"Okay, little girls, go home for now."
Dahyeon raised a brow at me. "What? I thought there's a plan with us included?"
I nodded my head. "Yes, you two already did great at bitch-slapping Sohui Lee."
"But Soha haven't gut-punch her yet!"
"That's for the best." Clapping my hands twice to cut off the argument, I then jerked a thumb to the side where a cab is waiting. "Mom and Soha's parents must be worried so hurry up, the driver's waiting!"
"Fine! Fine! We're going." Watching them enter the cab as it drove away safely, I turned around to enter the building again.
Not just me. I made sure to summon Cloudy who's copying Dahyeon right now.
I recall the copy cloud getting upset after being tricked as bait. The Dahyeon copy only stared at me and waited for what I have to say.
"I need you to do something for me, Cloudy." Others might think I'm too nice to a supposed-non-existent being, but Cloudy is sentient and obviously existing right now.
If I continue to use it without hesitation, invalidating its feelings is the worst that could happen. My morals could never let me do that.
"You just have to pretend as Dahyeon who got kidnapped." I went direct to the point. "Well, you need to get tied up with a tape to the mouth too. Is that alright?"
There's a chance she'll refuse, which is going to be a hassle—
"Okay."
...did I hear that right?
I blinked my eyes repeatedly, staring at her intently. "Okay? Really? You're willing?"
Don't get me wrong, the response is in my favor. But I'm surprised at how fast the copy cloud agreed. I thought it will tell me to beg for it or something.
The latter nodded and walked past me, so I followed behind. "Yes. Since it is a peasant's request, I shall hear you out."
Haha, I'm still a peasant.
It didn't take long for the both of us to fully enter the building again, where Haru glanced up to us while holding both Changgyu and Sohui Lee. "You're back."
I smiled at him. "Yup! Thanks for watching them, honey."
He didn't protest or correct me as usual. Right. Haru's still upset with me. The two bitches only have their eyes lowered, not daring to look up to me.
"I did what you asked, but they don't know where Beomsang Jeong is, either." He informed, with the guy sweating while the brunette closed her eyes with a guilty expression.
"There's a way." I confidently announced, gesturing to Cloudy who stood infront of them as Dahyeon. "Tie her up."
Haru narrowed his eyes. "I thought she went home!"
"She's a substitute who looks like Dahyeon." I lied smoothly again, but this time, it's not totally a lie. I mean, she is a substitute! But I didn't specify her to be a copy cloud.
"This is risky, Suhyeon." Surprisingly, he argued back unlike how it went according to the webtoon. "Are you seriously using someone else as bait just to find their advisor?"
He's not wrong. If someone were to do this and I'm seeing it right infront of my eyes, I'll be hesitant too.
"Haru, you have to believe in me." I urged while signaling Sohui Lee to do what she needs to do. "Don't worry, she's willing to—"
"You already lied once." Haru cut me off, his eyes stared at me seriously without blinking. "I'm not sure if you lied back then too. How am I going to believe in you?"
While Sohui diligently tied Cloudy's hands from behind and taped her mouth, I briefly glanced at the black haired guy who shuddered at my gaze.
"...then don't." I simply replied since I don't have any excuses. No matter what my intentions are, Haru is right. I did lie through a disguise, even tricked and left him in the dark.
"Can't you atleast explain why you did it?" In my surprise, Haru didn't let the argument end in a cold manner. Instead, he took the initiative to ask for an explanation.
Just when I'm about to say something, he spoke again.
"Don't say you'll explain later. You better do it now."
Damn, I'm getting nervous at Haru's serious mode. This is worse than getting ambushed by South Gangbuk zombies last time.
With a sigh, I crossed my arms and decided to tell him everything. "I knew their advisor's plan from the beginning."
Instead of Haru, it's Changgyu who reacted. "You knew what?! That's impossible!"
"Unfortunately for you, it is possible." I remarked, before looking back to Haru. "With a little bit of digging, I found out Venus Kim's secret, a drug addict."
"And you let your sister stream with a drug addict despite knowing all that?" Haru questioned in visible disbelief.
I shook my head. "Nope."
"Then what?!"
