Chapter 76
Min-Hyuk, clearly bothered by the direction of the conversation, stepped forward.
"Did you say rape?"
Min-Hyuk asked, a calm, casual smile spreading across his face as he slid his hands into his trouser pockets. "Are you talking about the Gala scandal? Are you one of those guys?"
Swelling with twisted pride, Yejun smirked and lifted his chin arrogantly.
"You're pretty fast to catch on. You're right. Me and a lot of guys raped Choi Yeonho. We did it for hours, and guess what? He moaned and cried so fucking pretty."
"I know"
Those two words wiped the smirk off Yejun's face. Min-Hyuk had just admitted, in a perfectly relaxed voice, that he had slept with Yeonho too.
"You—"
"But you see, we did it with consent. No rape happened, you fucking dumbass," Min-Hyuk advance slowly, and Yejun backed away, dwarfed by the tall red haired man.
"And one more thing..."
Min-Hyuk tilted his head as Yejun's back hit the tile wall.
"You touched him with your filthy hands, right?"
Still smiling, Min-Hyuk's right hand moved like lightning. He grabbed Yejun's head and slammed it violently against the wall with a loud crack.
Blood ran down Yejun's face from his hairline, staining his skin as he leaned against the wall to keep his balance.
"Serves you right. Tsk," Gyeongjae muttered, crossing his arms.
Dizzy and blinded by pure rage, Yejun swung wild brass-knuckled punches at Min-Hyuk's face.
"Whoa! Not the face, man." Min-Hyuk drawled, effortlessly swaying out of reach. "I'm a model, you know."
Yejun felt completely humiliated, looked down upon by every man in the room. The rage boiled over in his chest.
"You fucking people! You think you're better than everyone?! Just because you're rich and have everything, you think you're better than me?!"
Fed up with the noise, Seungjo took control. Even though he disapproved of Yeonho's recent behavior toward Hana, Yeonho was still a human being—and his employee.
Besides, the truth behind the Gala scandal was something he was increasingly curious about.
Dongjun felt the same, remaining quiet in the back as he observed everything.
"If you don't want to end up severely injured, hand him over. Yeonho is an exclusive model under my company. If you assault my employee, I will personally sue you and ensure you spend the rest of your life in prison."
"I don't care! You just want to take him for yourself!"
"I don't."
"Don't fucking lie! All of you want him! Fuck! I shouldn't have listened to his whines. I should have just taken him away! Fuck! I even made a deal with her! Shit! It's all her fault! Fuck!"
Seungjo's eyes narrowed. "Her? Who are you talking about?"
"Wait... don't tell me," Gyeongjae added, stepping closer. "The mastermind behind the Gala scandal?"
Yejun paused, a manic, smug look settling over his face as he realized how clueless they were. "Do you want to know who ordered me and all those guys to rape him? Hahaha! I know you're curious. To be honest, all of you should be. She's behind everything."
Inside the private stall, Yeonho was slowly regaining consciousness. His limbs felt heavy, and a dull, throbbing dizziness clouded his head.
'My neck hurts... Yejun, you fucking bastard...'
Trying to stand was useless—his body wouldn't obey. But through the stall door, he caught every word of the heated argument outside.
When Yejun started talking about the mastermind behind the Gala scandal, Yeonho's heart sank.
'This is bad... If Yejun opens his mouth, my entire plan is ruined.'
Yeonho couldn't allow the truth to come out through Yejun. It had to come directly from the person who orchestrated his ruin. It had to come from the person who had done all of it.
If Yejun blurted out Hana's name right now, Gyeongjae and the others would immediately confront her or launch an investigation alongside her.
They wouldn't fully believe a lunatic like Yejun, and the moment Yejun was cornered, Yeonho would be exposed.
Hiding from Hana and his family would become impossible. Hana would either find another way to make him disappear, or his father would drag him back under strict control.
Everything he had sacrificed—every ounce of effort he had poured into his revenge—would mean nothing.
"Say it and stop beating around the bush," Gyeongjae demanded, stepping up to Yejun. "Tell me who it is!"
"I don't care if you believe me or not, but it was—"
'No. Don't say it.'
Yeonho gripped the edge of the seat and tried to push himself up, but his legs gave out, and he crashed to the floor.
THUD!
The sound made every head in the restroom turn toward the stall.
Yejun had been seconds away from naming Hana, enjoying the way they hung on his words. Now his arm lowered, and the brass knuckles dipped.
"Yeonho..."
That moment of distraction was all Gyeongjae needed. He lunged toward the stall, but Yejun, who had no intention of giving Yeonho up, dodged him and stumbled sideways.
"Get away! He's mine!"
"You're dead when i caught you, you fucking bastard."
With his long arms, Gyeongjae grabbed Yejun's wrist, slammed it against the tile, and delivered a heavy kick straight to his face.
"Ack! Fuck! That fucking hurts!" Yejun shrieked, writhing on the floor.
"I'll handle this trash. Go check on him."
While Gyeongjae kept him pinned, Min-Hyuk and Seungjo headed for the stall.
From inside came a faint, trembling voice. "Someone... ah."
Min-Hyuk had barely stopped in front of the door when a hand shot out and seized his ankle. Yejun was desperate to keep Yeonho to himself, and he clung on like a dog with its teeth locked.
Min-Hyuk looked down, repeatedly kicking Yejun's hands and arm, but Yejun refused to let go.
"You've got to be kidding me. You look this bad and you're still fighting?"
