Chapter 45
Eun Woo POV
"They're gone, ma," I said quietly as I stepped into Miss Laurel's room.
The curtains were half drawn, allowing the evening light to spill faintly across the floor. The room smelled lightly of coffee and medicine.
Laurel barely looked up.
"Good," she said calmly. "Now that they're all gone, I can finally breathe a little."
I hesitated for a moment.
"What about Miss Seo Hee?"
Her eyes slowly lifted toward me.
"She is not hard to please," she said softly. "Nor threaten."
My gaze immediately dropped.
Sometimes I felt like Miss Laurel was not like anyone else.
She was different in her own way… and impossible to fully read.
I still remembered Lee Joon's words clearly:
"As long as you listen to her and do as she says, you won't regret working with her."
Laurel sat down slowly, crossing one leg over the other.
"Why send Eric away?" I asked carefully. "It's not like you're planning something… right?"
She scoffed quietly.
"Sending Eric to Nicholas is like killing two birds with one stone," she said. "Besides… they're already inside my forest."
A silence followed.
Then she looked at me directly.
"Tell me," she said. "What have you heard about the qualifications for GTS?"
"Nothing confirmed," I answered honestly. "But there's apparently a test companies must pass before qualifying."
"Test?" she repeated.
I nodded.
"In the underworld, there's a man called Jung Gi. Rumors say he was exiled from the J-Dragons and later killed… but people also believe he's the one organizing the test."
For the first time, Laurel's grip around her coffee cup tightened slightly.
"Could this get any better…" she muttered.
Then she leaned back.
"Continue," she said. "What are the tests about?"
"To prove loyalty, competence, and strong will," I replied. "All CEOs interested in partnering with GTS must go through a duel."
"And whoever obtains the qualifications first wins."
"Hm."
She sighed softly.
"But they're all rumors," I added quickly. "No one knows the full truth. Even the last three companies that partnered with GTS refused to speak about the qualifications."
Laurel smiled faintly.
"What people call rumors," she said slowly, "are sometimes truths that survived a hundred years."
Then she continued,
"The best place to hide is not in private… but in the open, where people look directly at you and still cannot believe you're there."
"That's true," I admitted quietly. "But Miss Laurel… you seem worried."
"I am not worried," she corrected calmly. "Nor am I scared."
"Then what is it?"
For a brief second, something dark crossed her eyes.
"It's just that the shadow of the darkness I left behind keeps lingering around me," she said quietly. "And if I fail to control it…"
Her gaze locked onto mine.
"I will fall."
A cold silence settled in the room.
Then suddenly, she spoke again.
"Now I understand what GTS truly wants."
"You're wrong, Eun Woo," she continued before I could respond. "First, they want companies strong-willed enough to believe the rumors. Second comes the duel. If you win, you prove competence."
Her voice lowered slightly.
"And loyalty?"
She smiled.
"Your name will likely become attached to a gruesome case."
My brows tightened immediately.
"It means the authorities will target you either as an accomplice or a witness," she continued calmly. "And you must survive the investigation while convincing them you know absolutely nothing."
She leaned back slightly.
"That," she said, "is loyalty."
A chill ran down my spine.
"So GTS can continue operating without ever being tied to criminal cases."
I exhaled slowly.
"If that's true… then maybe we shouldn't even participate in the duel."
"It is stressful," Laurel admitted. "One mistake and the consequences become brutal."
Then her eyes narrowed slightly.
"But Eun Woo," she said calmly, "I taught you better than this."
I stayed silent.
"Why do you think businesses and companies keep collapsing?" she asked. "For example, I sell petroleum while you sell gas."
She tilted her head slightly.
"Of course I will do everything possible to bring you down. Only then will people continue relying on me."
Her fingers tapped lightly against the cup.
"Society only trusts what it can see."
"In this world," she continued, "there's no such thing as remaining in one place. You either climb… or you fall."
"But Miss Laurel," I said carefully, "even people at the top become afraid of looking down."
She stood up slowly.
"Why look down when you haven't even reached where you're going?"
Her heels echoed softly against the floor.
"It's like driving while constantly staring at where you came from instead of where you're headed."
She stopped walking and looked at me.
"Of course you'll crash."
Silence.
"All I need," she said calmly, "is to obtain the qualifications."
I frowned slightly.
"But Miss Laurel… you're still sick. And the duel is only three days away."
Then realization suddenly hit me.
"Is that why you sent everyone away?"
She smiled faintly.
"Like I said," she murmured, "killing two birds with one stone."
"It's dangerous," I admitted quietly.
"Well," she replied calmly, "I'm quite familiar with dangerous worlds."
Then she looked away slightly.
"Seems I'll be meeting an old accomplice again."
"Miss Laurel, why don't yo"
She cut me off immediately.
"On the day of the duel," she said coldly, "no matter who asks, no matter what happens, you cannot reveal anything we discussed today."
Her eyes sharpened.
"And if they ask about my whereabouts…"
She paused.
"Tell them I went to church."
"Miss Laurel, but"
"Do you understand what I just said?"
Her gaze locked onto mine completely.
"…Yes, ma."
"Come with me."
She walked out of the room, and I followed behind her silently.
We headed toward the second apartment connected to the house.
The walk was filled with awkward silence.
Outside, darkness had already started settling in.
Even Miss Seo Hee had gone to bed early.
Laurel finally stopped once we entered a large library.
Then she turned toward me.
"What do you think is odd in here?" she asked calmly.
I looked around slowly.
Bookshelves. Paintings. Lamps.
Then my eyes landed on three silver needles resting neatly inside a glass case.
"That," I said quietly.
"Touch it."
I hesitated… but obeyed.
The moment my fingers brushed against it, a low mechanical sound echoed through the room.
Something shifted.
My eyes widened.
"Take four steps to your right," Laurel instructed.
I did.
"Now pull the first book on the shelf."
I grabbed it, but it resisted slightly.
I pulled harder.
Suddenly, the wall moved.
My breath caught instantly.
Behind it… was an elevator.
Laurel was already standing inside.
"What are you still doing there?" she asked calmly.
"Nothing, ma."
I stepped in immediately.
The doors closed.
Then the elevator began descending.
When it finally stopped and the doors opened again…
my entire body froze.
It was another world entirely.
A hidden underground apartment stretched before me, cold and heavily secured.
"It's a safe house," Laurel explained as she walked forward. "Two entrances. Two exits. We entered through one. The other is a tunnel."
She glanced back briefly.
"If discovered, it can be used for escape."
I followed behind her silently.
Then we entered another section.
Weapons.
Rows and rows of weapons.
Guns. Bullets. Tactical gear. Motorbikes.
Even military bases would struggle to own half the things inside that room.
"Eun Woo."
Her voice pulled me back.
"There will come a time," she said quietly, "when everything becomes worse no matter how much protection we have."
Her eyes met mine.
"And when that time comes…"
Her voice lowered slightly.
"Return Eric here."
I stayed silent.
"At least," she continued calmly, "it'll take time before this place is discovered."
"But won't everything become better after partnering with GTS?" I asked carefully.
Laurel smiled faintly.
"The foolish ones," she said softly, "are the people who think they can completely depend on others."
Then she looked away slightly.
"The greater the peace… the more destructive the storm becomes."
Silence settled around us.
"I already stepped into the cold river," she murmured quietly. "I can't complain about the coldness anymore."
Then she looked back at me one final time.
"I can only survive with what I still have left."
A pause.
"Do you understand?"
I nodded slowly.
"Yes, ma."