The onlookers' lingering confusion evaporated, replaced by a unanimous, pitying gaze directed at the pathetic figure of Bang Ho. The scene also snapped Jeong Yuna out of her own stupor.
Watching Eun-woo settle into the driver's seat of the imposing Range Rover SVAutobiography—the very one they'd been gawking at earlier—Jeong Yuna's jaw went slack with disbelief.
How? Her former classmate's family was thoroughly ordinary. How could he possibly be in that SUV?
A desperate, face-saving rationale surged in her mind: He's not the owner. He's the driver! That had to be it. Some rich boss bought a new car and sent his young employee to handle the paperwork.
Convinced by her own concoction, Yuna turned to the young man, 'Hyung-nim'—whose name, she recalled, was Lee Dae-ho—who was still berating Bang Ho. A triumphant, knowing smile spread across her face.
"Dae-ho oppa! Don't be fooled by him! He was my high school classmate. I know his family situation perfectly well. There's no way they could afford a car like that. I'm telling you, he must be working as a driver for someone right now!"
Hearing this, Lee Dae-ho paused, a flicker of doubt crossing his face. "Is that true?"
Encouraged, Yuna nodded vigorously. "It's absolutely true! His father is just a low-level section chief at a public corporation, and his mother is a sales clerk at a department store. Ho and I looked it up earlier—that car is a 2023 Range Rover SVAutobiography LWB. The base price is over 500 million won! Do you think a family like his could afford that?"
She spoke loudly, deliberately, wanting everyone to hear her 'revelation.'
Even Eun-woo, still sitting in the open driver's door, caught her words. He simply shook his head with a contemptuous half-smile. Some people just can't stand to see others succeed. With that thought, he reached out and pulled the heavy door shut with a solid thunk.
Faced with Yuna's confident delivery, Lee Dae-ho's conviction wavered. Could she be right? The boy's age and (until recently) unremarkable appearance did fit the profile of a chauffeur more than an heir. If true, he'd just humiliated himself in front of everyone for nothing.
A hot wave of resentment washed over him—directed at Eun-woo for the deception, but more intensely at Bang Ho and Yuna for creating this mess. Even if the kid was just a driver, Yuna shouting it out like this was a public slap to his face, exposing him as someone who'd cowered before an employee.
But then he remembered the details from the registration counter. He shook his head sharply. Yuna's story didn't add up.
The sound of the car door closing seemed to galvanize Jeong Yuna. "Dae-ho oppa, look! He heard me and now he's trying to run away!"
Lee Dae-ho frowned, thinking quickly. He suddenly asked, "Then tell me. What's your classmate's full name and birthdate?"
The question threw Yuna off balance. Why was he asking for that? But she knew the answers. They'd been classmates for over two years; she'd even had a crush on him. The birthday of Daehan High's former 'pretty boy' wasn't a secret.
"Song Eun-woo. 'Eun' as in silver, 'Woo' as in universe. He's a year older than me. Just turned nineteen. His birthday is January 21st!"
Hearing this, the last shred of Lee Dae-ho's hesitation vanished. He gave a curt nod, then turned and delivered a vicious kick to the stomach of the groaning Bang Ho, who crumpled to the ground again.
But Lee Dae-ho wasn't done. He strode over and began laying into the prone figure with renewed fury, his curses sharp and clear.
"You blind, brain-dead idiots! You pick a fight with anyone! If I hadn't come back, you'd be fish food by now! Ssi-bal!"
The sudden, brutal reversal stunned Jeong Yuna. She rushed forward, grabbing Lee Dae-ho's arm. "Oppa, stop! Please!"
He shoved her away with one hand, sending her stumbling. He then pointed a trembling finger in her face, his voice a roar of pure rage. "Get away from me, you stupid gongnyeo! This is all your fault! 'Song Eun-woo's family is poor'? 'He's just a driver'? Have you lost your mind? Let me tell you, I was standing right there when he filled out the forms. The name on the vehicle registration was Song Eun-woo!"
His words hit Yuna like a physical blow. Her vision swam. "Th-that's impossible! Oppa, you must have misread it! Or… or maybe his boss has the same name!"
This only inflamed Lee Dae-ho's anger further. In front of the crowd, hitting a woman was a line he wouldn't cross, so he redirected all his fury back onto the convenient target on the ground.
As his fists and feet found their mark, he spat out the final, irrefutable detail: "Misread? You think I'm illiterate? The date of birth on that registration was January 21, 2005! Tell me, is his boss also a nineteen-year-old?!"
The crowd watched Lee Dae-ho's violent display, listening to his words. No one felt an ounce of sympathy for Bang Ho. While the violence was ugly, the cause was clear. A teenager driving a half-billion-won car wasn't just rich; he was connected. Mishandling this could have dire consequences far worse than a beating.
Inside the Range Rover, Eun-woo had finished affixing the new vehicle inspection sticker to the windshield. He settled back into the driver's seat, started the engine—the V8 issuing a deep, resonant growl—and prepared to leave.
It was at that moment that Jeong Yuna, standing frozen in the aftermath of Lee Dae-ho's revelation, seemed to break from her trance. Muttering something unintelligible, she suddenly lunged forward in a desperate sprint.
She reached the passenger side of the Range Rover before Lee Dae-ho could react, yanked the door open, and threw herself inside, slamming the door shut behind her.
Eun-woo, about to shift into drive, stopped cold. He turned his head, his expression morphing from mild annoyance to icy impatience.
"What," he said, his voice flat and dangerously calm, "do you think you're doing?"
[To be continued…]