Warning: This chapter contains violence and mild gore. Reader discretion is advised.
The young man immediately shook his head rapidly.
He continued to rub his palms together in front of his chest, a restless, never-ending motion that then traveled higher until it nearly covered his face.
His face was drowned in anxiety; every line on his skin tightened, as if a current was surging from within him—something that made his breath catch and his mind unravel.
The panic that had never fully subsided now peaked again, demanding an outlet in the form of tears. The tears that he had managed to hold back finally fell once more, streaming down cheeks already soaked by dust, sweat, and the fear that had mercilessly piled up since the very beginning.
He was not sobbing—at least not yet—but the repetitive, subtle tremor running through his body was proof enough that his courage was almost gone, slowly eroding piece by piece.
"N-No… no… please… please…"
"I... I truly... didn't know... I... I am to blame..."
"Please... please... forgive me... let me go..."
"I promise... I won't tell anyone... please... let me go... let me go... Sehan Hyung..."
His voice emerged with a sharp, painful rasp, as if every word had to pass through a throat too dry to endure without searing.
Sehan remained engrossed in his own little world—repeating the young man's movements with light, stomping feet. He lifted his heel, twisted it slightly, and then swung it downward as if crushing something invisible.
But the moment his ear caught his name—faint, pleading, and fractured by fear—his body suddenly froze.
The movements that had been flowing instantly ceased.
One of his feet remained slightly lifted, the tip of his shoe barely touching the ground, like a motion arrested mid-action.
His gaze shifted downward, looking at the young man from above the shadow of his own face.
"What did you just say?"
His tone plummeted into a straight line—a voice without inflection, devoid of any residual feeling that usually slipped between the gaps of words.
He moved forward.
Without giving anyone a chance to understand his intent, his hand shot out—quick and rough. His fingers immediately clamped onto the young man's collar, squeezing it so tightly that the fabric fibers gave a faint creak.
The pull was strong, jolting the man's body forward, forcing him closer until their faces were separated by barely a breath.
"Why are you silent?"
"What did you just say, you idiot?!"
His voice simply exploded, shattering without warning.
His gaze widened, igniting with a power born of suppressed fury—a scorching light that burst from behind his eyes, enough to make anyone feel burned by its heat.
Meanwhile, the young man instantly squeezed his eyes shut. His lips clamped tightly, locked by a sudden, rapidly ascending fear that surged through him like a massive, unanticipated wave.
But Sehan did not stop there.
His grip shifted in a single, lightning-fast motion—sliding from the collar directly onto the young man's neck. His fingers, cold yet powerful, closed tightly around his throat; the pressure was so sudden that his opponent's body instantly lost control.
The man's breath was severed, simply cut off, as if a door had been instantly locked from the outside. His eyes flew open wide, reflecting raw terror, like someone who had just realized his world had shrunk drastically—condensing into nothing but Sehan's face directly before him.
"Hey, Human."
"I... truly liked the way you praised my looks and my dancing ability during the fansign earlier. You even said that my voice was good, and that I could slowly control my breath well when singing."
"That's why I immediately told Gomsuk Hyung… and when I told him I wanted to take more singing parts, do you know what he told me?"
"He said he would give me more singing parts in the next comeback, so you'll definitely be looking forward to that, right? But..."
Sehan paused for a moment, as if giving a brief allowance for the already mounting tension, but then his grip instantly hardened, becoming harsher, pressing down more severely on the young man's throat.
The young man's body reacted instantly, thrashing wildly with panic, every small movement a desperate attempt to break free from the grip that seemed to hold back all his breath and strength. He pushed his body backward, pressing with his feet and hands, but Sehan's grasp remained unshakable, sealing off every avenue of escape.
"I'm not sure you'll be able to come to the music show again, because tonight I have to kill you."
Sehan grinned widely.
And in a moment that felt both slowed and utterly tense, he shoved the young man's body with a single, powerful jerk.
His opponent's body shot backward with almost unimaginable speed, like a flash of lightning striking the dark night sky, leaving a trail of vibration in the surrounding air. The young man's back hit the wall behind him with a fierce impact that immediately made cracks spread across the surface.
And from the back of the young man's head, blood seeped through the gaps in his hair, trickled down the skin of his nape, and then fell slowly past the curve of his neck until it touched Sehan's palm, which was still outstretched.
"I... truly liked the way you pleaded with me earlier. Can you say it again, hm?"
Sehan pushed the young man once more, with the same cold, assured force. His opponent's body bounced back, and new cracks appeared on the wall, precisely beside the previous ones, adding evidence to the severity of the recent impact.
A faint smile graced his face—a smile born of the pleasure of seeing the young man increasingly cornered, increasingly losing his footing and control.
The young man's hands flew up to seize Sehan's continuing grip on his neck, desperately trying to push back, attempting to create distance or even stop the attack.
He tried to say something—words that might free him—but his breath was already choked, snagged in his throat, and the sound never materialized. His mouth moved, his lips trembled, but the world around him seemed to refuse to accommodate those words.
"What is it? Do you want to say something?"
"But I won't give you that chance. A Human like you… you don't deserve to speak, let alone live."
"A Human who insults other creatures, thinks they are superior to everyone, and acts as they please toward the weak… you said weak creatures were useless, didn't deserve to breathe the same air as Humans?"
"Does this world belong only to you, Human? Do you think other creatures have no right to possess it too? We won't simply accept that arbitrary treatment. We will retaliate… and you will feel what it's like to be in the position of the weak, oppressed until you are utterly powerless."
He delivered all his lines in a flat, cold tone, truly like someone who had no intention of speaking but was forced by the situation.
He tightened his grip once more, forcing the young man into a truly desperate situation where his body thrashed non-stop, and then with one final, super powerful jerk, he violently shoved the young man backward until the wall cracked again and the man's body finally slumped down, falling to the ground.
Sehan looked at him briefly, his face flat and cold, utterly devoid of guilt or fear for what he had just done.
"I lost a fan again, huh?"
"It doesn't matter. As long as my little girl is alive and safe, I don't need to worry about pests like him."