Ch.65Soju-Beer Mix 3

“Wait…”

Does that mean assassinations have been secretly continuing within the Association?

A chill runs down my spine at this revelation I never considered.

“Then why don’t you ask that council member for a recommendation letter?”

Jeoksa speaks to Anna as if this fact doesn’t bother her at all.

She must already know about the Association’s dark side too.

Well, considering that the person who tried to assault Jaehee was also a council member, it seems not everyone in the Association is good.

I nodded in agreement while looking at Anna.

But her response was firm.

“No.”

My head drooped at her blunt refusal.

“She’s a sketchy woman.”

She picked up a soju glass as if she’d lost her appetite.

Then she tossed the alcohol into her mouth lightly, as if disinfecting it.

For Anna to call someone sketchy…

Is there really such a woman in this world?

“But she’s a council member, how bad could she be?”

I clasped my hands together and pleaded with her desperately.

Anna looked at me with half-lidded eyes.

“Come on, just help me this once.”

Anna still shook her head expressionlessly.

She spoke to me in a flat voice.

“I have a bad feeling about her.”

A feeling, huh.

That’s the most irresponsible reason I’ve ever heard.

I hiccupped as I grabbed my glass.

Just getting the Potion Master title would be enough to make a living.

Well…

A council member who requests assassinations probably isn’t normal.

Maybe Anna is right—it might be dangerous to get involved unnecessarily.

Anna stares down at my dejected self.

“What, why are you looking at me like that?”

I muttered in a somewhat sulky tone.

Anna blinked and said:

“Are you free tomorrow?”

“Why do you ask? I’m planning to be busy.”

Of course, tomorrow is my day off, but I lied out of spite.

“I see.”

She heard my answer and silently took a sip.

Damn, now I’m curious.

“What is it?”

I asked, pretending to give in.

Anna stared at customers at another table with her expressionless face.

“I want to learn.”

Her finger points toward people laughing and chatting.

Is she talking about emotions?

I fell into thought as I looked at the killer’s dry eyes.

It was touching to see her trying to regain her emotions.

Suddenly, my eyes lit up.

If I play this right… I might be able to get that recommendation letter.

“How about this?”

This should be a tempting offer for a killer who clearly separates business and personal matters.

“Let’s make a bet.”

I hiccupped as I lifted my bottom off the chair.

Both killers stared up at me, wondering what nonsense I was about to spout.

“If you win, I’ll help you regain your emotions tomorrow!”

“And if you win?”

At the killer’s question, I smirked.

“If I win, you introduce me to that council member.”

Anna looks at me with an expression that seems to ask if I’m joking.

Of course, her face is expressionless, but that’s the feeling I get.

“Just set up a meeting. All I need is to get my potion recognized and get the recommendation letter, that’s it.”

She’s a council member—would she harm an ordinary person?

It’s not like I’m asking for anything outrageous.

Anna exhaled briefly.

Then she remained silent, as if contemplating something.

“What’s the contest?”

Got her.

She took the bait.

“Obviously I’m weaker than you. So we need something fair.”

I placed the bottle in front of her.

Then, grinning, I proposed:

“A drinking contest.”

“A drinking contest…?”

Anna tilts her head at this unfamiliar bet.

Yes, that’s exactly the innocent reaction I wanted.

“Whoever passes out first loses.”

I say with confident eyes.

From what I’ve observed of Anna so far, she definitely can’t handle alcohol.

Drinking capacity increases with practice.

There’s no way Anna, who’s barely had any experience drinking, can beat me.

“Alright, let’s do it.”

Anna immediately emptied the glass she was holding.

Then she readily held out her empty glass.

“Jeoksa, pour for us. We’ll count one glass at a time.”

I handed the bottle to Jeoksa.

She looked at me with concerned eyes.

“Are you sure? Your face is already red.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. My face just gets red after one drink.”

I waved my hand dismissively with a silly grin.

This lightweight will definitely be done within a bottle or two.

“—.”

Soju bottles began accumulating on the table.

By the time five bottles had piled up.

I stared intently at Anna’s face.

Her expression remained as blank as ever.

Shit.

Something’s strange…?

What’s going on?

We’ve clearly emptied five bottles between us.

Adding what we drank earlier, that’s six bottles total.

Yet why is she still so composed?

Don’t most women struggle after just one bottle?

I’m sure my sister told me that…

Instead, I was the one starting to waver.

Unlike my male days, this body gets tipsy after just one bottle.

Just like when I was dragged to Chinatown…

It feels like the aphrodisiac remnants in my body are going wild with the alcohol…

“Drink.”

Anna mechanically pours me another drink.

“Wait, just a moment…”

“Didn’t you say not drinking right after receiving is a loss?”

“I did, but…”

How can she not show even the slightest change in complexion despite claiming to have no emotions!

Is she really drinking?

“Drink.”

Anna looked down at me coldly as she held out the glass.

The glass in her hand gradually approached my lips.

I openly grimaced.

In response, Anna started forcing the glass into my mouth.

“Wait a second…!”

I shouted with my reddened face.

Both Anna and Jeoksa, who had been watching contentedly, froze.

“Let’s just say I lost. I admit defeat!”

I waved my hands, trying to push the glass away.

Anna leaned in close to my face and said in a very serious voice:

“In our world, whether it’s a request or a contract, cancellation is impossible.”

“No, I’m saying you won!”

I shook my head with reddened eyes.

“Once, there was someone who arbitrarily broke a contract after I had already completed the mission.”

Anna’s face shows no sign of backing down.

Instead, she begins to share an even more chilling story.

