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Cheon Geon-young was speechless. It felt like someone was constantly choking him.
“You’re saying Yoon Jung-hoon, borrowing my grandfather’s body, proposed to you?”
“I told you. The real Cheon Seong-beom only loved his dead wife.”
“But you...”
He hesitated for a moment. Bae Hee-joo, knowing that Cheon Geon-young was choosing his words carefully so as not to hurt her feelings, preempted him.
“I accepted the proposal even though I knew. Do you want to know why? Because it was a proposal from a man I thought I could never stand alongside my entire life.”
She muttered, drenched in cold sweat. Her face was pale from chills, and her voice trembled precariously like a candle about to go out.
“What people say and my true feelings aren’t that different. I wanted to stand on the same line, even for a short while, with the most brilliant man in the world.”
Bae Hee-joo’s eyes blurred as if tracing a distant past.
“The price of ignoring my intuition is harsh.”
“Do you think the time of Yoon Jung-hoon’s death coincides with when my grandfather completely changed?”
Bae Hee-joo nodded. At that moment, Cheon Geon-young felt fortunate that he didn’t have teleportation abilities. A sudden urge to go to his grandfather’s mansion, disregarding all plans, surged within him.
Bae Hee-joo, her energy greatly depleted, soon lost consciousness and collapsed sideways. Kwon Hyuk approached Cheon Geon-young, who had handed her over to the medical team.
“The objective must be funds, right? The common testimony was that he was bent over backward covering research costs.”
“It was also an opportunity to observe the research subject up close.”
“We need to investigate how Chairman Cheon’s funds moved after Yoon Jung-hoon’s death. Since the timing has been specified, the results should come quickly.”
Kwon Hyuk, with an anxious face, fumbled in his breast pocket for a cigarette, then dropped his hand in resignation.
“I told them I plan to participate in Ark’s event in a while.”
“Did Cheon Seong-beom himself say that?”
“He said it today.”
Cheon Geon-young, looking up at the barren ridge, said calmly,
“I’ll handle it quietly there.”
________________________________________
The fire incident in the low mountain was largely glossed over by the media. Mentions ceased with a brief article appearing the next morning, stating it was an accident caused by a carelessly discarded cigarette butt.
Because of that, Chairman Cheon Seong-beom’s mansion was as quiet as a mouse from that morning. The Chairman’s newly hired bodyguards gathered all the mansion’s employees in the living room late at night. People whispered in low voices.
“What’s going on, why are they doing this?”
“I don’t know. I was on vacation until yesterday, so I’m not sure.”
Having been a dedicated part of the mansion for a long time, they knew each other well.
“Jeong-ho, don’t you know why they’re doing this?”
Even the gardener, who had worked at the mansion the longest, shook his head, not understanding. People stood with clasped hands, looking tense, waiting only for the word to disperse. A moment later, the new security team leader stood before them. She said,
“Lee Ji-seon? Is Lee Ji-seon not here?”
The woman, who had recently returned from vacation, cautiously raised her hand.
“Ji-seon is on vacation starting today, so she didn’t come to work.”
“Is it possible to contact her now?”
“Should I try calling her?”
“Please do.”
The woman hastily took out her phone and called her colleague. But only a long ringing tone continued, with no answer. Employees working at the mansion usually answered within three rings, so this was unusual. She lowered her phone and tilted her head.
“She’s not answering. Is she asleep? She’s a bit of a heavy sleeper.”
“Ah, well, just leave it then. Others can return to their respective places.”
People scattered.
The security team leader went upstairs and knocked on the study door. Permission to enter was granted, and she entered the study, then immediately knelt down from the entrance of the room.
Kali, perched on the dark brown desk, questioned the security team leader.
“She’s not there?”
“No. She’s not answering her colleague’s call either. It seems she caught on and went into hiding.”
Kali, crossing her legs beneath her thin skirt, grumbled gloomily.
“You mean she went to a place where even a snake wouldn’t be able to find her? There’s no such place except hell.”
Just then, the old man standing by the window turned around. Kali also moved her neck to look at him. Kali’s face held an undisguised admiration as she gazed at him.
“I don’t think that girl would have made such a grand vacation plan, but she’s hard to find. What do you think, Professor?”
Upon hearing an address unsuitable for the current situation, an eerie red glow shone in his eyes. Kali, realizing her mistake without being rebuked, apologized in an innocent voice.
“I’m sorry.”
As the old man waved his hand indifferently, the security team leader quickly exited the room as if on cue, closing the door. With a click, Kali, carefully gauging the man’s mood, spoke.
“You’re not angry, are you? That child just now is one of ours. She has no relation to Geum Gang-seop either.”
“If I’m angry, it’s not because of your slip of the tongue.”
He uttered in a low, sunken voice,
“Did you kill Bae Hee-joo?”
As soon as she heard those words, Kali clenched the edge of the desk until her knuckles turned white. Had he just implied he suspected her?
“That can’t be...”
“You believed I genuinely cared for that woman. At one time, you even asked if I chose Cheon Seong-beom’s body because of her.”
