Chapter 17
It was a name that seemed soft yet stubbornly resolute. It suited this woman perfectly, as if she had no intention of letting herself be swayed, even on the brink of death.
Ha-jin, struggling to keep her composure as she looked up at Joo-heon, let out a sigh and ducked under the arm that caged her, trying to slip free.
“Eek…!”
Before the short cry could fully escape, Ha-jin’s body was slammed against the cold wall. Her shoulder blades throbbed from the forceful impact. Glaring down at her with eyes blazing fiercely, Joo-heon spat out irritably.
“What the hell are you?”
Could anger burn this cold? That was unmistakably the vibe radiating from the man blocking her path.
“I don’t have a hobby for casinos.”
His voice sank so low it felt downright sinister.
“Your enjoyments are walks and reading.”
“……”
Ridicule flickered across his face as he recited, one by one, the answers she’d given him.
“That you’ve never seen me before.”
Pfft. Even recalling her words seemed absurd; a laugh leaked from Joo-heon.
“Las Vegas Galliano High Limit Lounge, casino room seven.”
He tossed out the exact room number from that night when they’d sat across from each other playing poker, staring hard at Ha-jin for confirmation. But she dodged his gaze, lowering her eyes.
“That night, you acted like you were dead set on cleaning out my wallet, screwed me over, and bolted. And now you lie like it’s nothing.”
When Ha-jin still refused to meet his eyes, Joo-heon gripped her chin hard, forcing their gazes to lock.
“Look at me. Doesn’t what I’m saying add up?”
Finally pinning her with a savage glare, his lips twisted in satisfaction at drawing out her emotional flicker.
“I’ll hit you.”
“Move, or I will.”
His words barely landed before Ha-jin shot back like she’d yanked his tail. An amused laugh burst from Joo-heon’s lips—but it cut off like a lie.
Crazy bastard. What the hell is he doing?
They’d played a fun game, win and loss cleanly decided. She’d figured she’d had her thrill and bounced. But had he been nursing that loss, waiting for payback? He didn’t seem the type to hold that petty a grudge, so why?
But as if to clear up her confusion, Baek Joo-heon growled.
“Did Baek Tae-ju send you? To snoop on what I’ve been up to?”
Ah.
That was it.
Now she got the root of his rage. Unfair as it felt, it wasn’t impossible to understand. In some far-off foreign country—not even Korea—running into the brother of her potential fiancé by pure chance? Fat chance.
Even the odds didn’t stack up, and yet she’d pulled it off. With how frosty things were between those brothers, no wonder he’d peg her for a stalker. Hilariously, it was true. But realizing he might’ve jumped to that conclusion actually settled her nerves. She could turn it to her advantage.
“Well, sort of. And sort of not.”
Joo-heon’s brows furrowed at Ha-jin’s cool reply.
“If I got it wrong and set the record straight—I’m not Tae-ju’s stalker. I went after you on my own to test the waters.”
“What?”
“Can’t have both. If I’m picking one, I’ve gotta risk it and probe first.”
So better if he thought her a gold-digger gunning for both Baek sons. She delivered it in a flat, emotionless tone. His face twisted. Meeting his stare dead-on, she shrugged like, right?, then pressed on. Now that she’d landed on a conclusion, she didn’t give a damn how he took it.
“So I checked out your casino haunt. Ended up fleecing you clean.”
“So.”
Ha-jin smiled at Joo-heon’s curt response and stepped forward.
“What do you want to know?”
His pitch-black eyes reflected her image crystal clear.
“What should I expect from a guy who can’t even beat a woman like me once?”
“Expect?”
Joo-heon murmured low, shoving his face right over hers. So close their ragged breaths tangled.
“Scraping that worthless pride just to confirm? That if I’d won, I’d be the one next to her?”
“Who knows.”
Ha-jin crooked a smirk and pushed at his chest with her fingertips.
“No ifs about it. You lost. That day, Baek Joo-heon lost to me.”
Something simmered between them—anger-fueled heat, or maybe something else. Ha-jin’s ear caught a faint sound from afar; she flicked her eyes toward where Tae-ju had vanished.
As expected, he was heading back this way down the long corridor. Pretending not to notice, Ha-jin turned to Joo-heon with a sudden bright smile and stuck out her hand.
“So, looking forward to it, Young Master.”
“...What...”
It was delicious payback for all the ways she’d toyed with him at dinner, leaving him feeling perpetually outmaneuvered. Joo-heon stared at her, stunned, lips parting for some retort—
“What’s going on.”
He whipped around at Tae-ju’s voice from behind, exhaling sharply and shooting Ha-jin a look like she was pure headache.
Her face wiped clean of the earlier venom and tension, Ha-jin smiled at him again. Joo-heon rolled his tongue to shape the candy in his cheek and tugged his lips up stiffly.
“The pleasure’s mine, sister-in-law.”
His grip crushed her hand like he’d shatter it; she nearly yelped. More startling than the force was how scorching hot his palm felt.
Unlike the lightning yank earlier, Joo-heon released her hand with agonizing slowness. The vise grip let go, blood rushed back, tension drained, leaving her with a light dizzy spell.
“This’ll be fun.”
Leaning in close to Ha-jin, he whispered just for her ears.
“That game we couldn’t properly finish that day? Call it overtime.”
“……”
Ha-jin never answered. Even as he gave her shoulder a light pat and brushed past, she clenched her teeth, summoning every ounce to stay upright.
“Yoo Ha-jin.”
Sensing the off vibe, Baek Tae-ju approached. Ha-jin glared at the lanky shadow vanishing down the hall, then collapsed onto the floor.
“...Haa.”
“What happened.”
Ha-jin waved limply, mumbling.
“Take me somewhere. Anywhere empty.”
Moments later, led by Tae-ju’s hand into what looked like his room. He guided her to the sofa, frowning as he asked.
“Don’t you think you owe some explanation?”
No subject or object stated, but the question was obvious. About her and Baek Joo-heon’s weird tension from dinner right up to now.
“Nothing big. Just like he said—we crossed paths by chance at that Vegas casino...”
“Chance?”
His voice sounded perfectly calm at first, but his eyes on her gleamed with piercing sharpness.
Ha-jin was just as frustrated and pissed, though. A coincidence was a coincidence—how else to put it? Neither Baek Joo-heon nor Baek Tae-ju ever fully trusted anyone; it was enough to drive her nuts.
“You’re not buying it?”
“Can you blame me?”
Ha-jin shot back sharply.
“Don’t believe me? Call my aunt. She’s probably listening right now through the bug in my earring, or she’ll hear it later anyway.”
Not shying from his challenging stare, Ha-jin went on.
“The only times I’ve snuck out on my own were those few trips to that Galliano casino. I always stuck to weekdays, but that day was a weekend—and looks like that’s when Baek Joo-heon hits it up.”