Saving You, Villain - Side Story 1 Part 1

It was the twilight just before dawn, as the faint light of morning slowly began to push away the darkness that had blanketed the village. A cool, early-summer breeze stole the beads of sweat from my forehead as it passed.

“Hah, hah…”

Though my breath was short, it wasn’t due to exhaustion—it felt refreshing. I had climbed the hill behind the village’s orchard, the highest point around, and took a deep breath. The crisp air of dawn filled my lungs along with the scent of the morning. Ah, this is nice. Just before I left the house, I was weighed down by sleep, and my body felt sluggish. But now, I felt so light, like I could run on clouds. On top of that, I felt a little proud of myself for shaking off the temptation of sweet morning sleep and heading out for a dawn workout. I spread my arms wide, enjoying the moment.

The thin summer clothes I wore fluttered in the breeze. Though the days had grown warmer, it was still a little chilly in the early morning, and here I was, running around without even a jacket. In the past, this would’ve been unimaginable—a reckless thing to do. But now, sharing Camian’s vitality, I no longer had to worry about catching a cold, even the so-called “summer cold that not even dogs get.” Instead, I could feel the energy surging through my body. I began to understand why Camian never showed any signs of fatigue, even after spending the entire day helping out the villagers.

Back in the day, I used to worry about him getting tired while he carried me to school every day. But I now realized that had been a pointless concern. Camian could probably run around the entire village all day with me on his back without breaking a sweat. If I felt this energized after receiving only a portion of his vitality, imagine how boundless his energy must be.

The sky was starting to turn pink at the edges. Time to head home.

“If he finds out I went out without a jacket, he’ll scold me again.”

Like a child who procrastinates on their homework only to worry about getting in trouble at school, I suddenly felt my heart tighten.

“I’ll probably get nagged until I fall asleep tonight.”

I wrinkled my brow and scratched between my eyebrows.

“Even though I’ve recovered, his overprotectiveness hasn’t changed a bit.”

My worries quickly turned into grumbles. As I trudged down the hill, I muttered the complaints I had been holding in.

Camian still hadn’t let go of his old habits, and even though I had regained my health, he continued to take care of me like before—if anything, his overprotectiveness had gotten worse. I guess the two years I spent unconscious, followed by the month I was blind, had been a bigger shock to him than I realized. I could sense his constant worry that my health might suddenly deteriorate for some unknown reason.

Well, from my perspective, it wasn’t all bad. Having him carry me around like a carriage, take on all the tough farm work, and even tie my shoelaces, clean my room, and help me dress—it was pretty convenient, honestly. But convenience came at a price, and that price was his relentless nagging.

“Even if it’s warm, I told you to close the window before you sleep. Do you just not learn? Should I write it on your forehead so you’ll remember?”

“Are you going to swallow your food without chewing again? If you don’t want to have to show me every bite before you swallow, chew ten times at least.”

“Do stairs look like a death trap to you? Why don’t you skip three at a time next time, or better yet, just jump out the window?”

His comments were so sharp they made my ears bleed, figuratively speaking. Okay, I can maybe deal with the nagging… Fine, I’ll let that slide. But Camian had a far bigger issue.

When I entered the house, the morning quietness greeted me. I tiptoed up to the second floor, trying not to wake Debra or Jax. I really wanted to take a shower, but I was already late getting back, so I had to put that off. My heart pounded as I opened the door to my room.

“….”

The window Camian had firmly shut last night was now wide open. The light blue curtains billowed in the breeze like the fins of a fish swimming through water. Sunlight poured into the room, revealing every detail.

“…Camian.”

The closet doors were all open, clothes spilling out and tangled on the floor. The blanket that should have been on the bed was strewn across the floor, with a chair knocked over on top of it. Books had fallen off the shelves, their pages splayed open, and faint footprints were scattered across the mess.

The room looked like a tornado had torn through it. Camian, standing with his back to me, slowly turned around. When our eyes met—his red gaze locking onto mine—a chill ran down my spine.

“Where were you?”

His dangerous possessiveness was growing, the intensity in his eyes impossible to miss. The whites of his once-clear eyes were now tinged with red, perhaps from broken blood vessels.

“…I told you I was starting morning workouts this week.”

Camian blinked slowly, suppressing the emotions that seemed on the verge of exploding. It was as if he was shedding the shell of fear he had created for himself.

“Ah.”

He ran a hand over his face as if remembering for the first time.

And this was Camian’s big problem—his anxiety. The moment I disappeared from his sight, he would lose control, tearing the house apart just like this. It was lucky I’d come back early. If I’d been any later, he might have torn through Debra and Jax’s room too, regardless of whether they were still asleep.

Whenever Camian had one of these anxiety Chapters, I always tried to laugh it off. If I ever showed fear or looked at him differently, it would only make things worse. He wouldn’t be able to handle his emotions and would spiral into intense self-hatred and depression.

“You’d better not scold me about cleaning the room again. At least I don’t leave it looking like this.”

I teased him as I normally would. Camian stretched out his long legs and closed the distance between us. He moved so quickly that his face was suddenly out of view, and before I could tilt my head back to look up, Camian knelt down to meet my gaze.

