206. Leave No Trace 4

He only learned as an adult that she had lived a life cut off from contact with others. Bae Hee-joo’s life proved that guiding can sometimes be shackles for a guide.

“After Father became unable to leave his bed, that woman was the one who cared for him most closely. It’s highly likely she knows intimate information that we don’t.”

“You tried to persuade her, then.”

“She won’t say anything to me. But it seems different with you.”

Cheon Geon-young defiantly raised an eyebrow.

“She may be cold to the Chairman’s son, but she at least treats a young child in a similar predicament to herself like a human.”

“Do you want me to get her to talk?”

Cheon Dong-woo nodded with a heavy gaze.

“If my far-fetched hypothesis is correct, she is one of the victims in this matter. I will respect that. Once the incident is resolved, we can provide her with a safety net so she won’t be involved with the Cheon family men anymore.”

As the conversation drew to a close, Cheon Geon-young was the first to rise from his chair. He held the documents Cheon Dong-woo had given him tightly in his hand.

“Don’t expect too much.”

“Given what you’ve been trying to do lately, I can’t help but expect things.”

Cheon Geon-young turned his back on his uncle and walked away, stopping just before exiting the exhibition hall. There was one more thing he wanted to ask.

“Why did you include Ha Soo-jin as a guide candidate? Her background wasn’t clean. She was a woman who could be discovered and stripped of her guide position at any time.”

Cheon Dong-woo, who had been observing the photographs, calmly replied,

“It wasn’t my choice. She was among the guide candidates Father gave to your brother. He explained to your brother that only the people on that list would make it to the final selection. As someone who secretly obtained the list from your brother’s staff, I had no choice but to pick someone from there.”

Cheon Seong-beom himself chose problematic guide candidates and handed them to his son. Upon learning this new fact, Cheon Geon-young finally exited the exhibition hall.

Once outside the building, he got into his car and immediately contacted Kwon Hyuk, telling him to pay special attention to the safety of the man and woman in prison. Then, with the wary gazes of his uncle’s bodyguards trailing his car, he drove out of the museum grounds.

________________________________________

After his meeting with Cheon Dong-woo, Cheon Geon-young was extremely busy.

He was the cornerstone necessary for building a force to counter Geum Gang-seop’s plan. He tightened his tie and participated in video conferences with various organizations from morning until night.

People wanted to hear Cheon Geon-young’s voice and confirm his resolve. The amount of green feathers secured by their allies, the vast evidence from the destroyed research facility, the presence of reliable witnesses—all were important, but so was the will of Cheon Geon-young, in whom the power of a guide and an Esper coexisted. Some people even shed tears, saying that the fear of a rampage was significantly eased just by his presence.

Meanwhile, Geum Gang-seop officially announced the start date of the expo and guild competition to be held in Ark’s aquatic city. It was exactly one month away.

Those unaware of the Director-General’s ambition were delighted, saying there would be something to see. But those who knew the Director-General’s scheme became unusually busy with the rapidly approaching date.

A few days after the date was officially announced, Cheon Geon-young received a special invitation. It included tickets to view the guild competition from the best seats.

“Do they want me to come and die?”

Cheon Geon-young said self-deprecatingly after carefully reading the invitation.

“You can’t draw blood from a dead person. Can’t experiment either.”

Kwon Hyuk, his lips chapped from successive meetings, spoke with a cigarette he had quit 10 years ago in his mouth.

“The project Ark is pushing is the aquatic city project. Monster habitats are increasing, and contaminated land uninhabitable by humans is also expanding. They probably want to show the public that you also agree with their vision.”

Listening to Kwon Hyuk, Cheon Geon-young traced the gold leaf lettering on the invitation with his fingertip. Will you be here? He thought that if Yoon Tae-ha had been captured alive, Ark’s aquatic city was the most likely place for her to be imprisoned.

He intended to go even if they were preparing to cut open his belly alive. Kwon Hyuk, having forced himself to extinguish the half-smoked cigarette, spoke in a weary voice.

“Even if I tell you not to go, you’re going to go anyway, aren’t you?”

“Do I need permission for this too?”

“Of course. But I’m being blackmailed, so I have no choice but to let you go.”

Cheon Geon-young glanced at Kwon Hyuk at his unnatural line.

“They clearly told me to protect you safely. They strictly warned me not to let you step into dangerous places. But you have a stronger power than me, and if you use that power, there’s nothing I can do. I’m not immune to fire.”

Kwon Hyuk intended to defy orders from above and send Cheon Geon-young to the aquatic city.

“Shall I send you a collection of useful phrases for writing a letter of explanation?”

“Just find me a job after I retire. Working hours from 9 to 6. Even better if it’s a place where they don’t give you dirty looks for leaving around 3. Half the current salary is fine.”

“I’ll look for a good position. One that guarantees the same salary.”

“Are you taking this seriously? Never mind. I was just saying.”

