At the exit corridor, Shin paused.
People passed by, women throwing flirtatious glances his way. Typical.
But he wasn't thinking about them.
He was thinking about her.
She'd humiliated him.
And he walked away?!
Unacceptable.
His hand, the one that had been forcibly introduced to her chest, tingled like it had been branded.
What did a "clear conscience" have to do with her breasts?
Why was he still thinking about it?!
He clenched his jaw. This had to be resolved, or he'd spiral into madness.
---
Back on the dance floor, lights flashed and the beat thumped. The crowd pulsed with energy.
Yeri drifted toward the lounge, head heavy.
"Yz, where'd you go? You okay?" Nina asked, patting her back.
"Haaa~ No more drinks for me. I feel like roadkill."
"I told you to pace yourself. You're worse than a toddler with sugar."
"Blame my body. Delayed reaction. Anyway! I met this super handsome guy, but he wouldn't admit he was lost! I even offered to take him home, but he just ran off!"
Nina stared at her. "You what?! Offered to take a stranger home?! Do you want to be disowned?!"
"Who cares? He can get lost too." Yeri pouted. "I even let him touch my conscience but he just—"
"...What?"
Before Nina could pry further, a flirty guy sauntered over with drinks in hand.
"Beauty's back! Another round?"
"No thanks, I'm done for the year," Yeri muttered.
Still, the guy's eyes scanned her body with unmistakable hunger. She had flashed him a smile earlier. That meant something, right?
"Wanna dance?" he asked, extending a hand.
Yeri shrugged. "Why not?" Dancing might sober her up.
Nina declined the invitation from the guy's friends and waved Yeri off. "Just don't disappear again!"
---
From a nearby corner, someone watched.
Shin Keir stood still, eyes scanning the crowd with laser focus.
This club had no other exits—if the drunk lunatic wasn't passed out somewhere, she had to be here.
And there she was.
Back turned, swaying slightly, moving toward the dance floor. But what the hell—why was some muscled cockroach clinging to her waist?
Shin's eye twitched.
In a blur, he was behind her.
Then, yank.
The man scowled. "What the hell, bro? That's my woman!"
"Yours?" Shin's voice dropped into glacial territory. "Did she also offer to take you home?"
The man blinked, confused.
No. No, she hadn't.
Shin smirked in quiet satisfaction.
"You mocking me, pretty boy?! You think you're funny?! You just got unlucky tonight!"
The big guy threw a punch—and missed. Then another. And another.
Shin didn't even flinch, dodging like a dancer of death.
Unfortunately, the missed punches hit other clubbers.
"Oi, you trying to die?!"
"Who swings like that in a packed club?!"
"Let me show you what real fists feel like!"
"Do you know who my father is?!"
Chaos erupted. The big guy was swallowed by the angry crowd. Screams, yelps, thuds.
By the time he was being kicked under a table, Shin and Yeri were long gone.
---
Yeri blinked awake.
Moonlight poured in from a massive glass window. She could hear running water from the bathroom.
Where was she?
Her head throbbed. Her throat felt like sandpaper.
This was her first time drinking cocktails—and she had grossly overestimated herself.
Her eyes landed on a bottle of wine on the bedside table. A little sip might help...
Just as she reached for it—
"Are you an alcoholic?"
The voice—cool, amused, judgmental—froze her blood.
She turned her head slowly.
There, sitting in the shadows, was Shin Keir, one arm resting lazily on the couch, a glass of water in his other hand. He turned on the lamp beside him, casting his sharp features in warm light.
He slid the wine bottle onto the coffee table, out of her reach.
"Seriously? After everything, you still want more?"
"…Water," Yeri croaked, pointing vaguely.
Shin gave her a look like she'd asked for a kidney. He nodded toward the bottled water sitting right next to where she'd been reaching.
"You can't see that?" he asked, deadpan.
Yeri followed his gaze, then dramatically gasped. "Ohhh—so the water bottle only appears after you turn on the light? Genius! It's like magic!"
Shin: "..."
There's truly no reasoning with a drunk.
Even in the dim light from the bedside lamp, the man's face was devastatingly handsome. His half-open robe gave a sinful peek of a body carved by the gods—broad shoulders, sculpted abs, the works. A Greek tragedy in human form.
Yeri gulped down water while squinting at him. "You... where have I seen you before?"
