Moon Jiwoo found herself being amazed due to the huge crowd standing outside of the arena Although they were not allowed to enter, they stood outside of the arena— probably waiting for the results.
The realization that Jiwoo was unable to get in dawned upon her. She did not have a ticket with her, and revealing her identity would be bringing too much of a trouble with her.
Seeing how Aera handed over her to the booth, Jiwoo pursed both of her lips together, trying to think of something to do.
Aera turned back, and smiling at Jiwoo, she said, "I will reserve a place for you inside."
Moon Jiwoo nervously nodded as she watched Aera enter into the arena. If Jiwoo were to get into the arena, there was only one option left in her hand. She took in a deep breath.
Making her way over to the booth, Jiwoo leaned closer to it, and her eyes fell on the man sitting inside of the booth. A stern expression sat on the man's face, and the unfriendly look he wore made her feel more pressurized.
Curving her lips to force out a smile, Jiwoo spoke out, "Excuse, for this, would those related with the King require a ticket?"
Her question elicited a dull reaction from the man as if she had said something foolish before he answered, "No, the King's relatives go in through the VIP route. Ticket?"
"Ah! What about those related to the Prince? His protector? Do they need this ticket?" Jiwoo questioned enthusiastically.
"Are you a news reporter? Certainly not. They would not come over to the commoner's booth," the man spoke out.
Widening the smile on her face, Jiwoo stated, "It's not difficult for you to notice how different I am, right. This matter is a secret, but I am the current Prince's protector. Due to a problem, I had to be separated from him. It would not be a problem for you to let me in."
Creases appeared between the man's eyebrows, and looking at Jiwoo as if she had lost it, he said, "I have more things to do at here. Don't disturb me and get lost from here if you don't have a ticket."
Raising one of her eyebrows, Jiwoo questioned, "You don't believe me?".
"Ah! This is troublesome. I guess I have no option but to do this," Jiwoo added, running her hand through her hair.
As Moon Jiwoo took in a deep breath, the air aaround her grew thicker, and the tension increased. An intimidating aura was let out by her, and electricity sparked outside of her body.
"Is this enough of a proof for you or should I create a commotion at here to prove everything to you? I am pretty sure it is not difficult for you to sense how different I am," Jiwoo confidently spoke out.
Moon Jiwoo had learned about how the aura around her was different from everyone, and she decided to use it to her advantage now.
°°°
Oh Sookyung and Hwang Yejoon outside of the arena. As Sookyung leaned against the wall and had his arms folded over his ċhėst, Yejoon placed his hand on Sookyung's shoulders.
"So, she is not here yet?" Sookyung raised one of his eyebrows.
"No," Yejoon answered, "She had already escaped from the scene before the one I sent was able to reach the place. I looked around the arena as well, but it did not seem that she was here."
Oh Sookyung released a sigh and said, "Ah! Where could she be at? Now, she is making me feel anxious before the fight. I really wanted for her to see this."
Patting his shoulder, Yejoon stated, "Don't let that affect your fight. I am still searching for her, and maybe we will be able to find her before your fight is over. Don't worry! I am pretty sure she wants to see this more than you. She might find a way to this herself."
"Daerin is not that bright, and more than her coming here, I am worried that she will get into trouble or start a fight with someone. She doesn't even know anything or anyone around here," Sookyung spoke out.
"She will be fine; Shin Daerin is not that helpless," Yejoon stated, "She will manage herself perfectly, so stop worrying about all this. You're going to stake your life in this, and concentrate on it properly. More than anything, she would not watch you to lose."
"I guess that's the case," Sookyung voiced out, "I just wish that the luck will be on my side today."
Yejoon gave him an understanding nod.
°°°
"It took quite a while for you to enter in. Did you get into trouble or something?" Aera questioned as Jiwoo stepped in.
It appeared the commoner's did not have any arrangements to sit at, and therefore, they had to keep standing.
The crowd was irritating to Moon Jiwoo, and being squeezed by people was not something Jiwoo found pleasant. Nonetheless, this was better than nothing.
Fortunately enough, Aera reserved a place for her closer to the front, and taking in her current height, Jiwoo knew that it would be perfect for her to watch the entire thing from that place.
Standing beside Aera, she answered, "You could say that it's something like that. It's really hot at here compared to other places."
"Yeah! That's frustrating. Due to how it distracting it might get during the fight, they stopped the snow around the place, and that's why, the temperature is higher. You really don't know about anything around here. Where are you from?"
Patting the back of her head, Jiwoo awkwardly said, "Yeah. I am not from here; I am from up there— the surface."
Her words caused Aera to widen her eyes, and as the shock she felt translated on to her features, Aera said, "Wow! Seriously!? This is amazing! What job have you been doing to be at the surface? Being at the surface is no small matter."
Shrugging her shoulders, Jiwoo answered, "I just grew up on the surface. This is my first time at the Underworld, and everything is a long story."
"Is that so? I am really curious about the entire thing. If you don't mind, don't forget to let me in on the entire story. I might be able to get a good piece of news from this," Aera enthusiastically voiced out.
"Sure! That would be great," Jiwoo spoke out— a small smile forming on her face.
Not usually did Moon Jiwoo get to meet girls who were friendly to her, and having Aera behave that way to her made her unable to remove the joyful expression from her face.
Turning to look towards the front, Aera said, "Oh! The fight will be beginning any moment now."
At those words of Aera, Jiwoo turned her head to stare at the front. A man walked into the huge field before them, and Jiwoo took him to be the one hosting the fight.
It took him couple of minutes to inform about the rules of the fight and introduce the details of both of the participants.
"That's Kim Taeseok," Aera stated, "His presence is really intimidating to the point you can feel it from this position. That's because, he is one of the Leaders."
Moon Jiwoo recalled about how Leaders held the most power after the King, and staring at the man before her, Jiwoo had to admit that he appeared to be quite powerful.
However, when it came to feeling intimidated, Jiwoo was unable to relate to feeling such a thing. Although he was strong, she did not feel pressurized.
"Oh," Jiwoo answered.
After that, the door was opened, and a man strode into the room. The confidence and pride he carried himself with made his identity clear for Moon Jiwoo.
The man walking in was Kim Namhyuk, the current king of the Underworld, and sharpening her gaze, she scrutinized the man before her.
It did not take her long to make out how strong the man before her was. The expression on his face showed how he was not at all worried about this, and that was starting to make Jiwoo nervous.
"That's the king. The air around him is as menacing as always," Aera commented.
Jiwoo could see what Aera had meant by that. The king did not let out a air that made him deem to be friendly. Then again, that could be because of his years as the King.
After the King had stood at his place, another figure walked into the field. A small smile formed on Jiwoo's face as she saw Sookyung step inside.
Then, she noticed how Sookyung swept his eyes through the crowd, and because of the big figure standing before her, Jiwoo was aware that he would not be able to spot her.
'You can do it, Oh Sookyung! Fighting!'