Facing Each Other – 1

“Inho-nim, are you alright?”

The two women who monitored his every move easily noticed his change.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

‘Liar.’

Kim Sung-ah thought, watching him force a smile by moving the corners of his lips.

The Magical Girl’s eyes reflected the image of him facing the Witch’s underlings alone, leaving her in the room back then.

However, she couldn’t act like she knew too much.

It was a promise. This fact troubled Kim Sung-ah the whole time.

“I see. Will you be back soon?”

Unlike herself, who was suffering from a storm of emotions, the woman named Lee Mina was as calm as ever.

Occasionally, she would reveal her inner thoughts, but it was rare, and the revelation was fleeting.

Ding-dong. The elevator arrived on the first floor with an electronic sound.

The cold temperature of the marble lobby enveloped them.

“Yes. It won’t take long… probably.”

Kang In-ho’s eyes fluttered, and Kim Sung-ah gently bit her lip.

“I’ll go ahead. You know the location, right?”

Lee Mina took the lead, glancing at Kim Sung-ah.

Noticing the signal, Kim Sung-ah moved next to Lee Mina, leaving Kang In-ho behind.

“Yes. I know. Please start without me.”

Kang In-ho, with a haggard look, smiled.

As they passed through the revolving door and stepped outside the building, they were overwhelmed by the crowd of people leaving work.

Lee Mina naturally joined the crowd, riding the wave.

Kim Sung-ah briefly took in the woman standing under a tree slightly away from the crowd.

A tall figure, curly hair, sharp eyes, and a somewhat outdated but neat outfit.

Kim Sung-ah closely followed behind Lee Mina.

With a large man as a wall, the two women disappeared from Kang In-ho’s sight.

“Did you see her?”

A low voice. Lee Mina asked without turning her head.

“Yes.”

Kim Sung-ah’s answer was concise.

“It seems like an emergency situation, right?”

“It seems so. …But do we really have to call everyone?”

There was a very slight hesitation in Kim Sung-ah’s voice.

Did she catch it?

Lee Mina turned her head, her eyes more sunken than ever.

“I think you keep forgetting, but we promised to do this.”

Don’t forget, Lee Mina said.

“Ah, I know that. I just….”

“Kim Sung-ah-ssi.”

The two of them stepped out of the crowd and stopped at the stairs leading to the basement of the building.

It was a staircase directly connected to the basement without going through the lobby.

Lee Mina, in her women’s suit, maintained her stiff attitude.

“We agreed that everyone should be equal, right?”

“…I know.”

“I understand your feelings. I want to monopolize Inho-ssi too.”

“To be fairly connected with Inho-ssi. You haven’t forgotten, have you?”

“I’m just… losing confidence….”

As if scolded, Kim Sung-ah hunched her body like a turtle.

Perhaps seeing something in her shrinking form, Lee Mina’s stiff face softened slightly.

Lee Mina slowly raised her hand and patted Kim Sung-ah’s shoulder a few times.

“I know. Your feelings. I feel the same way. But what can we do? We have to work hard.”

“You’re… an adult, Unni.”

“Well. I feel like a child pretending to be an adult.”

Lee Mina shrugged.

“I’ll inform the other three. Sung-ah-ssi, please tell ‘her’.”

At Lee Mina’s instruction, Kim Sung-ah nodded.

Lee Mina took out her phone and contacted someone, and Kim Sung-ah went down the stairs.

She passed people smoking and entered the passage connected to the basement of the building.

After passing through the winding passage, she saw the shops in the building’s basement.

Kim Sung-ah opened the door of a shop with the lights off.

Ting-a-ling. A bell rang.

“I’m sorry. We’re closed today… Oh my.”

From inside the flower shop, a voice like rolling jade beads was heard.

“What brings you here?”

Chunhyang, wearing light Hanbok, tilted her head as she looked at Kim Sung-ah.

“It’s an emergency.”

At Kim Sung-ah’s words, Chunhyang’s eyes, which had been folded like crescent moons, slowly widened.

Bright golden eyes flashed in the dark shop.

“Hoo….”

The clear voice that had been welcoming customers instantly lowered.

