Chapter 41
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Friend (5)
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It seemed that entertaining guests at Hwayoung's house was a really big deal.
"What should we do for fun when we go over? Should we bring some playing cards? While our parents are talking, we could play cards or something."
"Hmm, I see. We definitely need something to do during that time... I hadn't thought about that. There's nothing to play with at my house, after all."
Hwayoung seemed just as nervous as I was hoping she'd be. Whenever I brought up the weekend get-together, she'd put on the most serious face imaginable, as if failure here meant we'd never see each other again.
"Aw, come on, is it really that serious? If there's nothing else, I could bring cards from home, or ask Sally unnie to lend us a board game or two."
"That sister of yours seems to have a lot stocked up in her dorm."
"Nah, the board games are ones I bought with my allowance. I hid them in unnie's dorm because if I kept them at home, I'd get scolded for playing instead of studying."
"..."
Hwayoung looked like she had a lot she wanted to say, so I shook my head and hurriedly added,
"No, really, they're fun once you try them! It'll be even better when we play with you and Yumi later, the four of us! I crowdfunded for these special ones!"
Hwayoung backed off at the mention that I'd bought board games thinking of her too.
"...All right. Anyway, board games might be a bit much, but passing time with cards or reading books doesn't sound bad."
"Books? Now that you mention it, your house must have tons of books too. I've been wanting to check out the ones you have."
"Uh..."
Hwayoung's eyes widened briefly, looking stumped by my words. She rolled her eyes around searching for something to say, then forced a smile.
"...There aren't any really fun books at home. That's why I usually borrow from the library. Instead, I'll prepare some tasty snacks and juice, so how about we just chat? Or we could go out to a nearby café just the two of us."
"Oh, that works too."
Thinking about it, even if someone else's house was fascinating, staying cooped up in a room all day would get boring eventually. Since it was a rare weekend meetup, it might be nice to head out and have some light fun.
"Can't wait for the weekend!"
Hwayoung smiled and replied to me.
"I'm looking forward to it too."
******
"Dennis! Dennis!"
From the morning of the weekend, Dennis was getting irritated by the pounding on her apartment door. It was because Saburo, whom she didn't even want to run into at work, was banging on the door like he was trying to break it down. He was calling her name loudly enough to advertise that he was a member of a secret organization.
Dennis, fed up, tossed aside the newspaper she'd been reading and spoke through the intercom.
"What is it, Saburo? Are you trying to ruin my weekend now too? You need to separate work and personal life."
Saburo shook his head and yelled back at Dennis's words.
"No! It's not that, Dennis. Get in the car quick! We'll talk in the car."
Dennis stopped her complaining and clicked her tongue. Seeing Saburo with such a grave, urgent expression meant it had to be some emergency mission. Dennis grabbed a bag and headed down from the building in whatever clothes she had on.
The building Dennis lived in was a fairly upscale villa by neighborhood standards. It was decent considering her position in the organization, partly because her cover job was fairly high-ranking, and partly to avoid drawing suspicion by living in some rundown old place.
She'd always thought it was great for avoiding run-ins with people like Saburo, but now he'd shown up out of nowhere, shattering her peaceful rest.
Dennis climbed into the passenger seat of Saburo's old sedan. Saburo was the type who didn't care about appearances, so the car reeked of oil, and the paint was peeling off the exterior. Dennis grimaced at the hood visible from the passenger seat, which looked like it'd been clawed by some beast.
"Can't you at least wash the car? This is so tacky. Get some paint on it or something. It looks like a getaway car from a crime."
Saburo shook his head while exchanging emails on his phone.
"Washing the car isn't the priority. We've got a solid lead on Yoshio right now. Yeah, this time it's for real. I got word that Iwamoto Yoshio is taking his family somewhere. We've got people monitoring in real-time, but just in case, we're heading out too."
Dennis frowned at Saburo's continued obsession with Iwamoto Yoshio. He was dangerous. Just look at how he'd silently offed Shinsuke and ran a massive organization. Chasing after a guy like that again made Saburo seem even more reckless and hazardous to her.
"Don't you remember Shinsuke tailing Iwamoto Yoshio and getting caught and killed? I don't get why you keep stirring up dangerous stuff. We already have Iwamoto Serika under our organization's control anyway. We can just wait it out."
Saburo started the engine with a grin. The scar at the corner of his mouth made it look even more like a sneer.
"What, you scared?"
Dennis narrowed her eyes at that. She didn't like wasting her precious weekend on Saburo's schemes, but she hated being called a coward even more. Dennis leaned back in the seat and buckled her belt.
"When did I say I was scared? Anyway... let's get going."
"Hold on a sec. Let me grab a takeout from the café next door."
And with that, Saburo drove to a café chain. As Dennis stared at him in disbelief, Saburo looked back and asked,
"You not getting coffee?"
"...I'll have a latte."
********
"Whoa, it's so stately, so stately."
Hwayoung's house was in the mountains, fairly far from the city center. It was a Western-style mansion straight out of a classic horror flick, with vines on the gate and pitch-black barred windows adding to the eerie vibe. There was a separate parking lot outside, so you had to park and walk in, and the path from there to the entrance wound uphill through the garden in a way that felt stifling just looking at it.
I looked at the long entranceway and asked Dad,
"If people in this house order delivery, how far do they let them come in?"
"Ahem."
Dad cleared his throat at my words and patted my shoulder. I shrugged and followed behind him with quick steps. Amid the winding path were well-maintained trees scattered about, and in the center hung a bust of some oddly familiar-looking old man.
Dad tilted his head at the bust too, and Mom looked equally puzzled.
"Who's that?"
"Maybe the previous owner put it there? It looks like it's written in Korean."
[We believe in noble and base.]
The Korean inscription puzzled me too. Who was this old guy to have a bust made for the mansion like that? While we were tilting our heads, a bright voice came from the gate.
"Welcome! Please come in."
"Welcome!"
A family in white clothes greeted us with smiles. They looked like an ordinary family with nothing out of place, but somehow... their smiles, the way the three of them stood together, it all felt off.
"Please, come in."
Hwayoung stood at the center of that odd sensation, bowing her head to us.
What was it?
This strange sense of discomfort.
Was it just because this was my first time visiting a friend's house in this life?
*******
*Slurrrp*
*Slurrrp*
The plastic cup had only ice left, but Saburo was sucking on the straw so hard his cheeks hollowed out. Dennis glared at him distastefully, but Saburo ignored her gaze and pointed.
"Look at that. That one! Yeah, we've finally got it pinned down."
The mansion in the woods.
This stately place they'd never suspected before had finally pinged on the Prophets' radar. Saburo nodded with conviction in his voice.
"That's it! That one! Yeah! We've finally found the location of their secret organization! That massive mansion! Suspicious people milling about! Yeah, hiding it right here in plain sight! Amazing we haven't spotted it until now!"
*Slurrrp.*
*Slurrrp.*
Putting aside the annoying straw noises, Dennis was eyeing the mansion suspiciously too.
This time, it looked like Saburo was right.
The mansion just screamed suspicious no matter how you sliced it. There were way too many servants for one place, and most of them looked like they had combat experience. Patrols circled the perimeter, some coming close to where Dennis and Saburo were hiding.
And once Yoshio entered the mansion, the surveillance and guards got even tighter.
"Yeah, strategy meetings must be happening here. We've got him now! Yoshio!"
Saburo shouted excitedly.
*Slurrrrrrp.*
"...Should I refill it with water?"
"Oh? Yeah, that'd be great."