CH 293

Ryu Hyerin stood in front of the VIP room. The waiter that guided her here knocked lightly on the door, which opened swiftly.

“Hyerin-ie~ You’re here?” The open door revealed Lim Jisoo sitting in the center of the room like a queen.

And, sitting around her were slender-looking men acting quite coyly. They were probably acting that way while eyeing the pile of money on the table.

‘Her taste is just….’ Ryu Hyerin inwardly clicked her tongue as she stepped into the room. Of course, on the surface, her smile was not marred.

As Ryu Hyerin approached, a man clinging to Lim Jisoo’s side carefully made space. Lim Jisoo giggled and hugged Ryu Hyerin’s shoulder with one arm; in turn, the priest smiled and settled down by her side.

Lim Jisoo spat the cigar she was roughly chewing onto the floor and laughed, “Is the investigation into Jaemin-ie finished today?”

“Yes. He’ll come to see you soon, Unni.”

“Hell, why should he come? It can just be you! I feel frustrated whenever I see his face–he always looks like a dead man walking.”

“Haha…”

Lim Jisoo always complained that Bae Jaemin did not have an ounce of softness and friendliness about him, but if one took a closer look, the men surrounding her were similar to Bae Jaemin… A natural smile formed on Ryu Hyerin’s face–that was truly hilarious.

When the Priest smiled faintly, the man who had moved for her handed her a glass. When Lim Jisoo saw that, she narrowed her eyes. “Darling, are you wagging your tail at Hyerin-ie right now?”

“Of course not, noona. I’m only giving her this because she’s your friend.”

Ryu Hyerin shook her head and refused the drink. She patiently watched Lim Jisoo toy around with the man while pretending to be upset. When Lim Jisoo saw Ryu Hyerin’s disaffected appearance despite the Mage’s cajoling and caressing of the attending males, she frowned. “Should I summon some for you, too?”

“What? Ah, no… I’m fine.”

“Is that because of Bae Jaemin? He does whatever he wants behind your back, too.”

“Haha…” Ryu Hyerin sighed inwardly at Lim Jisoo’s insensitive words. ‘…Is she telling me to piss off because she wants to play around today?’

‘No–honestly, she might not even have anything to tell me.’

They had been able to coast well since Lim Jisoo re-entered Korea and was able to use the information her syndicate gathered. Through her network, they were able to find out Koo Hui-seo’s hospitalization records–his unonscious state. That was all due to the large number of spies from her criminal organization that she had planted in the [Red Dragon] guild.

However, now it was hard to obtain any new information. Despite this, Lim Jisoo wasn’t wary of Koo Hui-seo at all; after all, she was able to command half of Koo Hui-seo’s security personnel as she wished.

Once he heard that, Bae Jaemin relaxed and began to focus on Geum Miyoung’s case. He had even placed his appointment with Choi Lee-kyung on the back burner.

‘Lim Jisoo confidently stated that she could kidnap or remove Koo Hui-seo if he became even more of a bother, but…’

But, even if she had half of his bodyguard detail in her grasp, Ryu Hyerin still thought they would not be able to easily penetrate inside Koo Hui-seo’s mansion. However, both Bae Jaemin and Lim Jisoo thought it would be a victory anyway if Koo Hui-seo was locked away to the point he could not leave his home.

Eventually, with no fruit to show for her day’s work, Ryu Hyerin rose from her seat as she watched Lim Jisoo entertain herself. Lim Jisoo glanced at the Priest as she stood but didn’t make any efforts to dissuade her from leaving. “Going?”

“Yes. I’ll come again next time.”

“Why go through all the trouble? Just contact me if there’s anything unusual happening.”

As expected, the woman simply wanted to empty her brain and play around for the time being. Ryu Hyerin lowered her head, trying to not show her irritation at wasting her time. “Thank you.”

“Should I tell the kids to ready a car for you?”

“No. I’ve brought something.” Ryu Hyerin chuckled as she turned around. As soon as she left the room and closed the door, her black hair began to turn blond.

When Ryu Hyerin touched an artifact called the [Image Transformation Ring] with her finger, her hair turned completely golden. Thereupon, she took sunglasses and a hat out of her inventory and put them on. She then descended to the underground parking lot through the emergency stairs.

“……?”

However, as soon as she arrived at that parking lot, she saw a man’s wide back through the tint of her sunglasses.

She looked at the man for a moment–a strange feeling that she couldn’t quite pinpoint rose within her. Ignorant of her stare, the man loaded small boxes into a black van.

‘I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before…?’

