Chapter 10
– Aaaargh-!!!
The desperate scream echoed through the place that had always been filled with overwhelming silence.
The white marble hallway leading to the boss’s office on the 1st floor of the Square was drenched with fresh blood, still wet enough not to have hardened on the floor. Before the blood could even dry, new arrivals were dragged across it, leaving no chance for the floor to be cleaned.
It had been three days already, precisely 72 hours.
Or to be more accurate, it had been that way for the past 72 hours.
“What on earth is going on?”
“Why was that girl kidnapped from the party?”
“I heard some big shot did it right at the boss’s place.”
The members of the organization were busy gossiping about the rare occasion of their boss personally intervening, and rumors were rampant about what the truth might be.
Normally, the two people who shouldn’t have set foot in the Square were wandering around places they might not be able to visit again anytime soon, chatting away.
“But wasn’t the boss not on good terms with the girl?”
“That’s what I thought too, but with the girl being kidnapped, maybe it was all just a rumor.”
“Maybe it’s just that he’s pissed off at Utopia. Why would the boss’s mother…”
Bang!
At that moment, gunfire sharply cut through the conversation, resonating through the air.
Thud- As if unable to believe his subordinate collapsing on the ground just like that, the man froze as he gazed toward me.
“When did such a scum end up here?”
Harwon chuckled as he walked over and lightly tapped the fallen body with the tip of his shoe, as if to confirm its existence.
His movement was graceful and imposing, like that of a lion’s lazy stride.
Blood flowed, dirtying his polished shoes, and only then did Harwon withdraw his foot and shift his gaze to the trembling man on the ground.
Under the sunlight, his eyes, as dark as the depths of hell, met the man’s gaze. In that moment, the man’s hand, discreet and agile, reached for the gun hidden inside his jacket.
I had never seen someone smile like that before.
A smile that seemed like it could cut deep with just a slight touch. Even the air around him felt chilling, as if gathering all the darkness of hell.
Contrasting sharply with the upturned corners of his mouth, his shadowed pupils gleamed like those of a predator targeting its prey.
Standing face to face with that predator, it felt like he could plunge his large, sharp fangs deep into the man’s neck and tear him apart whole. Just the thought sent shivers down my spine.
Following his steps, a crimson trail was painted on the marble floor.
There was no escape.
It was an animalistic instinct. The man, who fully accepted that fact with his whole body, slammed his head onto the ground and prostrated himself.
“P-please spare me, boss!”
With a desperate cry, Harwon chuckled once more and knelt down in front of the fallen man, placing one knee on the ground.
“If you don’t want a hole in the back of your head, look up.”
At the stern warning, the man quickly raised his head. The black barrel of the gun gleamed right in front of his eyes. Without a chance to evade, the muzzle shifted.
“Ugh…!”
Due to the trembling of his mouth, it collided with the gun with a thud, producing a sound.
“Now, shall we talk?”
With the grace of the moon standing atop the night sky, he smiled elegantly, almost like a deity.
Ugh, ugh! The man’s whimpering cries met Harwon’s gaze, which now shone with a more ominous light than ever before.
“Yugeum.”
“…”
“About your real master.”
***
“It must be a preference.”
I swallowed hard as his face drew closer.
I wanted to look away, feeling like I might suffocate, but I couldn’t, thanks to the hand that gently but firmly gripped my chin.
His enigmatic smile made me feel crazy.
“I…”
I couldn’t gather my thoughts properly.
His face, matching my taste almost perfectly, seemed to sparkle with a brightness that could blind.
Today, his tousled hair and loose ivory-colored knit sweater seemed to add an extra layer of lethargy to his demeanor.
I almost nodded in agreement to the question about my preferences, but I managed to hold onto my senses.
‘No, snap out of it. You need to regain your composure!’
Yugeum was obviously spinning a web to trap me and keep me from escaping.
What I was doing now was probably just due to the amusement of seeing my reaction. But if he finds a reason, he could kill me on the spot with his curiosity.
Thinking it would be easy to manipulate the story since I knew the novel’s plot, I was probably making a big mistake.