He said nothing, only stared into my eyes. His cold fingers brushed gently over my eyelids, carefully watching my pupils as if to confirm they were still there. His right eye closed, almost like a wink.

“What are you doing?”

“Can I kiss you?”

“…….”

“I want to kiss your eyes.”

Camian’s voice was low, his gaze never leaving mine. The tone, the look, everything about him told me this wasn’t one of his usual playful remarks—it was genuine. He really wanted to kiss my eyes. What did he mean by that? Was I missing some romantic, symbolic language here? I had heard that cats show affection by slowly blinking at each other—maybe he meant something like that?

“I want to put my tongue on your eyeball and suck it with my lips.”

…Apparently, that wasn’t what he meant. His thumb, which rested gently on my right eyelid, began to slowly move from side to side, as if he were caressing something precious.

I didn’t know how to react to Camian’s strange request. A part of me thought, Maybe I should just let him suck my eyeball once, but the mere thought of a tongue touching my eye—where even a tiny speck of dust causes discomfort—felt excruciating.

“Liv.”

He called my name as if urging me to grant permission.

“…What are you talking about? Snap out of it.”

After a long hesitation, I pushed his hand away from my eyelid. I’d never heard of lovers sucking each other’s eyes—this wasn’t normal.

Camian backed off without protest. But almost immediately, he pressed his lips against mine instead, as if deciding he needed to kiss something, even if it wasn’t my eyes.

It was an all-consuming kiss. His lips were rough, crushing mine to the point of pain, biting down on the tender flesh. “Ah!” I whimpered at the sharp sting, and he took advantage of the moment, slipping his tongue into my mouth, swirling it around relentlessly. As his breathing grew more labored, driven by excitement, the force of his kiss grew even stronger. Unable to withstand the onslaught, my feet stumbled backward, losing balance.

“Kami… mmph, wait… uhm…”

I found myself backing up under his powerful, imposing frame until my heels scraped against the hard surface of the wall. Thud. My back pressed up against the wall, and I realized I had nowhere else to go.

“Ugh… wait, Kami, haah… I can’t breathe…!”

I turned my head to escape his lips, desperately trying to catch my breath, but he grabbed my chin, forcing me to face him again, and once more captured my lips. His feverish kiss was overwhelming, his frantic pace too much for me to keep up with. It wasn’t driven by lust—it was fueled by his anxiety, which made it even more difficult to resist.

He was like a lost child, stranded on a deserted island, wandering aimlessly. I didn’t want to push him away, so I wrapped my arms around his neck.

“Mmph… mm…”

“Open your mouth more. Stick out your tongue.”

“How much more…?”

Camian sucked on my tongue so forcefully it made a loud slurping noise. My tongue felt like it was about to be pulled out from the root, but even though it hurt, I couldn’t bring myself to reject his desperation.

After what felt like an eternity of devouring my lips, Camian shifted his attention to my neck. Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t a gentle kiss.

“Ow!”

It felt like he was determined to tear into my neck, his sharp fangs sinking into my skin without hesitation. A sharp pain spread through my shoulders, and it wasn’t confined to one spot. Wherever his lips touched, the pain followed. Is this what it feels like to be bitten by a wild animal?

“Stop, that hurts! Ugh, just… wait a second…”

“I know. Just a little more.”

“You said you know, so stop already—ow, stop sucking!”

“Are you tired of standing? Should we move to the bed?”

“What bed? I told you to stop! Ugh… ow…”

Ignoring my protest, Camian easily scooped me up. Instinctively, I wrapped my legs around his waist. Even as he carried me to the bed, he didn’t stop biting my neck.

“Ow, it hurts…”

At that moment, a brief knock was followed by the door swinging open. From my position, I could see the wooden door, which had been firmly shut, suddenly give way. And then I saw Debra’s eyes, nose, and mouth widen in shock.

“Oh my god!”

For a few seconds, Debra froze, staring at us in disbelief, before slamming the door shut. I stood there, dumbfounded, staring at the now-closed door.

“……”

What… just happened? My mind, which had been frozen in shock, began whirring into overdrive. Did we just get caught… doing something inappropriate? A wave of embarrassment washed over me, so intense that I thought I might drown in it. What had Debra seen when she opened the door?

Me, clinging to Camian with my arms and legs wrapped around him, the obscene sound of sucking, Camian with his face buried in my neck, my flushed face, our labored breaths…

“……”

The heat that had risen from Camian’s aggressive kiss suddenly dissipated. Even Camian, who had been focused on my neck, finally pulled away and looked up at me.

“Oh no… this is bad.”

Debra and Jax knew our relationship had deepened, but that didn’t mean I wanted them to witness our intimate moments. Definitely not. And I’m sure they didn’t want to see it, either. Who would want to see the kids they’d raised biting and sucking on each other?

“…Put me down.”

My voice was cold. Camian, his earlier fervor subdued, quietly lowered me to the ground. I sat on the edge of the bed and said, in a deflated tone,

“Clean up the room.”

…I’ll just sit here and stew in my misery.

***

“Ahem, ahem.”

At the dining table, we all sat in unusual silence. I kept my head down, focused on my meal, unable to bear the shame of having been caught by Debra. Meanwhile, Debra kept looking back and forth between me and Camian with an unreadable expression.