#112
Yoon Pa-ran let out a faint sigh as he got into the taxi.
“Hah…”
He was currently on his way to the outskirts of the city. Originally, he had planned to sleep a little and move in the afternoon, but his schedule had changed.
As soon as he left Dan Joo-hyuk’s house, Park Jung-hoon called. Thinking he was going to set up their appointment time for the afternoon, Yoon Pa-ran casually answered the phone.
However, unexpectedly, Park Jung-hoon asked in a very troubled voice if they could meet right now. He said he might have another appointment in the afternoon.
‘If you’re busy, we can meet another time.’
There was no need to push it. Yoon Pa-ran was already feeling uneasy because of Dan Joo-hyuk, so he suggested meeting another time.
‘I really need to see you now.’
But Park Jung-hoon was quite insistent. He sounded like someone with an urgent matter.
Yoon Pa-ran was slightly taken aback by his desperation. He had just completely shaken off the after-effects of his injury today, so why was Park Jung-hoon acting like this?
Maybe he was concerned because Yoon Pa-ran had pointed out his decreased skills? That was all Yoon Pa-ran could think of.
Unable to refuse, Yoon Pa-ran ended up hailing a taxi and heading to the address Park Jung-hoon sent. He figured it would be better to finish all his appointments and get a good night’s sleep.
The taxi headed towards an increasingly quiet area.
“…”
From the moment he received the address, Yoon Pa-ran thought it was quite far. Glancing at the time, he left a message for Yoon Seul saying he’d be a bit late.
The car eventually turned onto a winding road halfway up a mountain. The number of other cars on the road gradually decreased.
“Hah…”
The destination turned out to be a neat café located halfway up the mountain.
Despite its secluded location, it was several stories tall. Yoon Pa-ran thought the view from the upper floors must be quite nice.
However, strangely, there was no sign of people from the entrance.
“You’ve arrived.”
For some reason, Park Jung-hoon was already at the café entrance. Since Yoon Pa-ran had seen him as soon as he got out of the taxi, he wasn’t too surprised to see him standing there without making a sound.
However, he did find it a bit odd.
Park Jung-hoon’s expression was much more gentle than when Yoon Pa-ran had seen him in the Gate. Yoon Pa-ran found this relaxed demeanor strange. It was the complete opposite of his attitude during their phone call earlier.
Suddenly, Yoon Pa-ran looked down at his cell phone. He thought he had felt a vibration, but the screen was still dark.
“Let’s go in.”
Park Jung-hoon naturally took the lead and guided Yoon Pa-ran. Yoon Pa-ran put his phone in his pocket and followed him.
The café seemed too quiet, even for having no customers. Even the staff were nowhere to be seen.
“Why is no one here?”
“Well, maybe they all went to the bathroom?”
Bothered by the strange atmosphere, Yoon Pa-ran deliberately asked Park Jung-hoon. However, Park Jung-hoon just shrugged naturally, answering as if he didn’t know either.
Maybe the staff left their posts because there were no customers?
Thinking this, Yoon Pa-ran subtly hardened his expression. Strangely, he kept feeling an odd uneasiness at the back of his head.
The two of them went up to the upper floor of the café.
As they reached the top of the stairs, Yoon Pa-ran’s uneasiness intensified.
“Please sit over there.”
In the spot Park Jung-hoon casually pointed to, someone else was already seated.
“…”
The back of a man’s head in a suit caught Yoon Pa-ran’s eye first. He was sitting upright, seemingly unconcerned about Yoon Pa-ran’s entrance.
Yoon Pa-ran walked slowly towards that table with an unwilling expression. As he got closer, he finally saw the face of a middle-aged man. At least it was someone Yoon Pa-ran didn’t know.
The man wore a gentle smile similar to Park Jung-hoon’s.
“…”
The gaze that met his own only after Yoon Pa-ran had moved forward gave him an odd feeling. Park Jung-hoon belatedly trudged over and sat down next to the middle-aged man.
And then he suddenly fell silent. Without any explanation about this situation.
“What’s this about?”
Yoon Pa-ran remained standing beside the table.
He felt he needed to hear an explanation about this bizarre situation first.
“It’s our first time meeting.”
The middle-aged man finally spoke. His voice was strangely difficult to discern as male or female. And his facial skin was exceptionally white, not matching his age.
To the point where it felt a bit uncanny.
“I’m Kim Tae-jun.”
“…Yoon Pa-ran.”
Yoon Pa-ran answered before he knew it. The name that suddenly came up was quite unexpected.
It was a name he had heard before.
It was mentioned when Dan Joo-hyuk and Heo Sang-yeon were talking recently. This man’s aide had died on the day he came to meet Yoon Pa-ran.
Then this must be the “elder” who had been trying to buy the orphanage’s land.
“Please, sit down.”
As soon as he made this judgment, Yoon Pa-ran plopped down in the seat across from Kim Tae-jun.
“I didn’t hear anything about meeting you today.”
He had been too slow in connecting the obvious pieces of information. It seemed like he had been moving too frantically since the system message appeared.
