Chapter 19
Baek I-hae slowly scanned her surroundings upon arriving at the new location, searching for any possible escape routes.
Just one path, and it’s filled with intimidating people. Nothing but the sea behind me.
It was an environment where slipping away unnoticed would be nearly impossible.
Baek I-hae let out a heavy sigh. Just then, Chai Ryeong spotted an arriving truck and turned to Baek Yeong. “Should we keep her locked up here for now? It’d be troublesome if she tried to escape on her own.”
Her words were calculated, as if to preemptively thwart any clever ideas Baek I-hae might have. When Baek Yeong nodded, Chai Ryeong led her forward. The truck’s interior was completely empty.
As they approached, the stifling heat radiating from the truck in the peak of summer was overwhelming, making it hard to even breathe properly.
“It’s going to be a bit hot, but just bear with it for a little while,” Chai Ryeong said.
“Wait, please! I promise I won’t run away, so can’t I stay outside? I have claustrophobia,” Baek I-hae pleaded.
“Oh, I-hae,” Chai Ryeong replied with a bright laugh. “You lied so well last time about being scared of bugs.”
Despite her cheerful tone, the hands pushing Baek I-hae into the truck were firm and unyielding. “There’s no kind-hearted young master here to fall for your lies.”
Baek I-hae desperately reached out as the entrance began to close, but the door slammed shut before she could stop it.
The sudden darkness and oppressive heat drained the color from her face. Memories of being trapped in a wardrobe as a child flooded back.
Bang, bang!
“Open the door, please! I’m not lying, I swear! I’ll stay put and won’t run, just please open the door!”
No response came. No matter how hard she pounded or kicked, the door didn’t budge.
Sweat beaded on her forehead as the terror of her childhood trauma surged, unbidden. Her body trembled uncontrollably.
“Damn it,” she muttered under her breath.
Shaking, she scanned her surroundings before slowly curling into a ball.
“They might as well throw me into the sea.”
Her voice, thick with unshed tears, echoed in the truck’s hollow interior, but as Chai Ryeong had said, there was no one to listen.
Then it hit her—she still had her phone. Frantically, she searched for Baek Yeong’s number, which she’d saved earlier. Her fingers shook terribly.
“Please, please, just believe me,” she whispered to herself.
She was ready to beg, threaten, or scream—whatever it took to get Baek Yeong to let her out of this place. She could even forgive him for kidnapping her if he’d just free her from this suffocating trap.
The number you have dialed does not exist. Please check…
But what do you do when even that desperate plan falls apart?
A tear fell from Baek I-hae’s eyes, splashing onto the floor.
“You bastard…”
How could someone toy with another person like this? Was it so wrong to have let herself feel a flicker of affection?
Am I not allowed to want anything in this world? Was it so wrong to hope there might be someone, just one person, here for me?
Tears streamed down her face. She knew crying wouldn’t solve anything, but…
She felt so foolish, so pathetic for being unable to do anything. For trusting someone and getting herself kidnapped like an idiot. It was as if everyone was condemning her for her naivety, and Baek I-hae’s expression crumbled under the weight of it all.
“You must know… it’s clearly a trap. You saw it, didn’t you? The tattoo on Chai Ryeong’s side.”
Oh Seobang spoke cautiously to Seo I-heum, who sat with arms crossed, staring straight ahead.
It was the dawn when Baek I-hae had glimpsed the status window. Following Seo I-heum alone as usual, reporting on business matters, Chai Ryeong’s ambush had struck like lightning.
That moment was truly heart-stopping. To think she’d attack when no one was there to back him up.
Oh Seobang shook his head, recalling the incident. Of course, he had to focus on driving again, his eyes returning to the road.
The boss isn’t the type to scream. Even though he got a little hurt, his instincts from all those times dealing with Miss I-hae’s antics saved him—it was a stroke of luck.
If not for that, it could’ve been a fatal wound.
The commotion had eventually drawn the attention of the organization members, who rushed over. Chai Ryeong, clicking her tongue, had fled through a window.
In that moment, Oh Seobang had seen it: the white flower tattoo of the Baek Yeong faction, exposed on her side where her clothes had torn during Seo I-heum’s counterattack.
It was the white flower tattoo only the Baek Yeong faction’s executives bear. To think we kept her so close, never suspecting she was their spy.
When had it started? Had she approached Seo I-heum with this intent from the beginning, or had she been swayed somewhere along the way? There were so many questions.
But there was no need to sympathize with a traitor’s circumstances, so they all made a point to suppress their curiosity.
“So.”
Seo I-heum, who had been silently listening to Oh Seobang’s anxieties, finally spoke.
His gaze remained fixed forward from the passenger seat.
“Are you saying we should abandon I-hae?”
“No, that’s not what I mean by giving up on the young lady! I just think it’s too dangerous to go with only the members we’ve hastily gathered. If you could regroup a bit more thoroughly…!”
“And what happens if I-hae gets hurt in the meantime?”
Oh Seobang clamped his mouth shut under the chilling glare that met him through the rearview mirror. It wasn’t just Seo I-heum; the menacing stares from Seo Do-gyeom and Seo-yeol in the back seat were also fixed on him.
