Ch.10035. Yuri’s Visit to Busan (2)

I looked at the videophone screen again. It was definitely Yuri.

‘What’s going on? Yuri clearly…’

Yuri had said she would return to Seoul right after finishing the Busan branch meeting this afternoon. But it was already evening now.

‘Maybe she had more business to take care of in Busan.’

Yuri was smiling slightly as she looked at the videophone.

For someone who always maintained a cold expression, even a smile that would seem pleasant on an ordinary person felt somehow awkward.

It was different from that pure smile she had when she saw Bulgom. Somehow it seemed manufactured. Perhaps it appeared that way because of the framing and quality of the videophone.

‘I’m probably just imagining things.’

While I hesitated in momentary confusion, Yuri’s voice came through the videophone.

“Minsu. I know you’re there! Could you please open the door?”

Yuri pressed the doorbell repeatedly. For a moment, my mind raced trying to figure out what was happening, but I couldn’t just leave Yuri standing outside.

When I opened the door, she came in.

“So you were here after all, Minsu!”

Speaking with uncharacteristic excitement, she stood before me. I responded with a slightly bewildered feeling.

“What brings you here, Guild Master?”

Yuri glanced at my face. She was still smiling slightly as before, but her blue eyes weren’t smiling at all.

Without answering, Yuri walked lightly around my room, observing everything.

She ran her fingertips over the bed sheets and picked up the comb arranged in front of the room mirror, examining it closely.

It was as if she was searching for traces of someone other than me.

“Hmm. I thought I might find long black hair strands here and there, but surprisingly there aren’t any.”

After muttering that, Yuri began to search the room more thoroughly. It was awkward having her suddenly enter a man’s room alone and behave this way.

The current Yuri had a completely different atmosphere than usual.

‘It might be dangerous to provoke her…’

As an A-rank Awakened, she unconsciously emitted ice-type mana around her even normally.

But now it was as if my room had the air conditioning on, or rather, as if a window had been left open in the middle of winter—it was getting cold.

It was late June evening. Summer had already begun, so the chill in the air was entirely due to Yuri.

‘Why is she acting like this? Wait.’

The long black hair Yuri had just mentioned. With those words, I immediately understood her intention.

‘Could it be that she thinks a woman has been visiting this room?’

There would be no need to look for traces of long hair otherwise. But honestly, that conclusion was also bewildering.

I’m not a cadet at the Academy or a college student. And this isn’t a men-only dormitory.

This is a hotel with views of Gwangan Bridge and Gwangalli Beach, arranged directly by Flame’s operations team.

Although the company booked it, I’m a proper adult and working professional. Even if Yuri is the Guild Master and CEO, this was an abuse of authority.

‘They gave me a private accommodation. Even if a woman visited, Yuri shouldn’t have any right to…’

No. Her perspective might be different.

I actually understood Yuri’s feelings to some extent. Before coming to Busan—or more precisely, before leaving for the Kingdom of Slavia due to Parma’s Holy Fire—

I had a private meeting with Yuri in her office. And there, she had grabbed me and kissed me.

Not a light peck, but a deep, adult kiss. So unless I was a fool, I couldn’t misunderstand. She still had feelings for me.

It meant that the emotions I felt toward Yuri back in my Eins days, just before graduation, weren’t wrong.

So now, Yuri was acting like a girlfriend checking if her boyfriend was cheating on her.

Of course, Yuri and I weren’t in that kind of relationship at all. After briefly examining the bed and room, Yuri seemed relieved.

Then she said:

“Still, you never know. The operations team booked an expensive hotel for you. That means the hotel staff might clean thoroughly every day.”

After saying that, Yuri abruptly went into the bathroom.

The chill that had been freezing the room weakened slightly. With a somewhat calmer mind, I thought about why Yuri was acting this way.

Yuri had specifically mentioned hair. Black, long hair. Of course, more than half of Korean women might have long black hair, but there was one person who immediately came to mind.

‘This must be about Soso.’

I sat down on the edge of the bed for a moment.

***

The reason Yuri singled out Soso rather than another woman was obvious.

If I were in Seoul, the female employee Yuri would be most concerned about would be Arin, but Arin, a nun of the White Cross Society, is even busier than I am.

And Arin is in Seoul while I’m in Busan now. Naturally, she would suspect Soso first, who came down to Busan with me.

‘Of course, I’ve been too busy to even think about dating.’

Even from Seoul, Yuri would know how busy I’ve been. I managed to divide Busan’s hunter guilds in just three months. According to the original plan, it would have been difficult even in six months.

Unless I was already dating someone, romance would be impossible. Obviously, there was no room to meet a new woman.

‘Still… the truth is, now that I’ve received my A-rank hunter license, it wouldn’t be difficult if I wanted to…’

Hunters are a highly admired profession among ordinary people.

