Chapter 10.1

EunHa gulped down a shot of gold whiskey in one shot. The warm liquor burned her throat as it went down. One wasn’t enough, so she filled her glass back up to the brim.

“Aagh! Aahng! Haa!”

On the opposite sofa, a naked woman was pressed down by SungHo as her shrill moans filled the room. The two other hostesses rubbed their exposed chests on him as they caressed him.

“Quit your moaning and shut your mouth.”

SungHo had been pumping his hips violently but stopped and took out his cock before pushing the woman underneath him to the side. Then he grabbed another woman who had been sitting on the sofa and placed her on top of him. He lifted her hips and began thrusting again.

‘Fuck…’

EunHa swallowed the curse back down and smiled seductively at SungHo. The large room was illuminated by red lights and was currently a complete mess. The madame of this establishment was familiar with SungHo’s preferences and continued to send in naked women for him.

“Don’t breathe so hard, you fucking bitch. It ruins the mood, fuck…”

SungHo growled out the words and grabbed the woman’s hair and pushed it away from his shoulder. His eyes turned to EunHa, who was sitting on the opposite couch, drinking her liquor. EunHa had already experienced this kind of situation multiple times before, but it was nauseating every single time.

“Hng! Nng!”

She found it laughable that Kang SungHo wasn’t able to become aroused unless he was having this kind of abnormal sex. EunHa’s shoulders shook as she laughed. SungHo’s movements became more rough and wild.

Click.

The last woman left the room, and SungHo began to smoke a cigarette. As soon as EunHa put a cigarette into her mouth, SungHo leaned towards her and lowered his head. SungHo transferred the orange glow at the end of his cigarette to hers. EunHa drew her head back and took a deep drag. SungHo swallowed to moisten his dry throat and began to speak.

“You look like you’re having a good time.”

“What’s there to dislike? I’m drinking some good liquor.”

EunHa answered nonchalantly. YongJoon had rubbed some medicinal salve on the places where SungHo had beat her, but the skin still prickled.

“Good. Drink until you get sick of it.”

EunHa nodded at SungHo’s words and filled her empty glass to the brim once again.

“About Shin KyungHyun.”

SungHo observed EunHa’s reaction as he brought up the subject. EunHa’s expression reflected on the shiny table surface didn’t change.

“Yes?”

“Just how much did he tell you about himself?”

EunHa shot down the liquor as she wet her throat. She answered in a straightforward manner.

“Everything.”

“Tell me.”

“He told me that he was originally sent from Serim. That you were the one who placed him inside YongSung. At first, I thought he was just talking bullshit, but the more I listened, the more I realized that there was no reason for him to lie about that.”

“That bastard told you all that?”

SungHo frowned before laughing in a hoarse voice. He let out a breath through his thin lips.

“He seriously lost his mind to a woman.”

“Yes, he laughed mockingly as he told me that Kang SungHo was a talentless bastard who merely got to the top but was wasting away all of the resources of his organization.”

Crash! SungHo threw the glass in his hand at the TV monitor.

“That fucking bastard…”

SungHo bit the inside of his cheek. EunHa reached out and flipped over a new glass that was placed upside-down on the iron tray in front of them. After filling it with liquor, she pushed it over to him.

“So… Aren’t you curious?”

“About what?”

“Whether I really sent Shin KyungHyun to YongSung? Whether he was telling the truth?”

“It doesn’t matter. Either way, that bastard is no longer a part of our Serim family. I’m sure he wasn’t one of us when you first sent me over to him, and you wouldn’t have ordered me to kill him if he was.”

SungHo silently observed her to see if she was being completely honest. Then he slowly opened his mouth.

“Why didn’t you kill Shin KyungHyun? I’m sure you had many chances to do it.”

Ba-dump. That question caught her off guard. EunHa’s heart raced inside her chest. She didn’t show her restlessness and looked straight at him.

“…If I did try, do you think I’d still be sitting here right now?”