“Do you know what happened to him?”

I shook my head, pale with fear.

Anna whispered softly into my ear:

“I made him just like the target. After taking his money, of course.”

Anna tilted my head back with her firm hand.

Then she slowly began pouring alcohol into my mouth like holy water.

“So we need to see this through to the end.”

Alcohol dripped from my mouth.

I mumbled with a dazed expression:

“Save me…”

I’m dizzy.

Anna is starting to look like three people.

I stare at the two killers with completely unfocused eyes.

Jeoksa scolds Anna for making someone so young drink so much.

Meanwhile, Anna still with her expressionless face…

“Huh.”

The corners of her supposedly expressionless mouth seem to twitch.

By the time I realized this, my vision began tilting downward.

Soon, with a thud, my cheek was stuck to the table.

“—.”

The two killers sat facing each other, leaving the incapacitated Siho behind.

They gazed at each other indifferently.

Jeoksa spoke first.

Stroking Siho’s crown, she asked Anna:

“You used a cheap trick.”

“…”

Jeoksa chuckled and looked under the table.

There was a trash can beneath Anna’s seat.

And inside it…

It was filled not with garbage but with soju.

“I saw that.”

“How could I not? You timed it perfectly, dumping the drink when Siho tilted her glass.”

Anna maintained her expressionless face shamelessly.

Indeed, she had barely drunk five glasses of alcohol.

“Are you dissatisfied?”

Jeoksa shook her head.

After all, fighting her without a dummy would be suicidal, so she could only smile cynically.

“Ugh…”

Siho moaned and leaned against Jeoksa’s shoulder.

She looked up at the killer with half-closed eyes.

Jeoksa wanted to maintain her expressionless face before Siho’s dreamy countenance.

But the killer couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from twitching.

“Unnie…”

The bartender buried her face in Jeoksa’s chest like a child.

Then she took a deep breath.

“You smell nice…”

Jeoksa cleared her throat at the sight of Siho clinging to her like a child.

“Well, not bad.”

Jeoksa nodded in agreement to Anna’s question about dissatisfaction.

Then she laid Siho down on her formal skirt.

Siho’s cheeks pressed against the smooth stockings.

“So why did you refuse the recommendation? Isn’t an Association council member naturally on the side of justice?”

She asked Anna mockingly.

Anna calmly shook her head.

“Hardly. Dozens of council members employ killers.”

Anna nibbled on the remaining egg roll.

Due to her clumsy chopstick skills, the egg scattered everywhere.

Eventually, she picked up the egg directly with her fingers and ate it.

“I just really have a bad feeling about it.”

After finishing the last of the food, she rose from her seat.

“Are you leaving?”

Jeoksa tried to stand up with her.

But she couldn’t due to the bartender lying on her thigh.

“I have something to check.”

“What about her if you leave?”

Anna glanced down at Siho at Jeoksa’s words.

Looking at the woman sleeping peacefully like a child, Anna muttered:

“Put her to bed properly.”

With those words, she lifted the tent flap and left.

She walked away into the darkness.

“Always doing whatever she wants…”

Jeoksa shook her head.

She lit her cigarette with a lighter.

Hazy smoke rose in the pojangmacha.

The auntie running the place frowned at the subtle herbal smell.

“What are you doing, young lady? Go outside to smoke!”

Jeoksa startled at her scolding.

Clearing her throat, she briefly sat Siho up.

“Unnie, where are you going…”

Siho mumbled as she watched Jeoksa leave to smoke.

The killer smiled at the sight.

“You’d never call me ‘unnie’ when sober…”

She looked around the restaurant.

There were several customers, some of whom were hunters from the Association.

“Should be fine.”

With Association hunters present, at least she wouldn’t be suddenly kidnapped.

She went to the front of the store to smoke with peace of mind.

The killer surveyed Seoul’s night streets alone.

Usually, Korea is always quiet at night due to unpredictable monsters and malicious hunters.

But areas with Association facilities are safe enough to walk around at night.

This is the Association’s positive function and the biggest reason it can replace the government.

Perhaps the Association is more suitable for Siho than Ilshim.

Thinking this, Jeoksa bitterly chewed her lip.

“Should I keep my distance after all?”

She looked down at her crumpled cigarette.

Perhaps due to the bitter taste, she simply dropped the half-smoked cigarette on the ground.

Then she slowly lifted the tent flap and returned inside.

“…?”

But an unexpected situation had unfolded in the pojangmacha.

Two unfamiliar men were sitting in Siho’s place, which had been left empty.

The two men were eagerly talking to the swaying Siho.

“How old are you?”

“Me? I’m… twenty-eight…”

“Huh? With that face?”

“Yes, really.”

Siho looked at the men with seductive eyes.

Her gaze now overflowed with feminine charm, unlike when they first met.

The men’s faces lit up at the sight.

“You know I’ve been watching you for a while?”

“Really? Why… I’m short and not that pretty.”

Siho mumbled, tilting her head.

The man smiled and asked:

“Come on, we’re not that shallow to only look at faces.”

The man’s eyes scanned Siho up and down.

They suddenly stopped at her tight shirt and blazer.

“I’m not alone though…”

Siho covered her mouth with the back of her hand.

The man swallowed deeply at her shy expression.

“We can have fun, all four of us.”

The brooch on the man’s collar danced.

It was the Association’s symbol.

Seeing that, Jeoksa thought:

How stupid she was to think, even momentarily, that the Association would be safe.

But what really bothered her was something else:

Siho openly flirting with these men.

It seems she needs to give her some education.

The red-eyed killer rolled up her sleeves and strode toward them.