After spotting Seon Woo Jin, I was about to greet him as if I knew him, but I paused for a moment.

His face was frozen so coldly.

‘What’s going on, why does he look like that?’

Even though the person in front of me was definitely the Seon Woo Jin I knew, his face felt so unfamiliar.

Although it wasn’t for a long time, from what I had observed beside him, Seon Woo Jin was not the type of person to make such an expression. If anything, it could be Sung Ji Chan or Ban Ha Min. Seon Woo Jin was not passionate enough to be enraged just because one of his friends was kidnapped.

But this…

“…Let go of that hand.”

After glaring at Choi Yu Han for a while, Seon Woo Jin spoke. As I flinched, Choi Yu Han tightened his grip on me.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

“What?”

Seon Woo Jin frowned.

“Are your ears damaged now too? I said I can’t.”

The words were overflowing with malice. I unconsciously looked at Choi Yu Han’s face.

Choi Yu Han still had his gaze fixed on Seon Woo Jin. In his eyes, seen up close, there was a hatred that couldn’t be hidden even with a smile.

‘…I didn’t know he disliked him this much.’

I knew he didn’t like the Three Greats, but seeing it in person, I was surprised that the emotion seemed even greater than I thought.

Seon Woo Jin and Choi Yu Han glared at each other. The atmosphere inside the abandoned building became tense.

The first to speak in that suffocating atmosphere was Choi Yu Han.

“But this is a bit unexpected.”

“…What do you mean?”

“That you came instead of Sung Ji Chan.”

Choi Yu Han curled one corner of his mouth.

“Well, I thought Sung Ji Chan might not come since he’s a cowardly bastard originally, but I never expected you to come. And with such an angry face at that.”

Indeed, his words were true. I also hadn’t considered the possibility of Seon Woo Jin coming. If anything, it would make more sense for Ban Ha Min to rush back from abroad after hearing news about me.

“But I guess you have more loyalty than Sung Ji Chan?”

Seon Woo Jin let out a hollow laugh as if dumbfounded.

“What crazy nonsense is this…”

Soon, Seon Woo Jin’s face turned cold.

“Cut the crap and get to the point.”

“Yes, yes. We should.”

Choi Yu Han shrugged.

“Hmm, where should I start…”

Choi Yu Han drew out his words as if provoking him. Seon Woo Jin’s expression hardened, seemingly more angered by his attitude.

“Don’t drag it out and just say what you have to say.”

“You really want that? Alright. Then I’ll cleanly get straight to the point.”

Choi Yu Han said with a grin.

“Please let us step on you a bit.”

“…What?”

Seon Woo Jin frowned. Choi Yu Han shook his head exaggeratedly.

“This is why I tried to explain from the beginning. See, you can’t understand it all at once.”

At those words, I could see Seon Woo Jin clenching his fists tightly. He seemed ready to lunge at any moment. But he was still holding back well for now.

Choi Yu Han must have also noticed Seon Woo Jin gradually losing his restraint, as a vicious smile appeared on his lips.

“You see, these days our Pockers group is in a pretty bad mood. Some crazy girl keeps beating up our lovely underlings during these delinquent hunts or whatever.”

Delinquent hunts? Is he talking about Seol Yu Hwa by any chance?

I listened intently to Choi Yu Han’s words.

“She even came all the way here a few days ago and beat up our guys before leaving, telling us not to mess with Jeil High.”

…So it really was because of Seol Yu Hwa. I was anxious about that.

‘I should have stopped her back then after all.’

I regretted my weak self for not being able to stop Seol Yu Hwa that night.

“So lately, the guys at our school really hate Jeil High. Because there’s talk that girl is from Jeil High. Well, they hated you originally anyway.”

As he said that, Choi Yu Han suddenly pushed me forward.

“But you know what? There’s talk that the girl is Lee Ju Eun.”

I froze for a moment.

‘What does that mean?’

Seon Woo Jin also frowned, seeming to not understand.

“…What?”

Choi Yu Han chuckled.

“Just as I said. There was a witness. Someone who saw that one of the people who attacked this abandoned building that day was Lee Ju Eun.”

I squeezed my eyes shut.

‘Damn it. So someone did see me then.’

I recalled taking off my mask because it was stuffy. I thought it would be fine since everyone was knocked out, but I guess someone remembered my face.

‘These bastards, so they didn’t just bring me here simply thinking I was Sung Ji Chan’s girlfriend.’

I was so distracted by the word ‘girlfriend’ that I failed to notice what was more important.

‘Then what the hell are they planning to do?’

I raised my head to look at Choi Yu Han. Sensing my gaze, Choi Yu Han met my eyes and grinned.

I flinched at that look in his eyes.

Choi Yu Han turned his head back towards Seon Woo Jin.

“So here’s the thing…”

Then he spoke in a cheerful voice.

“You’ll have to be the sacrifice instead.”

Only then did I understand Choi Yu Han’s true intentions.

