Chapter 34
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 34
To catch a fish, you must cast your line where fish are known to swim.
Over the past week, Seo-ah had discreetly gathered what information she could about Vies. The market, it turned out, was the one place with no entry restrictions. It drew large crowds, making it the perfect place to make contact with others. She wasn’t a tourist; she couldn’t afford to waste a single day.
“I’m asking because I truly don’t understand. Why on earth do you want to go to the market?”
The problem was that she couldn’t tell Abel her real reason. She didn’t have the nerve to make demands of a man who was clearly sick and tired of accompanying her, nor was she shameless enough to bring up the terms of her contract with Oscar.
That left her with only one option.
Seo-ah forced her drooping head up. As the early morning sun seeped into her eyes, she pulled her trembling lips into a taut line. She painted her expression with apology, a silent plea for him not to refuse.
“I just… want to see it,” she pleaded.
Her gaze, the Outsider’s gaze, met his for a moment before falling to a point somewhere near his chin.
“Couldn’t you… please take me?”
Well now, she’s got a talent for bewitching people.
Abel stared at the woman before him, his arms crossed.
Pal Pien. Or was it Par Pien?
Which bastard told her about that place?
The moment she’d asked to go to that cramped, filthy, chaotic market, of all places, Abel had sworn he wouldn’t go there even if he died and came back to life.
Say whatever you want. Use whatever logic you can to persuade me. I’m not going. Just try me. I’ll shoot down every single word.
But the woman said nothing more.
Her clear eyes, devoid of the shadows so common among the people here, blinked slowly. He could see her struggling just to keep her head up. Then, without warning, she lifted her gaze again. Her pale, translucent eyes, touched by the sunlight, seemed to hold nothing back.
“I just… want to see it.”
Her voice was careful and small. Then her gaze slowly lowered once more.
“Couldn’t you… please take me?”
“…”
Seduction wasn’t merely about sexual enticement. It was any act of luring a person to confuse their mind or lead them down an undesirable path. The art was indescribable and followed no rules. It required a complex harmony of timing, speech, intonation, and gaze to strike at an opponent’s vulnerability—a calculation nearly impossible to perform consciously. Seduction, therefore, was a skill that belonged more to the realm of innate talent than of practiced effort.
And the most frightening of all were those who could seduce someone without even realizing they were doing it.
If she were one of the Wolves instead of the Target, she’d be a real asset, Abel thought, watching Seo-ah get exactly what she wanted from him with just a few words and a helpless look.
Even he, a master of espionage who often used honey traps, had been momentarily captivated. He had sworn he wouldn’t set foot in that godforsaken market even if it killed him, yet the next thing he knew, he was sitting in a carriage. That said it all.
But before the shock of discovering her talent could fade, the price for his momentary bewitchment came due—in spades.
Seo-ah, who had felt suffocated by Abel glaring at her as if he wanted to kill her the entire carriage ride, finally understood his reluctance the moment she stepped outside. The markets she had visited until now had been crowded, but they at least had respectable entrances—arched signs, wide paths that didn’t force you to constantly bump into people.
This place had no sign, only a tangled alley just wide enough for one person to pass. Even that was covered with a patchwork of awnings that made it look like the mouth of a cave.
“It’s not like she’s haunted by some market-deprived ghost.”
A mutter filled with utter contempt reached her ears. It seemed he would be dropping the formal speech any day now.
“I’ll be quick,” Seo-ah said, her voice small and fading, and walked a step ahead of him.
I’ll clear a path, so follow me closely.
She glanced back with that thought in mind, only to see Abel trailing behind her like an ox being led to the slaughter. She would bet her life that if it weren’t for Oscar’s orders, he would have abandoned her long ago.
I’ll go in, but I won’t stay as long as I did at the other markets.
The moment she stepped inside, the air changed completely.
The smells of old goods, fish, meat, and all sorts of sundries mixed with the faint scent of sweat and seeped into her lungs. Along both sides of the narrow path, shops with haphazardly piled goods were packed together without a single gap. The interiors were just as cramped; between the goods stacked on either side, there was just enough space for one person to stand, where the owners were usually stationed.
Unlike the merchants in other markets who warmly called out to people, the merchants here stood silently, their eyes following the passersby. The gazes from the dim interiors felt particularly sharp.
But what could compare to the stare boring into the back of her head?
