Soo-hyun felt a chill run down his spine at Ho-beom’s words.

“No, we haven’t…”

“Really? Why do you look so familiar?”

“I must have a common face.”

“Ah, so that’s what they call a common face these days.” Yang Ho-beom muttered something incomprehensible to himself, then nodded and turned around. Soo-hyun thought he was leaving, but after opening the door and checking outside, Ho-beom closed it again. What was he planning? Ho-beom turned back and slowly approached Soo-hyun. Even with his hands in his pockets and his chin slightly raised, his mere presence appeared threatening.

“Why are you barging in like this?”

“I have something to give you.”

Huh? Before Soo-hyun could even question it, Ho-beom quickly pulled his hands from his pockets and slapped Soo-hyun across the face. With a thud, sparks flew before his eyes, and his body flew sideways, knocking the lamp to the floor. The impact felt more like a hammer than a palm. Soo-hyun grabbed his stinging cheek and glared at Ho-beom as he got up.

“F*ck! What—”

No sooner had the curse left his mouth than another blow came flying. He tried to block it by extending his arm, but it proved useless. His body flew in the opposite direction. Groaning in pain, Soo-hyun pushed himself up from the floor and rushed at the man in a low stance. Then he quickly reached behind and placed his hand on the man’s waist.

A knife was smoothly pulled out.

As he swung it through the air, the man dodged it easily and grinned.

“As expected, you have quick hands.”

Soo-hyun took a deep breath and assumed a fighting stance.

“You son of a b*tch…”

As he swung the knife again, his wrist was caught. When the man applied pressure, pain shot through him, suggesting his bones might break. Soo-hyun let out a sharp scream and dropped the knife. The man grabbed it, twirled it around, and placed the tip under Soo-hyun’s chin. All his movements appeared calculated, flawlessly fast, and clean.

“If you don’t know how to use it properly, you shouldn’t have touched it.”

The knife tip at his chin traced down to his neck. When Soo-hyun nervously swallowed, the man struck him on the head with the back of the knife. Ugh, Soo-hyun collapsed to the floor. Then came the kicks. He couldn’t even scream for help. Faced with the sudden violence, Soo-hyun curled up into a ball and took the beating helplessly. After a while, Yang Ho-beom unbuttoned one button of his shirt and swept his hair back with a sigh.

He knelt on one knee in front of Soo-hyun and looked him in the eye.

“Where is it?”

Soo-hyun covered his face with his arms and trembled. When he didn’t answer, Ho-beom roughly grabbed his hair and forced him to look up. His expression remained calm, but his eyes matched those from that night when his necklace was stolen.

“Don’t make me ask twice.”

“……”

“Where is it?”

Soo-hyun gasped for breath and wiped the blood flowing from his mouth and nose. The shirt he had changed into was completely soaked with blood, and blood covered the floor too. At last, he got a close look at the man’s face. Three-white eyes. He was clearly handsome, but his eyes brimmed with murderous intent. Soo-hyun had faced many bad guys before, but rarely encountered someone who could intimidate just by making eye contact.

“I don’t know what you’re—”

Gack! Before he could finish, Ho-beom stood up and dragged him away. Even as he struggled, being pulled by his hair proved useless. He tried to break free as he was dragged like baggage to the bathroom, but it only resulted in pain suggesting his scalp might tear off. Being dragged along, he scratched at the arm with his nails and swung his fists, but all in vain.

After dragging him to the bathroom, Ho-beom threw him down like a piece of luggage. Seeing an opportunity, Soo-hyun tried to escape, but Ho-beom grabbed him by the back of his neck and threw him against the bathroom wall. With a thud, his back collided with the wall, and the bone-crushing pain left him lying on the floor, groaning.

The violence wasn’t over. He wrapped something around Soo-hyun’s neck before he could regain his senses. Belatedly, he realized it was the shower hose. Sensing the murderous intent, Soo-hyun struggled and tried to scream, but the cord suddenly pulled tight, choking him. In pain that made his eyeballs feel ready to pop out, Soo-hyun opened his mouth and flailed his arms.

