‘What, what did he just say…?’
Baek Yuha clapped a hand over her mouth.
Her heart hammered wildly, threatening to burst from her chest.
Her head buzzed.
The conversation from within no longer registered in her ears.
‘He won’t let her go… that means… it must mean…’
“…Ugh.”
A sharp ache pierced her, causing her to instinctively clutch her chest.
Thoughts chased one another, forming a relentless chain.
‘Were they… were they *like that*? Come to think of it, Woojin was the first to help her in the hallway that day, and he also took the initiative during the practical training… Could it be…?’
“Perhaps… love at first sight…”
Kim Woojin was an irreplaceable, precious person to her.
If such a person found a woman they loved, it was only natural for a friend to offer congratulations.
‘Of course… as a friend…’
Yet, for some inexplicable reason, Baek Yuha simply bowed her head.
Just then, a voice called to her from behind.
“Oh my, Yuha dear?”
“H-huh?”
It was the nurse she had grown somewhat familiar with over the past two days, having seen her frequently around the ward.
This nurse had often given Baek Yuha knowing, subtle glances, as if she understood everything, watching her dedicatedly care for Kim Woojin.
Recognizing Baek Yuha, the nurse was about to offer a cheerful greeting.
“Why aren’t you going inside? What are you doing out here?”
“I, I… well…”
Startled, Baek Yuha stammered, unable to even offer a proper greeting.
It was as if she had been caught red-handed doing something wrong.
She quickly averted her gaze and blurted out incoherently.
“So… I, I’m sorry…! Next time…”
“Yuha dear? Wait a moment…”
Baek Yuha shook off the nurse’s restraining hand and sprinted down the hallway.
The world blurred before her, her eyes welling up with moisture.
In that moment, the thought struck her that she, not Han Sua, was the intruder in this place.
“Ugh…?”
Watching the vanished Baek Yuha, the nurse tilted her head, utterly bewildered.
****
“He won’t… won’t let me go…”
Han Sua stammered, repeating the words.
Unlike her usual sharp, aloof expression, her face was clearly etched with bewilderment.
‘Now that I look closely, her cheeks are a bit flushed. Does she have a fever?’
Having cut straight to the conclusion without providing any context, it was understandable that she couldn’t grasp it easily.
“Han Sua, you asked what my goal was, didn’t you?”
I calmly continued with the explanation.
After all, there was nothing I couldn’t tell her.
In her current state, Han Sua was utterly incapable of defying me.
‘Resolving one small question should be fine.’
“I intend to bring down the Hwaryeon Group.”
“What…?”
Han Sua’s eyes widened in shock.
****
Han Sua remained stunned for a moment.
The man before her had audaciously declared a goal she had once desperately desired but ultimately given up on.
“And Hwaryeon is an enemy far too massive and powerful to face alone. It’s utterly impossible to bring them down without the assistance of an insider.”
“An insider, you mean…”
“I’m talking about you, Han Sua.”
The man smiled, his needlessly handsome face radiating confidence.
When she considered it, there was indeed no more suitable accomplice than herself.
Although the previous raid had failed, she had, paradoxically, succeeded in gaining her father’s trust.
She had shifted the blame for the villains’ deaths onto Marionette, while simultaneously orchestrating a situation where she appeared to earn even greater trust from both heroes and the public.
This was the direct result of following Kim Woojin’s instructions after Baron’s defeat.
It was not, of course, a compliment that brought her much joy.
Her future, too, felt utterly bleak.
She had chosen the path of a hero, prepared for death, yet she had, against all odds, survived.
In essence, she was now adrift, without purpose.
The Hwaryeon Group remained robust, and she herself was still as insignificant as before.
And yet, to this very ‘self’ of hers, the man before her was speaking.
“Help me, Hero Psyche. Lend your strength to bring down Hwaryeon.”
By now, she was utterly bewildered, unsure of how to react or what to believe.
This was someone who had appeared out of nowhere one day, whose face, she had to admit, was tolerable.
Yet, after enduring cruel torture and threats with just a flick of his finger, she had been reduced from a proud corporate heiress to a mere puppet in a single day.
His atrocities didn’t end there.
He had raided the bank she managed, plummeting stock prices to undermine her standing within the group, and even blackmailed her, demanding she be brought to him, thereby shattering all her long-held expectations for her field training.
Even the freedom of death had been stripped from her, leaving only miserable, dreary days stretching before her.
Yet, he had saved her from the brink of death.
He had even put on a ridiculous, inexplicable play, making himself a clown just to turn her into a hero.
