CRT Ch 22

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When Seok Ryu woke, it was early dawn. The secret room attached to the CEO’s office was damp with the lingering heat of their fervent coupling. The black bed sheets were stained with the chaotic traces of their passion. Cha Yilhyun slept with his upper body turned toward Seok Ryu, as if he had been gazing at Seok Ryu’s face until the moment he drifted off.

Seok Ryu had never experienced such frenzied lovemaking, nor had he ever taken in such a vast quantity of semen at once. Whether it had filled not only his lower body but also his stomach, his abdomen ached, and his insides churned.

He needed to drink soapy water to cleanse himself. If left untreated, the semen would fester in his intestines, damaging the guardian stone’s body and impairing its performance. Stepping carefully over Cha Yilhyun’s clothes scattered across the floor, Seok Ryu entered the bathroom. For now, he mixed soapy water and drank it.

Seok Ryu dressed in the strewn garments. Even small movements made his joints and muscles scream in protest. Cha Yilhyun showed no signs of waking despite the passing time. Soon, the secretaries would arrive for work, and Yejun must be anxiously waiting. Seok Ryu couldn’t stay here indefinitely.

He approached the bedside quietly. Under the dim lighting, Cha Yilhyun slept so soundly that Seok Ryu hesitated to wake him. It was likely due to the all-nighters he’d pulled since the rights transfer. In his half-sleep, Cha Yilhyun had mentioned driving Seok Ryu to the officetel. Did that mean Yejun could remain at Songhyul? To guard against any change of heart, Seok Ryu resolved to get a firm answer as soon as he arrived at work in the morning.

He began folding Cha Yilhyun’s scattered clothes but paused. The lock of hair falling over Cha Yilhyun’s nose kept catching his eye.

Using his abilities for anyone other than his master would cause severe cracks in the core stone. The core, tightly bound to the master, would reject the act, choosing self-destruction instead.

Whether folding clothes counted was unclear. Seok Ryu had never wanted to do something for anyone but his master, so he was unsure what was permitted or forbidden. This felt different from Isak’s nails. Fiddling with the clothes, Seok Ryu set them back down.

As he left the secret room, the city’s lights poured through the CEO’s office window. The phone Yejun had bought him was dead, leaving no way to contact anyone. Truthfully, he didn’t want to talk to anyone right now.

The company was dark and silent, as if everyone had gone home. Heading for the door, his gaze caught on a desk by the window. Bathed in city lights, a jewelry box and a single photo rested on it. During the day, the sunset’s reflection on the glass had obscured them.

Drawn as if entranced, Seok Ryu walked over. As he approached, the gem in the box faintly resonated with his core stone. Hesitating, he opened it to find a tourmaline necklace tinged with purple.

With his other hand, he picked up the photo. It showed jewelry displayed in a shop’s showcase. Among them were the garnet and sapphire necklaces sent to Seok Ryu via drone.

Next to them were a tourmaline necklace, an emerald, a ruby… all the gems Seok Ryu had seen the day he met Cha Yilhyun. For some reason, the garnet and sapphire necklaces each had an X marked over them.

Seok Ryu stood frozen for a long while.

‘Not the garnet necklace…’

Cha Yilhyun must have thought Seok Ryu stared at the jewels that day because he wanted them. Unsure of the right answer, he seemed to be crossing out the wrong ones one by one.

A siren wailing between the buildings snapped Seok Ryu back. As if erasing his presence, he placed the jewelry box back and moved to return the photo. Then, he froze, unable to blink. Bringing the photo close, he stared intently. He’d nearly missed it.

In the photo’s showcase, a single chrysanthemum bloomed. The chrysanthemum Seok Ryu had drawn with his breath was so faint it could be overlooked without close inspection. Beneath the chrysanthemum branch, mourning the gems’ deaths and awaiting its own demise, soil and a flowerbed were sketched like graffiti. Someone had added them with their breath.

