Shan Wolf finally made it to the Harlon Hotel Nightclub. The bass thumped through the marble floors as flashes of neon red and violet painted over the crowd.
Men and women moved around him, their bodies glistening under the lights—dressed as angels, demons, and succubi.
He blinked in disbelief.
"What is this, Halloween? It's freaking March, for God's sake."
Inside one of the private rooms, Sae Jin Mei sat lazily on the velvet couch, one leg crossed over the other, sipping from her glass as another girl entered the room.
Kim Yeon Mikage—sixteen, quiet, and dressed in a maid costume which was far too mature for her age—walked in hesitantly, her gaze lowering before she took a seat beside her.
Meanwhile, Shan Wolf pushed through the crowd, trying to get his bearings. He bumped into someone who was also trying to squeeze through the throng of people.
"Oh—sorry," Shan muttered, straightening himself before moving on.
The man he had bumped into—Bae Sik Gong—glared after him with narrowed eyes.
"Huh… where have I seen that guy before?" Bae murmured to himself, scratching the back of his neck.
A nearby security guard caught sight of him and stepped forward, blocking his path.
"Sir, you're not dressed according to the club's code. I'm going to have to ask you to—"
"Get off me!" Bae Sik Gong barked, his voice cutting through the music. Two more guards closed in, trying to restrain him.
"I said… GET THE FUCK OFF ME!"
With a sudden burst of rage, he grabbed a glass bottle from a nearby table and smashed it over one of the guards' heads. The sharp crack echoed through the room. Blood trickled down, and the crowd gasped in shock.
A woman screamed. People stumbled back, knocking over drinks, phones flashing as panic rippled through the dance floor.
Shan Wolf spun around at the sound, his heartbeat kicking up. The chaos swallowed the air. He quickly moved deeper into the crowd, trying to disappear into the pulsing rhythm of the music.
The DJ—a striking woman wearing nothing but a metallic micro bikini and horned headset—cranked up the volume, letting the beat roar through the speakers as if to drown out the violence.
The strobe lights flared, flashing red like fire from the depths of hell. The crowd shifted, twisted, and moaned in rhythm to the pounding bass.
Then Shan froze.
Through the mass of moving bodies, he caught sight of a woman pressed up against a wall, lost in the frenzy—her partner's hands roaming over her as others watched.
Then another couple beside them. And another, tangled in the center of the dance floor.
"The fuck… a sex orgy?" he muttered under his breath, disbelief and unease creeping into his tone.
His eyes darted toward the bar where a man in a demon costume slowly poured a glass of red wine across the bare chests of two women dressed as angels.
Their wings glimmered wet under the club's red glow, feathers sticking to their skin as they arched back in surrender.
The music throbbed, the lights burned brighter, and the air filled with heat, perfume, and sin.
The Harlon Hotel Nightclub had become something unholy—Heaven submitting to lust as Hell reached out its hand, pulling everything deeper into the abyss.
"Are we really doing the audition here?" asked Sae Jin Mei, glancing around the dimly lit private room. The bass from the nightclub outside pulsed faintly through the walls.
Kim Yeon frowned, arms crossed. "Yeah… there aren't even any cameras here?"
Gin Chu Won leaned back on the leather sofa, a faint smirk curling on his lips. He swirled the amber liquid in his glass before taking a slow sip of his whiskey on the rocks. The ice clinked softly.
"Heh… let me tell you what I think, you two fine girls," he said, his tone calm but heavy with confidence.
He set the glass down, the soft tap echoing over the low hum of the air conditioner. Then, with deliberate precision, he poured another round—one for himself and one each for Kim Yeon and Sae Jin Mei.
"Actors, models, celebrities…" Gin Chu Won said, handing the glasses to them. His gaze sharpened, voice dropping to a measured tone.
"People who aren't honest with themselves can't move an audience. They can't make anyone believe in what they're selling."
The girls exchanged uneasy glances, the weight of his words lingering in the air as the whiskey burned down their throats.
"Good. Here's another," Gin Chu Won said, pouring another round with a steady hand. The sound of liquid hitting glass filled the dim room. "As I was saying… the auditions. I want to see the true nature of a person."
Sae Jin Mei crossed her arms, a flicker of unease in her eyes. "And how are you going to do that…?"
