Chapter 16
“We’re screwed.
Even if I ran, the wall was too far away for me to push through and put it back the way it was.
From where I was standing, I could see right through the door.
“How many times has that asshole fucked a woman?
In a flash, Yuwha’s words came to mind.
I picked up the unicorn mask off the floor and put it on my face.
I unbuttoned a couple of buttons on my shirt with one hand and ran my other hand through my hair.
“……Sleep?”
He chuckled, his voice high-pitched. It’s okay, let’s be natural. I’m so natural right now.
“You’re here already?”
I stuttered, trying not to sound nervous.
“I have a present for you.”
I staggered to my feet and leaned against the wall. As I pushed the wall back into place, our eyes met.
I felt myself stiffen, overwhelmed by the gaze.
I had expected no less from a woman who had risen to be the heir to this organization.
His jet-black eyes reflected an unbridled desire.
He was well over six-foot-five, which was accentuated by his tailored suit.
“What is that?”
The scar that ran vertically across the corners of his mouth drew attention to the tip of his lips.
It was a scar she’d deliberately left because she couldn’t be bothered to deal with the belittling that came with her considerable beauty.
She was more of a fire than a flower.
My heart pounded like it was going to explode, but I smiled wider like a madman.
Yuwha flicked her short-cropped hair and nodded at the man who had entered after her.
The man’s face paled as he looked me up and down with shaky eyes.
I walked over and leaned into him as if I might fall at any moment.
“I even put on a pretty mask to show you my baby……”
“…….”
“Do you want to play with me instead?”
I laughed like a ghost, clutching the man’s arm as he tried to pull me away.
His cold hand gripped my wrist hard and pulled it away as if he were throwing it away. The force was so strong I thought my wrist would snap.
I let out a short groan as I was thrown to the ground, and Yuhua glared down at me, wiping his hands on his jacket.
“Fuck off.”
If I didn’t get the hell out of there, she was going to kill me in the most brutal way possible.
I forced a smile to keep the corners of my mouth from turning down and stood up.
I clapped the man on the shoulder and laughed one more time before pushing past him and walking toward the open door.
A chill ran down my back, but I ignored it and continued walking casually. But when I reached the door, my breath came out in a scream.
I was relieved I hadn’t screamed. Three Zhang Zhengs lay dead in front of the door, shot to death. The sound I had heard earlier must have been a gunshot with a silencer.
My stomach churned at the sight of the dark blood on the floor, but I kept my feet on the ground.
But before he could take more than two steps, a low voice grabbed his ankle.
“Wait.”
Tap, tap. The sound of the heel of my shoe hitting the floor was muffled by laughter.
I froze in place, unable to breathe.
“What were you doing by yourself anyway?”
“…….”
“In your sister’s room, which I can’t get into at will.”
The moment I realized I’d been caught, I broke into a run.
I could hear the footsteps behind me, fiercely following me. I ran faster and faster, struggling not to stop.
Thank goodness the hallway curved in a circle. If it had been a straight line, I would have been shot already.
BANG!
The gunshot from behind me brought me back to reality.
Would I make it out of the building?
In the middle of winter, in a thin shirt dress, empty-handed, and wearing a unicorn mask?
What if someone caught me wandering the ground floor, what if the doorman spoke to me, what if I couldn’t answer him?
It’s over, and it’s over.
In Utopia, Baek Hawon’s brother would not be spared.
We must find Yugyeom.
Neither Yugyeom nor Ichan will kill me, at least not until they meet Baek Ha-won.
But how?
If the man I overheard is correct, he’s in a poker game in the basement.
I don’t know exactly how many floors this place is, but it’s at least the 50th.
I figured if I was going to run into someone anyway, I might as well take the elevator.
The elevator was coming down from the top. Instead of waiting for it, I ran to the stairs next door.
When I got down the second flight of stairs, I realized that Yuhua was no longer following me.
I decided to wait for the elevator on that floor instead of going any further down because I was going to keep going until I caught up with her.
