"It's not..." Emily Green pressed her lips together. "I'm the one who offended you. It has nothing to do with my friends."

Christopher Carter found it even more amusing. "You didn't offend me either. It's just that I want to mess with you."

Emily Green replied calmly, "It's the same thing."

"Oh, getting philosophical now, huh..." Christopher Carter looked her up and down, laughing. "I really can't tell if you're a tough girl or just naïve and sweet."

Emily Green said nothing.

Christopher Carter laughed. "Actually... I'm still working on ways to deal with your company. Who knows, maybe your company is so fierce they'll just wipe me out? What are you afraid of?"

Emily Green shook her head slightly. "Someone like you, if you really targeted Apink, would be scarier than ten thousand antis."

"You talk like you know me so well, but you do have a point." Christopher Carter had never worried about not being able to handle a company like ACUBE. Snakes have their ways, and so do rats. Even if Brian Baker's suggestion couldn't be carried out, he naturally had other methods. The underworld is always the hardest to deal with—if people like him really set their minds to go against you, ACUBE would have to compromise sooner or later. In fact, before ACUBE even gave in, the Apink members might break down first. So this time, Emily Green saw the essence of it; she knew there was only one way to truly settle everything.

And that was to let him get what he originally wanted.

So, is this what they call his original intention?

Sometimes, when Emily Green thought about it, she couldn't help but feel a bit self-mocking.

"Sit down." Christopher Carter poured her a drink. "This is your second time here, and you still won't sit. That's really not giving me any respect."

Emily Green sat down straightforwardly, grabbed the glass and took a sip. Apparently not used to drinking, she choked almost immediately and started coughing violently.

Christopher Carter didn't bother to pretend to help her or anything. He just swirled his own glass and drank, saying lightly, "Actually, I was just angry earlier today. After I calmed down, I realized that although it sucks that you all look down on me, honestly, I look down on you too, so we're even. But even if we're even, I still really want you, Emily Green, and you know why. When the meat is already at your lips and it flies away, I just can't let it go."

Emily Green wanted to say something angrily, but Christopher Carter waved his hand. "Yes, I'm shameless, despicable, insane, and breaking the law. But so what? I'm in the underworld. Isn't that exactly why you all look down on me?"

The words Emily Green wanted to say got stuck in her throat. After a while, she could only sigh helplessly. "Since you know that's the reason people look down on you, why do you still do it? I think you do a great job running your security company..."

Christopher Carter looked at her with a half-smile for a while and said, "But I want you. If I don't do this, how can I get you? Don't tell me you could actually fall in love with me."

Emily Green jumped up in anger. "Just because you want something, you have to get it? If everyone was like you, the world would be a mess!"

Christopher Carter said leisurely, "That's why I'm Christopher Carter, and they're not." He paused, then suddenly tilted his head back and finished his drink, laughing loudly. "A Chinese orphan wandering in Korea—if I gave in on this and put up with that, I would've ended up in a stray dog's belly when I was just a kid. What do you kids know? If I could, I wish that one day, there would be nothing left in this thousand-mile South Korea that I have to put up with!"

Emily Green opened her mouth, feeling a bit shaken inside, but in the end, couldn't say a word.

Christopher Carter turned his head, his eyes shining with a strange light. Emily Green closed her eyes, knowing that today, she couldn't escape anymore.

Chapter 10: If Only the Heart Could Be Understood

After that night, Christopher Carter never saw Emily Green again.

Life seemed to return to how it was before he met her—messing around, fighting, collecting gambling debts, collecting protection fees, indulging himself with all kinds of women. As for business, his hotel had a large-scale development plan, but because of the uncertainty around Leo King, it wasn't the right time to make any big moves, so it was put on hold for now. Instead, he occasionally did some legitimate business with the security company.

The girl's helplessness that night seemed like nothing more than a dream he had by accident, only occasionally flashing through his mind when he was idle.

Her reaction had really surprised him.

There was none of that heartbroken, tear-stained, pitiful look you'd expect from a pure girl losing her innocence. She was very calm.

Even rather free-spirited.

It was only after everything was over that she quietly said to him, "Can you let go now?"

Christopher Carter nodded silently. He didn't really feel like he'd gained anything; strangely enough, he actually felt like he'd lost something...

When she saw him nod, she gave him a beautiful, smiling look.

It was the second time he'd seen her smile, and it was still beautiful—the crescent curve of her lips could tug at your heart and make it soft.

—Then she left without looking back, limping, even stumbling a bit at the door.

Christopher Carter instinctively wanted to go help her, but she quickly regained her balance and disappeared outside the door.

With the way she acted, he really couldn't tell if she was a tough girl or just naïve and sweet. Sometimes Christopher Carter wondered if all people from Busan had that kind of bold, northern spirit.

Oh right, those damned Busan guys...

"Mr. Clark, the Busan guys are over there!"