Beast, Blue Blood - Chapter 69

Chapter 69

“Hello?”

At the sudden voice, Ha-yeon lifted her eyes from the major textbook she was looking at on her pad. Noticing that there was no one around, she was momentarily unsure who had spoken but then saw a familiar face looking at her from a short distance away.

As Ha-yeon seemed to recognize him, the man approached, sat down in front of her, and placed his legs up on the deep window ledge.

“Your hearing is quite good for a human. I spoke from a distance, but you heard me.”

It was a Luax, the one Myung-jin had mentioned last time.

Was his name Joo-hwan?

Sitting cross-legged with his arm resting on one knee and his temple touched, Ha-yeon looked at him with only her eyes raised before straightening her posture to properly face him.

“I was just looking.”

Though she spoke nonchalantly, her tone seemed to carry a ‘No solicitors’ sign, but Joo-hwan smiled warmly.

“Is that so? Do you like my face too?”

“……”

Feeling that she didn’t want to engage, Ha-yeon glanced down at the pad resting on her lap. Unfortunately, Myung-jin was in class, leaving her alone. If Myung-jin had been there, she would have naturally redirected Joo-hwan’s attention.

Joo-hwan made a sound of contemplation and spoke.

“You’re as indifferent as the rumors say.”

“Shouldn’t it be interpreted as not wanting to talk much?”

“Is that so?”

Joo-hwan seemed to respond as if he had never encountered someone like this before.

“Yes.”

Ha-yeon answered bluntly, but Joo-hwan continued to smile with a twinkle in his eye.

“You’re refreshing. There aren’t many like you.”

Ha-yeon couldn’t hide her astonishment and looked at him.

‘What is this strange prince syndrome?’

Normally, her personality would have led her to tell him to go away, but she didn’t want to draw attention at school, especially with a Luax.

“My name is Kim Joo-hwan.”

Joo-hwan spoke as if he had no intention of leaving.

“You’re Kate, right? It’s a pretty name.”

“Thank you.”

That comment somehow sounded like ‘go away,’ but Joo-hwan persisted.

“But you don’t look like a Kate.”

“What does a Kate look like?”

“Not like you.”

He seemed like a frivolous person. So, Ha-yeon let out a small laugh and looked back down at her pad. Joo-hwan then muttered with an air of curiosity.

“You’re a human, but you don’t seem to be afraid of me.”

“It doesn’t seem like the women around you are very afraid either.”

Ha-yeon replied without lifting her gaze.

“That’s the remarkable thing about women. Even if they’re scared, they’re attracted.”

When Ha-yeon looked back at Joo-hwan, he smiled broadly.

“Men are different. When hunting in the wild, the ability to sense danger is directly related to survival. Men become vigilant immediately when they sense danger. But women, on the other hand, tend to confront that danger head-on and jump into it. It’s quite bold. I sometimes wonder what kind of gene makes women like that.”

Ha-yeon raised one eyebrow.

“I feel like you’re going to tell me to buy some pottery next time.”

Joo-hwan laughed.

“Would you like to?”

Eventually, Ha-yeon turned off the pad. She put it into her backpack and got down from the window ledge.

“Excuse me for leaving first.”

Without looking back, she walked away.

“Just wondering…”

Suddenly, Joo-hwan’s tone became serious from behind, causing Ha-yeon to turn around unconsciously. Joo-hwan wore a languid smile as if he had something on his mind.

“It’s instinctively knowing that something dangerous is worth it.”

Regardless, Ha-yeon turned back and walked away. She couldn’t understand why there were so many strange people in the world.

* * *

“Already home?”

Ha-yeon asked when she saw Si-woo, who had just arrived home. Today, dressed as Selena, he wore a blouse with an eye-scorching luxury pattern, dress pants, and a coat.

Even with an alpha male dressed as a woman, it was indeed a skill to appear convincingly feminine. Although his inhuman aura immediately revealed him as a Luax, if you looked at it from a broader perspective, it was the oddity on this side.

“Didn’t you go home?”

Si-woo asked, surprised to see Ha-yeon. Sitting at the island table, Ha-yeon shrugged.

“It’s closer this way.”

“You come here often these days.”

Ha-yeon looked at Si-woo as if questioning what he meant.

“Didn’t you say I should come often?”

“I was just wondering what made you change since you never seemed to acknowledge anything.”

Ha-yeon laughed lightly.

“Were you pouting? How cute.”

She then took her cup and headed to the kitchen. Si-woo, stunned, watched her retreating figure.

He never expected to be called cute at his age. Considering that the one saying it was several years younger…

But the other person was Ha-yeon Yachthund. There was no benefit in pressing further.

At that moment, Ha-yeon placed the cup in the kitchen and came back. Si-woo, coming in, spoke.

“If the young lady had continued living upstairs, you wouldn’t have had to travel back and forth.”

As Ha-yeon passed by, she extended her palm.

“Reflexive nagging.”

She then sat back down on the stool at the island and put on her headphones. Si-woo chuckled and asked.

“Have you had dinner?”