“I didn’t lay a finger on Bae Hee-joo.”
Kali pleaded her innocence, kneeling at the old man’s feet. Her fragile appearance evoked even pathos, but the old man did not shed his ruthless demeanor.
“I’ve told you many times that what I need are servants who faithfully carry out orders. I cannot keep someone by my side who acts against my decisions based on their own judgment.”
“I’ve always obeyed your will. You know that. How could I defy you, who gave me freedom when I was trapped underground on the island?”
She desperately asserted her innocence. The old man placed his hand on Kali’s head. Just as Kali was trembling, awaiting his decision, Chairman Cheon Seong-beom’s phone rang.
He read the name of the caller and answered the phone without hesitation.
“Your greeting call is late. You seem to be very busy out on the water.”
Kali kept her gaze fixed on the floor, concentrating to eavesdrop on what the other person on the phone was saying. After listening for a while, the old man said admonishingly,
“Don’t worry about my eldest son. He will be punished for his wrongdoing. There’s a limit to the flaws a parent can embrace, isn’t there? The Director-General will understand. I will ensure there are no hitches in our work.”
The old man continued the conversation with the other party in a feigned cheerful voice. Soon after the call ended, Kali cautiously raised her head.
“Was that the Director-General?”
“Yes. He’s asking me what I’ll do about Cheon Beom-jun. He says the recent events are too burdensome to bear.”
“Shall I handle it quietly?”
He pondered, running his palm over the desk that wasn’t his.
“I’ll have to do it myself.”
“But you said the body doesn’t seem to have fully accepted your soul, Professor. Those with strong souls have a thicker, tougher connection to their bodies than others. Cheon Seong-beom is such a man. He might have an adverse reaction to killing his own son. I’m worried you might get hurt, Professor.”
“That man is dead, Kali. Thanks to your devotion. From now on, I won’t lose consciousness and collapse easily as before. And I need to do it myself, even if just to check for a rejection reaction.”
The old man gently squeezed Kali’s cheek and stroked it as if caressing a pet. The woman’s eyes instantly became docile.
“Now, I am Chairman Cheon.”
Yoon Jung-hoon, who had taken over another’s body, smiled leisurely.
________________________________________
The sound of a bird’s beak tapping the window was heard three times in a row. Yoon Tae-ha, her face buried in her blanket, woke up without missing the faint sound. The crow, perched on the balcony, flew off as soon as it saw someone wake up.
Now, before the sun had fully risen, was the time for her appointment with Nox. Yoon Tae-ha, patting her aching back from yesterday’s training, quickly got up, washed, meticulously put on her protective gear, and headed to the back of the mansion.
For the past few days, she had been training with Nox. The goal was to build strength to counter Kali’s magic. Creating a barrier or nullifying attacks was impossible for her. However, she could memorize the language Kali uttered, decipher the precise movements of her fingers, and analyze the trajectory of her spear.
Nox had promised to teach her every gesture of Kali’s that she remembered, and Yoon Tae-ha was struggling to apply that to combat.
Upon arriving at the clearing, where the ground was reddish and pitted from the training, a Kali doll, seemingly made of faint smoke, rose from the ground without giving her a moment to catch her breath. Nox’s crow was perched on its shoulder.
“Get ready!”
As the bird shrieked, the fake Kali jabbed its spear straight ahead, then rotated it half a turn to the right. Its mouth opened vertically, then temporarily changed to a rounded shape.
‘The gesture to summon multiple monsters.’
Her prediction was correct. Five round masses shot out from Kali’s spear tip, transforming into half-human, half-beast monsters with four arms each. The morning training began with a direct hit to their hearts with a physical attack.
“Don’t let your soles touch the ground!”
The crow relentlessly whipped her with its beak, not letting her rest for a moment. Yoon Tae-ha, flung into the air by the wind created by the smoke Kali, rolled on the grass and grimaced, spitting out grass that had entered her mouth.
The morning training lasted a light two hours.
Therefore, it was not unusual for Yoon Tae-ha, returning from training, to tremble as she ate soft scrambled eggs. Chertan, sitting opposite her, cut a thick sausage into bite-sized pieces for her, suffering from muscle aches.
She thought it was the kind of care a three-year-old child might receive, but she let him do as he pleased. Even if Chertan awkwardly meticulously carved hash browns, which could be easily mashed with a fork, with a knife.
For several days, Chertan had completely ignored the plan his daughter had brought up. He acted as if he had forgotten the fact that he had even heard such a thing. Yoon Tae-ha also did not re-emphasize the facts that were difficult for him to accept. But both of them knew what the conclusion would be.
After breakfast, Jeon Ye-rim appeared in the dining room, carrying a long bundle. She placed the bundle, wrapped in black cloth, on the table and shook her wrist.
“It’s heavier than I thought. Did you really carry and move something like this so easily?”
Jeon Ye-rim asked. Yoon Tae-ha still didn’t understand what she was saying. Meanwhile, Chertan urged Yoon Tae-ha on, his expression a mixture of expectation and tension.
“It’s a gift. Open it.”
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