"I let Dahyeon have fun." I stated in a matter of fact tone. "I know my sister. If I told her not to go, she won't listen. Besides, collabing with a successful streamer will help her channel grow, so I thought, maybe I can let her go."
He heaved out a sigh, probably trying to understand my explanation. "Then?"
"Dahyeon might seem extroverted, but she's still a shy kid. I figured she'll call over her friends." Pointing at Haru, I smiled. "And she did."
"But what if she didn't call for me?" The younger boy argued. "They would've been in danger!"
I shook my head. "That what if won't happen. Remember, Dahyeon asked for your number before."
Mentioning that, a hint of recognition lit up on his stressed face. "Yeah...she did."
"And even if she didn't, I planned to go after her anyway." I concluded, waving the blonde wig I'm holding. "Which is why I'm here."
"Then why did you allow them to go in this after party?" Here comes the difficult portion of the Q&A. "You said you knew Beomsang's plan. If you did, there's no way you'll let them go here with that woman."
He's right. There's no need for them—or even us, in general, to attend this suspicious after party.
"We should've left and went home instead of going here."
I nodded. "Right. I opted to do that too."
"What made you change your mind?"
"An opportunity." My reply sounds too short and plain. Realizing this made me explain or else he'll get stressed at me again. "I needed an opportunity to catch their advisor."
I also needed to make sure that this dilemma ends today. If this never happened, who knows what might happen?
Haru's serious stare slowly turned into confusion. "But...did you really have to risk everyone?"
"Right, that's my mistake." I acknowledged, hanging my head low. "But—"
"Did you even stop for a moment and think, what if it backfires on us?" He retorted, his frustrated expression made my stomach upset.
I looked up to him again. "I'm—"
"On you?" He added, making me shut up as he huffed out with his brows furrowed. "Suhyeon, I respect you as my senior and leader."
Changgyu can only watch us argue in disdain, his expression tells me that he's tired of this bullshit. Sohui looks stressed with the tied up copy cloud standing beside her silently.
"But this is too—"
"Haru Seong." This time, I cut him off. "I've heard enough. Let's stop it for now, please?"
He frowned. "No. You don't even see what you did wrong."
I massaged my forehead, trying my best not to lash out. "I'm aware of the risks. I gambled with our lives on the line, and that, I apologize for."
"If you're really aware, you won't pull this kind of bait strategy again!" He pointed out at Cloudy who's currently tied up.
"Haru, that's not Dahyeo—"
"You're no different from them!"
Those were the last words I needed to hear tonight. Like a tongue-tied marionette, I remained staring at him who soon came into a realization, his expression turned into guilt.
"I-I'm sorry." Haru apologized, it's obvious he's finding it difficult to find the exact words he needs to say right now. "That's not what I meant. It's just..."
I'm no different, afterall.
Maybe I did forget something important. I thought that if all goes well, then everyone will be fine.
But no. I almost let something terrible to happen just because I'm aware of the end result.
I was too fixated with the consequences if I tried to change it. I was too confident that it's fine to let the plot flow smoothly while trying to revise it with this disguise trick I thought of for fun.
With a sigh, I can only discard those thoughts for now. It's good that Haru's reaction slapped me back to reality, that was really my mistake.
But there's no turning back now. I need to finish what I started. "Changgyu."
Calling out to the bastard who flinched at me, I looked down on him. "Keep this narrative in mind. Suhyeon Kim failed to rescue Dahyeon Kim."
He gulped, hesitation is etched on his face but I only continued. "Her sister is now captured by the South and they successfully escaped, leaving Jingu distracting the West's top dog."
Haru sealed his lips, silently letting me talk to the guy who's under pressure with the situation he's in right now.
"Contact your advisor and tell him you're bringing Dahyeon. He will likely reveal his location, so you better not snitch on us."
"And what are you going to do if I snitched, huh?" He snarled, finally having the courage to talk back.
I just stared at him. If this was another day, I would be enjoying teasing him, but I'm in a situation where I feel ashamed of myself.
"You don't have a choice."
