Chapter 78
‘Why is Seo Do-gyeom here?’
Baek I-hae couldn’t hide her shocked expression and blinked blankly like an idiot. Seeing Do Ha-jun’s rare flustered look, it seemed this was a scenario he hadn’t anticipated at all.
He must have woken up not long ago. Yet he charged recklessly at Jang Chung-won.
If he were in his usual physical condition, perhaps, but Seo Do-gyeom was a patient who had just regained consciousness. No matter how weakened Jang Chung-won’s state was, he couldn’t possibly be a match.
Only then did Baek I-hae realize that despite appearing cold, Seo Do-gyeom had completely lost his rationality.
“Impressive. Not only did Seo Do-gyeom come to his senses, but he even found his way here.”
Seo I-heum hadn’t arrived yet. Meaning there had been no prior coordination with him.
Do Ha-jun’s eyes darted around, scanning the surroundings. He appeared to be pondering how Seo Do-gyeom had known and come here.
“Who the hell are you, who are you…!”
“S-stop…!”
The fight, which she’d thought wouldn’t last since he was no match, shifted after a few tumbles and grapples.
As if trained in handling men stronger or larger than himself, Seo Do-gyeom shoved Jang Chung-won down and began assaulting him like a man possessed.
“S-stop it. Do-gyeom, stop!”
It was bad enough that even Baek I-hae tried to intervene.
Terrified that Seo Do-gyeom might end up a murderer at this rate, she hurriedly tried to pull him back.
Jang Chung-won lost consciousness under the merciless violence.
“Tsk.”
Seo Do-gyeom’s eyes were far from normal, enough to make Do Ha-jun subtly back away.
Gazing at the unconscious Jang Chung-won, Seo Do-gyeom slowly extended his hand toward the man’s neck. The intent was all too clear, causing Baek I-hae’s face to drain of color as she screamed in horror.
“Seo Do-gyeom!”
Only then did Seo Do-gyeom’s body jerk to a halt. After staring coldly down at Jang Chung-won for a brief moment, he rose from his spot.
His gaze shifted to Do Ha-jun. Realizing he was next in line, Do Ha-jun smiled.
“I’m not much of a fighter. It’s dangerous for a patient to move around like this, Do-gyeom.”
With a gesture from him, the ambushing Shinun faction members revealed themselves.
They subdued Seo Do-gyeom as he lunged at Do Ha-jun, slamming him to the ground in an instant. And they roughly restrained Baek I-hae in the same manner.
“Let go of me! Do-gyeom’s a patient!”
“If I let go, I’ll be in danger. I’m a bit of a scaredy-cat, you see.”
“Fuck, cut the bullshit! Doing this filthy crap, making people suffer! Who the hell are you! Who are you to torment us like this!”
“Yeah. Who am I to have to hurt innocent I-hae like this.”
Do Ha-jun strode over and tilted Baek I-hae’s chin up. Seeing the sight, Seo Do-gyeom resisted fiercely, and one of the members slammed his head against the floor.
Baek I-hae gasped in horror, yelling at them to stop.
“But while I-hae might be blameless, Do-gyeom has his sins. Born with Seo I-heum’s bloodline, yet daring to borrow a senior’s womb to come into the world.”
The senior was defiled, his added words dripped with madness. It was truly heartbreaking for Seo Do-gyeom’s mother, who must have suffered because of someone like him.
“No, the filthy one is you. Someone like you never should have been born.”
Baek I-hae ground her teeth, cursing someone for the first time in her life. Yet the target merely laughed as if entertained.
“To shield her to the point of exciting Seo Do-gyeom like this. I’m curious what charm I-hae possesses.”
“Shut up.”
“Your mouth is filthy. Ah, I’ve got a great idea.”
Despite Baek I-hae’s vicious curse, Do Ha-jun smiled brightly.
“How about I inflict the wounds I carry onto Seo I-heum? Make him feel the betrayal I experienced toward the senior, using you as the conduit.”
“What?”
Not grasping it immediately, Baek I-hae asked blankly. Then Do Ha-jun kindly explained.
“Would Seo I-heum still cherish I-hae if she bore the child of Do Ha-jun, the one who killed his wife? The same goes for Do-gyeom. I’m terribly curious about their reactions.”
