CH 188

After leaving Woo-Jae's office, Yu-Seong descended the stairs and was shocked by the woman he saw in front of him.

‘Choi In-Young?’

He initially wondered what the woman’s intentions were. Given In-Young's notorious and malevolent personality in the original novel, Yu-Seong felt tense for a moment just from remembering it.

‘But...I don't think she expected to meet me here either.’

In-Young's gaze was equally guarded and suspicious as she looked at Yu-Seong. If she had no ulterior motives for showing up here, it was clear why the situation had arisen.

‘Father must have planned this.’

The two exchanged a cautious glance, taking in each other's presence amidst the palpable tension.

In-Young slowly ascended the stairs. She was smiling as she extended her hand toward Yu-Seong, who was standing in front of her. "It's been a while, Yu-Seong.”

"Yes, I haven't seen you in a long time, In-Young noo-nim," Yu-Seong replied as he shook her hand lightly.

In-Young’s smile seemingly reached her eyes. "It seems like you've grown a lot since then. You used to look up to me, but now you seem taller than me."

"Really? I always thought I was taller than you..." said Yu-Seong with a slight smile, his gaze trailing down to In-Young's high heels. He then joked, "Maybe it's because you often wear high heels that you made that mistake.”

"Oh, is that so?" In-Young replied indifferently as her eyes flashed with a red energy.

When In-Young let go of his hand, Yu-Seong suddenly felt a slight dizziness. He quickly shook his head to dispel the strange discomfort he was feeling. When he looked back up, In-Young had already walked past him and was waving her hand casually as if nothing had happened.

"Take care, let's have a meal next time. After all, we're still family."

As the woman opened the large door and disappeared further into the house, Yu-Seong couldn't help but feel a sense of wariness toward her. Looking at her walking away, he nodded lightly and replied, "Good, let's schedule a time soon."

He had no intention of backing down.

***

As In-Young walked into the house, leaving Yu-Seong behind, one of the household staff, Park Na-Rae, immediately followed her. Na-Rae was the only one supporting In-Young in Woo-Jae’s house.

"The Chairman is in his study. Should I contact him right away?" Na-Rae asked.

"It's fine. He probably already knows. By the way, when did he call Yu-Seong?" said In-Young.

"It was just over an hour ago."

"So they talked the whole time?"

"No, ma'am. The Chairman had some business to attend to and left the study for a while, so Young Master Yu-Seong was alone there for about thirty minutes."

"Yu-Seong was alone in the study? Did Father just leave him there?"

Na-Rae flinched at In-Young's sharp gaze and lowered her head. She said softly, "I apologize. It was hard to get access to all the information… But I didn't hear any commotion from inside."

"If that's the case, then it must have been intentional. And also, the timing of this meeting…” In-Young slowed her pace deliberately as she walked further into the house, her expression becoming more stern. She muttered, "Yu-Seong is climbing up faster than expected... It is to the point where I'm starting to worry about him more than Mi-Na unni...?"

Yu-Seong's sudden rise in power and confidence was surprising, as it was very different from before. However, it was also understandable. He had undergone significant changes recently and was even receiving the full attention and favor of Chairman Choi Woo-Jae.

It was like witnessing the unstoppable momentum of a person, and the timing couldn't have been more perfect. However, there was one thing that bothered In-Young.

‘I’m sure I applied my Charm skill to him.’

Her Charm skill was one of her representative abilities, with infinite uses ranging from seduction to obedience. It could even cause someone to lose their senses. She had wanted Yu-Seong to be obedient, which was why he had almost lost his balance on the stairs.

‘But he didn't kneel in the end.’

In-Young had expected to snort at the sight of Yu-Seong collapsing on the stairs as she left. However, he had only staggered a bit before quickly regaining his composure and calmly meeting her gaze. It was as if he knew that the Charm skill had been applied to him.

"If you're worried, it's best to do whatever it takes to get rid of him..." said Na-Rae.

"It's easier said than done. He's under too much scrutiny right now. Father and Mi-Na unni are constantly watching him. Whatever we do now will not end well. But we still have to get things done. After I enter Father’s study, call this number and find out in detail what Yu-Seong obtained in the Tower of Heaven.”

In-Young thought that the reason her Charm skill had been discovered was because Yu-Seong had gained some kind of special ability from the Tower of Heaven.

“Yes, ma’am."

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"Oh, and one more thing. I'm planning to enter the Tower of Heaven too. Clear a good day for me," In-Young said.

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll make that happen,” responded Na-Rae.

“Thank you,” said In-Young, smiling mischievously and use her Charm skill on Na-Rae.

Na-Rae trembled and blushed as soon as In-Young's eyes flashed red. She unconsciously twisted her body, unsure of which way to turn.

Meanwhile, In-Young turned her head toward Na-Rae. She looked at her with a cold gaze, just like a venomous snake.

‘As expected, there's no problem with my skill. That means it must have been Yu-Seong who did something. It's ridiculous. I thought he was just a small fish, but he's a shark, after all.’

