Thrilled by Madness - Chapter 93

Tears quickly welled up in So Yeon’s eyes, unable to believe the sight of Tae Seo Jun’s wet eyes.

His tears were so heartbreaking that her own burst forth sorrowfully, rapidly wetting her cheeks.

“Why are you crying? It’s making me… *sniff*…”

So Yeon wept like a child, frantically wiping Seo Jun’s eyes with the end of her sleeve. Seo Jun found Eom So Yeon pitifully endearing, so much that he could no longer be angry.

“What did Eom So Yeon do right to be crying?”

“Tch, I’m not the only one crying…”

“Heh…”

The two locked eyes naturally as they cried and laughed.

Silently cupping her small chin with one hand, Seo Jun gazed into So Yeon’s glistening eyes up close. And he made an inner vow.

I must now become your sky and earth. So you can soar freely through the azure heavens. So you can rest comfortably whenever you tire. So you can take off again with all your might and fly even higher. So you can be eternally happy within me.

The look in his eyes silently conveying his feelings was overly intense, but his expression regaining composure appeared incredibly handsome and good-looking. Had she not felt his heartbeat pounding in his palm, she would have believed him to be an exquisitely crafted sculpture made by God.

That’s why So Yeon unknowingly revealed her deepest inner thoughts.

“I’ve wanted you from the start. Would you believe me if I said I wanted to steal something and keep it forever? I might be crazy. I can’t give up anything of Tae Seo Jun’s anymore.”

“Then, you should have it. No, please take it all.”

Seo Jun whispered softly into So Yeon’s ear.

Though he found his own begging a bit amusing, Seo Jun willingly let himself be captivated by the sweet sense of defeat. Because she was the only one he wanted to possess, even if it meant destroying himself.

Seo Jun plucked a pink rose from the vase and tucked it behind So Yeon’s ear.

“As expected.”

“What is?”

“Even pretty flowers lose to Eom So Yeon.”

“Really?”

“Have you only been deceived your whole life?”

“…”

What seeped into So Yeon’s trembling clear eyes was a mysteriously subdued pitch-black gaze.

His expression was too serious to be a joke. His neat lips holding back a smile were all the more charming. His seduction, stirring up even the desire within that hard shell, was irresistible.

“Seo Jun…”

“What is it, So Yeon…”

The two trembling breaths finally escaped between their lips as names.

Under his warm touch, her rose-colored lips bloomed like a flower bud, parting delicately. Seo Jun’s movements already followed instinct, and his longing for her had already ignited and expanded frighteningly.

Their foreheads touched. Their lips met, seeking each other. His large hand cupped her cheek.

“I’m so nervous.”

“I’m more nervous.”

The conversation was cut off as their lips locked tightly.

The rain continued to fall.

Thick raindrops covered the entire glass greenhouse like a curtain. Soon after, the eyes of the two people holding each other wavered dizzily. The creaking sound of the workbench was drowned out by the pouring rain.

Holding So Yeon tightly, Seo Jun drove fiercely.

Like this rain that must pour down before it can stop.

[This is the timeline separator]

The time spent in the building where the fire occurred after the entertainment filming crew left the scene was about 40 minutes. When Yoo Jung Hwa left the waiting room and soon after I and So Yeon packed our things to leave, the door was already locked.

Smelling burning rubber and trembling in fear thinking we were now going to die helplessly, two men appeared and saved us.

This was the second time Yeo Do Soon, who appeared at the prosecutor’s office, testified about the circumstances of the fire incident like this.

However, just like Oh Min Jung claimed, Do Soon also consistently said that Jung Hwa definitely locked the door, but for some reason, unlike before, the prosecutor in charge was only eager to defend Jung Hwa.

Barking that it was just suspicion based on personal resentment, not something directly witnessed.

Thoroughly annoyed by the prosecutor’s incomprehensible attitude, Do Soon sat quietly in her car parked in the outdoor parking lot after leaving the prosecutor’s office.

Her mind was in utter chaos, not only from the fire incident that was already unsettling, but also from thoughts of Gu Won Hoo that kept popping up whenever there was a gap.

On top of that, her phone had been vibrating continuously from his incoming calls, but Do Soon only glanced at it without moving her hand.

Bzzzz…

“Oh come on, if I don’t answer he should just assume that’s how it is, why does he keep calling! Geez, what am I supposed to do…”

In fact, it wasn’t that she didn’t want to answer, but that she couldn’t.

Yeo Do Soon, who had met Gu Won Hoo every single day for 5 days, had to diligently avoid him today.

On the day she was discharged from the hospital, she had hastily promised to meet six more times, but now only one time remained. So if she fulfilled that last time, it really seemed like it would be the end with him.

Starting from when he came into the fire pit risking danger, every time he looks at me with such earnest eyes, even though I know it’s not true, I keep getting drawn to him.

Just let me live. No, if you took me home, why did you have to clean too, toying with my heart! Should I just change companies? No, I can’t do that! If I do that, So Yeon will have a hard time.

“Ah, I’m really going crazy!”

Feeling stifled, Do Soon banged her head on the center of the steering wheel.

