Chapter 80
Dongjun dragged him by the arms and threw him onto the mattress, and Yeonho scrambled backward the instant he landed, putting as much distance between them as the bed allowed.
"Okay, calm down. I'll try to remember whatever you're saying. You said I ran away with your money. Wait, you know me?"
"I knew it was you the moment I saw you in the restaurant. You fooled Hana, but you didn't fool me."
"So you know I'm Hana's brother, right?"
"Of course. Now, if you're done talking, strip."
"Excuse me?"
Yeonho's brow arched, and his eyes stayed glued to Dongjun, who dragged a chair up to the bed and sat down with an unhurried grace. He lit a cigar and tipped his chin toward Yeonho.
"What?" Yeonho asked, baffled.
"Strip."
"I'm not doing that. I told you, let's talk it out. And you're still drugged. You're running on aphrodisiac."
Dongjun exhaled a slow stream of smoke. "Money. You approached me because of money."
"Huh? I never did that." Even to his own ears, Yeonho sounded unsure.
A low chuckle rumbled in Dongjun's chest, and he tapped ash onto the floor beside the armchair. Yeonho sounded earnest, but it clearly wasn't enough to convince him.
"Strip."
"Again with that—"
"Do you think I'm giving the order because I enjoy it? Don't get ahead of yourself."
"I'm not getting ahead of anything. Why the hell should I strip?"
'Shit. That came out rude.'
While Yeonho was still regretting his tone, Dongjun rose from the chair and sat beside him on the bed. He leaned forward just enough for the lamplight to glow over his bare upper body.
"You did this."
His finger pointed at his lower abdomen, and Yeonho looked down. A scar was carved into the skin there, long and ugly against the hard lines of his stomach.
"Don't act coy. You dare to forget what you did to me."
Yeonho blinked, anxiety creeping up his spine under that dangerous glare.
"I don't—"
"We met at a party full of powerful people, and a pathetic little thing like you walked up to me and offered his body in exchange for money. But it turned out you were only using me to get back at your sister. And when that failed, you came back and slept with me, and then..."
"Then what?" Yeonho kept his voice calm while his mind and heart raced.
Dongjun bent to his ear and whispered.
"You stole one of my property deeds and put it under Hana's name, trying to frame her. I caught you, and you failed, so you tried to run. You stabbed me, took the cash from my wallet, and disappeared."
'Fuck. Yeonho, you fucking idiot. You clumsy, reckless idiot.'
Tricking Dongjun was bad enough. Stabbing him in the stomach was suicidal.
The timeline was confusing, but Yeonho guessed the original must have approached Dongjun after the scandal, after his life collapsed.
In that arc of the story, the villain threw his life away and suffered terribly while trying to destroy Hana.
Unfortunately, the original Yeonho was kicked out, became homeless, and wasted himself among trash people.
Fed up, he played along with every rumor and accusation thrown at him, then tried to take revenge on Hana with the same tactics she used on him.
But he was reckless and inexperienced, nothing like her.
And of all the people in the world to approach, he picked Lee Dongjun. It was wild. It was insane. That was pure madness.
'Choi Yeonho, did you want to die that badly? You stabbed this guy, and now I have to clean up your damn mess.'
Dongjun returned to the armchair, and a quiet realization settled over Yeonho.
All this talk of stripping was about checking him for weapons.
"Take off your clothes."
"Look, I don't have anything sharp to stab you with. I'm completely harmless. I won't do anything stupid."
"If you don't do it yourself, I'll take them off for you or would you prefer I call your sister in here and let her know you're lurking around?"
"Okay! Okay! I'll strip. Damn it!"
Cursing under his breath, he peeled off his clothes one piece at a time until he stood completely naked in front of Dongjun.
"See? No dagger, nothing. Now, if you're doing fine with the drug, I'm leaving."
Dongjun's eyes crawled over every inch of him in the dim light, taking in every line of his body in the shadows.
Yeonho swallowed hard under that stare.
"Don't tell Hana I'm here." Yeonho added.
"Why should I listen?"
"Because I'm not the only one who's done for if she finds out. She'll think you're sleeping with a guy. Don't you think she'll be disgusted to learn I'm naked in the same room as you?"
"She won't." Dongjun rose and stepped close, then blew a heavy cloud of smoke straight into his face.
Yeonho let out a cough.
