Chapter : 53
“Yeah, honestly, I’ll admit she’s pretty.
Though she’s not exactly the type I’d want for a partner.”
“I never realized our branch manager could be such a gentleman. He’s terrifying to us, but with her, he’s so gentle.”
“Exactly. He’d probably give her the stars and the moon.”
It seemed the others saw their chance and chimed in with their own comments.
“But it’s kind of frustrating, isn’t it? At this rate, when is she going to fall for him?”
The section chief exhaled a long trail of smoke and spoke seriously.
“That’s why we need to kidnap her.”
Everyone exchanged glances at his words.
“Did the branch manager tell you to do that?”
“No. He said not to touch her.”
They had contacted the head office’s voice phishing team to hack Yoon Iseol’s phone, but it had been useless.
Apparently, the link needs to be clicked, and young people these days don’t fall for that kind of trick easily, plus her security was top-grade.
A hotheaded guy like him felt like he was about to lose his mind.
“They say monks can’t shave their own heads—if we grab her and bring her in, the branch manager will handle it from there.”
The subordinates nodded.
“But if we kidnap her without permission, there’ll be hell to pay.”
“That’s right.”
“I’ll take care of that. You guys just bring her.”
The youngest, who had just finished two bowls of jajangmyeon, raised his hand.
“But how do we kidnap her? There are CCTV cameras everywhere, and there are a lot of people around the snack shop.”
“Isn’t the best way to snatch her in the middle of the night?”
“If we force the door, the alarm will go off. And with the security bars, getting in through the window is hard too.”
The youngest was in charge of monitoring the snack shop, so he knew the area well.
“We just have to be gone before the police arrive. Open it, get in, get out—ten minutes tops.”
The section chief agreed that this method would be best.
If they whisked her straight to her home, the branch manager would have no choice but to accept and seduce her.
“Has Yoon Iseol come back from the island?”
The youngest replied, “Yes, she arrived last night.”
“Wasn’t yesterday Thursday?”
“Today’s a discretionary holiday.”
“Discretionary… what?”
“A discretionary holiday. A day off.”
The short-sighted section chief had no idea what a discretionary holiday was.
“Then bring her tomorrow night. Don’t mess it up.”
“Yes, sir.”
The branch manager had such a lame unrequited crush.
It was embarrassing—he couldn’t even tell anyone about it.
I had to put an end to this unrequited love quickly.
Iseol packed a small carry-on with a change of clothes, toiletries, and cosmetics, then approached the window to check outside.
The window Choi Mugwang had broken was replaced and clean.
As usual, Choi Mugwang’s men were parked in black cars along the road, and the shop signs were starting to light up.
Today, her grandmother had closed the shop early and was taking a taxi to the bus terminal.
They agreed to meet there later.
She was worried that if she left her grandmother behind, the “Future Gang” might harm her, so she decided to go along.
“We’ve obtained information that Yoon Iseol will be kidnapped.”
The kidnapping plan was shocking enough, but the fact that Taeshin knew about it was even more startling.
Had he planted a listening device in the Future Credit office?
If it was Lee Taeshin, it wouldn’t be impossible.
Kidnap her… so now that they can’t trap me with debt, they want to do whatever they want?
I had been a fool to trust Choi Mugwang when he said he wouldn’t hurt me.
The sun had set.
She took her carry-on and stepped out into the dark house.
Taeshin had arranged for a room at a resort through a friend.
They planned to spend the night there.
Kang Hoon would stay at the next-door house tonight.
Iseol climbed over to the next house and went down the alley where Taeshin was waiting.
When he saw her, Taeshin got out of the car, loaded the carry-on, and opened the back door.
They met her grandmother at the bus terminal.
Taeshin drove them to the resort and told her grandmother that he had rented a car with a driver.
“The car is nice. Must’ve been expensive.”
“You don’t need to worry about that anymore, Grandma.”
“But why a sudden trip?”
“I just wanted to get some fresh air with you.”
“You can get fresh air right in front of the house.”
“Grandma…”
Iseol smiled discreetly at Taeshin.
He was watching her through the rearview mirror.
“Let’s swim and eat something delicious when we get there, Grandma.”
“Sure. Do whatever you want.”
Her grandmother’s eyes shifted to the driver’s seat.
“The driver is handsome.”
“Grandma… he’s wearing a mask; how do you know?”
“You can tell just from the eyes.”
After an hour and a half, they arrived at the resort.
She was amazed that such a large, luxurious resort existed in this rural area.
After checking in, they went straight to dinner.
“Grandma, are you hungry? What should we eat?”
“Whatever you want.”
“How about braised short ribs?”
“That sounds good.”
Taeshin sat behind Iseol.
He followed her like a shadow.
After dinner, they entered the suite. Through the spacious living room and kitchen, she could see the blue infinity pool and trees lit up in the dark.
Tomorrow morning, the sea would be dazzlingly blue.
“Grandma, the view is amazing. Look at this.”
“Yes, it’s really nice.”
Her grandmother’s face reflected her joy.
“There are two rooms!”
“And the bed is really soft and nice.”
“I’ll fall asleep easily. Turn on the TV.”
Iseol turned on the TV, raised the volume, and went out to the terrace with its marble railing.
Taeshin was on the terrace of the adjacent suite.
“How do you like the room? Do you like it?”
“It’s perfect. I’m going to rest a bit and then go swimming. You’re coming, right?”
He nodded.
She felt her heart ache at having a man who would follow and protect her wherever she went.
It was a dangerous emotion.
But now she felt she could no longer push him away.
She realized it had been impossible from the start.
Refusing such a charming, wonderful man was as painful as not being able to breathe.
“Want to come over for a bit?”
Her heart raced at his invitation.
Iseol nodded after checking that her grandmother was dozing with the TV on, then quietly left the room.
She rang the bell for the adjacent room, and it opened.
His room had the same layout.
Candles glowed softly on the living room table, with wine and a cheese platter.
“What’s all this?”
“My friend ordered it.”
He gestured toward the room.
“Look at the bed.”
Rose petals were scattered across it.
“Did he think I came with a girl?”
“……”
“It would have been romantic if I hadn’t run away to avoid being kidnapped.”
“Sit down.”
Taeshin sat Iseol on the sofa and poured wine beside her.
They clinked glasses and drank.
The bittersweet taste was her favorite.
“But even though I escaped tonight, we can’t run away like this every weekend.”
“If they know you ran tonight, they might realize you’ve been bugged.”
So it was a listening device.
“What should I do?”
“Are you worried?”
Taeshin looked at her with playful eyes.
Just looking at him gave her a strange sense of reassurance.
“Is there a way?”
“They’re cheating, so we can’t just sit back and let it happen.”
“How are we going to stop them?”
“We fight back.”
His calm voice radiated confidence.
The Future Credit gang had huge numbers—would this really be okay?
He seemed to have help, but still…
Iseol extended her pinky.
“Whatever you plan, promise me you won’t get hurt. Come on.”
Taeshin hooked his pinky with hers and took her hand.
“I promise.”
Then he gently kissed the back of her hand.
The warmth of his breath and the touch of his lips sent shivers through her heart.
Her body felt hot.
Her breathing quickened.
He pressed his lips against her palm as he held her hand.
Her chest felt like it would explode.
