Ch.76Espresso Martini 2

I arrived at the Association building.

And not just any branch, but the headquarters I’d never visited in my life.

The towering skyscraper, like something you’d find in New York, made me tense up automatically.

I clutched my bag of cocktail ingredients tightly and slowly entered the lobby.

But getting in was the first hurdle.

There was a gate that required an ID card to pass through.

And in front of it stood a stern-faced man in a suit, standing guard.

Before I could even ask, he approached me with purposeful strides.

“What brings you here today?”

He must already know every face in the company, as he immediately recognized me as an outsider.

Shrinking before him—he was nearly two heads taller than me—I avoided his gaze and barely managed to answer.

“Ah… I’m here for the Potion Master examination.”

“Potion Master…? I haven’t heard about any such schedule. Besides, examinations and events like that aren’t held at headquarters.”

“What…?”

A strand of my side-swept bangs stuck out awkwardly.

What does he mean? I was clearly told to come to the headquarters building…

“Why don’t you wait here for a moment? I’ll check with the front desk.”

“Ah, but I can’t…”

There’s no time.

I have barely five minutes left until my interview…

I bit my finger out of habit.

While looking around, my restless feet suddenly stopped when I spotted a somewhat familiar face.

“Oh, Siho!”

It was Eunchan.

Though my memory was hazy since we’d met while I was soaked in alcohol, I immediately recognized him thanks to his distinctive curly hair.

“Eunchan…?”

“What a coincidence. What brings you to the Association?”

He pulled out an ID card from the crossbody bag he was wearing.

Then he paused in front of me.

“Well… I have an interview today and only five minutes left. They won’t let me in even though I showed them the recommendation letter.”

“Is that so? May I see the recommendation letter?”

Eunchan extended his hand to me with a reassuring, gentle voice.

I handed him the recommendation letter while keeping an eye on the security guard.

“Ah, it’s a private examination, not an official one. The council member is Shin-ae Park.”

Eunchan nodded, seeming to understand why I was being turned away.

He smiled casually and spoke to the security guard on my behalf.

“This person is Councilwoman Park Shin-ae’s guest. Can I take her in with me?”

“If the team leader says so…”

The security guard nodded slightly and stepped aside from the gate.

Then Eunchan gently took hold of my arm.

“Let’s go through together.”

The fresh-faced young man winked at me and lightly took the lead.

When we reached the gate, he stood behind me as if giving me a back hug, and we awkwardly shuffled through the gate together.

“This is the only way for two people to go through together. Haha…”

“Yes…”

I hadn’t thought anything of it, but he was making a point to apologize to me.

The security guard, however, had a very different reaction from what I expected.

Seeing Eunchan standing so close behind me, he turned his gaze away in embarrassment and cleared his throat.

“Councilwoman Park’s office is on the 32nd floor. You can use the visitor elevator over there.”

“Thank you so much.”

“Don’t mention it. Let’s have drinks together again sometime. That drinking game was really fun, wasn’t it?”

My face turned red at the mention of the drinking game.

I forced a smile and mumbled that I would.

I waited for the visitor elevator.

But no matter how long I waited, the elevator wouldn’t arrive at the lobby floor.

As if by some conspiracy, it kept going back and forth between the 20-something floors.

And when one finally arrived, I couldn’t board it.

There was no room to squeeze in among the people who had come up from the basement.

This was frustrating.

I instinctively grew anxious and pressed my thighs together.

Sigh…

Eunchan was watching me intently from behind.

In fact, he could have boarded the elevator several times already, but he had let them all go by as he watched over me.

“Um, Siho.”

“Yes…”

I turned around to look at him with a gloomy expression.

Eunchan awkwardly raised his finger.

His finger was pointing toward the executive elevator.

“Just ride with me.”

“Is that really okay…?”

“Yes, hardly anyone will say anything if you ride with me. I’m actually pretty high up in the ranks here.”

He smiled broadly and placed his hand on my shoulder.

Then he kindly guided me to the executive elevator.

The team leader pressed the button for the 32nd floor himself.

His destination was the 34th floor, the security office.

“The executive elevator is more comfortable but smaller and a bit slower. Please understand.”

