“I’m sorry, but I’ll be stepping away for a moment.”
“Yes?”
“Oh, Jurim.”
Yu Suyeon and Chairman Nam looked at him in surprise.
Leaving the voices of the two women behind, Jurim strode toward the woman.
“……!”
The woman’s eyes shook violently when she caught sight of Jurim.
“I’m sorry, but this concerns my daughter too.”
Without any warning, Jurim seized her arm and moved toward the terrace.
“I don’t want to treat a valuable informant any more roughly than this, so let’s keep it simple.”
An informant who dealt with souls—Chuen.
Because she possessed a rare Unique Skill, she had escaped the grasp of her homeland, which sought to misuse her power, and was now active in Korea’s underworld.
Her case alone was reason enough for Hunters not to fully reveal their Skills.
“It’d be a problem if I rummaged through your head and rendered you useless.”
The threat, delivered in such a calm voice, was chilling.
Jurim folded his arms and stared at Chuen.
“Who is that dead person you mentioned?”
Chuen moistened her lips.
Ever since she had learned that the person On Jurim was searching for was a soul, she had been avoiding his calls.
And yet, of all places, they had ended up meeting here.
Chuen gave a small shake of her head.
“I don’t know either.”
Before she could incur Jurim’s displeasure, Chuen quickly added,
“It’s sealed by a taboo, so I can’t read it. The size of a yin spirit isn’t proportional to the ability of its yang. The lingering wish was too great and exceeded the range of my ability.”
Jurim raised a hand to stop her.
“Wait. Could you explain it a little more simply?”
“……?”
Chuen answered with a blank look.
“It’s impossible to put it any more simply.”
Jurim clicked his tongue. It felt like he was dealing with a foreign shaman.
‘This is why foreigners…….’
Two foreigners who were poor at Korean flashed through his mind.
Then the face of one kindergartener who was Korean yet still difficult to communicate with also briefly appeared.
After forcing away his thoughts about the people around him,
“You mean your ability is insufficient to find out who it is, for now?”
“Yes.”
Unless she could amplify her ability……
“Got it. But don’t ignore my calls from now on.”
Chuen gave a slight nod.
Looking down at her, Jurim continued in a low voice,
“You can go now. Someone is waiting for me.”
Whoosh!
As Chuen hurriedly left, the figure who had been hiding behind her appeared.
“Father.”
On Suhyeong followed Chuen’s retreating figure with his eyes, then let out a deep sigh.
“To treat a lady that way.”
“She’s just a business associate.”
“I see…….”
On Suhyeong replied with a hollow look.
In truth, he had been sitting in a corner of the restaurant, secretly watching Jurim. He was worried that the boy might cause trouble.
But then the boy had suddenly leaped from his seat and taken a woman outside.
‘And I thought there was another woman he had his eye on.’
When he followed them out, however, there was no romance in sight. The boy had been threatening her instead.
“Please tell Chairman Nam that I have no intention of dating.”
The blackmailer said it shamelessly.
“……Since you left like that, I suppose things will be quiet for a while.”
“That’s good to hear.”
When Jurim flashed him a smile, On Suhyeong moved close to his side.
“Chairman Nam must be worried too. She and I are both old-fashioned people, so we probably think that if someone is unmarried, they ought to start a family…….”
Jurim nodded as if he understood, but he did not yield on the matter.
“Well, a family…… I don’t really want to make mine any bigger. I might get jealous if Geuru ends up liking his mother more than me.”
Even now, Jurim was constantly anxious that his biological parents might take away his place as Geuru’s father. He had no intention of adding another rival.
“I only started hearing him call me ‘Dad’ recently…….”
Jurim spoke curtly.
“Right now, I’m busy enough keeping Geuru’s grandfather in check.”
At that, the corners of On Suhyeong’s lips lifted faintly.
“Yes, Geuru will probably like the grandfather who buys him a house more than his useless father. I can understand why you’re worried.”
“……?”
“Oh, right. I’ve been looking at some land this time. I’ll put that in Geuru’s name too…….”
“Stop trying to win the child over with money. He’s still too young to understand what you’re giving him.”
