That Bastard Again! (2)
Ah, I'm screwed.
Sihyun pressed a hand to his throbbing temple.
Three women's gazes locked onto him with relentless intensity. Yuri's was the sharpest of all.
"So."
Yuri folded her arms and spoke in a low voice.
"Which bitch were you rolling around with all night? And what's with the bloodstains?"
"What!? Bloodstains!"
Seonye cried out in shock. She shot up from her seat and began inspecting Sihyun's body all over.
"Sihyun! Don't tell me those crazy bitches did something weird to you again? Huh!?"
"Hey, you dumbass! I'm the one asking questions here—what the hell are you doing! And get off him! Don't you dare cling to him like that, you little bitch!"
"Aaah—! Let go—!"
Yuri seized Seonye by the hair and yanked her clean away from Sihyun.
"Hehe, my little puppy♡ You must've had a rough night, huh? Your face is half the size it should be~ Who'd you do what with to end up like that?"
Yoona ran her tongue over her upper lip as she looked Sihyun up and down. That blatant stare sent a chill crawling over his skin, and Yuri and Seonye both let go at once to shout at him.
"Yeah, that's right! What the hell did you do!?"
"Don't tell me you spent all night doing that with someone, Sihyun!?"
Under the three women's nonstop interrogation, Sihyun genuinely felt like he was losing his mind. He was still scrambling for a way out when Yoona dropped a bomb.
"Maybe he went out clubbing or something~"
"What? A club!? Sihyun! I know you're at that age, but still!"
Seonye shrieked in disbelief.
"What the hell kind of bullshit is that. Hey, hurry up and explain something. So which bitch was it?"
Yuri pressed him with a look of pure incredulity.
Ah… this crazy woman is seriously…!
Sihyun swallowed a curse aimed at Yoona. He had no idea how she knew, but playing dumb or hedging any longer was clearly impossible. There was no telling what that unpredictable woman might spit out next. In the end, Sihyun opened his mouth as if resigning himself.
"Last night… I went to a club run by the Daeho Clan."
"What…? The Daeho Clan…? You went alone to a place full of those gangster bastards?"
"Sihyun! What on earth were you thinking, going somewhere that dangerous by yourself? Hey! Han Yuri, what were you doing while he was off doing this!? Seriously!"
"Hey, you crazy bitch! You know damn well I didn't tell him to! Why are you bitching at me again!"
"It's your fault either way! You're the one who made him your bodyguard!"
"Ha! Are you for real right now?"
Just like that, the two of them were at each other's throats again. Sihyun pressed his forehead once more. Meanwhile, Yoona was smiling as if thoroughly entertained.
"Hmm~ My little puppy~ You're pretty quick on your feet, aren't you♡"
At those words, Yuri and Seonye's gazes snapped to Yoona in unison.
"Hey, Kang Yoona. You keep talking like you know something."
"Don't tell me… Sihyun… is there something going on between you and that psycho?"
"No! Have I lost my mind!? With someone like her…"
Sihyun recoiled, waving his hands frantically and shaking his head. At that reaction—
"Someone like her…?"
Yoona's eyebrow twitched as she echoed him.
A chill settled over the room…
"I'm awfully curious about the rest of that sentence. Aren't you, puppy♡"
"…!"
Sihyun flinched. He'd nearly let that word slip out of his mouth again. Watching Yoona's cold eyes as her hand drifted toward her handbag, he felt a shiver run down his spine and hurriedly corrected himself.
"There's nothing going on with someone like her! Really!"
"Hmm~…"
Yoona didn't seem entirely satisfied with the answer—but his flustered scramble must have made up for it, because she shuddered faintly and let out a breath laced with a moan.
"Haaang♡… I'm seriously going crazy♡"
…She's genuinely insane.
Sihyun, Yuri, and Seonye all grimaced in perfect unison at the sight.
"Anyway."
Yuri cleared her throat and steered the conversation back on track, still eyeing Sihyun with open suspicion.
"Explain properly. Why did you go there."
"…Yes."
Sihyun gave a brief account of the previous night's events at the club—the brawl with the Biryong Clan, his reunion with Dongchul, the death of the Daeho Clan's boss, and a man named Cha Mujin.
"…So the odds are very high that he's connected to the person behind the attempt on you, ma'am."
"Tsk."
Yuri clicked her tongue in irritation after hearing him out.
"I don't know who this Cha Mujin guy is, but I already had a rough idea those gangster bastards were involved and I've been looking into it. Why the hell would you go sticking your foot into somewhere that dangerous alone? What if you'd gotten hurt!"
