Beast, Blue Blood - Chapter 61

Chapter 61

“In your case, since Emily is mostly taking care of Martha, shouldn’t you also receive only half of the adult treatment?”

At Ha-yeon’s words, Emily laughed as she took away the used plates while holding Martha in one hand. Hisha spoke with disdain.

“Give even half and then talk.”

After such a conversation, they finished their meal, and Ha-yeon was the first to look at the clock and get up.

“I think I have to go. I have a lecture.”

“Me too.”

Hisha said as he got up.

Ha-yeon, who had graduated high school early through homeschooling, entered university three years ago at the age of nineteen, but Hisha, due to reasons everyone knew, had a delayed start and was actually in a lower grade than Ha-yeon.

Selena and Eugene, who also had to go to work, stood up as well.

“We should go too.”

They climbed the stairs in the living room and went to the helipad on the terrace, where a helicopter was waiting. One by one, they boarded the helicopter, and Eugene, who was the last to board, patted her daughter, who was in Emily’s arms.

“Martha, be good.”

“Ma!”

Martha flailed her arms and legs as if she wanted to go to her mother, but being in Emily’s arms, she didn’t throw a big tantrum.

As Eugene boarded the helicopter, she saw that Ha-yeon was already wearing earphones and looking at a tablet.

She was wearing a white T-shirt, jeans, a vintage jacket, and boots. Her backpack, which she carried everywhere until it was worn out, was placed on the floor. Her light brown hair was slightly longer than her shoulders, and she had a thinner-than-average build.

Her face looked like that of a young lady when dressed femininely, but apart from her slightly chipped navy blue nail polish, there wasn’t much feminine about her appearance.

Selena, sitting in front of her, was also looking at documents, true to his workaholic nature.

Once Eugene took her seat, the helicopter took off.

“Look over there. Martha is still watching.”

Hisha said as he looked out the window. Martha was still waving her small hand at the helicopter. Then she climbed over Emily’s shoulder, like a mountain, and threw herself into her grandfather Ivan’s arms. The sight was so cute that both Hisha and Eugene smiled.

Before long, the helicopter landing pad with an H painted on it came into view. Several cars were waiting there.

The helicopter landed smoothly on the pad. As they were getting off, Selena asked Ha-yeon, who was walking ahead.

“Are you eating well?”

Ha-yeon answered indifferently as she walked ahead.

“I’m eating well.”

Originally, Ha-yeon was allowed to live in the apartment above Selena’s, but she moved out shortly after. Despite the secure location where even the CEO of ISLE lived, Ha-yeon insisted on moving to a place of her choice.

It was understandable, considering she needed her own space and time, but it was true that Ha-yeon was particularly independent compared to Hisha. Even when they lived in the same building, they hardly saw each other.

“Please come over for dinner sometime.”

Selena spoke, but Ha-yeon still didn’t look back as she responded.

“I’ll think about it.”

Among the shiny luxury cars waiting at the entrance of the helipad, there was a noticeably old domestic car. Ha-yeon walked over to it, opened the manually operated door, and threw her backpack onto the passenger seat.

“I’m off.”

Then she got into the car and drove off without looking back. As Selena watched her leave, Eugene approached from behind.

“You still care so much about that prickly girl. Not that she would appreciate it.”

“It’s not about being appreciated.”

“Do you know what they call someone like you?”

Selena looked at Eugene curiously.

“What do they call me?”

“A pushover.”

Selena chuckled. It was a masculine laugh.

“I was born this way.”

Then he headed to her car. Watching him, Eugene muttered to herself.

“Even with that face, he manages to look like that.”

“Like what?”

Jerome, Selena’s secretary, asked from behind. Eugene, not turning around, muttered.

“No matter how you change the shell, a herring will still smell like a herring.”

Then she too walked towards her car.

“A herring?”

Left behind, Jerome was baffled, wondering why she was rambling about herring.

* * *

As the traffic light turned red, Ha-yeon stopped the car. She waited for the light to change, pressing the function control panel. However, no screen appeared. She had been worried for a while, and it seemed it had finally gone dead.

“Is it broken?”

Ha-yeon simply shrugged and looked out the window. The cool early autumn breeze blowing in through the open window tousled her hair.

Soon, the light turned green, and she started driving again, maintaining a safe distance from the car in front. She drove straight to the campus, parked the car, and got out, passing by students heading to their classes.

As she was leaving the parking lot, someone tapped her on the shoulder.

“Hi-ya!”

It was Myung-jin.

Ha-yeon greeted her with a nod. Walking together, Myung-jin asked.

“Did you do the assignment?”

“Roughly.”

“If you show it to me, I’ll respect you as my big sister.”

