The man standing in front of the desk that separated the kitchen and the interior looked at Tae Yoon’s empty hands with a puzzled expression.
He was Nam Sang Chul, the former owner of the stone wall house.
“Where is the bag?”
Sang Chul’s expression stiffened. It seemed like he guessed something was wrong.
He looked back at Tae Yoon and added an excuse in a creeping voice.
“When I said it’s mine, I didn’t mean that. I remembered receiving a call, that’s all. I think I’ll get another call, don’t you think?”
Dan Woo, with his hand in his suit pocket, had a chill look in his eyes.
His voice was twisted enough that one could easily tell whose side he was on.
“Right. If you’re a person, you should live kindly.”
Sang Chul’s gaze shifted to Dan Woo.
“What are these people trying to do now?”
“What does it look like they’re doing in your eyes?”
“When have you seen me to be so informal? If you don’t trust me, let’s go to the police station right now.”
Dan Woo’s hoarse voice briefly called his name.
“Mr. Nam Sang Chul?”
There was no mercy in Dan Woo’s eyes as he approached Sang Chul.
With forced bravado in his fearfilled eyes, Sang Chul forcefully pushed Dan Woo’s shoulder.
Unperturbed, Dan Woo pressed on and moved closer.
“That’s good. We need to solve the mess you’ve made for a few bucks.”
“What are you talking about?”
Spewing harsh obscenities, Sang Chul was looking for an opportunity to escape. It was only a moment before he pushed Dan Woo in an attempt to flee.
“These damn bastards. What are they trying to do? Hand over the item.”
In an instant, Dan Woo overpowered Sang Chul and pushed him against the wall, gripping his neck.
Dan Woo didn’t say a word, only tightened his grip.
As the veins on the back of his hand bulged, Sang Chul’s face turned blue and his eyes reddened.
When Dan Woo let go, Sang Chul coughed as if he were dying.
Soon after, gripping his chin, Dan Woo smiled ominously.
“Three, let’s start again. One. Two.”
“What, this bastard.”
“Three.”
With his hand still gripping Sang Chul’s neck, Dan Woo stared straight at the wall opposite with emotionless eyes.
“Ugh.”
When he thought he could die like this, Sang Chul’s airway opened.
Realizing he couldn’t escape, Sang Chul’s attitude changed from defiance to begging.
“Please spare me.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t kill you.”
Tae Yoon approached Sang Chul.
Dan Woo, seated on a chair, shook his hands while waiting for Sang Chul to get up.
His once imposing figure was nowhere to be seen, and Sang Chul was keeping an eye on Dan Woo.
“I hate when things get complicated. You should have handled it yourself when the police station called several times.”
“Please spare me.”
“Go straight to the police station from here. And start by apologizing to the woman you scammed.”
“What?”
Sang Chul’s brow furrowed.
A woman?
Could he be talking about the woman who made a payment through a reservation site a few weeks ago?
If this was the reason for all the trouble.
The number of onemonth reservations received while he had been putting off sorting out the internet site.
As soon as he confirmed the reservation for one person, he had immediately called to explain the situation.
However, as soon as he heard the woman’s voice on the other end of the line, lies slipped out as if they were intentional.
After that day, it was perhaps an expected result, as he hadn’t even answered calls from the woman or Tae Yoon.
“I, I’m sorry. It’s just that, I didn’t mean to.”
“Enough with the excuses, you need to correct your mistakes.”
Dan Woo’s voice was firm.
“Depending on what you do, I’ll decide whether to hire a lawyer or not. I intend to receive compensation several times over for the damage I’ve suffered. But if you go straight to the police station, I might settle with just an apology. Think carefully.”
“I’ll go straight to the police station. So, I just have to compensate her?”
“You catch on fast.”
Tae Yoon looked at Sang Chul pitifully.
Why did he have to mess with someone so scary? As always, what came next was his business.
That night.
Despite Dan Woo’s late return, the house was empty.
The house, once filled with cold air due to a boiler malfunction, was now warm again, and Ji An’s sneakers were not at the entrance.
Turning on the lights in the yard revealed traces of her.
Looking at the small snowman perched on the wall, his head tilted to one side.
“Is it a family?”
Two snowmen of different sizes were leaning on each other, and next to them, two snowmen of similar size were close together.
“Is it a couple?”
Moving his gaze to the side, he saw five snowmen huddled together.
“That’s a family. It would be nice to live like that.”
Dan Woo, having climbed up to the second floor with a cooledoff cup of tea, finished preparing for sleep. The sound of a car engine was heard.
It seemed that Ji An had returned.
The parking lot of Happy Officetel.
After parking his car, Ha Joon wiped his parched face.
This was his first proper return home in a long time since taking on the case of President Jung.
Although a long trial process of fierce mental battle was expected, he had completed a notsobad scenario.
Ha Joon, who entered the elevator, glanced at a man he ran into in the underground parking lot.
The man who got in with him pressed the number 9 and then looked at Ha Joon. It was a look that seemed to say ‘press it.’
Ignoring the man, Ha Joon focused on the rising red numbers.
‘Who is he?’
Happy Officetel had four houses on each floor.
He himself lived in 901, Ji An in 902. 903 was a newlywed couple, and the resident of 904 was a woman.
It must have been a visitor to another house.
Despite the luxury shoes and welltailored suit, Ha Joon felt uneasy towards the unfamiliar man.
Perhaps it was a feeling of wariness that came from knowing all too well the type of people who could calmly carry on after committing unthinkable acts.
As the elevator stopped at the 9th floor, Ha Joon took a step back.
The man glanced at Ha Joon, who had stopped in front of room 901, before stopping in front of room 902.
Ha Joon’s gaze, which turned towards the man, grew cold.
What the hell is he doing?
The man, his lips slightly curled, unlocked the door and disappeared from Ha Joon’s sight.
He muttered under his breath.
“Kim Ji An!”
Ha Joon tended to become emotionally blurred about trivial things when he was focused on work.
In the meantime, a lot of time had passed. It had been over two weeks.
Sometimes, he waited for Ji An’s phone call, asking for reconciliation with a smile.
He had expected the innocent voice to comfort him, saying he was doing well, while his feet were tied to an immoral event.
Even so, this is not it!
A bitter laugh erupted as he felt disbelief.
Ha Joon’s pace quickened.
His touch on the door lock of room 902 was faster than ever.
Ha Joon, who had grabbed the handle, turned pale as the disagreeable sound indicating a failure echoed from the door lock.
When scheming men desperately battle for her favor in the male harem
This one’s also on my reread list! The rivalry, scheming between the men in the imperial harem are just as intense and thrilling as in classic palace drama novels, where concubines fight to the death. Give it a read, girls! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
Synopsis:
“I am not worthy of her… but I still want to be by her side, even if only as a loyal dog…”
Those were the painful whispers of Yue Guanyi – the proud Crown Prince of the Great Qi, who was torn between deep love and a guilty conscience. Despite holding the supreme power of the Imperial Guard, he still could not forget the dark past when he was sold into a brothel.
Fate played a cruel twist when Qiu Shuzhi – a young female official who had just passed the imperial examinations with top honors – stepped into his life. She did not know that she was the one who had saved him from a tragic fate many years ago. And now, her heart was the target of pursuit for both Yue Guanyi and the powerful Empress Dowager Qin Qing.
While Yue Guanyi only dared to silently care for and protect the one he loved from afar, the Empress Dowager Qin Qing openly expressed his feelings and did not hesitate to take advantage of his power to approach Qiu Shuzhi. The covert struggle between the two most powerful forces in the imperial court began…
Trigger warning: All men in this novel are yandere style.
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