A Fragrance of Blood and Flowers
Enoch sighed at the mercenary office, prioritizing grasping the situation over surprise. Having spent time with Soo, he'd grown accustomed to her sudden whims.
The crystal earring, snapped in half, and the note that had slipped out from it. The note was incredibly small and thin—barely enough space for a single line of text. But something was definitely written on it.
"What's it say?"
"Mm..."
Soo unfolded the note, her brows furrowing.
[neo://88.204.199.77]
It was English letters and numbers that stumped her right from the start. She held it out to Enoch, but he just blinked at it with a blank look.
"Oh?"
Angela was different, though.
"A corporate private block... y'know, a unique IP only used by NeoNic?"
"What."
Enoch was the one startled. Freaking out at the mention of a corp name was the natural reaction—especially for one of the big three megacorps like NeoNic.
"...NeoNic?"
"Yeah, it's NeoNic... but something's off about it."
Angela trailed off, her eyes flickering blue. Soo promptly pressed a milkshake to Angela's cheek, then sniffed the faint scent wafting from the note.
'Flowers.'
She wasn't well-versed enough in flowers to pinpoint the type, but she could tell it was definitely floral. Perfume, or fresh blooms? Normally, you'd assume perfume. Fresh flowers in Eden weren't cheap. But if this IP really belonged to NeoNic, that changed things.
'An office overflowing with fresh flowers.'
One hell of a luxurious setup.
Soo glanced at Angela with that thought in mind.
"Using NeoNic's private IP, but it's not from a NeoNic employee..."
"Can that even happen?"
"Not impossible, but damn close. NeoNic's infamous for tighter security than the other megacorps."
And it was true. Among the big three, NeoNic hired the most netwatchers—and leaked the least info as a result.
"They never leave clues that could trace back to them... but."
"Here it is. A clue like that."
"Exactly. It's... really weird."
Angela examined the IP over and over, but it was definitely derived from NeoNic.
"Can you tell where it leads?"
"Hmm..."
Angela pondered for a moment, then nodded slowly.
"If I hop in a tub full of ice, I could probably manage it."
"Sounds risky. Better not touch it, then?"
"Well, it is NeoNic. But..."
Angela's gaze shifted to Soo.
"You wanna know, right, Soo?"
"Yeah."
No hesitation, no beating around the bush—Soo answered straight.
Coincidence or fate, she didn't care. She wasn't about to let this opportunity slip by and regret it.
"If anything happens to you, I'll take responsibility and save you."
"Hehe, really?"
"Yeah. Promise."
Their pinkies hooked together. Angela let out a relieved laugh.
"Alright. Let's check it out after we meet Seung-ah. She might know something."
"Thanks."
Soo smiled back at her. Watching the pair's warm exchange, Enoch cleared his throat awkwardly.
"What about me? Got nothing for me?"
"Of course you do. Enoch, you can guard the door."
"...Soo's better at guarding."
"You could fill the tub with ice."
"I'll guard the door."
Enoch blurted it out reflexively. Angela burst into laughter.
"Why? Don't wanna pour the ice?"
"No, it's not that. The tub... getting in it... it'd be awkward all around, so Soo makes more sense..."
His stumbling euphemism only made Angela laugh harder. Soo shot Enoch a pouty smirk.
"Enoch perv."
"Wh-what're you saying...!"
"Angela's wearing her cooling suit in the tub. Why would it be awkward?"
"Uh..."
Thinking about it, yeah. Naked versus suited up—the suit would cool even better, obviously.
"No, I mean, I...!"
"Enoch perv."
"Like I said—"
"Tch."
Soo clicked her tongue and hopped out of the car. Angela followed with a coy giggle. Left alone, Enoch scanned for something to smash in frustration, then just chewed hard on nothing and got out. One wrong poke, and the damn thing might never start again...
The place had looked empty with just odds-and-ends furniture, but after sorting the belated deliveries, it finally resembled an office. The secret room behind the rotating bookshelf especially tickled Soo's fancy. Well, less "secret" and more "bedroom," but a hidden passage like that had romance to it.
"Fancy furniture really lives up to the price."
"This sofa's so plush... I thought mine was top-notch, but this is next level."
"Miki too frail."
After a grueling 12-hour cleanup, the three were spotless. Enoch had done this kind of grunt work for breakfast, Angela was decent with physical labor, and Soo went without saying.
"Huff... haa, oh god... ugh, my back..."
Miki, though, was a different story. Every back-rub from Soo drew out some seriously intense moans as she trembled all over.
"Good job, Miki. Thanks for the cleaning."
"...Thanks? For my life-debt, this was... ugh... dirt cheap... oof... g-gently, please..."
The cleaning Soo had dumped irresponsibly was flawless. Ventilation on point, even air freshener bought out-of-pocket. A subtle woody scent—not overpowering—mingling with the used furniture smell, filling the office like a study. Soo's favorite aroma.
"Just the bathroom reno left, huh."
"Yeah, scheduled for 6 PM sharp... 10 minutes late? Busy day, I guess."
"Tardiness is par for the course. Plus, interior crews are full of crooks—better watch 'em close."
"Even the ones Elder recommended?"
"Yeah. Can't trust those bastards."
Even with Salvador's name dropped, Enoch declared it boldly. He'd worked interiors himself once—tech kept under wraps, so mostly odd jobs for half a year, but he'd seen plenty.
"They slack even on megacorp exec gigs, siphoning materials. Elder's intro won't change that."
Especially outfits like Wolha Interiors that doubled as security. Eden guards were bottom-feeders: no stomach for merc work, just thugs confident in brute force. Enoch's most despised type.
"Enoch sounds like a total gramps."
"This is all blood-and-guts wisdom—"
Enoch cut off mid-sentence. A polite knock echoed through the office.
Knock knock.
"Excuse us. Wolha Interiors."
"Come in."
Enoch went straight casual—you had to seize the initiative. Call him boomer all you want. Hell, today he'd be the boomer. This was the office they'd share long-term. If playing hardass got it done right, he'd do it a hundred times.
"Hmph."
He eyed the three workers entering with a sharp glare.
"You're late."
Initiative again. I'm a picky asshole, so do it right.
"Haha, sorry. Morning job ran long. But we'll do it thorough—go easy on us."
The apparent team lead flashed a friendly smile and got right to work. Amid the clatter in the office, Soo's gaze drifted out the window. Westtown streets at dusk. In 30 minutes, neon signs would flicker on, conjuring that classic cyberpunk vibe. A bit later, folks would head home for tomorrow's grind. But the reno would continue late. Impossible back home, but this was peak-tech Eden. Interior crews packed sound barriers standard—stick 'em on windows and doors to swallow all noise. Handy as hell. With helper drones and cyborgs, three guys plus gear could wrap this in half a day. Already, not even a minute in, the barriers were up. No one outside would hear a thing inside now. Or see. Opaque panels blocked sight both ways. The office was fully isolated.
Soo scanned the setup lightly, then looked at Angela. Angela met her eyes steadily and smiled sweetly.
"Shall we head out, Soo?"
"Yeah."
"We'll leave you to it."
"Yes, we'll make it spotless!"
Angela gave a sweet farewell, took Soo's hand, and stepped outside. One step, two. Soo crossed paths with one worker. He smiled kindly at Soo and Angela. Soo's nose twitched. She caught his scent: flowers and blood. Didn't know the blood, but the floral matched the note exactly.
"Angela."
On the third step, Soo halted.