Beast, Blue Blood - Chapter 66

Chapter 66

Si-woo, who had returned to the office, spoke as he entered.

“Did you find it?”

Nasiri, who was standing next to the desk, turned around.

“Yes, there has been some progress.”

“Let’s hear it.”

Si-woo said as he sat at the desk. Nasiri continued.

“Lancenum is a shadow PMC (Private Military Company) with very little known about it.”

When Eugene moved to a new company, Nasiri followed as if it were a given. His loyalty was devoted more to Eugene personally than to the Fuger-Dulloch family. Of course, Eugene’s treatment of Nasiri was more than adequate. Nasiri’s exceptional skills in background checks were quite useful.

“They mainly seem to dispatch personnel to third-world warlords or handle various illegal activities.”

Nasiri continued.

“By the way, do you remember the Luax terrorist groups ‘SN’ and ‘Legion’ that were dismantled about 20 years ago? The mansion used by their leader as a safe house before he was captured was owned by the warlord who governed the area. Do you know which company that warlord was a shareholder in?”

“Royal Star?”

Si-woo asked as if he had already guessed. Nasiri nodded.

“Yes. It was the company that was the precursor to Lancenum. When the Federal Prosecutor’s Office searched for Royal Star when they arrested the leaders of SN and Legion, the key figures had already disappeared, leaving only the frontmen. They had cut all ties.”

Royal Star had then been dissolved and had not been heard from for a long time—until it reappeared two years ago under the new name ‘Lancenum’ next to Constantina Mavrogiotis.

“The representative of Lancenum is a person known as ‘Mr. Lee.’ He has been famous in the underworld as an arms dealer for a long time.”

After saying this, Nasiri glanced at Si-woo.

“I’ve heard that you’ve been looking for someone with the Lee surname for a long time. Could this be related?”

“Perhaps.”

Si-woo’s red eyes glowed blue with anger.

“It certainly smells like that guy.”

* * *

The man struggled to take a step. Although he seemed to be in his 30s, his complexion was very poor. His face was dark, and cold sweat streamed down his neck.

The man, who was walking unsteadily, suddenly clutched his chest and collapsed.

“Hey! Over there…!”

A passerby, shocked, ran over.

“Call 119!”

Upon checking, the man seemed to have already stopped breathing. The passerby immediately threw down their bag and performed CPR, but despite sweating and straining, the pale man did not regain consciousness.

The scene was watched by a massive building with glass windows reflecting the sunlight, shining like the sun.

* * *

“Miss.”

As Si-woo got out of the car that had just entered the parking lot, he saw Ha-yeon standing in front of the elevator and called out. Ha-yeon turned around and nodded.

“You’re here?”

It was as if they had simply greeted each other and parted ways that morning, with no trace of anger. Although she had a bit of a capricious nature, she was generally good-natured.

Well, they say that beautiful flowers are better with some thorns.

“If you called me, I would have come to get you.”

Ha-yeon responded with a look of disbelief.

“It’s not like I’m an elderly person with limited mobility; I can come on my own.”

At that moment, Si-woo’s bodyguard spoke from behind.

“Please go in.”

Si-woo turned around and said.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Si-woo carried a noticeable fragrance. Although Ha-yeon had smelled it occasionally, it was different from the usual women’s perfume and had a smoky wood scent instead.

Ha-yeon turned her head, feeling oddly conflicted.

‘Am I going crazy? Just because I saw him without makeup, now he looks like a drag queen to me?’

Confused, Ha-yeon looked back at Si-woo. Their eyes met, and although Ha-yeon remained silent and stared, Si-woo reflexively smiled slightly. Seeing this, Ha-yeon remembered something and asked.

“By the way, didn’t you used to modify your voice with a machine to sound like a woman in the past?”

Despite the appearance, the voice was still naturally male, and everyone was surprised the moment Si-woo spoke. It seemed that Si-woo enjoyed the reactions people had to his voice.

“Ah….”

Si-woo hesitated before shifting his gaze to the air and replied.

“I didn’t think it was necessary to go that far.”

Ha-yeon didn’t quite understand what he meant. If so, wasn’t there no need to cross-dress in the first place?

While pondering this, Si-woo smiled slightly.

“And don’t you remember? You once told me that you preferred my natural voice without modification.”

“Did I?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t remember.”

Si-woo looked as if he had expected Ha-yeon wouldn’t remember. Well, it wasn’t likely that he would have stopped modifying his voice just because of what she said, so Ha-yeon let it be.

At that moment, the elevator arrived, and Si-woo spoke.

“Let’s go.”

“Are you making beef bourguignon?”

“Yes. I’ve already bought the ingredients.”

When they got home, Si-woo turned to Ha-yeon.

“I’ll change and be right back.”

Ha-yeon looked him up and down.

“Also, remove your makeup.”

“Makeup?”

It was the first time Ha-yeon had made such a request, so it was unexpected.

