The air was thick with uneasy silence. It pressed down like fog, suffocating and cold. Seol Ah sat trembling on the polished marble floor, her breath shallow, fear still etched across her pale face. Her heart pounded violently against her ribs, each beat echoing in her ears like a drum of doom. The metallic glint of the gun in Jae Hyun's hand seemed to pierce straight through her soul.
"Are you deaf?" Jae Hyun's voice thundered through the room, sharp and venomous. The rage in his eyes burned like molten steel. He didn't look like a man anymore he looked like a predator, ready to kill without hesitation.
"I… I… I'm the wai.....waitress who was sent to assist you home last night… after you got drunk," Seol Ah stammered, words breaking as tears gathered in her eyes. Her hands trembled uncontrollably, pressed tightly against the floor for support. She couldn't look away from the gun. One wrong breath and he could pull the trigger.
"I don't believe you," he snapped, voice dripping with disbelief and contempt.
"I swear, I'm telling the truth!" Seol Ah cried, desperation rising in her throat. The tears finally spilled down her cheeks, hot and uncontrollable. "Please! I didn't come here to hurt you!"
In one swift motion, Jae Hyun closed the distance between them. He grabbed her by the collar, lifting her almost off the ground. His grip was brutal, his knuckles white with anger. The scent of alcohol and cologne lingered on him power and poison all at once.
"Please, believe me! I was sent to assist you!" she screamed, voice cracking under the pressure of fear. Her hands clawed at his wrist, her breath catching in panic.
Just then, the door burst open. The butler rushed in, eyes wide at the sight before him. "Sir! What are you doing?" he gasped, horror etched across his aged face.
"How did she get into my house?" Jae Hyun demanded, his voice a mixture of rage and confusion. His hand still held Seol Ah's collar as she struggled weakly in his grip.
"Sir, she's the one I asked to assist you home last night!" the butler explained breathlessly. "I begged her to stay and look after you while I went to check on my sick daughter."
The words hit Jae Hyun like a punch. His grip loosened instantly. He blinked once, twice confusion giving way to realization. Seol Ah fell to the floor with a soft thud, coughing and gasping for air.
"I'm so sorry, young lady," the butler said gently, bending down to help her up. "The car is ready. You may leave."
Seol Ah's eyes lifted to Jae Hyun's. They burned with humiliation and fury. "I hope you learn how to treat people well someday," she said bitterly, her voice low but trembling. "You might need their help when your money can't save you… you freaking psycho."
She turned sharply, her heels clicking against the floor as she stormed out, leaving behind a silence thick enough to choke on.
"That little wimp…" Jae Hyun muttered, jaw tightening.
The butler chuckled under his breath, straightening his uniform. "She's right, young master. You really should learn that."
Jae Hyun's cold glare shot toward him like a knife. "What else?"
The butler cleared his throat. "Young master, Dean called. They've caught Spyro. They're waiting for you at the outhouse."
Jae Hyun's entire demeanor shifted. The fury in his eyes cooled, replaced by an icy stillness far more terrifying. "Alright," he said quietly. "Let me get dressed."
He walked away without another word, leaving the butler to sigh softly behind him.
An hour later, Seol Ah pushed open the glass door of the Itaewon Bar. Her shoulders sagged with exhaustion, her hair slightly disheveled from the night's chaos. "Good morning, sir," she greeted, her voice barely more than a whisper.
"Morning, Seol Ah. How did it go?" the manager asked, his sharp eyes studying her face.
"Horrible," she muttered, rubbing her temples. The memory of Jae Hyun's gun flashed through her mind, his glare, his voice, the way her chest had nearly burst with terror.
"His assistant called," the manager said, handing her a few won notes neatly folded. "He told me to give you this and said you should take the day off as a reward for your service."
"Oh… thank you," she said quietly, slipping the money into her pocket without emotion. It didn't feel like a reward. It felt like hush money.
"You're lucky," the manager added, his gaze narrowing slightly. "You may leave."
"Alright, sir. See you tomorrow." She looked around for Ro Na, but her friend was nowhere to be found. Probably already gone home. With a heavy sigh, she left.