“Understand? I’m honored just to be able to ride it!”

I waved both hands vigorously.

How many times in my life would I get to ride such a luxurious elevator with elegant decor and even music playing?

It’s an honor, really.

“How is your sister doing?”

He asked me casually, with his hands behind his back.

When I realized the team leader was referring to Jeoksa, my body tensed up.

“She’s… doing well and healthy.”

“That’s good to hear. She seemed quite uncomfortable back then, so I was worried she might be sick.”

Jeoksa’s expression was uncomfortable?

My memory of that time isn’t complete, so I can’t recall what her face looked like.

The motel scene is crystal clear, though…

How ironic.

Seeing my puzzled face, Eunchan asked with surprise.

“She was trying so hard to protect you. The Black Rose and everything—it was something else.”

So Jeoksa was trying to protect me.

I lowered my head at his words.

So that’s why she was angry then…

I carefully chose my words to respond to Eunchan.

But just as I opened my mouth to speak, my lips closed again.

Because the elevator stopped abruptly at the 12th floor.

When the doors opened, I felt my entire body freeze.

The man who boarded at the 12th floor was Jihu’s father, whom I had met at the amusement park two days ago.

Dae-eun Lee, dressed in a suit, made eye contact with me.

Unlike then, he wasn’t in a shabby sweatshirt but was a sharp-looking ranker.

He hid his twitching eyebrow and tried to act natural as he joined us in the elevator.

Finding myself between two men I knew… I instinctively shrank back.

“If it isn’t the Security Team Leader.”

Eunchan smiled cheerfully and made a saluting gesture.

But Dae-eun barely acknowledged his greeting with a wave of his hand.

His gaze was fixed solely on me.

I felt saliva pooling in my mouth from the intensity of his stare, which felt like it was burning into the top of my head.

As I tried to swallow, I ended up choking.

Because Dae-eun addressed me in an icy tone.

“What brings you to the Association? The headquarters, no less.”

“I, I…”

“She came for a Potion Master examination.”

Eunchan smiled brightly and answered for me.

Dae-eun’s brow furrowed at his interruption.

“Did I ask you?”

“Come on, when you ask ‘What brings you here?’ in such a cold tone, anyone would be intimidated.”

I was grateful for the security team leader’s bright energy.

I sent him a thankful look with my eyes.

In response, Eunchan discreetly gave me an OK sign.

“That’s right. I have an examination today… haha.”

“I see. Now that I think about it, you said you were a potion merchant when we first met in Sindorim.”

“She also works as a bartender during the day. Let’s have our next company dinner at Siho’s place.”

Eunchan gave a thumbs up and suggested to Dae-eun.

But at the mention of “our place,” I felt a chill run down my spine.

Two Association rankers coming to a place where Jeoksa and Anna work…

The thought alone is terrifying.

I just hope there won’t be any knife fights…

My body stiffened like a shrimp caught between two whales.

Damn it, why is this elevator so slow…!

“Let’s do that. We might make some unexpected discoveries there.”

The Security Chief lightly brushed his collar and fixed his gaze straight ahead.

I also tugged at my shirt that was clinging to my chest and shook it out.

The air felt stuffy in the small elevator.

“By the way, I’m surprised, Siho. I didn’t know you were acquainted with Councilwoman Park.”

I was so grateful to Eunchan for changing the subject.

“She’s quite a mysterious figure. Despite being a senior council member, there’s hardly any information about her. She doesn’t even use our security team but hires private mercenaries instead.”

“No wonder, with the security team leader being like this.”

Dae-eun threw out a barbed comment.

But despite the provocation, Eunchan just grinned and let it slide.

“Well, I guess we need to work harder! I’ll learn a lot from the experienced Security Chief.”

Seemingly annoyed by Eunchan’s characteristic slickness, Dae-eun didn’t say anything more to him.

Instead, the Security Chief spoke to me in a low voice.

“Don’t engage in idle chatter. Focus only on the test. That person is suspicious in many ways.”

“That’s right. She may look beautiful and kind on the surface, but there’s something… chilling about her.”

Is that all?

The concerns from two team leader-level rankers made me tense up.

As if delivering my death sentence, the painfully slow elevator finally stopped at the 32nd floor.

