By Zephyria “Well, that’s what I mean.”
The Vice Manager didn’t say anything after he closed his mouth tightly, as if he thought he had said something unnecessary. Thanks to the Vice Manager, who didn’t seem to be in a hurry at all, I gradually started to sort things out in my head.
There’s no way Sung Se-han followed those bastards for no reason.
The Vice Manager clearly said that there’s no one who can touch Se-han. Let’s act a little more calmly.
“But Vice Manager, the car seems too slow. Can’t you speed up a little?”
When I turned around while holding the seat belt, the Vice Manager let out a light sigh.
“You can’t speed.”
“I’m sorry…”
Only after confirming that there was no use in rushing did I turn my gaze to the window. The sedan had already entered a quiet residential area.
Just by looking at the long, endless walls, I could tell that it was a place where mansions that were not commonly seen were located. While going up the gentle slope, I briefly looked around with a dazed look.
“……!”
Men in black suits appeared on the wide residential street. I held my breath and looked at the Vice Manager as they signaled to stop.
“There’s nothing to worry about.”
The Vice Manager, who slowly stopped the car, lowered the window of the driver’s seat. A man in a black suit approached the sedan and bent over.
“What is it?”
My shoulders stiffened with tension at the man in dark sunglasses’ oppressive tone. But the Vice Manager didn’t even look at the man and stared straight ahead.
“Open the road.”
The Vice Manager, who answered in a low voice, turned his head and looked at the man wearing sunglasses.
“I’ll be waiting in front of the house until Sung Se-han comes out.”
I was a little surprised inside at the Vice Manager’s tone, as if he was treating a subordinate. The man wearing sunglasses twitched his eyebrows and lowered his face a little more, closer to the window.
“It’s best to go back as it wasn’t agreed upon in advance.”
Click. The moment the Vice Manager unfastened his seat belt, the man quickly stepped back.
“You, Hwang Seon-guk, right?”
The Vice Manager, who put his arm on the window frame, leaned his body to the side.
“If I get out of the car, you’ll have to take responsibility for what happens next.”
It was a low and quiet voice, but the rough energy that was emitted was enormous. It was enough to make the man wearing sunglasses flinch and step back, so there was no need to say more. I could only watch the situation while swallowing hard as if I were dead.
“Who’s next to you?”
The man, who kept his distance from the sedan, pointed at me. I was forcibly glaring, but my palms were sweating.
“I’m…”
“Sung Se-han’s friend.”
As the Vice Manager answered, the man in sunglasses took something out of his suit pocket.
“Then, I’ll say that I brought Sung Se-han’s friend.”
The lowered window went up again and the sedan started to move. The Vice Manager opened his mouth while going straight for a long time.
“This all happened because Lee Tae-kyung stepped in.”
I, who was diligently looking around outside the window, moved my tense gaze to the Vice Manager.
“Remember the source of responsibility well so you don’t resent it later.”
I wanted to answer that I wasn’t worried, but I couldn’t say anything. It felt like Vice Manager’s words had suddenly dragged me back to reality.
Am I starting something I can handle? There’s no one to resent, no one to help, so what am I planning to do, following Sung Se-han all the way here?
“Is Sung Se-han in that house?”
I glared at the gate guarded by men in black suits. It wasn’t that huge or imposing, which made it even more puzzling. The gate was even a warm wood color.
“We can go inside, right?”
I hurriedly unbuckled my seatbelt and grabbed my bag.
If I go into that house, I’ll be able to find out who took Sung Se-han from the set and why.
“Leave your bag. If you go to the gate, they’ll take you to Se-han.”
It seemed Vice Manager wasn’t coming with me. I just nodded and got out of the car.
I quickly scanned the surroundings and saw an open view with mountains far in the distance. It seemed like the only house nearby was this one.
“Follow me.”
The man standing in front of the gate beckoned me with his finger. I approached him quickly, and the gate slowly opened.
I glanced at the low wall with scattered trees, then followed the man inside the gate.
What I saw immediately was a vast, sprawling garden. It was a dreamlike garden where the early Summer air seemed to rise from the neatly manicured lawn, each plant carefully tended. That’s why I couldn’t help but feel an unpleasant tension.