Honk!

“Ah, geez! You scared me!”

Like the one who farted getting angry, Do Soon who was startled by the horn sound she made herself, irritably ruffled and pulled at her bangs.

Then as she raised her gaze forward, at that moment.

“Gasp!”

Do Soon’s breath stopped as she jumped in the driver’s seat.

Though she had been avoiding him so much, for some reason Gu Won Hoo was standing right in front of the car. This isn’t even the company, it’s in front of the prosecutor’s office, how did he find me!

“Open the door!”

Click click, his eyes narrowed angrily as he confirmed the car door was locked. Do Soon reluctantly unlocked the car, and as soon as Won Hoo sat in the passenger seat, she immediately asked.

“What are you here for?”

“Why are you avoiding me, Yeo Do Soon?”

“Because I’m confused by your back and forth. You say you don’t love me but you slept with me and did everything with me. Now there’s only one last time left, and I wanted to save that for later.”

“So that’s why? Heh…”

He chuckles. I’m dying of seriousness here. It’s not like you’re just testing me either. This is why I’m the only one going crazy.

“No, it’s like this. My feelings are still the same, but if we meet today, it’s completely over between us, Director. So I have no choice but to avoid you.”

She was right. He too had chased Do Soon all the way here with the excuse of fulfilling that last time. But amusingly, that wasn’t all.

Won Hoo found himself unable to focus on work, constantly distracted by images of her bouncing around like a rubber ball. So after pondering why he was acting this way, he realized he didn’t want to end things with Yeo Do Soon like this.

So he decided he should meet her and talk about that part again, and after asking several people about her whereabouts, he came all the way here. And now that they’ve met, it was time to say what he had in mind.

“How about we do this?”

“Do what?”

Do Soon’s eyes narrowed as she glanced at Won Hoo. It meant hurry up and say it without beating around the bush.

“As you know, I’ve been going on blind dates lately because of my parents’ nagging. So I was thinking, how about we date for just one more year? We just have to make my parents believe we are.”

If it worked out that way, it would kill two birds with one stone.

First, he could buy a little more time to escape his father’s financial pressure, and though it may be somewhat selfish, he could maintain their current good relationship a bit longer while momentarily forgetting the voice of conscience saying he shouldn’t meet her.

Moreover, Gu Won Hoo could make this proposal over and over again.

Even if it sounded absurd to Yeo Do Soon, even if it was an unlikely proposal to be accepted, it was a businessman’s nature to confidently make reckless bets until his intentions were accepted.

“So, you’re asking me to be your shield? For a whole year, no less?”

“You catch on quickly.”

“Huh, you think I’d just accept your proposal? That’s…”

Just as she was about to blurt out a curse like “that’s such ridiculous nonsense”, at that moment. Do Soon looked askance at Gu Won Hoo’s hand slowly intertwining between her fingers.

“…!”

Oh, come on! Have you ever seen such a bad man!

Though she was irritated, Do Soon absolutely could not push his hand away.

Because no matter how much she thought about it, she seemed to already love this man. Because she herself didn’t want to end things with Gu Won Hoo right away.

Since it’s come to this, it doesn’t seem like a loss to try it out as far as it goes. Just being able to see the first man of my life up close for even a little longer is a gain in itself.

No, above all, even though he says he doesn’t love me, it’s only right that I cherish my heart that loves him.

But a year is too long.

They say it’s not over until it’s over, but I’m the type who needs quick results for everything, so I’ll surely wither away from heartache before even half a year is up, and I absolutely can’t do that. So, I have to do this my way. I have to shake up Gu Won Hoo intensely but briefly.

In a way that’s utterly Yeo Do Soon!

Do Soon, realizing in this moment that she was a slave to love, mixed her trembling voice into a sigh of tension.

“Hah, fine. But not for a year.”

“Then, how long?”

“About a month should be possible.”

“Since you’re doing it anyway, let’s make it 6 months.”

“3 months! Not a day more!”

“Alright. Let’s do 3 months!”

“No extending beyond 3 months!”

The two reached out to shake hands as if they had just made a groundbreaking deal at a summit meeting.

“And no running away before 3 months for you either, Do Soon!”

“Of course not!”

Like a maze of love that was a battlefield.

Taking their first steps into that place, Won Hoo and Do Soon clasped hands, gazed at each other, and grinned.

[This is the timeline separator]

Yoo Jung Hwa was released from detention.

The fire was caused by an electrical short, and there were no traces of intentional arson anywhere at the scene. Just one day after this forensic result was announced, the court dramatically withdrew Jung Hwa’s arrest warrant.

This happened six days after Jung Hwa was arrested and maintained her right to remain silent.

⌜The set collapse incident from 2 years ago has entered reinvestigation, but was already judged to be an accident caused by a faulty structure. Yoo Byung Hwan’s traffic accident is still under investigation. For the fire incident, fingerprints found at the scene are not enough to consider it a caught-in-the-act crime, and while there are criminal charges, considering the social impact as she is a famous celebrity, unless definitive criminal facts are proven, the principle of presumption of innocence is applied to suspect Yoo Jung Hwa.⌟

The judge overturned the detention decision unreasonably, citing these justifications. And the judge’s inner thoughts, filled with absurdity, were known to no one except himself and the one who handed over the black money.