The image of Woo-Jae, the terrifying master of the household, came to In-Young's mind, but she forced herself to smile and hide her true emotions.

‘I'll be the one to sit in that seat, Father.’

She had no intention of backing down, for she had already passed the point of no return.

***

The morning after visiting Woo-Jae's house, Yu-Seong finished his morning training and looked at Yu-Ri, who was always waiting for him in front of his house. He said, "You don't have to come out here to wait for me every time. It's not necessary.”

"I enjoy it,” replied Yu-Ri as she handed him a towel.

Yu-Seong chuckled as he used the towel to wipe away his sweat.

"By the way, regarding what you asked me to find out yesterday,” she said.

“About In-Young noo-nim?”

“Yes.”

"Have you found something already?”

"No, they couldn't find anything. There’s no trace of the Fifth Young Miss' blood anywhere, not even in the dungeon. It's said that not a single drop of blood was spilled."

"...I see." Yu-Seong frowned briefly and sighed.

When he met In-Young the day before, he had smelled a familiar odor of blood from her. Feeling suspicious, he had then immediately contacted Yu-Ri to investigate it.

‘This smell of blood. I think I previously smelled it in Pyongyang.’

The smell had reminded him of Emilia, one of the Twelve Dark Kings who had turned out to be a vampire, one of the non-human races.

But why did he smell a scent similar to Emilia's blood on In-Young? It could have been a simple mistake, but there were too many suspicious points to overlook, so he had requested an investigation. However, the result stated that there was no trace of blood at all.

For upper-level vampires, it was easiest to distinguish their bloodline by analyzing their DNA.

‘But lower-level vampires can't hide when they are exposed to sunlight…’

On the contrary, upper-level vampires were not afraid of sunlight or religion. Thus, the easiest way to distinguish them from humans was through their blood structure.

‘It's a shame that the original novel only covered Choi In-Young's story briefly.’

The original novel mainly focused on Do-Jin's story. As a reader, Yu-Seong hadn't really cared about the stories of other supporting characters. However, now that he was inside the novel, he found it very inconvenient. There weren't many stories in the novel that were directly related to the Choi family, except for Yu-Seong and Woo-Jae. That was why there wasn't much interest in In-Young's true identity from Do-Jin's perspective.

‘Furthermore, Choi In-Young was killed by Choi Mi-Na in the middle of the story.’

In the original novel, In-Young had been a character who didn't play a big role. However, the fact that In-Young was on the same level as Mi-Na and almost became the head of the company was something that needed to be taken into consideration.

"Okay, let's put that aside for now... By the way, could you please bring me some water and my phone?" Yu-Seong asked Yu-Ri.

"Here you go," said Yu-Ri, handing him the items.

Yu-Seong drank the water before sending a message to Mi-Na, asking her to contact him when she had time.

‘If In-Young is really a vampire...then I can’t resolve the situation alone.’

It could turn into an incident that could overturn the country's fate, considering the fact that a vampire, a blood-sucking race, was living at the center of a powerful conglomerate that played a certain role in the country's rise and fall.

‘I wonder if Father knows about this... If she is really a vampire.’

With a small doubt in his mind, Yu-Seong left a message for Ji-Ho, his eldest brother. Then, he went into the shower room without expecting a reply as it was early in the morning.

‘And I better start looking for a way to save Ji-Ho hyung-nim.’

In fact, Ji-Ho was too valuable a character to simply let him die in vain. In many ways, there was nothing lacking in his talent, ability, or character.

Originally, Yu-Seong thought there was no way to save Ji-Ho’s life. However, with the opening of the Tower of Heaven, the situation had changed slightly.

‘I can get that Elixir on the 20th floor of the Tower of Heaven.’

The Elixir was a legendary potion that could cure any incurable disease, something that would only appear in fantasy novels. However, it had also appeared in the original novel, [Modern Master Returns].

‘Originally, it was used to save Baek Ah-Rin, a colleague who was dying from overuse of energy by Kim Do-Jin…’

In fact, there was no need to use a whole bottle of Elixir to treat injuries. The original novel had even described Kim Do-Jin using it excessively.

‘We can share it.’

It would be okay even if Ji-Ho didn't fully recover. If he could prolong his predetermined lifespan, that alone was satisfactory.

‘And Helen in Pyongyang…’

By next year, Yu-Seong would be able to reach A-rank like Woo-Jae had said. He was already stronger than most A-rank hunters. Thus, if he actually became an A-rank player, he would have power comparable to S-rank.

‘But to be stable, I’ll still have to become S-rank.’

He had to go and rescue Helen. After all, she had sacrificed herself in the land of death to save Yu-Seong and Do-Jin. How could he forget that?

‘I have a lot of homework to do…’

As he washed and tidied up, Yu-Seong realized that there was so much to do in this world that he had thought was just a novel. It was clear evidence that he was gradually becoming more and more integrated into this world.