IMRMH : 08

CHAPTER :08

Yuseong was a newly admitted toddler at the orphanage where Suhyeok lived.

With her doll-like looks, she was an eye-catching child.

Naturally, everyone tried to approach her first. But…

“Yuseong, do you want to play house with—”

“Don’t come near me! Get lost!”

“H-Hic! She’s a wicked witch!”

Her Chihuahua-like temper quickly sent them packing.

And there were those who looked askance at Yuseong, who chose to isolate herself.

“Hey, hyung. You know her, right? Shin Yuseong.”

“Ah, that incredibly rude brat. Yeah, I know her. But honestly, isn’t she crazy pretty?”

Around that age, the boys who thought they were all grown up fell in with bad crowds, learned to smoke, and picked up vulgar language and behavior.

With no guardian to keep them in check, their actions grew increasingly bold and filthy.

Spiraling down, hitting rock bottom.

“Let go! I said, let go of my skirt!”

“Oh? Are you crying now? Look at the crybaby~”

Bold enough to lay hands on a newly admitted little girl.

Meanwhile, Shin Byeong-oh had brutally taught Suhyeok, who had become a middle schooler, how to fight.

There were times he was severely injured, and countless times he was beaten to within an inch of his life.

But thanks to that, he grew strong enough to easily defend himself.

“A-Aaargh! What the hell?!”

So, dealing with boys his age was as easy as stepping on ants.

Suhyeok beat the trash in front of him with emotionless eyes,

“Suhyeok, I’m sorry, ugh, ah… I’m sorry…”

“Why on earth are you apologizing to me?”

“Ugh, sorry…”

And beat him again.

“I just can’t comprehend your way of thinking.”

“Gah!”

Until the boy finally frothed at the mouth and fainted.

When he came to his senses, five or six boys were sprawled on the ground, looking hideous. His fists and T-shirt were covered in blood.

‘The kid must have been terrified. Did she run away already?’

When he turned around with that dry thought…

“H-How are you so strong?”

There sat the little girl, clutching her teddy bear tightly, her eyes sparkling with wonder.

“Teach me too!”

An unusual kid, clinging to his calf and shaking it without a hint of fear.

“Hey, kid. Do you like money?”

“I love it! So much! This much!”

It was an unprecedented whim that drove him to reveal Shin Byeong-oh’s identity to such an extraordinary kid.

“You know that scary-looking mister who comes every Saturday? He’s super rich.”

“R-Really?”

Ultimately, that spunky girl became Shin Byeong-oh’s daughter, and at the same time, Suhyeok’s fiancée.

He was partly to blame for things turning out this way.

Time passed, and the day came for Yuseong to leave for Byeong-oh’s house.

Holding the young girl’s hand tightly, Byeong-oh spoke to Suhyeok.

“Suhyeok, you said you wanted to repay your debt to me.”

“Just name it. Anything.”

“When Yuseong is in danger, return to your rightful place then.”

“…”

“You deserve to enjoy what’s yours. I can’t stand idly by and watch someone else live your life. And lastly…”

Byeong-oh sent a bone-chilling warning to Suhyeok with sharp eyes.

“Keep it in your pants. Otherwise, you’ll die by your uncle’s hand.”

How could he ever forget such a brutal warning?

“I’m finally repaying it. The debt.”

He never expected the day would come when Yuseong would seek him out of her own accord.

Nor did he expect Chairman Shin, who seemed like he would live forever, to collapse.

Seven years ago, after impulsively laying hands on Kwon Hyeok-jun and getting caught by Ha Myeong-suk, he had cut off contact with Chairman Shin as well.

“S-Stop! Who are you?! Why are you doing this?! Who sent you?!”

“Just someone who came to punish you.”

Fortunately, his identity remained hidden, but since then, he had lived without hearing any news of Byeong-oh and Yuseong.

He also thought they would never cross paths again.

After all, only Kwon Seong-jae, Shin Byeong-oh, his deceased mother, and himself knew about the existence of the marriage contract.

He knew Byeong-oh had kept the contract in his private safe.

Then who could it be?

The person who broke into the safe on purpose and handed the contract to Kwon Hyeok-jun.

Only one person came to mind.

“Shin Gyeong-hui. Is it her?”

While looking into Yuseong’s background, he had confirmed a transaction history showing that her so-called aunt had received a huge sum of money from Ha Myeong-suk in exchange for burying the school violence incident.

She had probably broken into the Chairman’s safe the moment he collapsed.

“Um, I’m sorry, but I think I should head out first. My uncle-in-law called for me.”

How on earth should he destroy those pieces of trash?

Suhyeok’s eyes gleamed fiercely as he pictured the faces of his new in-laws.

Meanwhile, at the Shinyang estate.

“Ugh, hic, it hurts! It hurts so much! Why do I have to go through this because of that bitch Shin Yuseong?!”

Yuna sat on the floor, weeping loudly with both cheeks swollen. Right beside her…

“Oh, my sweet girl… your pretty face is completely ruined… How could anyone do this to you?!”

Gyeong-hui sat down beside Yuna, stroking her daughter’s battered face.

