There was something disturbing about the way everyone at this so-called meeting looked like they had nothing to lose.

Honestly, if I hadn’t heard some familiar names that hinted at their real identities, I would have thought that all the worst people in the country had gathered here.

Out in the world, I’m sure they’re all addressed as the CEO or president of some company.

But here, they were all worse than Lee Seol-won – every single one of them, complete hypocrites.

“Come with me.”

Even at a glance, it was clear that he wasn’t heading for the mansion’s entrance – he was going deeper inside.

I took a quick step back.

“I’m not going. I told you – I don’t want to stay here anymore!”

“How are you going to leave? There’s no car.”

“Then call a taxi!”

“Do you really think a taxi will come all the way out here at this hour?”

For someone who probably never had to drive a car himself, always relying on a private chauffeur, he had been surprisingly accurate.

Judging by how quiet the roads were on the way here, this wasn’t the kind of area where taxis pass by very often.

And I didn’t even have my cell phone with me – I wasn’t officially allowed to carry it.

Even if I managed to make a secret call, I didn’t know enough about the area or even the address to hail a taxi.

And Lee Seol-won obviously had no intention of helping me get home.

Even if I could somehow get my phone back and call the police, it would only matter after I found a way to escape safely.

Everyone here had powerful backgrounds and connections.

If I recklessly tried to report them now, there was a good chance that I’d be silenced – silently and completely – long before I ever got the chance to take revenge for Eun-sae.

A while ago, after what they’d done to that woman, the men casually brushed it off by saying, “Lee Jae-kwang will take care of it.”

Ordinary people would never think like that.

Their twisted way of thinking was deeply disturbing.

The fact that they could come to that conclusion so quickly, without much discussion, made me wonder – maybe this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened.

Maybe it had happened before, but not often.

Right now, my safety came first.

I had to be like air – unseen, unnoticed, invisible to everyone.

Even if the driver had gone home, if only the car had been left behind – I wouldn’t have hesitated to hide in it for the night.

“Well, well, well. Who do we have here? Lee Seol-won?”

Suddenly, a group of footsteps approached from behind me.

The first voice I heard was unfamiliar, but the footsteps surrounding me from all sides were ones I recognized.

One, two, three, four, five.

In an instant, my ears registered the number of people.

There was one more than before, but I was sure.

I knew who they were – the same men who had been in the room with me not long ago.

Unlike Western music, which uses standardized sheet music to record compositions, traditional Korean music has no fixed notation.

Although systems such as jeongganbo or Western staff notation are sometimes borrowed, they serve only as minimal preservation tools.

They cannot capture the lingering resonance and emotional nuance produced by the delicate vibrations of the silk strings on a gayageum.

As a student of gayageum, I had no choice but to spend hours memorizing court music or sanjo pieces by ear, which were passed down only by listening to my teacher’s performance.

My hearing was naturally more sensitive and accurate than the average person’s.

And now those dangerous men were gathering in one place again.

A suffocating feeling of fear closed in around me.

If my feelings toward Lee Seol-won were rooted in resentment and anger, the group of men who had just done something monstrous to that woman – and yet remained completely unfazed – reminded me of something I had tried to ignore: the stench of blood.

The blood she had spilled.

The faint smell of death that had seeped into my body along with the water.

What if they made an offhand comment like, “Why is she soaking wet?” and drew unnecessary attention to me?

What if they noticed the smell of the woman’s blood on me and started asking questions?

My teeth began to chatter with fear, so I clenched my jaw tightly.

I forced myself to breathe shallowly, pressed my tongue against the roof of my mouth, and clenched my knees to keep my body from shaking – but it was no use.

Even if the men behind me didn’t notice, Lee Seol-won certainly did.

He probably read every flicker of emotion that crossed my face.

And while I was struggling to regain control, the men were already closing in.

Then my vision suddenly went dark.

Lee Seol-won had taken off the coat he’d been wearing over his suit and draped it over my head.

“I thought I was seeing things because I was drunk. Huh? What brings someone so important to a place like this?”

A man with a lazy, dragging gait approached Lee Seol-won.

I couldn’t see his expression as he turned his back to me, but his tone didn’t sound like simple small talk – there was an edge to it, something barbed beneath the surface.

“How are aunt and uncle these days?”

It was only after I heard this added question that I realized – this man was Lee Jae-kwang.

“They’re both doing well, as always.”

There was little emotion in Lee Seol-won’s reply.

And with the cloak still over my head, I couldn’t see his face either.

“Well, with a son like you, of course they’re doing well. I’ve been hearing good things about you lately, huh? The Cultural Foundation project is going well, and now they say you’re going to be Congressman Heo’s son-in-law. Some guys really are born lucky-fall flat on their face and still end up in a virgin’s lap. Congratulations, man.”