But seeing it firsthand, the fox with nine tails was undoubtedly Yugeum.
“Yeah?”
As Yugeum prompted for a whispered answer, the urgency to escape this situation made my mouth open involuntarily.
“It’s, it’s a preference.”
Too honest, as if not passing through my brain.
Yugeum’s eyes widened, then he tilted his head with interest.
I tried not to acknowledge his gaze and muttered under my breath like casting a spell.
‘Just a little, just a little bit of manipulation.’
Otherwise, I have no future.
My mind was tangled with various regrets, but it was already too late, and I was already in the tiger’s den.
Even if I obediently tried to leave from here, Yugeum would lose interest and eventually I would die as a hostage.
It was better to pique his interest like a madman than to leave obediently.
“Isn’t that your preference?”
Forcing a smile, hoping my voice wouldn’t tremble, I desperately prayed.
Unable to meet his gaze myself, I tightly squeezed the hand of Yugeum, who was holding mine.
“I…”
Even as I raised my head with my mouth still pulled into a smile, Yugeum’s face looked as if he was taken aback, staring at me with intense eyes.
Then, with a hollow laugh, Yugeum wiped his face with his hand and took a step back from me.
“There really seems to be no way you’ll behave as expected.”
Fortunately or unfortunately, I never had any ambitions to conquer my favorite character or set such goals, as in other romance novels, and I never would in the future.
Even though I felt thrilled by his handsome face and looked forward to the inevitable relationship between him and Baek Harwon, seeing him smiling at me made me think about surviving.
‘In order to be together with Baek Harwon…!’
My determination to live surged once again.
As Yugeum kept moving away from me, I realized he was now sitting on the desk, buried his face in his hands, and looked at me with one eye.
His gaze was like that of a curious child observing something new, with a mixture of caution and curiosity.
“Do you know where this is?”
Utopia.
I rolled the words I couldn’t bring myself to say out loud in my mind.
An organization in a power struggle with Baek Cheon. But in reality, they were always overshadowed by Baek Cheon and had become more dirty and despicable in their attempts to surpass them.
“Yes, I knew who I was.”
“…”
“But how much do you know?”
His fierce gaze pierced through me.
If he knows everything, from being a bastard to the kind of life I’ve been living, Yugeum would have no hesitation in killing me.
Although everyone knows this, no one who spoke out against him survived.
Thinking about this fact made my whole body shiver, but I put on a face of ignorance and smiled widely.
“I heard you’re handsome.”
There were too many questions I couldn’t answer, so I decided to continue to be brazen.
“Are you curious about why I liked you?”
Even though Yugeum was standing right in front of me, I was still stuck to the wall as if glued, but I managed to step closer to him.
As I stopped right in front of Yugeum, my heart pounded wildly.
Every moment felt like walking on thin ice, wondering if I would survive if I took a step this way or die if I took a step that way.
“Should I tell you?”
Despite everything, I took another step forward.
Stopping just within reach before reaching out, Yugeum glanced at the spot where my foot had stopped and his smile deepened.
“I thought that would be an unexpected excuse.”
“T-that’s not… true.”
I hesitated, barely managing to answer his pointed question.
“If you say so.”
I inwardly breathed a sigh of relief at Yugeum’s words. I wasn’t very good at lying.
In the original story, what was Cha Yeonbyeol doing while she was kidnapped?
What did she do to make Baek Harwon come to rescue her and kill her when she should have negotiated?
When I was feeling frustrated that Cha Yeonbyeol was just a villainess who dies after the first meeting with the protagonists, Yugeum spoke up.
“But why are you speaking in past tense?”
Yugeum’s question, which repeatedly missed my expectations, made my head spin.
What did I, what did I say?
“You said you liked me.”
“…”
“Do you not like me anymore?”
His fierce gaze pierced through me.
Knowing everything from being a bastard to the life I’ve been living, if Yugeum said so, he would have no hesitation in killing me.
