A Storm Called Scandal

As my body gradually relaxed, various thoughts began to drift through my mind. Jin Yeon-oh, whom I had been facing just moments ago, flickered in my memory.

<Why are you doing this to me?>

I had asked that question, unable to hide my absurdity at Jin Yeon-oh’s behavior as he tried to drag me to a cafe right after our meal. What had he said in response?

<Just because… it’s fun?>

It was one of the few sincere reactions I’d seen from him. Between his slightly curved eyelids, his gray eyes had flashed chillingly. What they held, in abundance, was interest.

<Did you like that restaurant earlier? Call me if you want to go again. I’ll take you.>

He’d even added those unnecessary words.

It felt as though he were expressing a firm resolve never to let me in there if I showed up alone. I had scoffed at the time, but because it was rare to find a place that perfectly catered to ‘Baek Seohan’s’ palate, the taste kept lingering in my mind—even though I’d ended up with indigestion from stuffing myself.

I tried to push the memory aside, but the interest I’d seen in his eyes kept bothering me. Perhaps because it was Jin Yeon-oh and no one else, it felt utterly unsettling and ominous.

‘Is he looking for differences?’

Differences between me and ‘Baek Seohan’?

Jin Yeon-oh was acquainted with the original Baek Seohan. That meant he likely knew the man’s typical behavior to some extent. My current self, no matter how generously one looked at it, could not be described as similar to the original.

‘But it’s not like I can pick a fight with him……!’

As a polite adult with a conscience, Seohan found it difficult to mimic the original’s personality. Even if perfect imitation were possible… recalling Jin Yeon-oh’s cold face, that didn’t seem like the right answer either. It would surely be digging my own grave.

Ultimately, there was nothing Seohan could do but let things flow. Still, the relationship wasn’t exactly bad, so I decided to calm my nerves.

……Probably. We weren’t on such bad terms that he’d just off me right on the spot, right?

The medicine must have been fast-acting because my stomach felt considerably better. Even so, I didn’t get out of bed. As I rolled around, the soft texture of the fabric against my skin was quite pleasant.

It would have been even better if that ominous ring-ring hadn’t started echoing from somewhere. My eyes drifted toward the edge of the bed, where my phone screen was desperately flashing to indicate an incoming call.

“Ah, seriously.”

It was Secretary Choi again.

With my face crumpled in annoyance, I answered the phone. A voice that sounded incredibly frantic leaked through. Since I’d never heard him like this, my expression turned peculiar.

–Yo-Young Master!

“……What is it?”

–Is the article… is it true?

“Article?”

What article?

I couldn’t understand a word Secretary Choi was saying. What was this sudden talk about an article? Sensing the confusion in my voice, he immediately blurted out an explanation.

–The scandal between Chaehwa’s Jin Yeon-oh and the Young Master…….

Secretary Choi added more words after that, but unfortunately, they were useless to me. The moment I heard the word ‘scandal,’ my brain ground to a halt.

‘Which…….’

Which b*stard was it?

How starved for news must they be to take a photo of me and Jin Yeon-oh and serve it up as a scandal? Regardless of what Secretary Choi was saying on the other end, I quickly went online and searched my name.

[Jin Yeon-oh ♥ Baek Seohan, Third-Generation Heirs’ Steamy Scandal Captured]

My hands shook just clicking the headline emblazoned across the top of the page. I was seized by an impulse to scratch out that heart sitting so boldly between our names. And then…….

“……Ha.”

A heavy sigh finally escaped my lips.

“……Secretary Choi.”

–Ye-Yes?

“File a lawsuit for defamation immediately. Get the article taken down. As fast as possible. No, within 10 minutes.”

–B-But Young Master.

The voice that followed from Secretary Choi was full of deep distress. It was obvious. He was going to say 10 minutes is impossible. I let out a cynical smirk as if he were standing right in front of me.

What did I care if Secretary Choi found it difficult? As long as he was the spy planted by Baek Jaehyun, I would work him to the bone without hesitation. That was how it had been, and that was how it would continue to be.

