Cozy Obsession

As soon as vacation started, my friend Iheon left for his relatives' house in the United States. With no one to hang out with, life started to feel dull. Day after day, I repeated the same routine—finishing my part-time job, coming home, and studying for my certification exams.

Visiting the auction house and witnessing what could very well become my friend's future was certainly a fresh experience, but I had no desire to wake up in this reality. I wasn’t looking for entertainment that would throw me straight into suffering.

According to the original story, in just a few days, "Seo Heemin" would have to take in a half-mad Cha Iheon, driven to insanity by his pheromone overload. Even if this Cha Iheon was fundamentally different from my real-life friend, there was no way in hell I was letting that happen.

I had never liked anyone before. I had never even experienced a proper first love, let alone romance. There was no way I was going to get caught up in this mess and be forcibly opened up like some unwilling sacrifice.

"If I lose consciousness, maybe I'll return to reality?"

Now that I thought about it, I remembered a novel featuring a protagonist who possessed someone else's body and could travel freely between the real world and a fantasy world through dreams.

Lying flat on the hard floor of the container, I stared blankly at the ceiling, recalling the crude words Cha Iheon had spat at me.

"Wouldn’t it piss you off if some cheap whore selling his ass for pocket change turned out to be your old classmate?"

"I'll take five thousand—no, a hundred million off for one fuck. Try to prove you're worth fifty billion to me."

"Ugh, how vulgar."

If I had really been "Seo Heemin," those words would have chilled me to the bone. But since I had nothing to do with this mess, all they did was make me curl my fingers and toes in secondhand embarrassment.

When Iheon returned to Korea, I should show him Crimson Veil and play out a scene like a role-playing game. He’d probably laugh so hard his stomach would cramp.

It was a bit of a shame that I couldn't check "Seo Heemin’s" face in a mirror right now. But still, experiencing pheromones firsthand and seeing the mafia boss Cha Iheon’s face had been quite the ride.

Since the auction scene had already changed, I needed to check the original novel once I returned to see if the storyline had shifted as a result.

"Seo Heemin" was an overly sensitive person who suffered from anxiety and insomnia. Maybe it wasn’t his body but his mind that was the problem, because the moment I closed my eyes, drowsiness hit me like a wave.

Less than a minute after lying down, I drifted off to sleep.

***

“Are you awake?”

The voice of an elderly gentleman startled me, making my eyes snap open. The ceiling I found myself staring at was different from the yellowed wallpaper of my own room. The color and patterns didn’t match, and the cherry-colored molding that should have lined the corners was nowhere to be seen.

“...Hah!”

I hadn’t returned to reality. I was still trapped in the world of Crimson Veil.

Since they had planned to bring me home to flush out the drugs, the man peering down at me had to be Dr. Hwang.

“Just lie down. There’s still a little IV fluid left.”

As I tried to sit up, Dr. Hwang pressed a firm index finger against my shoulder, stopping me. Looking down, I saw the IV needle still embedded in the back of my hand.

“Where...?”

“You’re at Chairman Cha’s house.”

“And... Secretary Jung?”

“He went to pick up the chairman.”

I blinked slowly, my dazed gaze wandering around the room. Instead of walls, transparent glass partitions enclosed the space, a deliberate design to monitor “Seo Heemin” at all times. The room was unexpectedly modern and stylish—far beyond my expectations.

Though, in the original novel, “Seo Heemin” had despised this room so much that it drove him to a nervous breakdown.

But to me, this so-called “psychotic top’s interior” was perfect. It was nothing like my own cramped, cluttered house. It was spacious, minimalistic—no cherry moldings, no gaudy floral-patterned wallpaper.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Some might have found this house cold and lifeless, but I liked it. Enough to wish I could swap it for my real home.

“Tsk, tsk... Getting caught by those human traffickers and ending up like this...”

Dr. Hwang clicked his tongue as he examined my frail, emaciated arms. As the personal physician of Cha Iheon and the chairman of the corporate crime syndicate Wushin Group, he was one of the few people “Seo Heemin” had ever confided in.

Maybe that’s why, even though this was our first meeting, I found myself instinctively warming up to the white-haired doctor. His pheromones felt kind and reassuring.

Growing up without an older male figure in the house, I had always wished for someone dependable like him. Watching him remove the IV needle from my hand, I hesitated for a moment before speaking.

“Uh... Grandpa.”

“You brat! What the hell do you mean Grandpa! Call me Doctor!”

“Ah, right. Doctor.”

His sudden outburst startled me, making my shoulders slump. Perhaps realizing he had yelled too loudly, he cleared his throat awkwardly before asking,

“What is it?”

“I’m hungry. Let’s make some ramen.”

