Chapter 77
That was her purpose from the very start: use powerful men for her own gain. Seungjo, Min-Hyuk, Dongjun, Jaehwan, and Gyeongjae chased her like fools, and not one of them saw the trap.
To Hana, they were guinea pigs. Whichever man got her pregnant without protection would be the one she chose.
What disturbed Yeonho most was the way she planned to use her own child.
The poor kid would be abandoned and shipped to another country the moment he or she turned twelve, all so Hana would never face any competition.
Yeonho refused to let an innocent baby be born into her cruel web.
He didn't want any child to suffer the same torture he had endured from Hana and his own family.
A household so rotten that he was the only sane person left inside it.
For now, blurting out everything wasn't the right move—not when he held the video of Hana's own confession in his hands.
The rice wine was another matter. Hana soaked it heavily with aphrodisiac, and the entire dinner existed for that single reason.
The thought of stopping her gave Yeonho the strength to stay on his feet.
"I'm telling you not to drink it," Yeonho warned, looking directly at Gyeongjae. "Gyeongjae, you know what I'm talking about."
He expected Gyeongjae to agree. Instead, Gyeongjae shook his head.
"That won't happen again. I'm sure she won't do it again."
"What...?" The disappointment crept into Yeonho's voice. "You seriously believe that?"
"I know she regretted it. Hana's not like that."
A bitter weight sting in Yeonho's chest.
He turned to Min-Hyuk, hoping for something different, but the answer was the same.
There was nothing he could do about that part.
They had been fooled by Hana for far too long to believe a word from him.
"Fine. If you don't believe me, that's fine," Yeonho said flatly. "Get out and go back to her right now."
He turned to the mirror, washed his hands, and smoothed down his knitted sweater.
Gyeongjae reached out, wanting to help.
"Let me—"
"I can handle myself. Just leave me alone," Yeonho snapped, pulling away.
"Are you sure? What if that guy still has some strength left? Come here, I'll help—"
"I said I'm fine. Get out. I don't want to talk to anyone right now."
Min-Hyuk closed the distance from the side, stepping into Yeonho's space.
"Come on, we're just worried. We wrecked your boyfriend's face for you."
"Thank you, but I need some time alone."
Yeonho said, taking a step back to avoid Min-Hyuk's hand trying to touch his back.
Gyeongjae and Min-Hyuk exchanged confused glances at Yeonho's rejection. Both of them looked over at Seungjo, who stood near the doorway.
Seungjo said nothing. He seemed to understand that pity was the last thing Yeonho wanted right now, just like in the stall.
"How do you know Hana?"
The low voice came from the back of the restroom, and Yeonho swallowed hard.
He hadn't noticed Dongjun standing in the dim back corner, leaning against the wall the entire time.
"What are you trying to do? I heard your conversation earlier. Hana was talking to that man. Why?"
Gyeongjae, knowing how dangerous Dongjun could be, immediately stepped forward putting himself between them.
But before he could speak, he felt a faint, small tug from behind.
Glancing down, Gyeongjae saw Yeonho's delicate hands clutching the back of his coat, subtly hiding behind him.
A strange, unexpected warmth stirred in Gyeongjae's chest.
Despite pushing him away seconds ago, Yeonho was relying on him right now.
Seeing this, Gyeongjae straightened his shoulders, shielding him completely.
"That's enough, Dongjun," he said. "That's his privacy. Let's go. Hana's waiting."
"I want answers." Dongjun crossed the floor until he stood face to face with Gyeongjae, his eyes sliding past him to the figure hiding behind.
"You said your name was Yeonho. Tell me, Yeonho—what is Hana's connection to that low life?" He pointed a finger at unconcious Yejun.
Yeonho's mouth opened and closed a couple times, unable to utter a word.
Dongjun's glare hardened. "And what does the Gala scandal have to do with any of this? Say something, or do I have to force the words out of you?"
"Don't push it." Gyeongjae glared back.
