Chapter 588: A Stale Old Connection (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 588: A Stale Old Connection (7)
The dazzling city.
Staring blankly at the forest of buildings speeding past the window, she was lost in thought.
Her mind was in utter chaos.
Magic, her husband, Kim Do-jin, and Hexagram.
The problems she had once considered separate had, at some point, become tangled together into a giant ball of yarn.
One where all the different colors were mixed up.
A massive, tangled knot, so dense she couldn't even guess where to begin unraveling it.
She had no idea how to even approach it.
A sense of anxiety washed over her—that if she touched it carelessly, it would only become more hopelessly tangled, impossible to ever undo.
But staying still out of fear wouldn't solve anything either.
Ultimately, she had to take action and find it—the one single thread, the clue that would allow her to slowly unravel this complicated mess.
But she still didn't know.
Where to begin.
So, she planned to take a risk and start probing, little by little.
And the starting point was her husband, Son Si-woo.
“We've arrived.”
“Thank you.”
Han Ju-hee stepped out of the car and entered the building.
As she did, the people bustling around her stopped in their tracks and began to stare.
“I-It's Hunter Han Ju-hee...”
“Wow... This is the first time I've seen her in person.”
Some stared, captivated. Others were surprised, and still others were in awe.
They were all combatants or office workers of the Dawn Guild.
One might think that seeing the Guild Leader's wife wouldn't be so surprising for people who worked at the guild he ran, but for them, it was a very big deal.
“I've been working here for three years, and this is the first time I've seen her.”
“I've been here for six years, and it's my first time too.”
“Huh? Really?”
“Would I lie about something like that?”
As the murmurs indicated, it was because she had shown her face at the Dawn Guild so rarely you could count the times on one hand.
Paying no mind to the stares of the people who stood frozen as if time had stopped, Han Ju-hee walked through the gaps between them and headed for the front desk.
“He's in the Guild Leader's office right now, isn't he?”
Her question snapped the receptionist out of her daze.
“Huh? Ah, yes! He's here right now.”
“I'm going up now, so please let him know.”
“Yes...!”
Having said what she needed to, she turned and got on the elevator.
She was alone inside.
There were many people who needed to go up, but no one took a step forward.
As if that was how it was meant to be.
The doors closed, and the elevator, which had been rising rapidly, came to a stop.
Ding!
The moment the doors opened, a man waiting in front of them bowed his head deeply.
“Welcome, Madam. It's been a very long time.”
He was the chief secretary.
One of the key figures who handled most of Son Si-woo's work and managed his schedule, as well as a founding member of the guild.
As a long-standing member, he also had a connection with Han Ju-hee.
Which was also why he was the one to greet her.
She also bowed her head lightly and returned the greeting.
“It's been a while. Have you been well?”
“Haha, yes.”
“I've come to see my husband.”
When she said this so directly, the chief secretary's expression grew troubled.
“Ah... I see. But I'm afraid it will be difficult for you to see him right away.”
“Is something wrong?”
“Yes. He's currently in a private meeting with a guild member in his office.”
The answer came out as if he'd been waiting to say it.
Before she could say anything, the chief secretary continued.
“It won't take long. Perhaps about five minutes...”
“Is that so.”
Five minutes.
It wasn't a very long time.
“I understand. I'll wait in front of his office, so you can get back to your work, Chief Secretary.”
As she said this and started toward the office, the chief secretary quickly followed her.
“Ah, excuse me...! It's been so long, how about a cup of coffee? Didn't you used to enjoy the coffee I made for you?”
She paused, thinking for a moment.
She seemed to recall that was true.
But she didn't particularly feel like having any right now.
“I'm sorry. I'm not in the mood for coffee right now.”
“Ah... I see. Then perhaps something else...?”
The chief secretary persisted, refusing to be easily shaken off.
It was then that she felt a sense of suspicion.
Behind his smiling face, she could glimpse a desperate resolve.
It felt like he was trying to stop her from going to the office at all costs.
‘...Why?’
She didn't know the reason.
But she was certain his actions weren't of his own volition.
“No. I don't want anything to drink. So please, go back to your work.”
The chief secretary, who had been following her so persistently, stopped in his tracks.
Her last words had been a warning.
A warning to stop bothering her and get lost.
Only then did he give up.
“My apologies, Madam. I suppose I got a little carried away seeing you after so long. I will return to my duties now.”
It was just as she'd expected.
After the news of Han Ju-hee's arrival reached the secretary's office, he had received a request from Son Si-woo to stall for a little time.
But this was as far as he could go.
