Ch.124Red Snake 4

How annoying.

Why does such a tiny girl…

I glared at her while gripping the display stand.

She was muttering to herself while holding two pieces of seaweed.

Those vulgar, seductive eyes, that teardrop mole, and those strange animal ears on her head.

She’s definitely some kind of fox spirit.

She must have bewitched my sister with some strange magic.

She’s probably after my sister’s wealth.

Trying to change her fortune by any means necessary.

I gripped the display stand tightly.

The metal shelf began to crumple under my grasp.

I don’t know how she managed to seduce the Vice Chairwoman too…

But if she crosses me, I’ll kill her immediately.

“Excuse me…”

And seaweed soup?

She’s going to make such ordinary food for my sister?

If she’s going to cook something, it should obviously be the highest quality seaweed from Jeju Island!

Besides, I can make seaweed soup perfectly well myself…

“Excuse me…”

Someone kept chirping beside me, but I ignored it.

Right now, what matters is that suspicious…

“Hey, you…!”

Someone was interfering with my surveillance.

Instinctively, I swatted away that “someone’s” hand, and they collapsed weakly to the floor.

“—!”

Suddenly, crying echoed from the ground.

Startled by the sound, I immediately turned my head toward the floor.

And there I saw a young boy, fallen and sobbing loudly.

Wait, did I… did I just push this child?

“I’m sorry…”

I tried to help him up with the same hand that had pushed him.

But the frightened child shook his head while crying bitterly.

Fair enough. Even I wouldn’t readily take the hand of someone who had just pushed me.

Damn… I’ve gotten myself into a troublesome situation.

This is a mistake unworthy of a professional bodyguard.

If the Vice Chairwoman were to see this, it would greatly damage her trust in me.

I anxiously scanned the surroundings.

The child’s parents were nowhere to be seen.

Meanwhile, the child’s crying had captured the attention of nearby customers.

Their brows furrowed instinctively at the loud noise.

Anyone would see me as a villain bullying a child.

As I approached slowly, my dark shadow fell over the child.

I tried to make eye contact to apologize properly.

But…

The child, pierced by my gaze, became even more frightened and began to cry more bitterly.

“—!”

I… I was just trying to apologize…

Why is he so scared!

The situation was only getting worse.

To make matters worse, that fox spirit, who had been watching from a distance, came running over after hearing the crying.

“What’s going on?”

She asked me with a deliberately concerned voice.

Pretending to be worried—I bet she wants to create a kind image for herself through this incident.

“It’s nothing to worry about. I accidentally pushed the child…”

After assessing the situation, Siho carefully approached the child.

She gently bent her knees to meet his eyes.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

What the…

The child’s reaction to her is completely different from his reaction to me.

He stopped crying and slowly nodded his head.

“When a child is startled, it’s important to lower your eye level.”

Perhaps it was because she lowered her height so much.

Her shadow didn’t loom over the child.

“You’re so brave for holding back your tears. So, what’s our cool friend’s name?”

“Jin-hyuk… Choi Jin-hyuk…”

“What was our Jin-hyuk trying to buy?”

Siho posed thoughtfully with her finger against her cheek.

At that, Jin-hyuk’s eyes lit up with amusement as he raised his finger.

It was like watching a children’s quiz show.

His finger pointed to the display shelf I had been blocking earlier.

And there was…

Dog treats.

“Treats for our Susu.”

“These?”

“No, the long ones next to those.”

Siho took out the dog treat and handed it to the boy.

With a gentle smile.

“You see, this big sister is on a very important mission right now. That’s why I accidentally bumped into Jin-hyuk while concentrating.”

“Would our cool Jin-hyuk forgive me just this once?”

The fox-like woman persuaded the child with a very skillful voice.

Just like a kindergarten teacher.

Did she work at a daycare before the Gate opened?

She’s lucky…

Soon, the boy who received the long jerky stared up at her.

His gaze stopped at Siho’s twitching ears.

“I’ll give you one of these.”

“Huh? For me?”

Siho looked puzzled while holding the jerky.

Jin-hyuk pointed at her ears.

“I think you might like it too.”

“Ah…”

Siho blushed as if embarrassed.

As if reflecting her feelings, her two ears fluttered.

The boy’s eyes sparkled, fascinated by the sight.

He carefully reached out his hand, seemingly wanting to touch them.

Honestly, I’m a bit curious too.

It’s my first time seeing someone with Night Stalker ears in person.

I heard from Senior Baeksa that they could be removed immediately in the early stages.

Seeing her walking around with them so openly…

She must have kept them to look cute, no doubt about it.

“Do you want to touch them?”

The boy nodded at Siho’s question.

In a way, the boy’s request could be considered rude.

It’s not normal to touch a strange woman’s ears.

But…

Siho readily offered her head to the boy.

He carefully touched the fox ears that were now closer to him.

When his fingers made contact, the ears stood up even more firmly.

Thanks to that, the boy could knead them like dough.

“So cool…!”

“Yeah…? Feel free to touch them all you want.”

Siho closed her eyes and freely allowed the boy to touch her ears.

At her bold demeanor, my tense face gradually began to relax.

“It feels just like our Susu!”

“Pfft…”

That was close…

I almost burst out laughing at the child’s words.

Siho’s face reddened as if embarrassed by my reaction.

But she steadfastly offered her ears for the boy’s sake.

After a while of touching.

Eventually, a woman’s voice calling for Jin-hyuk could be heard from a distance.

