episode_0087

Yan Yan-ha, looking embarrassed, slowly turned her body. It seemed like he was going to leave for the garden alone at any moment, but he stood in front of me again. He then looked around and lifted his left arm so that the back of his hand was visible.

“… ?”

It was difficult to guess what he meant, so I stared at him blankly, and eventually, as if I couldn’t hold it in, I opened my lips first.

“… I need to escort you.”

Then he added one more word.

“In the first place, when men and women go out to places like this, they have to do it out of courtesy.”

“I don’t know how to do it. I’ve never done anything like that before.”

“Yeah, really? You’ve never tried it before… ?”

Yeon Myeong-ha’s innocent face falls a little. For some reason, I feel like I feel relieved.

“I thought so. Where would you go and do something like this? But you don’t need to worry too much. I will tell you personally, so please be grateful.”

“There is no need to do that… ”

“This is the most basic courtesy… If you go to an event or something and show that kind of attitude, you’ll be laughed at… ? It will also discredit the sponsors… ”

I kind of don’t like that. It may not have been intentional, but it seems that Yeon-sik’s persuasion clearly worked.

“Then… ”

As I nodded, Yeon Myeong-ha swallowed her saliva. Then he comes back next to me and puts his thin fingers into my forearm and holds on.

The distance is so close that you can even hear her heart beating.

There is one thing that came to mind later when I heard the word escort.

When I was in the Northeast, I remember my older sisters standing on either side of me during breaks, linking their arms and dragging me around.

‘Isn’t it good for our Hyun? These pretty sisters escort me on both sides.’

‘What are you doing to that child? They’re all old and dirty… ‘

‘You shut up… !’

And even the image of the leader who was unable to avoid the stone thrown by Chae-won’s sister and was hit squarely in the forehead.

At that time, I didn’t know it was something a man did for a woman. I didn’t even know it was done by one person and not two people.

Moreover, while my arms touched at that time and only felt a thrilling discomfort, now I can only feel a warm and comfortable warmth where my arms touched.

Of course, no matter what the texture, my sisters are also very precious people… The subtle difference is still very surprising.

The only thing that’s disconcerting is… It is the touch of something heavy that can be felt above the warmth of the fingers holding it.

Should I say this? But I don’t think he cares at all for pitying him. It’s not like you don’t know… I don’t know.

“Hmm, hmm. you’re good. You can do this next time too.”

“Is there a next time?”

“Of course it is. There must be countless… ”

Then he hurriedly added one more word, as if he remembered something he had forgotten.

“Ah, but you should never give up your side to just anyone. This is an act that is only permitted when you are in an extremely intimate relationship. For example, if you shared not one but several secrets… ”

There is no one to do it anyway.

Yeon Myeong-ha, who had been pouring out a tirade, suddenly came to her senses and urged me.

“Okay, let’s go now. If this continues, all the food I prepared will get cold… ”

I followed her and walked out onto the garden path leading to the outbuilding.

Unlike last night, when everything was obscured by the darkness of the old moon, today there were bright flowers blooming everywhere, emitting sweet scents in all directions.

At a quiet table in the middle of the garden, the two people had a light morning chat, giving off steam.

Even the pitiful person sitting in his seat pushed most of them in front of me.

Unlike yesterday, the atmosphere was comfortable and there was no problem with the meal.

However, the pair of eyes looking at me while eating was a bit burdensome…

After finishing my meal, I reported last night’s deviance to Yeon Myeong-ha.

“Me, senior. in fact… ”

Going out for a walk, feeling the scent of blood and running out of an annex, and witnessing workers moving several blood-soaked sacks into a building that looked like a warehouse.

Yeon Myeong-ha’s face, which had a sad expression at first, turned serious as the story progressed.

“Anyway, something like that happened. I’m really sorry for running around like I wanted to… ”

“… no. It’s something I allowed to happen in the first place. And I didn’t go around with bad intentions… ”

“Is that so? thank you Anyway, so, is it common to work like that at night?”

“No. Absolutely not. Because demons and spirits are active at night, you never know what kind of accident might happen. So, except for security personnel, outside activities are restricted at night. Unless there is an emergency.”

Yeon Myeong-ha shook her head left and right instead of up and down.

“Moreover, if the bag is covered in blood, it means there is an animal or demon inside… If it was such a large-scale operation, a report should have already been sent to the headquarters when it happened. But I haven’t heard anything… ”

As if our thoughts were in sync, we simultaneously turned our gaze towards the open outside of the garden. The area where the outbuilding was located was on somewhat high ground, so you could see the buildings and various facilities below at a glance.

It was spread out widely in six locations centered on the main gate.

I could also see the vague appearance of a facility similar to the warehouse I saw yesterday.

“… I don’t understand why the facilities were rearranged like that. The employee quarters were not located in a sunny location, nor were the warehouses located close to the road… I can’t find any sense of regularity. The butler who offered to explain didn’t even look like he was locked in a safe house to take care of my father… ”

Seeing the foreground, Yeon Myeong-ha narrowed her eyes and muttered. Her sense of discomfort was something I also shared.

Right or wrong is not up to me to judge, but the way the facilities are gathered and arranged at each point certainly leaves a strange impression on the viewer. On the other hand, it feels familiar for some reason.

