CH 181

As I stared blankly at the bacon sandwich, I felt thirsty, so I picked up the glass next to me. The scent of sour orange juice hit the tip of my nose.

“When does the payoff end?”

“Well.”

Even though he couldn’t see ahead, Elohim didn’t hesitate to sit across from me and answer.

“I’m not going for a few days. We just sent you there. Helping the two kids is truly your strength.”

Untying the pale green ribbon tied to the vase in the centre of the table, he tied his hair low into a single one and dropped it over one of his shoulders.

“Still, I’m glad you recovered your energy sooner than I thought. The situation was so difficult that I expected you to sleep for a few more days.”

Recovered quickly? I tilted my head, swallowing the sliced ​​sandwich.

“How long has it been before I woke up?”

“It took about two days. Originally, you should have slept for four days, but…”

Elohim smiled slightly and lowered his face slightly.

“Thanks to the item, the time to recharge energy seems to be much shorter than usual.”

“Ah.”

When I heard that, I remembered the bracelet belatedly. I asked awkwardly, covering the bracelet with the other hand.

“I’m sorry. I selfishly did…”

“You don’t have to apologize. It’s a good thing that it helped your recovery.”

“But, that. It can be tracked.”

“You don’t have to worry about that part. Since this place was created by us, it’s impossible to trace… After all, Cheon Sa-yeon, that child knows that you are with us.”

He knew it. I guessed it from the moment I intervened in the dream where Elohim would enter.

Anyway, I was relieved that it didn’t matter. After eating all of the leftover sandwiches to fill my stomach, Elohim gave me a new cup of tea. I took it and drank it gratefully, moving my gaze to the fox, who was still rolling near the edge of the table.

Even though the table was wide, if it rubbed like that and fell, wouldn’t it hurt. I was contemplating whether I would rather lift it up and move it to the centre, but Elohim, who sat still, opened his mouth first.

“Contrary to its appearance, it’s not an ordinary animal, so it won’t hurt even if it falls.”

“Is that so?”

I smiled awkwardly at the sight of being seen through my head and swept the nape of my neck.

“Aren’t you out of your power now?”

“Of course, it is. But even if I can’t see you, I think I can understand your thoughts now, Se-hyun-ah.”

“……”

There was no objection to the answer that appeared as if it was natural.

No, did I… have an obvious thought…

In the strange atmosphere of the dining table, the fox tilted his head, looking at butterflies coming in through the open window and Elohim alternately. (어딘가 묘해진 식탁 분위기에 열린 창문으로 들어온 나비를 구경하던 여우가나와 엘로힘을 번갈아 바라보며 고개를 갸웃거렸다)

“Those children are born with our energy, but they are basically ghost monsters. They also have different abilities. They can change their appearance or make their body transparent so they can hide.”

“Oh. That’s pretty good.”

Noticing that I was talking about him, the fox got up and sat down then blinked. When you looked at it this way, it just looked like an ordinary fox.

“Indeed. He can fly, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he had other abilities.”

“All the siblings have the same abilities. Even though their appearances can change at any time, they insist on the current state. I think these kids have preferences, too.”

The white rabbit and the cat that followed Ha Tae-heon came to mind. Being siblings, I felt that they were definitely alike.

“Fox is the youngest. He’s just born. That’s why he’s smaller and weaker than the other kids. Unlike his siblings, that kid can’t use invisibility yet.”

I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him for being barely born later than his siblings. In the future, I should play with him more often, even if it was bothersome.

“Aya.”

Thinking so, I stretched out my hand to pet the fox and immediately got bitten. The finger that was bitten without remorse was dyed red. Elohim added later.

“His personality is more feisty than the other siblings.”

“Yes, it seems so.”

Pii.

Seeing me dumbfounded, the fox snorted. Ah, really annoying.

“More than that, Se-hyun-ah.”

“Yes?”

“It seems like it will be a little bit late to see Cheon Sa-yeon’s past.”

I immediately realized what the reason was. To see the past, they had to read a book and organize it… he couldn’t read because he couldn’t see.

“It’s okay. I understand.”

“Thank you.”

“Nothing. Anyway, there’s still time…”

Rumble!

Before I could finish what I was about to say, there was a loud roar from outside. As I was surprised and looked out the window, I could see the darkened sky as dark clouds began to gather.

“What the…”

“Oh, my.”

Elohim, with his brow furrowed, opened his mouth in an unfamiliarly low and harsh voice.

“It seems that there’s a problem in Korea.”

A bright light flashed for a brief moment, and then an enormous amount of rain poured down with thunder and lightning began to fall. I got up quickly and closed the open window.

“Let’s go to the library, Se-hyun-ah.”

Elohim also got up and walked towards the door. As I tried to follow Elohim while holding the fox with his stomach close to the table and then hugging him in my arms, I was startled to find him banging his forehead against the wall.

“El!”

“……”

Elohim tilted his face slightly and stroked his red forehead. I hurriedly approached him with the fox on my shoulder and grabbed his hand. (급히 다가가 안고있던 여우는 어깨 위로 올리고 그의 손을 붙잡았다)

“I will guide you.”

“Umm, okay. Please.”

Holding hands with Elohim and heading to the library, I saw Elahah recording with a face that was paler than usual. The bare feet exposed under the pure white trousers were encroached by something like the object that covered Elohim’s eyes.

“El.”

Recognizing that we had come without calling, Elahah opened his closed eyes and opened his mouth with chapped lips.

“This is the second surprise.”