His smirking face resembled a serpent. Only then did Baek I-hae comprehend his meaning, her face turning ashen.
As the members pinned her body so she couldn’t budge, she screamed in a fit.
“Don’t! Don’t touch my body!”
Seo Do-gyeom, realizing the situation, desperately thrashed to break free from the members pressing down on him.
“Don’t lay a hand on Baek I-hae!”
At the vehement reaction, Do Ha-jun laughed as if he were genuinely delighted. His hand began slowly approaching her body.
Goosebumps prickled all over her skin, and as Baek I-hae squeezed her eyes shut, a deafening bang echoed.
“What the hell are you doing to our miss, you dog bastards!”
Led by Old Man Oh, a group of burly members began filling the abandoned factory in precise formation.
It was such an abrupt entrance that Do Ha-jun scrambled to his feet.
Finally, Seo I-heum appeared, striding in last.
Seo I-heum, usually quiet and composed, furrowed his brow and swept back his bangs.
“Do Ha-jun.”
As if already aware of what Do Ha-jun had orchestrated, he called out the name immediately upon arrival, grinding it out through clenched teeth.
“You die today.”
It wasn’t a warning. It was a declaration.
With those words, members whose faces were quite familiar to Baek I-hae charged forward. At the same time, the hidden Shinun forces emerged, and the two sides collided.
“Oh dear, young master! I told you we should wait for the boss to arrive and go in together…! Oh no, why is our miss’s lovely face in such a state!”
Old Man Oh approached Baek I-hae and Seo Do-gyeom with dramatic fuss.
His worried expression as he checked on Seo Do-gyeom turned to dismay upon seeing Baek I-hae’s ruined face.
At that moment, Seo I-heum mercilessly slammed Shinun members to the ground and commanded.
“Old Man Oh, get the kids out of here right now.”
“Yes, yes. Understood!”
Quickly sensing that Seo I-heum was enraged to his core, Old Man Oh hurriedly supported Baek I-hae.
Seo Do-gyeom also rose and followed Baek I-hae. As they moved, Baek I-hae spotted a figure stealthily slipping toward the door and shouted urgently.
“Do Ha-jun! You have to catch that guy!”
How had he gotten that far already?
If Baek I-hae hadn’t noticed, they would have let him slip away. At her cry, Seo I-heum turned and swiftly ordered his members to pursue.
“Ack!”
Do Ha-jun, whom they thought had escaped, tumbled back into the factory in an undignified heap.
As the group, including Baek I-hae, froze in surprise, another contingent began entering the abandoned factory.
“I’ll kill you myself, you son of a bitch Do Ha-jun.”
Chai Ryeong entered, cracking her neck, followed by Baek Yeong walking behind her. It was the Baek faction.
“Why the hell are those guys showing up here at this exact moment?!”
Old Man Oh voiced his frustration in an anxious tone. And understandably so, since Seo I-heum’s side and the Baek faction were bitter enemies.
Their relationship had deteriorated to extremes due to Baek I-hae’s kidnapping, making the reaction only natural.
Just as the members battling the Shinun faction began tensing up and keeping an eye on the Baek faction as well.
The Baek faction members, who had arrived with menacing expressions, scanned the area and spotted Baek I-hae being supported by Old Man Oh.
Then, as if by agreement, they all drew in sharp breaths.
‘Ah, please no.’
Baek I-hae suddenly had a vision of the impending future and squeezed her eyes shut.
“Fuck, which bastard did this! Who turned our baby princess into a pulp!”
“Come out, you rotten scum! You won’t even crawl out of here today, you trash!”
As expected.
The only ones who could rein in the agitated members were Baek Yeong or Chai Ryeong, but Chai Ryeong seemed out of her mind because of Do Ha-jun.
‘I wish the boss would stop them.’
Baek I-hae cautiously opened her eyes and locked gazes directly with Baek Yeong, who was looking at her.
For the first time, she glimpsed bewilderment and rage in his expression.
“…Kill them all.”
Even Baek Yeong had lost his composure and issued the order, prompting Baek I-hae to shout in alarm.
“You just need to take down Do Ha-jun!”
In an instant, everyone’s attention turned to Do Ha-jun, who was trying to get back on his feet.
“…Hic.”
An unseemly hiccup echoed through the silence.