“How does it feel?”

With one hand clutching the cord and the other pounding on Yang Ho-beom’s arm, he begged for release. Gack, gack, tears streamed down Soo-hyun’s face as his breath seemed cut off. Ho-beom’s lips curled up as he stared at that face. Conversely, the force choking his neck grew stronger. His vision blurred and his mind grew distant. This crazy bastard. He really intends to kill me.

In fear, Soo-hyun hit his arm with his fist and made a gesture indicating he would talk with his hands. Only then did the cord loosen. Cough, cough, as his airway opened, Soo-hyun coughed violently, nearly vomiting. The blood rushed to his face, feeling ready to burst. He didn’t even have time to wipe the drool flowing from his mouth.

As he gasped for breath, Ho-beom crouched down in front of him. Then he gently wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth.

“So why did you lie? Hmm?”

He didn’t even have the strength to push that hand away. Soo-hyun took one deep breath and opened his mouth. His voice trembled as it came out.

“I gave it to your grandfather. I thought it wasn’t something I should keep…”

Yang Ho-beom’s gaze turned cold. Soo-hyun thought to himself. He didn’t think the man would spare his life even if he handed it over here. If that was the case, he needed to find a way out. First priority was to get away from him… and then…

“It’s been about 10 minutes, so he might be looking at it by now.”

A ripple disturbed the peaceful look in his eyes. Yang Ho-beom had clearly recognized Soo-hyun from the start. Yet he pretended to be calm because that item shouldn’t be known to the old man, his grandfather. If that was the case…

“You expect me to believe that?”

“You can go check for yourself. Stop harassing an innocent person.”

Ho-beom stared intently at Soo-hyun. Soo-hyun didn’t avoid his gaze. Yang Ho-beom was a skillful man. Though they hadn’t exchanged many words, Soo-hyun could tell. So he would surely detect a lie with remarkable accuracy. But Soo-hyun had been dealing with such people since childhood. From the time he began learning to speak, he had to lie to debt collectors and loan sharks looking for his father. That’s how he survived.

After reading Soo-hyun’s expression for a moment, he sighed softly and cursed. F*ck.

“You. If you’re lying, I’ll tear your body apart and feed it to the dogs. Understand?”

When Soo-hyun nodded, he stood up. Then he went outside. He called an employee and gave some instructions. Though Soo-hyun couldn’t hear what was said, soon an employee came in and sighed when he saw the blood all over the bathroom and Soo-hyun sprawled on the floor.

“Sigh, he beat someone up again…”

Soo-hyun staggered to his feet and tried to go outside. But the employee blocked his way. When Soo-hyun looked at him questioningly, he made a troubled face.

“He told me to watch you until he returns.”

Soo-hyun tore off some tissue to stop the blood flowing from his nose and mouth.

“I won’t run away.”

As he staggered out and searched his pockets, the man watched him.

Soo-hyun collapsed onto the bed like a falling tree and looked at the man.

“I’m sorry, but could you get my medicine from inside…?”

“Medicine?”

“I put it in my pocket, but I think it fell out. I have a bad heart… Right now… I’m having trouble breathing…”

When the man made a troubled face, Soo-hyun deliberately took short, labored breaths. When that didn’t work, he rolled his eyes back and acted like he was struggling, causing the employee to hurry inside. “Where’s the medicine?” Soo-hyun could hear him muttering to himself. Soo-hyun picked up the lamp that had been rolling on the floor and walked toward the man.

“Where on earth—”

Thud! When he hit the back of the man’s head with the lamp, he grabbed his head and collapsed, groaning. Soo-hyun threw the lamp on the floor and slipped outside. As he was putting on his shoes on the porch, a passing employee looked at him. But he didn’t pay any more attention than that.

As the old man had said, Soo-hyun wasn’t a hostage here. Hadn’t the old man said he could leave whenever he wanted? But even if he was going to leave, he wouldn’t leave quietly. As he limped toward where the old man was staying, he heard a whistle from somewhere.