They generally earn much higher salaries than famous professionals like doctors or lawyers. Not all women are like that, but it was a reality that young, promising hunters were popular.

Of course, I had no interest in such games with women. But if there was an exception, it would be Soso, who was always with me for Flame’s business.

‘So Yuri misunderstood that Soso and I have that kind of relationship?’

And when it came to Soso specifically, I wasn’t exactly a blank slate either.

After our trip to the Ashen Forest to obtain Parma’s Holy Fire, the distance between Soso and me had narrowed considerably.

Now we treat each other as comfortable friends, like in our Eins days. No, actually, we’re even closer than back then.

Back at Eins, I only saw Soso as a friend while having feelings for Yuri. But now things were different.

Similar to my relationship with Arin, Soso and I remained at that stage where we had strange feelings for each other beyond friendship, but hadn’t crossed the line.

‘So it’s fortunate that we’re staying at different hotels.’

If I spent more private time with Soso outside of work hours, and if the physical distance was reduced by staying at the same hotel,

Something beyond the friendship line I had established with Soso might happen. In fact, after the Chugonghyeol, the kisses Soso naturally requested had been quite dangerous lately.

‘If Yuri saw something like that… who knows what might happen.’

While I was organizing my thoughts, Yuri came out of the bathroom.

“The bathroom is clean too. I checked the drain and found no long hair. Of course, that might also be because the hotel staff clean it every day.”

Those cold words felt somewhat frightening. Yuri was speaking politely to me,

She was still Yuri Tarkovskaya, Guild Master of Flame, but somehow she felt very different from her usual self.

And she approached me as I sat on the edge of the bed.

“At least there aren’t two toothbrushes, unlike Minsu’s apartment in Seoul.”

Our eyes met. Yuri’s expression was cold. She always had a cold expression, but now even her blue eyes radiated a chill.

‘Apartment? Is she talking about Arin’s toothbrush?’

Since Arin often stayed overnight at my Seoul apartment, she kept some clothes and a toothbrush at my place.

To others, it might have looked like we were practically living together. But we hadn’t crossed that line, so it wasn’t cohabitation.

‘Wait, did she check my bathroom when she visited my apartment before?’

That would have been when I secured the contract with Pyotr. That was quite some time ago.

It also meant that even back then, Yuri was already showing signs of something.

Yuri continued to stare at me silently. And the chill filling my room was growing stronger.

‘Something’s definitely off. It’s Yuri, but… the current Yuri doesn’t seem like herself.’

Still, I tried to calm her down by saying:

“Guild Master, didn’t you say you were returning to Seoul today? Why are you in my room…”

Then, the corners of Yuri’s lips turned up slightly.

“No. I’m not going back today. I’m going to spend tonight with you, Minsu.”

***

Yuri had said something shocking.

A hotel with a great view of Gwangan Bridge and the beach. She couldn’t possibly misunderstand what spending the night there meant.

But Yuri’s expression as she said those words showed no embarrassment. She spoke as if it were natural, as if I were already her lover.

‘This is bad. If this continues, I might get swept up in Yuri’s pace…’

She was different from the usual Yuri. But this wasn’t the first time I’d seen her like this.

Before going on the cooperative mission to Paju. That night when we went to Seoraksan to adjust our gear. Drunk Yuri had shown me a completely different side of herself.

Perhaps it was the snow woman aspect dormant in her blood. I instinctively felt that I shouldn’t get carried away by this atmosphere.

“What are you saying…”

But before I could finish my sentence, Yuri grabbed my face with both hands. Her hands were as cold as ice.

“Don’t misunderstand. I am Yuri Tarkovskaya, Guild Master of Flame. So when I say I want to spend the night, I mean I want to discuss Flame’s future.”

It was nonsense. If it was about Flame’s business, we could have stayed at the Busan branch to talk.

But words wouldn’t come out of my mouth. It felt like sleep paralysis because of Yuri’s cold aura.

And like a CGI scene from a movie, I could see in real-time how the hotel room was freezing over.

“Flame is the guild I created. A guild I created for Minsu. So it’s a guild just for the two of us. Isn’t that right?”

Something physically impossible was happening. A snowstorm was raging inside the room.

And that mana-created snow storm was forming ice walls around us like a barrier.

“So we’re in the same boat. Your revenge is only possible through Flame.”

Yuri seemed out of her mind, but at least that statement wasn’t wrong. Flame, and the direction Yuri was taking, would lead me to Red Lake.

Yuri’s palm holding my cheek. She moved her index finger downward. Then her thumb traced my lips.

“So for Flame’s future. It’s right for Minsu and me to become one. With me, not with a thieving cat like Soso.”

And Yuri bent down. Her face came right in front of mine.

Soon our lips would meet.