“Where?”

“Korea. Guild Management Headquarters.”

“Management headquarters?”

Elahah, who nodded his head at my question, sent me a book floating in front of him.

“Read it instead and explain it to the blind El. I have to keep recording. Please.”

Instead of a book, he collected papers flying around. It was a piece of paper to record instead while I was reading the book.

“Will it be okay?”

“It won’t be too long, so it won’t be too much of a burden. Instead, don’t over-focus or think about intervening. Your ability can be activated.”

“…I understand.”

With Elohim’s advice engraved in my head, I slowly reached out for the book.

* * *

Ha Tae-heon sighed as he opened the documents listing the people who died in the bombing.

As he heard from Han Yi-gyeol, or as expected, not only those who guarded the gate exit, but also the clear team resulted in a considerable number of deaths.

It wasn’t difficult for him to guess how Lee Joo-ha would have felt, having seen this list before himself.

Ha Tae-heon leaned back on the back of his chair, recalling yesterday’s press conference. He opened his mouth to somehow uncover and pay the price for the migratory terrorist group, who wore a black suit and bowed deeply in front of numerous cameras to apologize.

He was worried about Lee Joo-ha. No matter how old she was and was in charge of the guild, if she got caught up in a sudden accident, it would be confusing and difficult for everyone.

Perhaps she realized Ha Tae-heon’s heart, Lee Joo-ha left the press conference room and spoke with a firm voice in the car on the way back to the guild.

“It’s okay. Of course, even now, just thinking about that damn black-masked group makes my blood boil upside down. But… I don’t want to be swayed by anger.”

“Master.”

“For now, we have to do it step by step, starting with the things that are right in front of us. It will be difficult.”

Lee Joo-ha, who smiled bitterly, had been moving without a single break in the tight schedule since that day. The schedule also included participation in the funeral of the deceased.

As Lee Joo-ha was crazy busy, Ha Tae-heon was held by the guild. He didn’t know when the black mask group would appear, so he had to remain in the guild as the Deputy Master.

Ha Tae-heon, who touched his forehead for a moment, cleared his mind, pulled his upper body again, and looked at the documents.

It was then that he read the death information of the management department employee named Kim Ji-ho. A knock was heard from beyond the door and the attendant announced the arrival of a guest.

“Let them come in.”

Ha Tae-heon, who covered the documents, went straight to the drawing-room. When he arrived, the person drinking the coffee jumped to her feet with a nervous expression on her face.

“Hello, Ha Tae-heon-ssi.”

Ha Tae-heon lightly greeted Cha Soo-yeon with an awkward tone and sat down on the sofa opposite.

“Did you have any trouble coming here?”

“Ye, yes.”

This morning, Cha Soo-yeon contacted him, asking if she could meet him first. The reason was easy to guess. It must be because of Han Yi-gyeol, who had been out of contact for a long time.

“You must be busy, but thank you for meeting me.”

“It’s nothing.”

It was definitely a chaotic situation, but it wasn’t enough to listen to Cha Soo-yeon’s apology. Cha Soo-yeon, who was a little relieved at Ha Tae-heon’s answer, hesitated and slowly opened her mouth.

“Actually, that… I came here to ask about Talented Han Yi-gyeol. I couldn’t contact him.”

“Han Yi-gyeol is currently in China due to circumstances.”

“I heard from Master that he went to China. But the reason why we can’t keep in touch is because…”

“He didn’t even have his cell phone because he was leaving in a hurry. But don’t worry, there are no major problems.”

“Then Ha Tae-heon-ssi doesn’t know when he will come back, right?”

“Yes.”

So far, it was as he expected. However, Cha Soo-yeon, who understood and he thought would step down, rummaged through the leather inventory bag she was wearing and pulled out something.

“Could you please take care of this for me? It’s Talented Han Yi-gyeol’s stuff.”

“…Han Yi-gyeol’s stuff?”

Ha Tae-heon, who received what Cha Soo-yeon gave, narrowed his eyes. It looked familiar, a necklace with a broken jewel in the middle.

“At Talented Han Yi-gyeol’s request, I had it instead. If he left in such a hurry that he couldn’t even bring his cell phone, I think I would still be concerned about it.”

“……”

“It’s a very important necklace. Please give it to him for me. Because I think he will contact Ha Tae-heon-ssi first rather than me.”

Ha Tae-heon, who was staring at the necklace while listening to Cha Soo-yeon, asked with a frown.

“Isn’t this a shutter item? That I broke.”

“Agh! That, that is…”

How could he forget. When he first met Han Yi-gyeol, the necklace hanging around Cha Soo-yeon’s neck was clear.

Cha Soo-yeon, who had a bewildered look on her face, answered with a sigh.

“That’s right. And to be honest, it’s not even a shutter item. It’s just an ordinary necklace. Because Han Yi-gyeol told me to pretend that it became a shutter item…”

“Why do you think this is important?”

“Um…”

“Cha Soo-yeon-ssi.”

When Ha Tae-heon pressed again, Cha Soo-yeon, who had been in trouble by rolling her eyes around, finally spat out the words with difficulty.

“I think he bought it… for his sister. But his sister is already…”

“……”

His eyes suddenly shook violently and his head turned white. A strong pain came from deep in his chest as if his anxious heart had stopped beating.

Ha Tae-heon barely opened his hand with strength without realizing it, so that the necklace wouldn’t be damaged any further. An old and broken necklace placed on his trembling hand was particularly eye-catching.