Beast, Blue Blood - Chapter 71

Chapter 71

Si-woo looked at Ha-yeon with a newfound gaze. He had assumed that Ha-yeon found the interference of adults annoying, but it seemed that Ha-yeon had already grown into someone who thought about her own future.

“You left Joseon because you met my father, right?”

Ha-yeon asked at that moment. Si-woo began eating as he answered.

“Yes. I followed Captain Alex to ISLE.”

ISLE was once an island where the Ivanov clan had settled. It had no specific name and was simply called ‘ISLE.’ Since it was a place where vampires lived, they deliberately avoided naming it for the sake of secrecy, and everyone just called it ‘that island,’ which eventually stuck. The company’s name, ISLE, was an acronym for ‘International Sky League Enterprise,’ but it seemed that the name was derived from the island, as it was pronounced the same way.

“And I met Mr. Ivanov on ISLE as well.”

Si-woo seemed to be reminiscing about that time, and from the warmth in his eyes, it appeared to be a fond memory. Well, it was the moment when he found a family to be with, so it had to be a good memory.

As Ha-yeon thought about this, a question suddenly arose in her mind.

‘Then what happened to your original family?’

Of course, they probably weren’t alive anymore, but Si-woo must have had birth parents, after all. So, she looked up and asked.

“What happened to your family? Your original family?”

It seemed as if Si-woo’s spoon had momentarily paused, but whether it was an illusion or not, he calmly responded.

“My parents had already passed away before I left for ISLE.”

“Then…”

“This is delicious. Do you come here often?”

Si-woo changed the subject, clearly on purpose.

“Well, sometimes.”

Ha-yeon gave a vague answer.

She wasn’t the type to push someone into revealing something they didn’t want to share, so she didn’t ask further. However, she had to admit that Si-woo seemed to have many secrets.

* * *

After finishing their meal and exchanging some meaningless conversation, they stood up. Ha-yeon spoke up.

“I’ll pay for this. I can at least cover something like this.”

Si-woo didn’t say much and just smiled faintly.

“Thank you for the meal.”

After settling the bill and stepping outside, Si-woo was standing by the roadside, smoking a cigarette. Ha-yeon approached him.

“Give me one too.”

Si-woo looked at her, somewhat surprised.

“Do you smoke?”

“Occasionally.”

Si-woo glanced at the cigarette pack he was holding and offered it to Ha-yeon. She took one and placed it in her mouth. Si-woo then handed her a lighter.

“Time really flies. I never thought a day would come when I’d be sharing a cigarette with you.”

Si-woo remarked.

Ha-yeon exhaled a puff of smoke.

“You’ve probably seen plenty of people who were born later than you but died earlier.”

“Fortunately, that’s not something you need to worry about.”

Si-woo’s reflection, as he slightly lowered his head and smiled, was mirrored in the puddle under the streetlight. Noticing Ha-yeon staring at him, Si-woo asked.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

Ha-yeon shook her head and looked away.

“It’s nothing.”

Why does he look so handsome?

Of course, Si-woo was objectively handsome, but ‘looking handsome’ was a distinctly different matter. Just like Hisha was nothing more than a well-shaped rock to her.

But didn’t Si-woo dressing as a woman mean he wanted to be one? Her mind grew more tangled.

‘But no matter how I look at him, he doesn’t give off any feminine vibes.’

Even when he was in the appearance of Selena, he only looked like a woman, but his actions, speech, and even his aura didn’t feel feminine at all. The truth was, she hadn’t known Si-woo well enough before to notice, but recently she realized he gave off the impression of someone who lost a bet and was forced to cross-dress as a punishment.

Perhaps she was just thinking what she wanted to think.

“What do you think of cutting your hair?”

Ha-yeon asked, trying to change the subject.

“It’s more convenient than I expected.”

“It suits you.”

But something about that comment seemed off, as Si-woo stared at her intently, prompting Ha-yeon to ask.

“What is it?”

“It’s just unusual to hear you compliment me, Miss.”

Ha-yeon glanced to the side as if in thought, then looked back at Si-woo and casually said.

“I think you’re handsome. Almost a waste for you to go around in drag.”

With that, she flicked her cigarette butt away.

“Well, if you walked around like this, you’d probably be constantly harassed by women, so maybe it’s for the best.”

Feeling that her compliment wasn’t enough, she added.

“You’re also the one who built ISLE up to this point, so I think you’re quite capable.”

Ha-yeon then walked down the sidewalk and got into the car.

“It’s not sticking well in my mouth since I don’t usually smoke. You finish it before getting in.”

“…”

Si-woo stood there for a moment, looking at the cigarette burning down to the ash, almost ready to drop. He suddenly snapped out of it, flicked the cigarette away, and got into the car, feeling as though he had been entranced by a goblin.

* * *

“I could take you home.”

