"Are they responsible for your mother's death?" Yonghwa asked straight away. After all, being ignored and neglected did not usually prompt a desire for revenge.
Seul-ah pressed her lips. Did they? She herself didn't know. She only knew something was weird about the accident itself way too late, and when she wanted to find out more, years had passed and she was not allowed to access the file of her own accident.
But that was then. In this new reality she came to, only months had passed; and while she still couldn't access it by herself, she was in front of someone who could grant her that kind of access.
"I'm looking for it," she replied with thick bitterness beneath a layer of determination.
"Ah," and Yonghwa caught that perfectly. "So you need information."
"To be exact, I need access," Seul-ah said.
And it wasn't just for finding out the truth about her accident, but for everything she would have to do to bring down her family.
"Access to your information network, access to your tools when I need it," she glanced at the guards who hadn't been moving at all throughout their conversation. "But I can assure you that you won't have to move actively for it. I'll do everything, just..."
"You need support," Yonghwa intertwined his fingers atop his lap.
"Yes," Seul-ah nodded. "I'm sure the mine is a suitable price for it. Of course, I'm planning to give you something else in the future."
Yonghwa arched his brow as Seul-ah gave him the rough outline of her plan; the one she had been thinking of for two weeks after returning to the past. At the end of it, a smile cracked across the flower's pale lips.
"Indeed," Yonghwa chuckled. "I don't mind buying it cheap if you can give it to me while it's still useful."
"I'll take it as you agree to my offer," Seul-ah said before drinking her tea to wet her parched throat. It had been so long since she had to talk so much.
Yonghwa glanced at his secretary. "I should check on that information first."
"Of course."
"At least you're confident enough," the man smirked.
"I'll take my leave then," Seul-ah placed the empty cup down and stood up. She was nearing the limit of her bravado under those sharp hazels. "I'll return here at the end of the month. I'm sure it's enough time for you to figure it out."
Yonghwa looked at the girl bemusedly, but he did not stop her. He did, however, have something in his mind. "Ah, can I ask you something?"
Seul-ah stopped and turned her head. "Of course."
"What would you do if I refused your offer?"
The reply came in a dry voice. "Then I'll use your relationship with the Chairman Kang of Mirae Group to blackmail you."
For the first time in forever, Song Yonghwa froze and lost for words, staring at the girl dumbfoundedly. Seul-ah bowed her head and left, and only after the garden door shut did the flower's clock tick and Yonghwa let out a genuine, loud laughter.
"Oh, it had been a while since I genuinely laughed," he clapped his hands
"I was so close to silencing her," the guard on the door hissed while walking toward the table.
Yonghwa smiled, still in amusement. "I think she has way more information than I do."
The relationship between him and the chairman of Mirae Group was something that was only known to a few people outside his circle. Even then, those few people thought it had already ended a long time ago when they were still but a fledgling in their early twenties. It was fine when neither of them was in their current positions; but after they both became the chairmen of their respective companies, scandals needed to be strictly avoided.
Especially in this country, where most citizens still wouldn't approve of their relationship.
He truly wondered how she managed to gain that information and the mine; and if already knew that much, there must be more, much more information in her sleeve.
And yet, she still came to him?
"What is she?" Yonghwa rubbed his lips, which were stretching beneath his fingers. "Where does she come from? Outside like me? No..." his eyes curled. "A different time?"
His musing, however, was interrupted by his secretary, who had come to clean up the tea table. "But even if she uses that to blackmail you, it's not like we can't do anything about it."
"That's not why she mentioned the blackmail," Yonghwa chuckled.
"Yes?"
"Do you think she doesn't know? Mentioning that in my turf with malice is like asking for a death sentence," Yonghwa shook his head. She even checked on the guards' positions beforehand as if gauging her chance of survival within the worst-case scenario. "It's her way to tell me that she got nothing to lose."
Yonghwa thought she might already be prepared to release it if she were to be incapacitated--at least, that was what he would do.
"What an interesting young lady," he leaned back and sighed while staring at the summer night sky beyond the glass dome. "With that information, she could just go to Kang Jun instead of me."
"That's right," the bodyguard stroked his chin. "His companies have more connection with HS."
"But then, Mister Kang doesn't have our information network," the secretary said in return.