“Thank you.”

While Lee Jae-kwang’s voice rose and fell in pitch, Lee Seol-won remained calm and steady throughout.

Caught in the middle of a conversation laced with subtle implications, I stood frozen like a mannequin – unable to move a muscle.

“And who’s this?”

After a few fake congratulatory remarks meant to feel out Lee Seol-won, Lee Jae-kwang’s attention shifted to me.

“Oh, you’re quite tall.”

He didn’t mention Heo Yeonseo by name, but it was obvious to me that he was thinking of her.

The tension in the air grew.

When we were in the same school, Heo Yeonseo had often been criticized for her short stature, with people saying that her proportions weren’t quite right.

Even now, as the lead dancer of the Hani Dance Company, her physique hasn’t changed much.

“Tall and slender, even from behind. They say you can tell a beauty by her silhouette, so why hide your face so much?”

Lee Jae-kwang openly expressed his curiosity about my face.

I remained silent and endured his attention without saying anything.

Even with a quick glance around, it was obvious what this mansion was really for – a place where people gathered to shed their pretenses and indulge their dirtiest instincts.

And Lee Jae-kwang was the host of this party.

There was no possible advantage in showing my face to someone like him.

“But there is something familiar about your back.”

Eun-sae, no… He’s not talking about you, is he?

My chest ached from the pressure of holding back a scream that threatened to break out.

“You know me, don’t you, Miss?”

When I didn’t move an inch, Lee Jae-kwang tapped me lightly on the shoulder.

The intention was clear – he wanted me to turn around.

His tone towards me changed as well.

If Lee Seol-won was cold, Lee Jae-kwang was dangerous – the kind of dangerous that skirts the edge of the law.

I froze completely, clutching the front of my coat even tighter.

My heart tightened with sharp, unrelenting pressure.

“You’ve got the wrong person.”

It happened in an instant.

Lee Seol-won blocked Lee Jae-kwang’s hand with one arm.

“She’s shy by nature. My companion doesn’t like to attract attention.”

But he didn’t stop there.

Lee Seol-won pulled me towards him.

Surprised, I lost my balance – and ended up leaning against his chest without meaning to.

“Oh, really? She’s shy, huh… Not the usual type of guest around here. But there’s a great way to fix that.”

Just above the edge of his slightly raised collar, I saw Lee Jae-kwang’s hand lift a cup close to me.

“Drink this. It’ll help with your nerves. You’ll feel better in no time.”

The large paper cup was filled to the brim with Purple Lean, sloshing gently. This artificially bright shade of purple had never looked more menacing. Wasn’t purple traditionally the color of poison? It was even more terrifying than the demand to show my face.

My heart pounded loudly. Startled, I instinctively pressed a hand to my chest to calm myself – only to accidentally feel the man’s stomach touch me. The sensation under my fingertips was as solid and flat as a slab of rock.

For some reason, a feeling of guilt crept up on me, as if I’d done something wrong, and I found myself nervous in advance.

I fidgeted awkwardly with my raised hand, not knowing where to put it, and was about to clasp it behind my back when Lee Seolwon pulled me closer, holding me tighter to his chest. My heartbeat became even more irregular. He must have felt the vibration as well, but there was nothing I could do. I could only continue to be discovered.

“Lee Seolwon, have a drink too.”

In this mansion, Purple Lean was more common than water. Without giving us a chance to step away, Lee Jae-kwang quickly returned with two cups of the substance and pressed them on us.

“Come on, take it. Both your hands are empty, and as the host, that’s not good enough. What, is my party no fun for you?”

There was a hint of stubbornness in Lee Jae-kwang’s tone.

Everyone else was falling apart in this muddy mess, but the two of us, with our feet clean and our minds clear, were standing apart – and that must have raised suspicion.

It was something I found strange, too. While I had done my best to avoid the Purple Lean out of sheer fear the moment I saw him, why was this man still so calm and untouched? No wonder Lee Jae-kwang found us even more suspicious.

The problem was that I had no idea how to get out of the situation. The car had already left, and I hadn’t gotten Eun-sae’s phone back, so I was basically trapped in that mansion until the chauffeur picked me up the next morning.

I started to worry – what if we got in even more trouble for insulting the host, Lee Jae-kwang, on top of everything else? Caught in a situation where I couldn’t do this or that, all I could feel was growing fear.

“No way.”

Lee Seol-won replied casually, taking a cup of Purple Lean and downing it in one gulp.

“You’re…”

Crazy. He must be crazy.

I jerked my head up in shock, but Lee Seol-won pressed down on the back of my head with one hand and held me still. I couldn’t even finish my sentence – my face was buried deep in his chest.