Bluff!

Chapter 4

four

"I need you to pretend to be my long-lost cousin."

What?

Sunggyu blinked several times in confusion, scratching his head. "Y-You mean you weren't confessing?"

There were several blinks exchanged after that. "What made you think I was confessing to you?" Seulbi asked in equal confusion.

Though thoroughly embarrassed for assuming the wrong thing, Sunggyu decided to be the cool about it, stepping away. "Oh I don't know. Maybe the 'Kim Sunggyu, I need you' part had me reading things wrong? Or maybe that part where you suddenly grabbed me like I was the love of your life that you weren't going to see ever again? Normal people will misunderstand your intentions," he snapped. "Smooth moves though, it's like you've practiced loads for it. That is, if you haven't gone through the same ordeal before."

He had completely missed the grimace on Seulbi's face at his remark. The heiress had quickly schooled her expression, suddenly remembering what she was here for in the first place. "Kim Sunggyu, my grandfather is in a critical stage right now. He's lost his will to live and it won't be long before he..." she told him before pausing, unable to bring herself to say it. "It's his last wish to get to see his long-lost grandson, even if only in his final moments. Henry-oppa is the person I've been trying to find all this time, and I've really run out of leads and of options. I need your skills, Kim Sunggyu. I need you to be Henry Lau. Be my long-lost cousin, just for a night. That's all I'm asking."

Even this was too much for Sunggyu to handle. "You want me to pretend to be the grandson of a dying old man? I can't lie to that extent!"

"You swindled more than 25 million off me by lying alone. I've talked to mister Lee Byunghyun at the bar you work at-- God knows how many more people you've conned money from, whether it be any big or small amount."

"This is a different case. This would be lying to a dying person! Even that is completely against my conscience!"

"Never knew you had it in you, though. A conscience. And don't you always go against it anyway?"

Seulbi had hit a new all-time low right below the belt with those statements. She could tell by the way his grasp tightened around the sling of his bag. "Didn't you tell me back at the hospital? Your situation, no matter how dire, in no way justifies any wrongdoing you've committed," Sunggyu growled. "So what makes this any different from what I did?"

Great, she had just insulted him big time. It was an uphill battle from here, and from the looks of it, she might not win in the end.

"Look, I'll pay your money back somehow and let's just call it even."

"I'll wipe your slate clean, Kim Sunggyu. We can forget about the sum you owe me-- I'll reward you with however much you want negotiate on. On top of that, I'll help pay back every debt you owe anybody."

He hesitated a bit. That offer was heavily tempting, but in the end, his principles stood firm. "I'm really sorry about your grandfather but I really can't do what you're asking of me. Please don't bother me about it anymore. I really have to board the bus now, I've been holding them up already."

With that, Sunggyu had turned to leave and board the public transportation vehicle. Adamant, the heiress chased him into the bus (she was doing an awful lot of chasing lately), grabbing onto the hem of his shirt and clenching it tightly out of desperation.

"I really really need you," Seulbi breathed out for practically everyone to hear. Passengers had looked up from what they were previously doing and were staring at the two of them by this time. Even the driver was being lenient on his departure time when the bus should have left a minute ago. He really wanted to see how this drama would unfold and end.