Chapter 140 - Drunken Min-seo
And so, Minseo and the Executives enjoyed a lavish party in the cool evening breeze. One by one, they started getting drunk, surrounded by a seemingly endless supply of wine, whiskey, vodka—every kind of liquor you could name.
Minseo, of course, was gulping down drinks happily after getting Hayoung-nim's permission.
When else would he ever get to drink like this?
He seized the moment, trying every different type of alcohol available.
Minseo threw himself into the party, downing drinks like a madman... and eventually...
"Hehe... this is so good... alcohol's awesome...!"
As the alcohol hit him, a flushed Minseo giggled and staggered around.
"Hey, get it together. You want me to eat you alive right here?"
Seoyoung wrapped an arm around his swaying waist and gently guided him into a chair.
"Hic— sowwy—"
He hiccuped, looking up at Seoyoung with a beaming, red face.
Dilated pupils, a limp body, a face that couldn't stop smiling...
Putting it all together, Seoyoung concluded Minseo was completely wasted.
"Tsk— I told you to drink in moderation... what if someone tries to jump you..."
Seoyoung clicked her tongue and pulled the swaying Minseo against her shoulder.
"Who else would jump Minseo besides us~"
Chaeryeong chuckled and took a light sip of her wine.
"Still... you never know... something like what happened before could happen again..."
Maybe it was the alcohol, but Seoyoung brought up the past incident out loud.
At her words, the atmosphere dampened for a moment, and silence fell.
Breaking that silence,
"That won't happen again. I'll protect our family. Not just Minseo, but everyone."
Hayoung stood up, her resolve firm.
Even though she'd had quite a bit to drink, her clear eyes held a steadfast determination to protect them all.
"Then... shall we clink glasses?"
Jiha gave a soft smile and held out her glass. At her words, the cheerful sound of clinking glasses rang out as the Executives drew closer and closer.
"Me too... me too! I wanna do it too—!"
Leaving behind Minseo, who kept whining in his drunken state.
Time passed, and Jiha, Yujin, and Suhyeon headed to their Guest Rooms,
leaving only Hayoung, Seoyoung, Chaeryeong, and Minseo at the table.
"He keeps refusing to go inside—is that okay?"
Chaeryeong said, looking at Minseo, who stubbornly didn't want to go to the Guest Room.
"Heeing... if I go to the Guest Room, you're just gonna eat me up again!"
Minseo shook his head, his words slurred.
"Pfft... I can't even. Why is he so cute?"
Seoyoung gave the drunken Minseo's cheek a little pinch.
"If you keep being stubborn, I'll eat you up right here, okay?"
Hayoung slowly approached Minseo... and with a grin, she placed her hand on his thigh...
"Hic—!! I'll go in! Hic—!"
Minseo stood up from his chair, staggering in fright.
"Sigh— I'll take him and be back."
Chaeryeong supported the wobbling Minseo and prepared to leave.
That's when— the drunken Minseo opened his mouth.
"Huu... Master-nim...."
"What is it?"
"When I got kidnapped... why did you save me...?"
Minseo met Hayoung's eyes with his flushed face.
One second... two seconds... three seconds....
Chaeryeong froze in agitation at Minseo's words too.
A few seconds of silence passed...
Chaeryeong and Seoyoung naturally turned to look at Hayoung.
As if waiting for an answer.
"I'm... just a Slave... so why did you save me..."
Minseo asked in a slurred voice.
He was already so drunk he didn't even know what he was saying... but maybe the thoughts buried in his heart had come out subconsciously.
Hearing Minseo's words... Hayoung's expression turned serious...
"Because I realized you are precious."
Hayoung looked at Minseo with a gaze more serious than ever before.
......
Upon hearing Hayoung's words, Minseo.....
"Ugh... ugh.."
He hung his head low and then...
"Bleeeaaarrgh—!"
He started vomiting all over the floor in a mess.
"Oh dear..."
Chaeryeong's brow furrowed as she watched Minseo throw up on the ground,
"Ha... Minseo is going to get a real scolding tomorrow."
With a deep sigh, Hayoung began cleaning up the vomit with Seoyoung.
After cleaning up the mess, Chaeryeong and Minseo went into the Guest Room together,
and soon, only Hayoung and Seoyoung were left at the table.
Thump— Thump—
Hayoung felt her heart racing as she thought about what Minseo had just said.
Had he been keeping that in his heart all this time?
The thought that maybe he wasn't saved because he was a Slave.
The thought that he could have been abandoned just like that.
"Whew..."
Hayoung's head throbbed as she remembered Minseo looking at her so sorrowfully.
She never imagined a single word from Minseo would shake her like this,
so Minseo's sudden blunt question had hit Hayoung like a direct strike.
Before meeting Kang Minseo, she had clearly been colder and more composed than anyone...
It seemed Hayoung needed time to adjust to her gradually changing self.
And watching Hayoung like that... Seoyoung's heart grew even more complicated.
