YM778.TV Chapter 187
“This is the headquarters…?”
The streets looked like how the past Seoul looked with prosperous buildings lining the streets. And, among them, the Red Lotus building boasted an unrivaled height and decadent scale.
My eyes bulged wide at the surprisingly unexpected building size and the large throng of people coming and going through the entrance… Somehow, I felt like the passing people were glancing at me.
There were many people who stealthily avoided eye contact when I turned my gaze their way, but some, as if they had been waiting for this moment, strangely stared back fiercely. Unable to observe the exterior of the building more, I was chased inside.
Unexpectedly, inside the building, security guards were standing in front, creating what seemed to be a security checkpoint system at a subway ticket gate–a strict boundary.
“Good Morning!”
“H-Hello…”
At that sight, I hesitated; a security guard who was inspecting the incoming people saw me, came out, and greeted me loudly. I didn’t know why he was greeting me, so I flinched. But then I soon realized this body belonged to Jung Garam and awkwardly bowed my head.
‘I… Did I make a mistake?’
When I looked up, all the security guards gathered in the lobby stared at me with a sour look. I froze–this was similar to the strange gazes I felt outside the building. It was then.
“Huh? Jung Garam?”
Someone called out Jung Garam’s name from behind.
Looking behind, a man wearing round glasses and a white doctor’s gown stood–hands stored in the gown’s pockets–staring at me.
‘…Who’s this?’
As he approached me, one step at a time, my anxiety grew higher. I felt like I had seen him somewhere, but his name didn’t immediately come to mind.
However, without leaving me any time to prepare, approached to be at a friendly distance, grinning all the while. “What are you doing at this hour?” He talked to Jung Garam without any hesitation.
Of course, I had wanted to talk to others as little as possible, but I couldn’t afford to be suspected. In this [Vengeful Ghost Memory] I had been given a role where I could find a hint to summon [Choi Kyung-sik], so I tried to utilize the given information best I could.
First of all, judging by the boy’s young face and his conversational tone, we must be the same age. 1 So, I smiled awkwardly and answered without honorifics. “Because…they said there’s a meeting.”
“Hm? That was postponed today. You didn’t get the message?”
‘What?’
Bang Eunji said that if I didn’t arrive at 11 today, then I’d be kicked from the guild, though?
Embarrassed, I called forth the Status Window; just as the glasses-wearing boy said, I saw a notification in the [Guild] channel–‘A notice has arrived from Seo Dawon.’
[Seo Dawon: The meeting today has been postponed to 2 pm]
The message had even arrived at 7 am. Then, Bang Eunji’s harsh words for me to come by 11 o’clock…
“Was I deceived…?”
“Hm?”
“Ah–No… Eunji-ssi said for me to come by 11 o’clock…So…” With a despondent heart I mumbled, but the smiling boy adopted a strange expression when he heard my words.
“Eunji-ssi?” he replied. An odd gaze permeated into the eyes behind those glasses. At first, I wondered if I should explain who she was–just in case he didn’t know her.
The boy soon clicked his tongue and spoke as if he found me pathetic. “Then, are you pretending to be strangers this time?”
“Huh…?”
“You guys are so immature.” He then shook his head and crossed arms with me. Surprised, I almost avoided him, but the boy dragged me forward, uncaring. We walked in the direction of the security checkpoint that was guarded by security personnel.
“W-Where are we going?”
“We have to go in, right?”
“But, at this time…”
“Since you came early, we might as well go ahead.”
“Mmm…”
“Isn’t it pretty noncommittal to go back home? It’s just perfect to have lunch in my lab.”
The boy seemed to be rushing, so I asked where we were headed; he simply grinned and pulled me forward weakly.
As we approached closer, the security guards opened something that looked like a turnstile with a tense expression. The door, which had been closed and marked with a red laser, turned green; the boy and I passed through it and stood in front of the elevator.
The boy calmly pressed the button for the leftmost elevator, marked ‘executive-use.’ The elevator, which was waiting on the first floor, opened its doors immediately.
