Secret Love

The Pawns

(Vincenzo doesn't waste his time to move his pawns in the game)

Geumga Plaza tenants closed down their shops, to show solidarity against what had happened recently. When Vincenzo came down, Miss Kwak was the first to greet him with a motherly hug.

"We've closed down our businesses temporarily", said Mr Tak.

"We want to help you bring down Babel in earnest. We want us to work together as a team from now on", said Larry.

"To tell you the truth, I can be quite scary when I'm angry", said Toto.

"We all decided to help you, so please let us help", said Chul-wook.

"We'll be on standby. Let us know if you need anything", said Mi-ri.

"I'm still in my first trimester, so I can move around without a problem", said Yeon-jin.

"You know I used to work in the field. Use me whenever you want", said Seok-do.

"All this time, we thought we were weak...", said Miss Kwak, "...But we're not. We just didn't try to be strong. We will give it our all now".

Miss Kwak grasped Vincenzo's hand. "Let us fight for you", she said.

"Mr Cassano...", An chimed in, "...We are all a part of the Cassano Family".

"We're here for you, always", said Min-jun.

At the office, Haru greeted him with a courteous bow. Vincenzo patted her head, similar to how Min-jun did all the time.

"Tell me if you ever need anything, ok? I'll do my best to help", she said.

"I'm sorry, I never meant for you to see that side of me".

"It's ok. I'm used to it..., but please, Mr Cassano. Han-seo is innocent. He truly doesn't know".

"You really do love him, don't you?".

"With all my heart, Mr Cassano".

"Then, here's what we're gonna do today".

MEANWHILE

Han-seok answered a call from Vincenzo, intimidating him, but Han-seok was not fazed by him. He hung up after their conversation and headed to the event. What he didn't realised was the staff working at the area.

(A/N: Han-seo did the devil horn in this scene 🤣)

Min-jun and Mi-ri, casually sitting by the lobby, were already tapping into the securities, sending a live feed to Cha-young and Vincenzo. An, Chul-wook, Mr Tak and Seok-do were posing as the security team while Toto and Miss Kwak delivered the food inside. The rest were on standby.

Han-seo did get a text from Haru, sending him an incognito warning. Han-seok didn't ask anything about Haru after that night, but Han-seo were always on caution mode.

Han-seo hosted the event, to auction off the units of the soon to be built Babel Tower. Vincenzo told him that whatever happens after this, Han-seo must maintain his character and to not let his brother suspect anything.

What he didn't expect was a man, whom he theorised was working for Vincenzo came in and showed a bomb that was attached to him. The man showed that the cake also had a bomb in it and the screen turned into a clock, counting down 10 minutes.

"I'm just doing as instructed...", he said, "...You must do as I tell you from now on if you want to stop this bomb".

He demanded that everyone annul their agreement they've made with Babel Group and cut all ties with Chairman Jang Han-seok. He even made them knelt and swore.

This was definitely Vincenzo, Han-seok thought. Who else had the guts to pull this stunt off?

"Are you trying to fool us?! There's no bomb! This is Korea!", Han-seo yelled angrily.

"Now! The bomb can go off any minute!".

"Something looks off", Han-seok pointed off.

"If this is one of your fake stunts, you'd better stop now!", said Choi Myung-hee.

"If you refuse to believe me, I will show you...", he said, "...In five seconds, the miniature model of Babel Tower will explode".

Everyone mumbled, wondering if it's true. Some even argued that he was just faking it.

"Five!".

"Four!", everyone began to back away.

"Three!", the guests began ducking under the tables and chairs.

"Two!"

"One!", the bomb on him began to beep fast and exploded, sending him back to his death.

The guests began to scramble to escape, but the door was locked. They stopped when each of their phones began to receive text messages.

"The bomb in the cake can wipe out the entire room", and everyone gasped and began to panic.

Another text came in. "For your information, I've been recording you from the start".

"Do as the dead man had said right now".

"Find your agreement, chew it and swallow it".

"After identifying yourself, swear on your knees".

Han Seung-hyuk tried to stop them, but in vain. Han-seo now saw what these people would do to stay alive.

The timer stopped and another text message came in, congratulating them for their efforts.

"Use your influence to make it seem as the party today never happened. You may all leave".

The door was unlocked and everyone scrambled to get out of there. The timer restarted when the room were only occupied by Han-seok, Han-seo, Choi Myung-hee and Han Seung-hyuk.

The four of them scrambled to run, but Han Seung-hyuk was directly in front of the cake when the timer stopped and sprayed custard cream out like a fountain. By the door, Min-jun and Haru appeared.

They knew, if tonight was a success, Haru could be a collateral damage for Han-seok to vent out his frustration and anger. So, Haru decided to confront him, setting aside her fear and anxiety.

"Did we miss the party?", Haru smirked.

"Gosh, I wanna see it so badly", Min-jun laughed.

"You two...", Han-seok growled.

"How many times must I tell you, Jang Han-seok? You can't kill those who have been trained to kill", said Min-jun, giving him a victorious smug.

"The game is afoot. What's your next move, Mr Chairman~?", Haru skipped back to her brother.

"Oh, before I forgot...", she turned back to Han-seok, "...If you hurt Han-seo, you may find that tonight will be your last night".

Haru turned to Han-seo. "Jagiya, don't come home too late, ok?", she winked.

Min-jun gave his signature salute and laughed as he and Haru exited the room, leaving Jang Han-seok's blood to boil in anger for what they had done tonight.