#211
In truth, even the thought that he might be the cause was incredibly arrogant. Yoon Pa-ran could be in a bad mood due to something completely unrelated to him.
Though it was merely a conjecture, Dan Joo-hyuk quickly became anxious. The fact that something unknown to him had happened to Yoon Pa-ran.
At that moment, Yoon Pa-ran, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke.
“What about you?”
“Pardon?”
“What have you been busy with?”
Though still looking out the window, it was clearly a question directed at him.
Dan Joo-hyuk quickly smiled and turned to Yoon Pa-ran. He still didn’t turn his head, but Dan acted with the awareness that his face would be reflected in the window.
By the way, would it be alright to mention this now?
After glancing at Yoon Pa-ran once more, Dan Joo-hyuk began speaking as nonchalantly as possible.
“I think I’ll need to go to Russia this evening.”
“To Russia?”
Yoon Pa-ran finally turned his head abruptly. A somewhat surprised expression was visible, as if the statement was unexpected.
Facing that white face, Dan Joo-hyuk felt his thirst somewhat quenched.
“This time it’s an unofficial entry. Only you know about it, Yoon Pa-ran-ssi.”
Forgetting his awkward behavior due to his strange mood, Yoon Pa-ran stared directly at Dan Joo-hyuk.
What’s an unofficial entry? Is he planning to go incognito?
Thinking about it, this seemed entirely possible for Dan Joo-hyuk. It wouldn’t be surprising if he even owned a private plane.
More curiously though, something else came to mind first.
“…Are you going with Hunter Heo Sang-yeon?”
“No. I’m going to entrust your security to Hunter Heo while I’m away.”
“Is that so?”
Why did I ask that first?
Yoon Pa-ran frowned slightly at the words that had escaped without his awareness. Misinterpreting this reaction, Dan Joo-hyuk gently continued.
“Although Hunter Heo might not be entirely reliable, he’s in his right mind now, so it should be fine.”
“Hmm…”
Dan Joo-hyuk was probably the only person who would call an S-rank hunter unreliable.
Since Yoon Pa-ran hadn’t frowned for that reason, he simply nodded silently.
“Or, would you like to come with me?”
Then Dan Joo-hyuk teased him with his usual grin.
For the first time, Yoon Pa-ran was slightly tempted by the joke.
“…No.”
But he quickly came to his senses. He didn’t want to interfere with the business of someone who needed to travel to Russia incognito.
So was he discussing this matter with Heo Sang-yeon earlier?
Why am I so curious about these things?
“…I see.”
Dan Joo-hyuk barely managed to respond while watching Yoon Pa-ran’s outright refusal. In truth, it was only half a joke, but Yoon Pa-ran didn’t seem to notice.
Even so, the rejection was quite cold. Suddenly, he didn’t feel like going to Russia anymore, which was troublesome.
Perhaps the news of him going far away was actually welcome to Yoon Pa-ran.
“Why are you going to Russia?”
“They say the Tsar is dying. I want to look for clues in his palace. It seems Kim Sang-deok was the main culprit who delivered that energy to the Tsar.”
“Hunter Kim Sang-deok? …I see.”
While his instincts screamed that he should go to Russia, he kept hesitating. When it came to Yoon Pa-ran, his rationality had long since malfunctioned and was useless.
More precisely, he simply didn’t want to be apart from Yoon Pa-ran.
“Have a safe trip.”
“I will.”
Unfortunately, during this conversation, the car arrived near Yoon Pa-ran’s orphanage. Today, the time spent with Yoon Pa-ran felt especially short, and Dan Joo-hyuk didn’t want to let him go just yet.
“Ah.”
Fortunately, Yoon Pa-ran rummaged through his pocket as if he had forgotten something.
“There’s something strange.”
“What is it?”
Dan Joo-hyuk, who had parked the car, leaned his arm on the passenger seat and moved closer to Yoon Pa-ran.
In response, Yoon Pa-ran backed away slightly and held out a piece of paper.
“This.”
Dan Joo-hyuk deliberately ignored the noticeable way Yoon Pa-ran had moved back.
“Min-woong’s friend asked him to go together.”
“…Min-woong?”
The following words were somewhat puzzling. Dan Joo-hyuk raised his eyebrow crookedly as he unfolded the paper, not hiding his suspicion.
Even at a glance, the wording and location were highly suspicious. It seemed like one of those cult organizations that had been proliferating recently.
“This is a strange place for children to go.”
Min-woong was already a soft-hearted baby who resembled Yoon Pa-ran. With heightened concern, Dan Joo-hyuk seriously examined the address on the paper.
“After asking around a bit, I found out that Min-woong’s friend’s parents have already been there, and now they’re trying to take other children too.”
“That’s suspicious.”
