Baek Ihae didn't even look back as she sprinted straight toward Seo Dogyeom's room.
The first floor was too far away, and among everyone in the mansion, he was the only person she could think of who might actually protect her.
"Seo Dogyeom! Help me!"
Cha Iryeong, who had been about to chase after her, flinched at the desperate cry.
[Baby Gangster, Seo Dogyeom, has become curious about the supporting character's loud voice.]
[! Warning!
You have escaped immediate danger to your life.]
I survived!
As if he'd heard her scream, Seo Dogyeom opened his door and stepped into the hallway. At the very same moment, the system window informed her that the threat to her life had passed.
She had worried that he might get dragged into danger along with her, but thankfully, that didn't seem to be the case.
"What?"
Seeing Baek Ihae and Cha Iryeong standing in the corridor, Seo Dogyeom frowned in confusion. Neither of them appeared to be in any immediate danger, so the question was only natural.
Baek Ihae opened her mouth.
She tried to kill me!
...Even if I say that, he won't believe me. She's prettier than I am.
The logic was ridiculous, but she knew perfectly well that Seo Dogyeom didn't trust her in the slightest.
He wasn't even interested in her.
That was probably why the system still referred to her as the supporting character instead of using her actual name.
"Good afternoon, Young Master."
Cha Iryeong approached with measured steps, greeting him with a smile so beautiful it looked painted onto her face.
Seo Dogyeom gave a brief nod in acknowledgment before turning his attention back to Baek Ihae.
"So what scared you?"
"Huh?"
She had expected him to ask why she was making such a fuss over nothing.
Instead, his question caught her completely off guard.
Her lips parted, then closed again. Sneaking a glance at Cha Iryeong, she slowly shook her head.
"It was nothing. Um... sorry. I thought I saw a huge cockroach. I guess I was mistaken."
"You screamed like your life depended on it over a bug?"
"I... really hate bugs..."
She forced an awkward smile.
At the same time, she could feel Cha Iryeong's gaze fixed squarely on her.
It was the calm, leisurely gaze of someone watching to see what she would do next.
That look was even more terrifying.
A shiver ran through her body.
Seo Dogyeom studied her for a moment before stepping forward, naturally placing himself in front of her.
"Let's go."
"H-Huh? Where?"
"The dining room. I was coming to get you anyway."
Whether by intention or coincidence, Seo Dogyeom now stood between Baek Ihae and Cha Iryeong.
He was supposed to become a gangster himself someday.
He should have been someone to fear.
So why did simply having him behind her make her feel safe?
"...Okay. Let's go together."
Letting out a relieved sigh, Baek Ihae nodded.
There had been a time when Seo Dogyeom warned her the mansion was dangerous and came to escort her around. Back then, she had scoffed at him.
Now she finally understood why.
He's probably not suspicious of Cha Iryeong specifically...
He just knows that anyone here could become a threat.
Even as Seo Ihum's guests, the people staying in this mansion were hardly harmless.
Baek Ihae's face fell.
Only now was she truly realizing just how frightening this place really was.
I want to leave.
No... if possible, I want to go back to my original world.
Unlike her usual energetic self, she trudged forward with lifeless steps.
She could feel Seo Dogyeom watching her, but she didn't react.
As always, Seo Ihum had arrived at the dining room first.
Following Seo Dogyeom absentmindedly, Baek Ihae sat down without even realizing she'd taken Seo Yeol's usual seat.
A moment later, Seo Yeol stormed in, pointing an accusing finger at her.
"Hey, Beggar Pumpkin! Why are you sitting in my seat? Yours is over there!"
"...Ah."
Baek Ihae finally noticed where she was.
"I'm sorry."
She quietly apologized.
Her head remained lowered.
She didn't even notice the look of surprise on Seo Yeol's face.
"...Forget it. Stay there."
Just as she weakly started to stand and move, Seo Dogyeom stopped her.
He caught her wrist and gently sat her back down before turning to Seo Yeol.
"Yeol. Sit on the other side today."
"What? But the seat next to you is mine!"
"..."
Seo Dogyeom didn't repeat himself.
He simply glanced at Seo Yeol.
The silent pressure was enough.
Puffing out his cheeks in protest, Seo Yeol grudgingly shuffled to the opposite side.
Watching the unusual seating arrangement with interest, Seo Ihum turned his gaze toward Baek Ihae.
She still looked completely dazed.
"..."
"..."
Recently, mealtimes had become unusually quiet.
