Chapter 70
The executive office was deathly quiet, save for the faint tap of Seungjo's fountain pen against crisp parchment.
A sharp knock sounded at the double doors before his secretary stepped inside, holding a leather-bound tablet.
Seungjo didn't bother lifting his gaze from the documents sprawling across his desk.
The secretary proceeded with the brief schedule update, reciting appointments and financial summaries in a measured tone while Seungjo continued working uninterrupted.
Not wanting to be late for the dinner Hana had arranged, Seungjo finished the remaining paperwork well ahead of schedule.
Forty-five minutes later, Seungjo stepped through the doors of the private upscale dining establishment Hana had booked for the evening.
The moment he entered the foyer, he caught sight of four men gathered near the entrance, wrapped in a thick, stifling tension that made it look as though a brawl could break out at any second.
Woo Gyeongjae, Kang Min-Hyuk, Lee Dongjun, and Shin Jaehwan had all arrived well ahead of schedule—just like Baek Seungjo.
It was entirely predictable.
Not a single one of them was willing to risk letting another man spend a few uninterrupted minutes alone with Hana.
"Look who's here. I see we all had the exact same idea tonight."
Min-Hyuk drawled with a playful smile as Seungjo closed the distance between them.
The group turned in unison.
Gyeongjae took a broad step forward, blocking Seungjo's path.
"Did you take him home?"
Seungjo didn't give him so much as a glance. He walked straight past the group, stepping up the wide stairs toward the reserved VIP terrace.
Losing interest instantly, Dongjun wore an unreadable expression as he turned to follow.
Jaehwan adjusted his cuff links, throwing a lazy glance over his shoulder at Gyeongjae and Min-Hyuk.
"Standing around out here will only draw unwanted eyes. I'm going inside."
That left only Min-Hyuk and Gyeongjae near the entry.
Min-Hyuk let out a low chuckle, shaking his head. These men looked ready to tear each other apart over a simple exchange of glances, yet the moment public eyes drifted toward them, their professional masks slammed right back into place.
All five were on the exact same page when it came to preserving their public reputation.
Gyeongjae and Min-Hyuk followed the rest of the group.
The five men sat around the expansive dining setup, the wide table acting as an invisible barrier between them.
Heavy silence reigned for nearly ten minutes until Min-Hyuk, finding the atmosphere entirely too boring, broke the quiet.
"Shouldn't we at least try to get along?"
Min-hyuk rested his chin in his hand. "Hana's birthday is only 2 days away."
Gyeongjae leaned back in his leather chair, casting a cold side-eye across the table.
"Drop the performance. You just want to look good in front of her."
Jaehwan pulled a silver case from his vest pocket, retrieved a cigarette, and lit it. He exhaled a thin stream of gray smoke into the air before speaking.
"Are you still seeing that person?"
Jaehwan asked suddenly, his gaze flicking between Gyeongjae, Min-Hyuk, and Seungjo.
A heavy silence instantly smothered the table.
Dongjun, completely unaware of who they were talking about, kept his eyes fixed on his water glass, indifferent to anything that didn't involve Hana directly.
Jaehwan was intentionally bringing up this mysterious individual to provoke Gyeongjae and test Min-hyuk.
"Are you referring to someone I know, Jaehwan-ssi?" Min-Hyuk replied playfully, tilting his head.
"We both know exactly who I'm talking about." Jaehwan directed his gaze on Gyeongjae.
"How is he? Gyeongjae, didn't you mention he was sick?"
Gyeongjae's expression darkened dangerously. "Watch your mouth."
"Why so sensitive? It's a simple question about someone connected to Hana."
"Say another word and I'll break your nose right here."
"You're overreacting, Gyeongjae. I'm only asking."
Hearing Hana's name tied into whatever secret they were dancing around caught Dongjun's attention.
Seungjo recognized the game instantly as well. Jaehwan was deliberately picking a fight, trying to drag out the tension until Hana arrived.
The back-and-forth verbal jab turned moody, but Gyeongjae—despite his notorious temper—managed to keep his hands to himself.
Surprisingly, Gyeongjae kept his composure just enough to avoid letting Yeonho's name slip.
For reasons he had yet to fully admit to himself, Gyeongjae felt a fierce urge to keep Yeonho's existence shielded from the rest of them.
