CH 222

[The antidote is said to be completed within five days. Producer Luzel wants me to tell you.]

“That’s a relief.”

The day after handing over the alcohol-containing drugs to Luzel and Luke, I was a little relieved when I heard the news through Ha Tae-heon.

When they finished the antidote, we had to hand it over to the Guild Management Headquarters right away. It wasn’t just Seoul that had been damaged by drugs.

‘It looks like they’re still busy with restoration… Still, we could at least deliver the finished antidote.’

After thinking for a while, I asked Ha Tae-heon.

“Then, Luzel and Luke-ssi are going to stop by Requiem in five days?”

[I think so.]

“Then at that time, we would have to proceed with Choi Ga-young-ssi’s surgery…”

No matter how much I thought about it, there was no surgeon I could trust and entrust to this work. As I exhaled a frustrated sigh, I heard Ha Tae-heon’s voice over the receiver.

[Han Yi-gyeol. Do you remember Do Ha-seok?]

Do Ha-seok. The name reminded me of a healer I had met in Roheon’s hospital room before.

“If it’s Do Ha-seok-ssi, isn’t he an S-rank healer belonging to Roheon? Of course, I remember.”

I knew that he participated in the new gate D45 Area not too long ago.

[How about asking Do Ha-seok for surgery?]

“Yes? To Do Ha-seok-ssi? However…”

Min Ah-rin was enough for the healer. As I was confused, he explained to me.

[I know that Do Ha-seok had been in the medical program for about three years before awakening.] (도하석은 각성 이전에 레지던트 과정을 3년 정도 해 온 것으로 알고 있다)

“Is that true?”

[Yes. I don’t think it would be a bad idea to make a suggestion. I’ll have to check if he can actually do the surgery.]

Did Do Ha-seok study to become a doctor before awakening as a healer? If Do Ha-seok, a member of Roheon, took charge of Choi Ga-young, the situation would have been perfect.

[Yesterday, in the hospital room, I immediately thought of Do Ha-seok after hearing what Producer Luzel said. But it’s a matter that he might refuse, so I didn’t say it too hastily.]

“Can you please ask him on my behalf?”

[I’ll see him right away today. I will contact you again as soon as I get an answer from Do Ha-seok.]

“Please I beg you, Ha Tae-heon-ssi.”

[Don’t worry and just rest well.]

I ended the phone call with an awkward smile at the words I felt concerned about. Rest well, but I couldn’t do that.

After a good night’s sleep, I woke up feeling much better. Besides, today is the day Choi Mi-jin personally visited Requiem to take Lee Soo-jin, so I planned to talk to her whenever possible.

“Yi-gyeol-ssi, did you finish the call?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Then would you like to taste this?”

Min Ah-rin offered a freshly baked cookie. When I picked one of them and put it in my mouth, I could feel the sweet chocolate taste.

“Oh. It’s delicious?”

“Waa! It’s a success, Woo-jin-ssi!”

As she said before she left yesterday, Min Ah-rin ran to my room as soon as she went to work. Then she asked Kim Woo-jin, who stopped by to prepare breakfast and started learning how to bake cookies an hour before.

Maybe it was because of the teacher’s good skills who taught her, or whether it was because Min Ah-rin had talent, the cookie tasted pretty good even though she made it for the first time.

I put one more cookie Min Ah-rin had left behind and checked the clock hanging on the living room wall.

‘It’s time for Center Head Choi Mi-jin to arrive soon.’

I guess I’ll just have to rest a little bit and then go down. While I was thinking leisurely, my eyes met Cheon Sa-yeon’s, who was sitting on the sofa opposite me, looking at the documents.

“……”

My body shivered at the black eyes looking at me and I hurriedly turned my head away.

‘Ah, stop thinking about it…’

At the strange behaviour, Fox in my arms tilted his head, crying ‘piik’.

Belatedly, an awkward feeling flooded in. Even though I knew this behaviour was awkward and childish, it wasn’t easy to turn my head forward again.

‘…to be honest, isn’t Cheon Sa-yeon the strange one, not me?’

Why did he come back to my room after making that mess yesterday? If it was a job, he could do it in the representative office. I couldn’t understand it anyway.

I sat awkwardly without looking straight ahead for such a long time and Park Geon-ho, who was watching us while eating the cookies on the table, called me.

“Han Yi-gyeol.”

“What?”

“Did something happen to you and Master?”

My eyes and Cheon Sa-yeon’s eyes turned to Park Geon-ho at the same time.

No, why were you asking me that? Cheon Sa-yeon was sitting next to you. I forcefully raised the corners of my mouth and answered.

“Is that possible? What are you talking about all of a sudden.”

“I thought you had a fight.”

“How can I fight with Master Cheon Sa-yeon?”

Then, Kwon Jeong-han, who had just come out of the kitchen, intervened in the conversation.

“But the atmosphere is very different from usual, isn’t it?”

“Even Kwon Jeong-han thinks the same as me.”

“It’s just your imagination.”

After clearing the doubts from Park Geon-ho and Kwon Jeong-han, I found Cheon Sa-yeon smiling strangely. That was definitely the expression he made when he laughed at me.

That jerk… he was enjoying my embarrassment. What did I see yesterday? Was that maybe a dream?

‘I knew it. It’s not someone else, but Cheon Sa-yeon, so I was worried for nothing.’

At that time, when I was barely suppressing my boiling irritation, Woo Seo-hyuk returned to the room and reported to Cheon Sa-yeon.

