Chapter 79
“Damn you, Yugyeom…”
Chan, lying sprawled on the floor, blocked his path. Yugyeom stepped over him and continued walking a bit further.
He spotted Yeonbyeol asleep on a bench. Sighing briefly, Yugyeom tore his gaze away from her and reluctantly made a phone call.
“Come get the young lady.”
– “You mean our young lady?”
The call ended abruptly. Yugyeom frowned at the blank screen.
Soon after, a text message arrived with a room number.
He cursed under his breath.
As he arrived at the room holding Yeonbyeol in his arms, another message came in.
[You have the master key, right?]
Before he could express his annoyance, Yeonbyeol stirred in his arms, clutching his coat tightly.
Yugyeom instinctively held his breath. He adjusted his hold on her and carefully opened the door.
He laid her down on the bed and let out a long sigh.
As he was about to stand up, he found himself unable to look away from her unguarded, sleeping form.
Even with her eyes closed, she radiated a vivid light against the white bed.
Her thick eyelashes cast shadows, her cheeks glowed with life, and her slightly parted lips, framed by her dark hair cascading over her white neck and shoulders, completed the picture.
You’re alive.
You’re so vivid, I’m afraid you’ll disappear if I touch you.
“Mmm…”
Yeonbyeol furrowed her brows and parted her dry lips. She slowly opened her eyes, her gaze blurry and unfocused, locking onto him. Everything around him blurred, drowning in that gaze.
Yugyeom reached out slowly, his hand trembling with the heat from her cheek.
When Yeonbyeol nuzzled her cheek against his hand, his heart stopped for a moment.
“…A dream?”
The longest nightmare. He carved the words he’d repeated countless times while carrying her here into his mind again.
A nightmare.
A dream you’ll forget upon waking.
Then, without warning, her arm wrapped around his neck, pulling him down. He instinctively supported himself by grabbing the bed’s headboard, but their lips brushed lightly.
The touch was fleeting but distinct.
Their lips hovered close, with only a precarious gap between them. The hot breath escaping from her parted lips reached him, as if to remind him of the moment.
Her half-lowered eyelids revealed eyes sparkling like stars.
If this is all just a nightmare anyway…
A chuckle escaped him.
Whether it was self-mockery or resignation, he couldn’t tell, but tears welled up and dropped onto Yeonbyeol’s cheek.
His arms, barely holding him up, lost strength. Yugyeom cupped Yeonbyeol’s cheek with one hand and closed his eyes.
“Yes. It’s a dream.”
* * *
The Roman-style pool offered a panoramic view of Macau. Ornate columns supported a white ceiling, making the place look like a grand palace. True to its VIP status, it was luxurious.
“Angel, are you sleeping?”
Angel lay on a bed with his eyes closed, looking out of place in his black suit by the poolside.
His face remained serene, though it seemed his fever hadn’t completely subsided.
After laughing and eating some porridge, Angel had fallen asleep for two hours. I couldn’t leave his side, more due to physical reasons than emotional ones.
“…Don’t go.”
He had tossed and turned like he was having a nightmare, gripping my clothes so tightly that it seemed impossible to pry him off.
Since I couldn’t bear to pull away forcefully from someone in pain, I ended up sitting at the edge of the bed, waiting for him to wake up.
When I held his hand, the frown on his face relaxed, and he looked peaceful. Watching his expressions was somewhat amusing.
Angel woke up exactly two hours later.
Now that I was free, I thought of going to the pool that Doshiyu mentioned during the day…
“Going to the pool? At this hour?”
Despite my strong refusal, Angel insisted on following me here.
“I’m not asleep.”
Maybe I was wrong about seeing him smile. I thought he used to cry easily when we first met, but perhaps the smile didn’t suit him.
I pulled my feet out of the shallow water, splashing a little and slightly wetting the hem of my dress.
The dress Doshiyu had picked out for me wasn’t much different from what I wore on the first day.
A fluttery floral dress, with layers of thin fabric. It was suitable for hiding a gun in the thigh holster, but it wasn’t my style.
“We’re going back tomorrow.”
To be precise, it was today. It was already two in the morning.
The vast pool was just the two of us. The sound of water filling the pool echoed in the quiet.
I walked over to Angel and lay down on the bed next to him.
