Zion's Garden - Chapter 9.2
Behind him, I saw Manager Jang frowning. Even the man who handed me a check for a hundred million won with a stone face at our first meeting now seemed visibly unsettled. Shame crept over me, cold and insidious, crawling up my spine. It felt like being caught selling myself, stripped bare and thrown into the streets. I wondered if this was how my beautiful mother had felt when her life hit rock bottom.
How much of my past did Manager Jang know? I swallowed the rising lump of anger in my throat and whispered desperately to Zion, “You promised. You said I’d always be by your side. I’m not running away. I have no reason to. So please, let go and get off me.”
“Can I trust you on that?”
I nodded silently, staring into Zion’s eyes, feigning sincerity. In truth, I had every reason to run. Staying here any longer would only lead to my destruction.
Zion tilted his head slightly, narrowing his eyes as a faint smile played on his lips, revealing his perfect white teeth.
“You’re lying,” he said, his voice dripping with amusement.
It wasn’t working. I couldn’t face his relentless gaze and shut my eyes tightly.
Zion raised his voice.
“Manager Jang, last chance. Are you closing the door and leaving, or would you like to join us in my room? If you enjoy watching people have s3x, feel free to stay.”
“…I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Hurried footsteps faded away, followed by the sound of the door slamming shut.
“You, come here,” Zion ordered, grabbing my arm and pulling me to my feet. He dragged me roughly into his room.
True to his word, Zion wasn’t bluffing. He threw me onto his plush bed and stretched his clasped hands above his head, grinning.
“No more interruptions now. Manager Jang is clueless about these things anyway.”
A burning sensation rose in my chest, threatening to spill over. Glaring at him, I barely managed to mutter,
“Kim Zion, you know I didn’t come here for this.”
“Does it matter? It was inevitable. My father wanted me alive.
As long as you keep me breathing, your job is done. The rest doesn’t matter. It’s a win-win.”
“Let me go.”
“I’ve already said no.”
“Didn’t you hear what he said earlier? A patient’s condition is critical. They want to see me one last time!”
“And who is it?”
“I don’t owe you an explanation. If you’re so curious, ask Manager Jang.”
“Is it your lover or something? Not that it matters. If I let you go, will you even come back? You’re impossible to figure out, Doctor. Don’t leave.”
“Do you think I’m your property?!”
I snapped, my anger boiling over as I shouted at him. Zion had clearly decided to strip me of every last shred of dignity. It felt like I’d received a cursed gift set of emotions—desire, shame, rage, and fear—all at once, far beyond what I could bear.
“Am I your possession, you bastard? You get to screw me whenever you want, but I can’t even step outside? Fine, I know I’m bound by contract, and I know you’re a world-famous superstar, but that doesn’t give you the right to treat me like this. You’re insane!”
“I’ve never treated you like an object.”
“Oh, really? What you just did in front of your manager—if that’s not treating me like a dog, then what is? Do you even have the slightest decency left?”
I finally let it all out, and Zion frowned deeply.
“Manager Jang doesn’t get to judge me. Neither does anyone else. And neither do you. So why bother caring what he thinks?”
“Not everyone sees the world the way you do. Do you think I’ll just smile and open my legs for you even after being humiliated like that? You can’t possibly understand how ashamed I felt, standing naked in front of him. But of course, you wouldn’t care—you never care about anyone but yourself!”
I yelled, my voice breaking as I glared at him.
“Humiliated? Because he knows we had s3x? That’s what’s bothering you?” Zion asked, genuinely perplexed.
I bit my lip hard and exhaled sharply. Zion only understood half of it. Part of my shame came from knowing Manager Jang likely saw me as just another one of Zion’s playthings. But worse than that was my pathetic hope—the desperate, unspoken wish for Zion to tell me I was different.
Damn it. I wanted to laugh at myself for how pitiful I was. I couldn’t let him see this part of me—the last fragile thread of my pride.
I took a shaky breath and spoke with scorn.
“Yeah, I feel humiliated because I gave in to my lust and slept with someone like you. And having someone else find out about it? That’s even worse. Satisfied now, you pervert?”
Zion’s expression darkened. His features twisted as he clenched his jaw, and his usually pale face flushed red.
“Don’t joke with me, Doctor.”
A bitter smile tugged at my lips.
“Jokes are for people who are close. We’re not, are we? Not that it matters—you never saw me as anything more than a stray dog anyway.”
“What did you just say?”
“Are you deaf? I said I’ve never, not even once, thought of you as a friend, you lunatic!”
I shouted at him, my voice breaking. Tears streamed down my cheeks, and my chin trembled uncontrollably.
“…I’ll kill you.”
Zion muttered through clenched teeth. Fear gripped me, making my entire body shake, yet I didn’t avert my gaze from his, even as his expression twisted into something wild and dangerous. For a fleeting moment, I wished Zion would just end it for me. Dying by his hands felt preferable to the humiliation of begging for his love.
His hands wrapped around my neck, firm and unyielding.
“You’re lying, aren’t you? Jeong-won, you’re lying to me, right?”
His grip tightened, cutting off my air.
“Say it’s a lie!”
I gasped, struggling for breath as his face, distorted with anger and desperation, hovered inches from mine.
“You said it felt good. You said it drove you insane! Didn’t you, Han Jeong-won?”