“……”

“He would have been a complete gentleman if he merely broke my ankles. In truth, with his personality, he would have probably killed me instead.”

“If Shin KyungHyun wanted to kill you, he would have. Seeing how he hasn’t, it seems that he has completely fallen for just like you said.”

EunHa raised her eyelashes as she sensually revealed her black eyes.

“That was only when I didn’t betray his heart, I’m sure.”

Her voice was wet with liquor and sounded cold.

“Proud men aren’t used to being rejected.”

SungHo laughed. There was some truth to EunHa’s words. Even if Shin KyungHyun was completely in love with a woman, he wasn’t so careless as to lay down his life for her.

“It seems that I need to personally take a trip to China for this matter.”

The long-awaited words finally left SungHo’s mouth. EunHa quietly lowered her eyes as she silently listened to those words.

“I’m going to personally put a knife through that son of a bitch’s throat, so you stay out of town until this is all over.”

“The moment Kang SungHo leaves the country, I’m going to send someone in to extract you.”

KyungHyun and his team members believed that Kang SungHo wouldn’t send EunHa to China. Unable to completely shake off his suspicions, Kang SungHo would go to China himself after extracting information from her. That was their guess, and their guess turned out to be correct.

However, they failed to consider one thing.

“I want to do this with you.”

What they failed to consider was the magnitude of her hatred for Kang SungHo. EunHa needed to see the end of Kang SungHo with her own two eyes.

“What?”

“I won’t make a mistake this time. Please give me another chance to regain your trust.”

SungHo looked at her with his sunken eyes as he took a deep drag of his cigarette. From here on out, EunHa was on her own.

“I have a plan.”

“As expected, our princess is highly educated. You’re very different from the other gangster bastards around here.”

“What do you think I did during all that time I was locked away in Shin KyungHyun’s hotel room?”

“Okay. Why don’t you tell me this amazing plan of yours?”

SungHo stroked his short beard as he feigned nonchalance. EunHa drew in a short breath before she began to explain.

“Those punks who are currently producing the drugs and doing business with YongSung are a mafia group from Macau.”

“I’m sure they are. So?”

“Please send me to China as early as tomorrow. Before someone from YongSung arrives, I’ll talk to the leader of the group and begin laying down a foundation. Once I find out the exact time and location, I’ll relay that information to you, Ahjussi. You can come to China once I’m finished.”

“And when will we come into contact with those dirty Chinese sons of bitches?”

“There’s no need for you to meet those bastards, Ahjussi.”

SungHo slightly pursed his lips at EunHa’s declaration.

“Why?”

EunHa smiled confidently back at him.

“I’m going to let YongSung make the deal. We’ll make them pay for it. They don’t have the balls to scam the Chinese kids, so they’ll certainly pay the price.”

“Hmph. If they do try something funny, they’ll end up as fish food in the Pacific.”

“Yes. So all we need to do is swoop in and snatch the product from those YongSung sons of bitches once the deal has been struck..”

SungHo’s thin lips stretched into a smile. He took a sip of whiskey and gazed at her with slanted eyes.

“All we have to do is let the bear perform its tricks while we go around and simply sell the drugs.”

SungHo blew out the cigarette smoke before grinding his finished cigarette in the ashtray. He grabbed a piece of green melon that was placed there purely for decorative purposes. He threw it into his mouth and began to chew. Then he gestured at EunHa to come closer.

“…Yes?”

EunHa bent her hips from the opposite end of the table. SungHo grabbed the nape of her neck.

“Hmph…”

Suddenly, the chewed up remnants of the melon entered her mouth. She could taste the sweet fruit as his warm tongue entered her mouth. EunHa tightly shut her eyes as she held back her nausea. She let out a moan as SungHo’s mouth lifted from hers.

“Did I ever tell you this?”

“…What?”

“I like you better than your father.”

EunHa’s strained smile slightly trembled. She laughed forcefully before taking another shot of whiskey. It burned as it went down, but this was the only way she could stop the nausea that was welling up inside her.

