Chapter 62
Late evening, the twilight light seeped into the penthouse. Hawon loosened his tie and moved with measured steps. He had been really busy lately with the new business he started.
As he headed towards his room, a faint murmur caught his attention, stopping him in his tracks.
Hawon stood still, scanning the living room.
His silent gaze landed on one spot. A woman lay asleep on the sofa.
Curling up on the black leather sofa, she seemed to glow strangely in the darkness. It was as if she had an unusually strong presence, now realized.
The blue light pouring in through the large window surrounded her.
Eyelashes spread like the dark sky. White skin tinged with color. Lips tinged red like flower petals.
He closed and opened his eyes for a moment.
And when he opened them again, big, black eyes were staring back at him.
“……What, why?”
The already large eyes seemed to grow even larger. Only disjointed words slipped through her parted lips.
Yeon-byeol suddenly sat up. Her tousled hair swayed as it fell down to her waist.
“When did you come?”
Her hesitant voice was louder.
“Just now.”
Maybe because he had been paying too much attention, Hawon realized he was concerned about her and, inadvertently, for the first time, became conscious of his own voice.
“What time is it? I must have dozed off while waiting.”
The content of the following words was so unfamiliar that they had to be heard and recollected again.
When was the last time someone waited for him in his private space?
Yeon-byeol straightened her back and slid her legs down from the sofa. Clad in a loose white dress, she seemed fragile under the moonlight.
“Why were you waiting?”
“I had some questions to ask.”
As Yeon-byeol got up from the sofa, their eyes met.
“Do you remember the man with the butterfly-patterned tie at the party?”
Ha-won easily recalled the person she was talking about. The owner of the Macau casino hotel, who didn’t hesitate to commit crimes even for money.
But what left a deeper impression than such facts was Yeon-byeol dealing with him.
Her confident attitude, which didn’t flinch, even before him. Although she was also such a woman to him, seeing her from a distance felt different.
“The man you were blackmailing?”
“Yes. You? No, why would you even blackmail him.”
Her chosen expression made Yeon-byeol visibly flustered. Even in the darkness, her expression was evident.
“He seemed talented.”
Hawon added with a smirk.
It seemed to be a response to what he said about whether helping Ivy was a pointless endeavor.
“What I really want to know is if you killed him?”
The question that emerged after a short interval was of an unexpected kind.
“No.”
Ha-won completely loosened his tie. Then, he looked up at the woman in front of him. He could easily read a sense of relief on her face.
“I didn’t kill him.”
“….”
“Someone else beat me to it.”
Her relieved face stiffened. It was difficult to guess the reason for that change.
“Was he supposed to be killed in the first place?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He hesitated for a moment.
The reason he had to kill that man was because he spread rumors about Baek-cheon. But the reason he wanted to do it ‘personally’ was also because of what happened at the party.
“Because he talked too much.”
Yeon-byeol looked at him with a face that said, ‘What nonsense is this?’
“I’ll take Jiwoon to the company tomorrow.”
“The company?”
The executive meeting, which was the reason for coming to Hong Kong in the first place, had been postponed for various reasons until now.
Yeon-byeol had no reason or will to attend such a meeting, she just followed Ha-won because she wanted to leave the island, but…
“Are you really going?”
“She wants that position.”
“Oh, really…!”
Was that a joke or was it serious? It was really confusing.
“I’m telling the truth, I’m not interested in the organization, and I’m even less interested in that position.”
Yeon-byeol firmly stated her position in her own way.
“Have you seen it? You have to know everything before making a decision.”
But it didn’t make any sense to Ha-won at all.
“Then, we’ll see.”
He turned away with a satisfied, faint smile.
Yeon-byeol, who followed Ha-won’s path to his room, blocked his way. Ha-won stopped and looked down at her.
“How much of it is genuine?”
There was no straightforward answer to be given. Because he himself hadn’t yet understood that boundary.
“Well……”
It meant that he could leave at any time, even if it wasn’t fully genuine. So, he dragged her out and brought her to the company or party.
Perhaps it was for the same reason he kept her within the Baekcheon. He didn’t know what harm she might cause if left alone in Baekcheon.
To keep an eye on her.
“……”
Yeon-byeol stared at him with a blank look, seemingly unaware of anything.