I tidied up my messy hair and meticulously redid my unicorn mask.
The rainbow-colored feathers bothered me badly, but I couldn’t take it off because I knew the worst would happen if I recognized Cha Yeon-byul’s face.
Ding-ding.
The elevator doors opened smoothly. Inside the elevator, two men in black suits were talking loudly in Chinese.
I quickly jumped in and pressed the button for the basement floor before their gazes could reach me. I didn’t forget to position myself in front of them so I could press another floor at any time.
Thank goodness I didn’t have to use my intuition this time, and that the basement was only the first floor.
The high-speed elevator, tightly packed on all sides, descended at a rapid pace. I lifted my eyes to watch the dwindling numbers and the men behind me in the reflection of the doors.
They must think I belong here because I’m taking a leisurely elevator ride. Not a single glance at me.
Thank God, but now I’m starting to worry about what’s next.
The two men get off at the third floor, and within seconds they’re on the ground floor.
I swallowed hard. With a ding, the elevator doors opened. Beyond the open doors was an empty hallway.
I buttoned my jacket up to my neck and carefully stepped out of the elevator. The short, narrow hallway was dark and damp with humidity.
The cheers from beyond the walls echoed through the hallway. I had come to the right place.
Please, Yugyeom or Yi Chan are in there.
With a fervent prayer, I grabbed the doorknob.
“……!”
For a moment, I thought I was seeing red flames in front of my eyes.
A scream ripped through my eardrums, and I realized that the explosion I had just heard was real.
* * *
The situation was quickly piecing together in my head like a puzzle.
‘You’ve prepared well for that, haven’t you?
‘Yep. It looked like they were going to join the poker game in the basement as scheduled.’
Yuhwa hadn’t just accidentally sneaked in while Yugyeom and Yi Chan were away. It was all planned.
It wasn’t easy to move in the opposite direction from the swarm of ants.
I struggled and finally made it through the door.
The bar was lined with bottles of liquor in the center of the first floor and along the railing on the second floor, and the cards and chips spread out on each table reminded me of a casino.
The lights flickered on minimally for ambiance. The frantic music sounded like a club.
A few small explosions followed one after another, and the flames grew louder.
I don’t know if it’s the smoke blinding me or the strong incense that’s making my head hurt.
I tossed off my mask and slammed the flask in my hand onto the table, shattering it.
I soaked an unknown jacket hanging over a chair with the dripping liquid and covered my nose and mouth.
Unlike the short, narrow hallway, the space beyond the door was wide enough with high ceilings that the structure was not immediately apparent.
As large and crowded as it was, there were only two exits: the elevator I had taken and a narrow staircase next to it.
In short, it was a terrible environment for a quick evacuation.
The fire wasn’t bad, but the delayed evacuation made it worse.
It was a trap set up specifically for Yugyeom.
“……!”
Someone grabbed my arm hard, and I looked up in surprise.
“Cha Yeon-byul?”
It was Ichan who shouted my name.
When he recognized my face, he scrunched up his face in disbelief.
“Why are you here?”
“Where’s Yugyeom? Isn’t he with you?”
“Don’t you know? I was on the second floor. Shouldn’t he be out already?”
Yugyeom is indeed here. Even Yi Chan doesn’t know anything.
I’m starting to get impatient.
If I stayed in this unventilated room much longer, I’d likely suffocate before the flames swallowed me.
I shook off Ichan’s grip on me.
But before I could take a step, he grabbed me again.
“You’re crazy. Are you out of your mind? What are you doing going in there?”
His grip on my wrist tightened, and I couldn’t move.
I hesitated briefly, not wanting to say something I couldn’t explain. Yi Chan seemed to have no intention of letting me go.
Yugyeom has a trauma to fire.
When he’s trapped in flames that engulf him, he panics and can’t walk out on his own.
That’s why I was so sure that Yoo-gyeom was in there, but I couldn’t tell Ichan, who seemed oblivious to this fact.
I ended up grabbing him by the collar and yanking him so hard that our faces were pressed together.
