DM Chapter 59
“I… didn’t know.”
“Of course you didn’t.”
Owen’s voice was tinged with laughter. He didn’t tell her, so she couldn’t know. If he didn’t tell her, how could she know? Sarin felt the taste of alcohol swirling in her mouth vanish as if washed away. Her body stiffened with tension, then slowly relaxed in the hot water, or more precisely, in Owen’s arms.
He hugged Sarin’s body tightly against his chest.
Now, only the sound of water dripping could be heard. It almost felt like she could faintly hear the beating of his heart against the chest that she was leaning on.
When she was young, washing up was a challenge because the well in their front yard froze up in the winter. It took too long to heat the cold water on the stove and put it in a basin. She went to school with only her face washed, teeth brushed, and a hat on her head, blowing on her red fingertips due to the cold.
When she started earning money, she was so busy that sometimes she would fall asleep without washing up as soon as she got home. When she was in a state of sleep, she wished someone would wash her while she slept. So one day, when science develops, the first thing she wants is a machine that washes her body.
When she opened her eyes, it felt like her long-held dream had come true. After falling asleep in Owen’s embrace, she felt fingers running through her scalp and a gentle touch washing her body like a doll, leaving her skin feeling fresh and clean from head to toe when she woke up in the morning.
Sarin lay there, staring blankly at the now familiar rustling of the bedding and the high ceiling she could see when she opened her eyes. When she noticed Owen wasn’t beside her, she slowly sat up. She changed into new clothes in the dressing room, and as she stepped out of the room, three dogs standing there wagged their tails at her.
“I took your sleeping place; what should I do?”
Sarin’s eyes sparkled innocently, despite her apologetic tone.
As she petted the dogs, she remembered Owen’s words about not calling animals by their names and wondered if that’s why they don’t have names.
“Thank you, Blue. And yellow, and pink.”
Blue, Yellow and Pink. Their ears perked up as I pronounced each one clearly in Korean. She couldn’t tell if they understood, but she believed these clever dogs would eventually learn their names.
After petting the dogs, Sarin looks around the living room and notices some changes from the day before.
All the alcohol that was in the bar had been emptied.
“Your owner works fast.”
Detecting the determination to clean up before she wakes up. Sarin clicked her tongue. She wondered if Owen had slept at all, if he’d even bothered to clean himself up and put away the drinks on the bar.
“Miss.”
The smile washed off Sarin’s face at the sight of the man walking down the hall. It was because Yuri approached her in the same manner as yesterday.
“You don’t have to be so scared.”
Yuri spoke with a tired face and then stood there, shrugging her shoulders. It became clear yesterday that Yuri held a higher position than Owen. She could feel the remnants of the drink Nikolai spilled still running down her cheek.
“I have a duty to tell both the old man and Owen what I have seen and heard.”
Owen also knew what would happen in the future. Despite knowing it, he chose to turn a blind eye. Up until this point, it hadn’t really mattered whether Nikolai knew about Sarin or not.
But in the end, Yuri couldn’t turn his back on the old man who had raised him. He was still loyal to Owen, but part of him still worshiped Nikolai.
“So?”
It was nothing short of a challenge.
Sarin realized that the stories Nikolai had told him in their meeting were meant to stir Owen. It wasn’t out of curiosity about the unseen sick grandchild that Owen was protecting, but rather curiosity about his intentions in taking in a child who wasn’t even his own.
“I may not do anything to you, Miss, but it would be wise to heed the words of the old man. Oh, Owen didn’t hear it. He only came in when the old man got up.”
What Nikolai meant was not to tell Owen.
“I had no intention of telling anyway. What kind of relationship do we have?”
There was no relationship between Sarin and Owen.
Even if she left, it would only be like letting go of a playmate he found amusing. Sarin recalled the sensation of Owen holding her from behind last night. She crossed her hands and wrapped them around herself, pretending she hadn’t heard what he’d said, burying it deep inside.
She wasn’t in her right mind then.
… He didn’t say it in the hopes that she would remember.
They were all words to be swept away with the wind. Things are not worth remembering for long.
“There’s nothing between us.”
Sarin said it decisively, as if making a resolution.
