:32 p.m. — Apartment.
The rain was still falling.
She opened the door.
Soaked.
Breathless.
Drained.
And there —
in the living room —
two voices.
Laughter.
Her heart slowed.
Then exploded with fear.
Her boyfriend was sitting on the couch…
and across from him, legs crossed, slow smile…
Sion.
— Oh, Nari! You never told me about your coworker!
He's super cool, come here! He told me the funniest stuff!
Sion lifted his eyes toward her.
Calm.
Confident.
As if he already lived there.
— I told you I'd come see you, he murmured.
The ground vanished under her feet.
Her heart…
her breath…
her sanity…
All turned to dust.
The kitchen was lit by a trembling yellow bulb, the kind that made everything look narrower, more intimate, more dangerous. Nari rushed in like someone escaping into a bunker, her hands still shaking, her breath cut off by the sight of Sion sitting in her living room, in her life, in her fragile calm.
She grabbed the counter, tried to find a normal breath, a normal thought, a normal reaction.
But nothing was normal.
Her fingers trembled too much.
Her throat was too tight.
Her heart beat too fast.
He has no right to be here.
Not here. Not in front of him. Not with my boyfriend in the next room.
Not in my life.
Not in my head.
She inhaled.
Once.
Twice.
— The faster he eats, the faster he leaves… she murmured to herself, like a prayer, like a mantra.
A breath behind her.
She flinched.
Turned around.
He was already there.
Sion.
Leaning against the fridge, massive silhouette, dark, relaxed like a predator who has already cornered his prey, golden eyes fixed on her as if nothing else existed — not the world, not the rain, not her drunken boyfriend on the couch.
— Your boyfriend is… endearing, he whispered, letting his fingers glide along the edge of the counter.
Each syllable vibrated, warm, slow, dangerous.
— He told me, with shining eyes, how you're "his whole life."
A silence.
A smile.
— What a fragile little creature. And… boring to death.
Nari felt shame rise.
And anger.
And something else.
— Shut up, Sion.
She tried to step past him.
He placed his hand on her waist.
Just enough to stop her.
Just enough to make her lose all coherence.
— You know what I think? he murmured against her ear, so close she felt the hot brush of his breath.
— He just fell asleep on the couch.
She turned abruptly.
— Actually, he makes me come way more than you ever could.
A lie.
Violent.
Necessary.
Like a knife she shoved into his pride.
She saw something pass in his eyes.
A dark flash.
A threat.
He stepped forward.
She stepped back.
Her back hit the sink.
A silence.
Thick.
Electric.
— You're a bad liar, Nari.
She smiled — a trembling smile, a defiant smile, a smile saying don't come closer and come closer at the same time.
He pinned her against the sink.
His hip against hers.
His hand slid under her skirt.
Brutal.
Possessive.
Between her thighs.
A shock tore through her body.
— Sion… stop…
Another lie.
She grabbed his face.
Her fingers tightened on his jaw.
She bit his lip, so hard a metallic taste surfaced between them.
— You think you can compare to him?
Her voice was low, shaking, but venomous.
— He makes me scream. He takes me slowly, deeply…
She pressed her hand against his zipper.
— His hands on me… his tongue… I come just thinking about it.
She saw his throat tighten.
His breathing grow heavier.
His fingers tighten on her thigh.
She gained one step.
One breath.
One victory.
She unzipped him.
Slid her hand inside.
Took him.
Slowly.
Roughly.
She jerked him off as if she wanted to punish him, break him, keep him.
Her gaze locked in his.
He let out a growl, low, deep, almost animal.
— If he makes you come that much… why did you beg me to fuck you?
She smiled.
A beautiful smile, cruel, beautiful again.
She sped up, made him moan, made him harden even more.
— Because I like to play. You were just one among many. Nothing special.
Lie.
Again.
Again.
Again.
He slammed her against the wall, his hot breath on her mouth, his fingers gripping her hips.
She felt the explosion in her belly.
Hers.
His.
Theirs.
Their two fires melting together.
Then suddenly — he froze.
He stepped back.
Sharp.
Clean.
As if touching his own desire had burned him.
— This little game is going to cost you.
She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
Staring at him.
Without shaking.
— Then go ahead. I never lose.
His golden eyes gleamed with a dark, terrible light.
— You have no idea what you're getting into…
He grabbed his jacket.
Looked at her one last time.
A look that promised the end of the world.
And left.
The door slammed like a gunshot.
Outside, in the black car, he clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white.
He wanted her.
Only for himself.
The game was turning.
He was burning.
In the living room, silence had fallen.
Her boyfriend slept, the can still in his hand.
She collapsed to the floor, flushed, sweating, seconds away from screaming his name.
Shame, hunger, fear — all tangled together.
— You're insane… she whispered.
She went back to the living room.
Covered her boyfriend with a blanket.
Placed a kiss on his forehead.
— I hope one day… I'll be able to settle for you…
But she already knew.
The fire was lit.
And nothing would put it out.