By Zephyria 
“Then we shall proceed as follows, Mr. Miller.”
After summarizing the instructions, the secretary gave a brief response and left the office. The sun had set long ago, and a deep indigo darkness had settled everywhere outside the window. Despite this, the city beneath the black sky shone as brilliantly as it did during the day, conversely lighting up the world.
Nathaniel Miller leaned deep into his leather chair and took a long drag of his cigarette. The ember flared red for a moment before flickering out, and after a brief pause, a long, pale stream of smoke shot straight out from between Nathaniel’s slightly parted lips. It had now been twelve hours since he had left Chrissy alone.
I wonder what that man is doing right now.
Nathaniel narrowed his long eyes and wore a faint smile. By nature, he was not a violent person. He believed that if it was unnecessary, it should be avoided; at best, it was merely a last resort. Therefore, treating Chrissy so harshly was, in fact, an act far removed from his nature or preferences. Nevertheless, the reason he had done such a thing was simple.
To test Chrissy’s limits.
Repeating unwelcome tasks every day in an already boring life was nothing short of torture for him as well. Because of this, Nathaniel hoped that the man would soon submit to him. These sadistic acts were merely one method stemming from that desire.
But that sort of person doesn’t break easily.
Etching a deep frown between his brows, he took one last drag of smoke and crushed the cigarette into the ashtray. Exhaling the smoke, he stood up, put on his suit jacket, and walked out of the office, where the secretary, who was finishing up, stood from his seat.
“I will see you tomorrow, Mr. Miller.”
The secretary greeted him, but Nathaniel walked away without looking back. I wonder what Chrissy is doing now. Since he had freed his hands and feet, he might have run away. In truth, that wouldn’t have been difficult. He just had to throw on any of Nathaniel’s clothes in the house and walk out. In exchange, it would mean giving up everything regarding Simmons.
Conversely, if he were still there, it would be to find clues about Simmons. Had he turned the house into a disaster zone, or was he waiting obediently as told? Either way, it didn’t matter. Nathaniel drove home leisurely, wondering if he had ever returned home in such a pleasant mood before.
When he confirmed the house was empty, Nathaniel realized what he had been expecting. It would have been better if Chrissy had made a mess of the place. Far from a disaster zone, he had simply vanished. To think he was only this much of a man; did I misjudge him?
Clicking his tongue shortly, he walked slowly. The house was as spotless as when he had left, and every object remained in its place. Chrissy might have escaped the moment Nathaniel left the house. It was strange that no breaking news had appeared with a headline like ‘Lawyer Miller Confines Prosecutor,’ but perhaps Chrissy was too ashamed to speak easily about what had happened to him…
“How tedious.”
It was just as he stopped and muttered lowly. Suddenly, he had the strange feeling that a breeze had blown over his head.
“What…?”
The moment he murmured unconsciously and looked up, something suddenly lunged at him. Without a chance to react, Nathaniel was knocked straight to the floor. By the time he realized that Chrissy, who had been hiding by the stairs, had jumped down on top of him, something cold suddenly wrapped around his neck.
“Kh.”
An unrefined, rough sound escaped his lips. He was choking. His face contorting, Nathaniel immediately felt the object wrapped around his neck with his hand to identify it.
It was the very chain that had bound Chrissy’s hands and feet.
Even as he calmly accepted what was happening to him, there was still something Nathaniel found unbelievable. This weakling of a prosecutor dares to do this to me? How?
Setting aside his momentary bewilderment, Nathaniel immediately reached out. He could feel Chrissy’s body straddling his back, strangling him with all his might. Even as his blood pressure rose from the lack of air, a feeble laugh escaped him. That’s it, this is how you should come at me. Then, Nathaniel grabbed Chrissy’s arm, which was holding the chain, and pulled it hard.
“…Ugh!”
As Chrissy gasped and collapsed, the chain around his neck loosened for a moment. Nathaniel didn’t miss the opening and immediately pushed himself up, but Chrissy didn’t go down easily. Quickly regaining his grip on the chain, he pulled back with his full weight, and Nathaniel stopped moving.
It would have been far too easy for Nathaniel to break Chrissy’s arm here and end all this unsightly behavior. But he didn’t. He simply looked down at the pitiful creature who was clutching his windpipe while he gasped for air. While strangling Nathaniel’s neck with all his strength, Chrissy spoke.
“Don’t worry, just as you said, I can’t do something like kill someone.”
The low voice was trembling slightly. Nathaniel immediately noticed that it was because of the fear regarding the act he was currently committing. Inflicting violence on someone is not easy for ordinary people. It would be even more so for someone like Chrissy Jin. So, he probably thought he would only do enough to knock Nathaniel unconscious, but would that actually be possible?
‘I didn’t mean to kill them, I just made a mistake.’
Such excuses are commonly heard in court. Most perpetrators don’t think the victim will die. ‘They’ll be able to endure this much.’ Of course, they can. They are just fools who aren’t even aware that they don’t know exactly how much that ‘much’ is.
Chrissy Jin, who had surely lived a life far removed from such things, was no different. If there was one thing different about him, perhaps it was that he knew he didn’t know the limit of that ‘much.’ And that was Chrissy’s weakness.
Nathaniel relaxed his entire body and let himself fall to the floor. As he let his limbs go limp and closed his eyes, the pressure around his neck released after only a few seconds. To prevent a burst of coughing from occurring as he inhaled oxygen, Nathaniel intentionally held his breath. For a moment, Chrissy did nothing. Breathing heavily, Chrissy observed Nathaniel’s reaction for a while before hurriedly leaning his upper body over him. It was as if he were checking to make sure he was actually alive. He looked ready to perform CPR if he couldn’t hear a heartbeat. He might even call the caretaker to bring a defibrillator or call an ambulance. Because what Chrissy wanted was to find Simmons’ whereabouts, not to kill someone.
Even if it was the man who had fed him dog food.
He wanted to see what action he would take, but even for Nathaniel, there was a limit to holding his breath. Moreover, because he had been strangled so hard just moments ago, he had to deal with the aftermath. Therefore, the moment Chrissy pressed his ear to his chest, Nathaniel immediately bolted upright.
Uh.
Chrissy couldn’t even let out an exclamation. He could only watch with wide eyes as the large body of the man who had been holding his breath until a moment ago filled his vision.
“…Ugh!”
Chrissy’s body was sent flying. Seeing the weak body tumble miserably after just a single push, Nathaniel was appalled. Did he attack me with that body? With what confidence?
“…Cough, cough.”
Coughing finally erupted as oxygen rushed in. Nathaniel waited for his breathing to settle, coughing repeatedly between ragged breaths. No, the man’s gamble had been about half successful. After all, wrapping a chain around Nathaniel’s neck—wasn’t that immense courage and execution?
“Hey, Mr. Prosecutor.”
Nathaniel barely managed to speak in a heavily rasped voice, as if jeering.
“Impressive. I never imagined something like this.”
If he had more energy, he would have applauded. Feeling regretful that he had to use all his energy just to stand due to the dizziness from the lack of oxygen, Nathaniel continued.
“As expected, you don’t disappoint me, Mr. Prosecutor. You’re always beyond expectations.”
Looking up at Nathaniel, Chrissy muttered, grinding his teeth in frustration.
“…I wish I had killed you.”
Nathaniel let out a short laugh. Behind a laugh that sounded unexpectedly genuinely amused, he spoke.
“It’s more profitable not to dream impossible dreams.”