Maybe Dan Joo-hyuk knew that Park Jung-hoon was related to this guy and that’s why he told him not to go? He thought it was some kind of prank, but it seems there was a reason after all.
Anyway, now that it had come to this, Yoon Pa-ran considered it a good opportunity. If this man continued to target the orphanage, he couldn’t just sit by and do nothing.
Of course, he couldn’t understand why this man had shown up today, and at a meeting Park Jung-hoon had called, no less.
Meaning to ask for an explanation, Yoon Pa-ran looked back at Park Jung-hoon.
“…”
But Park Jung-hoon remained silent. More precisely, his face was exactly the same as when he had sat down earlier.
What was the point of calling someone here and then acting like this?
Yoon Pa-ran didn’t hide his angry expression. He felt incredulous thinking that Park Jung-hoon’s polite behavior inside the Gate had all been a lie.
Just as he was about to blurt out something in his rising anger, Yoon Pa-ran noticed something strange about Park Jung-hoon, whom he had been glaring at continuously.
…Hadn’t Park Jung-hoon not blinked even once this whole time?
Suddenly, goosebumps rose all over his back.
“Do you know Dan Joo-hyuk’s weakness?”
“…What?”
Kim Tae-jun, who was sitting in front, asked something out of the blue. When a startled Yoon Pa-ran turned his head to face Kim Tae-jun, it happened.
The moment their black gazes met, Yoon Pa-ran’s vision strangely spun and he felt dizzy.
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, he felt like his stomach was turning inside out and he became nauseous.
“Answer me.”
“What…”
“What is the curse of the item he brought from Russia?”
“…”
Yoon Pa-ran reflexively raised his hand to cover his mouth. As he received Kim Tae-jun’s questions, information he knew naturally came to mind.
And he felt a sense of crisis, as if this information might spill out of his mouth without him knowing.
Why am I like this?
It was strange. There’s no way he would blurt out such important information just because he was asked a question.
“You’ve been inside Dan Joo-hyuk’s house, is there an entrance other than the main one?”
“…”
The doll-like smile on Kim Tae-jun’s face deepened. Or perhaps it had distorted. Yoon Pa-ran’s vision was suddenly becoming blurry and everything was confusing.
I need to get out of here.
Yoon Pa-ran barely managed to think that. However, contrary to his will to stand up and leave immediately, his body wouldn’t listen.
His whole body felt so heavy that it seemed to be sagging to the floor. His thoughts were also breaking apart as if he had been hit hard on the head.
He felt incredibly powerless and worthless.
His head slowly drooped towards the table. Just as his forehead was about to touch the cold surface ungracefully,
Yoon Pa-ran propped his chin up with his remaining hand to support his body.
“Kuk…”
Whatever this was, he couldn’t just let it happen.
He bit the inside of his cheek. As the metallic taste spread in his mouth, his mind cleared a little.
This wasn’t the first time he had felt powerless inside the Gate.
Each time, Yoon Pa-ran just got up and stood his ground.
So what if he felt powerless? He had to get up to go outside where his family was waiting.
This time too, Yoon Pa-ran barely managed to raise his body by gripping the table. He intentionally didn’t remove the hand covering his mouth.
He only wanted to curse, but strangely, he felt a sense of crisis that unnecessary words might spill out.
“You’re an interesting person.”
Kim Tae-jun continued speaking, seemingly amused by Yoon Pa-ran’s actions.
Only then did Yoon Pa-ran realize something new. Until now, Kim Tae-jun had been speaking in a voice devoid of any emotion, as if he were an inanimate object.
Unfortunately, this faint realization couldn’t continue.
Because Kim Tae-jun suddenly grabbed Yoon Pa-ran’s wrist that was propped on the table.
“Ugh.”
The moment that corpse-like cold hand touched his skin, Yoon Pa-ran’s body staggered and collapsed onto the table.
The nausea intensified and his mind became even hazier. The pain that seemed to climb from his wrist to his nape, choking him, was so severe that he thought it might be better to just faint.
Suddenly, he heard Dan Joo-hyuk’s voice in his ear.
‘…Don’t go meet Hunter Park Jung-hoon.’
As his face flashed through Yoon Pa-ran’s mind, for some reason, his consciousness faintly returned.
“…!”
Thanks to this, Yoon Pa-ran gathered all his remaining strength and shook off Kim Tae-jun’s hand.
“Oh my.”
Compared to the force Yoon Pa-ran used to shake it off, Kim Tae-jun’s hand came off disappointingly easily. As if he hadn’t expected Yoon Pa-ran to be able to shake it off.
Yoon Pa-ran immediately ran urgently towards the stairs he had come up. His vision was still blurry. However, Yoon Pa-ran somehow moved forward, drawing on his instincts.
He felt like that cold hand might grab his nape at any moment.
“Kuk.”
As he hastily took another step, he felt his foot floating in the air.
Having lost his balance on the stairs, Yoon Pa-ran helplessly tumbled down.
