Ch.148Midori Shower 5

The two of them arrived in downtown Ansan.

Despite the late hour, many storefronts still had their lights on.

Yeji felt reassured just seeing those lights.

However, Siho’s footsteps, as she led the way, weren’t heading toward the shopping district or the Association’s security team.

Instead, she was heading into a dark alleyway.

“Um, Siho-nim, where exactly are we going?”

By now, she had started addressing Siho with the honorific “nim.”

“To the safest place possible.”

Siho answered Yeji’s question with a relaxed smile.

The small bartender’s finger was pointing to a black sedan parked in the alleyway.

Soon, several men began getting out of the sedan after spotting the two of them.

They were all wearing black suits and sunglasses.

Yeji was intimidated by their overwhelming appearance.

They looked just like mafia members straight out of a noir film.

“Um… who are those people…?”

An expected reaction.

Siho gestured reassuringly to the trembling Yeji.

“Don’t worry, they’re just our excellent chauffeurs who’ve come to pick us up.”

When Siho waved her hand, the men bowed their heads to her in greeting.

They were as respectful as if they were meeting their boss’s wife.

“We’re glad you arrived safely, sister-in-law.”

Sister-in-law…?

Yeji was inwardly surprised by this unexpected term.

She looks like she’s barely in her early twenties, yet she’s already married!

Could it be that Siho’s husband is someone incredibly important?

All sorts of wild speculations ran through her mind.

For the first time in her life, Yeji moved slowly toward the car, surrounded by large hunters.

It felt like being protected like a famous celebrity.

She happily imagined if becoming a singer would allow her to receive such escorts for the rest of her life.

Siho confidently got into the passenger seat first.

Yeji followed and got into the back seat.

The plush leather seat.

The moment she settled in, she noticed the driver’s seat.

Unlike the men who had gotten out earlier, a woman was sitting in the driver’s seat.

Black ponytail.

Black suit, and a healthy, beautiful figure that even clothes couldn’t conceal.

Anyone could see she was beautiful.

The only peculiarity was her sharp gaze that seemed somewhat cold.

“Heuksa, I think we can depart now.”

Siho made the request to the woman with familiarity.

Upon her request, Heuksa immediately started the car.

“You’ve worked hard, Siho-nim.”

At those words, the previously cold Heuksa flashed a bright smile.

Yeji was a bit surprised by the gentle smile that seemed at odds with her appearance.

‘Everyone around Siho-nim seems to be beautiful women…’

Yeji, who had been captivated by Heuksa’s appearance, gradually came to her senses.

Then she asked about the destination of the unfamiliar car she was in.

“I’m sorry, but where are we going?”

Siho hesitated briefly before answering that question.

Then, as if she’d had a good idea, she winked.

“Hmm, the safest place in Korea right now.”

Yeji couldn’t immediately understand that answer.

There couldn’t possibly be a safe place in this anarchic era.

But soon, she came to understand Siho’s words.

The entrance to a magnificent penthouse appeared before her eyes.

“Wow…”

The black sedan stopped at the lobby of the first floor of the penthouse.

Many Ilsim hunters in suits were already waiting there.

They all bowed deeply to Siho and Heuksa.

Yeji watched blankly from behind.

“Yeji, what are you doing? Come along quickly.”

Siho turned around lightly with her hands behind her back.

She looked at Yeji with half-closed eyes and said:

“Since you’re here, let’s have something to drink before we go in.”

Composure.

Siho had developed a sense of ease by now.

Relieved by those words, Yeji followed her slowly toward the first-floor restaurant.

L’Orange.

It was a cafeteria that normally only operated until 10 PM.

However, when Siho entered, the kitchen hurriedly reopened.

The chef hastily put on a white sanitary cap and greeted Siho.

“Why are you here at this hour… I clearly said I would just borrow the kitchen myself.”

Siho looked flustered at his reappearance for work.

The chef shook his head frantically.

“Not at all, ma’am. You’ve come after finishing your busy work; I should at least help like this!”

The middle-aged man personally guided the three of them to a table.

However, Heuksa didn’t sit down but stood close to Siho, guarding her.

“Oh my… I’m sorry. Yeji, let’s have a quick drink and go rest.”

“Thank you…”

Yeji bowed her head politely in gratitude.

Siho responded with a bright smile.

“You don’t need to thank me. All the benefits here aren’t because of me.”

Yeji instinctively thought it must all be thanks to Siho’s husband.

But she deliberately refrained from asking who he was.

He must be a handsome man, no doubt.

But suddenly, looking at Siho again,

Yeji thought that her husband might not even be a man.

Because Siho was charming enough to captivate anyone.

Though her eyes had a somewhat seductive quality, her small stature and eye-smile made her approachable.

Even the hostesses at the room salon weren’t this impressive, which was simply astonishing.

“Yeji?”

“Yes?!”

Yeji was finally able to snap back to reality at Siho’s call.

By now, warm tea and simple salmon canapés had been placed at her seat.

“Why are you spacing out like that?”

“Ah… it’s nothing. It’s just that Siho-ssi is so pretty, like a celebrity.”