Although everyone seemed to know this, there hadn’t been anyone who survived speaking out against him, so the thought sent shivers down my spine, but I kept up a facade of ignorance and smiled widely, saying, “He’s famous for being handsome.”
There were too many unanswered questions, so I decided to keep being brazen.
“You asked why I liked you, right?”
Despite Yugeum standing right in front of me, I felt as if my body was glued to the wall, but I managed to tear myself away and stepped closer to him.
As I stopped right in front of Yugeum, my heart pounded wildly.
Every moment felt like walking on thin ice, wondering if I would survive if I took a step this way or die if I took a step that way.
“Shall I tell you?”
Despite everything, I took another step forward.
Stopping just within reach before reaching out, I glanced at the corner of Yugeum’s mouth, where a smile lingered.
“I thought that would be an unexpected excuse.”
“T-that’s not… true.”
I hesitated, barely managing to answer his pointed question.
“If you say so.”
I inwardly breathed a sigh of relief at Yugeum’s words. I wasn’t very good at lying.
In the original story, what was Cha Yeonbyeol doing while she was kidnapped?
What did she do to make Baek Harwon come to rescue her and kill her when she should have negotiated?
Feeling frustrated that Cha Yeonbyeol was just a villainess who dies after the first meeting with the protagonists, Yugeum spoke up.
“But why are you speaking in past tense?”
Yugeum’s question, which repeatedly missed my expectations, made my head spin.
What did I, what did I say?
“You said you liked me.”
“…”
“Do you not like me anymore?”
Saying I liked him meant that I liked him as a reader.
But I couldn’t answer like this.
‘You asked why I liked you, right?’
At that moment, in my confusion, I even spoke in past tense, as if I had already given up today’s words.
What would happen if I said I gave up now?
“Now that I see you in person, you’re less handsome than the rumors.”
It was a playful remark, but it wasn’t comedy to me.
No matter how harsh the development was, it was not a romance genre that would eventually flow into romance, but rather a chaotic noir.
A genre where it wouldn’t be strange to be killed with a snap.
What kind of face should I make? Should I correct myself, thinking he’s much more handsome than I imagined?
Just then, Bang! Bang!
Explosions rang out, and I turned my startled gaze to the window, where an unexpected sight unfolded.
“Why are fireworks going off now?”
Fireworks of various colors adorned the night sky.
I looked at the scene with an incredulous expression.
If fireworks were so large and colorful in the city’s night sky, it wouldn’t be a meaningless act.
“Oh, it seems today is the eve festival.”
The eve festival.
Yugeum’s words triggered something in me.
“Starting tomorrow is the Foundation Festival.”
How could I forget about this?
In Utopia, there was a peculiar and strange custom of holding a festival-like event for two weeks, including the Foundation Day.
They held events like a shooting competition for unity purposes, and although I couldn’t understand why such things were necessary in the underworld organization, well, I could understand to some extent.
But in the original story, that wasn’t all.
“Among the Baekcheon people, the princess participating in the Foundation Festival is the first and last time.”
This year’s Foundation Festival is the last one.
On the last day of the Foundation Festival, Baek Harwon deliberately attacked Utopia.
Originally, on that day, Baek Harwon and Yugeum were supposed to meet for the first time, and then, on that day…
Cha Yeonbyeol died.
I felt suffocated by the unfolding of events that followed the original plot.
“Do you really not like me anymore just because I’m supposedly less handsome than the rumors?”
As Yugeum’s cold and large hand grasped mine, I snapped back to reality and turned my head from the window to look at Yugeum.
Bang! Bang!!
In the moonlit room where only moonlight was allowed, fireworks continued to sparkle and rise above the dark shadows.
Colorful lights seeped over Yugeum’s face.
Perhaps in the romantic fireworks that were supposed to decorate Yugeum and Harwon’s first meeting, his gentle voice wrapped around my ears.
“Even if it’s a lie, it’s okay.”
“…”
“Can’t you just say you still like me?”
The constantly bursting flames seemed to herald a new beginning, yet they also sent a stern warning.
If you let your guard down, you’ll be eaten alive.