“As much as we want revenge, it’s a bit much for us to hit a girl. And conveniently, there’s also talk that this person here is Sung Ji Chan’s new girlfriend. So we brought her here to kill two birds with one stone. Then we can just take revenge on Sung Ji Chan who comes to save Lee Ju Eun.”

Choi Yu Han flashed a kind smile.

“Do you understand now?”

The abandoned building fell silent as the explanation ended.

Seon Woo Jin also said nothing. I anxiously looked at Seon Woo Jin like that.

‘…Will they really end up fighting?’

Realizing my responsibility in this situation, I felt very apologetic towards Seon Woo Jin.

‘If only I had acted a bit more cautiously, this wouldn’t have happened.’

If I had stopped Seol Yu Hwa that day.

If I had kept wearing the mask.

At the very least, if I hadn’t let Han Ye Won misunderstand that I was Sung Ji Chan’s girlfriend.

Maybe the guys from Haesung High wouldn’t have taken me hostage. Then Seon Woo Jin wouldn’t have had to come to save me.

‘Isn’t there a way to resolve this peacefully?’

I searched for a way to break through this situation. However, no suitable method came to mind.

At that moment, Seon Woo Jin spoke.

“…Do as you please.”

I was startled.

What did he say?

‘Is he saying he’ll fight?’

I really couldn’t understand why someone who usually didn’t care what happened right in front of him would fall for such a low-level provocation.

‘How does he plan to handle this alone?’

I discreetly glanced around. The delinquents from Haesung High had a completely different air about them compared to when I saw them in the infirmary last time.

It seemed like today’s incident wouldn’t be resolved easily.

Unaware of my thoughts, Seon Woo Jin said,

“But let Lee Ju Eun go. Your goal is to fight me anyway, right?”

Choi Yu Han responded in a nonchalant tone.

“Well, the ‘real’ target was Sung Ji Chan, but… you’re not bad either.”

Then he snapped his fingers.

At that, the delinquents from Haesung High exchanged glances, then immediately let out a roar and charged at Seon Woo Jin.

And so, the fight began.

But contrary to my expectations, Choi Yu Han did not directly fight Seon Woo Jin. Instead…

“Huh? Hey! Hey! What are you doing now!”

He pulled me and slyly slipped to the side.

To the puzzled me, Choi Yu Han said,

“How is it? This is the best seat in the house.”

Indeed, just as he said, from there we could vividly see the scene of Seon Woo Jin fighting… but that’s not the point!

I frantically shouted.

“What are you doing! You said you’d let me go! Why are you letting them fight?”

Then Choi Yu Han spoke with an unconcerned face.

“I said I’d let you go, not the Sickboy.”

It’s infuriating, but it’s not wrong so I couldn’t refute it.

“Then at least let me go!”

“I said I’d let you go, but I never said when. Please bear with it a bit longer.”

This jerk, it’s more annoying that he’s not lying. As I was grumbling to myself, Choi Yu Han said,

“Don’t tell me you really want me to let you go? The Sickboy came directly to save you, but you want to ditch him and run?”

“…”

He keeps rendering me speechless.

In the end, I tightly shut my mouth and obediently let Choi Yu Han hold me.

Since there wasn’t much I could do in that situation, I had no choice but to watch Seon Woo Jin fight.

Fortunately, Seon Woo Jin was not easily being pushed back even in the one-versus-many situation.

This was almost the first time I properly saw him fight, and indeed, befitting the reputation of the Three Greats, his fighting skills were flawless. I’m not sure if I should describe this as flawless though.

As I was watching Seon Woo Jin’s fighting skills with a sense of awe, Choi Yu Han spoke to me.

“I’m really curious about something, so can I ask you one thing?”

“Something you’re curious about?”

I readily nodded.

“What is it? Go ahead and ask.”

Then Choi Yu Han fell silent for a moment before opening his mouth.

“Why do you think the Sickboy came to save you?”

Right, why did he come to save me?

Even I found it amazing when I thought about it. Honestly, I was a bit moved that Seon Woo Jin came all the way here to save me, not expecting it. Without much thought, I said,

“I don’t know, maybe because we’re friends?”

“Friends?”

Choi Yu Han let out a hollow laugh.

“Right. Friends are great.”

Does it sound like he’s being sarcastic, or am I being too sensitive?

To the wary me, Choi Yu Han asked again.

“Do you trust the Three Greats?”

I pondered for a moment. Do I trust the Three Greats? Sung Ji Chan, Ban Ha Min, and Seon Woo Jin who came here to save me?

I nodded.

“I’m not sure to what extent I trust them, but… I do trust them as friends.”

“Is that so?”

Choi Yu Han gazed at me with eyes that seemed to hold a strange sneer.

“Then be careful.”

What does he mean? Feeling a momentary chill, I reflexively turned my head to look at Choi Yu Han.

To me like that, Choi Yu Han spoke with an extremely serious face.

“The Three Greats have abandoned a friend before.”