Chapter 16
“We’re screwed.
Even if I ran, the wall was too far away for me to push through and put it back the way it was.
From where I was standing, I could see right through the door.
“How many times has that asshole fucked a woman?
In a flash, Yuwha’s words came to mind.
I picked up the unicorn mask off the floor and put it on my face.
I unbuttoned a couple of buttons on my shirt with one hand and ran my other hand through my hair.
“……Sleep?”
He chuckled, his voice high-pitched. It’s okay, let’s be natural. I’m so natural right now.
“You’re here already?”
I stuttered, trying not to sound nervous.
“I have a present for you.”
I staggered to my feet and leaned against the wall. As I pushed the wall back into place, our eyes met.
I felt myself stiffen, overwhelmed by the gaze.
I had expected no less from a woman who had risen to be the heir to this organization.
His jet-black eyes reflected an unbridled desire.
He was well over six-foot-five, which was accentuated by his tailored suit.
“What is that?”
The scar that ran vertically across the corners of his mouth drew attention to the tip of his lips.
It was a scar she’d deliberately left because she couldn’t be bothered to deal with the belittling that came with her considerable beauty.
She was more of a fire than a flower.
My heart pounded like it was going to explode, but I smiled wider like a madman.
Yuwha flicked her short-cropped hair and nodded at the man who had entered after her.
The man’s face paled as he looked me up and down with shaky eyes.
I walked over and leaned into him as if I might fall at any moment.
“I even put on a pretty mask to show you my baby……”
“…….”
“Do you want to play with me instead?”
I laughed like a ghost, clutching the man’s arm as he tried to pull me away.
His cold hand gripped my wrist hard and pulled it away as if he were throwing it away. The force was so strong I thought my wrist would snap.
I let out a short groan as I was thrown to the ground, and Yuhua glared down at me, wiping his hands on his jacket.
“Fuck off.”
If I didn’t get the hell out of there, she was going to kill me in the most brutal way possible.
I forced a smile to keep the corners of my mouth from turning down and stood up.
I clapped the man on the shoulder and laughed one more time before pushing past him and walking toward the open door.
A chill ran down my back, but I ignored it and continued walking casually. But when I reached the door, my breath came out in a scream.
I was relieved I hadn’t screamed. Three Zhang Zhengs lay dead in front of the door, shot to death. The sound I had heard earlier must have been a gunshot with a silencer.
My stomach churned at the sight of the dark blood on the floor, but I kept my feet on the ground.
But before he could take more than two steps, a low voice grabbed his ankle.
“Wait.”
Tap, tap. The sound of the heel of my shoe hitting the floor was muffled by laughter.
I froze in place, unable to breathe.
“What were you doing by yourself anyway?”
“…….”
“In your sister’s room, which I can’t get into at will.”
The moment I realized I’d been caught, I broke into a run.
I could hear the footsteps behind me, fiercely following me. I ran faster and faster, struggling not to stop.
Thank goodness the hallway curved in a circle. If it had been a straight line, I would have been shot already.
BANG!
The gunshot from behind me brought me back to reality.
Would I make it out of the building?
In the middle of winter, in a thin shirt dress, empty-handed, and wearing a unicorn mask?
What if someone caught me wandering the ground floor, what if the doorman spoke to me, what if I couldn’t answer him?
It’s over, and it’s over.
In Utopia, Baek Hawon’s brother would not be spared.
We must find Yugyeom.
Neither Yugyeom nor Ichan will kill me, at least not until they meet Baek Ha-won.
But how?
If the man I overheard is correct, he’s in a poker game in the basement.
I don’t know exactly how many floors this place is, but it’s at least the 50th.
I figured if I was going to run into someone anyway, I might as well take the elevator.
The elevator was coming down from the top. Instead of waiting for it, I ran to the stairs next door.
When I got down the second flight of stairs, I realized that Yuhua was no longer following me.
I decided to wait for the elevator on that floor instead of going any further down because I was going to keep going until I caught up with her.