“Ow! That hurts!”

“Oh my, Yuna. What are we going to do… sob.”

An hour ago, Ha Myeong-suk, Yuseong’s future mother-in-law, had visited the Shinyang estate.

Gyeong-hui and Yuna had welcomed her with the utmost sincerity, but what they received out of nowhere was a slap.

*Slap!*

“Ah!”

“C-Chairwoman! Why are you doing this?!”

“This is how my son was beaten by my future daughter-in-law, apparently.”

“What?! H-How did you—!”

“What? You already knew? Then you deserve to be hit more.”

“Arrgh! Why are you hitting me?!”

Whether Hyeok-jun had already tatted her out or not, Ha Myeong-suk already knew that Yuseong had laid a hand on her son.

For that reason, she had started slapping the innocent Yuna, claiming it was the price for poorly raising their niece.

After Myeong-suk left…

Gyeong-hui, who had been crying over her daughter’s ruined face, urgently summoned her husband, Dae-ho.

And now…

“Dad… hic, it’s so unfair… Why did I have to get beaten up… ugh.”

“Ha! She dared to lay hands on someone else’s daughter? On Oh Dae-ho’s daughter? And what the hell is wrong with that bitch Shin Yuseong, causing all this trouble!”

Fuming after calling Yuseong, Oh Dae-ho ordered Yuseong’s dedicated security team, who were standing in a line.

“Hey, you guys. As of now, Shin Yuseong’s dedicated security team is disbanded. From this moment on, you protect my daughter, not that bitch.”

Yuseong’s security team stood there blankly at his words.

Security Chief Kim Su-cheol and the twins, Yeong-min and Chang-min, exchanged bewildered looks.

“Confiscate their phones. Don’t let them say a single word to that girl.”

“Yes, sir!”

A nearby henchman immediately began patting down Yeong-min without his consent, searching for his phone.

“What do you think you’re doing? Get your hands off me right now!”

“You bastard, you dare defy the Vice Chairman’s orders?”

A fist flew straight into Yeong-min for resisting the order.

Su-cheol and Chang-min held their breath at the sight.

Back when Chairman Shin Byeong-oh was in his prime, violence was strictly forbidden within the Shinyang household.

It was the result of his blood, sweat, and tears to shed their image of a gang-run enterprise.

But…

“I’m different from my brother-in-law. Beasts that don’t understand words need discipline.”

“Absolutely correct, sir!”

The members of the old Shinyang faction, who had been steeped in violent and coercive methods for a long time, had secretly resented the former boss’s philosophy.

Having done nothing but fight their entire lives, it was only natural for them to push back when suddenly forced to do office work.

On top of that, being told to handle business peacefully through words and paperwork?

Why bother when there was a much faster way to get results?

They felt like their very identity was constantly being denied.

And at the root of Shin Byeong-oh’s change of heart had always been ‘Shin Yuseong’.

The boss’s suddenly adopted daughter.

On the surface, they treated her well since she was Byeong-oh’s child, but most of them secretly resented her.

“Boys, come in.”

At Oh Dae-ho’s word, dozens of burly men entered the living room carrying menacing weapons.

With no sign of Shin Byeong-oh waking up and the reins of power shifted to Oh Dae-ho…

“Today, we finally get rid of that girl who has always been a thorn in our side.”

“…!!”

There was nothing stopping them from eliminating the girl who had been the cause of their suppression.

Though the code of this world dictated never touching family…

A bedridden, toothless tiger was no longer family to them.

‘Miss, please. Please don’t come back today of all days.’

Watching this, Su-cheol broke out in a cold sweat, praying fervently.

Though he had no religion, he prayed more desperately than anyone.

Yet, before his prayer could even finish…

“…What is everyone doing here?”

“M-Miss!”

Despairingly, Yuseong made her appearance alone.

“Wow, it looks like there are easily thirty people gathered. Why is such a large crowd here?”

And she was smiling so brightly.

He hadn’t expected her to bring reinforcements, but…

He never imagined she would show up completely empty-handed and alone after receiving such an aggressive phone call.

“Why is everyone looking at me like that? And why on earth are you holding hammers and knives… such dangerous things?”

“Miss. Get behind me first. Quickly!”

“Huh?”

Before Yuseong, who still hadn’t grasped the situation, the twins Yeong-min and Chang-min stepped forward.

Since it had come to this, the three of them had to risk their lives to protect her.

…Even if they might actually die.

‘Chairman, this is your fault for raising the young miss too preciously.’

Faced with the dozens of burly men before them, Su-cheol shut his eyes tightly.

Unaware of the two-faced young lady secretly grinning behind his back.

A tiny badge pinned to her jacket caught the light and gleamed.

A hotel balcony.

Exhaling slowly—

Listening to the situation through a wiretap, Suhyeok blew out a puff of smoke with a blank face.

“Thirty extras with hammers and knives… Fuck, you really went all out to destroy one girl.”

Soon after, he stubbed his last cigarette out in the ashtray.

Under his emotion-fueled grip, the cigarette butt was ruthlessly mangled beyond recognition.

“I’ll be seeing those faces of yours very soon.”