The results of his private investigation had changed something inside him, leaving him feeling protective Yeonho.
Remembering how Yeonho had broken down, sobbing and clinging to him during his PTSD episode a few days ago, Gyeongjae felt a heavy mixture of pity for him.
Though he now knows the scandal was setup, hiding the fact Yeonho was raped, there wasn't any information on who was the mastermind behind it.
Of course, he hadn't shared his investigation results with Min-Hyuk.
It wasn't time for that yet.
Meanwhile, observing the subtle discussion around the table, Dongjun found the dynamic increasingly suspicious.
He noticed the way Jaehwan tried to drag Seungjo into the conversation, and how Min-Hyuk kept dropping subtle, mocking hints.
Dongjun was certain of one thing: all four of them were hiding a secret, and he was the only one left in the dark. It didn't bother him. He would simply run his own private background check, just as he had done with everyone surrounding Hana.
Fifteen minutes into the dull argument, the phone inside Seungjo's jacket pocket vibrated against his chest.
He pulled out his phone. The screen flickered with red and white alert flashes.
[ ALERT: Subject Choi Yeonho elevated biometric activity detected! ]
Seungjo looked at it for a second, then flipped the phone face down on the tablecloth.
[ Subject heartbeat rising rapidly! ]
He kept his eyes on the men across the table, ignoring the persistent alerts.
He wasn't about to fall for Yeonho's games. The brat was likely pulling another dramatic stunt just to drag him away, and Seungjo refused to humor him—even if, deep down, his attention was already completely compromised.
He was about to slip the device back into his breast pocket when a secondary chime sounded through the quiet dining area—a sharp, mechanical beep that caused the other four men to pause their conversation and look over.
[ CRITICAL: Biometric Threshold Exceeded - Rapid Elevation in Heart Rate! ]
Sensing something off, Seungjo unlocked the device and opened the tracking application linked to Yeonho's wristwatch.
The digital map loaded, pinning a blinking blue node directly over a location Seungjo recognized instantly.
He immediately pulled up the internal management network for his club, sending a swift command to the security team to pull feed logs on any unregistered guests who had bypassed membership protocols.
The initial sweep came back clean—no unauthorized entries logged.
Dissatisfied, Seungjo accessed the live security feed directly from his phone, scrubbing through the footage himself.
Within seconds, he spotted the anomaly.
A figure in a glittering masquerade mask and a cascading blonde hair was moving effortlessly across the main stage, dancing their way toward the VIP stairs.
In the next camera angle, the same person was ascending to the second floor, a high-end bottle of liquor held loosely in one hand.
He stared at the small screen.
"Unbelievable," Seungjo muttered, completely ignoring the four pairs of eyes on him.
A second notification from the floor manager popped up on his screen:
[ Sir, the blonde is a substitute dancer. Our scheduled main act called in sick, and this person filled the slot.]
An image was attached. Seungjo pinched the screen, zooming in on the high-definition photo.
Even behind the lace edges of the mask, there was no mistaking those features—the vivid blue eyes, the thick fan of golden lashes, the pale skin, and those soft, pink lips.
Seungjo abruptly pushed his chair back and stood up.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Gyeongjae asked, an eyebrow raised in suspicion.
Seungjo ignored him entirely, walking away from the table with his phone already pressed against his ear.
"Find that dancer and keep your eyes on him," Seungjo commanded the moment the call connected.
"If he tries anything reckless, remove him from the building immediately."
He stepped into a quiet, deserted service corridor near the back of the restaurant.
[ May I ask who this person is to you, Chairman? ]
The manager asked hesitatingly.
"You don't need to know. Just do your job."
[ I apologize, sir. It's just... this performer... ]
The manager paused, looking up at the balcony monitor.
[ He's doing exceptionally well. The VIP tables are ordering double their usual volume. He just persuaded Table 4 to open a bottle of vintage '56 reserve. ]
"I don't care about the revenue. Just monitor him closely. Make sure no one touches him, and make sure he doesn't cause a scene."
[ Right away, sir. I'll assign personal security to shadow him discreetly. Have a good evening. ]
The call disconnected.
Seungjo pinched the bridge of his nose, a throbbing headache blooming behind his eyes.