Was it only because Cha Yilhyun was an unyielding target that Seok Ryu met his gaze despite repeated failures and spent countless sleepless nights because of him? Was it merely the duty of a guardian stone? Had he spread his legs for him solely for Yejun’s sake? Why had he frantically searched for him everywhere? Cha Yilhyun had never once insulted Seok Ryu. He appeared whenever Seok Ryu was pushed to the brink, giving him room to breathe.

As the wrong answers were eliminated, the fog clouding his mind cleared. He’d cloaked it in grand excuses about sacrificing for Yejun. But while entwined with Cha Yilhyun, Seok Ryu never once felt like a sacrifice. Clinging to his fierce yet gentle gaze, Seok Ryu felt as if he’d undergone a rebirth ritual. It was like taking his first steps into the world.

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Entering the apartment, the sensor lights flicked on. Perhaps due to the aftereffects of their passion, Seok Ryu had nearly collapsed multiple times on the way here. The pain was excruciating, soaked in cold sweat. It felt so vividly real it was deceptive.

Before dawn, the apartment air was cool and still. In the taxi, Seok Ryu realized he’d forgotten his shoes. He headed to the bathroom to wash his filthy bare feet. The moment the sensor lights turned off, he froze.

By the living room window, a fragile shadow stood. The crouched figure looked precarious, as if it might leap out the window at any moment.

Seok Ryu prayed Yejun was asleep, oblivious. He wanted Yejun to wake in the morning and simply enjoy the resolutions Seok Ryu had secured. He didn’t want his current state exposed.

Kneeling beside Yejun, Seok Ryu sat. Yejun, in yesterday’s clothes, clutched his phone. Seok Ryu didn’t know where to begin.

“My phone died, so I couldn’t contact you. I’m sorry for making you wait so long.”

His voice, hoarse from screaming, cracked horribly.

“And I swear I’ve done nothing to tarnish your honor.”

Then what was all that with Cha Yilhyun?

Seok Ryu parted his dry lips.

“I think this issue will blow over. Just in case, I’ll confirm with the CEO when I get to work today. I know it’s tough, but please try to rest.”

It felt less like reporting and more like piling up empty excuses. Yejun didn’t stir, making Seok Ryu wonder if he was facing a hallucination. After a long silence, Yejun spoke.

“I thought a miracle had happened to me.”

His voice was as calm as the dawn air.

“I signed with my dream company, Songhyul, and lived in an officetel like this… Inoh was too busy nursing his black pearl disease to act or even meet friends properly. Congressman Kim nearly divorced his wife because his black diamond was too obsessed with him. But you don’t get sick, don’t cling to me annoyingly, and handle filthy matters like today on your own…”

Yejun’s twisted smile hinted at some dark imagination.

“As if a miracle would come to someone like me.”

Only then did Yejun look at Seok Ryu. His eyes were exhausted, drained from wrestling with thoughts.

“The CEO said he won’t give me the Biryu role. If the writer cancels the rights transfer, he’ll sue him too.”

Seok Ryu’s head snapped up.

“That can’t be. The rights were transferred on the condition you’d get the Biryu role…!”

Yejun’s expression pitied Seok Ryu.

“They say the CEO’s the type to wipe his mouth once his interests are served. Whatever you did in his office until this hour, it was all for nothing.”

The successive shocks whitened Seok Ryu’s vision. He’d given himself to Cha Yilhyun until his body broke, and it was all meaningless? Even Cha Yilhyun wouldn’t treat a matter involving someone’s life so lightly. Seok Ryu wanted to believe his words and expressions were sincere.

“I want to confirm this myself. If the CEO doesn’t retract his decision about you, I’ll accept any punishment, so please…!”

“I’m about to drown in debt, and the CEO’s marked me, so I’ll be buried in this industry. You think any punishment you take would hurt more than me? You can’t even feel pain, yet you dare talk about accepting punishment?”

Yejun’s breaths quickened.

“You like the CEO, don’t you?”

Seok Ryu froze, staring at the floor. Yejun clenched his teeth.

“Answer me. You think I’m asking to play Cupid?”

