Chapter 180
Chapter 180
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 180
Chapter Title: Yoon and Jaeyeon (2)
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“Let’s go.”
Yoon completely ignored Jaeyeon and stopped beside me.
“What are you doing here?”
“Ah. I got caught up in a little misunderstanding.”
“Gotten skinnier?”
Jaeyeon lazily tossed out the words, a cigarette dangling from his mouth.
Yoon, as expected, ignored him. My master stopped next to me and pulled a cigarette from his inner pocket.
Click! Hiss. The flame from the Zippo lighter he always carried flickered to life, then died out.
“How is the chairman doing?”
Jaeyeon closed the distance without a care for Yoon’s cold shoulder.
His fox-like eyes curved slyly.
“Come to think of it, it’s been a while since we paid our respects together. Babe, we should go see him together this time.”
I narrowed my eyes and turned to Jaeyeon.
What was he saying?
I couldn’t follow the context at all.
Of course, nothing this guy said was trustworthy. He might just be trying to get under Yoon’s skin on purpose.
Sure enough, Yoon slowly turned his head to look at Jaeyeon.
His expressionless face was chilling.
“You know there are civilians around.”
He whispered into my ear.
It was because Yoon’s killing intent was stabbing at my body. This wasn’t the kind he released just to threaten. This guy would swing his fist in an instant if things went south.
Of course, Yoon ignored my words too.
“Your owner must be busy?”
Yoon’s low voice.
Jaeyeon didn’t answer and closed the distance further.
I observed the two men with my nerves on edge.
The thickening scent of cologne.
Colton’s lackey casually draped his elbow over my shoulder and widened his smile.
“Why bring her up so tactlessly? We’re talking about us.”
Jaeyeon spoke as if scolding him, then dropped an enormous bombshell.
“We’re engaged, aren’t we?”
“Pardon?”
What did he say?
What…?
“What did you say?”
“When we were just barely adults, we promised each other our future, didn’t we?”
His sly voice delivered unbelievable content.
My master smoked his cigarette without denying or affirming it.
My mouth fell open.
“And you’re going to act this cold? I’m hurt, really.”
“You’re joking, right?”
My voice came out half-hoarse as I asked again.
Jaeyeon lowered the arm he’d placed on my shoulder and turned to me. Crystalline amusement sparkled in his black eyes.
“Joking? Do you know how much effort I put into getting all dressed up for our first meeting?”
I gaped, then looked at my master.
The man who was blowing cigarette smoke out in donut shapes.
He met my questioning gaze and spoke.
“My adoptive father sold me off good.”
His voice was dangerously soft.
“Back when he had that stupid ambition to expand his influence in all directions. The moment he thought marrying me off to the daughter of a U.S. senator and his adopted son would shift the power balance, he was beyond saving.”
“Daughter of a U.S. senator?”
“You’re crushing O’Hara’s pure heart every time, you know.”
Jaeyeon shot Yoon a crooked grin.
When he was in male form, it was hard to imagine him as female. The same went the other way. In female form, his current appearance didn’t come to mind easily.
But it was clear they were the same being.
“Poor girl. She loved you back then, you know? The chaos she caused just to meet you.”
“Cut that disgusting third-person act of yours, didn’t I tell you?”
Yoon shot back coldly.
Jaeyeon ignored him completely, while Yoon loathed him without restraint.
Standing between them, I fell into a light panic.
So, they really had been engaged at some point?
O’Hara must have been Jaeyeon’s alias back then, and the senator’s daughter was a cover identity. She—or he—often pulled stunts like that.
But….
Was it still going on?
“Are you still engaged?”
“You think I would be?”
“If she hadn’t died in the war, we’d be together by now.”
Jaeyeon pretended to wipe away nonexistent tears with his finger.
“What a tragic story!”
“The upside of war.”
Yoon said coolly from beside Jaeyeon, who was dramatically shouting.
Contempt laced the words that followed from his mouth.
“Well, the world has its fortune-tellers who sell off their own limbs, I suppose.”
Bam!
It was Jaeyeon’s swung fist.
The actors screamed. Eek! Ack! The sounds pierced my ears, and the liquor bottles on the table shattered noisily. Crash! Resonating glass. Alcohol soaking the floor.
I yanked the frozen actress—the one who’d dragged me here—back, then grabbed Jaeyeon’s nape as he lunged at Yoon.
“Pick your time and place!”
Yoon, who’d blocked the punch with a glass bottle, tossed the neck-only remnant to the floor.
I tightened my grip on Jaeyeon’s arm and furrowed my brow.
“Do your bitching where there are no civilians!”
“Got it. If you insist that much.”
The one with his pathological whims suddenly licked away the anger from his face.
His attitude flipped so quickly. Several actors, braced for more noise, let out dumbfounded sounds.
Regardless, Jaeyeon went limp in my grasp. I glumly looked down at his now-light arm.
“Gotta listen when a handsome guy says it.”
So what concept was this now?
I indifferently dropped the arm I’d been holding. Then I shot a glare at Jaeyeon as he helped up the collapsed actress.
The actors were half-dazed from the sudden commotion.
I sighed and started kicking the glass shards aside with my foot.
Once I’d gathered them in one spot, I turned to Yoon.
“I miss Ye-hyeon.”
My master scoffed.
“Stop cleaning and let’s go. Why are you even bothering with this?”
“You’re the one who broke them.”
“When did I.”
“You added that unnecessary comment, so Jaeyeon…. Never mind. Let’s get out of here.”
Was watching my exhausted self amusing?