With a cold, ruthless glare, Min-Hyuk lifted his other foot and stomped his heel directly down onto Yejun's head against the hard floor.
Yejun's body twitched violently at the impact. His nose broke and bleeding and a teeth flew away from his mouth.
Gyeongjae, who had been itching for blood, wasn't holding back anymore.
He dragged Yejun off Min-Hyuk's ankle by the collar and drove his boot into his stomach.
"Ack! Fuck!" Yejun collapsed onto his side, coughing up blood.
Even then, Yejun kept moving, like an undying worm, reaching out to stop them. Gyeongjae and Min-Hyuk exchanged an exasperated look. Nobody should have been able to keep fighting after all that.
While they dealt with him, Seungjo pulled the stall door open and stepped inside.
Yeonho was curled on the floor, looking completely broken.
Seungjo knelt beside him, gently cupping Yeonho's face in his hand.
"Yeonho. Look at me."
Yeonho was covered in a cold sweat, his skin sickly pale, his lips dry and colorless. He blinked slowly, his dazed blue eyes straining to focus on Seungjo's face.
"Seu... Seungjo?" He rasped, his hand trembling as he reached up to rest his palm against Seungjo's cheek. "What are you... doing here? Hana... You're supposed to be with Hana..."
His strength gave out, and his hand began to fall. Seungjo caught it mid-air, wrapping his fingers tightly around Yeonho's ice-cold palm and pressing it back against his cheek.
He stared down at the younger man.
Silent tears welling up in his eyes—not from fear, but from the disarming, steady warmth Seungjo was offering him.
The unexpected, silent comfort Seungjo was giving him was unusual.
Seungjo's gaze flicked down to Yeonho's neck, taking in the violent, red choke marks and bite wounds left by Yejun's assault.
Yeonho had expected scorn, or at least a lecture but nothing came.
"I hate you..." Yeonho choked out, a single tear slipping past his lashes. "You're only acting gentle... because you see me like this..."
Seungjo felt a sharp sting in his chest as Yeonho wept silently against him. The mischievous blue eyes and cocky grin he was used to seeing were gone, and all that was left was a person terrified of being judged for what he looked like right now.
'I hate this... Those eyes... Don't look at me like that.'
Hating the display of weakness, Yeonho tried to push Seungjo away.
"I... I need to fix my clothes. Please don't look at me and get out," Yeonho sniffled, wiping his face. He tried to push himself up, but his knees immediately buckled.
Seungjo caught him before he hit the ground.
"I'm fine. I can walk."
Yeonho didn't want anyone's help, not now, though he realized something bitter as he hung in those strong arms.
When Yejun had been on top of him, he hadn't asked for help either. His mind and body had simply given in. Now that he truly needed someone, he was pushing everyone away.
"Let go. I can walk on my own."
"Stop," Seungjo said firmly, wrapping a strong arm around Yeonho's back. "Let me help you."
Yeonho blinked, startled by the gesture.
"It's fine. You don't need to put on a show. Lean on me. We're getting out of here."
"Why...?" Yeonho whispered, his voice laced with bitter distrust.
"Because I pity you," Seungjo stared directly into his eyes.
Silence settled between them.
"I hate it," Yeonho looked down, unable to meet that gaze as he finally allowed Seungjo to bear his weight.
Together, they stepped out of the stall.
The restroom had finally quieted down.
Yejun lay motionless on the floorboards, looking like a bloody mess.
The moment Gyeongjae saw Yeonho step out, he walked over and pulled Yeonho directly into a tight embrace.
"Fuck. Why did you do something like that?" He drew back to look him over. "Look at you. You're a mess."
His eyes found Seungjo, who still had a hand on Yeonho's back. "I'll take care of him."
Seungjo stepped back, though his eyes remained fixed on Yeonho.
Min-Hyuk stepped forward, standing close beside them. He reached out and gently caressed Yeonho's cheek.
"Are you alright?"
Yeonho nodded slowly.
Letting out a heavy sigh, Min-hyuk ran a hand through his red hair. "Can you tell us who that guy is? We want to hear the truth from you."
Yeonho's eyes darted away. All of them were waiting, but he wasn't ready to tell them, not yet.
"He's someone I know... that's all."
Everyone in the restroom knew Yejun was far more than that, but for Yeonho's sake, nobody pushed him.
He eased out of Gyeongjae's arms and looked at all of them. "Don't drink the rice wine. Don't drink anything Hana gave you."
"Why? Hold on, forget about that for now. Let me help yo—"
"Just don't and listen to me. I'm trying to do the right thing here."
It sounded strange to tell them this out of nowhere. He had meant to move without them noticing.
But he remembered what Hana had said during their confession session, when she explained why she was so set on the five men even though she didn't truly like them.
She was sleeping with all of them. The problem was that every one of them was a decent man who used protection every single time, and that was the reason she had turned to drugs.
She wanted to get pregnant, and not because she wanted a family. Her own father had ordered it.
Yeonho had burst into laughter when she said it. Just when he thought it couldn't get any funnier, she added that it hadn't even been a direct order.
"Give me grandchildren, a healthy grandson to inherit our family's power and legacy. Present me a perfect family. The moment you say you have a child as an heir, you'll sit down as chairman and take control of the board of directors."
That was all it took. Greedy and blind to anything but the prize, she weaponized her innocent face and calculated vulnerability—the exact same performance she used whenever she tried to destroy Yeonho.
Hana approached the five men until each of them had fallen for her.
And tonight, the rice wine waiting back at that table was how she planned to finish the job.
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