He had realized the ideal she had so desperately yearned for.
Just like the voice now emanating from the television.
[Meanwhile, the heroic deeds of aspiring hero Psyche have also been highlighted daily. Her self-sacrificing and valiant actions have garnered praise from all sectors, especially for her unwavering performance against the heinous villain Marionette…]
The man’s actions were pure chaos, utterly impossible to decipher.
Perhaps he truly was a madman.
He, a mere villain, not even a hero, was brazenly declaring his intention to destroy the Hwaryeon Group.
“…It will be difficult.”
Han Sua shook her head, trying to ignore her trembling heart.
Yet, she secretly hoped he would refute her words with all his might.
“I know.”
And the man merely responded with that simple answer again.
“I’m not joking.”
She pressed on, her voice filled with a desperate intensity.
“You’ve already become one of the most dangerous and unpredictable villains in South Korea. Do you understand what that means? It means not only the Hero Management Bureau, but other villains, too, will be watching you closely. Hwaryeon, in particular, will stop at nothing to eliminate you, especially since you ruined their biggest project this year…!”
“Good. It’ll be convenient if those pieces of trash come looking for me themselves. It saves me the trouble of going to kill them.”
Han Sua was speechless.
The man’s expression remained calm and serene.
His words weren’t a joke or a boast; they were simply a statement of what he considered his inevitable duty.
“…Why are you going to such lengths? Why do you hate villains so much? Is it because of what you mentioned about your family back at the orphanage?”
Han Sua asked, recalling their conversation at the orphanage.
However, he simply shook his head.
“That’s part of it, but…”
The man’s hesitation stretched on.
Han Sua could discern the intricate, subtle emotions swirling across his face.
Hesitation, guilt, regret, self-loathing, devotion, and unconditional sacrifice.
And finally, he spoke, his words slow.
“…There’s someone I want to help.”
“Someone you want to help, you say…”
The brutality he had shown her until now had vanished without a trace.
Only a gentle tenderness for someone else emanated from the man’s awkward smile.
Han Sua, who had been frowning in confusion, suddenly remembered something and cautiously asked.
“Could it be… Baek Yuha?”
“…”
The long silence was as good as an answer.
Han Sua was utterly dumbfounded.
And then, the ugly feelings she had meticulously kept hidden began to subtly creep to the surface.
In truth, her earlier words about being weak and frail had been nothing but a lie, spoken without conviction.
During the raid, his arms, holding her tightly and supporting her as she fell, had felt more solid and dependable than anything else.
She had spent several nights sleepless, desperately trying to deny the memory of that warmth which resurfaced every evening.
And she had no choice but to admit it.
The lukewarm warmth she had felt then was, unequivocally, the sensation of salvation.
Yet now, the man before her, who had revived her as a hero when she was on the verge of dying as a villain, and who promised to ultimately fulfill even her lost dreams…
He was declaring his willingness to do all these things, not for her, but for someone else.
She swore it wasn’t jealousy or any kind of affection.
Her flushed cheeks earlier were merely an uncontrollable physiological reaction.
This, then, was simply vexation and a question.
Baek Yuha.
Who on earth was that girl to receive such unconditional affection from this man?
For a villain’s one-sided, obsessive stalking, it seemed the feelings were already flowing both ways.
“In any case… don’t even dream of escaping.”
Beyond her engrossed thoughts, the man’s voice resounded once more.
“I told you, didn’t I? I only saved you because you were useful to me. If you’re thinking of resisting, it would be best to calmly give up.”
“…”
His tone was, for some reason, peculiar.
While the words themselves were a vile threat, they also sounded, in a strange way, like a plea for help.
‘Was he perhaps clumsy with people? Considering his looks, that’s somewhat unexpected…’
‘No, what does his face have to do with it…!’
Han Sua shook her head vigorously, dismissing the thought that had crept in, then composed her expression and asked.
“…Do you need me?”
“What?”
“Do you… really need me? For the task you’re trying to accomplish?”
For some reason, she had a feeling his goal wasn’t just the Hwaryeon Group alone.
The man, seemingly flustered by the unexpected question, calmly regained his composure and nodded.
“Yes, I do. Absolutely.”
It was an overflowing answer.
At any rate, what he needed right now was her.
Not Baek Yuha, who knew nothing.
Even if she was merely a dog on a leash, that much was undeniably true.
“…Alright.”
Han Sua responded immediately.
A smile, which her usual aloofness couldn’t quite conceal, played on her lips.
Looking at it this way, the leash didn’t seem so distasteful after all.