"Ha! As if—"
"I'll beat you up until you beg to be dead." I told him nonchalantly as if it's a normal thing to do while kneeling down to be at the same level as him. "Ask Hakjin Ju and he can tell you what exactly I can do to you."
Changgyu trembled, not out of fear, but because he's cornered with no other options. It's a yes or yes choice, the no option was never included to be chosen in this situation.
"Ugh! Fine, I'll do it!"
"Do it right. Otherwise, both of you are dead."
He and Sohui Lee can only exchange glances, while I stood up and turned around to exit the building first without Haru.
Later...
"I'm so sorry, Beomsang..." There infront, Changgyu kneeled down with both hands holding his head. Whether he's trembling out of fear or guilt, I'm not sure.
"Changgyu?" Beomsang looks confused at the sudden and out of context apology coming from his fellow Southern executive. "What's going on? Why are you sorry?"
You're supposed to be an advisor, can't you take a hint on what's happening right now?
"I...I...wasn't able to withstand...the cruel torture..." Stepping forward, I stared straight ahead and ignored whatever exaggeration this bastard is yapping about. "...and sold South Gangbuk out!"
The intense argument earlier between me and Haru didn't end well. Don't get me wrong, I'm not mad at him. It's just that I still feel ashamed and awkward.
Weighing the pros and cons, I realized that it'll impulsive for me to try and make a change in a situation that will further make it worse in the future.
But it's ignorance if I let it happen just because I'm there to keep them a bit safe. This led me to execute an upsetting action.
So from his point of view, he's not at fault if he thinks I'm no different than this guy who play dirty.
I was too focused with the quest and the plot that I failed to realize they're not just a character in the webtoon. I'm in their world now, which isn't considered as fiction anymore.
Haru may have originally nodded along without objections in the webtoon, but the Haru I'm with right now is different.
I'll apologize to him properly later on. Maybe to Soha and Dahyeon too. That's the least I can do after putting them through a traumatic experience just to complete the quest without any consequential change to the plot.
"Found you." I placed a hand to my hip, staring at the advisor who glared at me while Haru probably stood behind rather than on my side.
Beomsang's glare didn't last long. His expression changed into sarcasm. "Pfft! This was your master plan?" The South Gangbuk advisor asked with an insulting tone of voice.
"Using your sister as bait in order to find me?"
He really didn't need to rub it in my face.
"You dipshit. Your precious little sister..." He looked behind, with Sohui and Changgyu also about to look at Cloudy.
Only to find no one but just the ropes and the tape. "...was right here just now!"
Ofcourse, I moved quickly and made sure to cover Haru's eyes. The action made him flinch, but he didn't try to take off my hand anyway. "Suhyeon? What are you doing?"
"What the hell? Where is Dahyeon Kim?!" Beomsang screamed in bewilderment. "She was tied up until just now!"
Hearing their confused and panicked voices made me grin. "Haru, I never gamble if it will end up in a loss."
Pulling my hand away, he opened his eyes and looked at me with a sorry expression. "I crossed the line earlier. I'm sorry."
"It's alright. I'm sorry too." Ruffling his hair, I flashed him a reassuring smile. "From now on, I won't do things that you don't want me to. Just tell me."
Haru only stared at me with his round eyes. Now that our argument is resolved with a little bit of self-reflection, I finally have the motivation to beat up some thugs.
"Beomsang, you tried to use my sister in this little war of ours. Even Soha and Haru got involved. That's below the belt."
He just chuckled at my statement, before pulling out a cigarette. He's probably doing this to lessen his stress and confusion to Dahyeon's disappearance.
"Suhyeon Kim." Lighting up the cigarette, he striked a pose and thought it made him look cool. "You really think I'm that stupid?"
"Yes." I answered with no hesitation at all. The offended look on his face is priceless, haha.
But Beomsang quickly flashed a mischievous grin. "After Changgyu called me, I had a bad feeling..." Alright, I guess you still kinda deserve being an advisor. "...so I got in touch with a few of our guys."
Blinking my eyes, I caught sight of the incoming guys wearing South Gangbuk High's uniform. I can just call them students, but I'm aware they're drop outs and only scouted as a rip-off of Jaeha's action team.