I tidied up my messy hair and meticulously redid my unicorn mask.
The rainbow-colored feathers bothered me badly, but I couldn’t take it off because I knew the worst would happen if I recognized Cha Yeon-byul’s face.
Ding-ding.
The elevator doors opened smoothly. Inside the elevator, two men in black suits were talking loudly in Chinese.
I quickly jumped in and pressed the button for the basement floor before their gazes could reach me. I didn’t forget to position myself in front of them so I could press another floor at any time.
Thank goodness I didn’t have to use my intuition this time, and that the basement was only the first floor.
The high-speed elevator, tightly packed on all sides, descended at a rapid pace. I lifted my eyes to watch the dwindling numbers and the men behind me in the reflection of the doors.
They must think I belong here because I’m taking a leisurely elevator ride. Not a single glance at me.
Thank God, but now I’m starting to worry about what’s next.
The two men get off at the third floor, and within seconds they’re on the ground floor.
I swallowed hard. With a ding, the elevator doors opened. Beyond the open doors was an empty hallway.
I buttoned my jacket up to my neck and carefully stepped out of the elevator. The short, narrow hallway was dark and damp with humidity.
The cheers from beyond the walls echoed through the hallway. I had come to the right place.
Please, Yugyeom or Yi Chan are in there.
With a fervent prayer, I grabbed the doorknob.
“……!”
For a moment, I thought I was seeing red flames in front of my eyes.
A scream ripped through my eardrums, and I realized that the explosion I had just heard was real.
* * *
The situation was quickly piecing together in my head like a puzzle.
‘You’ve prepared well for that, haven’t you?
‘Yep. It looked like they were going to join the poker game in the basement as scheduled.’
Yuhwa hadn’t just accidentally sneaked in while Yugyeom and Yi Chan were away. It was all planned.
It wasn’t easy to move in the opposite direction from the swarm of ants.
I struggled and finally made it through the door.
The bar was lined with bottles of liquor in the center of the first floor and along the railing on the second floor, and the cards and chips spread out on each table reminded me of a casino.
The lights flickered on minimally for ambiance. The frantic music sounded like a club.
A few small explosions followed one after another, and the flames grew louder.
I don’t know if it’s the smoke blinding me or the strong incense that’s making my head hurt.
I tossed off my mask and slammed the flask in my hand onto the table, shattering it.
I soaked an unknown jacket hanging over a chair with the dripping liquid and covered my nose and mouth.
Unlike the short, narrow hallway, the space beyond the door was wide enough with high ceilings that the structure was not immediately apparent.
As large and crowded as it was, there were only two exits: the elevator I had taken and a narrow staircase next to it.
In short, it was a terrible environment for a quick evacuation.
The fire wasn’t bad, but the delayed evacuation made it worse.
It was a trap set up specifically for Yugyeom.
“……!”
Someone grabbed my arm hard, and I looked up in surprise.
“Cha Yeon-byul?”
It was Ichan who shouted my name.
When he recognized my face, he scrunched up his face in disbelief.
“Why are you here?”
“Where’s Yugyeom? Isn’t he with you?”
“Don’t you know? I was on the second floor. Shouldn’t he be out already?”
Yugyeom is indeed here. Even Yi Chan doesn’t know anything.
I’m starting to get impatient.
If I stayed in this unventilated room much longer, I’d likely suffocate before the flames swallowed me.
I shook off Ichan’s grip on me.
But before I could take a step, he grabbed me again.
“You’re crazy. Are you out of your mind? What are you doing going in there?”
His grip on my wrist tightened, and I couldn’t move.
I hesitated briefly, not wanting to say something I couldn’t explain. Yi Chan seemed to have no intention of letting me go.
Yugyeom has a trauma to fire.
When he’s trapped in flames that engulf him, he panics and can’t walk out on his own.
That’s why I was so sure that Yoo-gyeom was in there, but I couldn’t tell Ichan, who seemed oblivious to this fact.
I ended up grabbing him by the collar and yanking him so hard that our faces were pressed together.
