The news of Yuki's disappearance spread quickly among the people who had followed Ivan to Japan. Fear clung to the air around Ivan. But Ivan, unlike the rest, did not even seem remotely disturbed.
He wasn't angry, not like the time he'd caught Hiroshi trying to lay a hand on Yuki. When Alisa nervously reported the incident to him, Ivan exhaled, leaned back, and said in a voice cold enough to silence everyone.
"There's no need to worry about her."
He finished the rest of his business before returning to the penthouse he shared with Yuki with the same calm. The bodyguards stationed at the entrance dropped to their knees the moment he arrived. They had thought of thousands of reasons since they couldn't find Yuki anywhere. But when Ivan actually returned, none of them could even speak properly.
"Boss, that girl—" one of them began.
Ivan's glance was all it took. The words died in the man's throat. Silence filled the hallway like a noose tightening around their necks. Ivan's footsteps echoed—a steady, unhurried rhythm—as he entered the penthouse.
The lights were off. Darkness consumed the room, thick and unmoving. But Ivan smiled.
He looked around with an expression of quiet satisfaction, his gaze sharp and deliberate as his fingers brushed the wall panel. One by one, the lights flickered on, revealing the shape of a small figure sitting on the sofa.
"Have you eaten, Yuki?"
His tone was gentle as he talked, the kind of voice that didn't usually come out of his mouth.
Yuki sat curled up on the couch, her knees drawn to her chest. Her eyes were red, shimmering with unshed tears. But when she turned her head toward Ivan, the only thing he could see was the look of satisfaction on his face.
"You planned this from the beginning, didn't you?" Her voice trembled, but she forced the words out. "You wanted to test if I would stay loyal… to see if I'd come crawling back to you with my own feet. You wanted to remind me that even if you let me go, there's nowhere else I belong but here."
It all made sense now.
The "freedom" had come too easily. Igor's sudden act of kindness, his willingness to defy Ivan—it was all wrong from the start. Igor is someone who seems so loyal to Ivan. The more Yuki thought about it, the more she realized that her presence alone was not enough to make Igor dare to betray Ivan.
In the end, all assumptions pointed to one thing. Yuki still tried not to believe it until the very last moment. But when she saw the smile on Ivan's face, she immediately knew everything.
Ivan had orchestrated everything.
The reunion with Yuzu, the brief illusion of escape, the glimmer of a life beyond his reach, it was all a carefully designed test for her.
In the end, Ivan had wanted Yuki to see what her existence had cost her sister. He had wanted to make her understand that the only place she would ever be accepted was here, by him.
Yuki lowered her head. When she had all the answers, her voice grew weaker again.
"You win. From this moment on, I have no ties to anyone in this country."
She had written Yuzu her final letter. She begged her sister to forget her, to stop searching, to live freely without the weight of her name. It was the only way she could ever repay what Yuzu did to her.
Between running away and returning to Ivan, Yuki had already made her choice.
Running meant being hunted.
The money Igor had given her wasn't freedom—it was bait, another message from Ivan. That money was a silent reminder that no matter how far she ran, he would always find her.
He owned every road she could walk, every sky she could breathe under.
To Ivan, this was nothing more than a game. A series of experiments designed to measure the depth of her despair and devotion.
And Ivan found it intoxicating.
"I wasn't wrong about you," Ivan murmured, his lips curving into a smile. "You really are sweet, Yuki."
He stepped closer, the scent of his cologne mixing with the sterile chill of the penthouse air. Yuki didn't move. She didn't resist when he cupped her chin and pressed a soft kiss against her trembling lips.
It was always like this.
Every cruelty was followed by tenderness. And Yuki, shattered and silent, understood that this was Ivan's way of keeping her.
His mercy was his cruelty, while his affection was her prison.
"Master... please, touch me..."
Yuki clung to Ivan as if he were her only lifeline. Ivan happily returned her embrace. He pulled Yuki into his arms and kissed her lips again as he pleased.
"Ah... Master..."
Yuki's feelings were mixed, but she still responded to the stimulation Ivan gave her with every movement. Yuki sobbed between kisses. She closed her eyes tightly until she felt someone's soft touch on her face.
"Shh... don't cry. I'll take good care of you."
Ivan whispered, putting his lips to Yuki's ear as he held her trembling back with his other hand.
"As long as you obey me, I will always protect you."
Ivan said that, but he couldn't even promise to stay on Yuki's side if she became the reason for the downfall of his organization. Yuki could only feel the bitterness in Ivan's words. Ivan didn't seem to know that his words only made Yuki feel more suffocated at that moment.
"My sweet Yuki. You are the only person who can make me feel happiness."
Yuki clung to Ivan as he whispered in her ear.
"Show me more of your true self, hm?"
Ivan caressed Yuki's cheek when he saw that Yuki was looking into his eyes.
"I know you already know that you have to show your true self to stay with me."
Ivan's hand began to move down. He pulled down the pants Yuki was wearing to feel the heat between Yuki's thighs.
"A, ah..."
"I'm looking forward to the moment when you decide to show me who you really are, Yuki."
When Ivan started to take off his clothes too, that's when Yuki knew she was going to spend another long night with Ivan. The girl wrapped her arms around Ivan's neck. When Ivan lifted her, Yuki changed her position to sit on the hot bulge between his legs.
"I... I don't understand what you mean by that, Master."
Ivan usually appeared calm, even when he was with Yuki. But when Yuki seemed confused by his words, Ivan became excited, and it showed in his eyes. Ivan held the back of Yuki's head. Enthusiastically, he pushed Yuki's face, especially her eyes, right in front of his lips.
"Yuki... My Yuki..."
Ivan kissed Yuki's eyes, which automatically closed as soon as he started kissing her, then moved down to kiss Yuki's seductive lips. When Yuki was overwhelmed by his kisses, Ivan took the opportunity to enter the hole that belonged only to Yuki.
"Empht."
Yuki gasped for breath amid Ivan's kisses. Tears slowly fell from her eyes. But in the end, she could do nothing but accept Ivan completely.