I stepped out with clicking heels and slowly turned around.

Both team leaders were looking at me.

One with a smile, the other with a stoic expression.

Eunchan clenched both hands in a fighting gesture.

“Good luck, Siho. Let’s have some soju again when you’re done.”

“Haha… sure.”

I smiled faintly and waved to him.

I also bowed my head to the stoic Dae-eun.

Dae-eun ignored my greeting with a blank face and asked Eunchan.

“You even drank together?”

“Of course, we even played drinking games. When Siho gets drunk, she’s really something else…”

My lips parted involuntarily at his embarrassing praise.

But soon the elevator doors closed, leaving only a deafening silence in the 32nd floor hall.

“Phew…”

I wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand.

I also adjusted the hairpin that Jaehee had put in my hair.

I had pinned my bangs to the side to give a neat impression.

“Let’s go.”

I steadied my breathing.

Walking down the quiet corridor, I stopped at the office with the name “Park Shin-ae.”

<Councilwoman Park Shin-ae, Senior Council>

An elegant nameplate and an ornate wooden door.

Behind this door is one of the 50 council members who lead Korea.

With trembling hands, I pushed the door open.

A very faint scent of acacia wafted from the room.

I could see someone sitting at a long desk ahead.

A woman with her hair tied to one side like mine, appearing to be in her late 20s.

She was busy writing something, but looked up when she heard me enter.

I was quite surprised when I saw her eyes.

Her eyes…

Like Anna’s, the whites and blacks were mixed together.

“Welcome, Siho. You’re right on time.”

A calm, feminine voice.

She put away the documents she had been writing and interlaced her fingers.

“Hello, I’m Han Siho, here for today’s examination.”

I politely clasped my hands together.

And spoke clearly, just as I had practiced.

The councilwoman rested her face on her interlaced fingers.

Then she gazed at me intently, as if I were fascinating.

“This is a first.”

“An applicant arriving under the protection of the two strongest men in the Association.”

Her words made me feel strange.

How did she know what had happened in the elevator?

“What’s your relationship with those two?”

This was a question I hadn’t anticipated.

What should I say… Desperately racking my brain, I suddenly recalled the word “friend” that Eunchan had used.

“We’re friends.”

“Ah, friends…”

The councilwoman’s eyes narrowed halfway.

The corners of her mouth curled up.

“Come to think of it—”

“Siho is friends with an Ilshim executive, and was also friends with the worst killer in history.”

Is she referring to Jeoksa and Anna right now?

While listening tensely to her words, my shoulders grew cold.

I’m certainly meeting this person for the first time.

Yet she already knew so much about me.

“Am I rambling? I’m sorry.”

The councilwoman who had just stabbed me with her words stood up.

Taller than me by about half a head, she walked out with her hands behind her back.

Wearing a black suit skirt that accentuated her sensual figure, she began circling around the office.

The office walls were filled with bizarre objects for a councilwoman’s office—butterfly dissection diagrams, human anatomical models, and more.

“Well, as you probably heard from Jeoksa, you’ve already passed.”

“Then why did you call me here?”

I asked boldly, trying to hide my trembling.

The woman pushed her long hair to the side and whispered to me.

“I just wanted to meet you in person, and maybe get a free drink.”

Standing close, her floral scent became stronger.

It was different from aphrodisiac fragrances.

It was a natural, not artificial, kind of fragrance.

“Alright, shall I make you a drink right away?”

I was uncomfortable with how much information she had about me.

It gave me an unpleasant feeling of being watched.

I tried hard to maintain a serious expression.

And I decided to show only my professional side.

I placed my bag on the guest table.

“As you probably already know, all my potions are cocktail-based. Is there anything specific you’d like to drink?”

“Let’s see. I’ve been quite tired lately—do you have something that would really wake me up?”

The woman asked as she circled behind me, observing me.

She didn’t seem interested in my cocktails at all.

“Understood. I’ll make you something that will really ‘wake you up.'”

I rolled up my shirt sleeves to my elbows.

I don’t know how much she knows about me.

But she probably doesn’t know anything about the taste of my cocktails.

I’m going to show this rude woman what I’m truly capable of.