That night, I did not see Ki-hoon again and though it took a while before I was able to fall asleep, given my current situation still felt so surreal, I had a long and peaceful night without any interruptions.
That was how I was able to get through my first night with no beating, rough treatment, or sexual assault.
But the next morning, the feeling of something heavy pressing on me woke me up.
There was also this heavy gaze that seemed to be staring intently at me as I slept.
It wasn't Ki-hoon trying to glare arrows into my head, was it? Just let me sleep in peace, please.
But oh well, I guess it was time to wake up anyway so I decided to open my eyes and see who exactly it was that wanted to punch a hole in my skull with their eyes.
"Sleeping beauty is finally waking up," I heard an unfamiliar voice and that prompted me to immediately widen my slowly opening eyes.
Even if it wasn't Ki-hoon, the fact that the person who was pressing down on me called me 'sleeping beauty' could only mean that they were one of the four Alphas.
When I could finally see clearly, I saw a pink-haired man staring at me with a beaming smile plastered on his face as he stared at me with curious eyes, and he was... He was sitting on top of me.
No wonder I felt something heavy pressing down on me.
"Wh-what... Who are you?" I asked as I rubbed my eyes, disregarding the fact that he could be a danger to me.
But since I knew who it was, I wasn't very alarmed. I just didn't expect to attend to someone so early in the morning.
Since I just woke up, I could not get my act up properly. So, better to go with the flow than act in a way that would make me suspicious.
Besides... I glanced at him... In front of this man, it was best to act as naturally as possible. He was a very suspicious fellow and didn't let his guard down as easily as the rest.
If I wanted to bring him to my side without riling him up to want to test out his 'curiosity' then I'd have to listen before acting.
Now, let's go to his profile.
Pink hair that made him look like a K-pop artist, blue eyes that sparkled like the ocean during a full moon, a few piercings on his ears, and a friendly face that made him seem like he was a kind soul... But he wasn't very kind.
This man was one of the four Alphas who had 'bought' me. One of my masters, I would say.
Kang Min-Cheol. Alpha of the Kang family. One of the country's most powerful families, as you might have already guessed.
Among all the Alphas, he was the youngest, and he was the type who liked to hold random conversations, wishing to speak with Jo-Pil a lot while waiting for a response that would get him even more excited to say more, but the response never came.
Maybe it was because he was the youngest that he looked for company in Jo-Pil and wanted to talk to someone other than the business moguls and superficial people he was always surrounded with.
He must've been exhausted.
He was raised and trained to be the head of his family from a young age so as I read his story, I felt he never actually had the chance to be a kid. He never had the chance to cry either. He was pitiful.
He was one of the characters I sympathized with in the novel.
I still remember a painful scene where he cried and begged Jo-Pil, who always gave him a deaf ear and let him yap away all he wanted, not to run and leave him. He was completely out of character that day.
Of course, that was after he had forced himself on Jo-Pil but oh well...
Jo-Pil did not trust or even smile at either one of the Alphas. Not when he was in such a cage. He planned to run away a lot of times, and each time Min-Cheol realized it, he would 'visit' Jo-Pil in his room and remind him that he had nowhere to go in the world.
He just needed to silently stay with them and be grateful that they paid his debt.
But still, Jo-Pil would not respond to him and that made him furious. Jo-Pil's silence was what made him angry most of the time, and he thought if he made him feel pain, he would finally open his mouth to speak, but... Jo-Pil was very stubborn.
Come to think of it, why did Min-Cheol cry so much that day as he begged him to stay? I think it was past the middle of the book.
If I try to remember, maybe I'll know, but is there a reason to try so hard right now?
I mean... I'm not going to be making that same mistake so maybe I probably won't see him cry.
However, I'd like to see this smiling face break out of character and cry just as the author described.
They said, 'For a boy who had grown up with a smile on his face and tears pouring down in his heart, Min-Cheol opened his heart that day and let out the tears he had only ever cried in his heart. Beads of tears streamed down his cheeks and soaked the sheets as he knelt on the floor, clutching onto Jo-Pil's leg and begging him not to leave. But Jo-Pil, whose body was slightly bruised, stared at the ceiling with no words escaping his lips.'
It was indeed a painful text to read.
"What are you staring at, hm?" Min-Cheol sked and I broke out of my thoughts for a moment to stare at his face.
I could vaguely imagine such a bright face crying so much to the point that his eyes became puffy.
At that point... Did he already love Jo-Pil or was it his obsession to have someone by his side? Someone who couldn't lay a finger on him.
Min-Cheol was the most vigilant even though he was the youngest. He was two years younger than Jo-Pil who was a year younger than Ki-hoon, and yet he had already taken up the reins and was the head of his family.
It must've taken a lot out of him.
The pressure must've been quite the headache, but he was sharp, intuitive, and stubborn. That was how he led his family without letting the pressure of those older than him get to him.
"You're so handsome," I said as I smiled at him. This was the only answer I could think of. "And your eyes are very pretty too. What's your name?"
To deal with someone as vigilant and sharp as Min-Cheol, I could only act in the way that was the least suspicious.
Act like a normal person would.