Chapter 10
– Aaaargh-!!!
The desperate scream echoed through the place that had always been filled with overwhelming silence.
The white marble hallway leading to the boss’s office on the 1st floor of the Square was drenched with fresh blood, still wet enough not to have hardened on the floor. Before the blood could even dry, new arrivals were dragged across it, leaving no chance for the floor to be cleaned.
It had been three days already, precisely 72 hours.
Or to be more accurate, it had been that way for the past 72 hours.
“What on earth is going on?”
“Why was that girl kidnapped from the party?”
“I heard some big shot did it right at the boss’s place.”
The members of the organization were busy gossiping about the rare occasion of their boss personally intervening, and rumors were rampant about what the truth might be.
Normally, the two people who shouldn’t have set foot in the Square were wandering around places they might not be able to visit again anytime soon, chatting away.
“But wasn’t the boss not on good terms with the girl?”
“That’s what I thought too, but with the girl being kidnapped, maybe it was all just a rumor.”
“Maybe it’s just that he’s pissed off at Utopia. Why would the boss’s mother…”
Bang!
At that moment, gunfire sharply cut through the conversation, resonating through the air.
Thud- As if unable to believe his subordinate collapsing on the ground just like that, the man froze as he gazed toward me.
“When did such a scum end up here?”
Harwon chuckled as he walked over and lightly tapped the fallen body with the tip of his shoe, as if to confirm its existence.
His movement was graceful and imposing, like that of a lion’s lazy stride.
Blood flowed, dirtying his polished shoes, and only then did Harwon withdraw his foot and shift his gaze to the trembling man on the ground.
Under the sunlight, his eyes, as dark as the depths of hell, met the man’s gaze. In that moment, the man’s hand, discreet and agile, reached for the gun hidden inside his jacket.
I had never seen someone smile like that before.
A smile that seemed like it could cut deep with just a slight touch. Even the air around him felt chilling, as if gathering all the darkness of hell.
Contrasting sharply with the upturned corners of his mouth, his shadowed pupils gleamed like those of a predator targeting its prey.
Standing face to face with that predator, it felt like he could plunge his large, sharp fangs deep into the man’s neck and tear him apart whole. Just the thought sent shivers down my spine.
Following his steps, a crimson trail was painted on the marble floor.
There was no escape.
It was an animalistic instinct. The man, who fully accepted that fact with his whole body, slammed his head onto the ground and prostrated himself.
“P-please spare me, boss!”
With a desperate cry, Harwon chuckled once more and knelt down in front of the fallen man, placing one knee on the ground.
“If you don’t want a hole in the back of your head, look up.”
At the stern warning, the man quickly raised his head. The black barrel of the gun gleamed right in front of his eyes. Without a chance to evade, the muzzle shifted.
“Ugh…!”
Due to the trembling of his mouth, it collided with the gun with a thud, producing a sound.
“Now, shall we talk?”
With the grace of the moon standing atop the night sky, he smiled elegantly, almost like a deity.
Ugh, ugh! The man’s whimpering cries met Harwon’s gaze, which now shone with a more ominous light than ever before.
“Yugeum.”
“…”
“About your real master.”
***
“It must be a preference.”
I swallowed hard as his face drew closer.
I wanted to look away, feeling like I might suffocate, but I couldn’t, thanks to the hand that gently but firmly gripped my chin.
His enigmatic smile made me feel crazy.
“I…”
I couldn’t gather my thoughts properly.
His face, matching my taste almost perfectly, seemed to sparkle with a brightness that could blind.
Today, his tousled hair and loose ivory-colored knit sweater seemed to add an extra layer of lethargy to his demeanor.
I almost nodded in agreement to the question about my preferences, but I managed to hold onto my senses.
‘No, snap out of it. You need to regain your composure!’
Yugeum was obviously spinning a web to trap me and keep me from escaping.
What I was doing now was probably just due to the amusement of seeing my reaction. But if he finds a reason, he could kill me on the spot with his curiosity.
Thinking it would be easy to manipulate the story since I knew the novel’s plot, I was probably making a big mistake.