Then, the boy took out the employee card hidden within the collar of his doctor’s gown, scanned the reader, and pressed for the 47th floor with the touch pad. I had no idea what his name was until he took out the employee card–I fell into panic.
[Choi Kyung-sik].
The protagonist of this [Vengeful Ghost Memory].
* * ********
Since I only briefly saw Choi Kyung-sik in the [Vengeful Ghost Memory], I hadn’t remembered him immediately. However, though I felt a little embarrassed, it only took a few seconds for the elevator to rise and arrive on the 47th floor.
Before I had decided what to do, Choi Kyung-sik had habitually grabbed onto my arm and walked into the 47th floor corridor. Furthermore, there was no choice but to enter his destination, his laboratory, due to the tight security present in the building.
It was as if the whole floor was dedicated to Choi Kyung-sik alone–desolate without any passersby. The long corridor was divided by thick doors, separating it into sections; these doors were impossible to pass through without the other’s employee card.
In addition, as we walked, the lines of CCTVs made me feel as if we were going into a treasure storage warehouse rather than Choi Kyung-sik’s personal laboratory.
‘There’s no blind spot where I can avoid surveillance…’
Was this how the inside of guild buildings were like?
However, after passing the fourth door, a relatively normal-looking small door appeared. Of course, a security pad for swiping your employee card was next to the door, but, when this door opened, a cozy space that reminded me of a small library had appeared.
Choi Kyung-sik entered the laboratory, and, as if he was familiar with all this, sat at the office desk. I stuck my butt on the small stool in front of the desk. As soon as I did that, the door closed behind me automatically.
Without looking to see if I had sat down properly, Choi Kyung-sik pressed the phone button on top of his desk. As soon as the signal connected, he ordered food quite familiarly, as if he had done this plenty of times before. “Two bulgogi burger set menus, please. I’ll send Puppy.”
It seemed like he was ordering us a meal; Choi Kyung-sik clapped his hands as soon as the phone call finished. A magic circle was drawn beneath his feet; soon, wood-carved puppy-shaved golem gradually manifested above the magic circle.
As soon as the summoned golem appeared, it ran towards the door after turning its head like a clockwork robot. I thought it’d bump into the door, but, right before it hit, it warped outside, accompanied by a whooshing wind sound.
All that happened in an instant. When I stared at him blankly, Choi Kyung-sik blushed and scratched at his cheek. “Well, Eunji said that there’s an anime that I definitely need to watch if I’m an alchemist… Afterwards, I renewed my skills once.”
“Uh… Mm?” I blinked because I didn’t know what the other was talking about. Choi Kyung-sik waved his hand, as if to say ‘don’t mind’. Afraid that the conversation would continue onto a topic I had no idea about, I simply followed along and nodded. An awkward silence started to settle between us.
“…Garam-ie, you seem a little vacant today?”
But, the silence didn’t last long. Choi Kyung-sik raised his glasses and asked me an uncomfortable question. His question felt as if he had noticed a difference between the ‘real Jung Garam’ and ‘me.’
However, instead of being worried about being discovered, I was more concerned with how to bring Choi Kyung-sik, in front of me, to the [Vengeful Ghost Contract] stage. Because of that, I missed the timing to answer, and Choi Kyung-sik waved his hand, leaning his torso comfortably against his chair. “Is it because you left the house while drowsy… Well, you were always weak in the mornings.”
‘Jung Garam is weak in the mornings?’
Judging by the time I had spent with the young Assassin, I couldn’t relate to that statement. However, his condition may have changed after becoming a ‘servant’; there was no reason for me to get to the root of this incongruity.
Rather, I just nodded because I thought it would be a good idea to pretend that I was groggy. Of course, I didn’t close my eyes–I still had to keep an eye on Choi Kyung-sik.
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TL: Choi Kyung-sik <3
You guys can probably guess what anime he’s talking about.
Also, HAPPY VALENTINES DAY <3
Here’s a bonus chapter to thank you guys for reading~ Also thanks Yi Jia, Sae, Ara, and T for the Kofis >.<