Yuri closed his lips, refraining from saying anything to Sarin, who stood there as if her feathers were ruffled to protect herself. Well, it would be easier if at least one of them was in their right mind. It seemed that things would quickly unravel once she accepted the old man’s proposal.
“May that feeling last a long time. Owen said, You can go see the kid; I’ll have a car waiting for you….”
“Well, if I can get out, can I take the dogs for a walk first?”
At the mention of a walk, all three dogs wagged their tails simultaneously. They weren’t the type to lie around like that… Yuri, who was watching the disgusting little devils, frowned but soon smiled. They’d tightened security around her anyway, and Nikolai wasn’t going to touch her until Sarin answered.
Originally, Owen had kept her here because he didn’t want her to meet Nikolai.
“Well, I appreciate your kindness.”
Yuri said, taking a step to the side.
Sarin found the leash and led the three dogs outside.
It had been a long time since she felt like she was being dragged. Her arms still ached as if they might fall off, but it was good to clear her head after a walk like this, so she quickened her pace to match the dogs’.
But soon, the dogs, who should have been heading straight towards the exit from the hotel, pulled Sarin in the direction of the casino.
“Hey, hey, not here. Blue, not here.”
Blue, the first to go, bravely led Sarin toward the casino. The security guard who tried to stop them quickly backed off as he recognized whose dog it was, seeing the sharp teeth and low growls.
The appearance of the large dogs briefly surprised the faces of those playing games, but they soon lost interest and focused on their games, proving that this was a place where even if a person were to die, it wouldn’t be a concern.
Trying to stop the dogs by pulling on their leashes, Sarin ended up following along like a wooden doll, giving in and letting them lead the way. She thought there must be a place where they would stop.
“Oh! Is this machine malfunctioning?”
BANG!
The familiar sound of hitting the machine with the palm of the hand was heard.
The petite woman with long hair tied high at the back was someone Sarin knew. Approaching her cautiously, the woman once again pounded on the slot machine.
“Look how much I just spent here! Wow….”
“Madam, you can’t do this here.”
The security guard who moved first approached the woman to warn her. She quickly raised both hands and nodded. As the guard stepped back after giving her a warning, she sighed deeply, then sat down heavily and kicked the slot machine with her foot.
Bang!
“Madam.”
“This thing keeps eating my money.”
The woman got angry, as if it were her first time gambling. Thanks to the dogs stopping briefly, Sarin watched her back intently. She wanted to speak, but her tired lips didn’t cooperate well. What if it wasn’t the person she thought it was?
“Gayeon…?”
Her voice trailed off. Gayeon turned around abruptly, as if she heard Sarin calling her. Then she smiled brightly.
“As expected. I knew I would meet you here.”
Leaving the guard behind, Gayeon rushed forward. The three dogs immediately settled into place.
“How come you’re here?”
“Just passing by. Spending some money at the casino. Oh, are these the three little devils? I heard from Kirill.”
Gayeon chuckled and bent down to be at eye level with the dogs. After letting them sniff her hand and lightly patting their heads, the three behaved calmly and politely. Could it be that she was brought here to meet Gayeon? Were they really such clever dogs?
“Yeah. I don’t know their names, so I’m just calling them Blue, Yellow, and Pink.”
“That’s a cute name. They look majestic.”
Blue’s eyes lit up as he licked Gyeon’s hand.
However, as if this wasn’t their final destination, they drag Sarin somewhere else again. When Sarin’s body swayed, Gayeon held her from the side.
“Ah.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Let’s go somewhere else….”
“Is Ms. Sarin being dragged along?”
Gayeon looked at Sarin with a sympathetic gaze, saying that these dogs could even pull a carriage. Before she could smile back, she was jerked forward again. But the sight of Kirill stopped her in her tracks.
“Kirill!”
His hands were full of chips, like he’d been to the chip exchange.
Gayeon called Kirill’s name affectionately. The dogs, upon seeing Kirill, revealed their teeth and growled lowly, as if on guard. Kirill’s gaze swept nonchalantly over the three dogs as they crouched low, as if ready to pounce.
“They’re really smart dogs, aren’t they, and they know a bad guy when they see one?”
Gayeon approached Sarin’s side, clapping her hands in delight. Kirill, seeming annoyed, just looked at the dogs without responding.
It was clear that they recognized him as an enemy.
