Chapter 163.1

Chapter 163.1

She abandoned him. Finally, she abandoned him.

With the birds swarming over Lee Wooshin’s body in a black mass, she turned her back on him.

Never look back. Never. Just walk away like this. Relief and devastation twisted inside her. Gritting her teeth, she repeated the words to herself.

One step, two steps, three steps… Seoryeong stumbled out of the warehouse and climbed into the jeep, her hands trembling as she fumbled for the key box.

“Where, where is it?!”

She bit down hard on her quivering lip and slammed her fist against the steering wheel, bang! She was sure she had left the key in the ignition, but it was gone. That bastard took it.

There was no doubt, Lee Wooshin had taken it.

Without hesitation, Seoryeong flung the car door open again. Her shaky legs moved faster and more urgently than when she had fled earlier.

The closer she got to him, the clearer the sound of violent thrashing reached her ears, thud, thud. When she returned to the warehouse, she didn’t hesitate. She immediately loaded the gun.

Bang!

The deafening gunshot sent the birds screeching and flapping wildly into the air. But she had never been skilled with long rifles, not even during training. All she managed to do was blast a useless hole in the wall.

Screech! Caw! The frenzied birds settled back onto the steel beams, their beady eyes glaring as if waiting for a second chance. With the creatures no longer pecking at him, the full extent of Lee Wooshin’s gruesome state became visible…

What the hell is that?

“….!”

Seoryeong instinctively stumbled back.

At some point, he had flipped himself upside down, bracing his legs against the wall as he pounded his fists into it.

Thud, thud. Each heavy strike sent chunks of dirt crumbling down. It seemed he was trying to loosen the nails embedded in the wall to free himself from the chains.

He held himself upright with sheer brute strength, the taut muscles of his back straining visibly through his torn shirt.

Thanks to pressing himself as close to the wall as possible, aside from some ripped fabric, he appeared mostly unharmed.

‘That darnn bastard. I should’ve dr*gged him more.’

As she stared in shock, Joo Seol-heon’s words suddenly echoed in her ears, “Kim Hyun is the kind of man who’d survive even if you tore out his organs.”

Her heart pounded faster, sensing danger.

“Where, where did you put the key?!”

A sharp laugh answered her. His neck flushed red from the rush of blood as he lifted his head and locked eyes with her.

Lee Wooshin’s narrowed gaze fixed on her like prey, even as his fists continued hammering the wall. The rusted nail wedged between the old bricks wobbled precariously.

“You really were going to leave me.”

His voice was eerily empty.

“Lee Wooshin… can’t possibly defeat Kim Hyun?” Thick veins bulged like roots across his forehead. His face was a mess of obsession, frustration, fury, loss, shock, and denial.

“I’m the real one, Seoryeong. Not Kim Hyun, I’m your husband now. But what kind of bastard just lets his wife run away on their wedding night?”

His voice dropped even lower, seething with resentment.

“Did you really think you could escape?”

Another brutal strike to the wall, and the nail jutted out just slightly.

“Sorry, but this won’t take much longer.”

Even through his half-lidded eyes, his gaze remained razor-sharp. She swallowed hard.

She couldn’t waste any more time here. Above all, she refused to be caught by Lee Wooshin. And the way he still didn’t seem to grasp his own wrongdoing only fueled her blazing defiance.

“You can’t leave unless you kill me.”

Every time the wall shook with a heavy thud, her heart plummeted. His chilling voice scraped against the pit of her stomach.

Seoryeong gritted her teeth and began scouring the floor. If he had hidden the car key in his pants pocket, it must have fallen out when he flipped upside down.

Soon, something glinted among the pools of blood spilled across the ground. Without hesitation, she snatched the key and bolted, shaking off Lee Wooshin’s threat like a bad dream.

“Haa… haa…”

Once inside the jeep, she immediately turned the ignition. But no matter how many times she twisted the key, the engine only sputtered and died.

“Come on, faster!”

The sound of fists pounding against the wall still echoed from the warehouse. Anxious, Seoryeong glanced at the rearview mirror before slamming her palm against the dashboard, thud, thud.

“Please!”

An instinctive dread struck her. If she didn’t escape now, he would catch her, one way or another.

Vroom!

The engine finally roared to life, just as something drenched in red burst out of the warehouse.

The moment their eyes met in the rearview mirror.

“Han Seoryeong!”