“That’s a compliment, right?”

“Of course. If your father could see you know, he’d be so proud of you.”

SungHo patted her head with his cold hand. His snake-like eyes were filled with desire. EunHa felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

“Once this matter is finished, let’s go somewhere warm for a nice vacation.”

“…With you, Ahjussi?”

“Yeah. Think of it as a reward. We’ll go to a good place and eat good food and drink good liquor. What do you think?”

EunHa’s red lips slowly stretched into a smile.

“There’s something I really want.”

“What it is? Just say the word.”

“If I tell you, will you let me have it?”

“If you get the drugs, we’ll be sitting on piles of money. There’s nothing I won’t be able to get you. What do you want?”

“I want you, Ahjussi.”

SungHo had been lifting his lighter when EunHa said those words. He froze for a moment. EunHa didn’t take her eyes off of him and continued to speak.

“I want to be the person that stays by your side until the very end, Ahjussi.”

The cigarette between his lips shook. After he finally lit it, SungHo managed to answer her.

“Well… You’re quite cheeky, aren’t you…”

EunHa didn’t move a muscle and continued to stare at him.

“Once this is over… take me someplace warm and embrace me.”

Dry coughs burst out of SungHo’s throat. The coughs gradually became laughter. His cackling laughs filled the room with cigarette smoke.

“Haha… Our rag princess.”

SungHo looked at her, his eyes wrinkled with laughter. He continued to click his Zippo lighter in his hand.

“All right. If that’s what you really want, I’ll do it.”

She could clearly see the satisfaction that shone on his face. SungHo hadn’t embraced her because of the memory of her dead father.

SungHo agreeing to her request revealed a lot of hidden meanings. He truly didn’t think she knew about the incident that had happened 10 years ago. Riding the high of knowing that she had nowhere else to go other than back to him, SungHo spoke up in a dirty voice.

“It’s putting me in an awkward position when it comes to your dead father, but if that’s what you truly want…”

That’s right. Be happy to your heart’s content. Get your rocks off as you see the daughter of the man you stabbed look at you with yearning in her eyes.

“It’s what I want.”

EunHa looked at him with a happy smile. Her wet eyes shook with emotion. Seeing her expression, SungHo became even more excited and let out a booming laugh.

She did feel sorry towards Shin KyungHyun, but this had always her plan from the very beginning. She was going to take Kang SungHo to an unknown location and kill him in the most gruesome way she could think of. EunHa imagined seeing his face filled with utter betrayal in his final moments, and her eyes gleamed.

KyungHyun took out a cigarette from its case and lit it. General Manager Cha stood in front of the desk and checked the time. Then he spoke up in a low voice.

“He will arrive in 5 minutes.”

“Okay.”

KyungHyun turned his chair and stared out the glass window. Even though it was now September, the sunlight was still strong. The windows of the skyscrapers in the city all reflected the light.

“Director, are you alright?”

“Why are you asking?”

KyungHyun rested his elbow on the armrest and held his chin. General Manager Cha approached him with worry in his eyes. KyungHyun didn’t even look up at him and asked back. There was cold sweat on his temples. The whites of his eyes were bloodshot as he continued to stare piercingly ahead of him.

“About your current condition…”

“I’ve felt worse before.”

KyungHyun had always been too stubborn to speak about how he felt, so when these words left his mouth, it meant that he wasn’t doing well at all. General Manager Cha thought that KyungHyun hadn’t been looking too good for a while now.

He had been assisting KyungHyun for 3 years. Other than the time he had received injuries from a surprise attack, he had never seen KyungHyun look sick. However, as soon as General Manager Cha saw KyungHyun’s sunken eyes when he got out of his car, he knew that KyungHyun wasn’t okay.

“Should I call them and tell them to push back the appointment…”

Before General Manager Cha could finish his sentence, the heavy door of the office burst open. It was pushed back so forcefully that the doorknob banged into the wall, giving off a thud.\n