CH-031
Jang Yi-jung, who had unexpectedly received a gift, blinked his eyes.
"...What is this?"
"I heard from the boss that today is your birthday."
He didn't tell me about his ability, but he did tell me his birthday. So, saying it was his birthday, he had purposely brought him to the hotel. There were plans for a cake to be served as dessert when we go to the restaurant later. Though I wouldn't be able to eat it with him.
Jang Yi-jung asked back stupidly.
"It's mine?"
"...Seems like you'd forgotten."
I straightened my clothes and continued speaking.
"Anyway, working on your birthday is a bit much, right? So take the day off."
It's not that I'm sneaking off to do some dirty work behind his back.
I'm being specially considerate of Yi-jung on his birthday.
With that feeling, I smiled as kindly as possible.
"Birthday…."
Jang Yi-jung, who had been staring blankly at my face, lowered his gaze to the shopping bag. He still looked dumbfounded. I couldn't tell at all whether he liked it or not.
"You understood what I said, right?"
Now I really have to go.
Knock knock knock knock.
Just then, an urging knock was heard. I quickly grabbed the door handle.
I turned my head slightly for a last look inside the room. I saw Jang Yi-jung taking out the gift box and fiddling with it.
I'm glad the bribe seems to be to his liking.
"I'll be going now, so don't worry about work... Just relax comfortably and go get something to eat."
It meant he should stay put and not do anything unnecessary.
"I won't be able to come back today."
Until I turned my head, Jang Yi-jung was just staring endlessly at the gift on his hand.
I didn't even hear a thank you, but I opened the door in a fairly satisfied mood.
Click.
"Ah, Sunbae…."
As expected, Ruru was waiting in front of the door.
Ruru's face, which had brightened upon seeing me, gradually became colored with horror.
"Sunbae!"
Ruru screamed out sharply.
"What's with the bandage? On that precious face!"
"I just got a little scratched."
"Let me see!"
"Wait, just a moment."
"Why do you get hurt in places Ruru doesn't know about!"
Ruru clung to me, asking to see the wound. When I shook him off by putting strength into my elbow, he was pushed away without resistance.
"...Are you really hurt somewhere? Normally by now you would…."
Zap!
"Cough!"
[Penalty Occurred:
I got a penalty in exchange for silence.
Only after getting hit did Ruru calm down, and I walked him to the elevator. Meanwhile, I examined my clothes here and there. It was to find any observation cameras or listening devices that might be there.
Fortunately, nothing was attached to my clothes. I also left my phone behind just in case.
When I finished checking and stood straight, Ruru pressed the elevator button.
"We have to stop on the 1st floor. There's an item I left at the desk."
"Aha. Is it the item for this request?"
"Yeeah, well…."
Since I had to share a room with Jang Yi-jung, I hid it just in case.
The elevator door opened. But from the open door, a familiar person walked out.
"Cheolsu hyung?"
It was Yeom Ha-jae, holding a convenience store bag. Perhaps it wasn't intentional, as Yeom Ha-jae looked surprised too.
"Hunter-nim…."
He avoided my eyes, probably grasping the situation after seeing my face.
'Of all places, he was staying on the same floor in the same place.'
It felt too much of a coincidence, so it gave me an uneasy feeling. I was about to nod and pass by, but the person blocking the elevator door wouldn't move aside.
"...Wh, where are you going this evening?"
"I have work."
"You're working hard."
"Haha, it's nothing."
"By any chance…."
"?"
Yeom Ha-jae hesitated.
"Uh, if it's alright with you, later…."
"Sunbae?"
Just as Yeom Ha-jae was about to say something, Ruru pulled my arm.
"Who is it? A friend?"
"Someone I know."
"……."
Yeom Ha-jae shut his mouth for a moment.
"Ah! The door's about to close, Sunbae."
Ruru paid no attention to Yeom Ha-jae standing there blankly. It hadn't been long since he was attacked, and he was subtly linking arms with me.
I placed my hand on his arm. But this time, no matter what I did, he wouldn't be pushed away.
'This bastard.'
He got confident because someone was watching. While we were having this invisible scuffle, my shoulder brushed against someone.
Yeom Ha-jae was staring blankly at the two of us.
Before I could even say goodbye, Ruru breezed past Yeom Ha-jae and got onto the elevator.
Ruru repeatedly hit the close button. Yeom Ha-jae stood slightly backed away from the door. Seeing his expressionless profile, I got a bad feeling.
Before the elevator door closed completely, I hurriedly said goodbye.
"Go in and rest comfortably, Hunter-nim."
"Yes. Good luck with your work…."
The door closed with the final image of Yeom Ha-jae, who had been blank for a moment, smiling faintly.
"……."
"Cheolsu, huh. Sunbae, you're still using that name?"
As the elevator started moving, Ruru, who was clinging to my arm, giggled.
Ignoring Ruru, I watched the red numbers on the display go down one by one. For some reason, an uneasy feeling lingered in a corner of my heart.
We stopped by the desk to pick up the item, then headed straight to the top floor of the hotel, the penthouse.
"Ding-dong~. Delivery!"
Not long after Ruru pressed the doorbell, the door opened from inside.
Simultaneously as a middle-aged man with a flushed face popped out through the crack in the door, the smell of alcohol hit me strongly.
After confirming who it was, Ruru spoke amiably.