However, as soon as the man turned his head towards her, Ryu Hyerin, for some reason she couldn’t understand, turned her head the other way and walked towards her own parked car. Perhaps she turned her head reflexively because she thought he was a reporter or an acquaintance.

Nonetheless, she couldn’t shake the feeling that that wasn’t the case. Eventually, Ryu Hyerin got into her car and looked through the window at the man who seemed farther than before.

‘In the past…Hm. Well, I think I’d remember if I took a closer look.’

However, the man soon sat in the driver’s seat–it seems he had finished loading his luggage. Ryu Hyerin was shocked to see the man’s profile.

‘He looks so similar…’

He looks so similar to Seo Dawon.

Ryu Hyerin unwittingly started the car. She felt so nervous–she urgently felt she needed to block the car and check the man’s face.

However, the van quickly left the parking lot; Ryu Hyerin hurriedly stepped on the accelerator. The van exited the parking lot without any hesitation and began driving on the road outside. Ryu Hyerin hesitated for a moment, but she was overcome by a strange impulse and eventually followed the man.

Fortunately, the man escaped the downtown after a little while and stopped in a shopping district that saw a lot of foot traffic. The man took a few small boxes with him and disappeared into a building. Ryu Hyerin recorded the van’s license number with her cell phone.

‘I’ll ask Bae Jaemin to look it up.’

However, just as she was about to send a message, the man popped out of the building. Once again, he wasn’t empty-handed.

She thought that she would be able to finally see his face properly now, but the man held a child who looked to be in their lower elementary school years. The issue here was that the child was stuck to the man’s face, and she found it hard to peer at his features through the gaps. Ryu Hyerin felt somewhat disappointed when she saw the small child giving the man cheek kisses.

‘Is he just someone that looks similar…?’

When it became clear that this person wasn’t the Mage, Ryu Hyerin simply watched him buckle the child into the car.

""

‘Well, I suppose it’s strange for me to follow someone just because they look similar to Seo Dawon when I know the Mage is dead.’ Ryu Hyerin deleted the picture of the van with a despondent heart. Still, even now, her gaze still continued to stray to the man.

‘…Is he a married man?’

While ‘Seo Dawon’ wore a lot of accessories, that man only wore a simple ring on the fourth finger of his left hand.

‘He was holding onto that child so affectionately, too… He’s probably married.’

Those were the Priest’s thoughts as she stared blankly at his car. Strangely, though, it felt like she was seeing Seo Dawon alive and married to someone else…even though she knew that was impossible.

Soon, the man placed his child in the passenger seat before carrying the rest of the boxes back into the building. Because his face was once again covered by the box stack, it was hard to see his features directly; Ryu Hyerin, though, remained still since she knew that he wasn’t the Mage–merely a doppelganger. A strange sense of weakness took over her body.

‘…I should return.’

In the end, Ryu Hyerin decided to start her car and erase today’s idiotic stalking incident from her mind.

‘Huh?’

However, still unable to tear away her lingering glances, the van’s passenger door suddenly opened. The door that hid the man’s child. It seemed he did not lock the door; after the child fumbled around a bit with yellow glove-covered hands, they eventually exited the car.

As she looked at the stumbling child, she was conscious of the fact that the van was parked close to the road. She automatically glanced at the building the man entered, but there was no movement at its entrance.

In addition, the child continued to walk forward. Cars often sped up on this section because the entrance to the eight-lane highway wasn’t far away.

Ryu Hyerin watched anxiously as the child moved further from the van and even left the sidewalk. Eventually, she opened her car door and walked towards the child. “Excuse me…”

The child busily wriggled forward as if they never heard her voice.

While trying to call out to the yellow-hooded child, Ryu Hyerin reached out urgently to their small back just in case an accident may occur. She thought she should at least hold onto them for now. Since there was a big difference between the stride of an adult and a child, she was able to reach and scoop up the child with no difficulty.

‘So light.’

And, when she pulled them up by their back, she was a little flustered by the unexpected lightness of the child. Still, fortunately, she was relieved that she could soon return the child to their rightful place.

“……!”

However, she almost screamed when the child turned around and peered up from beneath their hood–a skull with red eyes stared at her.

“What…..!”

“It’s been a long time, Hyerin-ah.”

However, before she could scream hysterically, she heard an unforgettable voice in her ears. She turned around reflexively and met cold, red eyes. Ryu Hyerin froze, shocked; the man’s cold hand blocked her mouth. “I really missed you.”

Ryu Hyerin stared at Seo Dawon, forgetting to breathe.

""

TL: Lackey my baby~

Also, I know we’re supposed to hate Lim Jisoo…but it’s kinda boss the way she just shamelessly played around with her harem while ignoring Ryu Hyerin.