Chapter 64 - 64- Chin-Hwa’s Decision (Part 2)

The tension between the trio grew at a rapid pace. Chin-Hwa's expression only grew darker and darker by the second as he looked down, thinking of what to do at the time.

He was split between Hyun-Jae and what Hyun-Jae told him to do. If he went after her and found her, he was sure that she was going to be disappointed in him. However, at the same time, the mental torture of not knowing whether she was fine or not bugged his head constantly like an annoying insect.

However, there was also a third reason that Chin-Hwa tried to ignore the entire time but failed to do so miserably. A reason that made him feel even worse and pushed him to the edge.

'She has been with that guy for days...' He thought to himself as he balled his fists in frustration.

Although he knew that Hyun-Jae would never actually seek a romantic partner since she had a secret that she hid from everyone... Everyone excluding Chin-Hwa. He was the only one in this world that knew that secret and it made him feel special.

However, even then, the fact that Talon had the privilege of staying with her for such a long period of time was something that he wasn't going to accept.

'The only person fit enough to stand by her side is me!!'

He didn't care if that was unreasonable thinking from his side or if it was even true or not, he firmly believed in it and that's what mattered most to him.

Seeing that weird glint in his eyes, Shin-Il and Soomin found themselves even more confused. Chin-Hwa was acting far from the usual him. He felt completely different and far more aggressive.

However, since the situation was already tense as it is, they assumed that stress was simply getting to him.

"Mmm, excuse me?"

As they were like that, they heard a hesitant voice calling them from the side. The trio looked back at the same time only to see a man standing there.

Ryan Seok had a very awkward look on his face as he felt their gazes on him. He sucked in a deep breath and finally looked up.

"What do you want?" Chin-Hwa asked coldly as he gave him a threatening glare.

One of the other things that he was annoyed about was this man and the women with him. The trio kept to themselves and acted so suspiciously for no apparent reason. They didn't seem like they even wanted to do anything except sit in their own corner, not interacting with the others.

"Mmm, I'm sorry for interrupting you!"

"It's ok, what is it?" Shin-Il decided to speak since Chin-Hwa was scaring the man away.

"Mm, my wife seems to be a little sick." He said as he pointed behind him.

"Sick?" Soomin raised an eyebrow.

"Y-Yeah, she is tired and her face looks really pale. I don't know what to do." He added.

"Hmm, let me check her out. I have some medical knowledge. I can't promise you much though." Soomin adjusted her glasses as she stood up and walked away.

"T-Thank you!" Ryan Seok was about to turn around and follow her when he heard a cold voice.

"Hey, you, stop right there," Chin-Hwa said as he stood up.

"..." Ryan Seok flinched as he turned around. "You need me in something, sir?"

"So, tell me exactly what happened at the research center right before everything happened," Talon said as he crossed his arms in front of him staring at two students, one male and one female.

"Everything?" The male student asked hesitantly.

"Every single detail you can remember. Even if you think that detail is pointless or insignificant, tell me everything." Talon explained in a serious tone.

The two students were confused as to why Talon wanted such information but they didn't dare to ask.

"O-Ok." The female student replied. "Ehem, a few hours before the earthquake, we were inside the lab at the research center doing some experiments for our project in chemistry. We were the only ones inside the research center at the time."

"No, there was also the guard at the entrance, remember?" The male student cut her off as he snapped his finger.

"Ah, right, the guard! I-I'm really sorry for forgetting!!" She apologized nervously.

"It's fine, I'm already asking too much from you to remember all of that. I appreciate you coming here to tell me. You have no idea how helpful that is to me." Talon smiled slightly as he assured them with a gentle voice.

"..." (x2)

The two were completely speechless when they saw Talon's smile. For some reason, even with his barely above-average looks, Talon's smile was extremely charming. It had a certain feeling to it that they couldn't wrap their heads around.

The male student simply blinked in surprise while the girl blushed with a dazed look on her face.

"Mr. Charming is back in business," Acrypha said as she snickered.

"What?" Talon looked at her with confusion. "What do you mean?"

"You charmed them with your smile." The woman smirked amusedly.

"I didn't do that. It was just a normal smile."

"Yeah, sure~"

Sighing, Talon looked away from his beautiful companion and to the two students again. "Go ahead and continue."

"Mm, since no one was technically inside the research center, the place was quiet. We spent the time doing our work. We barely chatted and when we did, it was all about the project. Mmm, that continued for a few hours and then the earthquake happened so we rushed outside." The girl said.

"We didn't know what was happening so we simply escaped the area as fast we could when we saw the monsters." The male student nodded his head as he added.

"Ok, before that, did you notice anything weird happening? Anything that was not normal?" Talon asked.

"Something weird? Hmm, let me see. I don't remember anything particularly odd, to be honest." The male student said.

However, the girl was still thinking when her eyes flashed suddenly.

"Oh, right! I think that a few minutes before the earthquake, I heard someone laugh outside the building. It sounded like the guard was having some fun on his own." She said.

When Talon heard that, he went silent for a second he bent forward. "Laugh?"

(A//N: Thanks to everyone who supports the book with power stones and golden tickets, you guys are the best:) )