"I'm not talking to you."
"I don't care. You're not getting any goddamn answer from him."
Dongjun scoffed then took one step forward forward.
"Hey," Gyeongjae growled, bumping his chest at Dongjun's shoulder. "I said back off."
The tension inside the tiled room spiked into a suffocating standoff.
Neither man blinked, and neither was willing to give an inch.
Seungjo finally broke the silence. "Enough. Hana has been sitting alone with Jaewhan at the table long enough. We're leaving."
He walked to the entrance and left without another look.
Dongjun spared one last lingering glance at Yeonho before turning on his heel and disappearing into the hallway.
"I'm fine," Yeonho said, rubbing his sore shoulder. "Just go."
Gyeongjae noticed the cuts on Yeonho's skin from the shattered glass earlier. He wanted to stay and help clean the wounds, but the thought of Hana waiting pushed him away.
Once Gyeongjae and Min-Hyuk left the restroom, Yeonho let out the deep breath he had been holding.
A part of his plan was ruined, but it wouldn't stop the main goal he came here for.
He leaned toward the mirror, carefully retouching his makeup and making sure his disguise was completely back in place.
He spared a single, disgusted glance down at Yejun, who lay unconscious in a pool of his own blood near the stalls.
'I'll just leave this rotten bastard right here.'
Yeonho slipped back into the dining area and hid in a corner where he could watch Hana's table.
The men were eating dessert with her, dark chocolate paired with the rice wine that was about to arrive.
"Try this," Hana said. "I know all of you will like it. The aroma is so good." She gestured to the waiting staff, and they moved in perfect unison, setting a square glass of rice wine in front of each man. "Go on, drink. This is my thank-you for spending time with me and giving me such happy memories."
She smiled gently, lovingly.
The men lifted their glasses. Gyeongjae hesitated for a second, swirling the liquid around as he inspected it, Yeonho's warning ringing in his ears.
Noticing his pause, Hana tilted her head. "Gyeongjae? Is something wrong?"
"...No. I'll drink it."
The scent didn't resemble anything Gyeongjae remembered from the night Hana drugged him. That reassured him enough to drain his glass and set it down empty. The taste wasn't strange or bitter at all.
Hana never touched her own glass, saying she needed to wake early tomorrow for the final preparations of her birthday party. It didn't matter.
They spent the best evening of the entire dinner, with Hana talking nonstop and keeping them entertained, and thirty minutes passed without any reaction.
They felt nothing at all, and by the time they finished, the rice wine bottle was completely empty.
'See? Yeonho was just paranoid.' Gyeongjae thought.
From his table, Yeonho rested his chin on his palm, watching the group with growing boredom as minute after minute ticked by with no visible reaction.
'Strange... Did she chicken out? No, that's impossible. She's too greedy to abandon a setup like this.'
Just as he jokingly thought Hana had backed out of her plan, Seungjo subtly reached up, pressing two fingers hard against the bridge of his nose as if battling a sudden, blinding migraine.
Beside him, Jaehwan kept refilling his glass with cold water.
Min-Hyuk was tying up his red hair, flushed from the heat.
Gyeongjae couldn't sit still, leaning back, then straightening, then leaning back again.
And Dongjun loosened his tie and unbuttoned his collar.
Something was wrong with all of them, and Hana's eyes kept darting back and forth between the men, secretly watching their flushed faces and uneasy movements.
"Are you guys alright? Is something wrong?" she asked in a worried voice.
Yeonho, who had been watching the entire time, instantly knew it wasn't because they were drunk.
This was the drug. Hana had used a different kind this time—one that took longer to kick in, but hit far harder once it took full effect.
Standing up from his chair, Yeonho walked over toward Hana's table, pretending he was coming to say goodbye.
"I'm leaving now, Ms. Choi. Have a nice evening."
Hana flinched, her eyes widening in momentary panic as if she had been caught red-handed.