"She's right! Sihyun! Do you have any idea how worried I was? Never do something like that alone again, okay?"
Seonye fretted and scolded him with genuine concern. For all that the two of them usually snarled at each other, when it came to worrying about him they were of one mind.
As if finding that amusing, Yoona cut in with a mocking smile.
"Hmm~ Did either of you ever consider that maybe your puppy had no choice but to move on his own because you two are so hopeless?"
At her words, something seemed to click for Yuri.
"Hey, come to think of it—how did you even know where those gangsters were?"
"Th-that's…"
As Sihyun trailed off, Yuri turned with certainty and fixed a glare on Yoona.
"That bitch told you, didn't she?"
"Hehe."
Yoona smirked again, and Seonye exploded as well.
"Hey! Kang Yoona! What kind of nonsense are you putting into Sihyun's head! If anything happens to him, I'm holding you responsible!"
But Yoona didn't so much as blink. She answered with an easy smile instead.
"Oh my~ Whatever could you mean~ Right, puppy?"
She even threw Sihyun a wink.
"…"
Sihyun couldn't bring himself to answer and turned his head away.
"Oh my~ Our puppy getting all shy is just too cute… Haa… haa…♡"
How she could possibly interpret his reaction as shyness was beyond comprehension, but Yoona's face flushed again as she started making those little moaning sounds. Lids blown clean off, Yuri and Seonye shouted as if ready to pounce on her.
"Hey, do you have a death wish, Kang Yoona!?"
"Yeah! You seriously need to get your ass handed to you!"
"Hmm~? And you think you can?"
Yoona slipped a hand into her handbag with a leisurely smile.
"Look at this bitch! She's about to pull out something weird again!?"
"You psycho! Don't you dare start shit inside the house!"
Just as the three women were once more on the brink of open violence—
♪~ ♬~
Sihyun's phone rang in his pocket. In an instant, all three women's gazes swung toward him as if on cue. The murderous atmosphere of moments ago vanished without a trace; every scrap of attention locked onto his call.
Ugh… these people, seriously…
Feeling their burning stares, Sihyun reluctantly answered.
"Ah, yes."
"…"
"Yes."
"…"
"Yes, understood."
"…"
"Yes, I'll see you then."
Click.
The moment Sihyun set the phone down after the brief call—
"No."
Yuri said flatly.
"Right, no."
Seonye agreed at once.
"Hmm~"
Yoona just wore that unreadable smile of hers.
"……"
Sihyun was left speechless. He hadn't said a single word—how did they already know enough to refuse? But he couldn't back down.
"…Please let me go."
Sihyun forced the words out.
"Denied."
Yuri shut him down cold.
"No."
Seonye shook her head.
"Hehe."
Yoona kept laughing, thoroughly entertained.
No, I'm genuinely going to lose it…
Sihyun's head ached in earnest. The refreshing ease he'd felt upon waking from that deep sleep earlier was long gone.
Then Yoona spoke.
"Caring is fine, but overprotectiveness isn't a good look either. You two."
Her smile was easy and provocative all at once.
"Shut up."
"Who do you think you are, butting in?"
Yuri and Seonye snapped at her in the same breath. But once again, Yoona remained perfectly calm.
"Hehe. I don't think our puppy's the type to lose to those kinds of guys."
Yoona had absolute faith in Sihyun's ability. If she hadn't, she never would have handed him the information that let him walk into a place that dangerous on his own.
"That's not the point, you crazy bitch!"
"She's right, you psycho! And if Sihyun gets hurt, are you going to take responsibility?"
Even under Yuri and Seonye's furious shouts, Yoona stayed unfazed.
"Yeah, I'll take responsibility. Of course♡"
She answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world, smiling seductively.
"He was mine to begin with, you know? Hehe."
"This psycho bitch is for real!"
"That's it—today's the day we settle this!"
At last Yuri and Seonye's patience hit rock bottom. The two of them lunged at Yoona together. Just before their hands could reach her, Yoona let out a laugh.
"Pfft."
"Has this bitch lost it? Why the hell are you laughing?"
"What's so funny that you keep doing that!?"
When Yuri and Seonye demanded answers at the same time, Yoona pointed her chin toward one side of the living room.
"Our puppy's seriously quick. Puhahaha!"
"?"
"?"
Looking baffled, Yuri and Seonye followed her gesture. And then—
"Ah…"
A sigh slipped from Yuri's lips.
"No…"
Seonye's face crumpled in despair.
There was no one there. At some point, Sihyun had vanished without a trace.
And so, through the living room, only one thing rang out—Yuri's furious shout.
"That bastard again—!"