Chapter 30.2

Chapter 30.2

When their eyes met, he tilted his head slightly and pressed a soft kiss against her lips.

It was more of a teasing peck than a real kiss. The brief touch ended with a faint smacking sound before Gukhyun whispered,

“Didn’t want you to get scared.”

“This is scarier.”

Heeju wiped her lips with the back of her hand. The lingering sensation from the fleeting contact made her want to scrub at the spot. Gukhyun frowned slightly as he watched her, then pulled her hand down and started walking ahead.

The air was thick with the scent of dust. A faint light seeped in through a vent in the ceiling, making the floating dust particles shimmer like grains of sand.

From somewhere deeper inside, the eerie sound of water dripping echoed through the passage.

There were two of these underground tunnels? This place was practically designed for covering up crimes.

As that thought crossed her mind, Gukhyun spoke in a quiet voice, as if he had read her thoughts.

“What if I suddenly decided to kill you here and now?”

He had been the one to hold the door open so kindly, inviting her in first. And now, he was scolding her for following him without thinking? Heeju glanced up at Gukhyun’s profile in silence.

He walked ahead at a lazy pace, smirking as if he enjoyed her gaze on him.

Yeah. Objectively speaking, Kwon Gukhyun was a terrible person.

He was someone who could crush others with brute force and beat them to death without a second thought. Guilt? A conscience? He’d probably tell them to go f3c.k themselves. It was obvious that the scars on his body were tied to countless crimes and illegal acts—so obvious that there was no need to even ask about their origins.

But subjectively?

If he were the type to snap like a madman and lunge at her, he would’ve done so long ago. Kwon Gukhyun had more than enough chances to kill her, yet she was still breathing just fine.

Besides, wasn’t he the one who had dragged her out of the water when she was drowning, swallowing seawater by the second?

His own subordinates found him ruthless, someone to fear and avoid. And yet, strangely enough, she had never been scared of him—not from the beginning. Maybe it was because she had stopped wanting to live anyway.

“Did you forget? You were the one who pulled me out of the ocean when I was trying to drown myself, Executive Director.”

But what about now?

For some reason, Heeju was afraid of what he was about to say next. Afraid of the moment she’d learn that, even from a personal perspective, Kwon Gukhyun truly was a terrible person.

“You used to just say ‘you, you’ all the time, climbing all over me, and now suddenly it’s ‘Executive Director’ again? That feels distant, baby.”

Gukhyun squeezed her hand tighter, rubbing the back of it suggestively.

“Was there ever really a debt in the first place?”

At those words, Gukhyun turned his head to meet her gaze.

Heeju searched his face for even the smallest reaction—unease, hesitation, irritation, anything—but as always, he simply looked calm.

“What, do you think I made up a fake debt just to play around with you?”

“It just doesn’t add up, no matter how I think about it.”

“Still playing detective? You really are just a kid.”

Like he was dealing with a child, Gukhyun gently patted the back of her head before shining the flashlight toward the stairs.

“We’re here. Go up first.”

Heeju climbed the stairs first, with Gukhyun following closely behind—so close that she could feel his firm chest press against her back. Stretching out his arm, he reached past her to open the door at the top of the stairs. Trapped within the space of his arms, Heeju held her breath for a brief moment.

As the door swung open smoothly, warm air rushed in, making her hair flutter before settling back down. Stepping inside together, they entered a room with a refrigerator, a sink, and a countertop.

Heeju glanced around. Judging by the size, it seemed like a secondary kitchen.

“Where is this place?”

Gukhyun casually opened a cupboard and asked, as if it were nothing out of the ordinary, “Want some ramen?”

Inside the cupboard, there was an overwhelming stockpile of instant noodles, as if preparing for a war. Spicy, mild, black bean, cold noodles—every variety was packed in so tightly that it looked like a convenience store shelf.

And that wasn’t all. There were instant rice packs, canned ham, canned tuna, and even bags of snacks. Even if someone were trapped here, they could easily survive for several months.

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