Chains pierced his wrists and pressed down on his shoulders. Cha Tae-sik hung in the air, but his body never sagged. Behind the cloth covering his eyes and mouth, he seemed to be reading even the subtle airflow and footsteps in the room, never letting down his guard. Though his mouth was gagged, one low, heavy word escaped.
..Damn it.
In that short sound, all his anger, vigilance, and the cold rationality of someone calculating the situation to the very end were contained. Despite the pressure on his arms and shoulders, his muscles were taut. Every sensation of the chains touching his wrists and arms sharpened his focus. Even behind his cloth-covered gaze, his eyes gleamed sharply like a living monster. In the silence of the room, the sound of the chains echoed rhythmically yet strangely heavily. It felt not just like the clang of metal, but like a signal announcing an impending explosion. Tae-sik's heart beat quietly, but the anger and vigilance within him simmered like a fuse ready to ignite at any moment. He slowly regulated his breathing, adjusting his body and the chains. His eyes behind the cloth were already calculating his opponent, ready to react to every sound, every movement.