Party Prep Is Exhausting
Wednesday afternoon.
In the inner bedroom of the largest mansion among a cluster of luxury estates, Elise lay on the bed.
"...Did he really not notice he left this here?"
Elise stared at the smartwatch in her hand.
It was Lee Hoyeon's.
How could anyone forget something they'd left behind during a massage for three entire days? And it wasn't some trinket — it was a smartwatch. He'd even bought a replacement, apparently, because he'd been wearing one on his wrist ever since. He must have written it off as lost.
"Then I don't have to give it back. He already bought a new one."
If you replaced something you thought you'd lost, only to discover you hadn't lost it at all, it actually felt worse.
Elise nodded to herself and set the smartwatch on top of the drawer. It was far too early to start touching herself. Sebas Chan would be coming to deliver his report any minute.
Knock knock.
"Come in."
"Miss. The Korean branch manager has compiled Cadet Lee Hoyeon's request and sent it over."
Sebas Chan held out a sheaf of documents.
"...Nam Da-eun?"
Elise frowned at the name that had appeared out of nowhere. It was not a name she liked. A woman who had always stood above her — someone she had considered a rival. She acknowledged the talent, of course. If Nam Da-eun hadn't been contracted to the Buyer Guild, she would have been their first-choice recruit.
"The Buyer Guild is holding Nam Da-eun's younger sister captive... Interesting."
She'd thought it suspicious that someone like that would sign with a mid-tier guild that had nothing going for it. It seemed Lee Hoyeon had already figured the whole thing out.
Elise tilted her head as she read. What was the reason? Never mind how he even knew these things — why was he trying to save Nam Da-eun?
"You don't know why he wants to rescue her?"
"No, miss. He claims he doesn't know the reason himself. Perhaps it's something like friendship. Or love."
"..."
Friendship and love. Utterly useless emotions — and yet a convincing explanation. This wasn't another guild gathering intelligence to poach Nam Da-eun. Lee Hoyeon was a private individual. Unless it was for a reason like that, he had no cause to spend a request token.
And not just any token. A request token addressed to the guild leader of the Iris Guild. The job itself was simple enough that the Korean branch manager had taken it on, but still — he had cashed in something equivalent to a blank check of guaranteed results just to save Nam Da-eun.
...His goal isn't her body, is it?
Elise thought of Baek A-young and Rumi, and of the mysterious beauty captured in that video.
They say he's in that kind of relationship with Professor Lim Sol as well. And if Nam Da-eun is next...
She pictured Nam Da-eun as she always was — beating her, then vanishing without a word. If she imagined that woman pinned beneath Lee Hoyeon...
A throb ran through her.
Just thinking about it, a strange, tingling heat washed over her body. It was the same sensation she felt when she received Lee Hoyeon's massage.
Elise glanced ahead. Sebas Chan stood there as always, faithfully posted at her side — a man of all trades, simultaneously practicing the brutal triple occupation of secretary, bodyguard, and manager. Lately, though, he had become her single greatest obstacle. He was so perfectly competent that no gap ever opened.
"...Sebas Chan. You look tired lately. How about taking a vacation?"
"I'm quite all right. Standing at your side is as good as a holiday."
"No, I mean it. Scarlet is here too. Go rest for a while."
Elise pressed, angling for a window of time in which she could get her massage. Sebas Chan did not budge.
"If the Guild Leader permits it, I will consider the matter."
"...Do as you like. I was only thinking of you when I said it."
"My apologies. Come to think of it, miss — there is new information regarding Cadet Lee Hoyeon."
"What is it?"
"Please take a look at this."
Sebas Chan sent her a video. Elise tapped play on the clip that opened with Baek A-young's face.
Ding.
I got back to the dorm after parting ways with Rumi.
"Scout, what is this..."
Liliana's voice drifted from inside. I figured Scarlet was goofing off again, but both of them were staring at a smartwatch screen. They could have each held their own and watched separately, but they were huddled over Scarlet's, faces practically glued together.
Has this girl just decided to live here? She's sitting on the bed like she pays rent.
"What's so interesting?"
I peeled off my jacket as I spoke.
"Hoyeon. You've returned."
"Perfect timing. We were watching 'cause they said your name comes up."
Scarlet and Liliana were replaying an interview. I sat down beside them and looked at the screen.
"What the hell is this."
A-young. You never said anything about this. Why are you doing this to us?
Anyone could see how nervous she was. Cute, sure — but what was she thinking, sitting for an interview out of nowhere?
"If this has nothing to do with you, Hoyeon, shouldn't we respond immediately?"
Scarlet asked, clearly worried by the look on my face. The problem was, it wasn't a lie.
"Uh... I mean, I am her partner. The problem is she announced it out of nowhere."
"Ah..."
"A party? Can I come too? I wanna be your partner."
"...No. There are going to be a ton of people. If anyone finds out you're a succubus, they'll dissect you on the spot."
"Eek. That's kinda scary. I still wanna go to the party, though."
I soothed her, pinching Liliana's cheek. Meanwhile the video was still going, the reporter chattering away. They'd started asking how she'd met me, so I focused on the screen.
"Are these people kidding me..."
If you put it like that, anyone would think we were a couple. That was actual spreading of false information.
"When did this drop?"
I looked at Scarlet.
"About an hour ago. The internet lost its mind the second it went up."
"Ah... I'm fucked."
