Chapter 68
“… Jiwoon?”
Even as I said it, I couldn’t believe it.
In his hands, clad in a proper black suit, was a cigarette emitting smoke.
Baek Ha-won wasn’t at the hotel, so why was Jiwoon here?
He approached, crushing the cigarette underfoot.
“Why are you here? Where’s Oppa?”
I asked, suspicious.
“The boss isn’t in Hong Kong right now.”
Jiwoon replied calmly.
The surroundings were different from the usual paths I frequented. It seemed to be the back entrance of a hotel used only by staff.
“You didn’t take me. To watch me?”
Jiwoon didn’t answer. His lack of response was an answer in itself.
Wow. This is surprising. I found myself admiring it unintentionally.
It’s rare for someone in Baek Ha-won’s position as the boss of an organization to be alone. Moreover, Jiwoon was his secretary and watchdog.
Leaving him behind wasn’t a joke. But since it was Jiwoon, the situation became a bit awkward, but not much different from the rest.
“Let’s go inside.”
Jiwoon said with an expressionless face.
Angel, who was under me, groaned and held her head. Ah, it seems she’s hurt from earlier when she hit the ground. She seemed to be coming to her senses only now.
I stood up without taking the hand he offered. Jiwoon didn’t hesitate to take my hand anyway.
I straightened out my crumpled clothes and fixed my disheveled hair with my hands.
“No. I’m not going in.”
I hadn’t expected Jiwoon to be guarding.
But if Baek Ha-won himself were here, it might have been different, but because it was Jiwoon, it was just a bit more awkward, not much different from the rest.
“Just come back before Mr. Baek comes back. Move aside.”
“I’m sorry.”
Jiwoon still stood in front of me. Since I didn’t have much hope to begin with, I just turned in a different direction and passed him by.
The next moment was also cliché. My arm was grabbed, and I stopped. As I pushed his hand away, I pulled out a gun at the same time.
“Move your hand.”
I pressed the muzzle against Jiwoon’s Adam’s apple.
“Did Oppa tell you to treat me like this?”
Our gazes clashed. I met his unwavering gaze and tilted my head slightly.
“Hmm. Maybe it’s better to ask differently.”
And with a lazy laugh, I added,
“What about Father?”
His brown pupils gleamed coolly.
If I were just an untainted government official’s daughter, it would be different, but as the daughter mentioned in the late boss’s will, the story completely changed.
On this ground where order is clear, abiding by the late boss’s will is customary out of respect and awe.
The late boss of Baekcheon, who wasn’t in his right mind, left such a will to Cha Yeon-byeol, his daughter, as his first and last gift.
Jiwoon slowly released my arm. Whatever was contained in his cool gaze, whether it was disdain or something else, wasn’t important to me.
“Tell the boss.”
Doshiyu suddenly approached from behind and put his arm around my shoulder.
“I’ll take care of the lady myself, so if there’s a problem, come and get her yourself.”
His smiling face seemed oddly cold. He looked somehow displeased. I shrugged off his arm draped over my shoulder and pushed it away with my finger.
Doshiyu escorted me all the way to his parked car. The bright red sports car was so Doshiyu-like that it made me laugh.
“Get in.”
He opened the back door himself, making sure I didn’t bump my head, and then closed it without hitting it.
I thought he was going to close the door too, but he leaned over and fastened my seatbelt for me. As the seatbelt clicked into place and the door closed, Doshiyu finally sat in the driver’s seat.
“Is it okay to just leave like this?”
Doshiyu checked his face in the rearview mirror and took off his wig.
Today, his hair was lavender. No wonder his eyes were purple.
He took off his bow tie, jacket, and shirt one by one and roughly stuffed them under his feet.
“It’s not like it’s a direct order from the boss. You know how much I’m loyal to Baekcheon. I’m so tired these days from dealing with annoying bastards.”
His face, rough as he spoke, was filled with nothing but irritation, like he was just complaining about the ordinary frustrations of everyday life.
Even though Doshiyu, with half his makeup removed, wearing a floral shirt, spoke, it didn’t feel particularly serious.
“And business and stuff are different. How much I’m loyal to Baekcheon. I’m so tired these days from dealing with annoying bastards.”
The face that spoke harshly looked no different from the usual, just filled with irritation.