Her gaze was so alien yet beautiful, like a snowflake settling on black mud, that Ha-won held his breath, fearing it might dissolve in his breath.
The nauseating stench of blood that couldn’t be erased twisted his insides with self-loathing.
At that moment.
“Until you have the ability to do so, you won’t even be in Baekcheon anyway.”
A heavy something struck his arrogance in the name of discomfort.
Faced with that discomfort, Ha-won stopped laughing.
It was truly the first time in a long time that he felt anxious.
* * *
Bang!
The bullet pierced the man’s shoulder in the target. In the confined space, the gunshot echoed loudly.
“If the boss finds out, it’ll only be trouble for me.”
Angel grumbled like a sigh. It was just a short while ago that his hand got better, yet he continued to nag.
He darted out like he was running away without waiting for Jiwoon and arrived at a shooting range.
Just like that. Because he didn’t want to go.
It might be better to lay out a sheet of steel and ask for a place in the company rather than this.
A sturdy parachute. How good would that be?
But even though he was separated from the organization, he was still in Baekcheon in the end. He wanted to completely distance himself from this dangerous noir genre.
Bang!
“I’m shooting with the determination to kill.”
The shooting range inside Baekcheon’s square was for the use of officers only. In other words, there were more days without people than days with.
In the wide space that opened up like a gym, the gaze felt sharper than the pouring sunlight. Each time he tightly gripped the gun, his chest tightened.
The quiet voice from behind, the hand that adjusted the direction of the barrel.
“You’re holding the gun for moments like this.”
I was afraid back then. The moment when this barrel would be aimed at someone.
Bang!
The bullet that shook my body and flew pierced through my heart.
My skills had honestly improved. Just enough to fill the gap from the lack of practice time.
After all eight rounds were fired from the revolver, I took a moment to catch my breath.
“You felt a lot.”
As Angel removed his headset, he filled the cylinder with bullets.
I let out a long sigh.
“He would die before I even shoot twice.”
“You might be able to shoot three times.”
“….Is that supposed to be comforting?”
Angel shrugged and handed me the revolver. I reached out to take it but stopped.
In my field of vision, pink cotton candy-like hair appeared.
The body moved before the head. Desperately hiding behind the shooting stand.
“What are you doing?”
How could I forget?
‘I should have just left then.’
‘I left my phone on the table. I put it there.’
I almost got bitten by a guard dog because of her.
I vividly remembered the eyes that looked at me disapprovingly. Her name… was it Senna? No, it didn’t seem like a Korean name.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m looking for a retreat.”
I leaned out from under the shooting stand and scanned the area. Upon closer inspection, it was more certain that it was her from back then.
Despite her small stature and pink short hair, she stood out among the bulky black men. Although she seemed undoubtedly the strongest among them judging by her gaze and atmosphere.
And she happened to be standing closest to the exit.
“There can’t be just one entrance, right?”
“That’s probably the only one.”
“…What?”
Angel looked at me like I was a weirdo.
I gestured for him to lower his posture, but it seemed he didn’t understand. I grabbed his clothes and pulled him down.
Angel, who crouched beside me, widened his eyes.
“Is that really the best option?”
Her dark green eyes under the shade carefully examined me, like a doctor examining a patient. It seemed like she was about to pull out a syringe any moment.
“If you get hurt any more, it’ll be really awkward for me.”
She looked genuinely distressed. I gave up on getting an answer.
The problem here. Will that woman remember me?
If she does, will she try to kill me again?
Judging by the way she held the gun, I was convinced. It wouldn’t be strange if she pointed the barrel back at me right away.
“Angel.”
I grabbed Angel’s hand firmly.
“When I count to three, we run.”
Angel blinked his eyes as if tears were about to well up.
“Is there something wrong with my ears?”
“For now, let’s try to leave without making it awkward. If we get caught, run immediately.”
I hid under the shooting stand again and tied my shoelaces tightly so they wouldn’t come undone.
“What on earth is going on?”
“Well, it’s a long story, but basically, there’s someone over there who’s trying to kill me.”
“I’m as good as dead now…”
“That man wasn’t your boss in the first place. You’ve completely forgotten that you’re a spy now.”
Angel, who was chewing on his fingernails, widened his mouth in surprise.
