Chapter 229 - Treatment
Hayoung's mansion.
Usually, it was a relatively quiet place, as only Hayoung and Suhyeon frequented it for business...
But right now, the mansion was in a state of absolute chaos.
The reason was none other than Minseo's physical collapse.
Hayoung, completely wasted on alcohol, had been unable to suppress her desires and ended up devouring Minseo all night long until dawn...
Having his body forced and overworked like that, Minseo had come down with a severe fever and body aches.
On top of that, due to Hayoung's violent pounding, Minseo had even suffered internal injuries to his rear...
He was currently under orders to apply medication to the area and get plenty of rest for at least a week.
Following the doctor's instructions, Minseo's duties were immediately suspended...
And the news that Minseo was bedridden reached every single Executive.
Since morning, black sedans had been arriving at the mansion in a hurried line...
One by one, the Executives of the Baekhwa Organization rushed inside with worried faces.
Soon after—
All the Executives gathered in Minseo's room... and the interrogation began.
"Eonni. Why is Minseo at your mansion, and why is he in this state?"
Seoyoung glared at Hayoung with her arms crossed tightly.
"Hayoung, you'd better come clean. Don't even think about lying."
Chaeryeong, the eldest eonni, was also pressuring Hayoung.
Naturally, the other Executives hadn't even known Minseo was at Hayoung's mansion.
Neither Hayoung nor Suhyeon had breathed a word about it.
"Minseo, are you okay...?"
Ji-ha held Minseo's hand tightly, looking at him with deep concern, while Yujin and Suhyeon watched silently from the back.
Hayoung-nim finally did it.
Suhyeon guessed that the real trouble had started after she had finished her shift and left the night before.
"Sigh... I'm sorry... I called Minseo to the mansion for some work... and things just got out of hand."
"What? That's it?"
Seoyoung shot back, her voice dripping with disbelief at the weak excuse.
"Actually... I drank a bit too much yesterday. While I was drunk... I was too rough with him. I have no excuse. I'm sorry."
Hayoung bowed her head in apology.
Technically, she didn't need to apologize for having a good time with Minseo behind their backs, but the fact remained that she had physically broken him and caused everyone unnecessary stress.
Hayoung felt genuinely guilty about that part.
"Phew... if you fucked him enough to give him a fever... just how hard did you go...?"
Yujin, who had been listening quietly, turned her gaze toward Minseo.
Deep down, Yujin felt a bitter mix of envy and jealousy... but she was also genuinely worried about his condition.
"Haha... everyone, you didn't have to come all this way just for me..."
Minseo, looking pale and haggard after being subjected to such depravity all night, laughed awkwardly.
Though he was smiling, he was incredibly tense.
In truth, Minseo hadn't wanted all the Executives to gather like this.
He missed them and was glad to see them, but... the concern was overwhelming.
He knew very well how much these women "adored" him.
He knew that even if he was sick, they would target him the moment they saw an opening, so he was being extremely careful with every move he made.
"Is it very painful?"
Chaeryeong sat on the edge of the bed and placed her hand on his forehead.
"Ugh..."
Throb—
Minseo's heat pulsed against Chaeryeong's palm. He was burning up.
"You still have a fever. Take your medicine and get some rest."
"Yes... Noona..."
Minseo, his face flushed, nodded while pulling the blanket up to his chin.
His frail appearance—lying there quietly with a wet towel on his forehead—instantly triggered their maternal instincts.
And every single Executive in the room had the exact same thought at the exact same time.
They wanted to be the one to nurse him back to health.
If they took care of him, they could stay by his side constantly. And if they stayed by his side... they could have him all to themselves.
"I'm actually quite free right now... I'll take charge of nursing Minseo."
Chaeryeong was the first to volunteer.
But the others weren't about to let her win that easily.
"Eonni, I have plenty of time too. I want to do it."
Seoyoung raised her hand, refusing to back down.
"I have some free time as well."
"Me too."
One by one, they all raised their hands until the situation became utterly absurd.
"Why don't you put yours down?"
In the middle of the chaos, Hayoung, who had quietly raised her hand, was immediately shut down by Yujin.
"Hmph..."
Hayoung, knowing this was all her fault, had no choice but to lower her hand with a dejected pout.
"Hmm... then who's going to do it?"
Everyone looked at Minseo with predatory, calculating eyes.