“Since we’ve decided to gather everyone, please prepare and….”

“Preparations are already complete.”

Chunhyang, who had already changed her clothes, was standing outside the door.

A see-through white T-shirt, jeans, and a baseball cap.

It was a different outfit from the Hanbok she always wore.

“Lead the way.”

“Is it an emergency?”

As soon as she made the call, the other party answered.

“Yes. Did you already know?”

“I happened to observe Master meeting with someone who appears to be his ex-girlfriend through CCTV.”

“It was a coincidence, right?”

The other party didn’t respond to the repeated question.

“Well, if it’s just observation, it’s not a violation of the rules. More importantly, are you in a situation where you can join us?”

“I can join in 2 minutes.”

“If you’re coming with a booster deployment, please be discreet so you don’t attract attention. Ah, could you pick up Maria-ssi on the way? She’s a bit far away.”

“Understood. Have you contacted Heavenly Demon? She must be in a bad mood.”

“Yes. I just spoke to her. She didn’t show it, but she seemed quite upset. But how did you know?”

“I confirmed that all the CCTVs in the area where Heavenly Demon was located were destroyed.”

Lee Mina slapped her forehead with her palm.

So, the six of them gathered.

Despite the sudden call, they were fully prepared.

“This is the place.”

Isis led them to a cafe in a secluded area.

“It’s too small. Will there be seats?”

Kim Sung-ah stretched her neck and looked inside.

“We can make seats if we need to, and that gloomy elf will hide our bodies.”

Heavenly Demon, in her training suit, opened the door before anyone could stop her.

“Haa… truly lacking in elegance.”

Chunhyang sighed deeply and flicked her fingers.

A sweet scent filled the area and disappeared in an instant.

“Is it done?”

Lee Mina asked cautiously, and Chunhyang nodded.

“Yes. They won’t recognize us. Of course, not even that there are seats there.”

Chunhyang followed through the open door.

Maria, seeing Kang In-ho inside the shop, made the Sign of the Cross and entered the shop with Isis.

“Let’s go in too.”

Lee Mina grabbed Kim Sung-ah’s wrist and entered the shop.

As Chunhyang had stated, no one in the shop recognized them.

The six women, led by Heavenly Demon, took a seat at a large table.

“So, that’s Inho’s old flame.”

Heavenly Demon’s red eyes took in the two men and women.

“I’m saying this out of concern, but you know you can’t interfere, right?”

Lee Mina reminded her of the rules because she looked so angry.

“I know.”

Heavenly Demon replied sullenly.

While Heavenly Demon was grumbling, the other women added a word about Kang In-ho’s ex-girlfriend.

“Hmph… her eyes are so venomous, she doesn’t seem like a good wife and mother.”

Chunhyang scoffed.

“She doesn’t seem benevolent either….”

Maria offered her opinion.

“According to the background check, she has failed to transition to full-time employment in the last three companies. She is an incompetent woman. Not suitable as Master’s woman.”

Isis’s conclusion based on big data followed.

“She seems to have a very strong personality.”

Kim Sung-ah also cautiously added.

Even as they were tearing the woman down for their own reasons, the conversation between the two men and women did not stop.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been to this cafe.”

The woman said, and the man remained silent.

“We used to spend a lot of time here with Oppa. Remember? Oppa was so busy, we’d meet near the company for dinner, and Oppa would go back to work.”

Unlike her appearance, the woman caressed Kang In-ho in a gentle tone.

Perhaps because of that gentleness, Kim Sung-ah thought that Kang In-ho’s face seemed more relaxed than before.

“I’m also looking for a job these days. So, you remember what I’m thinking about, right?”

The words that had been circling the periphery were gradually moving to the center.

“So, since this is the same industry, it seems like the reference check is also going to you, Oppa.”

“It won’t come to me. It’ll go to my senior.”

“Ah, right. It’ll go to your senior….”

The woman laughed awkwardly.

“Could you, um, say something to your senior….”

The woman trailed off.

“You want me to put in a good word?”

Inho continued the sentence.

The woman nodded.

“What a bitch.”

Heavenly Demon muttered.