Beast, Blue Blood - Chapter 76

Chapter 76

“Your era’s attire?”

When Yeon-ha asked, Ha-yeon nodded.

“Yes. Most of the people here were born in different eras. But neither Hisha nor I have seen what anyone looked like back then. It would be boring if everyone just wore their era’s attire, so how about we draw lots to decide who wears what?”

Yeon-ha laughed and stood up.

“Sounds good. That would be fun.”

Then, she tore the paper in an analog fashion to create lots and distributed one to each person.

“People who are not here will have their lots drawn for them.”

Each person checked their result, and Kyu-hwa, with Emily’s help, checked her own results.

[I drew Yeon-ha’s. What should Yeon-ha wear?]

“School uniform. Aunt Yeon-ha was a high school student when she got infected.”

Ha-yeon answered.

[School uniform? Do you know how old I am now?]

Kyu-hwa said, astounded. Ha-yeon shrugged.

“It’s okay. You’re still you, mom.”

[No, it’s not even possible by appearance age. I was already thirty-one when I got infected.]

Meanwhile, Yeon-ha unfolded her paper.

“I’m Tauga. Who is Ivan?”

Everyone shared who they drew and buzzed around asking the owner if they didn’t have information about that era. Amidst this, Si-woo looked at his own paper.

<Selena>

Si-woo held up the paper and spoke.

“I drew myself.”

Ha-yeon turned around.

“Whoever drew themselves should wear their own era’s attire.”

Then Ha-yeon turned to answer other people’s questions. Si-woo looked around and asked.

“Is there anyone who wants to swap? I’m okay with anything.”

No one responded. Everyone was too busy checking what they had drawn to hear his question. Si-woo sighed and lowered his hand.

As the eldest… He was, in fact, the eldest.

* * *

The smoke from the cigarette drifted away.

Si-woo, leaning against the terrace railing, exhaled cigarette smoke.

Laughter and voices murmured from inside the house. The soft light spilling out from inside cast a dreamy aura over the terrace decorated with flower pots.

The sky in the suburbs was filled with stars, and the sound of a stream flowing somewhere could be heard. It was a place where the thoughts of the city felt distant and faint.

He hadn’t returned to this land for a very long time since leaving Joseon. Although the Ivanov Clan’s stronghold was on the Isle of Aran in the Atlantic Ocean, he had no particular reason to come to Korea, he had avoided it himself. He only decided to return after everything in his time had become nothing but a historical legacy, many centuries later.

At that moment, the glass door of the terrace opened from behind, and Eugene stepped out.

“Can I borrow a light?”

Si-woo handed over the lighter, and while Eugene lit her cigarette, he asked.

“Who did you draw?”

“Hero.”

If it’s Hero, that would be from the late Roman Empire.

Si-woo extended his own lot and spoke.

“Let’s switch.”

Eugene exhaled smoke and looked at Si-woo.

“Sorry, but I’ll have to decline. I want to try wearing a toga dyed in Tyrian purple.”

“Isn’t that something only emperors wear?”

“It’s not like there are any strict rules we have to follow, right?”

As expected, Eugene didn’t seem like she was going to swap, so Si-woo gave up. Eugene then looked at Si-woo, still dressed flawlessly as Selena from head to toe, and remarked.

“You don’t seem very keen on wearing Joseon-era clothes.”

Si-woo shrugged slightly.

“Back then, I was a man. I’m confused about which attire I should be wearing.”

“You’re talking as if you’re not a man now.”

Si-woo gave a slightly awkward smile.

“I’ve been meaning to ask, where does the director’s certainty come from that I don’t want to be a woman? I’ve looked like this long before you were even born.”

“You give off the vibe of someone in a Halloween costume. You’re just so well-disguised that it looks real.”

Eugene added, cigarette still in her mouth.

“The question is ‘why.’”

Si-woo sighed lightly but didn’t say anything more. At that moment, the door opened, and this time, Tauga came out.

“Mind if I have one?”

Si-woo took out a cigarette from the pack and handed it over. As he lit it for him, Tauga bowed his head to light the cigarette.

The two of them seemed quite close. Both being adoptees, the order might not matter, but since Si-woo was Alex’s first client, and Tauga the second, their proximity to each other’s arrival made them seem closer than the other adoptees.

“I didn’t know you smoked, Colonel.”

Eugene said.

Tauga exhaled smoke and replied.

“Occasionally. It’s not like I can get lung cancer.”

“That’s one good thing about being a Luax.”

Eugene added.

Si-woo responded with an incredulous look.

“Is that the only advantage of being a Luax?”

“Exactly. Good thing it wasn’t a real virus they developed.”

Eugene said casually, and Si-woo shook his head. As they were having this light conversation, Emily opened the terrace door and spoke without stepping outside.

“Are you guys smoking?”

Si-woo glanced at the three of them, including himself, and shrugged.

“It’s the mystery of cigarettes. When one person smokes, others just naturally gather.”

“Dessert is ready, so come inside.”

With that, Emily closed the door and went back inside. Si-woo pointed toward the door with the hand holding the cigarette.

