A child locked away in a dark, enclosed place was bound to be terrified.
Baek Ihae let out a sigh as she looked at the boy’s round dumpling-like cheeks, now drenched in miserable tears.
He looked old enough to be in the upper grades of elementary school, yet he was crying over something like this.
She pulled the much smaller child into her arms and gently patted his back.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize the lights would turn off. I went too far with the prank.”
“Hic… I hate you. I want my hyung.”
“Honestly, your brother kind of scares me. Could you maybe stop crying a little? I’ll buy you something tasty.”
“No! You beggar!”
Seriously. Do you know how heartbreaking it is for an actual beggar to get called a beggar?
Baek Ihae desperately swallowed back the tears threatening to spill out. At this point, she would rather have been called a pumpkin.
“Noona is actually poor, so words like that really hurt.”
Speaking the painful truth in a gentle tone, she continued patting his small back at a steady rhythm before leaving the dressing room and heading into the bedroom.
She sat the child on the overly large bed and wiped away his tears. He seemed calmer than before, only occasional sniffles escaping him now.
“Feeling better, Seo Dogyeom’s little brother?”
“My name is Yeol! Not that weird name!”
Maybe the reason that scary uncle and Seo Dogyeom hated loud noises so much was because of this little brat.
His screeching was so sharp it felt like her ears might bleed, but she forced herself not to sigh and instead smiled as harmlessly as possible.
“Seo Yeol.”
“You idiot beggar! It’s just Yeol! Don’t you know what a one-syllable name is?”
Wow. This kid really made it difficult to stay nice from beginning to end.
‘I definitely hit him with the rubber band… so why did it feel like his sanity snapped instead?’
Maybe it wasn’t his sanity that snapped, but his common sense.
Still smiling, Baek Ihae continued.
“Yeol with the lowest rank.”
Before he could spit out another insult, she gently covered his mouth. His face was so small that her tiny hand covered it completely.
“What happens when a weak little kid keeps picking fights with scary adults? Bad things happen, right?”
“Mmph! Mmph!”
“What was that? You think something bad might happen?”
Baek Ihae—whose personality could never be called pleasant, even as a joke—smiled while clearly irritated.
Part of it was because Yeol’s mocking attitude annoyed her. But another part was genuine concern. There were plenty of dangerous-looking people outside, and if the kid acted like this around the wrong person, he could end up in real trouble.
That was when it happened.
“Who’s the scary adult?”
[Baby Gangster Seo Dogyeom reveals his pure curiosity.]
Holy crap, that scared me.
Without a sound, Seo Dogyeom had appeared behind her. Arms crossed, he stared down at Baek Ihae, who was still kneeling beside the bed.
Then he glanced once at Yeol’s tear-streaked face and tilted his head slightly.
“Did you make him cry?”
[Baby Gangster Seo Dogyeom plans to decide how to deal with the supporting character depending on her answer!]
Baek Ihae’s face instantly went pale.
‘What is with these brothers barging into a girl’s room whenever they feel like it?’
Of course, she didn’t have the courage to actually say that out loud.
It hadn’t even been a full day since she’d resolved to maintain peaceful relations with them.
And now Baek Ihae was on the verge of being “dealt with” by Seo Dogyeom.
“No.”
If your life was in danger, then obviously you lied to survive.
That was Baek Ihae’s philosophy.
“Mmph! Mmph!”
With his mouth still covered, Yeol thrashed around furiously, practically confessing her shameless lie with his entire body.
But Seo Dogyeom simply stood there with his arms crossed, staring at her unreadably.
‘Wait… is he actually believing me?’
Just as she started admiring her own acting skills and wondering if he was more innocent than expected—
[Baby Gangster Seo Dogyeom sees through the supporting character’s blatant lie.]
‘Blatant lie?’
[Correction: sees through the lie.]
Baek Ihae’s eyes turned cold.
The status window always popping up at suspiciously perfect timing… maybe it could actually read her thoughts.
“Well. Just be careful not to tease him so much that he bites you. Come downstairs for dinner.”
Seo Dogyeom extended a hand toward Yeol. As though he had been waiting for it, Yeol grabbed his brother’s hand and climbed off the bed.
Watching the child naturally follow after him, Baek Ihae realized Seo Dogyeom must usually take pretty good care of his younger brother.
No, more importantly—
Dinner?
“Wait, you mean I’m eating with you guys? With your family? With those huge gangster-looking men?”
“There’s nobody else. Just our family and you.”
Absolutely not.
