Beast, Blue Blood - Chapter 20

Chapter 20

“Do you know this man?”

Leah asked. Eugene knew very well who this man was.

Ivan Ivanov. He was the head of the Ivanov clan that operated the ISLE group, the former head of MCTC’s Seoul branch, and the person who played a significant role in bringing the Brotherhood incident to light.

Leah gestured towards the photo with her eyes.

“After the Brotherhood incident, he went into hiding, so not many people remember him now, but you know I never forget a handsome man once I’ve seen him. It’s the talent that got you into Interpol, isn’t it?”

Then Lea shrugged.

“The problem is it’s limited to handsome men.”

Hisha looked at Leah as if asking, ‘Did you find out because of that?’

“You’ve met him too. You were on the cruise that day.”

Leah said, holding the pad next to Hisha’s face.

“Hisha Ivanov.”

Hisha’s face filled with dismay.

“Isn’t he so similar that you wonder why you didn’t recognize him at first glance? He’s the one and only prince of the Ivanov family. His value is priceless.”

Even after Leah finished speaking, Eugene said nothing. A heavy silence filled the air.

“Leah.”

Eugene finally spoke quietly.

“What did I say? Didn’t I tell you not to meddle in my affairs?”

For a moment, Leah seemed not to understand. Then she furrowed her brow a bit, as if pondering the meaning of those words, and a look of realization crossed her face.

“You knew.”

Leah said with a sigh. Hisha’s eyes widened. Eugene didn’t respond, but her silence was a confirmation.

Hisha couldn’t believe it.

‘She knew? All of it?’

“Is that why you sent this?”

Eugene opened the envelope Hisha had handed over earlier in the day and pulled out a sheet of paper. When she flipped it around, it was blank. Hisha was baffled. In the end, what Leah had sent wasn’t documents but Hisha himself.

“Looks like I was meddling.”

Leah said and looked at Hisha.

“Sorry, Young-soo… I mean, Hisha. I hope you stay safe.”

Hisha couldn’t hide his astonished look, as if to say, ‘Who’s responsible for putting me in this situation?’ Lea laughed as if she had heard him.

“But you must have been prepared for this much when you jumped into this house, right?”

Then Leah tried to leave, but the men didn’t follow her. She looked back as if to ask why.

“What are you doing not following me?”

The man who had attacked Hisha in Cox’s office spoke up.

“But he’s a half-breed.”

Leah looked exasperated.

“What do you think you can do with a half-breed? Did you get paid by the bosses too?”

The men said nothing. Then Eugene spoke.

“I’ll give you three seconds if you don’t want to leave with your heads separated from your bodies. One.”

She immediately started counting.

“Two.”

The men furrowed their brows but didn’t move. Eugene chuckled lightly.

“Don’t think I can’t do it. I can make sure there’s not a molecule left of your bodies.”

The men knew it wasn’t just an empty threat, and they furrowed their brows further. Eventually, they had no choice but to leave.

Once they were alone, Eugene looked at Hisha. Hisha nodded eagerly, as if he had been waiting for this moment, and made muffled noises, suggesting he wanted the tape removed from his mouth. Eugene, however, chuckled coldly, almost a sneer.

“You never spoke when you had the chance.”

Before Hisha could react, Eugene walked out.

* * *

When Eugene stepped out, Cox was waiting in the hallway. Eugene asked him with an unusually cold expression.

“Since when did Mavrogiotis become the owner of this house?”

Cox bowed his head slightly.

“I’m sorry.”

“Any excuses?”

“None.”

Eugene could guess what had happened. Leah must have brought Cox in, and Cox had considered Hisha a threat. Eugene did not doubt Cox’s loyalty. However, loyalty that involved thinking and deciding for Eugene was not needed.

“Then pack your things and leave before I get back.”

With that, Eugene brushed past him. Cox, who had worked in the mansion even before Eugene was born, quietly bowed his head, having anticipated this outcome.

* * *

Kate and Ha-yeon were frowning at their wristbands.

“Why isn’t he answering?”

Kate muttered.

From behind, Myung-jin commented nonchalantly.

“Maybe he’s having a hot night?”

Ha-yeon glared at Myung-jin as if she were crazy.

“That woman is a Fuger-Dulloch.”

Myung-jin shrugged without even looking up.

“A pretty and well-built Fuger-Dulloch. Even if I weren’t into women, if she stood next to an ugly guy, I’d choose her. And your brother is cute and sexy. Which woman wouldn’t lose her heart to his smiling face? I already think they’re an item.”

