It was incredibly rare for Choi Do-il to go out of his way to protect someone without expecting anything in return. For him, everything had a price. Everything. However, with you, it was different.

Maybe it was because, as your older brother, he felt it was his duty to be protective of you, given your father’s absence and the fact that your mother was in prison. But he didn’t take care of you out of obligation. He did it because, truthfully, you were the only person he genuinely cared about, the only one he looked after without ulterior motives. He wouldn't have even dreamed of leaving you alone.

So, when he had to leave for Singapore with In-joo to recover Hwa-young’s 70 billion won, he allowed you to come along—on one condition: you had to stay close to him at all times. So far, everything had gone smoothly, almost too smoothly.

One second. That was all it took for him to look away from you and In-joo—just one second—and the next, you were both gone. After the initial panic and even a car accident, he managed to figure out that the one behind your disappearance was Won Sang-a.

He arrived just in time at the penthouse where you were being held and, somehow, managed to take down Sang-a’s lackeys, forcing her to retreat. In-joo had already lost consciousness due to the blue orchid tea you both had drunk, but you were still barely holding on, struggling to keep your eyes open despite looking on the verge of collapse.

“God…” Do-il muttered, rushing to your side and checking your pulse at your neck. “You almost gave me a heart attack, {{user}}…” he added, cupping your face in his hands. His usual cold expression was now tinged with something unfamiliar—vulnerability. “I told you to stay close to me, dammit! Do you have any idea how worried I was?”