Chapter 79
“That tiny, cute kid—how dare a piece of trash like you lay a hand on her…!”
As Chai Ryeong approached with a murderous expression, Do Ha-jun stumbled back and hurriedly shook his head from side to side.
“I didn’t hit her myself!”
“Even without seeing it, it’s obvious—you must have ordered someone to do it!”
“Well, that’s…!”
He couldn’t deny it.
With nothing to say, Do Ha-jun opened and closed his mouth like a mute who’d swallowed honey, then gasped sharply as a kick landed squarely in his solar plexus.
“You have no idea how hard it’s been for me to hold back from beating the crap out of you all this time, you pathetic fighter.”
“You, you can’t do this to me?! Even if you have nothing left to protect, Ryeong, the guys behind you will be in trouble if you keep this up! Are you listening, Baek Yeong?!”
It was as if he knew exactly why Baek Yeong had endured everything until now.
Yes, the reason he had the strength but couldn’t act was because of Do Ha-jun’s despicable tactics. He’d held the families or lovers of the organization members hostage as leverage.
Hadn’t Chai Ryeong’s parents died in vain because of that? Knowing Do Ha-jun treated human lives so lightly made it even harder to move recklessly.
“If you protect me now, I’ll pretend this never happened! I’ll keep it a secret from President Baek too!”
At the shameless negotiation offer, Baek Yeong fell silent for a moment. His gaze briefly touched Baek I-hae.
‘Why, why is he looking at me?’
Baek I-hae blinked in confusion, but then a sudden throb in her bruised area made her wince involuntarily. At the same time, Baek Yeong’s brow furrowed.
“I already despised you as a piece of garbage.”
Soon, Baek Yeong’s icy gaze turned back to Do Ha-jun.
“But there’s no need to spare someone who’s touched something precious.”
Something precious.
Why had he said that after looking at Baek I-hae?
“As for that matter, I’ve already prepared countermeasures. I didn’t want to make even the smallest mistake, not after enduring all this time.”
The others were too focused on Baek Yeong’s following words to pay much attention to his earlier remark.
Only Seo Do-gyeom reached out and clasped Baek I-hae’s hand. Seeing him staring at Baek Yeong with terrifying intensity, it seemed he had similar thoughts to hers.
‘The reason he didn’t join right away was because he had things to check to protect the families of the organization members.’
It was just like Baek Yeong’s meticulous nature. A person whose image had changed so much from the beginning.
Now, he was someone it was hard to hate comfortably anymore.
“Miss, young master. Let’s head to the hospital. Staying here won’t be good for your education.”
Intuiting that what was about to happen wouldn’t be pretty, Old Man Oh coaxed Baek I-hae to move. It was only natural that Seo Do-gyeom followed wherever she went.
As Baek I-hae passed by, she glanced around near Do Ha-jun and met Baek Yeong’s eyes. She blinked slowly for a moment, and Baek Yeong turned his head to speak to Chai Ryeong.
“Chai Ryeong.”
“Yes, boss.”
“I’ll follow Baek I-hae, so you wrap things up here and contact me.”
“Yes. …What?!”
Chai Ryeong, who had been nodding solemnly while glaring at Do Ha-jun, whipped her head around in surprise. In her view was Baek Yeong, already standing by Baek I-hae’s side.
Without even glancing at her as she gaped in disbelief, Baek Yeong pulled out his car keys and said,
“My car’s nearby, so let’s go right away.”
“I can take the miss and young master, so why are you…?”
“If someone attacks, it’ll be hard for you to handle it alone.”
Baek Yeong replied calmly to Old Man Oh’s question.
‘Now that I think about it, that makes sense?’ Old Man Oh glanced at Seo I-heum with that expression.
In a silent question of what to do, Seo I-heum nodded wordlessly.
‘He must have noticed from the atmosphere that my relationship with the Baek faction has changed from before.’
Baek I-hae also reassured Old Man Oh that it was fine. But the more she did, the tighter Seo Do-gyeom’s grip on her hand became.
