Chapter 149. A Dreamy Night (4) (2/2)

“…Okay, I guess not. Then why?”

—Let me ask you something too.

Seol Jihu answered Kim Hannah’s question with his own question.

—That Bok Jungsik guy bought the information about the ruin from Charlie Haber, fully knowing that he sold the information to another organization. What do you think is the reason he tried to pull me into the expedition?

“That’s….”

Kim Hannah rolled her eyes.

“Because of your terrifying connections.”

—?

“We know about the dangers now, but the ancient emperor’s villa was and is an enticing ruin.”

Seol Jihu nodded slowly.

“He schemed to get his hands on the villa’s treasures, but he became uncomfortable with White Rose taking everything. So he searched for a group to support him when PAX issued a complaint, or a group to share the responsibility with.”

Kim Hannah spoke while repeatedly tapping on her desk.

“You get sick if you eat everything by yourself. But if you share it with others, you might end up with only a stomach ache. So there’s a good chance that he was telling the truth when he said he canceled the expedition because he couldn’t find a group to join White Rose in the expedition.”

—Just that?

“Just that? Don’t kid yourself. Carpe Diem might be another story, but Master Jang Maldong and the Haramark Royal Family can lend him great strength. That’s not all. If they place you on a high pedestal and butter you up, they can even expect support from the Triads and Sicilia.”

—Would that change the situation?

“Yes. It would more than change the situation. Imagine if they had ten, no, five people with the same connections as you. Do you think PAX can voice their complaint this loudly? White Rose can be patronizing all they want and say they’ll give compensation, and PAX will have no choice but to swallow their tears and accept it.”

Seol Jihu chuckled.

—Where’s the justice in that?

“That’s just how it is.”

Kim Hannah smirked.

“In front of profit, justification changes depending on the situation and power at hand.”

—Depending on the situation and power at hand….

“You understand now? That’s how Paradise works.”

—What a shitty system.

Seol Jihu shook his head.

—Regardless, at the end of the day, it’s true that Bok Jungsik wanted to drag me into his mess. That’s enough of a reason for me.

“That’s true… but since you refused, you weren’t harmed, right?”

When Kim Hannah carefully raised this question…

—Just like how an attempted murder is a crime, he isn’t free from blame just because he failed.

Seol Jihu replied brusquely.

—I’m the one who moved out of the way to avoid stepping on shit. It’s not like anyone helped me do that, right?

Knowing he was right, Kim Hannah nodded her head.

—He treated me like shit, so it’s only fair I treat him the same way.

“A bit too big to just be shit. It’s like super big shit.”

—He can worry about stepping on it or avoiding it. He almost gave me an eternal title of ‘ruin thief’. I don’t think I’m out of line at all.

Hearing this, Kim Hannah made a satisfied smile.

Ever since the Banquet, something about Seol Jihu seemed different. With this conversation, she was convinced.

Seol Jihu had changed. No, he was still changing.

In the direction she wanted.

—There’s only one thing I’m worried about….

Seol Jihu turned around halfway and glanced at Kim Hannah. Knowing what Seol Jihu was worried about, Kim Hannah grinned.

“Hey, aren’t you looking down on me too much? That will be a piece of cake.”

—I’m glad then.

“Mm~ I really want to show you Bok Jungsik being stepped all over by me, but doing it personally isn’t my style. I have more enemies than you think, too.”

Kim Hannah smiled bashfully.

“Anyways, I have my ways. You just sit back and watch the show. Also, get some popcorn ready before someone else takes the good seat.”

—The heck does that mean.

“Don’t pretend like you don’t know what I’m talking about. I’m just telling you not to miss out on the fun.”

Seol Jihu shrugged. Kim Hannah smirked and asked before placing her hand on the crystal ball.

“Ah, by the way, why have you been sitting like that? With the back of your chair facing my way, I mean.”

—…Huh?

“I’m asking why you’re acting like such a snob. Isn’t it basic courtesy to look at someone when you’re talking to them?”

—Ah.

After a brief moment of silence, Seol Jihu scratched his head.

—I thought I need to pose like this….

“?”

—You know, like in the movies. It’s like we’re masterminds controlling Paradise from the shadows….

“Oh, boy!”

Kim Hannah made a dumbfounded expression as if she just heard a complete turn-off.

“You’re shitting me, right?”

She snorted, muttering, ‘What did I expect from you anyway?’ Then, she slapped down on the crystal.

Tk. The light turned off. After stealing another glance at the crystal, Seol Jihu tilted his head up.

‘I thought I was gonna die.’

With how skilled Kim Hannah was at reading people’s minds, Seol Jihu had to put in extra effort to hide his thoughts.

That was the reason he turned the chair — to hide his face. He felt that she would smell something just by the change in his expressions.

“Huuuu.”

Seol Jihu put the almost-extinguished cigarette, which he had not smoked once, in his mouth and looked up at the ceiling.

With this, the die had been cast. Although he couldn’t predict how things would turn out from now on, there was one thing he could be certain of.

The moment he said, ‘Do it,’ White Rose’s fate had been decided — to be destroyed.

Seol Jihu fixed his posture and felt around his waist. He then laid out the items he took out from his belt.

A crystal lampstand, an emerald cup, and twelve, dazzling golden eggs.

Each egg emitted a brilliant light, dyeing his face yellow. With a dazed expression, he adjusted them carefully.

Just like Kim Hannah said, there was only one thing for him to do.

‘It’s not difficult.’

To put the situation into a figure of speech, he was like a man who found an ownerless piggy bank while walking down the street. He simply had to pick up the coins before anyone else came and go on about his day.

‘Before someone else takes the good seat, she says.’

Seol Jihu took out the cigarette and let out a whistling breath. Amidst the swaying turbid smoke, the corners of his mouth curled up into a smile.

Finally.

He finally felt like he had woken up from a long, dreamy night.