𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇. enhypen

twenty-one

"Finish that sentence." Euijoo bit off in interruption just as Sungchul simultaneously pressed the flat side of the dagger deeper into his back, inducing Jaeyun to recoil into a yield. "I dare you." There was a bite to Euijoo's voice, as if warning Jaeyun from speaking thoughtlessly again.

Euijoo turned back to Jihye, growing tired with each second he didn't have Jihye's watch in his possession. "You're quite the tyrannical shrew for trying to tell me what to do when I'm clearly the one with the upper hand." Euijoo stated, fingers drumming against his arm in impatience as he threw a cool glare in Jihye's direction.

The word 'shrew' directed at her caused Jihye to instantly fume. She didn't like to be addressed with insults.

"Did that hit a cord?" Euijoo mused, his glare evolving into a toothy smirk when Jihye's brows only furrowed further.

Ignoring the way her veins cursed with anger, Jihye took a breathe in. "You let him walk away-" Jihye's voice trails off, her gaze slowly shifting until it landed on Jaeyun, who felt a thrill of dread run down his spine. "I'll give the watch and I'll willingly let you use me for a ransom." She finishes, not a shred of worry in her voice.

"Jihye, no-" Jaeyun started but Euijoo held up a large, callused hand, cutting him off.

"Shut it." Euijoo spat at Jaeyun before turning on his feet to face him entirely. Without giving Jaeyun the chance to respond somehow, Euijoo strode over and raised his voice at him. "This is between me and this shrew over here. Next time you speak I'll have Sungchul slit your throat open." He said loudly to his face, and Jihye couldn't blame him for going silent at the threat.

As if to prove her utter submission and cooperation, Jihye began to stumble out lies she came up with on the spot. "My Father will be willing to pay thousands- no, hundreds of thousands of silver just to get me back. He's a nobody who won't give even a small sack of vegetables." The words easily tumbled past her lips as if they were nothing but the truth, and if Jaeyun wasn't trying to see where Jihye was going with this, he would have been offended at being compared to the same value as harvested crops.

"Trust me, I'm of much more value." Jihye begged as she wondered if getting on her knees would sound and look more convincing. "Just let him go. Please."

A part of Jaeyun wanted to shout at her for yielding so quickly to a thief, and ask if she was out of her mind for willingly choosing him rather than herself, but the dagger digging into his back reminded him of Euijoo's remark to slit his throat.

Euijoo must have a bit of empathy left in his malicious soul because his hardened gaze softened as he heaved a heavy sigh. After a moment, he beckons his head towards Jaeyun. "Just do as she asks." He orders Sungchul curtly, his impatience as clear in his voice as it was on his face.

Finally, after silently arguing with Euijoo through an ardent glare, his blade falls from Jaeyun's back before pocketing it and shoving Jaeyun away from him. The harsh force causes Jaeyun to stumble, but quickly, he catches himself.

"Stand over there and don't you dare pull any gallant moves." Euijoo told him, speaking in a voice Jaeyun despised to his very core. Had the situation been any different and in his favor, Jaeyun would have stepped up to punch the living daylights out of Euijoo for daring to speak of Jihye as if she were an object that could be traded around for money.

But even if he greatly wanted to see him cower below him in pain, Jaeyun knew he couldn't. Not with Jihye's safety depending on whether he follows every order Euijoo throws at him. Jaeyun takes a tentative step forward, confirming that Euijoo wasn't going to slash his neck open as he passed by him, and continued until he was at a distance where he wouldn't be able to interfere.