...The smell of alcohol.

Serhi slowly wiped away the liquor trickling down his face with the back of his hand.

Jin Siwon’s voice buzzed irritably in his ear, demanding to know what happened.

"I'm fine," Serhi curtly responded, raising his eyes to see the leering man’s face.

Why all this fuss over something so trivial?

He’d been planning to just endure a bit of venting to avoid causing a scene.

However, Serhi’s indifferent expression seemed to provoke the man further, prompting him to look Serhi up and down, snapping angrily:

“How old are you?”

Serhi flinched.

“Excuse me?”

“How old are you to be serving alcohol here?”

Serhi quickly regained his composure and answered calmly.

“I’m an adult.”

“You don’t look it. Did you fake your age to get in here?”

Ah, fuck. This could turn bad.

If his undercover identity was compromised over something so trivial...

Irina...!

Serhi bit his lip, averting his eyes as Jang Hyeonmin pulled out his phone.

“Hold still. What’s your name? One quick search and we'll find out everything, won't we?”

At that moment—

Strawberry milk splashed all over Jang Hyeonmin’s pants.

“Aw, cwud! Gwuu’s hand swipped!”

“Agh!”

Recoiling from the sticky-sweet smell of strawberry milk, Hyeonmin jumped up, dropping his phone onto the floor.

“You—you brat! What do you think you’re doing?!”

Serhi’s eyes widened.

***

“Don’t cause too much trouble for Serhi.”

Guru remembered Jurim’s earlier words.

After the last dungeon incident, Serhi was likely helping the Management Bureau again.

I shouldn’t interfere carelessly...

Guru anxiously glanced at Serhi.

She and Gidan sat slightly apart from him, observing the humiliation Serhi was enduring.

What shouwd Gwuu do...?

Guru peeked at Gidan, but his expression was hidden as he leaned against the armrest with his chin propped in his palm.

Is Dani oppaw still mad at Serhi oppaw, pretending not to notice?

Guru slumped her shoulders gloomily.

But after carefully studying Serhi’s troubled face, Guru sensed real danger and abruptly jumped to her feet.

Strawberry milk in one hand, tiny fist clenched in the other!

Gwuu gonna save Serhi oppaw!

Swiftly carrying out her improvised plan, Guru spoke stiffly, as if reading from a textbook.

“Aw, cwud! Gwuu’s hand swipped!”

Sticky strawberry milk dripped down Hyeonmin’s trousers onto the floor.

His face instantly turned shades of red and purple.

“What the—! Where’s this kid’s guardian?! Do you even know how expensive these pants are?!”

As Hyeonmin yelled furiously, Gidan, his baseball cap pulled low, moved in beside Guru.

“Guru, you shouldn’t do it like that.”

At Gidan’s scolding tone, Guru flinched, her brow furrowing slightly.

But Serhi oppaw looked twoubled...

She’d felt strongly compelled to help him. Had it been a mistake?

But suddenly, Gidan picked up the bottle of whiskey from the table and began pouring it generously over Hyeonmin’s head.

“Th-this—!”

Hyeonmin waved his arms wildly, squinting as liquor cascaded over him.

“You do it like this.”

“...!”

Gidan gave Guru, who was now glowing with happiness, a playful grin.

He extended his fist, and Guru bumped it with hers in a cheerful greeting.

Momentarily stunned, Serhi glanced down to find the fallen phone. He needed to deal with that first...

Spotting it, Serhi hesitated—Gidan was already stepping on it, feigning ignorance as the man howled in fury.

...

Didn’t he say to never appear before him again? Why was he here, then?

Serhi lowered his head, rubbing the back of his neck.

“What the hell are you doing—!”

“Oh, my hand slipped too.”

“Oppaw, you too?”

“Yeah.”

“It weawwy ish swippewy hewe, huh?”

“Sure is.”

Watching the siblings blatantly insist it was an accident, Hyeonmin was speechless for a moment before exploding again.

“Slipped?! Right in front of me?! You poured it directly on me!”

Gidan playfully turned to Guru.