But seeing it firsthand, the fox with nine tails was undoubtedly Yugeum.
“Yeah?”
As Yugeum prompted for a whispered answer, the urgency to escape this situation made my mouth open involuntarily.
“It’s, it’s a preference.”
Too honest, as if not passing through my brain.
Yugeum’s eyes widened, then he tilted his head with interest.
I tried not to acknowledge his gaze and muttered under my breath like casting a spell.
‘Just a little, just a little bit of manipulation.’
Otherwise, I have no future.
My mind was tangled with various regrets, but it was already too late, and I was already in the tiger’s den.
Even if I obediently tried to leave from here, Yugeum would lose interest and eventually I would die as a hostage.
It was better to pique his interest like a madman than to leave obediently.
“Isn’t that your preference?”
Forcing a smile, hoping my voice wouldn’t tremble, I desperately prayed.
Unable to meet his gaze myself, I tightly squeezed the hand of Yugeum, who was holding mine.
“I…”
Even as I raised my head with my mouth still pulled into a smile, Yugeum’s face looked as if he was taken aback, staring at me with intense eyes.
Then, with a hollow laugh, Yugeum wiped his face with his hand and took a step back from me.
“There really seems to be no way you’ll behave as expected.”
Fortunately or unfortunately, I never had any ambitions to conquer my favorite character or set such goals, as in other romance novels, and I never would in the future.
Even though I felt thrilled by his handsome face and looked forward to the inevitable relationship between him and Baek Harwon, seeing him smiling at me made me think about surviving.
‘In order to be together with Baek Harwon…!’
My determination to live surged once again.
As Yugeum kept moving away from me, I realized he was now sitting on the desk, buried his face in his hands, and looked at me with one eye.
His gaze was like that of a curious child observing something new, with a mixture of caution and curiosity.
“Do you know where this is?”
Utopia.
I rolled the words I couldn’t bring myself to say out loud in my mind.
An organization in a power struggle with Baek Cheon. But in reality, they were always overshadowed by Baek Cheon and had become more dirty and despicable in their attempts to surpass them.
“Yes, I knew who I was.”
“…”
“But how much do you know?”
His fierce gaze pierced through me.
If he knows everything, from being a bastard to the kind of life I’ve been living, Yugeum would have no hesitation in killing me.
Although everyone knows this, no one who spoke out against him survived.
Thinking about this fact made my whole body shiver, but I put on a face of ignorance and smiled widely.
“I heard you’re handsome.”
There were too many questions I couldn’t answer, so I decided to continue to be brazen.
“Are you curious about why I liked you?”
Even though Yugeum was standing right in front of me, I was still stuck to the wall as if glued, but I managed to step closer to him.
As I stopped right in front of Yugeum, my heart pounded wildly.
Every moment felt like walking on thin ice, wondering if I would survive if I took a step this way or die if I took a step that way.
“Should I tell you?”
Despite everything, I took another step forward.
Stopping just within reach before reaching out, Yugeum glanced at the spot where my foot had stopped and his smile deepened.
“I thought that would be an unexpected excuse.”
“T-that’s not… true.”
I hesitated, barely managing to answer his pointed question.
“If you say so.”
I inwardly breathed a sigh of relief at Yugeum’s words. I wasn’t very good at lying.
In the original story, what was Cha Yeonbyeol doing while she was kidnapped?
What did she do to make Baek Harwon come to rescue her and kill her when she should have negotiated?
When I was feeling frustrated that Cha Yeonbyeol was just a villainess who dies after the first meeting with the protagonists, Yugeum spoke up.
“But why are you speaking in past tense?”
Yugeum’s question, which repeatedly missed my expectations, made my head spin.
What did I, what did I say?
“You said you liked me.”
“…”
“Do you not like me anymore?”
His fierce gaze pierced through me.
Knowing everything from being a bastard to the life I’ve been living, if Yugeum said so, he would have no hesitation in killing me.