Ever since Baek Ihae arrived, there had never been a moment of silence. Her nonstop chatter always filled the room.
The silence that used to be normal now felt unbearably awkward.
Even the young Seo Yeol noticed something was wrong, repeatedly glancing at Baek Ihae while eating.
She merely poked at her food.
Eventually, she set down her chopsticks.
Even so, she remained seated until everyone else finished eating.
"I'll be going first."
Without realizing it himself, Seo Ihum rose from his seat while paying attention to Baek Ihae.
He wondered if she was watching his reactions.
Perhaps if he stood first, she would follow.
If not, she usually came over around this time to play one of her strange pranks on him.
"...?"
But even after he left the dining room...
Baek Ihae never got up.
Seo Ihum glanced back with a strange sense of emptiness.
The mischievous eyes that always chased after him weren't looking at him today.
Suppressing the odd feeling, he quietly walked away.
"Get up."
The moment Seo Ihum left, Seo Dogyeom stood and spoke to Baek Ihae.
Like a machine following its programming, she rose blankly and followed him.
Normally, Seo Yeol would have gone off on his own.
Today, however, he trailed after them.
"Hey, Beggar Pumpkin. Are you sick or something? If you're sick, stop causing trouble and go to the hospital!"
Normally, those words were guaranteed to make her snap back at him.
He had even said them on purpose, hoping for exactly that.
But...
Nothing.
Instead, Seo Dogyeom spoke to his younger brother in a gentle, reproving voice.
"Yeol."
"But because of her, dinner was totally weird today."
"It was just like it used to be before Baek Ihae came."
She had simply been far livelier than any of them.
One cheerful person had changed the atmosphere of the entire household.
When the elevator reached the third floor, leaving only the three of them...
Baek Ihae finally broke.
"Hic..."
A loud, childish sob escaped her as tears streamed down her face.
Seo Dogyeom immediately turned around.
Seo Yeol, meanwhile, looked utterly horrified.
"H-Hey, Beggar Pumpkin! Why are you crying?! Who bullied you? You don't even cry when I pick on you!"
"I don't want to stay here."
She sniffled loudly.
"I want to go home."
"I don't want you here either! Hurry up and leave!"
"I can't..."
Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I want to go... but I can't..."
Seo Yeol opened his mouth to argue back as usual.
But this time...
No words came out.
Even as a child, he knew Baek Ihae had lost her parents and was staying in the mansion because she had nowhere else to go.
From his and Seo Dogyeom's perspective, she was simply someone who had been holding in her grief all this time until it finally overflowed.
"...Hyung."
Seo Yeol awkwardly tugged at Seo Dogyeom.
"What do we do?"
Normally, he couldn't care less about other people's feelings.
He didn't particularly want to comfort her...
But he didn't want to leave her crying, either.
With a quiet sigh, Seo Dogyeom walked over.
He rested a hand atop her head.
Pat.
Pat.
His palm gently patted her hair.
"Your home is here."
His voice was calm.
"If something's frightening you, tell me. I'll take care of it."
Baek Ihae raised her tear-filled eyes to him.
Seeing her crying face stirred the same strange feeling inside him as when he saw her smile.
His chest tightened in a way he couldn't understand.
Every time he looked at Baek Ihae...
He felt something inexplicable.
"You don't know anything either."
She sniffled.
"Even if I told you... you wouldn't believe me."
"You haven't even tried telling me."
Baek Ihae pressed her lips tightly together.
Watching her, Seo Dogyeom frowned inwardly.
Could someone have tried to harm her despite Seo Ihum's warning?
He briefly considered summoning Manager Oh, gathering everyone together, and interrogating them until someone confessed.
Before he could decide...
Baek Ihae timidly grabbed the sleeve of his shirt.
"...Will you really solve it?"
"..."
Seo Dogyeom had never cared much for small animals.
Yet Baek Ihae, who seemed so tiny before him, somehow reminded him of one.
With her reddened eyes, she looked like a frightened rabbit.
When he remembered how she stuffed herself with food every chance she got, she reminded him of a hamster.
"...I will."
He didn't know what it meant to find someone cute.
But...
He did feel an urge to protect her.
Perhaps it was simply pity for someone weaker than himself.
Unaware of what was going through his mind, Baek Ihae blinked.
His answer alone seemed enough.
The tension slowly drained from her shoulders.
She let out a long breath...
Then smiled.
A foolish, relieved smile.
The smile of someone who believed him completely.
And somehow...
It was impossible to look away.