Seoyoung could see with her own eyes how the way Hayoung spoke seriously to Minseo earlier showed she cherished him more than anyone else.
Not cherishing him like a real family member...
But the look of someone cherishing a person they love.
Until now, Seoyoung hadn't even considered that Hayoung might have feelings for Minseo.
Because Hayoung always kept a poker face and wasn't someone who showed much emotional fluctuation.
Hayoung's emotions were hard to read even for the Executives close to her, and especially when it came to love or affection—it was a side they'd never seen, so it was only natural she didn't know.
But today, Seoyoung could feel it for certain.
The gaze Hayoung—flushed with alcohol—directed at Minseo... was affection mixed with tenderness and a sense of him being precious.
And that fact came as quite a shock to Seoyoung.
Because Seoyoung had been strongly convinced that she was the only one among the Executives who liked Minseo.
But now, Seoyoung had realized her rival might be... none other than Hayoung.
'Sigh.... how did things end up like this....'
Seoyoung took a sip of whiskey to soothe her complicated heart.
"Seoyoung-ah, shall we head in soon too?"
Hayoung, who had been leaning against the railing looking at the sea, turned her eyes toward Seoyoung...
and met Seoyoung's complicated gaze.
"Is something wrong...?"
Hayoung asked, seeing the complexity in Seoyoung's eyes....
"It's nothing, eonni.. it's cold outside. Let's go in."
Seoyoung left her glass and stood up.
Teobeok—
Teobeok—
Teobeok—
The two of them got into the Elevator together,
both Hayoung and Seoyoung deep in thought.
Beep— The doors are opening.
Since Hayoung's and Seoyoung's Guest Rooms were on different floors, Hayoung had to get off first.
"Goodnight, Seoyoung-ah~"
Hayoung walked out with a wave of her hand...
Just as the Elevator doors were slowly closing....
Seoyoung caught the closing Elevator door with a look of determination.
Deolkeong—
"Eonni, I have something to say."
*
It wasn't just one sector. It was at least three, maybe four.
Sectors the Police had ransacked.
The Executives and Subordinates there had all been arrested and taken away.
"What the... what is this... you crazy bastards...!!"
And the leader of Hwayeon, Ah-hyun, couldn't contain her rising rage and slammed her desk with a bang.
After the clash between Baekhwa and Hwayeon, Ah-hyun had fled to a hidden Villa to escape the Baekhwa Executives who were fiercely hunting for her.
She tried to manage Hwayeon from there and rebuild the Organization, but...
she was struggling due to Baekhwa's continuous interference and surprise attacks.
But then... to make matters worse... the Police began ransacking Hwayeon's hidden sectors and arresting all the Executives and Subordinates.
Facing a sudden Police raid for reasons she didn't understand... Ah-hyun could only watch with her eyes wide open as her sectors were slowly dismantled.
"Fuck.... if they were going to do this, they should've caught those Baekhwa bitches first... why us!!"
Ah-hyun paced around the Villa, racking her brain for any kind of plan..
In the end, she couldn't find a way.
Hwayeon, already collapsing even if she did nothing, now had no way to be revived... there was no hope in sight.
"Let's start over overseas."
Abandon Hwayeon for now and rebuild the Organization abroad.
Ah-hyun ordered her remaining Subordinates to pack and hurriedly began gathering her belongings.
Late at night, as the sun began to set, Ah-hyun and the remaining Executives finished packing,
and just before leaving the Villa,
Ttiring— Ttiring— Ttiring—
A call from an unknown number came to Ah-hyun's phone.
"Who is this?"
"Excuse me, is this Ah-hyun-ssi?"
The polite tone of the question felt almost like a customer service representative's.
"What, is this a prank?"
Ah-hyun was about to hang up without much thought, but...
"You'll regret it if you hang up."
A voice that suddenly turned cold and made her whole body freeze came through the phone.
"....."
Ah-hyun's instincts, honed from living as the head of an Organization, were telling her intuitively.
That right now, this situation was extremely dangerous.
"Fuck... run..!!"
Ah-hyun immediately kicked the door open and ran toward where the cars were parked, but...
Ppiyong— Ppiyong— Ppiyong—
In the distance, numerous Police cars with sirens blaring raced toward the Villa.
"Damn it... I'm fucked..."
Ah-hyun immediately raised her hands in surrender,
and someone opened the passenger door of a Police car and stepped out.
"You're quite pretty~ Ah-hyun-ssi~"
The person approaching with a beaming, smiling face was...
Yoon Seol, dressed neatly in her Police uniform.
"Was.... all of this your doing...?"
Ah-hyun glared and asked Yoon Seol, who was smiling but exuding a terrifying charisma.
"Hmm.. you should ask things like that after serving some coffee~ You have no manners."
"Shut... up.."
"Shall we head inside for now?"
Yoon Seol, still smiling, wore an expression that looked like she was genuinely enjoying herself in her Police uniform.