“He’ll understand once he grows a little more…….”
On Suhyeong drew out his words regretfully, then suddenly asked,
“Jurim, do you happen to think the same way as Ijo?”
At the mention of his brother’s name, Jurim burst out laughing.
His brother had been pressured quite a lot to meet women for introductions from an early age.
Yet Ijo, despite being dragged around by Chairman Nam, had maintained an impenetrable wall.
“I’m waiting for a fateful encounter.”
Apparently, he had to preserve his chastity for the woman he would meet someday.
“No. Well, it’s not quite that extreme…….”
Jurim chuckled as he recalled Ijo acting like a virtuous scholar.
His brother used to criticize him, saying, “You date anyone without any feelings,” and would go on about how he would ever atone for his karma once he met true love.
Thump!
At that moment, his heart gave a powerful beat.
“……Please.”
Why were his brother’s words suddenly echoing in his ears……?
He had said, Please.
‘……Please do what?’
Until now, he had never thought deeply about it.
He had simply assumed it meant that Jurim should take care of what came after.
Creating a guild, quietly complying with requests from government agencies—
He had thought all of it was his brother’s request.
Because it seemed that was what his brother had wanted until the very end.
‘But.’
His head began to throb.
It was at that moment, as Jurim rubbed his temple, that a snowy plain spread out before his eyes.
“……?!”
Jurim turned around.
The one who had opened the snowfield at will was the owner of the ninety-ninth floor.
Why?
An existence that had seemed like nothing more than a natural phenomenon.
For the first time, the owner of the ninety-ninth floor spoke to Jurim.
[Geuru.]
*
Geuru raised his head with clouded eyes, clutching the strap of his bag tightly.
Had someone once said that boys that age did nothing but fight?
“Did you think I asked you to come?”
“Ha! If I’d known you’d be like this, I wouldn’t have come!”
Geuru looked up at Serhi and Gidan, who had resumed their fight inside the staff restroom.
‘Daddy might be right…….’
When they had been dealing with the bad man earlier, Geuru had thought they were beginning to understand each other a little.
But the moment that man left, they had moved elsewhere and continued fighting exactly as before.
“Do you think I can’t do anything without you?”
Geuru clenched his fists.
“Then I guess you were doing a great job earlier!”
He would not just stand by and watch anymore.
“Hey! If you hadn’t gotten in my way—!”
Geuru wouldn’t hold back!
“Stop!”
Geuru wedged himself between them.
Raising his brows as if he were furious, Geuru looked from one to the other.
“Stop it!”
Gidan and Serhi were briefly left speechless by the tiny shoulders huffing with anger.
When a brief lull fell over the room, Geuru’s face flushed bright red. First, he pointed at Gidan with his index finger.
“Gidan oppa, don’t tease Serhi oppa!”
“Me?!”
“Uh-huh! You mustn’t tease your friend. That’s bad!”
“……!”
Gidan opened and closed his mouth.
With his hands on his hips, Geuru spoke firmly, like a kindergarten teacher.
“Say sorry, quickly.”
“……No, I was just—”
Geuru tugged on Gidan’s sleeve.
“When Gidan oppa teases him, Serhi oppa feels bad.”
“Ah.” Gidan let out a low groan and rubbed his face.
At that, Serhi narrowed his eyes.
“No, I don’t particularly want an apol—”
“……I’m sorry.”
“…….”
Serhi’s face twisted.
‘He’s apologizing all of a sudden?’
The strange atmosphere made this moment even harder to endure.
Was this what Koreans called cringey?
His insides churned, and he felt an indescribable sensation, as if he were melting away.
This time, Geuru lightly tugged on the sleeve of the silent Serhi.
“Geuru and Gidan oppa came ’cause we were worried about Serhi oppa.”
Serhi bit his lip slightly and answered curtly,
“You didn’t need to.”
“Oppa…… then, do you not like Geuru and Gidan oppa?”
The words burst out of Serhi.
“That’s not it!”
“Look. Geuru goes to kindergarten, but……”
“I know. Do you think I’m stupid?”
“Teacher said…… you have to speak honestly. If you don’t say anything, people don’t know.”