Beast, Blue Blood - Chapter 19

Chapter 19

“If it’s okay, shall we talk tonight?”

Realizing that they were at the office, Hisha nodded and let her go. Suddenly, he remembered something and picked up the envelope he had dropped when he entered the break room.

“Oh, Miss Leah asked me to deliver this to you.”

“Leah did?”

Eugene took the envelope, opened it, and then put the documents back in the envelope with a slight smile.

“Thank you. By the way, how did you get here? Should I call a car for you? You can take it…”

Hisha quickly declined.

“No, it’s okay. I can just take the subway back.”

Eugene didn’t insist and just smiled.

“See you at home.”

As he left the break room, Nasiri, who had been waiting, saw Eugene and then frowned slightly when he saw Hisha coming out behind her. Hisha smiled awkwardly and greeted him.

“Hello, Nasiri.”

Then he said goodbye to Eugene and left the office.

“I’ll be going.”

Once he exited the building and got on the subway, he let out a sigh of relief. It was a mix of the relief of having finished the task without any issues and the lingering thoughts of Eugene. He wasn’t sure what Myung-jin had found on the intranet, but at least he had made some progress with his work. However, his mind was filled with thoughts of Eugene.

He couldn’t believe how beautiful and sexy Eugene was, and that he was involved in such an intimate relationship with someone like her. At first, he thought it was just his feelings, but now he was sure…

‘Eugene seems to like me too, right?’

If not, she wouldn’t have smiled so cutely, talked with him late into the night, and shared such intimate moments.

Thinking about what had happened in the break room made him smile uncontrollably. He quickly bit his lips to suppress his grin, but he couldn’t hide the foolish smile on his face.

* * *

“Cox.”

Cox looked up at the call. Pierlu was standing at the door of his office.

“What brings you here?”

Cox asked. Pierlu rarely came into the mansion unless it was something urgent; he usually worked in the greenhouse and garden.

Pierlu spoke.

“I need to talk to you.”

“Come in.”

Pierlu walked in and stood in front of Cox’s desk.

“The garden is fine with just me, so please fire Kim Young-soo.”

Still seated, Cox looked up at him with surprisingly indifferent eyes.

“Why? Is he like you?”

Pierlu suddenly fell silent and didn’t respond, but Cox continued without concern.

“He certainly resembles the old you. Unbearably bright and seemingly raised with much love, without a shadow.”

Then Cox cast an icy gaze.

“You can’t decide anything. From the moment you made a decision, you shouldn’t have.”

Pierlu was silent for a moment before speaking again.

“That’s right. That kid, Kim Young-soo, is like me. So don’t give him any chance to make the same wrong decisions.”

“Don’t worry. There’s one fundamental difference between you and Kim Young-soo.”

At those words, Pierlu looked puzzled. However, Cox lightly waved his hand and spoke.

“Go on. I have work to do.”

Pierlu looked like he wanted to say more, but faced with Cox’s cold demeanor, he just turned and left.

* * *

“I’m back.”

Hisha said as he entered the lobby. It was surprising how, in just two weeks, this place had started to feel like home.

“You’re back?”

Cox greeted him emerging from his office.

“You ran an errand for Miss Leah?”

“Yes, she asked me to deliver something to the Director.”

“I see. How about a cup of tea?”

Cox often drank tea with the employees. Although he hadn’t yet had tea with Hisha, it seemed he used these tea sessions to listen to and share stories with them. Hisha followed Cox into his office. Tea was already prepared on the table. Once they were seated and had taken a sip, Cox asked.

“So, how’s the work going?”

“It suits me very well. Everyone here is very nice.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Cox took another sip of tea and set the cup down.

“Did you know? I first came to this mansion when I was thirteen, following my father who was an employee here. I’ve been working here even before the director was born.”

Cox seemed to have a great affection for this mansion.

“Sometimes, even the employees are endearing. How could those who illuminate this mansion not be lovable? This mansion is my life.”

His sincerity was clear, and Hisha nodded.

“That’s quite admirable.”

“Which is why I can’t tolerate anything that shakes that.”

“Pardon?”

As he asked, Hisha felt his head spinning.

“Oh? I’m dizzy…”

He looked at Cox and pointed to the tea he had been drinking.

“Mr. Cox, this…”

Thud!

Just then, the door burst open with a loud noise, and Hisha turned in shock. A man rushed in and swung a military baton, which was a weapon in itself. Hisha instinctively blocked it.