"Always looking for trouble..."
Yeonho was a walking scandal.
Ensuring Yeonho's physical safety was easy enough—he had top-tier security personnel stationed throughout every inch of the venue.
But if Yeonho was setting up a public spectacle, the outcome could be disastrous.
Yeonho already carried a messy reputation, and a fresh public scandal would ignite the press instantly.
If the press caught wind that Hana's estranged twin brother was currently wrapped up in Seungjo's private world, the media would feast on it.
A high-profile dating scandal between them would blow up the front pages of every network in the country.
'A dating rumor with that brat is the last thing I need.'
Seungjo let out a long breath, shoving his phone back into his pocket.
"I'm going to have to deal with him myself."
"Are you talking about Yeonho?"
Seungjo turned around to find Gyeongjae leaning against the corridor wall behind him.
"Eavesdropping now? I didn't realize you had a habit of tailing people like a dog."
"And I didn't think you'd stand here playing dumb," Gyeongjae countered, taking a step forward.
"I know it's about Yeonho. Min-Hyuk mentioned the tracking watch you strapped onto his wrist—and that stolen file from your underground club. Don't tell me that crazy brat actually managed to break inside?"
Seungjo's complete silence was all the confirmation Gyeongjae needed.
Gyeongjae let out a sudden, loud bark of laughter, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Hahaha! There's no fucking way! He actually did it? HAHAHA!"
Seungjo remained motionless, watching him with frigid detachment as Gyeongjae wiped a tear from his eye, laughing so hard had to grab his stomach.
"Look at you," Gyeongjae taunted with a wide grin on his face.
"Even the legendary, ice-cold Baek Seungjo isn't as untouchable as he acts. So what's he doing in there? Drinking? Party hopping? I heard you on the phone—sounds like he's putting on quite a show for your VIPs."
"Find someone else to bother. You're wasting my time."
Seungjo moved to walk past him, but Gyeongjae slammed a heavy hand down onto Seungjo's shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.
"Hold on," Gyeongjae said, his humor vanishing, replaced by a dark glare.
"What's really going on between you two? Are you trying to take a piece of Yeonho for yourself now? Didn't you claim you hated his guts? Didn't you say you only cared about Hana?"
The tension between them flared instantly, both men locking eyes in a silent, dangerous standoff, until Min-Hyuk's footsteps echoed down the corridor behind them.
"Aren't you being a bit hypocritical, Gyeongjae?"
Stopping right between them, Min-hyuk looked back and forth at the two of them.
"Aren't all of us in the exact same boat? Falling for his trap. Drawn to Hana's twin brother like moths to a flame? Honestly, we should try playing nice. If we keep squabbling like children out here, Hana is going to get suspicious the second she walks in. Right, gentlemen?"
Min-hyuk casually threw his arms over both Gyeongjae and Seungjo's shoulders, acting like they were old friends.
"Ridiculous," Seungjo growled, roughly shoving Min-hyuk's hand off his shoulder before brushing past Gyeongjae with a hard shoulder bumped.
"Don't group me in with people like you."
Min-hyuk let out a delighted laugh as Seungjo marched away.
"Oh boy, our little Yeonho is going to drive us all insane, just look at Seungjo's reaction."
He glanced at Gyeongjae and waved a hand dismissively.
"I'm heading back. She could be here any minute."
Left alone in the quiet corridor, Gyeongjae ran a hand through his white hair, pulling out his phone to dial Yeonho's number.
A knot of genuine anxiety tightened in his chest. That underground club was frequented by some of the most dangerous and depraved figures in the city—he had been there once himself and knew the clientele well.
He knew exactly what kind of crowd gathered on the upper levels.
"Pick up the damn phone, Yeonho."
The line rang endlessly.
Images of wealthy, predatory men surrounding Yeonho flashed through his mind.
Yeonho knew how to act tough, knows how to handle himself, but Gyeongjae knew the truth now—underneath that sharp tongue was a fragile, traumatized Choi Yeonho.
What if he panicked?
What if he got overwhelmed?
What if one of those scumbags crossed the line?
After several failed attempts that went straight to voicemail, Gyeongjae clicked his tongue in frustration, shoved his phone back into his pocket, and made his way back toward the dining table.
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