Although everyone seemed to know this, there hadn’t been anyone who survived speaking out against him, so the thought sent shivers down my spine, but I kept up a facade of ignorance and smiled widely, saying, “He’s famous for being handsome.”
There were too many unanswered questions, so I decided to keep being brazen.
“You asked why I liked you, right?”
Despite Yugeum standing right in front of me, I felt as if my body was glued to the wall, but I managed to tear myself away and stepped closer to him.
As I stopped right in front of Yugeum, my heart pounded wildly.
Every moment felt like walking on thin ice, wondering if I would survive if I took a step this way or die if I took a step that way.
“Shall I tell you?”
Despite everything, I took another step forward.
Stopping just within reach before reaching out, I glanced at the corner of Yugeum’s mouth, where a smile lingered.
“I thought that would be an unexpected excuse.”
“T-that’s not… true.”
I hesitated, barely managing to answer his pointed question.
“If you say so.”
I inwardly breathed a sigh of relief at Yugeum’s words. I wasn’t very good at lying.
In the original story, what was Cha Yeonbyeol doing while she was kidnapped?
What did she do to make Baek Harwon come to rescue her and kill her when she should have negotiated?
Feeling frustrated that Cha Yeonbyeol was just a villainess who dies after the first meeting with the protagonists, Yugeum spoke up.
“But why are you speaking in past tense?”
Yugeum’s question, which repeatedly missed my expectations, made my head spin.
What did I, what did I say?
“You said you liked me.”
“…”
“Do you not like me anymore?”
Saying I liked him meant that I liked him as a reader.
But I couldn’t answer like this.
‘You asked why I liked you, right?’
At that moment, in my confusion, I even spoke in past tense, as if I had already given up today’s words.
What would happen if I said I gave up now?
“Now that I see you in person, you’re less handsome than the rumors.”
It was a playful remark, but it wasn’t comedy to me.
No matter how harsh the development was, it was not a romance genre that would eventually flow into romance, but rather a chaotic noir.
A genre where it wouldn’t be strange to be killed with a snap.
What kind of face should I make? Should I correct myself, thinking he’s much more handsome than I imagined?
Just then, Bang! Bang!
Explosions rang out, and I turned my startled gaze to the window, where an unexpected sight unfolded.
“Why are fireworks going off now?”
Fireworks of various colors adorned the night sky.
I looked at the scene with an incredulous expression.
If fireworks were so large and colorful in the city’s night sky, it wouldn’t be a meaningless act.
“Oh, it seems today is the eve festival.”
The eve festival.
Yugeum’s words triggered something in me.
“Starting tomorrow is the Foundation Festival.”
How could I forget about this?
In Utopia, there was a peculiar and strange custom of holding a festival-like event for two weeks, including the Foundation Day.
They held events like a shooting competition for unity purposes, and although I couldn’t understand why such things were necessary in the underworld organization, well, I could understand to some extent.
But in the original story, that wasn’t all.
“Among the Baekcheon people, the princess participating in the Foundation Festival is the first and last time.”
This year’s Foundation Festival is the last one.
On the last day of the Foundation Festival, Baek Harwon deliberately attacked Utopia.
Originally, on that day, Baek Harwon and Yugeum were supposed to meet for the first time, and then, on that day…
Cha Yeonbyeol died.
I felt suffocated by the unfolding of events that followed the original plot.
“Do you really not like me anymore just because I’m supposedly less handsome than the rumors?”
As Yugeum’s cold and large hand grasped mine, I snapped back to reality and turned my head from the window to look at Yugeum.
Bang! Bang!!
In the moonlit room where only moonlight was allowed, fireworks continued to sparkle and rise above the dark shadows.
Colorful lights seeped over Yugeum’s face.
Perhaps in the romantic fireworks that were supposed to decorate Yugeum and Harwon’s first meeting, his gentle voice wrapped around my ears.
“Even if it’s a lie, it’s okay.”
“…”
“Can’t you just say you still like me?”
The constantly bursting flames seemed to herald a new beginning, yet they also sent a stern warning.
If you let your guard down, you’ll be eaten alive.
