Chapter 1
“Such a damn hassle. Seriously.”
“How long are we supposed to stay here?”
I slowly cracked my eyes open. Snatches of conversation drifted into my ears.
“She’s awake.”
Men with tacky buzz cuts stood right in front of me.
Kidnapping. I’ve been kidnapped.
Before I could think any further, a thickset man grabbed my jaw roughly and yanked my face up. The sour stench of stale cigarettes wafted over me.
“She’s damn ordinary.”
Something was binding my wrists behind my back.
“Who the hell are you?”
“Let go—” The words wouldn’t come out properly with my jaw clamped in his grip.
They snickered as my speech slurred.
“You were tailing our director, right? Caused a whole scene because of that.”
“From Myeongcheon faction or something? Doesn’t look like it. You any good?”
The rough hand that had held my jaw now traced down over my collarbone.
“You people…! Are you out of your minds? If you don’t stop—!”
The world suddenly spun. A tremendous impact struck my cheek.
I tasted blood. Something inside my mouth had split open.
“Hey, cut it out! We were told not to touch her directly!”
As my head snapped to the side, I saw a white wall with a gaudy gold-embossed logo.
“Seongjin… Capital.”
Seongjin Capital. So Do I-hyun really did kidnap me.
What’s going to happen to me now?
A wave of dread rose in my stomach.
“Hey, wanna have some fun before Hyung-nim gets here?”
“Knock it off, you crazy bastard.”
If this continued, something terrible would happen. I stared at the fat palm in front of me for a split second.
Before my reason could finish calculating, my body moved first.
“Aaaagh! What the hell?!”
I bit down on the thick hand as hard as I could. I tasted salt and flesh.
But instead of escaping, my hair was seized instantly. “Lay her down,” someone barked, and a heavy body pressed down on my limbs.
“Get off me!”
My scream was easily smothered by a brutal hand. My body stiffened in shock.
No. Stay conscious. Yoo Min-ha, stay awake. If there is a God, please help me. Please.
“What are you doing?”
At the sound of a calm, low voice from somewhere nearby, the crushing weight on top of me disappeared instantly.
Is that God’s voice? Has someone come to save me?
“D-Director!”
“It’s not what it looks like, we were just—”
Through the open doorway, someone stood tall and straight.
“I don’t recall telling you to jump her.”
Ah. Salvation, my ass. It was Do I-hyun.
The man who stepped slowly into the room looked even sharper than I remembered.
“What’s your name again?”
“O-Oh Ji-hyuk, sir.”
“Our Ji-hyuk.”
His large hand began striking the fat man’s cheek.
Smack— smack—
The sound of flesh splitting echoed through the room.
When the metallic scent of blood thickened in the air, a scar-faced man appeared from behind him, offering a handkerchief as if on cue. The motion looked practiced.
“When did these guys join?”
“Kim Min-woo brought them in last year.”
“Clean them up. And that bastard Kim Min-woo too.”
At Do I-hyun’s single command, the bulky men were dragged out helplessly.
Silence fell. Only Do I-hyun and I remained.
“I apologize.”
The unexpected words made me look up at him.
“I told them to watch you until you woke up. I’ll make sure they’re dealt with properly.”
He wiped his hands with the handkerchief and looked at me with an unreadable expression.
“I’m Do I-hyun of Seongjin Capital. You’re Lawyer Yoo Min-ha, correct?”
“How do you know my name?”
“It’s nothing special.”
He held up a business card. Mine. The one that had been in my pocket.
It was soaked and torn to pieces. Not much different from my current situation.
“You’re the one advising my brother Kim Hyung-man, right? Pointlessly.”
“…Where is Mr. Kim Hyung-man?”
“Don’t worry. He’s fine.”
“I’ll confirm my client’s safety myself. And there’s video footage of the assault, so don’t think you can deny it.”
He let out a soft, amused scoff.
“This is your phone, right?”
He held my phone between his thumb and forefinger as if he might drop it any second.
“Give it back.”
His gaze shifted to my bound hands.
“As you wish.”
He let go.
The phone hit the floor. The screen shattered instantly.
“I’m sorry. I forgot you don’t have free hands to receive it.”
“…You’re even more shameless than I expected.”
A faint chuckle escaped him.
“That’s not my concern. Anyway, Hyung-man says he has something to tell you. Now.”
Is he really safe? I couldn’t believe it. I had seen Kim Hyung-man collapsed and injured.
Then Do I-hyun began walking toward me.
Still seated on the floor, I straightened my posture.
“Do you not trust what people say?”
His eyes drifted somewhere between my collarbone and chest as he came closer.
“Or is it just an occupational hazard?”
His arms suddenly encircled me. His cold scent pressed close.
“What are you doing? This is sexual assault—!”
His hand touched my bound wrists.
He was untying them.
Where his fingers brushed my skin, it felt like it burned red.
“You have to untie bound hands.”
The nausea rising from deep in my stomach made it impossible to look him in the eyes.
“Scaredy-cat.”
With that, he turned and left the room.
The lingering trace of him faded, but an unexplainable tension remained.
“Lawyer…”
“Mr. Kim Hyung-man! Are you okay?”
“Why did you follow me here?! This is insane!”
In the room I was led to, my client sat slumped, his body covered in wounds.
“What happened? Are you alright?”
Anger toward Seongjin Capital—and toward Do I-hyun—rose again inside me.
“We’ll file this as aggravated assault and—”
“I’m stopping.”
Kim Hyung-man’s bloodshot eyes met mine.
“I’m withdrawing the request for legal counsel. Tell your boss that too.”
His shirt was stiff with dried brown bloodstains.
“Return the materials I gave you.”
It felt like someone had struck the back of my head with a massive hand.
“You’re being threatened, aren’t you?”
“Return the documents to Seongjin Capital.”
“Mr. Kim, please—”
“Please!!”
He leapt to his feet, roaring.
“I said I’m done! What more do you want?!”
Fresh blood began soaking through his side again.
“Alright! Just calm down and get treatment first!”
“Damn it!”
He continued shouting.
Like a cornered beast screaming its last.
Men entered and supported him out. A wave of helplessness and defeat washed over me.
“Finished talking?”
I looked up. As expected, Do I-hyun stood at the doorway.
“You heard him. He’s withdrawing the case. Return the materials.”
The relaxed smile on his face was unbearably infuriating.
“…Mr. Do I-hyun, do you know what separates humans from beasts?”
“Do I need to?”
“Shame. Humans feel ashamed of what they’ve done.”
“The petty cling to shame. The great endure it.”
His white dress shirt was immaculate, collar perfectly crisp.
So different from my client’s bloodstained one.
Even in front of that pristine shirt, I felt crushing defeat.
“Take this and get up.”
A heavy bag was held out to me.
“These are your personal belongings. They got wet when you fainted. I felt bad handing them back like that.”
Only then did I remember my bag and umbrella.
As I tried to stand, my legs trembled pathetically.
Do I-hyun didn’t look away.
As if he were mocking the movements of an ant he had just stepped on.