Soon, a woman in her thirties appeared around the corner.

She looked surprised to see her son fiddling with the ears of a woman she didn’t know.

“Jin-hyuk..!”

The mother hurriedly approached her son.

“Where have you been… Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you!”

She scolded the child with a distressed voice.

Thanks to that, Siho was finally able to stand up.

She rubbed her back with her hand as if it was sore.

“I’m sorry… Did our child bother you?”

The mother bowed her head apologetically toward Siho.

In response, she smiled and waved her hands dismissively.

“Not at all… I was distracted and accidentally bumped into your child…”

What…?

I was clearly the one who bumped into the child…

“Oh, I see.”

The mother quickly examined her child’s body at the mention of a collision.

Fortunately, he had only bruised his bottom, with no other injuries.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Siho smiled and looked at my black suit.

Then she gently rubbed her pelvis where she had supposedly collided with the child.

“Mom, look at this sister. Her ears are just like Susu’s!”

Jin-hyuk pointed at Siho’s ears.

The mother, seeing someone with animal ears for the first time, covered her mouth with the back of her hand.

“Oh my…”

“Ahaha… It’s fashion. Fashion!”

“No, it’s not… I saw them moving earlier.”

The boy continued to speak tactlessly.

As Siho made a troubled expression, the mother gestured to leave with her son.

“Hey, don’t be rude…!”

“It’s okay. I understand.”

Soon the mother and son moved away from us.

As they left, Jin-hyuk waved at Siho.

“Goodbye, sister who looks like Susu-!”

“Goodbye, Jin-hyuk!”

Siho smiled brightly as if she had already become friends with the child.

I glanced down at the woman.

The ability to become friendly with complete strangers.

Well, I’ll have to acknowledge that one skill.

By now, the corners of my mouth were turning up too.

Realizing this, I chewed my lips and made my expression cold again.

“Goodbye to you too, big sister!”

My eyebrows twitched as I was trying to maintain a serious face.

The child who had bumped into me was waving at me too.

Hmph.

I ignored him and just cleared my throat.

Then I timidly raised one hand to see the child off.

From now on, I’m keeping a poker face.

I won’t even look at this fox spirit who stole my sister.

But…

“Isn’t he cute?”

My damn resolution broke in less than 10 seconds.

Siho spoke to me while watching the boy’s retreating figure.

“What is?”

“That child. He said I looked like I’d enjoy dog treats.”

“What’s so good about being treated like a dog?”

Come on.

Does she think she’s actually a dog?

I know she’s deliberately not taking medicine and maintaining those ears to look good for my sister.

Sneaky woman.

“I know… I want to get rid of them as soon as possible.”

“Then why don’t you just go to the hospital and have them removed?”

When I asked indifferently, Siho’s expression soon became gloomy.

She sighed deeply and pouted her lips.

“I tried. But the vehicle carrying my medicine was robbed by some thugs.”

“Thugs…?”

What?

So she wasn’t deliberately keeping them?

“Yes. Talk about bad luck, right?”

“…”

Siho hung her head low.

“Huh…?”

She exclaimed as if she had found something.

Her gaze was directed at my dress shoes.

“Your shoelace is untied.”

“What? That can’t be…”

A professional bodyguard must be meticulous about their appearance.

I’m sure I tied my shoelaces tightly.

Ah…

Maybe it was because the boy stepped on my shoes earlier.

“It’s fine. I’ll…”

Before I could finish my sentence.

Siho bent her knees and began tying my shoelaces herself.

I could clearly see the top of her head.

And her twitching fox ears.

Watching her small body fidgeting…

She does look kind of cute.

Damn it, what am I thinking!

I immediately erased the thought that she was cute from my mind.

I can’t fall for this fox spirit’s charms too.

As the direct bodyguard, I need to coldly analyze this woman’s intentions.

“I can tie it myself…”

“It’s okay. I’ve already finished.”

Siho looked up at me with a smile.

She gave a seductive smile with her eyes half-closed.

“It’s an honor to be protected by someone as impressive as you.”

“It’s nothing much, but I wanted to express my gratitude somehow.”

Siho exhaled briefly and stood up.

As she straightened her stiff back, her sensual body line was revealed.

“Well, I’ll get back to shopping. There’s a sale on pollock right now.”

She stepped aside with a nonchalant attitude.

I stared at Siho’s retreating figure.

“…”

The sight of her standing in line among middle-aged women.

She looked every bit like a domestic young wife.

I imagined my sister in her suit standing next to her.

Damn it.

They look like a perfect couple!

I feel somewhat defeated.

When she stood with me, people always said we looked like sisters…

But with that woman, they look like a perfectly matched couple.

I pressed my lips tightly together.

And stared blankly at her bewitching fox ears.

When she tasted the pollock, Siho’s ears fluttered as if they might fly away.

Her good mood was too obvious.

Well…

She is cute, I have to admit.

I sighed deeply.

Then I fiddled with my crown with both hands.

I pinched my long hair and tried to make it stand up like animal ears.

But soon my hair limply collapsed.

“Should I get some too…”

“Get what?”

I hadn’t even sensed her presence.

I was startled by the Vice Chairwoman’s sudden approach.

“V-Vice Chairwoman…?!”

“I didn’t know our Black Snake had such a cute side?”

The Vice Chairwoman smiled mysteriously, as if she had witnessed all my antics.

At her expression, I hurriedly lowered my hands.

“N-No, not at all!”

I shook my head hastily.

As a result, my disheveled hair smoothed out.