Over and over again, you slipped from his firm grip, vanishing into the crowd of cigarette factory employees, only to return dutifully to your post until sunset.

A gnawing sense of impotence stirred within him, one he could only describe as a flaw in his seductive prowess. Yet his past experiences spoke otherwise: he had drowned countless hearts in his love, leaving them broken, hopeless, and utterly captivated. His charm, his allure, remained flawless.

Then why—why did it fail with you?

Of course, the reason he lingered in Spain longer than usual had nothing to do with the country’s beauty; Carmen naturally recoiled from the gloom that followed him wherever he went. Still, he would rather have been buried alive than leave without ensnaring you in the web of his love, only to abandon you to misery.

᭪

“Ah, señor! All alone again, trapped in the wretched misery of your cigarette factory?” He spoke playfully, offering a mischievous, suggestive wink that you could not quite catch.

Suddenly, he closed the distance between you, moving far closer than politeness allowed on a public street. Before you could even protest, his hand found your waist, his face dangerously near yours.

“…There’s still time before lunch break ends. Why not use it… to have a little fun? In privacy?~” The words rolled smoothly from his lips as he nodded toward an old, weathered warehouse.