Gin Chu Won raised a brow, chuckling softly. He brushed his ponytail back and stroked his goatee with a gloved hand.
"Oh? You really are rushing things, Ms. Jin Mei."
The door opened. A waiter entered quietly with a tray of side dishes. As he poured new drinks, he exchanged a faint glance with Gin Chu Won—one that neither Kim Yeon nor Jin Mei could quite read.
The waiter subtly added something into the glasses before placing them on the table. Then, with a polite bow, he left the room.
Sae Jin Mei frowned, watching the door close. A cold feeling crawled up her spine. Her gut told her something wasn't right. She rose from her seat. "This really isn't what I came here for. I should leave."
Before she could reach the door, Gin Chu Won's calm voice struck like a blade.
"I know you were a small-time thief, Ms. Jin Mei."
She froze mid-step, her breath caught.
Gin Chu Won leaned back with a smirk. "Of course, you left that life behind. Someone bailed you out. Your late father was a professional thief, wasn't he? Like father, like daughter." He paused, eyes gleaming with amusement. "And your mother? She cut ties and found a man who actually treats her as an equal."
Jin Mei didn't turn around; her gaze stayed fixed on the doorknob, her expression hardening.
Gin Chu Won took out a thick wad of cash and slid it across the table. "But if you walk out now, this contract fee will go to waste," he said, his tone turning mockingly smooth.
"Don't get me wrong, Ms. Jin Mei. I'm serious about auditions. I just thought we could have a few drinks—like adults."
One of Gin Chu Won's friends lounging in the corner spoke up lazily, "Yeah, it's rare for a director to come to an audition himself."
Gin Chu Won poured himself another glass. "We're all prepared for this," he said lightly. "It'd be a waste to just walk out."
With no way out and tension pressing down on her, Sae Jin Mei hesitated… then slowly sat back down.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she picked up her glass, the reflection of the amber drink glimmering under the low light.
Kim Yeon lifted her glass with a bold grin, her voice cutting through the heavy air.
"Hey, I don't care about this bullshit or whatever this is. My mom—she doesn't even trust me to make my own decisions. She hates my boyfriend, thinks he's some kind of delinquent. And you know what? I think she's seeing someone herself."
Her eyes dropped to the amber liquid swirling in her glass. "For once, I'm glad she's finding her happiness. But where's mine?" Her voice cracked slightly, emotion pushing through the alcohol.
"Where is my own happiness? She works all the time, forgets my birthday, forgets my school awards ceremony. I don't give two shits—I'm gonna be a model. A celebrity. Something bigger than she ever imagined!"
She raised the glass high, then threw the drink back in one gulp.
"Puhaaa! Fck you, Mom! It's my life—my fcking life!"
"Hoo…?"
Gin Chu Won leaned back, impressed despite himself. He smirked, his tone smooth but edged. "That's the fire I like to see. Then have another drink—and show the world who's in charge."
Kim Yeon laughed, her cheeks flushed. "Puhaaa! More, old man!"
As she raised her next glass, Gin Chu Won's gaze shifted to Sae Jin Mei, who still hadn't touched hers. He tilted his head slightly. "What's wrong? Gonna let the rookie outshine you?"
Jin Mei stared at the whiskey, the ice slowly melting in the silence. Memories flashed—her father dying a thief, her mother leaving, years of scraping by.
All she ever wanted was to live normally, to make enough to stop worrying about survival.
Her hand trembled as she reached for the glass and—
Thirty minutes later, Shan Wolf made his way into the underground level of the nightclub. The air was thick with perfume, smoke, and sin.
He moved past one room where laughter turned to screams, another filled with strange shadows dancing to music too slow to be comforting.
Room by room, he searched. A man in a mask, ropes, muffled cries—nothing, every room was filled with nothing but sex, orgy sex palys and more. Then he caught a snatch of conversation between two waiters near the hall.
"Did you see her? The young girl in the maid dress… she's in the Golden Room."
Shan Wolf froze. Kim Yeon. The vision he'd seen before—Deathborn's warning—flashed in his mind.
He moved fast, pushing through the corridor until the golden door appeared ahead. As he reached for it, a figure stepped out—a tall man in a wolf costume, blocking the path.
Both locked eyes, tension heavy between them, the thumping bass of the nightclub muffled behind the door.
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Chapter 61 — End.