"There's that, but..." Yonghwa received warm water from the bodyguard. "Do you remember her objective?"
"You mean revenge? Ah..."
"She was appealing to our similarities, but..."
Yonghwa drank his water while watching the screen showing Seul-ah walking out of the elevator and meeting up with Lee Sol.
"That girl is ruthless," he said pitifully.
"Well, she has to be if she wants to--"
"I don't mean to others," Yonghwa shook his head and sighed once again, this time quite heavily. "She's ruthless to herself."
As someone who was drowned in revenge himself, he knew how soul-consuming it could be.
"I hope she doesn't burn herself before my investment bore fruit."
* * *
"Manager..."
Lee Sol groaned inwardly and walked away without stopping, deliberately ignoring his current star fighter. But because he was a fighter, Hajin easily shadowed him no matter which path Lee Sol took. He could only escape to his own office, but it would be ridiculous if the general manager kept on hiding inside a room.
Ryu Hajin had even more persistence in chasing for an answer than he was in chasing for victory. It was tired of getting away from the man, but he also couldn't threaten him with a ban, since Sol was the one who needed him in the arena these days.
"Haa...stop asking," he grumbled while Hajin once again chased him along the stairs.
"Why?" the man was as persistent as a child asking for a toy in a mall.
Lee Sol sighed. "It's not ethical."
"But that person is basically my sponsor," Hajin frowned.
"It's betting, Jin--gambling," Lee Sol shook his head. "Don't delude yourself."
"I'm not trying to start anything," Hajin pressed. "I just want to see that person once."
After his first win, people were quick to tell him that she only bet on him because he was 'pretty'. Hajin knew better, though. That gaze and 'order' for him to win wasn't made for someone she fancied because of the look. Otherwise, she would told him to not get hurt--at least, to not hurt his face. And every time--every time Hajin looked at her after each match, her gaze was that of confidence instead of a pleasant surprise as if she already knew what he was capable of.
As if she already knew him.
The next time she came, she still bet on him, and she still held the same gaze. The same gaze she gave on his third winning night before she stopped coming.
Why? Why did she stop coming? Hajin had two more fights afterward, but no matter how hard he looked, he couldn't spot that butterfly mask. He tried to spot her in different masks, but no--there was no one with her stature in the audience.
Those two victories he held, weirdly, no longer felt good for him. He felt like a performer who lost his first-ever supporter, and Hajin felt like he lost his passion along with her presence.
When the manager seemed to be hell-bent on ignoring his request for an inquiry, Hajin used his last resort.
"I'll use my triple crown privilege."
That did make Lee Sol stop on his track and turn to face Hajin with a frown. A triple crown, as the name suggested, was something a fighter obtained after becoming the champion for three consecutive fights. Winning three times wasn't that hard for seasoned fighters, but winning consecutively was a wall that many failed to achieve because after winning two times, the host would look for a strong opponent--including inviting previous champions--to hinder a triple crown.
In fact, there hadn't been a triple crown achiever for the past four years.
Naturally, it came with various benefits that the holder could choose. Those who came because they had debt would be able to waive theirs; it could be traded for a lot of cash; and the most popular one--it could be used to grant one wish.
Taking someone out of prison? Paying for a family member's treatment? A lifetime protection for their children? It could even be used as a ticket to hire a killer. This was how Helios managed to recruit a lot of fighters to participate in their weekly game nights.
Using that kind of benefit to ask for someone's identity? Lee Sol could not comprehend this man, just like he could not comprehend the girl supporting him.
"I can, can't I?" Hajin arched his brow in challenge.
The black eyes narrowed behind the spectacles. "You'll forfeit it for that?"
"Did I stutter?"
Perhaps those two were made for each other.
"Haa..." Lee Sol sighed heavily, before looking at Hajin with a sharp gaze. "Promise me you won't do anything strange."
"Why would I do that?"
"I'm serious, Jin!" Lee Sol hissed, glaring at the younger man. "That person is under his protection."
The sharp gray eyes narrowed, but his tone came out like a whine. "I just want to thank her personally, but she's never come again after that third time."
"Fine," Sol massaged his temple and shook his head. "I'll call you if that person visits again."
Hajin grinned in satisfaction, but the chance only came at the end of the summer.