Chapter 4

A sudden knock interrupted the silence inside the private lounge.

One of the men leaned back lazily against the leather chair, dark eyes still fixed on the massive screens displaying terrified girls running through the forest, desperately trying to survive. For them it's like a normal movie.

“Hm.”

The low sound was enough permission.

The guard immediately entered, head lowered respectfully as he approached the table and placed a thick black file in front of them.

“Sir,” he spoke carefully, “the new list has arrived.”

Another guard standing near the door added with a faint smirk,

“They’re beautiful. Exactly the kind you requested.”

Silence followed.

One of the men dismissed them with a small gesture without even looking in their direction.

The guards instantly disappeared.

The room fell quiet again except for the distant sound of rain and the muffled screams echoing from the speakers connected to the hunting grounds.

A lighter clicked softly.

The man sitting in the shadows brought the cigar between his lips before inhaling slowly, smoke filling his lungs like poison he had long ago learned to enjoy.

Then he exhaled.

Grey smoke curled through the dim room while his tattooed fingers opened the file casually.

Cold silver piercings glinted beneath the low light one resting against his lower lip, another through the edge of his eyebrow. Black ink crawled across the left side of his body, stretching from shoulder to fingers like violence permanently carved into flesh.

Page after page flipped slowly.

Girls.

Profiles.

Photographs.

Names.

Ages.

Psychological evaluations.

Medical history.

Education records.

Family members.

Friends.

Past relationships.

Daily routines.

Favorite places.

Fears.

Every detail collected so carefully it no longer felt like information.

It felt like ownership before possession.

Then suddenly

he stopped.

The burning cigar paused between his fingers.

A photograph stared back at him from the page.

Kim Taehyung wrote in black bold font.

The image looked harmless enough.

She stood outside a fashion building wearing black sunglasses and a long coat, one hand holding coffee while speaking on the phone, completely unaware she was being photographed from a distance. Another photo where she was in a party looking stunning and unreachable.

Elegant.

Calm.

Alive.

Something shifted inside the room.

The man leaned back slowly, eyes fixed on her face with a stillness that felt deeply wrong.

Not admiration.

Not attraction.

Something far darker.

The kind of attention predators gave before deciding whether to kill or keep something.

Smoke escaped slowly from between his lips as his thumb dragged lightly across the edge of her photograph.

The movement looked almost gentle.

That was the disturbing part.

Because somewhere outside this room, Kim Taehyung was still living normally sleeping peacefully, breathing freely, existing without fear —

while a complete stranger already knew the names of her relatives, the layout of her apartment, her medical records, and the exact time she returned home every night.

“She has sharp eyes,” the man finally murmured quietly.

Another voice emerged from the darkness.

“Sharp women are difficult to break.”

A slow smile touched his lips.

Not warm enough to be human.

“Good,” he said softly.

“I was getting bored of obedient ones".

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Hello, my beautiful souls. I hope all of you are doing well. ♡

So… how was the chapter? Did you enjoyed it?

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Your likes, comments, and support genuinely mean a lot to me because they motivate me to continue writing and improving this story. Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share your thoughts I would truly love to know how you felt while reading.

And lastly, please don’t report the story. It is purely fictional and written only for entertainment purposes for readers who enjoy dark psychological fiction and morally grey characters.

Thank you for giving my story a chance and supporting my very first work.

See you in the next chapter, my beautiful souls. ♡

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