Yejun was consumed by rage, like someone whose lover had been stolen. His anger wasn’t just about being banished from paradise. Whenever Yejun spoke of Cha Yilhyun, his eyes shone unusually, or he’d fluster when their gazes met…

Just as a guardian stone sees facets of their master invisible to others, Yejun seemed to have glimpsed parts of Seok Ryu even he didn’t know.

“I…”

He needed to say no, that it was a misunderstanding, but his lips trembled without sound. At some point, being with Cha Yilhyun made Seok Ryu forget his identity and purpose, lost in the moment. He didn’t want to admit he’d betrayed his master out of fear of death.

Seok Ryu collapsed to his knees.

“Please forgive me…”

He pressed his forehead to the floor, begging repeatedly. Suddenly, his body lurched as a sharp pain struck the back of his head. When he came to, Yejun was straddling him, choking him. Yejun’s tears dripped onto Seok Ryu’s face.

“Without me, you’re a useless rock! You only charm people because of me. Your life, who you roll around with—it’s all mine!! I shouldn’t have chosen a defective thing like you! I should’ve waited for a perfect gem!!”

Panting, Yejun glared at Seok Ryu, who didn’t resist.

“The manual says a guardian stone with a master who falls for someone else gets scrapped. Since you don’t feel pain from choking or stabbing, you wouldn’t feel it in a grinder either, right? If it doesn’t hurt, you’re not afraid to die.”

He was terrified. A guardian stone who betrayed their master deserved abandonment, yet Seok Ryu couldn’t let go of his attachment to life. He hadn’t realized he was this cowardly. Beheaded for treason, given another chance at life, he’d repeated the same mistake.

Even as his breath faded, Seok Ryu didn’t dare resist. If he could appease Yejun’s anger and stay here, he’d endure choking or being torn apart. But Yejun seemed unwilling to offer even that chance.

Yejun climbed off, collapsing weakly to the floor. As his strangling hands retreated, Seok Ryu coughed faintly. The final verdict fell from above.

“Pack your things. They’re coming to collect you in the morning.”

It felt like plummeting into an abyss. Seok Ryu forced out a voice.

“…Did you request a return to the workshop?”

He hadn’t even seen Yejun shine at the top. The thought of being locked in the workshop, waiting endlessly for a master, was horrific.

“Yejun, please, just once…”

Abruptly, Yejun yanked off Seok Ryu’s choker, placing it on the floor and raising his phone. The phone’s edge aimed precisely at the conical core stone. Seok Ryu’s spine chilled.

“If you keep resisting, I’ll have no choice but to forcibly break the bond.”

Yejun had clearly read about that perilous ritual in the manual. To forcibly sever the bond in an emergency, the core stone had to be shattered. Only the master or guardian stone could destroy it.

If either shattered the core, the guardian stone’s body would instantly turn to dust. The master’s bones would break, their blood would dry, and they’d suffocate. Afterward, the guardian stone’s consciousness would scatter, unable to be restored to a human form.

Gritting his teeth, Yejun swung the phone down. Seok Ryu, trembling, shielded the core stone with both hands. The phone struck his hands repeatedly, as if to shatter them. His vision whitened. His bones seemed crushed, his hands powerless. Today, every pain and emotion felt vividly real.

Yejun, panting, lowered the phone. His hate-twisted face was streaked with tears. He seemed willing to sacrifice his own life to sever the bond. Even if Cha Yilhyun lifted the punishment and Yejun returned to paradise, the distrust rooted in Seok Ryu would never fade.

Seok Ryu had thought nothing was uglier than clinging to a master whose heart had cooled. He’d mocked guardian stones for being abandoned due to their limited abilities. Only now did he realize that sometimes no amount of struggling or pleading would help.

He was grateful just for not dissolving into dust here. Yejun had shown enough mercy. Staring blankly, Seok Ryu bowed his head.

“Thank you for choosing me.”

If Yejun had requested a return, Master Hyun’s subordinates would already be en route from the workshop. Time was short. He wanted to deeply apologize to his terrified master, pack his things, erase his traces, and, if time allowed, say goodbye to Cha Yilhyun. He hadn’t yet thanked him for defeating those who tormented Seok Ryu.

