Chapter 10

Translator and Editor: Gina and Tea

Chapter 10

“Aaaaaaah–!”

A desperate scream broke in a place that was filled with overwhelming stillness. On the first floor of the Square, the white marble hallway leading to the boss’ office was stained with red blood. Before the blood soiling the floor had even dried, the new blood shed by new people who were being dragged like luggage splashed all over without any time for even trying to wipe it off.

It’s already been three days today. To be exact, it had been that way for 72 hours.

“Whew, what kind of mess is this?”

“Well, I heard that Yeonbyeol lady was kidnapped from the party.”

“Wow~ What kind of big guy did that in front of the boss?”

The organization members were busy talking about the uncommon thing their boss personally did, and rumors were rampant. The two men, who were in a position where they would not normally be able to set foot in the Square, continued talking while looking at the place they might not be able to come again.

“But… didn’t the boss and the lady not get along well?”

“I thought that was the case too, but seeing that the young lady was kidnapped and all this uproar, it must have been just rumors.”

“Isn’t that just anger against Utopia? Boss’ mother–”

Bang–! A gunshot rang out sharply, cutting off all conversation.

Thump– The man saw his superior fall to the floor and froze in disbelief at the figure at the end of his gaze.

“Since when has there been such kind of bastard in Baekcheon?”

Hawon snorted as he walked over and touched the corpse on the floor with his heel. The movements were graceful and daunting, like the languid steps of a lion. Blood spurted out and stained his neat shoes as he stepped on the dead man, then Hawon shifted his gaze to the trembling man. The moment the shaking pupils met the black eyes that seemed to contain the darkness of hell, the man’s hand, which had been discreetly and agilely moving toward the gun in his jacket, became stiff.

He had never seen a person smile that way before. A smile that seemed as if he would chop his fingers off if he touched it lightly. Even the air surrounding him was horrifyingly cold. Unlike the clearly raised corners of the mouth, the shaded eyes shone like those of a beast seeking its prey. The beast standing in front of him looked like he was about to shove its large, sharp fangs deep into the nape of his neck at any moment and bite his head off. Just imagining it frightened him to death. A dark red road was drawn over the marble floor along his steps. He couldn’t escape. It was animal instinct. The man accepted such a fact with his whole body and fell down with his head on the floor.

“S- spare me, boss!”

Hawon laughed once more at that desperate cry and sat down on one knee in front of the man who was lying face down.

“If you don’t want a hole in the back of your skull, raise your head.”

At the vicious warning, the man hastily raised his head. A black barrel flashed in front of his eyes. The gun moved without a chance to dodge.

“Hmph…!”

As his open mouth trembled, his teeth and gun collided, making a crackling sound.

“Should you talk now?”

Smiling gracefully like the moon at the peak of the night sky, he was like a god.

“Hmph, hmph!” As the man cried like a beast, Hawon’s eyes shone more terrifying than ever.

“Yu-gyeom.”

“…”

“About your true Master.”

* * *

“I guess it’s your taste.”

I held my breath as he neared my face. I wanted to avoid his gaze because I thought I would die of suffocation, but I couldn’t because of the soft, firm hand holding my chin. The mischievous smile hiding his inner thoughts was driving me crazy.

“Me.”

[tl/n: I have to correct myself. In the last chapter, I thought this was Cha Yeonbyeol about to speak but it was Yu-gyeom still speaking to her]

I really couldn’t snap myself out of it. There seemed to be sparks on the face that matched my taste 999% perfectly. From his dazzlingly shiny hair to the loose ivory-colored knitwear today, the atmosphere seemed even more languid around him. I almost nodded my head when he asked if he was my taste, but I managed to hold my mind.

‘No, get a hold of yourself! Snap out of it’ Yu-gyeom was a trickster who made a spider web against Baek Hawon and made him unable to get away from him. He’s doing this right now, probably just because my reaction is amusing. However, it’s just a light curiosity and he still can kill me right away if there’s a reason.

Since I knew the contents of the novel, I thought it would be easy to enchant him a bit, but I had a feeling that might be a big mistake. When I saw it in person, it was clear that Yu-gyeom was a nine-tailed fox.

[tl/n: In Korean mythology, the nine-tailed fox is an evil creature that becomes a person, usually a woman, to seduce people with their blinding beauty in order to kill them and steal their heart or liver.]

“Mh?”

Yu-gyeom whispered as if urging me to answer, and my mouth opened at will in the rush to escape from this situation.

“It- It is.”

Too straightforward, as if it hadn’t been filtered one bit. Yu-gyeom’s eyes seemed to widen but soon he tilted his head as if intrigued.

I muttered inwardly, trying to ignore the gaze.

‘I’m just trying to enchant him a bit. Just a little bit.’

Otherwise, I have no future.

All kinds of regrets were tangled in my head, but it was already too late, I was already in the tiger’s den. If I obediently go around here, Yu-gyeom would lose interest and I’ll eventually die as a hostage. I’d rather he be interested like a madman.

“Isn’t it to your taste?”

With a desire to cry, I forcefully lifted the corners of my mouth and prayed earnestly that my voice would not tremble. I wasn’t confident enough to make eye contact, so I grabbed Yu-gyeom’s hand that was holding mine instead.

“Me.”

When I lifted my head while still raising the corners of my mouth, Yu-gyeom, who looked like he was hearing bullsh*t, was watching me with sharp eyes. Then, he burst out laughing and swept his face with his hand, stepping away from me.