As the three family members glared at him in unison, Oh Seobang, breaking out in a cold sweat, muttered in a feeble voice,
“I’m just worried about you, boss, and the young masters… Besides, Young Master Yeol-i is still so young.”
“Even if I’m young, this is the path I have to take. And I-hae noona saved me—me not going would be unthinkable.”
His resolute tone was, in that moment, a mirror image of Seo I-heum’s. It was both admirable and, in a way, heartbreaking.
“Still, the Baek Yeong faction doesn’t usually target civilians, so wouldn’t it be less dangerous?”
“She’s not exactly a civilian.”
Seo Do-gyeom, who had been staring out the window, continued in an expressionless tone.
“She’s living in our house right now, and Chai Ryeong would know she’s set to become my fiancée.”
“…! That’s true.”
Realizing a detail he’d overlooked, Oh Seobang let out a groan. That changed things.
It meant Baek I-hae’s safety could be at risk as a way to threaten Seo I-heum.
‘Maybe the boss figured it out from the start and that’s why he’s rushing like this.’
Blaming his own dullness, Old Man Oh pressed down on the accelerator.
“Those damn bastards. I-hae hates the heat, so if they didn’t put her somewhere cool, I’ll bury them all.”
At the sound of Seo I-heum’s voice from beside him, Old Man Oh broke out in a cold sweat.
‘Well, she’s a hostage, so it’s not like they’d keep her somewhere comfortable and cool.’
Contrary to Old Man Oh’s thoughts, Seo-yeol ground his teeth and spoke up.
“My noona eats so much. If they haven’t fed her anything and she’s gotten all scrawny, I won’t let any of them off!”
Eats so much, huh. Old Man Oh made a mental note to correct Seo-yeol’s way of speaking later, letting out a silent sigh.
That’s when it happened.
“I’m worried.”
Seo Do-gyeom muttered softly, almost unconsciously. It was the most normal thing said, but perhaps because it came from Seo Do-gyeom, it caught everyone off guard.
Old Man Oh, Seo I-heum, and Seo-yeol all turned to him with surprised expressions.
They were almost at their destination.
***
Baek I-hae struggled to exhale. Gasping raggedly and lying limply, her skin felt like it was burning against scorching metal.
‘It’s so hard.’
If she lost consciousness like this, if they left her here longer, would she die?
Or perhaps she’d die from respiratory distress first—Baek I-hae instinctively knew her condition was dire.
[!Warning!
Baek I-hae is experiencing a life-threatening trauma-induced panic attack.]
[Sudden Quest Triggered!
‘Help, I-hae’s in trouble! Escape from the truck causing this state!’
Success Rewards: Baek Yeong Affinity +10, Seo Do-gyeom Affinity +5, Reputation +50, Seo I-heum’s Princess Carry.
Failure Penalties: Respiratory Distress ×10, Fainting.]
‘Why are the rewards additive but the penalties multiplicative?’
This damn system window!
Baek I-hae gritted her teeth, trying to hold onto her fading consciousness. But how was she supposed to open a door that was already locked?
Cursing the system for not even giving her a chance to succeed, she glared at it.
That’s when it happened.
[Sudden Quest Random Box!
Choose a number you like, and a tool to escape the current situation will be randomly provided!
1. Seo Do-gyeom
2. Seo I-heum
3. Seo-yeol
4. Baek Yeong]
Baek I-hae furrowed her brow. Was she supposed to pick a number she liked, or a person? The options were maddeningly vague.
She immediately ruled out number 4 and hesitated over the remaining three, her gaze settling on Seo Do-gyeom’s name.
‘In times like this, you can rely on an adult, right?’
She chose Seo I-heum. It definitely wasn’t out of spite for that earlier phone call.
[Number 2, Seo I-heum, has been selected!]
No, she picked a number, not a person.
The overly flashy system window sparkled, then vanished with a *pop*! Smoke appeared, and an object dropped.
It was a handgun.
‘…Are handguns even allowed in Korea?’
Baek I-hae slowly propped herself up. The object before her was unmistakably shaped like a gun.
After a moment’s hesitation, she realized.
‘It’s a BB gun.’
As if reading her thoughts, the system window chimed.
[!Alert!
This is a real handgun! It will disappear after one use, so use it carefully!
No one except Baek I-hae will notice the gunshot or the gun’s presence.]
What a rigged system.
Her forehead throbbed as the situation grew increasingly detached from reality. To be fair, a system that raised other people’s affinity toward her was already absurd.
“…So what would’ve happened with the other choices?”
[!Alert!
1. Seo Do-gyeom → BB Gun
2. Seo-yeol → Baseball Bat
3. Baek Yeong → Squeaky Hammer]
She let out a hollow laugh at Seo Do-gyeom’s option, gave a wry smile at Seo-yeol’s relatively normal choice, and fell silent at Baek Yeong’s.
‘A squeaky hammer?’
Unbeknownst to him, Baek Yeong was screwing her over in more ways than one.