Yoon smirked as he exhaled cigarette smoke, so I shot him a glare full of dissatisfaction.
Annoyingly, Jaeyeon was patting my back.
“Good boy, aren’t you?”
I want to see Colton too.
With that absurd thought, I pulled away from the lunatics. I didn’t go far—just to the sofa with the actors. I planned to grab one of the unbroken liquor bottles here. There was a decent-looking one among them.
Might as well have a good drink before leaving.
As I reached out, the seated actors flinched.
I paid no mind to their reaction.
Until the woman who’d brought me here stammered at me.
“Um, excuse me.”
“Yes?”
I turned my head to reply, and she flinched.
Whether because of Jaeyeon or whatever, I didn’t move to avoid scaring the terrified woman further. I just held the bottle’s neck and waited for her to continue.
She mumbled in a thoroughly cowed voice.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know….”
I smiled bitterly.
Honestly, the male actor should be the one apologizing.
Not that I cared much either way.
Sympathizing with these people who’d witnessed the clash between the cruelest Enhanced Body users, I replied.
“It’s fine.”
“No. I’ll apologize properly later! If you tell me your name….”
“Mr. Talib.”
A familiar voice called me.
I turned to see the man beside Yoon. He looked exactly the same as before. A face as pale as Ye-hyeon’s, deeply sunken eyes. His red hair tied in a neat half-up, as always.
I was genuinely glad to see Shashinsky.
He observed me quietly.
“He’s waiting.”
Me too.
I nodded and headed toward the light where the elder with peculiar tastes awaited.
***
It was a hall befitting Eric Airhart, no matter how many times I saw it.
Corinthian columns rising to the ceiling. Unfussy chandeliers spaced every fifteen meters. A plaster-finished ceiling.
A grand piano sat at one end of the hall. A man seated before it played classical music, while a singer in a cobalt-blue dress sang beside him.
It was an elegant aria.
“Have a seat.”
Eric, lounging lazily, smiled brightly at me.
He naturally didn’t spare Yoon a glance.
What consistent tastes this man had.
“I’ve prepared cigars for you. Hope they suit your palate.”
“Do I have to sit?”
I’d expected it, but I wasn’t thrilled.
“I was planning to hand over the game and leave right away. Given the timing, aren’t you busy?”
“Not at all. Both of you, sit down.”
No dice.
I sullenly sat across from Eric Airhart. Yoon lazily took the sofa beside me. The gazes of the people in the hall focused on us, then scattered.
Today, behind Eric Airhart were Shashinsky and an unknown woman.
A blunt bangs and straight-cut hair. As pale as Shashinsky, the woman wore black square-framed glasses and stood there. She seemed to be one of Spitfire’s lackeys too.
Where’d the blonde go?
Noting the minor peculiarity, I reached for the cigar on the table.
I don’t particularly like cigarettes—they feel like inhaling and exhaling air.
“Nice.”
Shashinsky lit it for me.
Tasting the cigar with one leg crossed over my thigh, I gave an honest assessment.
“Heavy.”
“Glad it suits you.”
Airhart’s eyes narrowed lengthily.
No one wore a light suit better than him. Born with an elegance different from Colton’s.
“I worried it might not be to your taste.”
“You overstate it. You know my standards aren’t that high. I’d have happily smoked whatever you gave me.”
“Is that so? You wouldn’t show it, but you’d surely notice the quality.”
Airhart picked up a cigar too.
The black-haired woman lit it for him.
Spitfire smiled at me without bringing the cigar to his lips.
“You’ve had long dealings with Falcon, after all.”
A flash of displeasure rose at Spitfire’s words, then faded.
What was this?
I unconsciously furrowed my brow slightly. It felt like a bad memory revived and vanished from his words.
…I couldn’t recall.
“Before handing over the game, let’s discuss something else.”
As I tried to grasp the slipped thread of memory, Spitfire pulled me back.
“About your kidnappers.”
Yoon stubbed out his cigarette.
I could feel him tense up. I set down the cigar I’d been about to smoke.
The elder said coolly.
“To cut to the chase, we haven’t found them.”
“Pardon?”
“Do you grasp what that means?”
I reflexively raised my voice in disbelief.
Ignoring my reaction, he slowly asked back.
He was one of the three most powerful figures in existing humanity.
The elder who turned countless into followers. The elder who focused on personal amusement over raw power. Thus exuding a vibe utterly different from Falcon or Suhoi, he awaited my answer.
I arched a brow but quickly regained composure.
It had been months since the search began.
“Falcon or Suhoi are hiding them.”
“Likely the result of some past deal they made. They’re not the types to personally shelter someone, but clearly, whatever agreement to conceal their identity is still in effect.”
“There must’ve been some clues at least.”
Before I knew it, my back had left the backrest.
Yoon’s had too. We leaned forward toward Spitfire, ears perked.
“If you tell me that much, I’ll speak to Falcon directly.”
“Ah, so you’re convinced the one inadvertently sheltering the culprit is Falcon.”
“Less convinced, and more… surprisingly, Falcon feels more approachable to me than Suhoi….”
Unsure if ‘approachable’ fit that man.
“I’ll inquire with Falcon first….”
KABOOM!
A massive explosion cut off the conversation.
Screams erupting. The sound of walls crumbling, bombs detonating.
Bodyguards drawing guns in unison….
Spitfire’s laughter.
“This challenger has some guts.”
Someone seemed to be challenging Eric Airhart’s power.
The man turned to the exploded wall without batting an eye and issued a command in a voice laced with delight.
“Shashinsky, go welcome our guest.”