“Are you telling me to keep looking at this mess?”

–I will handle it immediately…….

Even the sound of the call hanging up was drained of energy. But my eyes were still fixed on the phone screen. The large photo was far too clear.

‘Why did they have to capture this moment……!’

The photo showed Jin Yeon-oh and me together. I remembered this moment vividly. It was when he was whispering some useless nonsense like, ‘The course today was quite nice, wasn’t it?’ He could have said it at a normal volume, but he’d insisted on leaning down to whisper right in my ear, giving me goosebumps.

They say that when prey encounters a predator, they often freeze and can’t run away. I understood that feeling all too well. With Jin Yeon-oh leaning in as if he were about to do something, my body had frozen, unable to react.

To think that moment would come back to haunt me like this.

In the photo, the two of us were very close. The problem was that the action didn’t just stop at ‘looking intimate’; it crossed into the territory of ‘Wait, are they kissing?’ The angle was just that ambiguous.

I felt like I was going to develop a stress-induced illness if I kept staring at the screen. My heart, weakened by the constant strain of dealing with Jin Yeon-oh, was screaming that it had reached its limit. I slammed the phone face-down on the bed.

‘It’ll be resolved.’

The reporter who maliciously interpreted the situation they must have witnessed would be properly punished, and the article would be taken down soon. I tried my best to maintain my inner peace.

“Um, Young Master.”

A cautious voice accompanied by a knock reached my ears. It hadn’t been long since I’d closed my eyes to regain my composure.

“……What’s the matter?”

“The, the thing is… the guest downstairs…….”

And the words I heard from her were nothing short of shocking.

“He’s smashing everything to pieces…….”

‘……Why on earth?’

What little composure I had left shattered instantly. The thoughts of the ‘scandal’ that had been haunting me were pushed aside, though only because an even more urgent problem had surfaced.

I had no choice but to get up. Looking at her pale face, the woman who came to deliver the news seemed utterly terrified. Since I was starting to feel scared too, our situations weren’t all that different.

‘Did he not like the furniture?’

……Of course, that made no sense. For his comfort, I had brought in only the most expensive and high-quality furniture, and Lee Dohun wasn’t the type to smash things just because he didn’t like them.

‘……No, now that I think about it, maybe he is?’

Regardless of the reason, he was currently destroying the furniture. Since that didn’t seem normal, my hurried steps came to a halt. If I barged in while he was in the middle of a rampage, would I get smashed along with the furniture?

By the time I reached the stairs leading to the basement, the crashing sounds from below were faintly audible. My hesitation grew significantly.

‘I’ll just…… I’ll just open the door a crack and peek.’

If it looked like I was about to get smashed too, it wouldn’t be too late to close the door. As I descended one step, then two.

The noise from below abruptly stopped. A bead of cold sweat rolled down the back of my neck.

“Baek Seohan.”

A voice called out from the distance. He hadn’t screamed, but the voice was loud enough to be heard clearly outside the basement.

……How did he know?

I didn’t think my footsteps were particularly loud, but the ghost-like Lee Dohun had already noticed me. Stuck in a situation where I couldn’t go back, I cautiously opened the tightly shut door. My mouth fell open almost instantly.

What on earth had he done? Several pieces of furniture were overturned, books were torn, and there was a visible crack in the TV.

But that pathetic sight couldn’t compare to one other thing. What made Seohan flinch the most were Lee Dohun’s eyes.

His eyes were, quite literally, insane.

“……Lee Dohun-ssi? First, please calm down.”

There was nothing scarier than a man standing alone with glowing eyes amidst mercilessly destroyed furniture. Even his pupils were dilated. Seohan spoke as if trying to soothe a raging beast, keeping his body pressed firmly against the door.

[Synchronization Rate has increased by 0.1%!]

Meanwhile, the system window was working hard. It was as if it were asserting that ‘Baek Seohan’ isn’t afraid of Lee Dohun.

Sure. But I, Seohan, was currently scared to death. I was terrified that he would pounce at any second and turn me into kindling just like that furniture.