“The Head of the Gate Management Center Choi Mi-jin has just arrived.”

Good timing. It was much better to work than sit in a situation like this. I jumped to my feet and spoke with enthusiasm.

“I’ll go right away. I have to pass Lee Soo-jin quickly.”

“Hm.”

With a sign that Cheon Sa-yeon understood my attitude, he closed the documents and got up.

Kwon Jeong-han, who had been watching all of that, muttered something I could hear.

“No matter how you look at it, it looks like the fight was right.”

“…it’s not like that.”

* * *

In order not to be noticed by others, Choi Mi-jin decided not to come inside the guild and wait inside the underground parking lot.

While Woo Seo-hyuk brought Lee Soo-jin, who was tied up in the training room, Cheon Sa-yeon and I headed to the underground parking lot first.

“It’s been a while, Center Head Choi Mi-jin.”

“Master Cheon Sa-yeon.”

Choi Mi-jin, who had brought two staff from the guild management headquarters, shook hands with Cheon Sa-yeon and greeted me next to him.

“Talented Han Yi-gyeol. It’s been a while.”

“Welcome.”

“I heard last time that you were working with the Requiem Guild, but… it’s amazing to see it in person like this.”

Was it that surprising? Choi Mi-jin asked Cheon Sa-yeon as I smiled awkwardly.

“I understood all the drug incident explanations. Where is the telekinesis talented person?”

“My secretary has gone to pick her up, she will be here soon.”

“Good. Ah, and this is the material you requested.”

At Choi Mi-jin’s words, the staff, who was standing on the right, handed me the file folder he was holding.

“This is a list of clubs and drug victims that we have investigated. We don’t have much time, so it’s not a lot, but we’ve mostly finished Seoul and Busan. The Four Seasons Guild in Busan was a great help.”

“Thank you.”

“I have to thank you for doing what we were supposed to do.”

Choi Mi-jin explained calmly and smiled lightly.

The Four Seasons Guild and the Guild Management Headquarters worked together to check each of the Busan clubs in a similar way to how we infiltrated the Ayton Club. As a result, drug dealers were caught in a total of four locations.

‘Those caught in Busan weren’t members of the Praus Cult, but more like those who were hired like Lee Myung-soo.’

When I heard from Kwon Jeong-han that the Four Seasons Guild had begun to move, I was hoping that more members of the Praus Cult would be caught… there was nothing we could do. Just getting rid of drugs was a great harvest.

“Master.”

Woo Seo-hyuk, who got off the elevator in the innermost part of the parking lot, approached. Next to him was Lee Soo-jin, who wore a blindfold while being handcuffed, a shutter item, on her wrists.

“I brought her.”

Choi Mi-jin, who confirmed Lee Soo-jin, blinked and the staff, who were waiting in the back, approached Lee Soo-jin.

Lee Soo-jin, who couldn’t see, staggered and followed the staff who supported her and went inside the open car then sat down. Choi Mi-jin, who had been silently watching it, opened her mouth.

“Did you say her name was Lee Soo-jin? We’ve finished the investigation about her.”

“……”

At that, Lee Soo-jin bit her lip. Either way, Choi Mi-jin, who looked away from Lee Soo-jin with indifferent eyes, came out and looked at Cheon Sa-yeon once and said.

“Anyway, you two will find out later, so I’ll just tell you. It’s said that Lee Soo-jin’s parents, who are in America, have been missing for over a month.”

“Missing?”

“It seems they disappeared without leaving any other traces. I’m guessing that’s what the Praus Cult did.”

If it had been more than a month since they disappeared, did it mean that they disappeared as soon as Lee Soo-jin came to Korea?

Lee Soo-jin lowered her head deeply and her shoulders shook. A part of her face, exposed under the pale light of an underground parking lot, was drenched in a cold sweat.

“I would have been able to find out more about it, but… unfortunately, many parts are still broken, so this is the limit.”

Choi Mi-jin frowned as if her self-esteem was hurt. I thought carefully and asked.

“What will happen to Talented Lee Soo-jin?”

“Talented Lee Soo-jin…”

After a moment’s pause, Choi Mi-jin continued speaking with an expressionless face.

“She will be monitored and trained in our guild management headquarters.”

“Training?”

“First of all, she is a rare telekinesis ability. Even if she committed a crime, you can’t let her go easily. And Talented Lee Soo-jin won’t have any relationship with the Praus Cult anymore.”

Surely… if Lee Soo-jin’s missing parents had a connection with the Praus cult, it would be.

“There’s a lot of work to be done. We’ll let you know when we’ve regained some stability.”

“Yes. We’ll send the antidote as soon as it’s done. Please transport it to the damaged area.”

“Don’t worry. Then we’re going.”

The car in which Lee Soo-jin and Choi Mi-jin got on quickly left the parking lot. After waiting for the car to completely disappear, I asked Cheon Sa-yeon.

“I think it’s clear that the Praus Cult is doing something in America… what do you think?”

“There seems a lot of possibilities.”

“Master Cheon Sa-yeon. I will only ask you one favour.”

Cheon Sa-yeon slightly lowered the corners of his eyes when I confidently said that he should listen if he was sorry about what happened yesterday.

“Favour. What is it?”

“Please make an official visit request to the Athena Guild in America.”

Athena’s deputy master, Chloe and her brother, Edward. Thinking of those two, I smiled confidently at Cheon Sa-yeon.

“You’re going with me anyway, aren’t you? To America.”