Chapter 73
Time passed swiftly.
While Seo Do-gyeom remained unconscious, Baek I-hae couldn’t bring herself to smile properly.
Now, on her own volition, she avoided Ye Eun-seol and Seo-yeol even at school. It irked her to see Jang Seul-gi looking so pleased, but in her own way, it was to protect them.
“Why do you keep avoiding us? You must be worried about him too, noona!”
Unaware of the full story, Seo-yeol cried out to Baek I-hae in frustration. The pent-up irritation had built up so much that it was hard for him to hold back.
Baek I-hae stared at him blankly for a moment, then pressed her lips together and averted her gaze.
‘I can’t let anyone else get hurt anymore.’
But she knew that simply enduring like this wasn’t the answer.
She just couldn’t figure out what to do.
“Baek I-hae. I’m waiting for your call, so contact me whenever you’re ready.”
This was what Ye Eun-seol said to her while she waited in the hallway during Jang Seul-gi’s bathroom break. Even though Jang Seul-gi’s friends—her watchers—were nearby.
‘From her expression, it seems like Ye Eun-seol is at her limit too.’
She looked frustrated, perhaps suppressing anger.
Baek I-hae avoided her gaze instead of replying. Ye Eun-seol clenched her fist tightly, then turned and walked away.
Jang Seul-gi didn’t ask where she went or stayed when she left home. But at school, she stuck to her side as always.
She noticed the doll missing from her phone but merely sneered at Baek I-hae as if it were beneath her.
The only place where she could relax even a little was Baek Yeong’s house. Though she hadn’t asked him to treat her well, the intimidating organization members were surprisingly kind to her.
It might be the effect of her likability, or perhaps because, to anyone, she seemed like an ordinary person who posed no threat.
“Baby princess, what dessert should we prepare for you today?”
“Want to play baseball with the uncles?!”
…Sometimes they were overly kind, which could be a bit burdensome.
‘It’s because Chai Ryeong started calling me “princess” as a joke, and now everyone else does it weirdly too.’
She might even prefer being called “miss” like at Seo I-heum’s house.
Baek I-hae smiled awkwardly and said she wasn’t in the mood for dessert, which made them all sulk. Feeling guilty, she mentioned wanting some juice instead, and they all beamed and rushed to the kitchen.
“Don’t those guys even see me? Fine if it’s the boss, but they should take care of me too!”
“……”
Chai Ryeong sprawled on the sofa, grumbling without a care for Baek Yeong sitting nearby.
Baek I-hae looked at her in disbelief before starting to organize the documents Baek Yeong had asked for.
The organization members here weren’t good with computers, so all the ledgers and reports were handwritten. And why on earth were they drawing cute little illustrations in them, as if it were a picture diary?
“You’re working hard.”
At Baek I-hae’s words, Baek Yeong let out a deep sigh and rubbed his forehead. It made sense why his likability and trust toward her rose so effortlessly whenever she worked.
[Baek Yeong’s likability has increased by 5.]
‘Now Baek Yeong’s likability and trust are already at 40. The reward for succeeding in the quest is just an increase in fame, though.’
Since failing would decrease Seo Do-gyeom and Seo-yeol’s likability, it seemed best to succeed in the quest.
“You don’t have to work that hard; the boss handles things well on his own anyway.”
Chai Ryeong tossed aside her work and tried to tempt Baek I-hae into going shopping instead. She was older but acted like a carefree child.
“I’m staying here as a guest, so I want to help out at least a little. House chores… the uncles opposed that.”
As Baek I-hae hesitated before saying the title, the Baek faction members who had been secretly listening smiled contentedly. Baek I-hae desperately pretended not to notice and glared at the documents.
“Tch. Boring. Guess I’ll go alone then. While I’m out, I’ll check on Seo Do-gyeom’s condition.”
Baek I-hae knew that Chai Ryeong sometimes updated her on Seo Do-gyeom’s status out of consideration for her.
She wasn’t sure if it was sympathy because she was also a victim of Do Ha-jun, but Baek I-hae politely thanked her.
“Thanks, Ryeong unnie.”
