Chapter 15: “Surrender yourself to me.”
He Yue scoffed, “Even when you’re reflecting and apologizing to me, even when expressing your sincerity, all you’re thinking about is how to use me to remove your mental imprint, right?”
Koeyle averted his gaze, bringing the glass to his lips, intending to take a sip of wine to hide his guilt, only to find that he had already finished it. He picked up the empty glass and put it down again, looking even more awkward.
He kept a straight face and remained silent.
Before coming here, he had anticipated various torturous methods He Yue might employ, but he hadn’t expected him to directly expose his deceitful disguise.
With the pretense torn away, his purpose was laid bare before He Yue.
The effect of the liquor slowed his thinking, and he couldn’t come up with a response or rebuttal for a long time.
He was rooted to the spot, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the empty glass, the hope in his heart slowly sinking into an icy abyss. He couldn’t even find his own value or significance to He Yue, leaving him at a loss for words to negotiate with.
He Yue got up to mix a drink, the only sound in the room the clinking of the spoon against the mixing glass.
It wasn’t until the filled glass appeared in Koeyle’s vision that he came back to his senses and looked up at the person handing him the drink.
The person stood before him, backlit, a halo of light cast upon his hair. He wore a gentle smile, his drunken eyes slightly hazy, making him exceptionally alluring against his flushed cheeks.
The harsher and colder he had been when confronting him earlier, the more captivating this rare gentleness was now.
Koeyle’s heart skipped a beat.
“Thank you.” Koeyle took the glass with both hands.
The drink in the glass was layered, the top a pale pink, almost transparent, and the bottom a turquoise green, dreamlike and unreal.
“Does Master give names to his cocktail creations?” Koeyle asked.
He Yue took a sip of his drink and asked, “Any suggestions?”
Koeyle took a small sip, the sweet taste enough to soothe his extremely tense nerves. He wiped the condensation from the glass with his fingers and said in a low voice, “Like a dream.”
He Yue smiled, took another sip, leaned back against the sofa, and closed his eyes contentedly.
“Then let’s call it ‘Daydream.'”
The lingering aroma of the alcohol eased the tense atmosphere. The two of them drank from the same cocktail glass, tacitly remaining silent for a long time.
Night deepened, and it was very late.
He Yue put down his glass and said softly, “If you have nothing else, Colonel, please leave.”
“Master…”
Koeyle wanted to argue, but the words caught in his throat. With his facade stripped away, he was left at a loss.
His worthless determination left him suspended in a void, like a rootless duckweed. No matter how brightly the medal on his chest shone, he couldn’t find its significance to He Yue.
“Still haven’t given up?” He Yue asked.
“…I don’t want to give up. Please, Master, guide me.” Perhaps the alcohol had clouded his eyes, leaving only confusion in them. He couldn’t think of anything else to say besides clinging to He Yue like a lifeline.
“You’re quite persistent.”
“If I lose even my persistence, then I truly have nothing left.”
Koeyle genuinely believed He Yue’s words. Besides his stubborn determination, he had nothing left.
After shattering the confidence Koeyle had painstakingly built, He Yue chose to give him a sliver of hope.
“Colonel, let’s play a game.”
Koeyle sensed He Yue relenting, and a hopeful excitement surged before reason could catch up. He agreed before even hearing the content of the game.
“Don’t agree so quickly, listen to me,” He Yue said slowly, his voice laced with drunkenness. “Three months. If you can ask me to remove the imprint again after three months, I will agree.”
“Do I need to do anything for Master during these three months?”
“Of course, I won’t offer kindness without a price.”
He Yue leaned forward slightly, his alcohol-hazed eyes appearing even more alluring.
“I want you to sell yourself to me for these three months. I will own everything about you: your thoughts, your mind, your body. You will no longer have the right to dispose of them.”
Koeyle remained silent, carefully considering He Yue’s words. He didn’t know if it was the alcohol, but he couldn’t understand the purpose of this game.
“I don’t understand what I need to do.”
“Just be obedient and follow my commands without hesitation.”
The experience in the broadcasting studio had truly frightened Koeyle. He remembered the command He Yue had given him when they talked about orders. He asked softly, “What if you ask me to… have sex with you in public?”
He Yue didn’t answer his question, instead asking, “Are you sure you want to bargain with me?”
Koeyle had no idea about the possible extent of this game.
He had many more questions. For example, would He Yue directly order him to die, or to leave the military…
But he knew he had no room for negotiation, not from the beginning. He Yue was determined not to answer his anxieties, and asking now would only disappoint him further.
As long as he could endure these three months… This was his only chance.
The thought in his subconscious was still resistance, not obedience.
“As long as I ask you to remove the imprint after three months, that’s all I need to do?” Koeyle asked again, in disbelief.
He Yue nodded, giving a meaningful smile: “Yes, there are no other conditions. As long as you don’t willingly offer me the chain that binds your throat after three months, I can grant you the freedom you desire.”
Koeyle found the absurdity of this outcome far greater than the incomprehensible game itself.
Koeyle asked, “May I ask Master’s reason for doing this?”
He Yue remained silent for a while, then spoke just as Koeyle thought he would refuse to answer: “Because your freedom is just a trivial matter to me, and I need to find some amusement in my boring life.”
“Do you need more time to consider, Colonel?” He Yue, having cast the bait, wasn’t in a hurry.
Koeyle, almost conceitedly confident in his determination, shook his head: “No, I accept this game.” He believed in his willpower. It was just three months of role-playing; as long as he could survive, it would pass in the blink of an eye.
If there was anything truly unbearable, he could just resist.
He had clearly forgotten the meaning of “everything” that He Yue had just said.
He Yue knew he wasn’t thinking straight, but he wasn’t in a hurry to point it out.
“Deal.” He Yue’s drunken voice carried a pleasant lilt.
Koeyle placed the glass, now only containing the ice ball, on the table and searched his vocabulary for the term Wien had used earlier: “At Master’s command.”
He Yue chuckled: “The title ‘Master,’ let’s wait until the colonel can say it sincerely.”
“…Yes, Male Insect.” A flicker of guilt flashed through Koeyle’s eyes, afraid that his little scheme would be exposed by He Yue once again.
He Yue pushed the box containing the iron ball towards him: “Take it and keep it safe. You’ll naturally feel it when I call you. Goodnight, Colonel Koeyle.”
Koeyle reached out and gripped the box tightly. Perhaps it was the aftereffects of the alcohol, but he felt his head was burning.
He didn’t know what kind of abyss he had stepped into, only feeling the strong effects of the alcohol as he left the studio, his body swaying.
[Host, are you really not planning to use pheromones?] The system’s voice rang out. It had served more than one host, but this one, it couldn’t understand at all.
(That method won’t work on him.)
He Yue lay back on the sofa, his cheeks flushed from the alcohol.
Unwavering honor, dignity, and freedom…
Was there a better collar than this?
