Chapter 99: Yakuza Aftermath and Invisible Strings

My face paled for a moment. Sensing my shift in mood immediately, Do-yun looked at me with concern.

“Hyung, what’s wrong?”

“No, it’s just…. Did he really d—….”

Did you kill him?

“…What if he dies?”

Do-yun looked at me with a pained expression. “Honestly, Hyung, you’re too kind for your own good. That’s your problem.”

“Haha….”

I got up from the table and headed toward the coffee pot. I needed to hide my expression from him. I stared at the dark liquid in the glass carafe, my mind racing.

Was it Do-yun?

But why? There was no reason for them to be direct enemies. One had been in Japan, the other in the US…. What kind of grudge could there be? Am I just overreacting?

Fortunately, Seung-hee called out to me. “Give me a cup, too.”

“Okay.”

I naturally prepared two cups of coffee and sat back down, acting as nonchalant as possible.

“…Do you think it was really the Yakuza? It feels so… unrealistic, doesn’t it?”

“What’s unrealistic about it? Looking at how he lived, it’s perfectly plausible. If that jerk had gone to Italy, he would’ve been hanging out with the Mafia.”

Do-yun nodded. “I don’t know much about it, but I heard he was in Japan until recently. He didn’t seem like the type to have a great personality…. He probably did something over there that caused trouble.”

“Exactly. He was always living like there was no tomorrow. He didn’t grow up; his brakes just failed,” Seung-hee chimed in.

Most people who knew Won-ju likely felt the same way she did. But the Han Won-ju I knew was slightly different. He wasn’t the type to recklessly pick a fight with someone who looked stronger than him.

“I didn’t think he was that stupid….”

As I muttered this, Do-yun knitted his brows. His tone was clearly annoyed. “Hyung, he’s just someone who lived as he pleased and got punished for it. Why are you worrying so much?”

No, no. It’s not him I’m worried about.

I bit my lip anxiously. “Is Hanseong going to… like, try to hunt down those Yakuza or something?”

And what if your presence at the end of that trail is revealed?

I looked at Do-yun with trembling eyes, desperately hoping he had nothing to do with this. Do-yun let out a light laugh.

“Who knows? The ones who beat him have already fled. Even if they request cooperation from Interpol, those Yakuza cells are like decentralized networks; they’re hard to catch. Han Won-ju started the mess at the gambling den, he was unlucky enough to pick a fight with the Yakuza, and he got beaten for it. What can they really do?”

…Actually, I changed my mind. Even if it did have something to do with Do-yun, it would be concluded that it didn’t.

Who am I even worrying about?

If Do-yun really did this, the case would likely be closed definitively. Do-yun never leaves a trace when he takes revenge. His most terrifying trait was manipulating circumstances to lead an opponent to legal ruin.

That was exactly how he handled ‘Choi Seung-hyeon’ in the original story. Despite all the insults from his stepbrother, Choi Do-yun stayed low, waited for the right moment, and then leaked a secret at the most critical time. Then, while watching Seung-hyeon’s mental state crumble, he had Yu Hyeong-ju….

…Come to think of it, where is Yu Hyeong-ju now? Just then, Seung-hee suddenly asked:

“How did you know they were a decentralized cell?”

I also turned to look at Do-yun. He seemed slightly flustered by the sudden question but answered naturally. “I have connections too, just like you, Noona.”

“In the police?”

“No, in the media.”

Seung-hee frowned but didn’t press further, likely afraid she’d have to reveal her own sources if she dug too deep. But based on Do-yun’s expression just now, my hypothesis was confirmed.

I knew it.

If it were anyone else, I might not know, but I knew exactly what Do-yun’s face looked like when he was lying. I instinctively looked away. Whatever happened, Han Won-ju surely deserved it, but….

But to beat a man nearly to death? And involving the Yakuza?

I shivered slightly.

If things had gone south, couldn’t that have been me?

In the novel, Bae Ji-an never knew what Do-yun was doing behind the scenes. All the illegal, shady things Do-yun did for Ji-an were only revealed to readers in the side stories. Once the male lead safely rescued the heroine from trouble, that was it; the heroine didn’t need to know the gritty details.

But as ‘Choi Seung-hyeon,’ realizing I could have been—or could become—another Han Won-ju made me freeze in terror. It felt like being forced to see the dark side of an angel I’d been trying to ignore.