“Did we?”

“Nope! We did nuffin!”

Guru shook her head vehemently. Her acting skills were impeccable at moments like this.

“Ha! You little brats are testing me!”

Hyeonmin’s ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ shoulders trembled as he shouted louder.

“Bring me the manager! Do you even know who I am? You’ll all regret this! Where’s the manager! Manager!”

Serhi quickly glanced around.

Nearly everyone in the lounge was now staring at their commotion.

Too many eyes watching.

Meeting Serhi’s gaze, Gidan shook his head briefly, seeming to think similarly.

They needed somewhere quiet to subdue him discreetly...

Just then—

“Continuing this commotion will be troublesome.”

A man appeared out of nowhere, calmly intervening.

Guru recognized him and barely suppressed the excited exclamation.

Hong-sam ajusshi?!

Jin Siwon, wearing a black suit with an earpiece, stepped forward, smiling politely.

“I’m from security. Could we move elsewhere for a brief conversation?”

“Ha! You’re kicking me out? Don’t you see these minors causing trouble?!”

Siwon glanced casually at Guru and Gidan, responding smoothly.

“Miss On Guru has free access to every area of the resort.”

“...What?”

On Guru?

Hyeonmin froze at the rare surname “On.”

Now that he thought about it, hadn’t Jurim On adopted a half-foreigner daughter?

That means...

This tiny brat was the resort owner’s granddaughter.

Feeling his heart drop, Hyeonmin’s eyes darted nervously.

Fuck. Of all people, why’d I get involved with these brats?

Noticing this, Gidan slightly raised his baseball cap.

“Hey, mister. Should we really call Guru’s guardian? It won’t end well...”

As Gidan playfully hinted, Hyeonmin frantically shook both hands and head.

The child’s guardian meant Jurim On, or even worse, Chairman On himself!

Either way, it was a dead end!

“N-no, I didn’t mean it like that...”

“Should Gwuu cawl Daddy?”

Guru immediately pulled out her phone, pretending to dial.

“N-no! Don’t!”

Hyeonmin shouted desperately.

“Dun cawl Daddy?”

Guru tilted her head innocently.

With a twisted expression, Hyeonmin nodded rapidly.

“Y-yeah. Mister was mistaken. I didn’t realize our little girl’s hand slipped...”

“Yep yep. We jush got noisy becauwse Gwuu swipped. Wight, Dani oppaw?”

“Sure was.”

When Gidan smirked, Hyeonmin bowed deeply all around.

“S-sorry for causing a commotion...”

Serhi let out a quiet sigh. When his eyes met Guru’s, he unconsciously smiled slightly.

Guru secretly flashed a V-sign. Cute brat.

“Now that it’s resolved, please follow me.”

Jin Siwon gently pushed Hyeonmin’s back. With an S-Rank’s strength, however, Hyeonmin staggered forward, gasping.

Oh!

Guru enthusiastically raised two thumbs up at Siwon.

Looking back, Siwon playfully winked.

***

This is getting exhausting.

Jurim frowned at the two women seated before him.

Having unpacked his things, he’d been leisurely heading to the lounge to find Guru. Instead, Chairman Nam had dragged him off to a fancy restaurant.

“I’m Yoo Suyeon. I’ve heard a lot about you. I never expected to meet like this.”

Introduced by Chairman Nam, the woman had an indistinct impression. She looked gentle and mild, but nothing beyond that.

“Suyeon here is apparently a long-time fan of yours.”

At Chairman Nam’s words, Suyeon blushed shyly and laughed, while Jurim nodded politely.

In fact, even when his brother was alive, Chairman Nam had regularly arranged such meetings. After his brother’s passing, those attentions had simply shifted onto him—so this situation wasn’t particularly surprising.

Out of respect for Chairman Nam, he planned to endure a brief chat before leaving.

But just then, he heard a woman’s voice tinged with a foreign accent.

“How many?”

“Oh, just one.”

A familiar voice.

Jurim stood up abruptly.

“Excuse me, I’ll be right back.”