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LOZ 111
Hunter pulled Jiyu toward him and sat her on his lap. Then, trapping her struggling, startled form in his arms, he buried his face in the crook of her neck.
He could do the things that Joshua Yoon could only dream of in his imagination.
Because Jiyu Parker is mine.
He inhaled Jiyu's scent—a fragrance that made his chest swell and drove him half-mad. Four years had passed since he first held her in the South of France, but as time went by, far from growing tired of her, his thirst only intensified.
[Ha...]
A sigh escaped from deep within his throat.
As Hunter hugged her with crushing force, Jiyu gave up resisting and remained still in his embrace, letting out only shallow breaths.
In their childhood, he had thought of her as a being with a presence so transparent that light could pass right through her.
She would clearly be right there, but by the time he looked up, she had vanished. He would look around, give up, and then turn back to find her sitting quietly like a painting, peering into a book.
A girl as faint as a scent that could only be caught by pressing one's nose close and inhaling deeply, as dim as a shadow on a rainy day, and as silent as a playground in a courtyard after the children had gone.
But at some point, Jiyu began to exist as a part of every corner of his life, clutching the hem of his clothes and hiding halfway behind his back. Before he knew it, she was driven deep into every part of his existence like a long, thin nail—so much so that if he were to pull her out, countless empty holes would remain.
[Hunter... I can't breathe.]
After holding her breath for a while, Jiyu squirmed, trying to escape his embrace. But Hunter did not let her go.
He intended to keep her gripped like this, never letting her go, forever.
Hunter was aware that his feelings for her were a greedy, twisted possessiveness and a distorted obsession.
However, if he could completely possess every last drop of Jiyu's soul, he felt he might even give up his left arm.
...Left arm?
Startled by his own stray thought, Hunter flinched.
I'm really going crazy now.
Hunter hugged Jiyu's supple body and swallowed hard.
The image of Joshua and Jiyu together would not leave his mind. Nor would the thought that she might be happier with Joshua than with someone like him.
For the first time in his life, he felt a sense of inferiority toward someone.
'Calm down, Hunter Hamilton. The fact that Jiyu is mine doesn't change. Fortunately, I've put those damn shackles on her, so I just have to do well from now on.'
No matter how much he agonized over it, he could not give up the shackles he had placed on her feet.
[Hunter...? I think you have a fever. Your body is hot.]
Startled, Hunter lifted his head from Jiyu's neck and blinked his blue eyes, which were glistening with heat, while breathing heavily.
A look of concern clouded Jiyu's clear, transparent brown eyes.
[You have a cold sweat on your forehead... Are you okay?]
A cool hand touched his forehead.
Hunter caught that hand, pulled it down, and pressed his lips into her palm. If he were Jiyu, he would have run far away from himself by any means necessary.
His throat was parched and his breath was hot. Hunter closed his eyes and took a deep breath to compose himself. His heart was racing as if he had just run five sets of sprints.
[I'm fine.]
The voice he used to answer was hoarse.
Hunter took another deep breath, trying to relax his muscles. Then, he gripped Jiyu's chin and met her eyes.
Ironically, within those gentle and quiet eyes, Hunter found peace of mind, as he always had.
It had been the same when they were children.
Whenever his mind became a mess and he grew so agitated that his vision turned red, looking at Jiyu would quickly restore his stability.
'No need to overthink it. Just like when entering a tennis tournament, I just need to plan my strategy step by step and attack. It would be better to move the plan up a bit. Early September, right after the US Open...'
Having reached a simple and clear conclusion as usual, Hunter expanded his chest, took a full breath, and let it out slowly. He felt a bit more composed than before.
He looked Jiyu over slowly. She was staring at him with wide, bewildered eyes, looking surprised.
The faint, timid, skinny, and shy Jiyu Parker who had appeared at the Hamilton residence wearing a foolish white dress.
And the thoughtful, intellectual, elegant, and beautiful Jiyu Parker he was holding in his arms now.
Hunter hugged Jiyu again with crushing force.
His breathing gradually grew heavy, and an instinctive, primitive heat surged. The little bit of reason he had left soon collapsed.
[...You're mine.]
Muttering as if reminding himself, Hunter stormed her lips.
[Mmph, Hunter!]
Jiyu, half-lying on the narrow two-person sofa, tapped Hunter's shoulder.