Instead of answering, loud music played from the headphones.

“Miss.”

Si-woo called her, but Ha-yeon didn’t respond, perhaps because of the music. He approached her and removed one side of the headphones.

“Miss.”

At the low voice ringing in her ear, Ha-yeon was startled and turned around. At that moment, a scraping sound was heard as the chair was moved to the floor.

“What?”

Her voice sounded so low that it was eerie.

Realizing he might have startled her, Si-woo took a step back.

“I asked if you had dinner.”

“No, I haven’t.”

After answering, Ha-yeon fiddled with her ears with a frown. The mismatch between her appearance and voice seemed excessive enough to warrant a correction.

Ha-yeon put her headphones back on and turned to face forward. With her hair tied up, Si-woo could see the back of her neck.

Suddenly, the fact that Ha-yeon was half-human came to mind.

One of the drawbacks of living by drinking blood was being particularly sensitive to the smell of blood. Modern Luax, who lived on only Flos, were relatively insensitive to the smell of blood, but those who continued to drink blood had senses as sharp as a predator in the wild, hunting for prey.

Suddenly, there was a ringing in his ears.

‘The tinnitus is getting worse.’

It hadn’t been so bad recently, but it seemed the frequency had increased lately, possibly due to the recent extensive study of Lancenum-related materials.

Soon, he would be able to catch that bastard. And it would be revenge after six hundred years. For the one who killed the town.

“I’ll be right back after a quick wash.”

Si-woo said and turned around.

“Wait a moment.”

Suddenly, Ha-yeon stood up and tugged at his collar. As Ha-yeon moved closer, Si-woo froze.

The warm, soft body in his arms smelled fragrant.

At that moment, Ha-yeon, as if inspecting whether he had been drinking, held onto the collar and sniffed before looking up at him.

“Did you get hurt? I smell blood.”

It was important to remember that Ha-yeon was half-human and half-Luax.

Si-woo laughed.

“No.”

He then turned around casually. Behind him, Ha-yeon furrowed her brows.

‘Why is this so natural?’

It seemed suspicious instead. But…

Ha-yeon scratched the back of her head.

‘It must be my imagination.’

After all, it was Si-woo, the CEO of ISLE, the Flos development company, so he wouldn’t be drinking blood.

On the other hand, Si-woo, walking away, felt a chill run down his spine.

It seemed the smell of blood couldn’t be covered even with cigarettes.

Modern Luax could boldly say they were neither the old vampires nor monsters, thanks to drinking Flos instead of blood. But Si-woo couldn’t say that. Whether drinking blood was voluntary or involuntary.

Especially with Ha-yeon, he couldn’t bring himself to confess that he was ‘different’ from her clan members.

At that moment, Ha-yeon watched Si-woo disappear into the room with a serious expression.

* * *

Ha-yeon slung her backpack over her shoulders and tightened the straps.

In front of her was a high wall.

She glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then crouched down and jumped. She did a double rotation in mid-air and landed lightly on the other side of the wall.

When she entered the Fuger-Dulloch mansion to rescue Hisha, she was nervous because she wasn’t used to sneaking in. Now, it felt like entering her own home.

Since it was ISLE’s research facility, calling it ‘home’ might be partly accurate.

If she told Si-woo or his secretary, they would certainly show her the research facility, but if there were things they were truly hiding, they wouldn’t show those.

Of course, she knew they weren’t people who would hide anything dishonorable, but she wanted to see with her own eyes that there were no problems.

Fortunately, there was a research facility in Paju, so she could visit it quickly.

She crossed the large garden, used the stolen key card to enter the building, and cautiously made her way inside. The security was not as stringent as that of a national facility. Thinking about it, it was just a simple research lab.

But then, a flash of light suddenly engulfed her.

“Who’s there!”

* * *

“Your name?”

Ha-yeon kept her mouth tightly shut. The detective on the other side of the desk looked her up and down.

“Let’s finish this quickly and go home. I have to get back to my fox-like wife and rabbit-like children.”

At those words, Ha-yeon spoke up as if she had been waiting for the chance.

“I’ve always been curious about that proposition. If the wife is a fox and the children are rabbits, does that mean the wife eats the children?”

The detective’s eyes turned fierce.

“Are you joking with me right now?”

Was this a serious question?

Ha-yeon found it unpleasant but couldn’t say much since she was the one at fault.

There was no one she could contact. Not her family or clan members. Being caught sneaking into the research lab, what could she say?

The fact that she had entered ISLE, her clan’s company, made her somewhat complacent. She had acted somewhat carelessly, thinking it was her own clan’s facility.

The guards were all Luax, so escape was impossible. Of course, it wasn’t impossible to cause a commotion and flee, but that would make things worse, and news of an intruder would reach the ISLE board, and eventually, Si-woo.

Desperately, Ha-yeon spoke to the detective.

“I’m sorry. I won’t do it again.”

The detective sighed.

“I’d like to overlook this, but it’s not that simple. Do you know where you were trying to enter?”

At that moment, a familiar voice came from the entrance.

“I came from ISLE.”