"You know I could kill you right here, right now."
The sudden change made the air in the room turn eerie. Goosebumps swept across Yeonho's skin, every hair standing on end.
In the story, Lee Dongjun was the one who killed Choi Yeonho.
He shot the villain in his final scene with an impassive face, as though he were dumping a rotten animal into the ocean.
Now Yeonho stood face to face with the very man destined to end his life, as still as a cornered, wounded prey.
Then something else struck him. Dongjun looked perfectly fine. He wasn't flushed or restless. Maybe the drug was in his system, but he was far too calm, and that wasn't a trick of the dark. The steadiness in his breathing said it all, and it terrified Yeonho because he couldn't read it.
"You... aren't you feeling unwell?"
As though he heard the thought, Dongjun let out a deep laugh.
'Shit. I have no idea what he's thinking.'
Dongjun caught Yeonho's chin and tilted it up, studying him with cold fascination.
Yeonho felt the touch and knew something bad was coming.
"Isn't this what they call déjà vu?" Dongjun murmured.
"What déjà vu?"
"Clueless as ever. I see."
Light flooded the room.
Yeonho threw an arm over his eyes against the brightness. When he lowered it, he finally understood the situation he was in.
Carl, Nabi, and Hyunbae were being held hostage by security men, cloth stuffed over their mouths so they couldn't make a sound.
They looked like they were stuck that way for a long time.
Nabi was close to tears.
Hyunbae's face was twisted in terror.
Carl's eyes blazed with fury, ready to destroy anyone who dared threaten them and protect Yeonho at any cost.
"Cover yourself," Dongjun ordered.
Yeonho didn't listen. His eyes were fixed on the three in the corner.
'When did they get them? How? What happened? Ah, fuck. This is my fault.'
Dongjun noticed the change in him. "I see you have plenty of questions. Why don't you dress first, and I'll answer them?"
"Let them go."
"Playing the tough guy won't help you. Do as I say, or this happens."
At a signal from Dongjun, one of the men restraining Carl punched him in the face and kicked him hard in the stomach. Carl groaned into the gag, his nose bleeding, his face already bruising, but he didn't care about the pain when his master was in danger.
"Shall I demonstrate again? Or will you listen?"
"I'll listen."
"Good boy. Now get dressed, and we'll have the proper talk you wanted."
Yeonho put his clothes back on with every eye in the room on him.
It didn't matter if they saw him naked or caught sight of the marks on his body.
He was in real danger, and he dragged his own people into it.
He sat on the couch, and Dongjun took the one across from him.
"What's your problem? I was just trying to help you because you were drugged," Yeonho said, but Dongjun stayed silent. He only motioned one of his men forward.
"Report what happened."
The man bowed and began. "Ms. Choi Hana was struck on the neck by him. She fell unconscious. He then instructed the estate servants to lock her in her quarters, claiming she was exhausted and needed uninterrupted rest."
'Fuck.'
That was all Yeonho could think. He was so focused, so pleased with how smoothly his plan was running, that he underestimated Lee Dongjun of all people.
"Isn't that interesting?" Dongjun said.
"Yeah... pretty interesting, right?" Yeonho played along nervously.
Amused by the mix of fear and bravado on his face, Dongjun picked up his glass of wine from the table, drank, and set it down with calm precision.
"You should have brought more reliable people, Yeonho. My men caught them easily, somewhere in this area. Do you think you have the power to do whatever you want? To hurt Hana again?"
"Look, I was—"
"Did I give you permission to speak? Stay quiet, or you'll see blood on the floor."
Yeonho clenched his jaw. He wanted to talk back, but he knew Dongjun wouldn't hesitate to hurt Carl, Hyunbae, or Nabi to prove a point.
He glanced over his shoulder at the three of them, at Nabi most of all. His heart sinking when he saw Nabi trembling in fear.
'Think, Yeonho. Don't make a reckless move. I need to know why he's doing this.'
"Why are you doing this? Is it because I hurt Hana? You could have told your men to hurt me instead of dragging other people into it."
"That's one reason, but there's more. It's quite interesting, as you'll see."
"What is it? Tell me, and stop with the guessing game."
Dongjun leaned back into the couch and crossed his legs with ease. "It seems you're close to them."
"To who?"
"You know who. My men saw you going in and out of their rooms."
.
.
.
.