As Baek Ihae struggled to smooth out her horrified expression, forcing the corners of her lips upward, Yeol suddenly shouted in disgust.
“I hate it! I don’t want to eat with that beggar pumpkin!”
For once, they actually agreed.
Inside, Baek Ihae fervently prayed Yeol’s protest would work, but Seo Dogyeom only called the boy’s name in a soothing voice.
“Yeol.”
The unexpected gentleness of it made even her flinch slightly.
“Why do we have to eat with some beggar freeloading in our house? She should be grateful just getting pig slop!”
Well… technically, he wasn’t wrong.
Which somehow made her want to punch him square in the philtrum even more.
“I… I…! I hate the idea of a pumpkin like her becoming your fiancée, hyung!”
“Huh? Fiancée?”
Baek Ihae, who had been secretly cheering Yeol on until now, stared up at Seo Dogyeom with wide eyes.
She was clearly demanding an explanation, but the bastard didn’t even look at her. He only focused on calming Yeol, who seemed moments away from bursting into tears again.
“Just because there’s an engagement doesn’t mean marriage is guaranteed.”
“But I don’t even want the engagement! Hyung belongs to me! Waaaah!”
“No, wait a second. What are you even talking about? I have absolutely zero intention of stealing your brother!”
In her shock, she grabbed lightly onto Seo Dogyeom’s sleeve. Only then did his gaze finally shift toward her.
His emotionless black eyes were unsettling enough that she instinctively let go.
“Ask Father if you want details. Come downstairs. He’s waiting.”
So she was supposed to ask the scary uncle everyone told her to be careful around.
How considerate.
Unable to rest properly after all, Baek Ihae had no choice but to head downstairs still wearing her school uniform.
‘Then why even send me upstairs in the first place? Couldn’t they have just made me wait and called me for dinner?’
Riding the elevator comfortably, she grumbled inwardly.
‘An elevator in a three-story house… they seriously must be rich. They’re not running a drug business or something, right?’
She quietly followed behind Seo Dogyeom and Yeol, snorting lightly whenever Yeol glared daggers at her.
Soon they arrived at a massive dining table, where Seo Ihum sat at the head seat.
Seeing the table overflowing with food, Baek Ihae discreetly watched as Seo Dogyeom and Yeol sat beside him in order.
‘Where should I sit? Yeol may be the youngest, but guests are kings, so sitting next to the uncle should be fine, right?’
It definitely had nothing to do with the fact that the dishes near that seat looked especially delicious.
Humming to herself, she walked to the opposite side of where Seo Dogyeom sat.
Which meant she sat directly beside Seo Ihum.
The moment she sat down, she rapidly scanned the dishes. Then she felt stares on her and turned her head.
‘What? Why are they looking at me like that?’
The three men—father and sons alike, all terrifyingly identical thanks to genetics—were staring straight at her.
“Why are you all looking at me like that? Is there something on my face? Maybe beauty?”
Not even a reaction to her joke.
Nobody was telling her to enjoy the meal either, so starting first felt awkward. Meanwhile, her stomach growled pitifully, begging for food.
‘Why is nobody eating? That handsome uncle needs to start first so I can pick up my chopsticks too.’
As a proper Korean raised in the land of etiquette, the eldest person had to begin the meal first!
‘If you won’t eat, then I’ll shove food into your mouth myself.’
Driven half-mad by hunger, Baek Ihae picked up her chopsticks. She heard Yeol clicking his tongue but ignored him completely.
Then she picked up a piece of braised short rib from the dish right in front of her and held it out toward Seo Ihum’s mouth.
Instantly, everyone—including the large men standing behind them like bodyguards—sharply inhaled.
“Uncle, say ahh.”
“…What exactly are you doing?”
Only Seo Ihum and Seo Dogyeom maintained perfectly calm expressions.
Seo Dogyeom looked amused, while Seo Ihum merely frowned faintly, as if silently asking what kind of ridiculous scheme this was.
“You weren’t eating, and I can’t eat until you do. So I’m kindly feeding you.”
She knew. She knew exactly how creepy and burdensome this behavior looked.
That was the point.
‘If the fiancée thing is true, then he’ll be so disgusted he cancels it. Then he’ll probably just tell me to eat already. And if I’m lucky, maybe the rib bone will get stuck in his throat and I’ll get my house back too.’
One move, three victories.
Baek Ihae smiled sweetly.
But her eyes gleamed with something chilling.
[Baby Gangster Seo Dogyeom admires the supporting character’s murderous intent.]
Murderous intent?!
That was supposed to be seduction!