“……Sheesh. You think I’ll melt if you say it that cutely? I’m not like those simpletons.”
Chai Ryeong tried to hide her rising smile and snapped irritably at the members to get lost.
As Baek I-hae watched with an odd expression, Baek Yeong explained.
“In her own way, she’s trying to save face in front of the members.”
“Someone who wants to save face lies on the sofa eating snacks?”
“There are no sensible people here, so it’s easier to just give up.”
What a pity.
Nodding at Baek Yeong’s reasonable advice, she finished organizing the documents. Perhaps because Chai Ryeong had chased the members out as she left, the surroundings were quiet.
“What are you going to do about Do Ha-jun?”
It was Baek I-hae who broke the silence.
“Bringing me here wasn’t just out of pity. You helped because you didn’t want things to go according to Do Ha-jun’s plans, right?”
Not only Do Ha-jun, but his relationship with Baek Yeong’s father, who kept him close, didn’t seem good either.
So there was no need to suspect he was monitoring her for their sake. She was just curious about his ulterior motives.
“Should I tell you the truth, or a white lie?”
“Tell me the truth. I’m involved too.”
Only then did Baek Yeong pause his work and look at her. His loosely tied hair cascaded down with each movement of his head.
“We’re going to use you to take down Do Ha-jun. He’s like my father’s brain, so he needs to be eliminated first.”
“That means ultimately you’ll face that madman from the office too. But I heard the Shinun faction was just formed—since the Baek faction is larger, couldn’t you just use force?”
The plan to kidnap Baek I-hae had come from Do Ha-jun’s mind, but ultimately, it was an order from Baek Yeong’s father. And Baek Yeong had followed it.
‘Plus, when he was about to hit me with the golf club, he didn’t show much resistance.’
Was he being blackmailed, or had he been conditioned to violence since childhood, making it hard to resist?
“The guys here are good with their bodies, but they’re mostly simple folk. Many of them hate violence.”
“Huh? What do you mean by that all of a sudden……”
“The reason those kinds of guys are here is because each has a weakness being exploited. Just like you.”
Baek I-hae clamped her mouth shut. Then she stared at Baek Yeong with wavering eyes.
“Young children, beloved partners, elderly parents, and so on. They threaten them with loved ones as leverage, or force money on those short on cash and inflate the debt.”
“……”
“I’ve seen bigger guys than me wailing since I was a kid.”
Everyone has something precious to them. Do Ha-jun was skilled at exploiting that, and Baek Yeong’s father, who would do anything to expand his power, carried out his plans.
There were deaths and people left crippled, Baek Yeong said flatly.
“He’s got good business sense, so he solves most things with money, making it hard for our side to deal with him.”
“Your weakness must be the Baek faction people.”
Now she understood. The reason Baek Yeong couldn’t complain about unfair treatment and had followed that man he called father.
He was smart, yet he had just endured it. Maybe the person Do Ha-jun called a brother had been indebted to Baek Yeong in a similar way.
For the first time, Baek I-hae envied the Baek faction members, including Chai Ryeong. Even without being family, they could care for each other like this.
“Yeah. But I can’t keep taking it forever, so I’ve been waiting for an opportunity. Then I realized Do Ha-jun was targeting you. Did you know he obsesses over Seo I-heum’s wife?”
“Yes. It seemed beyond obsession—like madness. He’s the one who killed her, right?”
“Yeah. He’d rather kill her than let her be with someone else. But he still resents Seo I-heum, so he’s fixated on him.”
The only thing that made the rational Do Ha-jun emotional was anything related to Seo I-heum’s wife.
But using Seo Do-gyeom or Seo-yeol carried too much risk, and he knew they wouldn’t bend to his will, so he targeted Baek I-hae, who seemed easier to manipulate.
“Soon, Do Ha-jun will contact you. All you have to do is tell us about his movements. If you’re unhappy, you can leave.”
He said that knowing she had nowhere else to go. What a cruel man.
Baek I-hae let out a hollow laugh.
“I’ll do it.”
The answer was predetermined anyway.
“But don’t get it wrong. You’re not using me—I’m using you.”
For the sake of her precious people.
Baek Yeong simply smiled at her response.
