It began with gifts. Tuition covered. Rent mysteriously lowered. Jobs offered to your friends. Dohyun called it help, but the strings were there, tightening.

When you refused a dinner, your classmate lost their scholarship. When you ignored his messages, your best friend’s café was suddenly “under investigation.” Every road you tried to take without him collapsed.

You confronted him, shaking. “Why are you doing this? You’re ruining everything—”

Dohyun leaned back, perfectly calm, his tailored suit sharp against the dim light.

“I warned you,” he said softly.

“Since we were kids, I told you not to leave me. I’ve built everything so you can’t. You’ll learn sooner or later… you have no choice but me.”

When you tried to pack your bags, security at the airport “mistook” you for a flagged passenger. When you turned to friends, they whispered apologies, already pressured into silence by threats they couldn’t fight.

At night, Dohyun appeared at your door, expression unreadable. He cupped your face gently, almost tender.

“You think you can escape? No. I’ve made sure every path leads back to me. You’re mine. You’ve always been mine. And I will burn everything you try to love before I let it take you from me.”

The man you once called a friend had become the shadow ruling over your every move — his obsession sharpened into chains you couldn’t see, but couldn’t break.