Thankfully, Liliana didn't react much. And Elise, Nam Da-eun, Lim Sol — none of them would blow up over this, either. Nam Da-eun had bigger things to worry about, Elise didn't like me yet, and Lim Sol would just call Baek A-young directly and ask.
The real problem was someone else.
Ding.
I talked Mun Su-rin down from her hair-trigger launch. Why would you file a lawsuit, noona?
"Ah..."
I hadn't even thought of that. In the chain reaction that ran from meeting Lim Sol straight into Baek A-young, I had completely forgotten Mun Su-rin existed.
But if an invitation went to Mun Su-rin, shouldn't one have come to me as well? I was something of a public figure at this point.
Wait. Hold on.
"Liliana. We didn't get an invitation at the dorm, did we?"
"An invitation?"
Liliana nuzzled her face against my hand, eyes closed, rummaging through her memory.
"Mmm... there were so many restaurant flyers I threw them all out except the chicken-place ads, and I didn't really read the rest, so..."
"..."
No. No way. There's no chance an invitation would come to a guy like me. Yeah.
The past didn't matter. What mattered was from here on.
"Ah, damn... this is gonna tank her affection."
Thanks to Baek A-young's little stunt, my life had just gotten a lot more tiring.
The next heroines at risk were Lucy and Rumi. I needed to explain myself to them too, but neither one had contacted me. And I couldn't exactly message them first with something like, The Saint and I are just going to a party together, it's not a weird relationship! I wasn't even dating the twins. Making excuses would just be ridiculous.
Reaching out first because they hadn't reached out felt equally awkward. I wasn't the type to text first on a normal day, and starting a casual conversation the second this dropped would look exactly as calculated as it was.
"I should've kept in better touch..."
I clicked my tongue at the belated regret and turned to Scarlet.
"Scarlet. Did you get the information I asked for?"
"Yes. I've compiled everything on the social mixer and left it on the desk."
"That's my Scarlet. Reliable as always."
I sat down and read through the materials she'd prepared.
"The social mixer... a lot of famous people are coming."
As long as I rescued Nam Daehee before the party, the event itself didn't really matter. It had only ever been insurance. But things had gone this far, so now I had to attend. Baek A-young was clearly looking forward to it. If I bailed after all this, the disappointment would be enormous.
"Tch... how's Nam Da-eun doing?"
She hadn't shown her face at the academy since that day.
"She hasn't left her dorm bed. It looks like she hasn't eaten in days."
"Hah..."
I'd tried the number we'd exchanged. She wouldn't pick up. There was nothing I could do.
"If she moves at all, tell me immediately."
"Understood."
"Anything unusual with Elise?"
"She has been using the video on the smartwatch you left behind every night. The duration is increasing as well. Two hours and fifteen minutes the first night. Three hours last night..."
"...I didn't need to know that."
I did not want a detailed breakdown of Elise's masturbation schedule.
"My apologies."
"Scout. How about this one? Jungle Flavor — Jungle Chicken."
Liliana had already opened a delivery app and was picking a chicken place.
"It looks good. I approve."
"You like Jungle Chicken too?"
I pushed Liliana off me for a moment. She had been clinging to my side.
"Order whatever you want."
My head was too crowded right now to care whether it was Jungle Chicken or Amazon Chicken. While the two of them debated the menu, I prayed Kang Hyo-rin would wrap up her work quickly — and started thinking through everything I still had to do.
Inside a darkened conference room, the executives of Pandemic sat around an enormous round table, waiting for Maestro to arrive. They held themselves like dolls, rigid and perfectly still. Rebecca clicked her tongue.
"Ugh..."
Chess-piece bastards. Dolls with no will and no opinions of their own, existing only to follow Maestro's orders.
"Sorry about that. I got caught up in prayer and ran a little late."
A little, my ass.
He was two hours past the scheduled start, and not a single person looked unhappy about it. Unhappiness wasn't even the issue. There was no emotion coming off these people at all.
Maestro took his seat and opened his mouth.
"Shall we begin, then... Rebecca. Why the long face?"
"How much longer am I on standby? You said you were sending me to the academy."
Her heart had been pounding at the thought of going to see the descendant of the Rune Clan. Instead, the standby order to sit tight and watch the situation had stretched into a full week.
"Well, the damage from the terrorist attack was light, and now that the festival and the exams are over, their guard will start to drop. Another month or so should do it..."
"A month? Are you insane? I'm not waiting that long."
"Rebecca! How dare you talk back to Maestro!"
The ox-headed Demon seated beside her roared, mana flaring around him. Rebecca snorted and didn't so much as flinch.
"It's all right, Joshua. Calm yourself. And Rebecca — look into my eyes for a moment."
A low hum filled the room as mana poured from Maestro's body and flooded the space around them. The ox-faced Demon who had just been shouting at Rebecca went slack-eyed at once. The anger drained out of him, and he sat back down.
Maestro rose and walked slowly toward Rebecca. He met her gaze and spoke.
"Rebecca. You will stay still for one month. Understood?"
The fury on Rebecca's face faded, bit by bit, the moment their eyes locked.
"...Yes. I understand."
At Maestro's soft, even words, she answered with a vacant look on her face.
"There's something more urgent than the academy. And it's a job that happens to need you specifically."
Maestro looked at the now-docile Rebecca, and the corner of his mouth curled into a smile.