“Anyway, as long as you’re not involved, it’s fine. I’m leaving.”

Having finished her coffee, Seung-hee stood up. Do-yun and I followed suit. As we saw her to the door, she scanned us with a sharp gaze.

“You two… I knew you’d reconcile eventually, but… have you already moved in together?”

Huh? Seung-hee’s inappropriate phrasing snapped me out of my serious thoughts.

Do-yun laughed and said, “I want to move in, but Hyung won’t give me permission yet. I’ll have to work harder.”

Seung-hee narrowed her eyes at Do-yun. “Seung-hyeon is busy. Don’t cling to him all the time.”

I was a bit surprised. I didn’t understand why Seung-hee was suddenly saying that to Do-yun.

But even more surprising was Do-yun’s reaction.

“…I don’t think that’s something you need to worry about, Noona.”

Whoa.

Did Choi Do-yun just talk back to Choi Seung-hee?

No matter how politely he said it, that firm tone clearly showed his displeasure. But Seung-hee wasn’t fazed at all. In fact, she let out a mocking laugh.

“Well, you don’t need to worry about what I worry about, do you?”

What is wrong with everyone…?

I was frozen between these two strong personalities. My eyes darted back and forth between them.

Then, Do-yun looked at me and smiled softly. “Hyung, I don’t think I can stay over tonight. I have to head out. Is that okay?”

“Oh…. Why?”

A sudden, awkward silence followed. My voice had come out sounding far too disappointed.

It’s not like I was trying to keep him here! It’s just that after he’d spent the last two weeks glued to me despite all my complaints, it made no sense for him to suddenly leave because of one word from Seung-hee. Seung-hee crossed her arms and looked at me disapprovingly, while Do-yun seemed satisfied with my reaction. Why are you glaring at me, Choi Seung-hee?

“I have some backlogged work. I’ll come back after it’s done. Don’t worry too much.”

“I wasn’t worried.”

“Right, I was the one worrying.”

With that, Do-yun scattered another flower-like smile, gave me a quick, firm hug, and left. It was a complete reversal of his clingy behavior from earlier. As I stood there dazed, Seung-hee—who was left behind—asked me:

“He’s not bullying you, is he?”

“How old do you think I am…?”

She was looking at me like I was a ten-year-old who’d been beaten up by the neighbor kid. I didn’t even bother answering such a ridiculous question.

The following days were relatively normal. Do-yun still visited my house constantly, but the frantic, suffocating clinginess of the past two weeks had subsided. I realized then that he might have been guarding me against Han Won-ju. Seeing him return to his usual relaxed self the moment news of Han Won-ju’s accident broke made my suspicion even more logical.

Fortunately, news came out that Han Won-ju wasn’t dead and was recovering. But the incident—a chaebol heir getting beaten to a pulp by Yakuza while doing drugs—was so sensational that “Mr. Han” was all over the internet all day.

Furthermore, his entire past was exposed. Even the content I’d previously leaked to YouTube drama channels was picked up by the algorithm again. The whole country was having a field day talking about his misdeeds.

Hanseong’s image hit rock bottom. He was linked to the Yakuza, a fight broke out over drugs, other chaebol heirs and celebrities were involved, and illegal prostitution was uncovered during the investigation…. Crimes were being pulled out like a string of dried corvenias.

Comments like “Execute him as an example,” “Confiscate the assets of these wealthy pieces of trash,” and “Investigate other companies too” poured in endlessly. People joked that it was a blessing he was lying in a hospital bed, because he’d have to go straight to jail once he recovered—so living as a vegetable might be better for him.

Soon, a “Hanseong Boycott” became like a national sport. If Han Won-ju ever woke up to see this, he’d probably cry tears of frustration. He had just been living the way he always had, only to see his life, his company’s revenue, and its image destroyed in one fell swoop.

I, however, was feeling complicated.

Amidst all this chaos, neither Do-yun’s nor Haewon’s names appeared once. The police contacted me briefly for a witness statement, but that was it. It was expected, yet that very fact terrified me.

So that’s what happens when you get on the male lead’s bad side.

“Hyung?”

Just then, Do-yun, who was walking beside me, pulled me closer by the waist with one hand. I didn’t even dare think of brushing his arm off; I just responded stiffly, like a wooden puppet.

“Yeah, yeah?”