They tidied up their seats and rose again for a strategy meeting with the allied team. Just before entering the crowded hallway, Kwon Hyuk lowered his voice and asked,

“I hear Yoon Tae-ha wants to meet you.”

He seemed not to believe that the ‘Yoon Tae-ha’ put forward by the Director-General was real, but he was keenly aware of her movements. Cheon Geon-young also agreed with the idea that he should meet her. But before that, there was one person he had to visit.

The man who had tried to assign the guide he wanted to her, none other than Cheon Seong-beom. Having finished all the meetings he had to attend, Cheon Geon-young visited Chairman Cheon’s mansion the next morning without rest.

In fact, he had intended to visit the mansion as soon as he received word that Chairman Cheon Seong-beom had regained consciousness, but he had been refused. Cheon Seong-beom’s wish was for him to visit when he could speak and move like a human again.

It was an unusually sunny day. Chairman Cheon’s pine trees still majestically overlooked the garden. Cheon Geon-young passed through the shade of the winding pine trees and walked towards the meeting place.

Chairman Cheon Seong-beom was seated in the unusually long shadow cast by the mansion’s roof. It was a place where one could overlook the garden and the landscape beyond the surrounding wall at a glance.

Although he was a patient who had only recently regained consciousness, Cheon Seong-beom sat upright in a rigid, armless chair. He gestured to his grandson, whom he hadn’t seen in a long time.

“It’s good to see you looking healthy.”

It was Cheon Geon-young, on the contrary, who was surprised by his grandfather’s unexpectedly healthy appearance. He tried not to let his gaze linger too long on his grandfather’s rosy face.

“I heard you’ve been through a lot. You’ve suffered greatly.”

“I received help from those around me.”

After that, a few ceremonial words were exchanged between grandson and grandfather. Cheon Seong-beom was curious about the time his grandson spent in the Green Sea. He specifically pressed him three times about how he suddenly came to use fire. Cheon Geon-young answered, omitting all facts about Yoon Tae-ha.

“It’s hard to believe you could control fire so quickly. Those who wield fire all say the same thing. They say you need at least three years of training, cutting ties with the world and living near water, to gain the proficiency to be effective in real combat.”

“I grew up under someone who controlled fire wonderfully, as if from a textbook. I thought Grandpa would be angry if I burned my hair, so I controlled it well.”

“You survived by observing and learning?”

The old man twisted his lips into a satisfied smile. A faint sense of happiness spread across his entire face. Just then, the attending physician standing behind him poured a transparent, bubbling liquid into Cheon Seong-beom’s empty cup.

“It’s common for an old man to die and come back to life, but the doctors make too much of a fuss.”

“Chairman. You must drink this as your energy has waned.”

“I know, I know. This is an effort, and it’s wicked to coldly refuse it.”

Cheon Seong-beom, who had drunk the medicine with his wrinkled hand, placed the cup back on the table. Just then, a young woman appeared from the corner of the mansion with light footsteps.

Cheon Geon-young, who had been looking at the scenery beyond the wall, turned his head a little slowly and almost sprang to his feet. He clenched his fists on his knees madly, barely suppressing the shock.

“They said to bring the Chairman some snacks from the kitchen?”

It was Yoon Tae-ha who placed the small tray of snacks on the table.

Wearing a neat navy suit and with her hair neatly tied back, she looked surprised to see the visitor.

“You didn’t say we had a guest.”

Cheon Seong-beom laughed pleasantly and offered Yoon Tae-ha a seat as well.

“When you get old, it’s hard to host guests multiple times a day. I’d like to have overlapping guests, but that fellow probably won’t allow it.”

Yoon Tae-ha gave a polite smile at Cheon Seong-beom’s words.

Facing the harmonious atmosphere, Cheon Geon-young felt as if he was falling into hell. It’s not Tae-ha. That was clear. Although she laughed with the exact same face and body as Yoon Tae-ha, the creature in front of him was not Yoon Tae-ha.

He lacked the confidence to explain this irrational judgment to others. It just, wasn’t. The rejection that began in his eyes spread to all his sensory organs.

Cheon Seong-beom, who had been discussing Yoon Tae-ha and the chef’s cooking skills at the mansion for some time, narrowed his eyes.

“She is surprisingly beautiful, isn’t she? But aren’t you staring too much?”

“Chairman. Mr. Cheon Geon-young has met someone who looks exactly like me before. He was even her partner.”

“Who would dare compare the real with the fake?”

Yoon Tae-ha, having received the compliment, blushed as if embarrassed. Cheon Geon-young could only feel disgust, nothing better, as he watched it. He felt no desire to kiss her flushed skin.

The employee who had followed her placed drinks in front of the three of them. Iced coffee was placed in front of Yoon Tae-ha.

“I get hot easily,” Yoon Tae-ha said, excusing herself and taking off her jacket. The way she rolled up her shirt was similar to what he had seen at school. But the more the woman in front of him mimicked the actions of the Yoon Tae-ha he remembered, the more a landslide of coldness rushed in, freezing his heart.