Doshiyu, with his makeup removed, took the wheel. The red car started smoothly.
I leaned back against the seat. The sweet fruit scent lingering on the seat seemed to suit the owner.
Then, a memory popped into my head.
“Did you hear the news? The guy who harassed me at the party…”
“Is he dead?”
“You got it right away.”
“Of course I did.”
The questioning tone was no different from when we were having a different conversation.
“I killed him.”
So I was even more surprised. My mind stopped for a moment at his unchanged tone.
“…Why? Why did you kill him?”
“The reason?”
He replied without much thought, with a face that seemed to ask why I was even asking.
“He was spreading dirty rumors about Baekcheon. It was a bit regrettable to just kill him, so I gave him a warning… Ah, don’t you dislike this kind of talk?”
To Doshiyu, it might be just a repetitive ordinary day, but it wasn’t for me.
It’s when morals don’t align like this.
Even though everything seems to be going smoothly and well, a thorn suddenly pops out and threatens peace. It made me uncomfortable all day, thinking that I might accidentally step on that thorn.
“Why’s your expression like that?”
Through the rearview mirror, our eyes met.
“I can’t tell what you’re thinking.”
I avoided his gaze smoothly, as if looking out the window, and brushed my hair back.
“About the casino owner. Is it okay to just kill him like that?”
“Would I have done something stupid? I did it perfectly.”
“He was a man in his 40s, and the next day he was found dead by suicide. He left a suicide note saying he couldn’t live because of guilt.”
So, this is what Angel was talking about. It seems she twisted the truth.
“Did Oppa order it?”
“No. The boss doesn’t need to know every little thing.”
Saying that, Doshiyu smiled brightly like a boy. Somehow, it seemed blind, like a dog wagging its tail towards its owner.
“Three days is just right. We’ll play a game every day for three days starting today.”
The sky was very clear. The breeze coming through the open window was quite warm.
“What does it mean to build Utopia?”
“I don’t know, but it seems very nice, doesn’t it? There’s a lot of money involved too. Since it’s too much trouble to come back and forth, I’ve also booked a hotel room.”
“But what if Oppa comes to pick me up before that?”
“He can’t. He’s far away for business right now.”
Doshiyu, who had stopped the car according to the changed signal, stretched.
“There’s a shooting range here.”
He said, looking closely out the window. A sign for a shooting range was visible on the building his gaze reached.
“It’s still too early to go to the casino. Since we’ve brought out the guns, why don’t we visit once?”
I didn’t really feel drawn to a shooting range. I had some bad memories associated with it.
I was about to suggest just going, but Doshiyu added first.
“The orphanage Ivy is in is nearby. It might be too much to go to both, but…”
“Orphanage?”
I leaned forward with interest. Either remembering something or probing, Doshiyu rolled his eyes round.
“I asked you what your father’s name was, what he looked like, where he used to live, because you said you lost your dad, but you didn’t say anything.”
I smiled wryly, furrowing my brow.
“Why is that? It seemed like you were about to ask for help.”
“Well, so I left you at the orphanage under our jurisdiction for now. I realized it would be difficult today. I’ll contact them in advance before we go.”
Doshiyu continued to ask.
“When do you want to go? I’ll contact them in advance.”
I checked my schedule in my head. Actually, I didn’t really have a schedule to check.
“Um. I don’t know when I’ll come out again if I go back to Baekcheon.”
“I’ll come pick you up. Shall we set it whenever?”
“Sure.”
I leaned back against the seat again and closed my eyes.
“Oh. What’s this?”
At that moment, a curious voice came.
I opened my eyes, feeling the wind. Doshiyu was examining the gun I had left on the seat next to him.
“Did the boss give it to you?”
His eyes flickered as he inspected the gun.
“Welcome. Now you’re really part of us.”
Doshiyu smiled roundly and reached out his hand as if to shake hands. I roughly took his hand.
For some reason, he held my hand tightly and shook it up and down. It was so tight it hurt.
“Why just a gun?”
At the timely change of the signal to green, I barely managed to get the gun back from his strong grip.
“Do you know what it means to receive a gun from the organization?”
His tone was unusually serious.
“It means you can’t escape until you die.”
I felt like I had heard this before somewhere else.
Two places you can’t escape from until you die…