“We didn’t do much here, did we?”
It had been rather peaceful, except for the unexpected encounter with Yugyeom.
I was a bit worried about leaving abruptly, but Baek Hawon was quiet. Maybe he’d scold me all at once when we met tomorrow.
“What will you do when we return to the island?”
Turning my head, I saw Angel still had his eyes closed.
“Hmm.”
I didn’t have a concrete plan yet. I needed to keep up with shooting practice and learn more about Baekcheon.
There was still a lot I didn’t know about the background I was involved in, which was crucial for figuring out how to live.
The conversation I overheard in the powder room also made me curious about the death of the previous boss of Baekcheon.
“But I’ll come back out as soon as possible. I’m supposed to meet Ivy.”
Angel sat up and looked down at me.
“That kid from before?”
“Yes. They said she won’t talk, no matter what they ask. It seems like something’s going on.”
I’m not usually one to ignore things, but this one bothers me more than usual.
It felt like she was about to tell me something, but suddenly stopped. Why wouldn’t she say anything?
She doesn’t know me any better, and it’s clear they’d trust her more.
“You don’t have to bother checking it out.”
Angel’s voice suddenly dropped, sounding oddly irritable.
“Why go to the trouble?”
Trouble? I was puzzled by the unexpected remark.
Didn’t he say she reminded him of his sister? Shouldn’t that elicit the opposite reaction?
I tilted my head and asked, “You’ve already found out about it. Can you just ignore it? Would you?”
Angel frowned. As I kept looking at him, he turned his head to avoid my gaze.
“…Indeed.”
Angel murmured as he ran his fingers through his bright blond hair.
“I guess I can’t be like you.”
A bitter smile spread across his lips. It felt oddly out of place, like a garment that didn’t fit.
“What do you mean?”
Angel looked at me again.
“I think you’re a very strange person.”
Under the lights, his blond hair looked pure, without any impurities. His eyes, reflecting the blue water, were a deeper emerald green than usual, like an ocean.
“At first, I couldn’t stand the sight of you…”
“…What?”
I wondered what he was trying to say, setting up the mood like this.
As I sat up, glaring at him, Angel calmly continued, “That’s actually a toned-down version.”
Wow.
“You’re really pushing it today, huh? Think I’ll go easy on you because you’re sick?”
I was so taken aback I couldn’t even laugh. His unabashed eyes looked almost innocent, like a child.
“So how do you feel now?”
I asked, keeping my sharp gaze on him.
“You better choose your words carefully.”
“In that case, I won’t answer.”
It was the moment I stood up abruptly, clenching my fists.
“Shh.”
Angel reached out and grabbed me.
Sensing something off in his eyes, I paused and looked around. Faint voices could be heard nearby.
I wanted to believe it was just another VIP coming to swim. It was a likely possibility.
But even the unlikely, like getting struck by lightning, can happen, and you never know if you’ll be the one it happens to.
“It seems like someone is here. I’ll go check.”
Angel stood up, scanning the surroundings with cautious eyes.
“You have a gun, right?”
“Yes.”
I felt the gun’s location on my thigh with my hand. Angel nodded slightly, watching my movement.
“Then stay here.”
This felt similar to the situation in the alley before.
Back then, Angel had come to me with an almost tearful expression.
“Hurry back.”
Angel stopped and looked down at me.
“…Alright.”
A response that came a beat too late. As Angel turned away, it looked as if he was reluctantly leaving.
Maybe I should have stopped him.
The space left behind felt too vast and quiet. I sat uncomfortably, tapping my fingers on my thigh.
“Why do I feel uneasy?”
It felt like something was bound to happen around now.
In the end, I got up from the bed. As I walked, I turned on my phone to contact Angel.
I was heading away from the terrace pool towards the stairs leading to the first floor of the pool area.
That’s when I noticed one of the beds was not empty.
My instincts reacted faster than my thoughts. A chill ran down the back of my neck, and my legs froze, stopping me in my tracks.
On the bed, a pair of legs stretched out awkwardly crossed. In this space filled with blue, the color red stood out starkly.
“We didn’t get to see each other’s faces last time.”
A man swiped a finger across his lips, eyes narrowing.
“I was really disappointed about that.”
His eyes, slitted like a snake’s, were filled with joy.