When Seol Ah reached her cramped home in Nowon, the atmosphere shifted instantly suffocating, tense, bitter. Before she could even remove her shoes, her stepmother, So Yoon, appeared from the kitchen like a storm. Her hand came flying across Seol Ah's face with a sharp crack.
"You stupid girl! Where were you all night? You probably went whoring around with your useless friends!" So Yoon yelled, her voice echoing off the walls.
Seol Ah's head whipped to the side, her cheek burning painfully. Her stepsister, Na Ri, leaned against the doorframe with a smirk. "Dirty thing," she sneered.
Seol Ah exhaled shakily, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall. "Here we go again," she muttered under her breath.
"What did you say to your mother?" her father's voice boomed from the living room.
She turned slowly, her expression tired, defeated. "If you were that worried, you would've called," she said softly. "Instead of trying to make a scene." Then she brushed past them and headed toward her small room. "I'm going to make breakfast," she added. "Maybe that'll stop you from turning this into a mountain out of a molehill."
Once inside her room, she sank onto her bed and whispered to herself, "Why am I so unlucky?" Her voice cracked with exhaustion.
A while later, the smell of food filled the tiny apartment. The family sat down to eat in their usual tense silence spoons clinking against bowls, no one daring to speak. Only her stepbrother, Do Hyun, seemed human enough to glance her way. After the meal, as she cleared the table, he quietly approached her.
"Here," he said, handing her a relief patch. "For your cheek. Just… try to avoid her trouble."
Seol Ah's eyes softened. "Thank you," she whispered.
He gave a brief nod and left for work.
Meanwhile, far across town, Jae Hyun stepped out of his black car and into the cold air that surrounded the outhouse base. The metallic scent of weapons filled the air chains hanging, knives gleaming, and guns stacked neatly on racks. The place reeked of fear and obedience.
As he walked in with Butler Lee, every man in the room bowed deeply. "Welcome, Don," Dean greeted, his tone respectful, cautious.
"Where is he?" Jae Hyun's voice was cold and steady.
"Over there," Dean said, pointing toward a dimly lit corner.
Jae Hyun flipped on the lights. Spyro sat chained to a chair, trembling violently. His face was battered, his lips quivering.
"Wow," Jae Hyun drawled, stepping closer. "You had the balls to steal from me?"
"No, Don, I'm sorry!" Spyro cried. "It was the devil's work!"
"The devil?" Jae Hyun's lips curled into a cold smile. "Did the devil also tell you to leak my deals to Tuerillico?"
Spyro's eyes widened in horror.
"Oh," Jae Hyun said softly. "You thought I wouldn't find out."
He picked up an axe from the rack beside him, testing its weight. The metallic sound of the blade scraping against the floor sent chills through the room. "Enough talk. Time for your punishment."
"Please, Don! Just one more chance! I'll be loyal, I swear!" Spyro begged, tears streaming down his face.
"Oh, you will be loyal," Jae Hyun murmured darkly, and then, with a swift motion, brought the axe down.
Spyro's scream tore through the air, raw, guttural, animalistic. Blood splattered across the floor, dark and sticky.
"Please… please!" he gasped, writhing.
Jae Hyun smiled faintly not with pleasure, but with cold satisfaction. He swung the axe again, clean and merciless, severing Spyro's arm.
"This will teach you never to betray me," he said flatly, his voice void of remorse.
Spyro went limp, blood pooling beneath him, consciousness slipping away.
"Dean," Jae Hyun said calmly.
"Yes, Don?" Dean replied immediately.
"Drop him at his doorstep," Jae Hyun ordered, wiping the blood from his hands with a white handkerchief.
"Yes, boss." Dean bowed low.
"Let's go, Butler Lee," Jae Hyun said, turning toward the exit.
They left the outhouse in silence. The night outside was cold, still, and hauntingly quiet. Jae Hyun's face was calm, unreadable, but in his eyes, something darker flickered. Unspoken fury. Pain. Control.
Now this was getting interesting.