“Really, you never react as I expect.”

I couldn’t know if it was a good or bad fortune, however, there was no way for me to achieve the love interest flag or set such a goal like in rofan novels, and it was clear that there was no chance for one in the future. Seeing him smile at me like that made my heart flutter because of how amazingly handsome his face was, but thinking about how he eventually became Baek Hawon’s man, I was looking forward to their love.

‘And to witness that, you have to live…!’ My will to live once again ignited.

Yu-gyeom continued striding away from me and sat on the desk, then looked at me with one eye with his face still buried in his hand. Like a child observing something new for the first time, his eyes were half vigilant and half curious.

“Do you know where you are?”

Utopia. I rolled the word in my head that I couldn’t get out of my mouth. Baekcheon’s rival organization. But in reality, they were always pushed down by Baekcheon, thus to win against them, Utopia became more filthy and uglier.

“That’s right, you knew who I was.”

“…”

“But, how much do you know?”

Fierce eyes pierced me. If I knew everything, from being an illegitimate child to what kind of life he was leading, Yu-gyeom would kill me without hesitation. Everyone knew and whispered, but none of those who said it aloud before him survived. When I recalled that fact, I got goosebumps all over my body, but I tried to keep my fear in check and smiled broadly with a face as if I didn’t know anything.

“I know you’re famous for being handsome.”

There were so many questions that I couldn’t answer, so I decided to keep being shameless.

“You said you were wondering why I liked you, right?”

As if Yu-gyeom was still standing right in front of me, I barely peeled my body from the wall, which had been stuck to it since earlier, and walked closer toward him.

When I stopped right in front of Yu-gyeom, my heart raced like crazy. Every moment was like walking on ice, wondering if I would live if I walked like this way or die if I walked like that way.

“Do you want me to tell you?”

Nevertheless, I kept taking one step further. I glanced at my feet, which stopped at the exact position so that I could run away before he reached out his hand to touch me, then the smile on the corners of Yu-gyeom’s mouth deepened.

“I thought that was an unexpected excuse.”

“Th- that’s absurd.”

‘As expected, I was too clumsy.’ I barely responded to the harsh words.

“Well, let’s say so.”

I was relieved inwardly at Yu-gyeom’s words. I wasn’t used to lying. In the original story, what happened to Cha Yeonbyeol while she was kidnapped? What did she do, that Baek Hawon killed her the day he came to rescue her? Yu-gyeom opened his mouth just when I was getting frustrated that Cha Yeonbyeol was a wicked woman who died at the first meeting of the main characters.

“But why past tense?”

Yu-gyeom’s unexpected question made my head spin.

‘What– What did I say?’

“You said you liked me.”

“…”

“I guess you don’t like me anymore?”

To say I liked him– I meant that I liked him as my bias. But I couldn’t ever say that, could I?

“You said you were wondering why I liked you, right?”

To say I made a mistake because I lost my mind in the moment I even said it in past tense– What will happen if I say I have already given up?

“Looking at you in person, you’re less handsome than the rumors.”

It may sound amusing, but for me, it wasn’t funny at all. With a bloody development in which its end didn’t flow into romance, but rather a noir genre, it wouldn’t be strange at all if he killed me right away. The moment when I wondered what I should, and whether I should, correct myself from the fact that he was much more handsome than I imagined.

Boom–!! An explosion sounded, and an unexpected sight unfolded outside the window where I looked away in surprise.

‘Why are the fireworks exploding now?’

Colorful fireworks lit up the night sky. I looked at it with a puzzled face. It wouldn’t be for no reason to have such a large and colorful firecracker in the city’s night sky.

“Ah, I guess today was the eve festival.”

Eve festival. Something suddenly came to mind at Yu-gyeom’s comment.

“It is the founding event starting from tomorrow.”

‘How could I forget about this?’ Utopia had a peculiar and strange custom of holding something like a two-week festival that included the date of its founding. I didn’t know why an organization that runs behind the scenes needed such a thing as gun shooting contests in the name of unity, but oh, well, I could understand that much.

However, in the damned original, that wasn’t all.

“Among the Baekcheon people, the princess must be the first and last to participate in the festival.”

This year was the last year of the foundation festival. On the last day of the festival, Baek Hawon rushed to invade Utopia as if he was aiming deliberately for that day.

Originally, Baek Hawon and Yu-gyeom were supposed to meet for the first time that day, when the first snow fell. And the day Cha Yeonbyeol died.

I felt as if I was choking because of the flow of the original plot.

“Do you really not like me anymore because I’m less handsome than the rumors?”

The big, cold hand that had been holding my hand made me come to my senses, and I turned my head from the window toward Yu-gyeom.

Boom-! Boom!!

Firecrackers continued to sparkle and rise over the dark shadows in a room where only moonlight was allowed. A colorful, bright light permeated Yu-gyeom’s face. Under the romantic fireworks that maybe should have decorated the first meeting between Yu-gyeom and Hawon, his soft voice wrapped around my ears.

“It’s okay even if it’s a lie.”

“…”

“Can you say that you still like me?”

The fireworks bursting constantly in the night sky seemed to signal another start, but they sent out a bloody warning.

The moment you let your guard down, you will be eaten.

——

Special thanks to Fa for her support! Thank you so much~!