“Ce-Celebrity? That can’t be. I don’t even know how to put on makeup…”

For the first time, Siho stumbled over her words in response to Yeji’s question.

Though she prided herself on being down-to-earth, her gesture of placing both hands on her cheeks in embarrassment…

And the way her eyes narrowed seductively whenever she was shy, she was a natural-born woman.

“What? But it looks like you’re at least wearing basic makeup?”

“Ah, this was done by a close unni of mine. I’m learning these days, but I’m really clumsy at it…”

To have such looks with just basic makeup.

Yeji couldn’t help but be even more impressed.

“No, if I were a scout, I would have given you my business card right away.”

“A scout?”

“Yes… When I was actively pursuing becoming a singer, there were juniors who came in after receiving business cards.”

Of course, they all debuted.

And Yeji debuted in Ansan’s red-light district.

At that bitter reality, Yeji pressed her lips tightly together.

Siho looked down at her with sympathetic eyes.

“A scout… Then I guess what I did earlier could also be considered scouting.”

Yeji tilted her head at her ambiguous words.

Siho kindly explained for her, who still didn’t understand what she meant.

“Yeji, do you remember when we first met?”

“When we first met?”

Yeji quickly tried to recall her memories with Siho.

Then she suddenly stopped at the phone number she had given her.

“Actually, about that number. It’s the number of the CEO of Sound Heart, Ilsim’s entertainment company.”

“What?!”

Sound Heart.

One of the currently successful entertainment companies in Korea.

Of course, it wasn’t a big company from the start.

But it was a super promising company that had grown insanely through aggressive investments by a legendary executive of Ilsim.

Moreover…, Yeji’s favorite singer.

Jaei was also signed with this company.

“Stay in an empty room here tonight. The CEO and Jaei will come personally tomorrow.”

“S-Siho-nim. Could it be that you also know the singer Jaei?”

Yeji couldn’t believe the reality she was facing.

It felt like being high on drugs and immersed in a happy dream.

“Yes, we’re very close. I asked her to meet with you tomorrow.”

Siho smiled brightly as she drank her milk.

Milk residue remained heavily on her lips.

Heuksa, who was watching from the side, handed her a tissue.

Siho took it and dabbed it gently on her mouth.

“Really… thank you, I don’t know why you’re doing all this for me…”

Yeji sobbed with her head bowed.

Siho patted her shoulder.

“What do you mean? You’ve been a great help to us!”

“A great help?”

“Yes, we’re currently after Councilwoman Park Shinae.”

“Ah, I heard… she’s currently wanted.”

There’s no one in Korea who doesn’t know Park Shinae now.

The beautiful face seen on wanted posters.

The shock to the public was severe because she had used that face to subject countless people to human experimentation.

There were even many who still didn’t accept this fact and continued to revere her.

“Thanks to you, we were able to find that woman’s facility.”

Her troublesome regular customer.

To think that the place he worked at was a human experimentation factory.

Just thinking about it gives her goosebumps.

And to think that only three female hunters raided such a place…

Would they be safe?

“Will they be alright?”

“Yes, they should be fine.”

She seemed confident that those hunters would win.

Seeing that, Yeji could also feel some relief.

But on the other hand, she was still worried.

The office where they were had definitely exploded and sunk into the ground…

Especially the man who had carbonized his entire body.

His power was truly overwhelming.

But Siho paid no attention to Yeji’s concerns.

Instead, she smiled broadly and said confidently:

“My unnis are incredibly strong people.”

“—.”

“How stupid! How is it possible that you couldn’t catch one little fox?”

12 slammed the factory floor in disbelief.

The floor sank under the heavy weight.

“I’m sorry, we were told her abilities were nearly depleted… but she shot fire and even froze the river to cross it.”

“Ha, this is ridiculous. To think she could exert that much power with just a fragment of the Angelic Hand…”

12 clicked his tongue and looked at the pit where Jisoo had been buried.

Only smoke was rising from it; there was no sign of Jisoo.

“Didn’t we deploy agents in the city too? What did they say?”

“Well… it seems they had prepared a car in advance and completely disappeared…”

12 put his hands on his hips and glared at his subordinates.

But soon he sighed deeply and shook his head.

“Damn… then she must have gone back to Ilsim’s territory.”

12 scratched his head as if troubled.

Suddenly, his scratching finger stopped abruptly.

“That’s right, you’ll never be able to catch Siho.”

A voice came from the ruins of the collapsed second-floor container.

At that voice, 12’s eyes flashed.

The two rankers, whom he thought were dead, were casually walking from behind the debris.

The man’s brow furrowed at the sight.

He muttered as if he couldn’t understand.

“Impressive… it was definitely high-concentration dynamite…”

“Yeah, thanks to that, I had to block it with five dummies stacked together.”

Jeoksa.

She walked out leisurely with a bit of ash dust on her face.

Anna, standing beside her.

She also chimed in on Jeoksa’s words.

“Thanks to that, I had to struggle being stuck with this bitch.”

At those words, Jeoksa burst out in anger at Anna.

“Hey, who was the one clinging to whom?”

They didn’t care about 12 at all.

They were just angry about having to embrace each other rather than his bomb.

The first-ranked hunter looked at them with an expression of disbelief.