Translator: Vine
Translated At: Nyx Scans
Chapter: 94
'Um... CEO-nim, how long do you plan to stay like this?'
Jehwi, who had instantly recognized that Hyuji's true identity was Siwoo, worried about him.
There was certainly a part of him that was concerned about what Eunha, unaware that Hyuji was Siwoo, might do, but more than that, it was likely because he knew Siwoo well, who usually hesitated to even 'manifest' himself.
Manifestation was one of the special abilities granted only to a single Vassal, including divine authority.
It generally referred to changing one's appearance to resemble the being one had contracted with.
'I'll just watch for a bit and then go back.'
'Hunter-nim thinks you're really a dog, CEO-nim.'
'Of course, she would. Anyway, you keep your mouth shut.'
'But...'
Siwoo knew too.
That he had no leisure to leisurely stay here in the form of a dog.
And yet.
"..."
Siwoo, who had been gazing at Eunha's sleeping face, slowly sat up.
He really had to go back now.
Siwoo, who had stood frozen for a long time under the serene moonlight, silently slipped out of the place.
"...?"
Waking up early in the morning, Eunha slowly rubbed her eyes as she looked at the empty carpet under her bed.
Hyuji had disappeared overnight.
'Where did he go?'
She went out to the living room and checked under the dining table, the bathroom, the dressing room, and even the balcony, but Hyuji was nowhere to be found.
The front door was firmly closed.
Though it could be opened from the inside without a key, it was hard to imagine a dog turning the doorknob and leaving.
Eunha picked up her phone and called Jehwi.
"Manager-nim, Hyuji is gone."
「Really?」
At his nonchalant reaction, Eunha's face hardened.
And she spoke again, as if pressing him.
"I said the dog is gone. Alone, without a leash or an ID tag."
「Ah.」
Only then did Jehwi hastily continue.
「W-well, then. It's natural for Hunter-nim to be worried. But if it's Hyuji-nim, please don't worry. I happened to meet him on the street this morning, so I've asked an acquaintance to look after him.」
"...What did you say?"
Eunha narrowed her eyes slightly.
"So, are you saying, Manager-nim, that he opened the door himself and left this place?"
「It seems so. And then, I happened to find him nearby.」
"..."
Eunha closed her mouth.
Hyuji escaped this place on his own, met Jehwi by chance outside the officetel, and was entrusted to his acquaintance?
It was a story hard to believe.
[The divine beast 'Cat Wandering in Darkness' is deeply relieved that the creature has disappeared anyway.]
[It urges you to quickly open the window, saying all that's left is to air out the place until this pungent dog smell disappears.]
Eunha, without looking at the yellow message window that popped up before her, spoke towards the phone speaker.
"You said your acquaintance is looking after Hyuji, right? Can I confirm that?"
If Jehwi's words were true, she could rest assured, but for Eunha, confirming his safety was the priority.
「I'll ask them to send a picture now.」
Having said that and ending the call, Jehwi indeed sent a picture via messenger about 5 minutes later.
[Manager Park]
AM 9:03
Here you go.
AM 9:03
A very comfortable expression, right? You don't have to worry.
AM 9:03
I can send you pictures whenever you want ㅎㅎ
AM 9:03
Eunha tapped the picture Jehwi sent and enlarged it.
A white dog, curled up in what looked like an office.
Judging by its bright blue eyes, it definitely seemed to be the Hyuji Eunha knew.
Confirming Hyuji's safety with her own eyes like that, she could somewhat ease her worries.
However, how Hyuji had managed to escape the officetel on his own remained a mystery.
Silvermoon Headquarters, Top Floor.
"Done."
Jehwi, having finished filming, put down his phone.
The white dog, which had been sitting quietly by the window, finally returned to its human form, Siwoo's form, with a dazzling blue light.
"Do we really have to go this far?"
Siwoo grumbled softly, adjusting his loosened tie.
While at Eunha's house, he had maintained his manifested form even when unasked, but now, it seemed he wasn't pleased with it.
"What can we do? Hunter-nim was asking about Hyuji's... ahem, ahem, the CEO-nim's well-being."
Wouldn't she be reassured only if we took a picture like this and showed her?
Jehwi scratched his cheek and laughed awkwardly.
"She asked me to send pictures periodically to check on his well-being in the future, so I'd appreciate your cooperation, CEO-nim."
"..."
Siwoo seemed utterly unable to understand, but he didn't burst into anger either.
He merely crossed his arms with a displeased expression and remained silent.
"What's so worrisome about a dog picked up from the street."
"When she looked at Hyuji... CEO-nim, didn't she smile very well? I've never seen Hunter-nim smile like that before. Though it wasn't for a long time, Hunter-nim definitely thought of CEO-nim as family."
Jehwi smiled faintly as he saved 'Hyuji's' picture in his mobile album.
"Please go visit her often in the future too."
"...I'll handle it myself."
Siwoo sharply turned his head towards the window.
Though it was a thorny reaction, Jehwi didn't erase the smile from his lips.
'He's really not honest, is he.'