When the attack was thwarted, the man bared his sharp teeth and growled. Seeing the beast-like fangs, Hisha’s eyes widened.

‘Luax…!’

The man who attacked Hisha sneered and spoke.

“You’re not an ordinary human, are you?”

He had been discovered. In that instant, he barely blocked a knee aimed at his stomach with his hands. But it felt like his hand was hit by a steel bat, causing intense pain. This was not human strength.

Then, his vision began to blur like a distorted aluminum sheet. In the moment of dizziness, something struck his head.

Whack!

Hisha felt immense pain and lost consciousness.

* * *

When Hisha barely regained consciousness, the first thing he felt was a splitting headache. The back of his head throbbed painfully. He wanted to touch the back of his head, but his hands were tied behind his back. His legs were each secured to the chair legs, wrapped tightly with tape.

Hisha realized someone was standing in front of him. Slowly lifting his head, he saw Leah looking down at him. Hisha winced from the pain.

“Ugh…”

With tape over his mouth, he could only mumble. Leah bent down to look into Hisha’s eyes.

“I’m sorry. Does it hurt?”

She said, genuinely looking apologetic.

“You didn’t go down as easily as I expected. Even a tough Luax would have been knocked out with one hit.”

So there had indeed been something in the tea. Leah suddenly lifted Hisha’s face and gazed at him intently, tracing the contours of his face with her eyes.

Then Leah smiled faintly.

“I knew it.”

Knew it…?

Hisha felt a mix of confusion and anxiety. Did Leah recognize him? Officially, he had no records or identity. At that moment, footsteps were heard coming up the stairs.

“Leah?”

It was Eugene’s voice. Leah stood up. Hisha, in a panic, tried to struggle, but even with all his strength, he couldn’t budge.

Leah looked at Hisha and spoke. 

“Come in, Eugene.”

* * *

As Eugene stepped out of the car, she was puzzled. The mansion was dark, which was unusual. All the windows were dark, except for one.

“You’re here?” 

Cox came down the stairs.

“Mr. Cox.”

Eugene turned to him.

“Why are all the lights off?”

“Miss Leah ordered it.”

Eugene frowned slightly.

“Leah did?”

Cox bowed slightly. 

“She asked me to escort you to her room.”

Eugene frowned a bit more but went up the stairs without protest. The hallway was dark, except for the emergency lights.

“Lev.”

[Yes.]

The home AI, Lev, responded.

“Turn on all the lights.”

[Yes.]

The lights came on. Seeing that there was no issue with the home AI, Eugene knew there was no intruder. She walked down the hallway to Leah’s room. The automatic door opened, revealing a dark interior.

“Leah?”

“Come in, Eugene.”

Leah responded from inside. Then the lights came on, revealing Hisha tied to a chair in the middle of the living room.

‘What the…?’

Eugene frowned. Even a wild animal wouldn’t be tied up this thoroughly. Hisha, with tape over his mouth, made muffled sounds when he saw her, but it was unintelligible. Around them, men in black clothes were stationed. Leah stood beside Hisha. Eugene was stunned.

“What are you doing in my house?”

“You’re keeping a dangerous pet, Eugene.”

Leah said, gesturing towards Hisha.

“Do you even know what this is?”

Leah held up a tablet handed to her by a guard. A photo appeared on the screen. It showed a boy being held by a man whose face was out of the frame. The photo was blurry, likely taken from a distance with maximum zoom, but the boy’s features were Hisha’s.

Then, a man standing behind Hisha grabbed his hair, yanking his head up, and roughly removed something from his eye. It looked as though he was pulling out his eyeball. Hisha let out a suppressed scream from the pain.

“Urgh…!”

The man didn’t care and continued to pull Hisha’s hair, forcing his head back. At the same time, Leah spoke.

“Look.”

One eye, now without its colored lens, was revealed to be red. Aside from the bloodshot effect caused by the rough removal, the eye was a vivid blood-red color, like a polished red diamond.

“He’s a half-blood Luax. Like a dragon or a unicorn.”

Eugene, with a slight furrow in her brow, just watched, making it impossible for Hisha to guess what she was thinking. The man then roughly let go of Hisha’s hair.

“Do you know this man?”

Leah asked.

The photo on the tablet zoomed out to reveal the face of the man holding the young Hisha. The man, striking even among thousands, was wearing a coat over a suit, with black hair and red eyes. He appeared to be in his early to mid-thirties. Crucially, he resembled Hisha.

Eugene knew very well who this man was.