"I... I can just rest on my own... haha..."
Since he wasn't on his deathbed, Minseo tried to laugh it off, feeling the sweat break out on his neck as he watched their reactions.
"Minseo, you just need to sit back and let us take care of you. Got it?"
Ji-ha placed a finger over Minseo's lips, silencing him.
"Then... why don't we let Minseo decide who he wants?"
Chaeryeong suggested, giving Minseo a subtle, secret wink.
It was a clear signal: Choose me.
"Fine."
"Whatever works."
The other Executives agreed, and suddenly, every eye in the room was pinned on Minseo.
Their expectations were heavy, suffocating.
Ah... this is exactly why I didn't want them all here... fuck...
Under the weight of their collective gaze, Minseo felt his headache getting worse.
"Minseo... please..."
"I'll take such good care of you..."
"Just let me stay with you... okay?"
Looking at their desperate, pleading eyes, Minseo felt his head throb.
He was too soft-hearted for this. He couldn't stand to disappoint any of them.
After several minutes of agonizing thought, he made his choice.
"Phew... I..."
In front of the expectant crowd, Minseo spoke.
"So it ends up like this?"
Chaeryeong let out a hollow laugh at his answer.
Because the person Minseo chose... was everyone.
"Could you... take turns nursing me every day?"
Minseo smiled shyly.
He had his reasons.
First, it prevented anyone from feeling left out. But the more important reason was that if the person changed every day, they would keep each other in check.
He figured that if they were watching each other, he might actually get some rest instead of being devoured again.
"Hmm... a rotation. That's not a bad idea."
Yujin crossed her arms, considering it.
The chance to spend a full day alone with Minseo was too good to pass up.
"For the record, Hayoung eonni—since you caused this mess—is banned from the rotation."
"Hey! That's not fair!"
Seoyoung laid down the law, and Hayoung looked like she'd been slapped.
"She's right. Hayoung, you're banned. You already had your fun all by yourself. Consider this a penalty for your greed."
Chaeryeong nodded in agreement.
"I wasn't the only one! Su... Suhyeon also— mmpf!!"
"Shall we step outside for a moment, Hayoung-nim?"
As Hayoung tried to snitch on Suhyeon, the quick-witted subordinate lunged forward, covered Hayoung's mouth, and dragged her out of the room with a forced smile.
If the others found out Suhyeon had joined in, she'd be banned too.
"Mmpf! Is this how you treat your boss?!"
"I'm sorry, but dragging me down with you is a bit low, don't you think?"
Out in the hallway, the two of them hissed at each other.
"Fine. Let's do this. I'll give half of my assigned time to you. How's that?"
"Hmm... really? Okay, that works."
Satisfied with the deal, Hayoung's lips curled into a smirk as she nodded.
Meanwhile, back in the room, the meeting continued to decide where to move Minseo.
"First of all, Hayoung's mansion is too dangerous. We're moving him."
Everyone agreed with Chaeryeong.
Especially Minseo, who was still sore from the night before.
"My place...?"
Seoyoung suggested with a wide, predatory grin.
"Your house would be even worse than this one. Don't be ridiculous."
Ji-ha shot her down immediately.
"Shut up, Lee Ji-ha."
Seoyoung growled.
"What about the Villa we all use?"
"Oh, that's perfect. Good thinking."
Chaeryeong approved of Yujin's suggestion.
"Fine by me."
"Me too."
Ji-ha and Seoyoung gave their nods.
"Then let's move him right now."
"I haven't even said yes yet..."
Minseo tried to protest his life being decided for him, but...
"Then stay here and let Hayoung finish you off."
"Let's go. Right now."
At Seoyoung's threat, Minseo scrambled to get up.
In front of the mansion, Hayoung stood to see them off.
"Hing... Minseo, I'm so sorry... I'll drink in moderation from now on..."
Hayoung looked at him with puppy-dog eyes.
"Noona, that's the fifth time you've said that... I'm okay, really. You can stop now."
Minseo's ears were ringing from her constant apologies.
He was exhausted, but he wasn't dying. It was just a fever and some localized pain from being pushed past his limits.
"See you later, Hayoung noona. Bye, Suhyeon."
As he climbed into the back of Chaeryeong's sedan, Minseo waved to them.
Hayoung and Suhyeon waved back, both of them already reminiscing about the "good memories" they'd made the night before.