“I don’t like the feeling that you’re wearing a mask.”

Although Ha-yeon was indeed correct, Si-woo pretended to smile.

“My bare face is a bit embarrassing.”

“Shall I make you dance naked?”

Ha-yeon spoke with such seriousness that it didn’t seem like a joke. It might not be a joke to her.

Si-woo chuckled softly.

“I’m here.”

Si-woo said and went into the room.

As he entered the dressing room inside, the lights automatically turned on, revealing clothes neatly hung on either side under the illumination. One side had women’s clothing, while the other side had suits and shirts, among other men’s attire.

He removed his earrings and carelessly threw them onto the vanity. He took off his suit jacket and blouse. Then he removed the padded undergarments, which were so close-fitting they resembled skin and threw them onto the back of a chair like a t-shirt.

After changing into comfortable clothes, Si-woo sat at the vanity and picked up a thick cotton pad. As he removed his makeup with familiar strokes, his bare face gradually emerged, cleaned up where the steam had blurred the surface. The makeup was so heavy that, although he didn’t use petroleum, removing it every night was no less troublesome than taking off-stage makeup for Beijing opera.

‘But seeing how I remove the makeup so obediently, I have some submissive traits.’

Despite being the master, it was as if he lived like a butler serving a cat. Of course, Ha-yeon would probably howl like a wild tiger if she knew she was being considered like a cat.

Si-woo went into the bathroom, washed his face, and looked at his water-streaked face in the mirror. He still couldn’t shed the absurd clownish mask.

Two years ago, Royal Star, now Lancenum, had blown up a hospital to kill Eugene. However, blowing up an entire building was not Royal Star’s usual method. Instead, Royal Star was known for being a cunning group that quietly profited from behind the scenes while other villains made a commotion.

But this time, even though they had been hired, choosing to blow up the entire building was a declaration of war—against ISLE, against him—

“Kill.”

A voice suddenly echoed in his ear. Looking down and over his shoulder, through the open bathroom door, the figure of a man with a long, unkempt head of hair, dirty bare feet, and tattered, filthy robes appeared in the glass of the wardrobe in the dressing room.

The man’s unkempt appearance contrasted sharply with the exceptionally white, beastly teeth that gleamed.

“Kill, everyone.”

The voice, like a phantom, repeated. Si-woo averted his gaze and looked at the mirror in front of him.

This was indeed dangerous. The ‘hallucinations’ were coming back quickly. Si-woo hadn’t always cross-dressed. He had tried various methods to avoid seeing his own face, including using masks or removing all reflective surfaces, but each method had its limitations. Gradually, he made the reflection in the mirror no longer his original face. Among various methods, makeup turned out to be surprisingly effective and simple.

Knock, knock.

“Hey.”

At that moment, Ha-yeon’s voice came from outside the dressing room, knocking on the wall.

“Yes.”

Si-woo turned around and replied. Then he realized that water was still dripping from his face and dried it with a towel as Ha-yeon appeared. After the recent accident, it seemed she was paying attention to these details as well.

“Do you want me to cut your hair before dinner? I remember you mentioned it last time.”

Ha-yeon asked, and Si-woo glanced at the wall clock.

“Aren’t you hungry?”

“Not yet.”

“Then let’s just put the food up and cut it.”

“Alright.”

He went to the kitchen, prepared the food, and set it up.

“All done.”

Then, Ha-yeon, who had been reading a book, stood up and picked up a chair.

“Shall we do it in the bathroom for easier cleanup?”

“Let’s do that.”

Ha-yeon brought a chair to the dry living room bathroom and gestured for Si-woo to sit.

“Sit down.”

Si-woo sat in the chair. Ha-yeon then released his hair and skillfully combed it with her fingers, as if she were a professional stylist.

“You have good hair.”

“Thank you. But how much are you going to cut…?”

As soon as Si-woo spoke, there was a snip, and the weight fell away below his ears with a sound like a collapsing building.

In disbelief, Si-woo remained still and asked.

“Did you cut it all off?”

He already knew the answer, but he asked anyway.

“Yes. I said I’d cut it, didn’t I?”

Ha-yeon replied with a nonchalant tone. Si-woo gave an awkward smile. He hadn’t expected her to cut it all off like this…

“Have you ever heard the saying, ‘A body is not more precious than a parent’?”

“You’re not one to talk, considering you walk around having changed your gender. Be glad you’re not dead. If you went to heaven, your ancestors would probably be clutching their necks with high blood pressure.”

Si-woo couldn’t argue with that, so he just smiled.

Well, having short hair made it easier to wear a wig, so he decided it was better this way. There wasn’t a special reason he was growing his hair out anyway.

For a while, Ha-yeon focused silently on cutting his hair. Looking at her through the mirror, she had a quite serious expression.

“What are you staring at?”

Si-woo thought she wouldn’t notice because she was concentrating, but Ha-yeon asked without taking her eyes off her work.