ILJIN

30 | BENEATH YOUR BEAUTIFUL

Rosé des Riceys was an intimate wine. One you sipped in small portions and enjoyed with those who could appreciate. One that was full of passion and made with love. Every drop of it was precious, just exactly like blood.

The Bae-Jeon leader twirled her delicate wine glass, smiling as she watched the city bustle, unaware of the full chaos that had just erupted the night before, unaware of the destruction that was coming this very night. They were all so unaware. So blissfully, happily unaware. It was funny. Almost a joke. How could all these people be living in the same world she was yet knowing so so little about it? How could they be reading the same newspaper she was and not feel the same amusement at the absurdity and complete nonsense the media were spinning out of very obvious signs of Clan activities and illegal Underground movements?

She let out a short laugh under her breath, lifting the glass to her lips to take a second slow sip, still smiling.

Knuckles were rapped against her mahogany doors and she hummed a 'come in'. From the light tapping footsteps, she guessed it was Wonwoo and unsurprisingly, she was right.

"A gunman came for Choi San today," the Jeon boy said quietly, stepping through the doors and making himself comfortable on one of her couches. "And killed the boy Yilin was close to."

The Bae woman made a low sound of content. Rosé des Riceys never failed to disappoint. Pinot noir, it sure was. It stood out with its high-pitched aroma, smokey, earthy complexity, and open freshness. This isn't your average grocery rosé, which is tart and severely acidic. It's a different, more delicate, more stylish. Just how Irene liked it.

She could feel the boy turn to her with a sort of deadpan in his eyes. "How do you still have any sort of mood to get drunk? We're literally in the middle of a bloody war."

She made a sound of agreement, turning to face the boy at last. "We are in the middle of the war," she agreed. "But it is not our war."

The reaction was instantaneous. Wonwoo leaned forward, fingers interlaced, "We're no longer supporting the Kims?" A tinge of surprise inked his voice, underlaid with an undertone of hopeful eagerness.

"We are," the Bae woman dashed his hopes dismissively. "But the Kims are not prominent players in the game this time, so we're pretty hands-off."

He shrank back in disappointment, flinching when the feline resting on the arm of the chair adjacent to his leaped at him. "I think the Kangs might pull an Italy, Kang Daniel is a family man. He'd not sit still after hearing that his brother was almost gunned down by the Lees."

Her finger nails clicked against her wine glass thoughtfully as the cogs in her mind spun. Things were going too awfully well for it to be fate. "This feels almost orchestrated." Like someone is pulling the strings here. "It's too smooth. Things are going too favourably on Dong Sicheng's side."

Wonwoo glanced up at the woman, eyes thoughtful. "You're implying that there's someone behind all of these? Behind the rumour, behind the war, behind all these chaos?"

She nodded. It was a slight movement, not an affirmative one, more of just acknowledgement. "There must have been someone behind the wheel driving this storyline forth. Someone who wanted to bring the Lees down from the very start." She was silent for a good minute, processing how everything had unfolded right from the beginning. "Someone had fed Lee Taeyong the idea that a war had already been declared on him, that if he didn't respond, he'd be on the losing end. Might be more than one person at play. Maybe a group? Or a duo? A planner and an executor. The planner wasn't very good at his job though, mustn't be too experienced in this field. There were too many loopholes in his plan, but things fell through exactly as he or she wanted it to, so the executor must be experienced. Someone with brains."