Chapter 65: 150 km/h

"By making such a mess... aren't you afraid of ruining him?"

An aged voice came through the phone, causing Myoui Mina to lift the corners of her mouth in a slight smile:

"If he can't even handle matters of the heart, is he fit to succeed you?"

"Aren't you afraid of throwing the entire master plan into chaos?"

The master plan, you say...

Myoui Mina leaned sideways against the balcony, tilting her highball glass slightly. The remaining drops of tequila slid down her throat, the fierce bite of the alcohol mingling with the sour tartness of lime, stimulating her taste buds.

A true grand chessboard behind the scenes is not some trivial play about romance and affection; what does it matter if she acts a little detached in this regard?

It is merely a condiment in life. After all, he, the main course, will ultimately be tasted by her alone.

"If he manages to disrupt the plan we laid out together, wouldn't that be precisely what you want? By then, he would truly be considered a qualified successor."

The person on the other end of the line gave a dry chuckle, followed by a sigh. "You crazy girl... don't underestimate that kid."

"I shall wait and see."

-----------------

As the scissor door of the McLaren Artura swung open, the man in the driver's seat cast a glance at Yoo Jimin, shooting her a look that instantly forced back her pent-up resentment and grievance.

Just hours ago, he had been a playboy wearing a GK uniform; how had he now transformed into an entirely different person?

An immaculate gray spun-wool suit, paired with a black shirt featuring a slightly unbuttoned collar, complemented by that pair of intellectual silver-rimmed glasses...

To use a rather inappropriate metaphor, he had changed from a Samoyed into a wolf.

Although Samoyeds possess massive size and immense strength, their appearance is utterly adorable; otherwise, Yoo Jimin would never have dared to deliberately tease him on a park bench.

Yet now... he emanated an indescribable aura of danger from the inside out, to the extent that even the phrase "refined scoundrel" fell short of describing the man before her.

The girl bit her lip, took two deep breaths outside the car, and finally climbed inside as if resigning herself to her fate.

Observing Yoo Jimin's attire, he teased with a playful glint in his eye:

"Just crawled out of bed? I thought you'd at least dress up."

Inviting Yoo Jimin out this time was somewhat of a rash impulse; he truly had no idea where else to direct the negative emotions weighing on his mind.

The only person who came to mind was the girl sitting right before him.

"Please... it's one o'clock in the morning. Barely twenty minutes have passed since you made that call."

She looked down to inspect her outfit: a white hoodie, dark blue plaid pajama pants, and a pair of casual gray sneakers she had slipped on haphazardly before heading out...

By comparison, she certainly looked a bit too casual.

Yoo Jimin's gaze drifted toward the man driving in silence. The collar of his black shirt was parted ever so slightly, and for a fleeting second, she thought she caught sight of a pale pink adhesive bandage.

"Did someone take a bite out of you?" she asked, fixing her gaze on it with a hint of concern.

"Mhm."

She opened her mouth, yet ultimately couldn't suppress her curiosity and blurted out, "Who?"

"Seol Yoona, also known as Sullyoon from NMIXX."

Yoona...

Mina, Karina, Yuna, Yoona...

Yoo Jimin's brow twitched slightly. The old prophecy had actually come to pass in an entirely unexpected way.

For some reason, her strength seemed to drain entirely from her body, and her melancholic gaze settled once more upon the unyielding man.

A shoulder that Yoo Jimin wasn't even allowed to lean on had actually been bitten and scarred by someone else...

Was her charm truly inferior to that of Sullyoon?

A wave of melancholy and frustration washed over Yoo Jimin, though it was overshadowed by a deep sense of unwillingness and defiance.

Sullyoon was free to bite him openly, whereas she... was summoned in the dead of night by a single phone call from him, without the slightest chance of refusal.

Her gaze shifted away from Lim Xingcan's profile back to the road ahead. Seeing the vehicle heading toward the highway on-ramp, an ominous premonition welled up in the girl's heart.

"W-why are you getting on the highway? Where are you taking me?"

"Taking you for a tour of the country."

"Hey! Lim Xingcan! Have you lost your mind?!"

-----------------

Driving from Seoul onto the coastal highway, heading due south toward Gwangju Metropolitan City, then turning east via Yeosu, Busan, and Yangsan, the gray supercar ultimately came to a halt in a seaside park within Ulsan Metropolitan City.

A journey of nearly six00 kilometers, along a highway devoid of traffic in the dead of night, was completed by the McLaren Artura in four and a half hours, maintaining a steady pace right at the speed limit throughout.

During the first hundred kilometers, Yoo Jimin gripped the passenger handle the entire time, staring fixedly at the road ahead, knowing full well that speed cameras did not cover every stretch of the highway.

As long as there were no speed cameras or interval enforcement zones on that particular section, the roaring engine of the McLaren left the girl too terrified to relax or even draw a full breath.

After all, the slightest twitch of the steering wheel or a minor road hazard could spell the end for both her and Lim Xingcan.

During the second hundred kilometers, due to her nerves being tightly strung for so long—and considering it was now past two in the morning—she could no longer outlast the man in the driver's seat and drifted into a brief, exhausted sleep.

During the third hundred kilometers, waking up in a hazy daze, she stared in astonishment at a billboard in the distance—"Welcome to Gwangju!"

During the fourth hundred kilometers, having completely surrendered to the situation, she began playing with the McLaren's infotainment system, starting up her favorite song "I Love You 3000" on the modest screen and humming along softly.

During the fifth hundred kilometers, she began to somewhat enjoy the thrill of moving at extreme speed, attempting to roll down the window to feel the wind, only to be scolded by Lim Xingcan, causing her to retract her hand in a huff and defiantly flip him off behind his back.

During the sixth hundred kilometers, the McLaren Artura exited the highway and finally came to a standstill beside the serene, deep-blue coastline. Taking a deep, lingering breath, she watched the unbroken horizon before dawn break into a gentle smile.

"Whew... that was thrilling..."

Because she had spent hours seated in the uncomfortable racing bucket seat, her thighs felt numb as she stepped out. Stumbling slightly, she braced both hands against the rear turbocharger radiator of the McLaren Artura, the scorching heat forcing her to instantly pull her hands back as she stuck her tongue out at the man, who still seemed consumed by his own thoughts.

"Was it merely thrilling?"

A trace of exhaustion flickered in his eyes. Naturally so—driving continuously for four and a half hours meant he had skirted right along the edge of drowsy driving.

Furthermore, it was now five-thirty in the morning; he hadn't slept a wink all day, had he?

At that thought, a wave of lingering fear washed over the girl.

Had Lim Xingcan felt even a fraction of drowsiness, both of their lives would have been left behind on that highway.

For a brief moment, she even imagined tomorrow's front-page headline—"Chaebol Heir and Top Idol Both Perish; The Cause Appears to Be..."

Finding her pajama pants inconvenient for movement, she took quick, light steps toward a nearby vending machine, absentmindedly pressing the button for an Americano before tapping the tea beverage beside it.

After scanning the code to pay, she hurried back clutching two drinks, and with an eager heart, handed the tea beverage to the man sitting sideways on the hood of the car.

To her surprise, he bypassed her outstretched hand and took the coffee instead, which Yoo Jimin had been holding against her chest.

"You can control the steering wheel, yet you seem incapable of controlling your own life. How truly pathetic."