"Did you really think I'd be all alone in a huge warehouse like this?"
Unlike Jaeha's, their team has more members. My past self will be literally crying right now.
"Let me introduce you to South Gangbuk's special unit." He began as if we'll be invested to hear the background of their boys. "The top dog-hunting team."
Action team, top dog-hunting team. What's next, Gangbuk unite team? Will the North make one too?
"After hearing that Jaeha Han created an action team to go after the top dogs of each school, we at South Gangbuk High created a team of our own for the same purpose."
Haru doesn't look bothered by the number of our enemies, giving them a side-eye glance with both hands hidden on his pants' pockets, while I just waited for that ally to show up.
"I didn't think I'd end up putting them to work today." What did I read about this in the webtoon again? "Kill 'em."
A true strategist turns a threat into an opportunity.
I'm not a strategist though. That's why I'll have a different quote today.
A true gambler will risk it all and win it back anyway.
Here comes the win after the risk! A motorbike appeared, crashing inside the warehouse as if he's gatecrashing an exclusive reunion.
The tires screeched and slid perfectly on our side. "Nietzche once said..." Pulling off the helmet, his identity is easily revealed. "...who the hell messed with my sister?"
He glared straight at the enemies, resulting for the cocky advisor to drop his cigarette and scream out in pure horror. Those tears remind me of Hyeondong. "What is North Gangbuk High doing heeeeeeere?!"
"I'm surprised to see you here, oppa." I casually greeted the older male who recognized me. I'm not sure if I should call him sir or Cheonhak, so I just called him oppa.
"Suhyeon? Why are you here?"
The stressed advisor looked at me next in disbelief. "You know him?!"
His question made me roll my eyes at him. "Duh."
Cheonhak narrowed his eyes and slowly looked back to Beomsang who trembled upon his gaze. "Did your sister also get involved?"
I nodded without beating around the bush. "Yup. We're in the same page today."
As I stood in the middle with my fist prepared to beat them up, Haru stood on my right side with a hand on his neck. Cheonhak only fixed his gloves, taking a brief look at the pretty boy on the side.
"It's payback time."
In an instant, the top dog-hunting team fiercely charged at us. Before I can even warm up with a slap to each of their faces, Cheonhak blocked my way with an arm. "Oppa?"
"Leave them to me."
I blinked my eyes before sighing. I'm sure he's angrier than me right now, but he managed to remain calm and composed. "Alright."
With me and Haru left out for a little while, I watched how Soha's older brother easily lifted up two guys by the neck. "The Nietzche Choke."
Haha, please, enough with Nietzche.
Not even seconds passed when he effortlessly slammed the two down the ground. Standing up, he received a punch to the face and the chest, but he looks unbothered. "Who dared to mess with Soha?"
No, not unbothered. Their attack just didn't hurt him! His endurance is commendable, afterall.
Grabbing the guy who punched his face by the collar, he slammed him down with a technique I'm familiar with.
Judo.
"He's 20th...!" Beomsang is shaking, the sight of his fear is making me cackle. "He's only ranked 20th...so how is he so damn strong?!"
"Your boys are just weak." I bluntly commented, providing evidence as I effortlessly slapped one guy away. The bitch dramatically rolled down the ground and passed out.
The other guys, fortunately, focused on Cheonhak instead of me. "Holy shit, Nietzche is such a dope fighter!"
"Forget about Nietzche!"
Oh, they'll go after Haru this time.
"Get that cutie!"
I moved without hesitation. Even if I know he can handle them himself, if I can do something, then I will.
It's a promise!
"Haru!" Getting ahold of one guy's collar, I exerted full force to pull him back and he ended up doing a backflip before going splat on the floor.
The sight made me frown, a little bit concerned for his spinal chord. "Uh, are you good?"
"...gwenchana..." The latter weakly replied before he soon went off to dreamland like Sangcheol.
Right. Sangcheol. I'm fucking accepting the fact that this extra and his friends are now living in my mind rent-free.
~*~
A/N:
The ♡VALENTINE'S SPECIAL♡ will not affect the original flow of this story. I'm just reminding it here to avoid confusion in the chapters ahead.