Chapter 131 - Hann Construction (VIII) Protective Instincts*

Ash was wrapping up his shoot. He had been shooting for three days straight and he was tired as hell. The afternoon sun was scorching and he was desperate to go home and take a long nap.

He went over to his vanity room and took out his phone. Switching it on, he saw several missed calls and messages. Some were from Mirae, asking him how his shooting was going while KJ also sent him a few texts, inquiring if they could meet up after he was done. He first messaged KJ that they could meet up the next day. Then he texted Mirae that his shooting had wrapped up and he will head over to her place to rest.

He then moved his attention to the other text he had received. It was from a representative of Hann Constructions, Jeon Soojin.

Clicking on the number, he dialed the caller. The person picked up on the third dial.

"Hello, Mr. Ash," Jeon Soojin greeted. "I am Jeon Soojin from the PR department of Hann Constructions."

"How may I help you?" Ash asked.

"I believe that you have been contacted for a commercial video shoot for our new building at Daegu," she responded. "Our team wants to meet you regarding this day after tomorrow. Could you please confirm a time for us?"

Ash leaned back, thinking hard. They were still scouting the area of Hann Constructions and going there so early can be damaging to their plans. 

"I will consult with my team and inform you of a date," he finally said. "You see, after the death of our CEO, things have been chaotic. Our agency is being restructured from scratch. My PR team will get back to you on this tomorrow."

"Alright sir," Soojin said. "We'll wait for your response."

She hung up. Ash frowned. They had been going through their plan over and over again for the past few days. Due to the building renovations which took place at Hann Constructions, their blueprint was quite outdated. Furthermore, they had to scrap their plan of making Mirae enter the ventilation through the waiting room of the building; that place was completely walled in. There was no way of reaching the ventilation through that room.

Instead, Mirae was scouting the area with her men to memorize the new structure. Even though Chairman Kwon's old office was left untouched, she was trying to find new ways to infiltrate the building. She did not tell them anything yet, but Ash knew she was up to something.

Deciding that he would ask her after taking a long rest, he took his duffel bag and car keys and headed towards his car. Revving up the engine, he sped off.

….

Eli was completely outraged as she barged into the police station. 

"Son of a-"

She cursed out loud at that arrogant idol. Recalling his words made her blood boil…

"What really happened that night?" she had demanded. Staring at KJ directly in the eye, she was determined to fish out the truth.

But before KJ could say anything, Dasom intervened. "That's your job isn't it?" he shot back at her. "To find the truth? The incompetent police did not ask questions back then and closed the case. Why are you asking questions after so many years?"

"Because this is an unsolved murder," Eli justified. "I want to solve it."

"No," Dasom said. "You just want the glory of catching the Cartel. Since you don't have any proof that Jung Taewon's death was not an accident, you came to sniff here. Why didn't your department ask these questions all those years ago? Why are you harassing us now?"

KJ was quite surprised by Dasom's anger but chose to stay shut. 

"It was murder," Eli insisted.

"Then go and find proof!" Dasom retorted. "KJ already said he doesn't know anything. If he can't recall, then it's your job to find whatever evidence there might be available. But you can't just force people to testify. My friend just recovered from a coma. We are reeling from a recent attack from anti-fans and our CEO had just died. We are dealing with enough problems. We don't need you to dig up more chaos for us."

He glared at her. Even though he knew she was doing her job, he also knew KJ had his own reasons for hiding the truth. Chasing her away for now was the only thing he could do for his friend.

KJ was watching their argument in amusement. He was grateful to Dasom for intervening on his behalf and also pitied the female detective. He would have to talk to Hyun Jung about keeping his partner in check.

Eli stood up, still fuming. "I'll leave," she announced. "For now. But I assure you, we'll meet very soon."

"In your dreams, maybe," Dasom scoffed. Eli threw him a dirty look before stomping off…

Thinking about their conversation was making her angrier. The guy was even younger than her and yet had the audacity to talk to her so rudely!

"I must get to the bottom of this mystery," she vowed. As soon as she entered the precinct, she looked for Hyun Jung, but he was nowhere around. She stopped a passing detective.

"Sunbae, where is Detective Hyun Jung?" she asked the officer.

"He said something about going to his consultation work at the film studio," the officer replied.

Eli frowned. Hyun Jung had been visiting the film set a lot. Initially, he was complaining that it was too much work and he did not want to do it. However, after his first day on the set, he was frequenting there every day. Even on his days off, he would go to the filming site. 

Was he a fan of Somi? She wondered. But that was impossible. As far as she knew, Hyun Jung never gave any indication that he was into celebrities. In fact, when some of the officers wanted to take him out to watch one of Somi's movies, Eli had noticed that Hyun Jung avoided going and cited that he had work that weekend.