“...Strange. The drugs should be out of your system by now, yet you’re still talking nonsense. How many fingers do you see?”

Frowning, Dr. Hwang raised his index and middle fingers in front of my face.

“Two. I’m perfectly fine.”

Even mountains should be climbed on a full stomach—IV fluids weren’t enough. I needed carbs. My brain needed fuel to process this absurd situation objectively.

“There’s no one here to cook for you. Go home to Ms. Ahn if you want a meal.”

“I can cook it myself. I make really good ramen.”

“Sick people should rest. Besides, I doubt there’s any ramen in this house.”

Dr. Hwang tossed the empty IV bag into the trash as he spoke. He had a point. Considering that mafia boss Cha Iheon’s fridge only stocked Evian, it was unlikely he kept ramen in the house.

“But I hate Evian... It’s too bland.”

Once, when I was at a convenience store with Iheon, I had stolen a sip of his water after eating ramen and a rice ball. He had claimed it was some expensive imported brand, but to someone used to drinking barley tea made from boiled tap water, it tasted awful. It had completely ruined my appetite.

“What did you just say?”

“Nothing.”

With my hands finally free, I slid off the bed and opened the glass door, stepping into the living room. Thanks to the novel’s detailed descriptions of Iheon’s house, I had a rough idea of where everything was.

As expected, the refrigerator was stocked solely with neatly aligned bottles of mineral water.

Still, just in case, I checked the auxiliary kitchen used by the housekeeper.

“Found it!”

Tucked away in the pantry were two instant ramen cups.

Even if Cha Iheon didn’t eat ramen, the housekeeper clearly did. Well, of course—no matter how fictional this world was, people couldn’t survive on work alone. Everyone needed to eat.

“Doctor, you should have some too.”

“I’ll pass.”

“Come on, eating alone is lonely. Let’s eat together, yeah?”

Before he could refuse, I had already ripped open the plastic and peeled back the lids. Dr. Hwang gave me a long, exasperated look before sighing and nodding.

I filled the cups with hot water from the purifier and waited. Everything in this house—from the appliances to the electronics—was the latest model straight out of a commercial. It was thrilling.

“It’s ready!”

Three minutes later, I peeled off the lid completely. The spicy aroma of the seasoning hit me, and I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply.

“Hurry up and eat. Chairman Cha will be here soon.”

“Enjoy, Doctor.”

I picked up a bundle of noodles and slurped them down.

After being kidnapped, starved for days, and pumped full of pheromone suppressants, “Seo Heemin’s” body was hypersensitive to the rich, savory broth.

It was delicious.

The kind of taste that warms you from the inside, like eating a steaming bowl of soup after waking up in a freezing room.

“...Ah. It’s already gone.”

“You eat better than I expected. Want mine?”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll just drink the broth.”

There was nothing left to pick up with my chopsticks. I smiled at Dr. Hwang, still lingering in the warmth of the meal—

And then, I made eye contact with Cha Iheon.

He strode into the living room with long, deliberate steps.

“...What the hell is this supposed to be?”

His disheveled shirt and loosened tie were stained with blood. Real, human blood.

There wasn’t supposed to be any violence in this chapter.

I froze in place, my mind racing.

The man Iheon had just met—Director Park—was the head of Samho Manpower Agency. Despite its respectable name, it was nothing more than a human trafficking ring, abducting Omegas and selling them to the elite.

More importantly, Samho Manpower was connected to Bukseong Group.

Bukseong was Wushin Group’s rival—a massive criminal syndicate based in the major cities outside the capital. Director Park was also the cousin of Shin Seungbeom, the head of Bukseong Construction.

And Shin Seungbeom—

He was the main villain of Crimson Veil.

The very man who would one day drive a knife into Cha Iheon’s heart.

Did he really just attack someone from Samho, knowing full well this would reach Shin Seungbeom’s ears?

Even if they were competitors, they had maintained a facade of neutrality—until now.

In the latter half of the novel, Shin Seungbeom used the Shinwon Cement bond recovery dispute and a casino turf war as an excuse to launch an attack at Wushin Hotel.

Under Cha Iheon’s protection, “Seo Heemin” managed to escape safely, but...

A chilling sense of unease crept over me.

What if I really died in this fictional world?

“Get up.”

Lost in thought, I didn’t notice when he had approached me. @@novelbin@@

Iheon grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked me to my feet.

“Ow—! That hurts!”

Tears welled in my eyes from the sheer force. It felt like he was ripping my scalp right off.

“...Pathetic.”

Iheon forced my head up, his burning gaze locking onto mine.

His eyes—dark, ravenous—were those of a beast that had tasted blood.

My breath caught. My shoulders shrank involuntarily.