"Chairman, here is…."
It was before he could even finish speaking. The man leaning on the door collapsed forward. I had no choice but to catch the man with my body.
"He's very drunk."
"Ugh, the smell…."
Ruru openly plugged his nose. It's not that I don't understand that reaction.
'The inside must be a mess without even looking.'
In this state, no one was coming out.
"Can you help me move him?"
"!"
Ruru backed away as if avoiding a monster.
"S, Sunbae, Ruru will be going now."
After clinging to me earlier, Ruru left hastily as if being chased. I looked at the man who had buried his face in my shoulder and scratched the back of my head.
"Seriously…."
They aren't even idle folks, but they were dead drunk at this hour, since who knows when.
I let out a small laugh, finding the old man's face, turned bright red, comical.
'Not knowing you're going to die tomorrow.'
There were two things I had to do in this mission.
First, deliver the item.
Second, save the client.
A gate was scheduled to open inside this hotel tomorrow.
Normally, having ill feelings towards the client, I would ignore whether the client got swept up in the gate or not. And the client would die inside the gate.
That was the flow of the previous life.
'But this time, I should save him.'
The eyes that glared at me until the very last moment still remained in my memory. Though it's a bit disappointing that I won't be able to feel that exhilarating feeling again.
Thinking to finish the request as quickly as possible, I supported the old man and went inside the room.
The dark interior was incomparably wider than a regular room. A high ceiling with a wide-open glass window fitting for a penthouse. A fairly nice view stretched outside the window, but the inside reeked entirely of cigarettes and alcohol.
Checking the living room, only one person was sitting intact on the sofa. He was sitting with the back of his head showing, and was quite drunk himself, as he still hadn't noticed me.
I put the ahjussi I was supporting down anywhere and lightly tapped the wall.
The man who was lifting his glass stopped moving.
"Executive Director Kim, have you been well?"
Clunk. The person who recognized me put his glass down roughly. He draped his arm over the sofa and turned around with a crooked posture.
"Seo Shin-woo…?"
"Hello, Executive Director-nim."
"It's Director now."
"Hello, Director-nim."
The corner of the Director's mouth twisted upward. His face already looked sharp and sensitive, but with a nasty smile, his impression looked even nastier.
'How many years has it been since I saw him?'
Feeling a sense of novelty, I briefly scanned his thin face.
Kim Hyun-woo. The former owner of the brooch Hyun-woo.
The name Hyun-woo was taken from this man. Half in mourning, half in mockery….
The Director lightly ignored my greeting and turned his head.
'He's done drugs again, I guess.'
I couldn't see well because the table was blocked from this angle.
I approached him to check his condition. On the table, various kinds of alcohol and blue powder on a piece of paper were visible.
The druggie, having noticed where my gaze went, picked up a pinch of the powder.
"It's a new drug being tested. Made from dried Siren's blood."
"Is that so."
The druggie giggled and rubbed his fingers. The powder with a subtle luster sparkled as it fell.
'It is pretty, though.'
"Wanna try it?"
"Haha, no."
After refusing immediately, I handed over the item I had put in a black plastic bag.
"It's a weapon used by a monster. I personally went through trouble and got a very cool one."
"Hmm…."
As soon as the druggie received the item, he put it roughly on the table without even checking.
I was glad he didn't point out this and that looking for faults unnecessarily.
"Then, since I've delivered the item, I'll be going now."
"No. Come here."
"Where to?"
"Are you kidding? Here."
The druggie patted the empty seat next to him. I was going to pretend I didn't know and leave, but as expected, he wouldn't just let me go.
"Since you're here, you should pour a drink for the Chairmen."
"……."
Those so-called Chairmen were lying sprawled out on the sofa, sleeping.
"Yeeah, yeeah."
It was a lame excuse, but it was obvious the druggie would throw a fit if I just left. I sat on the sofa thinking to finish it quickly and leave.
"Seo Shin-woo."
"Director-nim, your tongue is slurring."
"So what."
The druggie lifted his glass. I obediently poured alcohol into the offered glass. I hoped he would drink to his heart's content and pass out quickly.
"Seo Shin-woo!"
"Yes, Director-nim."
"Feels like it's been a while."
"Haha. I've been a bit busy."
The hand that was tapping my thigh started making a subtle kneading movement.
The druggie, who squeezed my thigh hard once and drank his alcohol, missed his glass. The druggie didn't care even as the alcohol spilled onto the floor and blinked his eyes languidly.
"Haa…."
Then, reeking of alcohol, he leaned his head on my shoulder.
"So, still no thoughts about changing jobs?"
"About changing jobs."
'Here he goes again, this bastard….'
My desire to save him was gradually decreasing. I smiled deeply to hide my irritation.
"I don't have any. There's still a lot of time left on my contract."
"……."
As soon as I refused, the hand that was messing around on my thigh stopped abruptly.
"...Really?"
As I looked down at him with a smiling face, the druggie cleared his throat with a 'khm' and straightened his body. And then….
Thwack!
Out of nowhere, I got smacked on the head. The force wasn't strong enough to hurt badly, but it was plenty enough to feel nasty.
"Damn."
"Then kneel. A dog shouldn't try to sit in the same spot as a person."
I maintained my smiling expression, but a curse slipped out involuntarily.
The drunken rampage had begun in earnest.