08. Bad Friend
08. Bad Friend
'Hmm... 10%...'
Since there was no minimum repayment period, the key here was increasing her share of the Factory by 10%.
She currently held 5%, so agreeing to this would let Yeon-seo snag a whopping 15%.
Sure, it was just 15% of the Factory's output revenue, but thinking long-term, that was a hefty profit.
No matter how much Sihwan wanted Yeon-seo, he had no intention of boosting her shares over something trivial.
But the compensation she offered was an entire city district.
And that included manpower(?) to boot, making it a massive reward impossible to get through normal means.
'Still, that's a bit much.'
It would've been better if she'd just demanded hundreds of thousands of gold outright.
Now she's bringing up shares and making him agonize.
"It doesn't seem like an unreasonable offer~. Just the things living there number around a thousand, right? Enslave 'em and sell 'em off, and you're rolling in it."
"You really have no blood, no tears, huh."
Those people were scraping by in their own hardships, yet she spits out "sell them as slaves" without a shred of hesitation.
Well, if she were the type to care about that, she wouldn't have pulled off a mass slaughter disguised as an entrance exam.
Her true nature, as shown to Phone Eun-jeong, was far from good.
"Oh my. What are you saying? I've been safely looking after those parasites leeching off my city without permission all this time. If they have any conscience, shouldn't they help me out a little?"
She casually drops words that'd earn her divine punishment.
"Fine, let's gloss over that. But come on, another 10% of the shares? Isn't that too steep? Yeah, the district's big, but it's just the Slums anyway. Like you said, it's a zone that's been sitting unused till now."
"It's not that I couldn't—it's that I didn't. There was no need to extend my reach to a dump like that. And even if those useless things aren't helping, forcibly kicking them out would trash my image, wouldn't it?"
"Mine?"
"When have you ever cared about your image? If you did, you wouldn't act like such a dick."
"What's wrong with my image?"
"Selfish, lawless, clueless asshole. The kind of existence where just looking at your face floods me with stress."
"..."
She said it with a smirk, but the words had a sharp edge.
At least half of it was dead serious.
'Didn't she like me?'
Sihwan stared at her silently after hearing this shocking truth(?).
Come to think of it, every time he saw her, she was always seething with anger and irritation.
She was such a stunning beauty that he hadn't paid it much mind, but yeah, her face was always like that.
According to her, it was all because of him...
'Well, love's supposed to be tough, right?'
He pondered briefly and twisted it to his own interpretation.
'That bed must've been ordered because of me too.'
A bed big enough for three to roll around in.
Honestly, using a monster like that solo was ridiculous; she clearly bought it to share with someone, and Sihwan figured that someone was him.
'Last time I asked if she was into me, she just told me to get out without denying it. And today, she basically said crash here and I'll take you tomorrow. It was casual, but damn, she's totally fallen for me.'
Sihwan nodded, pleased with his deduction.
All Yeon-seo had meant was that he was an annoying prick, but in his head, she'd morphed into a woman head over heels in love.
"...What's with the sudden mood drop? What're you thinking?"
"About you."
"..."
Her face scrunched up at the abrupt straight shot.
"Phew... the shares... Yeah, it's big, but it's shares in a whole building... And I can invest that much in my girl."
"...Hold up, did I just hear some weird shit?"
"So I can really do whatever I want in that district, right?"
"When did I become your girl? You're always full of surprises. The bad kind."
"Oh, right. Liking me doesn't make you my girl right away. You need my permission too."
"...What the hell are you even saying."
She frowned lightly and bit her lip.
For a second, he thought the conversation was actually progressing, but nope.
Today, too, Sihwan was poking at her emotions.
Of course, she did have feelings for Sihwan.
The kind you could call fondness, or even "like" if you dressed it up a bit.
But having it exposed so sloppily? Her towering pride wouldn't allow it.
At the very least, it had to go down with Ryu Si-hwan begging for her, and her graciously accepting.
"Heh heh. Ha Yeon-seo, no use hiding it. Your feelings are all transmitting to me loud and clear. Who do you think I am?"
"..."
