BHB 118

The moment Yeowon heard Lee Taegang taking a one-sided beating through the door, he felt his blood rushing backwards. After that, his body moved without thinking.

Yeowon opened the window and climbed onto the balcony railing that extended to the adjacent room, jumping over like a leap. One of his legs felt slightly sprained, but that hardly counted as pain. Entering the next room, he found expensive golf clubs lined up, suggesting the villa owner enjoyed golf. He grabbed one of the thickest clubs that looked like it would deliver the best impact and came out swinging it at the back of the man in front of him. Then he grabbed Choi Youngdoo, who was fortunately lingering right in front, by the hair and choked him.

It wasn’t a situation that warranted laughter at all, but Yeowon, excited by this somewhat intense situation, twisted his lips into a smile. Then he met Lee Taegang’s bewildered gaze.

Lee Taegang had pleaded, but there was no choice. He could never leave him alone in such a situation. Lee Taegang must have known that well too.

“Ha. This is ridiculous.”

Taegang’s father let out an incredulous laugh at Yeowon’s provocative behavior of grabbing and threatening his employee. He couldn’t help but laugh at his behavior, which was different yet similar to his son’s.

“Student. Do you not understand the situation right now?”

“No, I understand it perfectly.”

“And yet you dare, in front of me…”

“Never mind that. State your business if you have any.”

“…What?”

“You came looking for us because you have business, right?”

“……”

“Stop trying to kill the kid unnecessarily and just state your business.” Yeowon glared directly at Lee Seungkwon with flashing eyes. 

Until now, he had been the most fearsome opponent in the world, but once his eyes had turned, there was nothing to fear. How many people had he brought just to capture his own son, and what was his business that made him want to catch the boy to the point of saying he didn’t care if he became crippled? Plus, seeing how he naturally raised his hand, he resented the man in front of him furiously. Furthermore, just thinking about the bruises covering Lee Taegang’s body that he had seen a few hours ago made his hands tremble.

“Han Yeowon.” Lee Taegang called him as if telling him to stop, but Yeowon didn’t back down.

“I have some money too, you know.”

“……”

“I can also use these gangsters, and I can manipulate the media with just one phone call.”

Yeowon might not have honor or prestige, but he had wealth. Although it wasn’t him, it was the only weapon that his heartless parents had freely given him.

“Ha… You’re really audacious without knowing your place.”

“I’m sorry. That’s just how I am.” Yeowon retorted impudently with a face that didn’t look sorry at all.

“…What are you all doing! Just standing there watching!”

The man, pressing his forehead as if he had a headache, yelled at his employees. The employees, assessing the situation, split into two groups to surround Lee Taegang and Han Yeowon, trying to subdue them.

“Let go quickly… Do you think you can handle all these guys alone right now?” Choi Youngdoo, being held by Yeowon, whispered quietly while his neck was being choked. He knew better than anyone that not only Lee Taegang but also Han Yeowon was not an opponent to be taken lightly. 

As he continued his persuasion to make him accept reality, Yeowon gnashed his teeth in anger and ground out his words, “Shut up if you don’t want to die.”

His eyes looking down at Choi Youngdoo were chillingly aggressive, as if he had truly gone mad. Choi Youngdoo instinctively stopped talking and bit his lip. A fear arose that his might really smash his head with the golf club if he provoked him wrongly.

“If you charge at me, I’ll crush your boss’s legs first.” Yeowon clearly warned the employees surrounding him. 

They hesitated, not easily rushing at him. During this time, Yeowon checked on Lee Taegang through the gaps. Despite being attacked by five at once, he wasn’t backing down and maintained a fierce aura. Yeowon swung the golf club roughly at an employee who tried to charge while he had looked away. The man who got hit in the thigh collapsed to the ground with a painful groan. 

Seeing them charge despite his warning, Yeowon grabbed Choi Youngdoo’s hair and demonstratively struck his shin.

“Aaargh!!!”

As Choi Youngdoo sat down, howling in pain from what felt like a broken bone, Yeowon stepped on the back of his neck, forcing him to lie flat on the floor. Then, tapping the back of his head with the end of the golf club, he warned once more.

“Next is your head.”

With a deadly gaze that seemed to ask if they thought he wouldn’t do it, he scanned the employees, who began to hesitate even more.

“Pathetic ones.”

Lee Seungkwon, surrounded by what seemed to be personally hired guards, looked down on these men who couldn’t properly subdue even two young people, clicking his tongue as if looking at insects.

When he quietly signaled to his secretary, who appeared to be an assistant, a group of people dressed in black suits who looked more professional immediately rushed over. Unlike Choi Youngdoo’s underlings who seemed manageable, these men were more solidly built, and most importantly, each carried a three-section baton used for security detail. They were Lee Seungkwon’s personal bodyguards, a group that would do any dirty work at his command.