If he tried to stall any longer, she might sense that something was wrong.
Now, all he could do was pray.
Pray that his desperate efforts had bought enough time.
After watching the chief secretary's retreating back, Han Ju-hee also turned and resumed walking.
She was confused.
‘...Wasn't he trying to stall for time?’
If his goal was to stall, she thought he would have been a bit more clingy, but he had given up too easily.
Maybe he really was just happy to see her after so long.
If that was the case, she felt a little bad.
Thinking this, she arrived at the Guild Leader's office.
Click!
Someone opened the door and came out.
It was a familiar face.
The woman who had appeared out of nowhere and was now a key member of Son Si-woo's party.
“Oh my! Madam, hello!”
Michelle.
It seemed she was the guild member her husband was having a "private meeting" with.
“Were you waiting because of me? I'm so sorry!”
“...No, it's fine.”
Han Ju-hee replied coldly.
Something about her was strangely irritating.
Her gaze, her expression, her tone of voice.
“I'll be on my way now! Have a wonderful time!”
With that, she gave a deep bow and left.
Han Ju-hee watched her leave for a moment before turning around.
She pulled open the door, which hadn't been properly closed, and stepped inside, her eyes scanning the room.
It hadn't changed much from how she remembered it.
Son Si-woo, sitting on the large sofa, waved at her.
“Oh, honey. What's the sudden visit?”
“……”
For a moment, she was speechless.
She didn't know where to even begin pointing things out.
His flushed red face?
His disheveled clothes?
Or maybe the faint smell of sweat that lingered beneath the overwhelming scent of air freshener filling the room?
A sharp shock stabbed mercilessly at her temples.
Was it true that ominous premonitions were never wrong?
‘In the end...’
It was just as she had expected.
Her husband and Michelle, who had just walked past her, had likely been indulging in each other right before she arrived.
He was probably wondering inwardly why she had to show up at this exact moment and ruin his good time.
Flump!
As she sank weakly onto the sofa, he asked.
“Want something to drink? Coffee? Or black tea?”
“...I'm fine.”
She repeated to herself, over and over.
‘Get a grip, Han Ju-hee.’
It wasn't as if this was completely unexpected.
Not long after she had started to distance herself from him, she had anticipated it.
That a day like this might come.
Of course, it was only natural.
He was a person, a man, after all.
If anything, he'd held out for a long time.
He had waited for nearly ten years before taking a new woman by his side.
So she couldn't act like a wife shocked by the infidelity of a husband she'd trusted.
Because this moment was, in the end, a result of her own choices.
After biting her lip and repeating the words to a point that was almost self-hypnosis, she asked.
“That woman who just left... that was Michelle, right? The one who's been active in your party recently.”
“Hm? Ah, right. She's exceptionally talented, so the guild has been backing her lately.”
“I see.”
Han Ju-hee fell silent again at his nonchalant reply.
She barely managed to suppress the endless questions about Michelle that rose in her mind.
There was something more important right now.
“So, what was it you wanted to talk about?”
She answered his timely question.
“There's something I want to ask you.”
“Something you want to ask me?”
“Yes.”
Countless similar people exist in the world.
Whether in appearance, personality, or manner of speaking.
But no two people are exactly the same.
That was a given.
Even if they were born with similar looks and personalities, their upbringing and accumulated experiences would be different.
So at first, she hadn't been suspicious.
When she saw Kim Do-jin, who gave off a similar vibe to her husband, she had simply dismissed it as them having similar personalities.
But not anymore.
He had dared to go beyond mere similarity.
After sensing it at the scene of the terror attack, she had looked up videos of him and finally became certain.
‘It's not similar. It's identical.’
It was a level of sameness only possible if her husband's traces were directly imprinted on him.
So at first, she had wondered if he was a disciple her husband had secretly trained.
But that wasn't it.
If that were the case, she, of all people, would have known.
For that to be true, there would have to be at least one point of contact between the two, but there were absolutely none.
Son Si-woo was never where Kim Do-jin appeared.
And Kim Do-jin was never where Son Si-woo was.
If they weren't both famous, they likely wouldn't even have known of each other's existence.
Then, just one possibility.
A possibility occurred to her—a way they could be so alike without ever having crossed paths their entire lives.
“Answer me honestly.”
The mood grew heavy, and Son Si-woo's own spirits sank with it.
She asked him.
“Kim Do-jin.”
The moment the name left her lips, Son Si-woo's face twisted.
In that despairing moment, as suspicion turned to certainty, she finished her question.
“Is he your son?”
“……!”
Son Si-woo's jaw dropped.