Ha Yeon-seo seriously wanted to smack that smug face.
If it weren't for that expression, her fondness would be five times higher.
"Sigh... What misunderstanding are you under?"
"No need to be so shy. Falling for me is only natural."
"..."
Yeon-seo was floored.
What kind of confidence was that?
She glanced sideways—Bari was staring at Sihwan too.
"Anyway, you said it's cool if I crash here, right?"
"That's not how I phrased it. Keep twisting my words like that, and it's a problem."
"You said it's fine if I stay over."
"...Hey, ease up."
Had he pushed too hard?
Her true colors finally showed.
"Borrowing money and now you're—"
"Whoa whoa, don't get all prideful. It's all pointless anyway."
"What?"
Who was lecturing who about pride here?
A mere Human strutting in front of a Noblesse—wasn't Ryu Si-hwan the king of ego?
Ryu Si-hwan rose from the sofa and approached her.
Yeon-seo, glaring daggers with arms crossed, tracked his movements with her eyes.
Ppok.
Bold as brass, he plopped right next to her and draped an arm over her shoulder.
The daring dress exposed her shoulders and upper chest, so the feel of bare skin hit him directly.
"You said you ordered that new bed recently, right? Let's be real. Common sense says no one buys a beast like that to sleep alone. They had single sizes too."
"..."
"And earlier, you told Eun-hye that if you're really worried about me, let me bunk here one night and you'll take me tomorrow."
He slyly slid his hand down, brushing the edge of her breast before poking the lower curve wrapped in the dress.
Then he whispered in her ear.
"You bought that bed because of me, didn't you?"
"..."
No reaction from her.
Bingo, right answer!
Sihwan had long forgotten today's original goal—the loan shark deal—in a blank haze, and his hands grew bolder.
The hand prodding her lower breast started gripping wider, claiming more area, while his idle other hand landed on her thigh.
"...You don't think I'm that easy, do you?"
Was she pissed?
Or feeling something else?
Her face twisted as she coldly swatted his hands away.
"You're doing it again. Is it just because of what I said? You like me."
"..."
That tone made it so damn hard to admit.
Classic Ryu Si-hwan—even in a moment ripe for subtle tension, he pokes her pride and talks in the most irritating way.
Bari, watching from the opposite sofa across the table, just shook her head quietly.
As expected, Sihwan's pickup skills were trash.
This guy couldn't achieve anything with words.
"And yesterday when you asked to borrow money, what'd you say? If I can't pay it back—"
"Stop, I get it, just stop."
Surrender at last?
Yeon-seo let out a sigh.
"Oh, as expected—"
"But you really know how to piss a girl off."
Kkuk!
"Ow...?"
Out of nowhere!
Suddenly, she reached under his rock-hard rod and grabbed his soft balls.
As she stood up...
"Wack! Waaah!! Wait nooo!!"
The jolt of electrifying sensation forced Sihwan to his feet.
Like a queen domming in some SM play, she dragged him by the goods.
"Hey! Let go! I said let go! Bariii!!"
"..."
Bari smirked faintly at the rare spectacle.
She didn't seem to think it was dangerous.
But right now, Sihwan's life was in peril.
Of all people, grabbed there by a Noblesse!!
"You provoked me that much, so you must've steeled yourself, right?"
She flung him onto the massive bed.
As he curled up clutching his groin in tear-inducing agony, something brushed against his skin.
"Seeing you so hard, looks like you wanna fuck me... You know that?"
A scrap of fabric sliding down from under her short dress.
She was taking off her panties.
"We Noblesse are strong everywhere."
She tossed her underwear aside carelessly and climbed atop the sprawled Sihwan on the bed.
A heavier weight than expected settled on him, paired with a strange tingle in his lower half.
"Of course, 'down there' is incomparable to Outer Races trash. Think you can handle it?"
"...Huh?"
At Sihwan's slightly flustered look, she grinned like a witch and leaned in.
Hwaak.
Raw breath and a faint scent hit him point-blank.
Jjeoeok—the sound of Yeon-seo's lips parting stabbed right into his right ear.
Followed by her words.
"I could crush your dick flat."