“Take care of it quickly.”

Unlike the underlings who couldn’t approach freely, they roughly grabbed Han Yeowon’s arm that was holding the golf club.

“Let go, damn it!!”

Yeowon tried to strike the guard’s face with his other fist, but another guard grabbed him from the opposite side, and when he violently resisted, one grabbed him by the nape of his neck and kicked the back of his knee, causing him to collapse. They showed no change in expression, like machines trained with brutal discipline.

“Ugh.”

As he fell with a stifled groan, spotless dress shoes without a speck of dust or wrinkle came into view.

“Student.”

Lee Taegang’s father’s authoritative call fell over his head. Yeowon, trembling with rage, raised his head.

“Can you see?”

Lee Seungkwon tilted his head slightly, directly revealing Lee Taegang’s figure that had been hidden behind him. At that moment, Yeowon’s eyes began to shake uncontrollably.

“This is because of you, student.”

The number of people who had attacked him was twice as many as the bodyguards holding Yeowon. When he continued to resist, they struck Lee Taegang’s back with their batons, and when he still lunged at them, they struck his face hard. Even as his skin split and blood dripped, Lee Taegang kept looking in their direction.

“Don’t touch him!” Taegang threatened him while restrained, afraid his father might lay hands on Yeowon. 

What pained Yeowon most was that the man before him, who didn’t even blink while his son was being beaten, was Taegang’s father. Hatred welled up to the point where his fists trembled with murderous intent.

“…Let him go.”

“Requests should be made politely.”

“I said let him go. I live quietly. I don’t interfere with your business, I…!!”

“You boldly threatened me earlier, so let me try it too.”

“…”

“Do you know why nouveau riche remains nouveau riche? Because their foundation is weak, and if someone touches it, it can be shaken and collapse at any time.”

“…”

“Of course, the same goes for the business your mother is running. Ah, such a family without tradition or dignity.”

“…What do you want from me?”

“Are you asking because you don’t know? Even after seeing that?”

The man’s eyes, which glanced at Lee Taegang with displeasure, were full of contempt. Lee Taegang was now surrounded by bodyguards, helplessly enduring their blunt weapons and kicks. 

Yeowon shouted out the rage boiling up from his core, seeing how cruel it was with so many attacking just one person, “Tell them to stop!!”

“That’s what happens when you meddle in other people’s family matters.”

Taegang wasn’t the only enraged beast. As Yeowon struggled violently, about to spring forward, even these professionals in their field seemed momentarily flustered and restrained him with all their might.

“I overlooked you getting above yourself, but you just keep climbing higher. Not satisfied with causing trouble, you dare to run away?”

“His face is all split open!”

“Look at you. You’re acting just like that bastard. Looking straight at me without fear and charging at me.” Lee Seungkwon clicked his tongue, looking derisively at Yeowon who was shouting back, refusing to be intimidated. 

Taegang’s father, who had been surveying the whole situation as if disgusted, caught the eye of one employee who was kicking Taegang and gave a short nod. Only then did everyone’s movements stop, and three or four men began to move Lee Taegang, who was barely breathing, while keeping him restrained. 

Yeowon desperately called out to him as he disappeared, following behind Lee Seungkwon who was leaving first, “Lee Taegang! Taegang!!”

“Hold him. Don’t let him charge.”

His bodyguards dragged away Lee Taegang, who seemed to be barely conscious. Yeowon wanted to follow but couldn’t move due to the restraining force from both sides, and then—

“Damn it. Now let’s deal with our business?”

Choi Youngdoo, who was extremely agitated, appeared from behind, forcing Yeowon to pause momentarily. He was holding the golf club that Yeowon had dropped earlier. When the employees relaxed their grip slightly at his appearance, Yeowon felt the pressure on his arms loosen. He pushed one guard away with all his might, kicked the other, broke free, and ran without direction.

“Hey!! Come back here!?” 

He heard Choi Youngdoo’s shout from behind, but he couldn’t care. His mind was completely focused on not losing Taegang.

Running down the stairs, he almost fell when his injured leg gave way, but he barely maintained his balance and quickly continued the pursuit. As he ran through the first-floor living room and out to the entrance hallway, he spotted Lee Taegang being dragged between the line of black vehicles parked in front of the villa.

“Lee Taegang!”

Yeowon called his name with all his might, and their eyes met across the space as Taegang’s eyes opened slightly through his dazed state. Yeowon was about to run over to rescue him, but suddenly Taegang’s pupils dilated and, despite his battered condition, he pushed away the bodyguards with all his strength and ran toward Yeowon.

“Han Yeowon!!”

He had intended to go to him, but Taegang was coming here instead. As he stood frozen, holding his breath at the sight of Taegang running so urgently and desperately toward him, he sensed someone behind him. Yeowon quickly turned around.