Si-woo offered, standing in front of the car on the roadside.

“If you drive a car like this in my neighborhood, people will think you’re a drug dealer.”

Without looking back twice, Ha-yeon walked away. As expected, she was cool.

Watching her disappear, Jerome, who had gotten out of the car and was waiting, asked.

“So, did it go well?”

“She must have seen the article.”

“Oh, dear…”

Jerome couldn’t hide the sound of his regret. He seemed to have a rough idea of what might have happened, given Ha-yeon’s personality. Then, with a broad grin, Jerome joked.

“But standing next to Miss Ha-yeon, you two look so close in age now that I bet people would believe it if I told them you were her boyfriend.”

Knowing that Jerome was a descendant of the Isle residents and had a natural camaraderie with the clan members, including Si-woo, he understood that Jerome’s comments were made in jest without any deeper meaning.

Si-woo gave a faint smile.

“That’s an overly generous misunderstanding.”

* * *

“Selena.”

Si-woo heard someone calling and turned around.

“Senator.”

Approaching from down the hallway was a woman in her fifties, dressed in a navy blue two-piece suit. It was Beatrix Koch, the first Luax to become a federal senator since the Luax’s integration into human society.

She had the kind and gentle appearance of the neighborly lady who bakes cookies, but anyone who knew Koch wouldn’t even mention the ‘K’ in ‘cookie’ around her. Koch gave a somewhat apologetic smile as she asked.

“Aren’t you tired of being called in for these national audits?”

Si-woo smiled slightly.

“Not particularly.”

There were still conservative senators who showed visible discomfort whenever he appeared, but watching that was oddly amusing. Koch gave a faintly grim smile.

“Smiling like that makes you seem like a villain.”

“Only perceptive people like you would say that, Senator.”

Koch had been a promising politician even when she was human, but what helped her become the first Luax senator was largely her appearance, which made her look like she was in her mid-fifties. Although Koch was much younger than Si-woo, her not overly youthful appearance made her seem trustworthy enough to handle the nation’s affairs in the eyes of humans.

Koch suddenly became serious.

“Be careful. ISLE has grown too big. Everyone’s keeping a close watch.”

Over the past 20 years, many competitors targeting the Luax sector have emerged, but none has been able to overtake ISLE, which had established itself as a leader with Flos.

“There’s a rumor going around that ISLE is trying to establish a Luax kingdom.”

Koch said. Si-woo chuckled.

“That’s a typical conspiracy theory.”

They had been gradually spinning off subsidiaries to avoid being forcibly broken up, but such rumors had been circulating for quite some time.

“Senator, you shouldn’t support us too openly. You might attract unwanted attention.”

“Is there any politician who doesn’t attract some hate?”

Si-woo smiled at her nonchalant remark, and Koch added.

“But I’m not on anyone’s side. I’m on the side of peace.”

“As are we.”

“Of course. Anyway, I’ll be off. See you later.”

“Take care.”

Si-woo watched Koch walk away before turning back.

* * *

‘Really, I must’ve been under some sort of spell.’

Ha-yeon thought to herself.

‘What was I trying to confirm by going into the lab? I already knew it had nothing to do with the death case.’

She realized she was more gullible than she had thought. In a world flooded with fake news, she needed to keep her wits about her. She had briefly lost her head, mistakenly thinking she smelled blood on Si-woo.

Even if Si-woo had drunk blood, it wasn’t as if he had committed the crime of attacking a human and sucking their blood.

Ha-yeon parked her car at ISLE’s headquarters and got out. On her way up to meet Si-woo, she ran into Jerome and asked.

“Where’s Si-woo? He’s not answering his phone.”

Jerome looked puzzled.

“Who’s Si-woo?”

The fact that Jerome, one of the capable members of the ISLE executive team, didn’t know this shocked Ha-yeon even more. She asked again.

“You don’t even know your boss’ real name?”

“The CEO?”

“Yes.”

“Oh…”

From the moment they first met, Selena was simply Selena. Ha-yeon had never thought to question whether there might be another name. Well, she had vaguely considered it, but since the CEO was known as “Selena” everywhere and to everyone, she hadn’t felt the need to dig deeper.

“Where is he?”

Ha-yeon asked again, snapping Jerome out of his thoughts.

“Oh, he went to the national audit.”

Since the CEO’s secretarial team was large, Jerome wasn’t always the one accompanying Si-woo.

“Really?”

Ha-yeon said, realizing they must have missed each other since he wasn’t answering his phone.

“Alright, I’ll be going then.”

As Ha-yeon walked away, Jerome murmured to himself.

“Si-woo?”

Meanwhile, as Ha-yeon walked down the corridor, she spotted Eugene heading somewhere and approached her.

“Was it just Si-woo who went?”

She asked directly, skipping any pleasantries. Eugene looked her up and down before responding.

“It’s nice to see you too, Miss.”