Chapter 217 - Season 2 - Aftermath
After Hayoung left the office, Minseo felt the strength drain from his body. He let out a heavy sigh of relief.
Having endured a brutal flogging and degrading acts since broad daylight, he was in such a grueling state that it wouldn't have been surprising if he had collapsed right then and there.
His beaten body stung incredibly from the medicine that had been applied...
His legs were still trembling from how much he had been mistreated while leaning against the wall.
If there was any silver lining... he had to find comfort in the fact that Hayoung-noona had calmed her anger a bit.
Even now, just thinking about Hayoung-noona's enraged face made Minseo's heart race so hard that cold sweat trickled down his back.
It was the first time in months he had seen her that furious.
"I really need to be careful... phew..."
Minseo vowed a hundred times to behave himself from now on. After checking that the medicine on his body had dried, he slowly began to put on his clothes.
"Heeut... hugh..."
Every time his underwear brushed against the skin of his buttocks, waves of pain surged through him. He struggled to dress himself through the stinging agony.
"Fuu... what am I going to do..."
He had forced himself into his clothes, but he couldn't move an inch. Every time he shifted, the wounded areas chafed against the fabric, causing sharp stings.
"Heut... ha..."
However, he couldn't just stay still. The meeting time was fast approaching.
Minseo looked up at the clock; there were less than five minutes left. Though his wounds continued to sting, he carefully composed his breathing and opened the office door.
Creeeeak—
There was no way the sounds from the office hadn't leaked out. While he hadn't shown his shameful appearance, the sounds of his wailing and moaning must have reached the outside to some extent.
Therefore, it must have reached the ears of all the organization members here...
Minseo was so embarrassed he wanted to crawl into a hole and hide, but he was also an Executive in charge of a district. An Executive couldn't run away over something like this.
Thus, Minseo steeled himself and stepped out...
"Huh...?"
An unexpected situation unfolded before him. The office where the organization members usually worked was completely empty. Literally, there was no one there.
"What happened...?"
Feeling a dull throb in his head, Minseo immediately called one of his subordinates. After a few rings, someone picked up.
He had called Lee Hyerin, one of the members he was close with. A familiar voice answered.
"Yes, Minseo-ssi."
"Hyerin-ssi...? Where are you right now??"
"Oh, me? I'm heading back to the office now with the other members."
"So you've been out this whole time...?"
Minseo's voice began to sound even more flustered.
"Yes. As soon as Hayoung-nim entered the office, she gave us a card and told us to go out for a team dinner. Didn't you know?? But Hayoung-nim's expression looked a bit bad earlier... are you okay...?"
Listening silently to Hyerin's story... only then did Minseo realize he had been dancing completely in the palm of Hayoung's hand.
"Heh..."
Minseo was so shocked he couldn't even speak. From the very beginning, there was no one in the office because Hayoung had sent them all out.
That's why Hayoung-noona was able to swing the whip so violently without a care... even when she opened the blinds, it was fine because no one was there.
Hayoung had sent all the members out to protect my pride as an Executive. She just wanted to give me a scare—a warning that if I made one wrong move, I could be demoted from an Executive back to a Slave.
Minseo realized once again, deep in his bones, what a terrifying and formidable person Hayoung was. To him, Hayoung-noona was incredibly reassuring and supportive when she was an ally... but if she turned into an enemy, she was as scary and dangerous as a starving lion.
"Minseo-ssi...? Why are you silent? Did something happen?"
When there was no sound from the other end of the line, Hyerin asked again.
"Ah... no. Please proceed with the meeting once you get to the office."
Minseo, having snapped back to his senses, said that and hung up.
"Phew... thank goodness. I'll have to take what happened today to my grave."
Minseo, having saved his pride thanks to Hayoung, sent a KakaoTalk message to her with a sigh of relief.
'Thank you, Noona.'
From morning until afternoon—a storm-like time had passed for Minseo, and now it was time to pull himself together and return to his daily routine. The surprising thing was that it was already 3 PM.
"I'm already tired..."
Having received such intense punishment from Hayoung-noona earlier, Minseo's condition was extremely languid and exhausted. He felt so drained that it wouldn't have been enough even if it were midnight... yet it was only 3 PM.
Moreover...
"Eut.. hueu.."
Every time he moved, the red, swollen flesh of his buttocks brushed against the cotton of his underwear, and Minseo couldn't stop groans from escaping his lips. Not only that, the whip wounds on his back and thighs chafed against his clothes...
"Haugk.. at this rate.. I won't even be able to conduct the meeting properly.."
Tears seemed to well up in Minseo's eyes from the stinging pain of the wounds.
'It can't be helped... let's just start the meeting and finish it as quickly as possible.'
