By Zephyria 
“If I don’t do this, you’ll just start talking back immediately, you fucking idiot.”
I blinked in surprise at the sudden profanity. What did I just hear? Seeing me speechless with shock, he asked again in a soft tone.
“Right?”
That brought me back to my senses. The realization that I’d been played flashed through my mind, followed by an absurd sigh. Looking at his profile as he drove nonchalantly, as if he enjoyed my reaction, my mood soured once again.
“I can talk back as much as I want, even if you don’t do that.”
Despite knowing it was ridiculous, I spoke stubbornly, and he replied in a voice that remained calm.
“Go ahead, if you want to die.”
I clamped my mouth shut and didn’t say another word.
By the time I finally arrived home, I was on the verge of letting out a sigh of relief. In times like this, it would be polite to say thank you, but I ignored him and got out of the car. The only thing on my mind was wanting to lie down in bed. Just as I walked up the stairs and was about to open the front door, I suddenly saw a man standing in my peripheral vision, watching me.
Nathaniel Miller was standing there with his cane, looking up at me on the stairs. I looked down at him, key to the front door in hand. As if asking what business he still had here, Nathaniel spoke.
“Aren’t you going to give me any coffee?”
My brow furrowed instinctively at his lingering, leisurely tone. I wasn’t in the mood to decline politely.
“You must have plenty of money; why don’t you just buy some yourself?”
I spat the words out sharply, but a corner of my heart felt incredibly uncomfortable. Rationally speaking, I was being excessively rude. After all, it was a fact that I had received this man’s help. I might have had to stand on the street waiting for a taxi that never came.
Furthermore, the man had readily let me sit in the passenger seat despite me being a mess of blood and dust, and he hadn’t cared at all about the soiled seats. Of course, since he was a man with overflowing wealth and would likely have someone else clean the car anyway, he might say it didn’t matter, but from the perspective of someone who owed him a favor, that was a very brazen thought.
Nevertheless, I still couldn’t bring myself to be obedient to this man. It was only natural, as he was a man who had tried to rape me. But my hostility toward Nathaniel Miller had taken root even before that, from the moment I first saw him.
How could it be otherwise? He was not only insulting the victim I had to protect, but he was also actively helping the perpetrator who was trying to slip through the cracks of the law.
But that was merely a superficial reason. I realized that I, too, was lying to myself and turning away from the truth.
Didn’t I already know? What the most fundamental problem was.
Thinking that made my mood even worse. Ultimately ignoring the slight feeling of guilt, I stubbornly kept my mouth shut and waited for his reaction. Now, how would this arrogant man respond?
I had sneered with a deliberately harsh tone, but Nathaniel remained silent for a moment. Just as his warning crossed my mind, Nathaniel Miller suddenly moved. Listening to the unfamiliar sound of footsteps moving with the aid of a cane, I simply watched as the man approached me. With every step he took up the stairs, his gaze rose higher, and when Nathaniel Miller finally stood face-to-face with me, I had to crane my neck back with all my might to look up at the face of a man over two meters tall.
“Chrissy Jin.”
For the first time, he called my name in a voice lower than usual. His deep purple eyes were stained dark.
“You surely didn’t fail to understand the meaning of my words.”
His voice, as low as a breath, left me unsure if it was mockery or ridicule. I glared at him stubbornly and asked back.
“You surely didn’t fail to understand that I’ve declined.”
When I mirrored his tone and threw it back at him, he twisted his lips and let out a short, airy laugh. The man looked at me. Following the man who fixed his gaze tenaciously on my face, I also put strength into my eyes and glared into his purple pupils. Above me, Nathaniel Miller slowly tilted his head and whispered in a low voice.
“Weren’t you going there to find someone to have sex with anyway? If so, it shouldn’t matter if it’s with me.”
The sweet scent that had been subtly drifting around him grew stronger. Was he aroused? Peering into those purple eyes, which looked darker than usual, from a distance where our breaths almost touched, I spoke.
“Are you always this bad at seducing people?”
A voice as low as his own flowed out. Nathaniel stared at my face and muttered.
“I’ve never done it.”
I suppose that’s true. Hearing the voice that seemed to hold a hint of a smile, I thought: why would this man ever need to ask a partner to have sex? Even without going to a pheromone party, he would have had partners in abundance.
I knew the right answer was to mock him for saying something so stupid and turn away. I would never have to face this man again, nor would I have to hear such bullshit. If I just turned around and went inside now.
But I didn’t. I simply leaned my back against the front door and glared intensely at the man’s arrogant face. My lips opened, regardless of my will. No, perhaps it was what I wanted.
“Once I win the trial, I might allow you to suck my cock.”
Nathaniel Miller looked down at me without any change in expression. Even though not a single eyebrow flickered, for some reason, it felt as if the man was surprised.
Was it because it was the first time he’d heard such vulgar words?
It was no wonder. I hadn’t used such a thug-like way of speaking—throwing away formality, manners, and even the minimum amount of dignity—since I graduated from high school. Moreover, since Nathaniel Miller was a man who likely spent his whole life in schools for the elite, hanging out with similar crowds, he probably had never heard such words in his life. It was understandable that he’d be shocked. I accepted that. Although the word ‘shock’ didn’t suit Nathaniel Miller at all.
Why do I reveal my absolute lowest side in front of this man?
Just as a sudden wave of regret washed over me, I saw Nathaniel Miller’s lips move. Just as I was coming back to my senses, Nathaniel murmured.
“How interesting.”
His expression didn’t change at all. I couldn’t tell if he was truly amused, just saying it, or if he was annoyed. While I was pondering, Nathaniel spoke in his characteristic slow manner.
“If you win.”
Then, something unimaginable happened. Nathaniel Miller looked into my eyes and said:
“I’ll suck your ‘cock’ and…”
The moment the word I had used was repeated exactly from his mouth, I doubted my ears. However, because Nathaniel Miller had put particular emphasis on that word as if on purpose, there was no way I had misheard. Looking down steadily at me as I blinked in surprise, Nathaniel asked.