The bright-colored mansion at the end of the garden looked like a den of evil that had captured Sung Se-han, in my eyes.
“Hurry up.”
The man in the suit called me in a sharp voice. I quickened my pace to close the gap between us. But no matter how much he urged me, I didn’t want to walk close to that man.
As I stepped through the arched front door, the man who had gone ahead had already disappeared inside the inner door. I hurriedly took off my sneakers and opened the inner door. The man who had been waiting for me at the end of the wide hallway signaled me to follow.
Following the man, I passed through an imposing living room and entered another narrow hallway.
Knock. Knock. Knock. The man knocked on the first door in the hallway and opened it without waiting for a response.
“Go in.”
I entered the room without hesitation. The small space, which seemed to be a reception room, had a large window and green sofas facing each other.
Sung Se-han was sitting comfortably on the long sofa in the reception room, where a late Spring breeze was gently blowing. Clack, clack. Only after confirming that Sung Se-han was focused on solving a Rubik’s Cube did I feel like I could breathe. A sigh of relief escaped my lips involuntarily.
Then Sung Se-han, who had raised his head, turned to the side.
Sung Se-han’s pupils widened greatly as he recognized me, and his reddish lips parted.
“You.”
Sung Se-han, who jumped up from his seat as if propelled, strode towards me. I couldn’t help but step back, overwhelmed by his fierce momentum.
“Why are you here? How did you get here?”
Sung Se-han, who shouted like thunder, grabbed my shoulders. I could only be shaken back and forth, my shoulders gripped. I didn’t really have anything to say.
“Sung Se-han, I thought you were being taken by strange people…”
“What on earth…!”
Sung Se-han, releasing my shoulders, roughly swept back his hair.
“Are you crazy? What did I say earlier? Didn’t you hear that they were my guests?”
Sung Se-han, raising his voice repeatedly, shook his head as if he couldn’t believe it.
Perhaps because it was the first time I had seen him so flustered, I felt a sense of guilt as if I had done something terribly wrong.
“Still, I was worried, so I couldn’t not come.”
“Wow, this is driving me crazy.”
Sung Se-han, stepping away from me, began to pace back and forth. Then, seeing him press hard on the back of his neck, I suddenly felt complicated.
Thinking back to the times when Sung Se-han had raised my blood pressure, I came to the conclusion that I was acting like a troublemaker.
But I couldn’t not come. I had to see him safe and sound like this.
“Where is this place? Who brought you here, and why?”
Unable to relax, I was still tense. Sung Se-han, slowly turning his body towards me, tilted his head.
“Why are you so worried about me? Can I hear that first?”
His brown eyes, catching the light coming through the window, looked especially clear. A certain conviction that arose with the question. And the confident, expectant look in his eyes made me nervous.
“That’s not the issue right now…”
I ended up stepping back involuntarily as Sung Se-han strode closer. Sung Se-han’s gaze was scanning my entire body as if observing me.
“Why did you follow me all the way here to confirm that? Why are you looking for me with such a pale face?”
Sung Se-han was just looking down at me with his arms crossed. His cool gaze, as if piercing through me, made me feel uneasy for some reason.
“I think I’d feel better if I heard the reason.”
So that meant he hadn’t been feeling good until just now.
What did this guy do wrong that they just won’t leave him alone? Why won’t they just let him live as he pleases? A resentment towards some unknown person surged up.
“Because you’re Sung Se-han.”
I wanted to calm myself down, but my fists clenched involuntarily.
“How can I not worry when Perfect Puzzle Sung Se-han is being taken by suspicious people?”
From the start, I didn’t want to let them take you away.
Even though the guys who made Sung Se-han suffer appeared before my eyes, I was too powerless to do anything.
“If you don’t want to answer my question, get out of here.”
The cold voice rejecting me made my heart feel like it was plummeting to the ground. My body was completely frozen, unable to move, and yet my legs were trembling.
“Joong-seop Hyung is outside, right?”
Sung Se-han, averting his gaze, looked at the door of the reception room.
“Tell him to take me to the studio.”