No, what right did a failure like him have to hope for that? But returning to the workshop meant an uncertain wait—perhaps a year, perhaps ten. Just to see his face one last time…

Seok Ryu bit his lips, swallowing his breaths. In the dark, only Yejun’s eyes gleamed. His breathing quickened, his shoulders shaking.

Suddenly, Yejun stomped and burst into laughter—a grotesque mix of sobs and cackles. His extreme emotional shift left Seok Ryu bewildered. Stopping, Yejun looked at Seok Ryu with curious eyes.

“Wow, you endured it! I was freaking out that you’d kill me in a rage if I pushed too far!”

Yejun reached out, stroking Seok Ryu’s head for the first time. His dark eyes brimmed with emotion.

“Why would I abandon a dog so loyal to a master trying to kill it? You’re the first to beg me like this.”

Seok Ryu stared at Yejun, stunned. Yejun grinned, as if praising a guardian stone who’d passed a test.

“Did you properly charm the CEO today? Feels like he really fell for it this time?”

His voice was hysterical yet somber. Could what Seok Ryu and Cha Yilhyun shared today be called doping?

Seok Ryu instinctively hid his hands behind his back. It was natural to devote everything to his master, yet he felt confused by what he’d done. Yejun grabbed Seok Ryu’s hand, biting his teeth and issuing a final warning.

“If you fail this time, I’ll crush your core stone with my life on the line.”

A fierce desire blazed in Yejun’s eyes.

“Make the CEO my slave. Make him kneel and obey me.”

A band of light from the curtains slashed across Yejun’s face. He looked like a protagonist captivating an audience on a darkened stage. For the first time since their meeting in the cabin, Yejun unmistakably asserted his role as master. Overwhelmed by his venom, Seok Ryu’s body stiffened.

Seok Ryu gazed with dazed eyes at his master—not broken, but rising from despair. Was this a final chance? If he held this hand, could he stay? The fact that a guardian stone who betrayed his master was given a chance instead of a death sentence brought tears of gratitude.

He needed to seize this before Yejun changed his mind, but his shattered hand bones left him powerless. Something deep inside kept holding him back. Yejun gripped Seok Ryu’s hand as if he’d never let go. As bone fragments pierced flesh, the pain was too intense for a scream.

Seok Ryu bit his lips, clutching the joined hands. He closed his eyes, shaking off all distractions to focus on one person.

The touch caressing his skin, the complex gazes exchanged ceaselessly, the fragrant voice, the spaces transformed by his mere presence, the tangible moments…

Seok Ryu surrendered every moment he’d foolishly clung to, giving them to Yejun. A slave with nothing left but love for the god offered even that to stay in paradise.

Fiery memories flowed through their joined hands. The heat was so intense it felt like wet creatures crawling up. Yejun devoured it all greedily. As the burning intensified, blisters swelled on Yejun’s hand. His arm’s skin peeled, revealing raw flesh. Smoke rose, and the stench of burning flesh stung Seok Ryu’s nose.

Yejun endured the horrific pain, veins bulging in his neck. Seok Ryu’s hands began to crack. A chill climbed from his heels. His body felt pierced by needles. Continuing could truly endanger them both. But Yejun clung to Seok Ryu’s hand with murderous eyes.

“Stop, and I’ll kill you!! Urgh…!!”

Yejun’s arm skin shriveled, turning dark red. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed, rigid. A crack resounded in Seok Ryu’s heart. His breath stopped, and his vision swayed.

His consciousness felt detached from his body, everything numb. A sharp ringing deafened him. The master, collapsed in the living room, seemed impossibly distant. Crawling to the sofa, Seok Ryu grabbed Yejun’s phone. The call log was filled with brokers. He pressed buttons instinctively. A voice came through moments later. Seok Ryu screamed—or perhaps said nothing. His master didn’t move, and the living room reeked of burnt flesh. Collapsing by Yejun’s side, Seok Ryu begged him to live, pleading to stay just a little longer. Soon, like a divine answer, sirens wailed.