Shin sighed. This woman had a gift—for driving him mad. "You don't remember?"
Yeri tilted her head like a curious puppy. She was still very much drunk.
"You bumped into me in the hallway and ranted like a lunatic."
"Ah! So it was you!" Her face lit up. She wasn't sure what they talked about, but that face was hard to forget. Like a model who took a wrong turn into villainy.
Shin's expression twisted like he'd just swallowed a lemon whole.
He was seriously questioning his life choices. The plan was simple: drag the drunk woman away before she puked on him again, dump her somewhere semi-responsibly, and call it a night. Instead, he booked a hotel room.
Why? Even he didn't know.
"Hello?" Yeri waved her hand in front of his face. "Are you stunned by my beauty?"
Shin rubbed his temple. "You look like a disaster. Go to sleep."
Insulted, Yeri instinctively touched her face, then—spotting her chance—lunged forward and wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Let. Go," Shin growled, jaw clenched.
What is her deal? Is hugging strange men a hobby of hers?
"Sleep with me!" she cooed with a sultry smile.
Shin's entire body stiffened like someone had poured ice water down his spine. "Sleep with you? Who do you think you are?! You're delusional!"
"So... you don't want to sleep with me?"
"No!"
He stared into her glistening eyes. Why were they so clear and seductive? Why did they seem to whisper, "I dare you"?
"Then why am I here?" she asked, blinking innocently.
"Because you were about to vomit on me, and I panicked!" he snapped.
...A flimsy excuse. Who carries someone upstairs to avoid a vomit disaster?
"Oh." Yeri deflated, then spotted the door. Without another word, she wobbled out of bed and staggered toward it.
"That's not the bathroom," Shin called out.
"I know." She pouted. "You don't want me... but I bet someone out there will."
Bang!
Shin slammed the door shut with his foot before she could open it. Outside, a poor hotel attendant flinched and walked away muttering, "Not again…"
"You're seriously just going to throw yourself at random men?" he snapped, grabbing her chin.
"Yes," she replied without hesitation.
"...Are you drugged?"
"Nope."
Shin inhaled deeply, mentally chanting I am peace, I am calm, before dragging her back to bed. "Sleep. Stop thinking about... whatever it is you're thinking about."
Yeri tried to sit up again. Shin firmly pushed her down like she was a rebellious cat. 'Ugh, he's so bossy!'
"You can stop me now," she declared, "but what about tomorrow? And the day after? And the day after that?"
"Shut up! Why are you even trying so hard?!"
"Why not?"
Shin knew her brain was swimming in alcohol... but her eyes? They were dangerously lucid.
Then she squinted at him suspiciously. "Wait. Could it be... you can't get it up?"
"..."
Shin laughed in disbelief. Never—never—had his manhood been so slandered.
This woman had a death wish.
Before he could retaliate, Yeri's gaze dropped below the belt—and her eyes widened like she'd found buried treasure.
"What are you—Hey!!" Shin yelped as she reached to undress.
Too late.
"Okay! Let's test it now!" Yeri grinned, stripped down to her underwear like a madwoman on a mission.
Test what?!
Shin's throat bobbed. She was stunning. Drunk, chaotic... but undeniably seductive.
"Is it standing?" Yeri asked, tilting her head like she was inspecting a monument.
'Damn it—it's standing! It's been standing for a while now, okay?!' Shin roared inside.
He snapped, yanked her by the leg, and pinned her to the bed.
Yeri blinked up at him, mischief dancing in her eyes. What was going on in that twisted brain of hers?
"You still want it?"
Yeri nodded slowly, deliberately, like a seductress in a B-rated drama.
Shin groaned and crashed his lips onto hers, his tongue claiming every inch. He wasn't planning to be gentle—until he was blindsided.
She kissed like she'd never done it before.
---
[Present Day]
Yeri sat across from Shin at an upscale restaurant, her head still pounding. Her memory of last night was... a blur of abs, lips, and possibly illegal levels of boldness.
But now that she saw him in the light—this was Shin Keir. The rumored tyrant. The rumored woman-hater. The rumored—
Wait... multiple personality disorder?
Or maybe...
Maybe she was just too beautiful to resist.
She nearly slapped herself at the thought. No! The only plausible explanation was...
A succubus awakening!
'Wait, that sounds... worse.'