“I’d rather not have your respect. I think I’ve received more of it than even your ancestors did.”

“Oh come on, sis, don’t be like that…”

At that moment, someone passing by bumped into Ha-yeon.

“Sorry…”

As Ha-yeon instinctively apologized and turned around, she saw that the woman who bumped into her had red eyes.

The woman looked Ha-yeon up and down and walked away without a word. Myung-jin scoffed.

“Should I poke her eyes so she doesn’t need red lenses anymore? Who looks people up and down like that?”

She turned around, grumbling.

“Isn’t it funny? She’s not even avLuax, but she wears red colored lenses.”

“What’s the big deal? It’s her style.”

Ha-yeon replied indifferently as she walked on.

Among the passersby, people with red eyes occasionally appeared. Red eyes were one of the representative features of the Luax, but nowadays, many young people wear red colored lenses as a fashion statement, making it impossible to tell who was a real Luax.

“Still, wearing red colored lenses to mimic Luax seems childish…”

Myung-jin grumbled, but then they heard a commotion from somewhere. Unconsciously, the two of them turned to look and saw a group of women gathered around a tall man.

The man, who looked Korean, was so handsome that he seemed almost unreal. He appeared to be in his mid-twenties, like a returning student.

When he smiled, the women made excited noises, like fans meeting an idol. Myung-jin, her head practically swiveling, nudged Ha-yeon.

“Have you seen him before? That senior is supposed to be a Luax.”

At those words, Ha-yeon took another look at the man. But in today’s world, Luax was not that extraordinary, especially to her.

“Really?”

Even though she acknowledged it, Ha-yeon couldn’t have looked more indifferent. Myung-jin laughed as if she couldn’t believe it.

“Kate, you’re so indifferent to everything.”

For a moment, Ha-yeon’s expression, which had been unchanged, turned sour.

‘Kate, really?’

When she first came to Seoul, Selena had perfectly prepared documents for her false identity, and her alias was “Kate.” It made sense to use an English name since her father was Western, but no matter how you looked at her, she didn’t seem like a “Kate.”

Ha-yeon glanced at her wristband to check the time and said to Myung-jin.

“Anyway, let’s go. We’ll be late.”

* * *

Beep beep.

While driving, an alarm sounded, and Ha-yeon’s personal AI, Like, spoke.

[A message has arrived. Would you like to check it?]

“Yes, read it.”

[It’s a message from Selena. ‘If you have time, could you come by my place today?’]

Ha-yeon glanced at the traffic light and then made a U-turn.

“Like, show me the traffic conditions. The destination is ISLE headquarters.”

After driving for a while, a massive building gradually came into view.

After confirming her identity at the heavily guarded main gate, she drove further in before reaching the building.

Ha-yeon approached the entrance, where people in suits were coming and going. Some glanced at her, dressed in a way that didn’t fit the headquarters of a global company, but she paid no attention and crossed the lobby to the elevator.

The main reason Ha-yeon decided to attend university in Seoul was that ISLE Group’s headquarters was located there.

Ha-yeon, who finished high school in Africa, wanted to attend college somewhere far away. However, her mother, Kyu-hwa, had dedicated her life to building schools in Africa, and her father, Alex, a soldier, couldn’t live far from the base.

Ha-yeon, wanting to live independently, welcomed the idea of going to a distant university. But her worried parents were not keen on their daughter living alone far away. In the end, they compromised on Seoul, where ISLE’s headquarters was located.

‘Why do they worry so much?’

Ha-yeon thought as she watched people moving beyond the transparent elevator walls.

So, three years ago, Ha-yeon came to Seoul. The following year, Hisha, after much commotion, married Eugene. When Eugene transferred to work at ISLE headquarters, Hisha and Eugene moved to Seoul. This led Hisha’s parents, Yeon-ha and Ivan, to move nearby to help take care of their granddaughter, Martha.

For Ha-yeon, this was not an ideal situation. It wasn’t that she disliked her family—on the contrary, they were the most precious people in the world to her. She simply needed her freedom. Being with her family meant she was always the ‘young, small, protected youngest child.’

Ha-yeon sighed softly.

‘Even if it’s not ideal, there’s nothing I can do about it.’

She had no choice but to move to a distant neighborhood where she could have some semblance of freedom. That was two years ago.

Ding.

At that moment, the elevator stopped. Ha-yeon got off and walked down the sleek, white corridor that looked like something out of a sci-fi movie.

Suddenly, a group of people in suits approached from the opposite direction. Leading them was a tall woman in a black H-line skirt and a blouse with elaborate patterns, her striking features accentuated by heavy makeup. She stood a head taller than the others.

Selena noticed Ha-yeon and looked slightly surprised.