Naturally, Baek Yeong took the driver’s seat, and Old Man Oh sat in the passenger seat. As Baek I-hae tried to climb into the back, lifting her leg, she grimaced at the pain shooting through her waist.
“Ugh.”
“Ah, miss?!”
“I-hae, does it hurt a lot?”
As Old Man Oh and Seo Do-gyeom hurried to her side, Baek I-hae raised her hand to stop them. After all, they couldn’t heal her wounds anyway.
“I’m fine. It’s just the spot where I got hit earlier… Ah.”
Seeing their faces darken instantly, Baek I-hae realized her mistake and cautiously gauged their reactions. Then, Baek Yeong, who had been watching her through the rearview mirror, spoke.
“Get in for now. Your treatment comes first.”
No, looking at it now, Seo Do-gyeom’s treatment seemed more urgent.
She couldn’t bring herself to say that, so Baek I-hae carefully climbed into the car. Then, as if he’d been waiting, Seo Do-gyeom buckled her seatbelt for her.
“…Are you okay? When did you wake up?”
It wasn’t just a few days of unconsciousness. After being in a coma for so long, what on earth possessed him to come here?
Resenting the hospital staff and Old Man Oh for not stopping Seo Do-gyeom, Baek I-hae frowned, prompting Old Man Oh to blurt out an excuse hurriedly.
“Don’t misunderstand, miss! As soon as Young Master Do-gyeom woke up, the first thing he did was ask for you. He demanded we check your location right away with the tracker in the necklace.”
Baek I-hae fiddled with the necklace Seo I-heum had given her as a birthday gift.
‘Come to think of it, he said there was a tracking device installed in this. Then Uncle might have known I was staying at Baek Yeong’s house.’
“I tried to stop him by force when he wanted to move as soon as he knew the location, but sigh. In the blink of an eye, he ran off.”
Old Man Oh grumbled. Afterward, he called Seo I-heum to report the situation.
Upon receiving the call, Seo I-heum judged that resolving it quietly was no longer possible and urgently gathered the organization members.
“Anyway, it’s a relief it all worked out well. Thank you too, boss, for coming to help.”
As Baek I-hae sincerely thanked Baek Yeong, surprised glances turned toward her.
Wondering why, she blinked, and then Seo Do-gyeom spoke.
“…Boss? Don’t tell me you called that guy?”
It felt like he was interrogating her—why call him by such a title when he had a history of kidnapping her.
Old Man Oh seemed the same. Baek I-hae worried about how to explain it, but Baek Yeong spoke first.
“It’s your business.”
…That wasn’t particularly helpful in the current situation.
Silence descended in an instant. No more conversation was heard all the way to the hospital.
***
The hospital staff were horrified.
“What on earth is this! No, the guardian should have stopped the patient! This is just…!”
Not only had the barely awakened Seo Do-gyeom left without the doctor’s permission, but he returned battered and bruised.
It seemed like he’d been holding on by sheer willpower, as he collapsed like he was fainting the moment he arrived at the hospital. Fortunately, it was just abrasions, nothing major.
Rather, Baek I-hae was the bigger issue than Seo Do-gyeom. At least Seo Do-gyeom had been trained since childhood and knew how to dodge attacks skillfully, but Baek I-hae had taken the hits head-on the whole time.
Her skin was delicate to begin with, and her body had no experience with fighting. Naturally, she didn’t know how to evade attacks properly.
‘It hurts, but it won’t leave scars. No fractures either, so this is nothing.’
Still, she was grateful she hadn’t been hit by an active gangster. Imagining a massive thug swinging his fist made her shudder.
Unlike Baek I-hae’s positive outlook, Seo I-heum and the organization members who arrived to sort out the situation were deeply shocked by her appearance.
After treatment, Baek I-hae looked no different from a mummy to them.
‘No, wait. If we’re all gathered at the hospital like this, people will get scared!’
Unaware of their inner thoughts, Baek I-hae only worried about the ordinary people who might be frightened.