Hunter had been acting a bit strange for a while.
After hearing Daisy's story at dinner, he had come to her room late at night, his jaw clenched as he demanded an explanation; he was clearly struggling to suppress his anger.
While she was watching breathlessly, wondering when he would explode, Hunter suddenly pulled her toward him. Then, looking at her with eyes glistening like a drunk person, he poured out a fierce kiss.
Their touching bodies were burning hot, like someone with a high fever.
[Hunter, Daisy is sleeping in the next room...!]
At those words, Hunter abruptly bolted upright. It seemed he had only then realized where they were.
However, with a somewhat vacant expression, he looked down at her, reached behind his neck, grabbed his t-shirt, and pulled it off violently.
As the hem of the shirt was dragged up, his firm abs and then his thick chest were revealed. Then, his wildly disheveled hair emerged. As he hastily yanked the sleeves caught on his thick forearms, there was a sound of stitching ripping.
Half-naked, Hunter threw the t-shirt aside and gazed at her. The soft light of the lamp cast over his straight shoulders, highlighting the contrast of his muscles, which curved like ridges.
[Mine...]
He breathed heavily, like someone being chased, and muttered again with a desperate look in his eyes.
Jiyu hid a small sigh and smiled bitterly.
It was a familiar phrase.
Sometimes he would declare it while burying himself deep inside her at the peak of pleasure, and sometimes he would mutter it while hugging her so tightly it felt suffocating, thinking she was asleep.
Hunter seemed to truly believe that he possessed her. It was the pinnacle of egocentric thinking, and a thought that was quintessentially Hunter Hamilton.
Having watched his growth process from right beside him, Jiyu couldn't agree with his way of thinking, but she understood it.
In reality, Hunter's world revolved around him.
To someone who lived a blessed life without deficiency or frustration, she was also just one of the many possessions easily given to him.
When they were young, he regarded her like a boring toy rolling around in a playroom, and now... he treated her like a security blanket for someone with separation anxiety.
'But Hunter, my heart cannot be your possession. You can't own a person's heart just by constantly declaring it's yours. It's not something you win by competing and fighting like a tournament trophy. One day, you'll realize that too.'
But Jiyu didn't have the courage to say such things to him openly.
To be honest, Jiyu was a bit surprised earlier. It was because Hunter had openly shown his resentment upon hearing that she had lunch with Joshua. Since he hadn't suggested going out for a meal for a while, she thought he had given up.
She didn't want to do anything resembling a 'date' with Hunter.
She feared that if he treated her tenderly, having a romantic and wonderful dinner like they did in the South of France, she would forget her place and fall for him helplessly again.
She had tried to tidy up her frozen love, which she couldn't even unfold properly, stuffing it into a small box and locking it with a bolt. But that love would leak through the gaps of the box even if Hunter treated her just a little bit kindly, burning her heart black with anticipation and hope.
'That's why I did it. Maybe I should have gone along with it once or twice. I just need to keep my wits about me.'
While she was lost in thought, Hunter pulled up the hem of her t-shirt.
[Oh...]
Caught off guard as her shirt was removed, Jiyu blinked her surprised eyes in her bra, and then Hunter pounced on her.
[Jiyu...]
Muttering her name, Hunter followed a soul-stealing kiss by blowing hot breath into her ear and sliding his hand under her back.
He, who had once ripped the front seam because he didn't know how to undo it, now unhooked her bra with one hand. The bra soon tumbled to the floor.
Jiyu placed her hands on his shoulders and whispered urgently.
[Hunter, Daisy is in the next room... Let's go to your room instead, ngh!]
He scooped her up in his arms, strode forward, and laid her horizontally across the bed. Perhaps because of the lamp light, Hunter's face looked more flushed than usual. The front of his jogger pants was already bulging significantly, and his gaze was unusual.
His impatient appearance, as if he had lost his composure, reminded her of the weekend she first visited his apartment.
Is this what a wild animal's mating season is like?
He had held her countless times throughout the apartment, to the point where she gave up counting. Whenever he saw a flat surface, they would be lying on it in an instant, her body shaking as he moved.
But recently, he had been teasing her with a frustratingly slow and relaxed pace, controlling the tempo. At times, she felt a sense of self-loathing, wondering if she was succumbing too easily to the desire he stirred.
'Why is Hunter Hamilton suddenly acting like this again?'
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