Therefore, Jung Hwa also had no way of knowing who had lent her strength, but that very person was watching her from inside a car as she took her first step outside the detention center gate.

Still dazed by her sudden release, Jung Hwa walked towards the road. And just as she was looking around, intending to catch a taxi.

Honk!

A black sedan parked right in front of her gave a short horn blast.

As Jung Hwa hesitantly approached and slowly lowered her head towards the driver’s seat.

“Get in for now.”

A deep voice came from beyond the darkly tinted window that opened slightly. The voice was so familiar that Jung Hwa quickly sat in the passenger seat without questioning.

Then it must have been Han Seung Jae who helped her.

“I wondered who it was, but it was the Managing Director.”

She had coldly cut him off on the phone earlier. Curious about why he suddenly changed his mind, Jung Hwa’s eyes held an intrigued look.

“…”

Han Seung Jae, wearing a crooked smile on his lips as if to say who else could it be but me, started driving first in response to Jung Hwa’s words.

It was a street where someone could see them.

For that reason, Seung Jae only opened his mouth after driving some distance away from the city center.

“How could I just leave Yoo Jung Hwa there?”

“What do you mean? You didn’t care when it was Chairman Han’s orders.”

She thought there was no one on her side in the world, but that wasn’t the case. Just that one fact quickly brought color back to Jung Hwa’s face, which had been deathly pale the entire time she was locked up.

“I know, right? I didn’t realize, but when I thought about not being able to see Yoo Jung Hwa, it felt strangely stifling.”

“I’m grateful, but won’t you fall out of favor with Chairman Han like this?”

“I’ve already fallen out of favor. What good would it do for me to suddenly start listening well now? You think our old man would see me differently?”

With a sneering tone matching his furrowed brow and sullen expression, Han Seung Jae’s dissatisfaction with his father was no small matter.

About 4 years ago? Though he had successively pulled off ambitious projects, one big mistake caused massive losses for the company. And what poured ashes on the almost-cooked rice was the rapidly rising new M&N enterprise .

Han Seung Jae, who took full responsibility for that failure and was kicked out of headquarters. The company that Chairman Han tossed to him like an act of charity was .

The fact that he was Managing Director rather than CEO there was tantamount to an order to just breathe and do nothing in that position.

Still, Han Seung Jae, believing he was the sole heir to , had been living a dissolute life, waiting for the day he would gloriously return to headquarters. However, it seemed he was about to be betrayed by the one he trusted.

“My dirty blood. I’m not the only one who inherited father’s blood. Perhaps a half-sibling? Last week, that b**** took the director position at that I was supposed to return to.”

Publicly, he was known as Chairman Han’s only son.

Han Seung Yul, sent abroad right after birth, was practically abandoned by his father. Still, just in case, he secretly dealt with the Saudi armed group Tamayon to once again confirm his father’s intentions towards that guy.

And Han Seung Yul was said to have been shot in the heart in Celar earlier this year.

Shouldn’t he have already been dead then? But that guy managed to come back alive, and somehow sweet-talked the old man, as father put that b****** at the forefront as ‘s heir.

“So how can I not be pissed off?”

How frustrated must he be to go into such detail with me? Jung Hwa nodded as if understanding his feelings.

“So you’re rebelling?”

“Rebellion… Not entirely wrong, but I’m not one to crumble easily, am I?”

“Then what do you plan to do?”

“Well. You don’t need to know that much. But I can tell you one thing.”

“What…?”

As Jung Hwa raised her eyebrows as if asking what it was, Seung Jae said with a smirk.

“I got divorced. So I’m in a really foul mood. I feel like having Yoo Jung Hwa around might improve my mood.”

To be precise, as soon as his position as heir started shaking, even his wife, who had been in a show-window marriage, cast him aside.

“I see. You must be quite upset.”

Though she offered words of comfort, Jung Hwa thought it had nothing to do with her. It was just fortunate amidst misfortune that she had found a new support to lean on.

“No need to be upset. If the old man and that little brother all go down together, that’s that. That’s why Yoo Jung Hwa and I get along so well.”

Seung Jae mixed a wicked smile into his expressionless face.

“What? Are you saying I’m a villainess?”

“It’s not wrong, is it? I’m often called a devil too.”

“A devil and a villainess… Well, not bad.”

In any case, this man’s fracture and crisis saved me. Indeed, God is on my side.

With a smile conveying that meaning on her bright red lips, Jung Hwa looked straight at Han Seung Jae’s face as he started the car again. Seung Jae too glanced at Jung Hwa with a smirk, seeming pleased about something.

A man who has plenty but is hungry because he can’t have more.

A woman who has reached the peak with difficulty but can’t stop her desire to climb higher, putting herself on the edge of a cliff.

If they can’t have it, if it can’t be theirs, they must destroy it – a devil and a villainess.

These two were the best decalcomania and the worst combination.