Chapter 133 - A Familiar Stranger

Ash woke up early next morning. Mirae was still sound asleep, with her arms wrapped around his chest. He checked the bedside clock. It was almost 8:30 AM. Both of them were so tired that they had slept for almost a day. 

Careful not to wake her, Ash untangled himself from her arms. Mirae stirred a little but was still snoozing. He got off the bed and headed for the bathroom to freshen up. He wanted to meet KJ in private. Staring at the sleeping girl on the bed, a small smile formed on his lips.

She looked so peaceful at that time. It was hard to imagine that this girl was the head of a secret organization which was trying to bring down the biggest criminal organization of the country. Ash watched as Mirae turned around, murmuring in her sleep.

"Ahjumma...the beef isn't fried enough…" she mumbled. It was incredulous how she was still dreaming of food in her state. Ash shook his head and headed into the bathroom. 

Half an hour later, he exited Mirae's apartment. Quietly closing the door behind him, he walked towards KJ's unit. He rang the bell.

KJ opened the door to see Ash, fully dressed. He himself was still in his pajamas; the late hours of recording at the studio took a toll on both him and Dasom.

"You overslept?" Ash asked as he entered the house. "That's unusual."

"I was at the studio till four o'clock in the morning," KJ yawned. "Dasom and I were practicing late."

"What about Jinhyun?" Ash frowned.

"Dunno," KJ replied. "He said something about an investor's meeting in Busan."

"Hm," Ash said. He took a seat at one of the couches, while KJ sat opposite him.

"What did you wanna talk about?" KJ asked.

"The Hann Construction infiltration," Ash began. "It's going nowhere. The waiting room from which Mirae was supposed to enter the tunnel was removed in the renovation of the building. Moreover, we don't even know if your grandfather's computer still has those files."

"We'll still have to check," KJ insisted. "It all started with my parents' murder! If we find their killers, we'll be led to the head of the Cartel."

"That person might have used hired assassins," Ash countered. "I know how the Cartel works. They'll always make others do their dirty deed and not show themselves. There is a chance that those assassins may also have been killed."

"No," KJ said. "When the Cartel tried to kill me, they sent their best men who are among the top guns in the organization. Which means the enmity is on a personal level. The head of the Cartel would never send hired goons for my parents' deaths."

Ash sighed. "Maybe they sent their own men," he said. "Maybe they didn't. But you do realize we are basing all of this on luck? We're making speculations here! We can't risk our lives based on guesswork. All this needs solid proof and careful thinking. And what if Mirae's cover gets blown there? What will happen then? That Shun Oguri will report to his boss and everything we worked for will be over!"

"Nothing will happen to her," KJ assured him. "We'll think of another way to let her in without detection."

"How are you going to do that?" Ash demanded. "All the secret tunnels were caved in!"

"We'll think of a way," KJ replied hotly. "Last time our assumptions were correct-"

"Last time we made assumptions, you got shot!" Ash argued. "We can't risk Mirae's life this time based on assumptions! We'll need an alternative or more decisive evidence-"

"How do you plan on getting evidence?" KJ questioned. "My grandfather kept all his data and important files in that computer! It was the safest place for him and the computer was impenetrable. I know he has some evidence in there!"

"But what is the guarantee that the computer is still there?" Ash asked. "It might have been moved or destroyed!"

"It's there."

A voice startled both of them. They looked up to see Mirae, holding a laptop.

"When did you get in?" KJ asked in surprise. He knew he had locked the door.

"You're seriously asking that question to a world class hacker?" Mirae scoffed. "It was so easy to figure out your lock's password."

KJ gaped at her while Ash simply shook his head. Before either of them could say anything, Mirae strode over and placed the laptop on the coffee table. Turning it on, she inserted a USB disk into it. 

"That computer is still in Hann Constructions," she said, typing fast on the keyboard. "Come closer."

Both men frowned and leaned over to watch the screen. Mirae keyed in some codes on the command box and a video played on the laptop. A tall, majestic building of sixty storey came to view.

"That's…" KJ frowned.

"Hann Constructions," Mirae said happily. "And now I'm going to tell you what we're going to do."

….

Jinhyun pulled up his hoodie. It was difficult to be out in public for a celebrity like him. Fans will barrage around if they saw him. He had large rimmed sunglasses on and his face was covered by a face mask. Thankfully, it was not uncommon in Korea to wear these masks since the air could get polluted easily and many people wore them on the streets.

He walked into the cafe. Scanning through the display menu, he settled for a sweet mocha latte. Even though he was on a diet, he could not curb his love for sweets. KJ would freak out if he found out that Jinhyun was cheating on his diet but love for chocolates was more.

Jinhyun walked up to the counter. "One sweet mocha latte please," he requested, taking out some cash. 

"Please give us a minute, sir," the girl behind the counter replied with a smile. Jinhyun nodded, humming under his breath as he waited.

Ding Ding!

A whiff of cold air hit his back as the door to the cafe opened. An instinct suddenly gripped him. He did not know why but his heart began to beat erratically. He felt a strange but familiar presence approaching him. It felt as if everything else had muted except for the footsteps which were coming closer.

He did not know what made him turn around but he did. Coming towards him was a pale girl in her late twenties. Her hair was almost as dark as night, making her look paler. She was wearing eccentric clothes; an ancient red shawl which was torn in places. Her outfit was strange and had beads on it. It reminded him of shamans.

But even her ragged clothes could not hide her elegant beauty. She walked as if she was an empress who was walking with her head held high. There was something arrogant about her yet, her clear brown eyes hid a mischievous glint.

She did not pay any heed to the masked Jinhyun, who was still staring at her.

The girl from behind the counter gave the strange shaman a disgusted look, which confused Jinhyun. Even if the shaman was wearing torn clothes, it was obvious she was not an ordinary person.

"One espresso," the shaman ordered.

"Please wait a while, Ahjumma," the counter girl said.

Ahjumma? Jinhyun frowned. The shaman looked even younger than the counter girl! He watched as the shaman took her coffee and settled at a seat near the window.

Jinhyun picked up his cup and sat at a table a little further from her. Even though she did not look at him, he observed her. He did not know why but it was hard for him to tear his eyes off from her. For some reason, she felt so familiar. It was as if he had been waiting for her for a long time.

That's stupid, he argued with himself. He did not even know the girl! 

But she intrigued him. She sipped on her coffee, staring outside absentmindedly.

Jinhyun took out a pen from his pocket and grabbed a tissue from the table. He wanted to leave a token for her…

"Excuse me, Ahjumma?"

The shaman looked up to see the rude counter girl standing in front of her. Inwardly, she sighed. The counter girl was probably going to ask her to leave since she was in her daytime appearance. 

Curse that hag! She fumed inwardly. If it wasn't for her spell, I could have at least retained my appearance during the day as well.

She was about to tell the counter girl to buzz off when the latter took out something from her pocket.

"A customer left this for you," the counter girl said in a rude tone. It was a tissue paper.

Frowning, the shaman took the tissue in her hand.

"Who left this?" her voice came out in a croak.

"I don't know," the counter girl replied. "He was wearing a mask and sunglasses. He just handed this to me and told to give it to you. Then he left."

With that, the counter girl walked away.

The shaman flipped the tissue paper and froze.

"Wha...what?" she whispered. Her eyes were wide in shock.

On it was a drawing of her original appearance, which in reality is much younger and beautiful. She can only assume it during the night while during the day, she turns into an old woman. So how did this person see her real self during the day?

"Impossible…" Cherry murmured.