I feel even more frustrated because it doesn’t come to mind.

Why?

“… I guess I need to find out.”

After looking around, Yeon Myeong-ha gestured to two servants waiting at the end of the garden. They, who had been watching Yeon Gyeon-ha’s movements the whole time, immediately rushed towards her with quick steps.

“I think those kids are still around because their mother brought them from their home. I’ve been watching you closely for several years, so I’m sure you know the family’s situation well. I have to ask.”

Yeon Myeong-ha lowered her head and turned to the employees standing in front of her.

“Tell me what happened at the mansion while I was away. Every single one.”

“Huh, huh… ”

As the employees couldn’t answer the question properly and swallowed their hiccups, the cold, compassionate energy spewed out in all directions even more viciously, as if it was going to devour them.

“How dare you behave like that in front of the successor of Jeokhwa… ”

“… ”

I couldn’t get used to how her appearance changed so quickly. My personality seems to have improved a bit these days, but isn’t that really true?

Well, I guess that could be because there is something frustrating going on in the family.

Judging by the hesitation, it seems like there’s definitely something going on.

However, that kind of threatening behavior can be said to be the worst form of interrogation. When it comes to digging up information, coercive methods are always a last resort.

Anyway, that’s the theory. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever tried to comfort someone…

“The fact that you told me will be kept a secret from anyone. Please speak honestly and with confidence.”

Then, Yeon Myeong-ha gives me an unexpected look. For some reason, an unfair feeling suddenly passes by.

Still, as if it had unintentionally become a carrot and stick strategy, the employees finally began to tell their stories to Yeon Myeong-ha with a slightly relieved expression.

“Newcomers are a bit strange… Deacon Noh was kind before… ”

“For no reason, his eyes are scary… You don’t say anything… They are flocking among themselves… ”

“The surroundings are also scary these days… I went down to the village below and saw that vagrants disappeared from the slums every night… ”

“Some people say they heard something like the howling of an animal… There are also claw marks and blood stains… ”

“People from the Security Bureau came and went back… These days, I can’t even go out when the sun goes down… ”

“We can’t communicate well among ourselves… The main house where my wife lives is heavily guarded… It’s not really a security guard, it’s like surveillance… ”

“The wife has been drinking a lot of alcohol, which she had not even dared to drink recently… ”

Once the mouths were opened, everything inside was shaken out like a collapsed dam. It was only after he began to list out circumstances that seemed completely unrelated to the topic that Yeon Myeong-ha asked that he became quiet again.

After synthesizing their testimonies, Yeon Myeong-ha was lost in thought and opened her mouth.

“… Maybe the new butler is up to something.”

“Is that him? But how… ”

“We need to find out about that now. Do you know what is most important when running such a large family or company? It’s about holding middle management tightly in the hands of the owner.”

I thought of a middle-aged man who seemed to have a strange smell in Yeon Myeong-ha’s words.

“Nine times out of ten, they are just looking for an opportunity to rip off their owners. I took advantage of my father’s poor health… Now that I think about it, how is your father these days?”

As if remembering something, Yeon Myeong-ha asked the employee next to her.

“We don’t know for sure since we are taking care of the wife… It seemed like your complexion had improved a lot recently… Your face is gaining weight… He often appears outside… ”

“Father… ?”

Yan Yanha was slightly surprised and opened her eyes. I also heard from her that there is no treatment method developed so far for mental pollution. He said that all he could do was try to delay the symptoms as much as possible, and that even that didn’t work at all for him.

As he was a direct descendant of a spiritist family, her father would also have suffered from mental contamination proportional to his outstanding talent. However, since they said he was showing improvement, it might be surprising.

“Yes. And since two years ago, a nun has been frequenting the mansion… I remember that when he came out from the interview, his expression was quite bright… I wonder if it might have that effect too… ”

“Nun, nun… okay. Let’s go.”

Yeon Myeong-ha bit the workers with a hand gesture and then turned around and said.

“In places that receive support from our family, there are facilities like almshouses created by religious organizations. I think someone involved probably came and went… Did you at least receive counseling? ”

“Maybe so.”

“… Anyway, I think I need to check. I need to go to that warehouse you mentioned. So, by the way… Can you help me… ?”

“Of course it is possible to help, but… What do you just say to adults?”

At my words, Yeon Myeong-ha shook her head left and right.

“I can’t worry you about something I’m not sure about. And if he’s really doing something stupid, he should secretly capture the evidence. If they are caught in a panic, they may immediately destroy any incriminating evidence… ”

“Then… Okay.”

“Thank you. I have dinner scheduled with my father this evening, so I think we can leave after that.”

There was no particular reason why I couldn’t help. Anyway, if Yeon Yeon-ha does well, I’m happy too.

Her guess also seemed reasonable at first glance. If that is true, it would explain why the strangely new users looked wary. Wouldn’t it be uneasy to see that the little owner came back after taking advantage of the time when the owners were not in good health to do something?

Of course, I have no idea what the blood-soaked sack is or why the building was arranged so strangely… If you check it, you’ll know right away.

But the fact that he relies on nuns sounds very strange. Does the head of such an enormous family find some comfort in turning to religion?

I think the only connection I have with religion is when I was a child and pretended to pray to get candy.

If there really is a God… I don’t think I would have caused such misfortune to someone.