Acting confused by the state of the men around her, Yeonho leaned down close and whispered straight to the point:
"They look weird, Ms. Choi. Don't tell me... you did something like you did before?"
She understood instantly and shushed him, glancing at the men who were too dazed to notice her.
In a hushed voice, she confessed that she did, trusting him with it.
Yeonho offered a subtle, understanding nod back. "Do you need me to assist you with the arrangements?"
Hana hesitated, wanting to handle her conquest alone, but Yeonho leaned closer, his voice smooth and persuasive.
"If they collapse here, the restaurant staff will call an ambulance. It'll cause a big commotion. The press will cover it by midnight. Do you really want your reputation at risk, Ms. Choi?"
Greed beat out caution. Hana nodded eagerly, completely falling under his manipulation.
They excused themselves and stood by the wall, where Yeonho asked her what she intended to do, though he already knew. Hana was going to take all of them to a private villa she prepared with great care.
When they returned to the table, she put on an act of confusion and concern, the perfect, innocent girl, and called over the security guards standing by each man.
"We're going. Follow my car. It seems the rice wine was too strong for them," she said, sounding so distressed that the guards simply felt sorry for her. They draped their bosses' arms over their shoulders and carried them out of the restaurant.
Outside, the cool night air did nothing to dull the drug's effect. Hana looked around frantically for her personal sedan, but her driver was nowhere to be seen—a minor delay Yeonho had quietly orchestrated an hour prior.
"Why not take one of their cars, Ms. Choi?" Yeonho suggested. "If we stand out in the open any longer, someone will take photos. A public scandal right before your birthday would be disastrous."
"Yes, you're right. Then we'll go with Dongjun's. Come with me."
She called Dongjun over, and he walked to her with a guard supporting his weight. "Drive to this address," she told the driver. "They're spending the night at my place. I'll need to cook something for their hangovers. They're all drunk."
The guard bowed and helped Dongjun into the back seat. Hana slid in beside him, and Yeonho took the front passenger seat.
Gyeongjae, Jaehwan, Seungjo, and Min-Hyuk climbed into their own cars with their bodyguards, and the convoy rolled down the city roads behind Hana's car.
Another car pulled out after them, trailing at a careful distance so Hana would never notice.
The drive took ten minutes.
They stopped before a massive gate that looked more like a wall, and no guards stood watch. Only a single security camera sat on top.
The gate slid open, and the cars rolled into the private villa.
The moment they stepped inside, Hana ordered the servants to take the drunk men to their rooms on the second floor. Yeonho watched the five men disappear up the grand staircase, which split into two corridors at the top.
In the main hall, Hana turned to him with a grateful smile. Yeonho smiled back, bright and sincere, as if he were glad to be of use.
"Go now, and don't forget. You won't say anything about this. I trust you."
"Yes, Ms. Choi. No one will know."
They walked to the entrance, Hana reachy for the door to see him out while Yeonho followed a step behind.
"Really, you've made it so much easier for me."
Yeonho said nothing, and the silence made her pause.
Before she could turn around, his hand moved. He struck the side of her neck in a clean, precise chop, and Hana's eyes rolled back and crumpled to the floor beside his shoes, fully unconscious.
Yeonho looked down at her coldly. "Don't worry. I'll take good care of everything while you sleep."
Footsteps and murmuring voices drifted down the stairs. He dropped to his knees and called the servants over in a worried voice.
"Ms. Choi passed out from exhaustion! Take her to her room right away! Make sure she doesn't come out, or she's going to overwork herself! If she gets sick, Her father, will be furious."
The servants gasped, rushed down, bowing nervously and called a nal worker to carry her away.
Alone in the middle of the grand living room, Yeonho studied the entire space once, then made a call.
Five minutes later, Carl, Hyunbae, and Nabi arrived at the villa gate.
He took the bag from Kim Jeungmin, hurried back inside, and climbed the stairs to the second floor, where five drugged men waited behind five closed doors.
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