I think it’s going to burn a hole through my skull.
Meanwhile, Abel had a shitty feeling he could bet his entire fortune on—today was going to get even more fucked up. Why was this goddamn place exactly the same as it had always been? Even for him, for whom this place was like a hometown, it was nauseating. What in the world was she thinking, wanting to come here when she had nothing to buy or sell?
Looking at the back of Seo-ah’s round head as she walked ahead, Abel felt a sudden urge to crack it open and see what was inside. His earlier thoughts about her hidden talent had evaporated faster than spilled whiskey.
It feels like my trauma and claustrophobia are closing in on me.
But what good would that do? The Target wouldn’t stop, it wasn’t even nine in the morning, and this labyrinthine marketplace was just the beginning.
I want to die.
But the Target wouldn’t stop, and he couldn’t die. Nor could he kill her. Abel desperately tried to steel himself.
This is a department store. The floor is marble, and luxury brand stores line the sides. The woman up front is my sponsor. I should get a new suit. And with a suit comes cologne… I hear that Hamilton perfume with the cedarwood base is quite good these days. No, wait, it’ll be winter soon, so cedarwood isn’t right. And when you think of winter…
“Outta the way! Move it!”
The reek of fish.
“Outta the way, I said!”
“There’s no room to move!” Abel spun around and roared, his eyes murderous, at the merchant with the cart.
The merchant froze. So did Seo-ah. Even Abel, who had turned on the man so fiercely, paused. The rotten, dilapidated cart, which looked to be at least a hundred years old, radiated an overwhelming presence.
If that thing so much as brushes against my clothes, even the god of laundry won’t be able to save them.
“Let the person pass first, then you can go,” Abel growled.
But the seasoned merchant was no pushover. “Why don’t you just squeeze to the side?”
“To where?”
“Are your eyes on the soles of your feet, youngster? There’s plenty of room!”
“What, does old age grant you a sixth sense for finding paths? Where am I supposed to move on this cramped-ass road?”
At the disrespectful jab about his age, the merchant’s face purpled with rage. Abel’s patience, already worn thin, finally snapped.
“You fucking bastard, you have no respect! You look like you’ve made some money, so why the hell did you crawl into a place like this wearing those expensive clothes!”
As Abel, who looked ready to kill someone, started fighting with the merchant, Seo-ah’s heart began to race. She could see the veins bulging on his neck. The problem was, just as Abel had said, the path was too narrow for anyone to move aside. She had to get them apart somehow.
“Come over here, Young Lady.”
Someone pulled her out of the narrow alley. She found herself in a shop where stacked goods left only a single passage for one person. The female owner who had pulled her in patted her on the shoulder.
“You’re with that man, right? Tell him to get over here, quick. That old man has a nasty temper. When he gets into a fight, he’s the type to pull a knife later.”
“Thank you.” After a hurried thanks, Seo-ah gestured to Abel. “Excuse me… Mr. Sting! Mr. Sting!”
Only after she called his name several times did he finally turn to look at her.
If you could roll up disillusionment and contempt into a ball, it would look just like Abel’s eyes.
He glanced once at the sky, once at the merchant, and then strode toward her, his face suddenly a blank mask. As Abel, who had been standing like a stone blocking a stream, moved aside, the merchant went on his way as if nothing had happened. The blocked path began to flow again.
The street began to flow, but Seo-ah remained frozen.
As Abel stood blocking the front of the shop, the already dark space felt even darker. She could see his dirtied shoes and the soiled cuffs of his trousers. Having unintentionally disrupted his otherwise peaceful day, Seo-ah had no choice but to endure the heavy silence. The weight of it pressed down on her shoulders.
Behind Abel, a line of carts passed by.
Clatter-clatter-clatter, thud.
Clatter-clatter-clatter, thud.
He turned without a word. Then, as if he had decided to get through this market as quickly as possible, he strode away.
“Thank you for your help,” Seo-ah quickly said to the shop owner and was about to follow Abel when the woman grabbed her shoulder and whispered.
“You’re not from around here, are you, Young Lady?”
Seo-ah paused and looked back. The woman smiled. Only then did Seo-ah realize that, unlike the locals, the woman’s skin was the color of chocolate and her eyes were golden. She was an Outsider.
“That’s a pretty ribbon in your hair.”
“…”