Biting his lip hard, he vowed to somehow finish the meeting safely by pretending to be fine.
At that moment, the office door swung open and his subordinates walked in.
"Ah. Minseo-ssi. Were you waiting?"
Hyerin, holding coffee in both hands with a bright smile, walked up to Minseo and handed him a cup.
"No. I just finished getting ready.. haha.. shall we go in for the meeting? I'll enjoy the coffee."
Minseo forced an awkward smile as if he were fine, took the coffee, and pointed toward the conference room.
"Yes, sir."
"Let's start the meeting."
The other members nodded and entered the conference room, and Minseo also walked in with a slightly awkward gait.
Hyerin, who was quietly watching him, couldn't help but tilt her head in confusion.
"Is Minseo-ssi.. sick or something?"
It was because although his face was clearly smiling, his lips were trembling imperceptibly, and his awkward walk as he entered the conference room gave off a sense of pain.
Hyerin became slightly worried, but she soon dismissed it as nothing serious and followed him in.
After many twists and turns, the meeting proceeded and was now reaching its midpoint.
'Phew.. if it keeps going like this, it'll end without any issues.'
The meeting had been sailing smoothly so far. Minseo was sitting slightly on the edge of his chair to minimize the pain as much as possible. Taking periodic deep breaths, he maintained a smiling face throughout the meeting as a bonus.
Everything was going well. Until that accident happened.
"This is the area we are currently in charge of. As you all know, a total of six Executives are each managing one district. The area Minseo-nim is in charge of is District 6."
One of the members was explaining diligently while pointing at a map...
"Currently, District 6 can be seen as the most peaceful and safe. There aren't many incidents, and the security is good..."
The member's voice trailed off slightly at the end of the explanation.
"Actually, there are reports that a few strange people have been seen frequently in the alleys lately."
As soon as these words left the member's mouth, Hyerin, who was sitting next to Minseo listening intently, suddenly stood up in a burst of energy.
"This is the important point. Minseo-ssi. You need to focus."
Hyerin's gaze suddenly turned sharp as she walked toward the screen where the map was projected...
At that moment,
Thud—
"Huh...?"
Hyerin, who was walking while looking at the screen, had forgotten that the laptop cable was under her feet. Her leg caught on the cable, and as her body stumbled...
"Uh, uh...!"
Grab—!!
With a sudden reflex, she pressed down on Minseo's shoulder to regain her balance.
However, at the same time, Minseo, whose shoulder was pressed down, suffered a major catastrophe as his red, swollen buttocks made firm contact with the chair seat.
"Heeueuk....!"
Unable to bear the sudden, sharp, and chilling pain, a groan burst out from Minseo. A pain that made his eyes sting with tears dug deep into his body from his buttocks...
In the aftermath of that pain, Minseo's lips couldn't help but tremble violently.
"I'm sorry.. Minseo... ssi..?"
Hyerin, who had accidentally pressed down on Minseo's shoulder, opened her mouth to apologize, but she hadn't expected him to groan like that either.
'I only pressed his shoulder a little.. and he's in.. this much pain...?'
Hyerin was also flustered, her eyes blinking in surprise. At the sound of Minseo's groan, everyone in the conference room turned their attention to him...
Minseo, bowing his head deeply in shame, had no choice but to hurriedly offer an excuse.
"Ahem.. I-I'm sorry. I'm just not feeling very well.."
The meeting seemed to resume due to the hasty excuse, but Hyerin couldn't shake off a suspicious sense of dissonance throughout the rest of the meeting.
'Something is strange..'
She hadn't even pressed his shoulder that hard, just a little bit... for such a sensitive reaction to come out...
Could it be...?
A thought flashed through Hyerin's mind. What if Minseo-ssi's physical condition is extremely deteriorated? To the point where he needs to be hospitalized immediately?!
The worry that had suddenly sprouted in Hyerin's mind began to grow uncontrollably. In the end, Hyerin became convinced that Minseo must be suffering from a terminal illness with not much time left to live.
'It hasn't even been three months since he started this organization life... we can't let the Boss go like this...'
A corner of Hyerin's heart began to feel heavy. Since it was around the time she was gradually getting closer and becoming friends with Minseo, Hyerin was filled with nothing but worry for him.
Beyond being a lover or a friend, Kang Minseo himself was a good superior and someone easy to talk to. That's why work was enjoyable, and even though it was the Mafia, this workplace that now also did legitimate business was a more than satisfying job for Hyerin.
That's why she didn't want to lose this workplace even more.
'...Let's have a serious talk with Minseo-ssi after the meeting ends.'
Hyerin's misunderstanding was growing out of control...