She sighed. Just what in the world was going on?

….

Coming to a halt, Ash parked his car in the parking lot of KJ's building. He got on to Mirae's personal elevator and pressed the button. When the doors opened, he saw Mirae was curled up on her couch, typing away on her laptop.

She wore a pair of round glasses, which gave her a more mature yet endearing look. He stood there, watching her work on complex codes. She was so engrossed in her work, that she did not even notice him entering.

Ash noticed that her eyes were red, as if she did not sleep for days. There were half eaten ramen boxes scattered on the table; she probably ordered all of them in one go and simply did not bother to finish all of it. He sighed. 

Careful not to disturb her, he quietly discarded the boxes and cleaned the table. She was still typing on her laptop, oblivious to his existence. Ash wanted to shut down her laptop and make her eat a proper meal but he knew how hard she was working to make this mission a success. Instead, he quietly sat on the couch opposite to her, watching her.

Mirae was typing so fast that he was afraid her hands would ache by the time she was done. How was she able to concentrate on her work to the point that she did not even realize he was there, was just astounding.

Finally, after an hour, she was done typing. 

"Done!" she exclaimed happily and shut down her laptop. As soon as she closed the lid and looked up, she let out a shriek.

"AH!" she exclaimed. "You scared me!"

"Sorry," Ash chuckled. "It's weird how you did not notice that I've been here for almost an hour and a half!"

"What?" she asked in shock. She checked her watch. It was 3 PM in the afternoon and she had been working on her laptop nonstop for the past twenty fours hours!

"Did you sleep last night?" he asked sternly. 

"I-I forgot," she said sheepishly. 

"How does one forget to sleep?"

"I don't know," she replied. "I was so busy with a new software to scout Hann Constructions that I simply...forgot to sleep."

"Did you eat?"

"No…"

"Are you a kid?" Ash scolded her. "You can't neglect your health like this!"

"I'm sorry, I just lost track of time…"

"Not an excuse Mirae," he said sternly. "Go and freshen up. I'll make you some lunch."

"I'm not hungry now," Mirae insisted. "Besides, you're tired. You had non stop shooting! Freshen up and take some rest."

She tried to stifle a yawn. Ash shook his head and sighed. Her eyes were drooping with sleep. 

He got up. Mirae sleepily looked at him before he took her up in his arms. She did not protest and let him carry her to the bedroom. 

Gently laying her down on the bed, he said, "Sleep, perv. We'll talk later."

"You should rest too," she yawned.

"I'll take a shower first," he said kissing her forehead. "Sleep."

"Should I join?"

"No."

Mirae let out a sleepy purr. Ash snickered before pulling the blanket on top of her. He then took out a towel and some clothes from the closet and headed for the shower. 

By the time he came out, she was completely asleep. He got on to the bed, settling beside her. Mirae unconsciously shifted towards him, hugging his waist. He stroked her hair. Watching her sleep peacefully gave him relief. 

Staring at the sleeping girl beside him, made Ash feel more protective. He took out his phone and texted KJ.

"We'll need to talk tomorrow," he wrote. KJ's reply came instantly.

"Alright," it said. "My place at 9 am."

Ash read the message. He then switched off his phone and put it aside. Hugging Mirae, he too fell asleep in seconds.

….

Junhyung was getting impatient. The clock was ticking and yet there were no results. The succession race was going intense it yielded no result. Ultimately, the next heir is being narrowed down to Ziko and Shun.

He was running out of patience. All these years, he had  been carefully plotting and scheming his way up in the ladder. The result of the succession war was his only hope. He betrayed friends and dirtied his hands so that he can finally reach the top. But if the succession did not go as he had planned…

"Are you really that worried?" came a voice from behind him. A black haired girl lay completely naked on the bed. "The succession will go fine."

"It has to go according to my plan, Nida," Junhyung stated, walking over to the bed. He was wearing a long bathrobe.

Nida lay on her back; her perky mounds were a sight to behold. Junhyung felt his erection rise again. Nida noticed his expression. She took his hand and directed it to her clit.

Slowly pleasuring herself with his fingers, she teased, "You...really...must...be despe...desperate if...ahh…"

Junhyung increased the tempo of his fingers inside her, continuously rubbing her pleasure point.

"I just want my due, hun," he said roughly pinching her clit. "I didn't come this far only to have one of those two to ruin our plans."

But Nida was not listening. She was too busy moaning as her body writhed in pleasure. Hearing her moans and thinking about taking over the Cartel, only turned him on more.

"We'll own...this Cartel," he whispered as he leaned down to take one of her nipples in his mouth.

"Oh yes!" she exclaimed in ecstasy.