Jungkook was certain she must be surprised to find her room unlocked today. He wanted to give her just enough freedom, letting the captivity he was preparing her for sink in slowly. Marco wanted her freedom and spirit completely shattered, but Jungkook had his own ways. He didn’t have any specific tactics for training a woman to submit, but he had learned how to observe people, how to use time as his tool. He would opt for his methods instead, ones that were calculated.

He wanted to study her, to understand her better. Locking her away entirely felt wrong. It must have been miserable for her, and she wasn’t the kind of woman who would break so easily. No, keeping her locked up would only make her more defiant, more rebellious. From what he had observed so far, she wasn’t someone who would crumble under confinement. She would fight harder, push back stronger.

He was certain she wouldn’t waste a second leaving that room once she found it unlocked, and now here she was, descending the stairs already.

She was someone who kept moving forward, who refused to stop unless she saw a glimmer of hope. But then she saw him.

Her steps faltered.

She looked at him, and there it was again—that thick fog of desire that suffocated him every time he saw those eyes of her. It consumed him, drowned him in a way he hadn’t felt in years.