“Does Emily still dislike you?”

Tauga didn’t answer but gave a look that said, ‘What can you do?’ Taking the cue, Eugene spoke up.

“I was just wondering about that. I’ve noticed she seems to avoid you, and I’m curious about the reason.”

Eugene had noticed Emily’s discomfort around Tauga a few times but hadn’t found the right moment to ask.

Si-woo looked at Tauga.

“Can I tell her?”

Tauga nodded, indicating it didn’t matter, so Si-woo spoke.

“Tauga once rose to the rank of ‘Cherbi,’ the commander of the Mongol Khan’s personal guard, the ‘Keshik.’ I don’t know if you’re familiar with Mongolian history, but it’s an incredibly prestigious position.”

But Eugene still didn’t quite understand. What did that have to do with Emily disliking him?

Si-woo continued speaking.

“Emily’s village was massacred by invaders. Emily was there during that attack. When she woke up in a pile of corpses, she was the only one left alive.”

Then Si-woo shrugged.

“It’s only natural that she wouldn’t like Tauga, who was a warrior of conquest.”

This was the first time Eugene heard about how Emily became a vampire.

Emily was a kind and devoted housekeeper, but she was more reserved than expected and rarely talked about herself. She was so unobtrusive that even Eugene, who was generally very cautious and suspicious, sometimes forgot she was in the same space.

Soon, Eugene spoke.

“When it comes to conquest, isn’t there another person in this house who can’t be left out?”

She said this because Ivan and Emily got along fairly well.

“Mr. Ivanov didn’t indulge in unnecessary massacres or destruction during his conquests. He also harbors some regrets. But in Tauga’s case…”

As he spoke, Si-woo pointed at Tauga. In response, Tauga, with a blank expression, spoke.

“I have no doubts about what the king did.”

Si-woo smiled with a mix of resignation.

“You see? Tauga was killed while trying to protect the king from an assassin when he was still human. Whether fortunate or unfortunate, the assassin was a vampire, but this fool continued to protect the king even after becoming a vampire.”

Tauga’s expression still conveyed that he believed it was the natural thing to do.

“Until the king became uncomfortable with having an immortal shadow guard and decided to discard him.”

The king ordered the other guards to take Tauga to a deserted plain. But Tauga didn’t resist. Even though he had more than enough power to do so, it was as if he had long accepted the fate of a discarded dog.

Si-woo sighed, perhaps thinking Tauga was foolish, and continued.

“If Captain Alex hadn’t happened to pass by and picked him up, Tauga would have calmly accepted his death. Captain Alex said he found it odd that a vampire would allow himself to be killed so easily by humans, so he picked him up.”

“And how about you, CEO?”

Eugene asked, looking at Si-woo.

“How did you become Captain Alex’s client?”

“This one is…”

As Tauga began to speak, Si-woo took his hand off the railing.

“Let’s go inside. We should at least have dessert.”

Eugene looked at Tauga, but he only shrugged slightly, as if to say he didn’t have the right to speak. Then Tauga walked toward the door with Si-woo. Eugene watched the two men’s backs and called out.

“CEO.”

Si-woo turned back at the terrace door.

“Why do I think the CEO doesn’t want to be a real woman?”

After asking, Eugene lifted the hand holding his cigarette.

“It’s because of your nails.”

At that, Si-woo looked at his nails. They were neatly trimmed and clean, without any special features. He looked back at Eugene.

“What about my nails?”

“I’ve never seen you put anything on them, CEO.”

“So what?”

Si-woo still didn’t understand and asked again.

“Unless you’re a woman who doesn’t care about appearances at all, it’s strange for someone like you, who cares about how they present themselves, to completely ignore their nails. Women are creatures that are beautiful right down to their fingertips.”

Even with that explanation, it didn’t make much sense to Si-woo. Was that enough for Eugene to be sure that Si-woo didn’t want to be a woman?

Seeing the disbelief on Si-woo’s face, Eugene smiled as if she had expected this reaction and spoke again.

“Go on inside first.”

Not wanting to press Eugene for further explanation, Si-woo didn’t ask any more questions and went inside with Tauga. As they walked, Ha-yeon approached from the end of the hallway and asked.

“Is there someone outside?”

“Director Eugene.”

Si-woo replied.

Ha-yeon passed by them and went out to the terrace. Si-woo glanced at her back and then continued walking. Tauga then asked.

“Is there something going on between you and Miss Ha-yeon?”

Si-woo was startled but pretended to be unaffected as he replied calmly.

“What do you mean?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“Then why ask?”

“You seem different. You and the young lady.”

Indeed, his fellow client brother had a sharp intuition—perhaps too sharp.

“There’s nothing different.”

With that, Si-woo kept walking. Behind him, Tauga murmured.

“You still seem different.”

Suddenly, Si-woo stopped as if he had just remembered something and turned to say something, but Tauga spoke first.

“I won’t swap with you. Miss Ha-yeon said swapping slips is forbidden. It defeats the purpose of drawing lots.”

Si-woo shook his head and walked on ahead.