A few days have passed since Yeo Ri's first official public appearance.
She had been very busy and did not have much free time between work and taking care of the house. On top of that, she had chosen to work hard so that she could free up some time to celebrate her upcoming birthday.
"—We're here, miss." Yeo Ri raised her head and put away the document she had been reading as she heard Secretary Kwon's voice.
"Mm," she replied absentmindedly.
Yeo Ri donned a black hoodie with the hood up as the car came to a stop inside an underground parking lot.
"Right this way, miss." Courteous as always, he held the door open for her and waited for her to come out. They walked into the building and got onto the elevator without exchanging any words.
Ding!
The display flashed with '14' and the elevator door opened automatically. The two walked out, with Secretary Kwon leading the way.
The halls were empty, and it appeared as if the floor was unoccupied.
"It's this one, miss." He gestured towards a door, taking out a keycard and swiping it on the sensor. The door beeped as it unlocked. "The password is your birthday, but we can change it whenever you like."
"Mm." Yeo Ri nodded, looking around the place curiously.
"...It's pretty big," she noted. There were some basic furnitures inside the house, but it remained undecorated which made it seem bare and spacious. It was even bigger than the apartment she was currently living in, she realised.
"Your father wanted you to be comfortable," the older man said. He turned on the light switch as they passed by the living room, illuminating the somewhat dim space.
"Hm..." Yeo Ri let out a vague sound of acknowledgement, seemingly unfazed by her biological father's favour. She unhurriedly explored the place, running her finger over the surface of the cabinets, couch, and curtains.
Finally done with her exploration, she abruptly turned and faced her accomplice. "Well, I don't really care about that. Where's that 'thing'?"
Secretary Kwon adopted a grim expression. "...Right this way, Miss Yeo Ri." With a gloved hand, he rummaged his breast pocket for a set of keys, then led the girl to one of the rooms. He stuffed a key into the keyhole, unlocking it for her.
Secretary Kwon entered first, again turning on the lights before doing anything.
"Hmmngh...!"
Inside the barren room was a singular chair, where a man had been sitting. As the lights turned on, he stirred from his light nap and began making stifled noises.
Secretary Kwon addressed his lady with an apologetic attitude. "He kept trying to bite when we tried feeding him so we had no choice but to gag him for the time being. Please excuse his unsightly appearance."
The man on the chair breathed heavily, staring at the two newcomers with intense hatred.
"It's okay. I understand. I made you do such a criminal act, after all. I should be the one to apologise for the hassle," Yeo Ri said.
Secretary Kwon eyed her warily. The stubborn young miss actually apologised to him? Did pigs learned to fly?
So she did realise that what she ordered him to do was wrong. But then again, he didn't want to bother questioning her motive. If he could help his boss tame the girl, then he'd do anything, as long as it was within his means.
"So it's you."
Yeo Ri turned her gaze to the captive. His arms were bound by handcuffs, and rope was used to securely tie him to the chair. He bore a look of utter desperation and anger, his body shaking with every battered breath.
"You look awful. I hope they didn't mistreat you," Yeo Ri said, her expression changing from indifference to kindness in a matter of seconds. She took on a gentle tone as she approached the man.
"Miss, be careful. Even if he's bound right now, it doesn't change the fact that his original objective was to hurt you," cautioned the bodyguard. Secretary Kwon stopped her by putting himself between the two.
"It's alright. I want to ask him a few questions."
"But, the reports—"
"—I know. I've read them. But it made so little sense that I had to come and ask him personally," Yeo Ri chuckled lightly, seemingly amused. Her eyes darkened with raw contempt, making the older man shiver. He didn't know whether her gaze was directed to him or the incapacitated stalker.
"...I understand." Secretary Kwon backed away slowly.
"So? Will you tell me why you've been bothering me like a little rat?" She leaned down and ripped off the tape that was covering the man's mouth.
The man let out a scream from the pain, making Yeo Ri flinch. She covered her ears with a frown, "My goodness, you're so loud."
Secretary Kwon narrowed his eyes at the man. Although they had the higher ground, he still did not let his guard down.
"You d*mn f*ckers! I'll report you to the police! I'll make sure you all rot in jail for what you've done to me!"
Yeo Ri met his threat with an unfazed look. She glanced at Secretary Kwon, "Does that person have people in the police force?"
Secretary Kwon dutifully responded, "Plenty."
His employer had quite a lot of connections, but he hoped that the young lady wouldn't need them at all. Simply dealing with things quietly and sweeping matters under the carpet was easy enough, but if it was discovered that Mayoral Candidate Heo Woo Seung had covered up a crime for his illegitimate daughter, he was sure that his employer's competitors would dig it up and air it all to the public in an attempt to discredit him. There was no business dirtier than politics, his father once said. If one wasn't careful, getting ousted was the usual.
Of course, he did not voice his inner thoughts. If the miss had found out about his thoughts, she might get offended and do exactly that, he feared.
A smile bloomed on the young lady's face at his answer. "Oh. I'll consider this my birthday present, then. You wouldn't mind, would you?"
"...Of course not, miss." A chill ran down his spine at her words.
"So he says. Mister, no matter how much you repeat yourself, no one's going to come." Yeo Ri giggled. "But if you answer my question properly, I'll consider letting you go, despite all that you've done to me."
"F*cking crazy sons of b*tches! Let me go! Let me go...!"
"It's no use wasting your breath like that. There's no one here, not even neighbours. Poor you."
"Aaaaaaaagh! Let me go!" The man screamed and thrashed around.
Yeo Ri lost her smile at his manic response.
"Shut the f*ck up! You're so f*cking noisy!" Without discounting her strength, she slapped his face.
"Ugh!" he groaned.
Secretary Kwon's eyes widened from her sudden action, and he looked as if he was unsure of what to do.
Yeo Ri's hand throbbed with a stinging pain from the slap, turning a dark pink. "Ouch!" she hissed, fanning her pained palm. Her lips pulled into a frustrated pout, regretting her actions. She realised that she was too weak; she should've used a tool of some sort instead of hurting herself like this.
"Miss!" Kwon Tae Yang gaped.
"Just be quiet, geez."
"What the f*ck do you want from me, you b*tch?! Don't think you can get away with this!"
"Didn't you hear what he said earlier? The police are on our side. You can't do sh*t to me." Yeo Ri grabbed his hair tightly with her fist, pulling his head backwards roughly. She discarded all semblance of civility and talked down on him. "Now, care to answer my question? Why the hell are you going after me?"
"F*cking b*tch!"
Crack!