Just imagining it made Ha-yeon frown deeply, looking almost scary, then she said out of the blue.

“But why is Hisha my brother?”

“Cousin brother is still a brother, right?”

“Just because he’s older doesn’t mean he’s my brother.”

Myung-jin rolled her eyes and looked at Ha-yeon.

“An older male cousin is a brother, get it? Typical sibling banter.”

“You’re the weird one with your mutual love and hate for your sibling. This is normal.”

Ha-yeon waved her hand, signaling to focus.

“Anyway, have you found anything?”

“No.”

Myung-jin said, pointing at the monitor in front of her.

“It might be time to admit that the Fuger-Dulloch isn’t someone we can handle.”

Ha-yeon said, resting one hand on her hip and shrugging with the other shoulder.

“I didn’t expect Hisha to figure anything out.”

“So, what then?”

Myung-jin asked.

“You never know. Who would think Hisha came to gather information? That clueless look of his might make her drop hints she didn’t intend to.”

Myung-jin murmured in disbelief.

“So you were just testing if the pretty boy tactic would work?”

Ha-yeon didn’t respond, instead checking the time on her wristband.

“Anyway, he’ll contact us soon, so let’s call it a day. I don’t have any more excuses about where Hisha is.”

* * *

Hisha leaned back and sighed, staring at the ceiling. Hearing the door open, he quickly lowered his head, disappointed to see Nasiri instead of Eugene.

Nasiri approached and removed the tape from Hisha’s mouth. Fortunately, it came off smoothly like a sticker, without hurting his skin. However, it was damp, so Hisha rubbed his mouth on his shoulder. Meanwhile, Nasiri dragged a chair and sat down at a short distance.

“Talk.”

Nasiri said. Hisha sighed.

“Let me speak with Eugene.”

“Tell me.”

Nasiri insisted.

“I’ll only talk to Eugene.”

Nasiri looked at him without expression.

“The director is busy.”

“No, she’s not. She’s watching right now.”

Though he couldn’t see the cameras, Hisha turned his head towards where he thought the sound was coming from.

“You can hear me. You know that, right?”

Nasiri scoffed.

“What were you doing when you had plenty of chances to talk?”

“That was….”

Hisha hesitated, knowing that even though he was indeed Hisha Ivanov, he was just here for a part-time job, unrelated to any virus. But he knew they wouldn’t believe him, and he was tired of lying.

“I’ll speak to Eugene.”

Nasiri got up and put the chair back in its original place. At the door, he turned and said coldly and firmly.

“Call her Director.”

Hisha glared.

“No.”

“I figured that cute face was just an act.”

Nasiri said, leaving before Hisha could respond. He clicked his tongue in frustration.

Nasiri never liked him from the beginning. Though he didn’t know why, if it was because he sensed he was hiding something, his instincts were impressive.

He glanced at a mirror and saw his reflection with one red eye. He never thought his family was particularly extraordinary. He knew his parents were involved in various activities, but he considered himself an ordinary recent graduate.

His allowance was never more than his peers, and he never felt “different.” Sure, he was stronger and had heightened senses compared to ordinary people, but he thought it was just a trivial difference, like someone being able to touch their nose with their tongue or having a slightly longer second toe.

The real reason he ended up trying to find information about the virus prototype and infiltrated the Fuger-Dulloch mansion was overhearing a conversation between his mother and father one day.

* * *

“There’s a prototype of the virus.”

Hisha, who was passing by, stopped in his tracks. Glancing into the room where the voices came from, he saw his mother and father, who had just come home from work, sitting in the corner of their home theater.

He wondered what they were doing there. His mother continued.

“Heinrich Fuger-Dulloch left a will saying that whoever develops the Luax virus would inherit the family. They never had issues regarding succession before, but now it seems there’s a sudden war over it.”

His father remained silent, his face serious. It was the first time Hisha had seen such an expression on his father’s face.

“Two people have already died. They were informants and cleaners, so it didn’t become a major issue…”

His mother looked exhausted.

She had been so busy that she hadn’t been able to come home for days, and even now, she was still in her military uniform as they talked.

“I thought things had improved, but the world is still the same as it was 20 years ago.”

His mother sighed, looking at his father.

“If the virus is completed… what kind of world will that bring?”

Hisha turned and walked down the stairs.

He had heard about the virus before. It was a taboo subject, rarely openly discussed, but everyone knew it existed because of an incident long ago.

The Brotherhood.