Soo-hyun stopped in his tracks, and as he looked in the direction of the sound, his body froze. Yang Ho-beom, whom he thought had gone to meet his grandfather, was leaning against the wall, looking at him with a cold smile.

“Where are you going?”

Ho-beom straightened up and slowly began walking toward him. He still had his hands in his pockets in a relaxed posture, but his eyes resembled those of a predator eyeing its prey. As he approached, he took something out of his inside pocket.

It was gum.

He unwrapped it and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly. It created the illusion of being back to the previous night.

“Aren’t you curious how I recognized you?”

Soo-hyun silently glared at Ho-beom.

“You.”

He pointed at Soo-hyun. Or more precisely, at Soo-hyun’s chest area. Then he smiled mischievously.

“If you didn’t want to be recognized, you should have covered your n*pples, not your face.”

Now he understood what the man meant. He recalled what Ho-beom had said while sticking gum on his n*pple. It’s annoying. It’s too noticeable. Even with his face covered, Ho-beom recognized him not because of his keen eye but because of his damn n*pples.

F*ck, as Soo-hyun looked at him with an expression of disbelief, Ho-beom raised his hand. Soo-hyun flinched, afraid that more violence would follow. But his large hand didn’t come down  on his face; instead, it gently tucked his disheveled hair behind his ear.

“Just give me the item. Then I’ll pretend nothing happened.”

His touch was gentle, but it sent chills down Soo-hyun’s spine. Fearing he might choke him again, Soo-hyun stepped back, his eyes full of wariness. As Ho-beom’s hand fell away, Soo-hyun gritted his teeth and glared at him.

“I said I’ll forgive you.”

Yeah right, you bastard. You have to trust the right person. Soo-hyun quietly took another step back. Ho-beom didn’t approach any further, just watching what Soo-hyun would do.

“If you move one more step from there, I’ll cut off your ankles neatly.”

Just then, voices were heard from a short distance away. Yang Ho-beom’s face stiffened slightly, and without turning around, Soo-hyun knew who had appeared.

“What’s going on at this hour of the night? Beom, why are you still here?”

Soo-hyun turned around. The old man’s eyes widened when he saw Soo-hyun’s face. Next to the old man stood the man whose head Soo-hyun had hit with the lamp earlier. After regaining consciousness, he had wisely run to Chairman Yang rather than Yang Ho-beom. It was an excellent choice. Though he kept touching his sore head and glaring at Soo-hyun.

“What happened to your face?”

Before Soo-hyun could answer, the old man looked at Ho-beom behind him.

“Beom, did you do this?”

“Yes. His behavior was cute, so I gave him a few slaps.”

F*ck. He shamelessly admits that he beat him up.

“What on earth happened that you’re beating someone in the middle of the night?”

“It’s nothing. Just a minor misunderstanding. Right?”

He sought Soo-hyun’s agreement, but it was a threat. The old man clicked his tongue and stared at Soo-hyun.

“Baek Soo-hyun, was it? You tell me. Why did my grandson hit you?”

Soo-hyun stood silently, then turned around to check Yang Ho-beom’s expression. From his faint smile and slightly raised eyebrow, Soo-hyun could read his thoughts: Go ahead and try. Let’s see what happens. After glaring at him, Soo-hyun unclenched his fists and put his hands in his pants pockets. Soon, the necklace came out with them. He heard Yang Ho-beom cursing “f*ck” from behind, but it didn’t matter. When he held it out to the old man, Ho-beom grabbed his arm from behind.

“You.”

His eyes looked ready to shoot lasers. The cross-shaped pendant dangled in the air. Soo-hyun looked at Ho-beom and pulled up the corner of his mouth. Why don’t you keep smiling? You f*cking bastard.

“Your grandson was throwing a tantrum, demanding this even though it’s not his.”

Then he delivered a verbal punch to Yang Ho-beom’s contorting face.

“Like a child.”