Though the pressure from Wolf had lessened somewhat after proving his strength to Gwihoon, Gwihoon's eyes and ears were still planted around Siwoo.
Siwoo too couldn't possibly be unaware of that fact.
And yet, he chose to stay by Eunha's side, even going as far as to 'manifest', something he usually hesitated to do, while deliberately avoiding them.
Of course, at first, he had just intended to see her face and return.
However.
'They said I have talent.'
Eunha, smiling faintly as she talked about what happened at the academy.
It was a smile 'Shin Siwoo' had never seen.
'I wish it were.'
He vividly recalled the pitch of her voice, her expression, and everything else as she muttered.
The way she diligently attended classes at the academy.
The way she smiled awkwardly when praised by the instructor.
The way she returned home and brushed fur all night.
And...
'Please take care of Hyuji.'
Even the way she unhesitatingly ran towards the gate that appeared in front of the academy.
The Sunbae Siwoo saw was that kind of person.
Someone who would willingly lend a hand if there was someone in need before her.
Such a person was now dreaming of a different life.
"Then I'll be going now. If Hunter-nim asks for pictures again, I'll come back then."
"Wait."
Suddenly, Siwoo stopped Jehwi.
"The S-Class summons, was it the day after tomorrow?"
"Huh? Ah, yes... If it's that, Chief Choi should have politely declined it."
"Tell them I'll go."
"...Yes?"
Jehwi blinked widely, as if he had misheard.
Siwoo, his gaze fixed on the window, said once more.
"I'll go. To the Association."
"A-are you serious?"
"But tell them I have conditions."
Siwoo's blue eyes glanced towards Jehwi.
"Baekrang wishes to meet the Association President one-on-one. Separately from the other S-Classes."
And make sure Wolf's ears don't hear about it.
Siwoo added curtly.
Jehwi's face showed that he couldn't quite believe this situation.
It was understandable.
Because Siwoo had visited the Association as Baekrang only once or twice.
"May I ask why you suddenly changed your mind?"
Jehwi asked cautiously, observing Siwoo's mood.
Siwoo, leaning nonchalantly against the window, indifferently gazed at the Seoul cityscape visible beyond it.
'Would it be alright to live as Lee Yura like this?'
Siwoo, who had been staring out the window for a long time, slowly rummaged through his pocket.
A crumpled ointment.
"...Just."
Gently closing his hand around the ointment lying forlornly in his palm, Siwoo cast a glance towards Jehwi.
"A whim."
University Hospital near Corps Headquarters.
A colossal shadow entered the 2nd-floor pharmacy.
It was Yoo Hwan in a dobok.
His top, which looked more draped than worn, openly revealed his abdomen, but what was more noticeable than his hard abs was the long, diagonal 11-shaped scar.
He swept his eyes over the cluttered interior of the pharmacy.
His eyes met Roje's tired face amidst the mountain of documents piled on the desk.
"You're here? A bit messy, isn't it? Just sit down roughly over there."
"The kid?"
"He's gradually getting better."
Roje tied up her loosely disheveled hair and stood up from her seat.
She removed the gown hanging on the chair and gestured towards Yoo Hwan as if telling him to sit there.
"Unless an unexpected problem arises, at this rate, he'll probably open his eyes within a few days."
"That's a relief."
Answering shortly, Yoo Hwan sat down and glanced at Roje.
Her disheveled hair roughly tied up, her complexion was pale, as if she would collapse at any moment.
She had probably been like this for days, without any sleep.
"Since the kid's condition has stabilized, why don't you rest now too. Don't you have to go to the Association tomorrow?"
At Yoo Hwan's words, Roje shook her head.
"I still have work left to do."
"What if you collapse like this—"
"You already know about the recent rumor that GIA visited Korea, right?"
Click.
Roje, cutting off Yoo Hwan's words, opened a nearby cabinet and took out a medicine bottle.
Then, she poured a handful of capsule-shaped pills onto her palm.
Yoo Hwan couldn't tell what all those were, but he presumed they were various nutrients and vitamins.
"And you, of all people, would know that it's not entirely a baseless rumor."
Downing them all at once, Roje finished a glass of water cleanly before finally lifting her gaze to look at Yoo Hwan again.
"...They say they visited the Association President and delivered a prophecy."
"A prophecy?"
Yoo Hwan, taking his eyes off Roje's medicine bottle, asked shortly.
His expression became peculiar.
"Yeah. That thing they also call a Holy Word. According to them, they're claiming a massive gate will soon appear on the South Coast."
Indeed.
So that was the reason for this sudden S-Class summoning order.
Yoo Hwan, lost in thought for a moment, slowly lifted his gaze.
"Roje, what are your thoughts?"
That was what mattered most to him.
"I agree with half of it."
"Meaning you don't agree with the other half."
Yoo Hwan muttered.
Perching on a nearby chair and lightly crossing her legs, she crossed her arms.
"It might not be just the South Coast. In my estimation—"
Roje slowly spread out her palm.
"Up to five."
"...!"
Yoo Hwan's eyes wavered greatly.