“Well, they say it’s a place good for children to play. I’ve actually met the parents, and I haven’t noticed anything particularly strange about them so far.”
Yoon Pa-ran calmly explained what he had learned since yesterday.
In fact, he only thought to investigate because Min-woong had brought that paper. Sehee’s parents had simply told the orphanage director they were going to a pension in Gangwon Province.
That was when Yoon Pa-ran began to seriously suspect something. Why hide the true nature of such an unusual destination?
“Min-woong, um…”
Just then, Dan Joo-hyuk started to say something but closed his mouth.
Since it was obvious he was worried about Min-woong being targeted because of him, Yoon Pa-ran spoke first.
“I also wondered if they were targeting Min-woong because he’s my brother, but that’s not the case.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. There are more than five children they’ve invited, and they’re also encouraging the children’s parents to come if possible. Our director can’t leave her post, so she said it would be fine to just send Min-woong.”
“I’d think everyone would find this suspicious.”
After the recent Great Gate incident, people’s awareness of suspicious organizations like cults had increased. So Yoon Pa-ran had expected everyone to notice that such things were suspicious.
However, contrary to expectations, people thought simplistically.
“Apparently, they give quite expensive gifts to those who go there. Sehee’s parents also thought they could just receive the gift and leave afterward.”
“…So carelessly?”
“Yeah. It seems they actually brought back something quite valuable as a prize. So many people are quite tempted.”
It was definitely careless thinking. However, on the other hand, Yoon Pa-ran could somewhat understand their mindset.
When people are desperate for money, they tend to be drawn to such things.
“I’ll look into it more thoroughly.”
“I appreciate it.”
Hearing Dan Joo-hyuk’s reliable voice brought some relief. But that was short-lived, as concern for him soon took precedence.
Infiltrating the Tsar’s palace, of all places?
“Do you really have to go to Russia?”
“…Yes.”
Though he hesitated a bit, Dan Joo-hyuk answered firmly. Given this response, it must be a necessary task, but Yoon Pa-ran still worried it might be reckless.
Suddenly, a subtle thought brushed against Yoon Pa-ran’s mind.
He asks me to respond to his confession, yet he suddenly announces he’s going to Russia.
Yoon Pa-ran hastily suppressed the strange emotion that welled up. He felt like he might say something unnecessary to a busy person, especially since he’d only been contemplating the matter anyway.
On the other hand, he also realized this gave him time to properly think about the confession. Once Dan Joo-hyuk returned safely from Russia, they could have a thorough conversation then.
“…Take care.”
“I will.”
After staring at Dan Joo-hyuk’s gently smiling face, Yoon Pa-ran quickly turned his head away.
Strangely, his heart was racing, making it difficult to look directly at Dan Joo-hyuk’s face.
❖ ❖ ❖
That evening.
Dan Joo-hyuk hurriedly headed to an airfield on the outskirts of Seoul. It wasn’t difficult to arrange means for an illegal entry.
The difficult part, as expected, was leaving Yoon Pa-ran behind. Though he had entrusted him to Heo Sang-yeon, he was concerned that other S-ranks might set their sights on him.
After agonizing three times about whether he should really go, as if having a seizure, Dan Joo-hyuk picked up his cell phone.
The call to Yoon Pa-ran connected immediately.
—Hello?
“What are you doing?”
—Just looking after my siblings. Why?
I miss you.
The words he had said jokingly several times strangely caught on the tip of his tongue and wouldn’t come out.
The deeper his feelings grew, the more difficult it became to act nonchalant.
“I found out about what we discussed earlier and have something to tell you.”
In the end, it was another plausible excuse.
“First of all, the buildings at that address don’t have any major issues on paper. They’re registered as a food service business and seem to actually operate. There have also been no suspicious disappearances in the area.”
—Is that so…?
Since it was still just a preliminary investigation, there wasn’t much he could actually share. Nevertheless, Yoon Pa-ran accepted this flimsy excuse.
“I’ll send you a few photos. The building does look rather strange.”
—Okay. Thanks.
As soon as the matter was concluded, Yoon Pa-ran showed signs of ending the call.
Boarding the plane, Dan Joo-hyuk desperately held onto Yoon Pa-ran.
“…I’ll be careful, as you said, Yoon Pa-ran-ssi.”
—Have a safe trip.
After hanging up, a sigh escaped automatically.
Given the situation, the only option was to return as quickly as possible.
❖ ❖ ❖
—…I’ll be careful, as you said, Yoon Pa-ran-ssi.
“Have a safe trip.”
As soon as the call ended, Yoon Pa-ran vigorously rubbed his cheeks. He couldn’t understand why Dan Joo-hyuk’s words made him feel so ticklish.
Even though he hadn’t seen Dan Joo-hyuk’s face this time, his heart strangely raced.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
