Chapter 102:
“You weren’t happy about taking care of Earth flowers when you were ‘Baek Joo-won,’ but now that you’ve revealed your true identity, you’re changing your tune.”
“Well, I’m less worried now. But that doesn’t mean you’re less precious to me.”
Baek Joo-won stopped talking, his expression surprised. Seo Jae-yi tilted her head, seeing his reaction.
“You’re my benefactor, and I opened this flower shop thanks to you, so of course you’re precious. And you’re going to stay by my side and Guide me? That makes me even happier.”
She didn’t understand why he was so surprised.
“I’m truly grateful to you, Hae-wi. I’m happy to be with you like this. I couldn’t ask for anything more if we can continue like this.”
Seo Jae-yi smiled at him brightly. She meant it.
“Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you slack off. Your ability is too valuable to waste. Let’s put it to good use, now that we’re living together.”
Baek Joo-won let out a sigh, whether it was a lament or something else, at her following words.
He chuckled, dumbfounded.
“You ruined the mood.”
“You’re touched, so it’s fine. Get to work, Hae-wi.”
To stir up his emotions and then act like it was nothing…
This was probably why so many people were drawn to Seo Jae-yi.
It wasn’t just a simple desire to be close to her; she made them covet her.
Kwon Yi-soo, Gong Ju-hyun, and even he were being swayed by her.
The difference was that he, unlike the other two, had a chance to possess her.
“Seo Jae-yi, you haven’t received your daily dose of Guiding yet, have you?”
Baek Joo-won took a step towards her. Seo Jae-yi’s eyes widened at the sudden decrease in distance between them.
“You’re going to do it now? Before we close the shop?”
“Have you already forgotten what I said about Guiding you constantly?”
“But we should be mindful of the time. I have to tend to the customers.”
“I’ll just hold your hand and do it lightly.”
Seo Jae-yi was about to shake her head firmly when…
She suddenly flinched and turned her head.
“Huh?”
Her eyes widened as she looked out the shop window. Baek Joo-won also turned his head, his face contorting slightly.
Kwon Yi-soo was getting out of a black sedan parked in front of the shop.
“What? What’s the Center Head doing here?”
She had thought he might be visiting Haeil Guild, but Kwon Yi-soo was heading straight towards her shop.
Seo Jae-yi was dumbfounded. She had never imagined she would see him here.
Kwon Yi-soo, ignoring her question, glanced around the shop.
“It’s surprisingly intact.”
Pale pink wallpaper that suited a flower shop, colorful flowers in clear vases, the shop wasn’t exactly tidy, but it looked lived-in rather than messy.
“No burn marks, and it’s even clean. Is this really your shop?”
Kwon Yi-soo, unaware of Airok’s desperate efforts, was quite surprised to see her shop so clean.
“Of course it’s my shop! So what brings you here, Center Head?”
Kwon Yi-soo already knew she had opened a flower shop. The Guiding Center Head couldn’t possibly be unaware of the whereabouts of an S-rank Esper with a risk of overloading.
But this was the first time he had visited her shop. Seo Jae-yi had never even imagined him coming here.
“….”
He didn’t answer her second question either. Instead, he stared at her intensely, as if trying to see through her. His gaze, fixated on something, then shifted to Baek Joo-won, who was standing beside her as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
A look of displeasure and annoyance flashed across his face as he saw Baek Joo-won in casual clothes, similar to Seo Jae-yi’s, and a dirt-stained apron. But the emotions vanished as quickly as they had appeared.
Unlike Seo Jae-yi, who was oblivious, Baek Joo-won saw it clearly and chuckled inwardly.
That bastard, good at hiding his emotions despite his terrible personality.
“Seo Jae-yi.”
“Yes.”
“Are you selling dungeon plants here?”
Hiccup.
Seo Jae-yi hiccuped the moment he asked, unable to deny it.
“You’re good at scamming people, but you can’t lie.”
Baek Joo-won chuckled beside her, and Seo Jae-yi glared at him.
“Ahem. When did you find out?”
“The most popular topic on the Awakened Individuals Only Community these days is the flower shop that sells dungeon plants. I couldn’t have missed it.”
“You figured it out when you saw that the shop was next to Haeil Guild.”
“No, I thought you were the only crazy person who would sell dungeon plants in a flower shop.”
Seo Jae-yi smiled shyly at Kwon Yi-soo’s words.
“I do have a knack for coming up with genius ideas. Business is all about creativity, you know.”
“There have been others who tried to cultivate dungeon plants before.”
Not flower shop owners, but quite a few Espers had tried.
“Not to use them during dungeon subjugations like you, but mostly to cultivate ingredients for potions.”
Seo Jae-yi knew that. It was inefficient to constantly enter dungeons, kill monsters, and collect plants.
“The Center and the Association also tried cultivating dungeon plants, but they all failed. And you’re not even cultivating potion ingredients; you’re cultivating aggressive dungeon plants that can be used in combat.”
Kwon Yi-soo’s gaze shifted towards the door leading to the back of the shop. It was his first time here, but he knew it led to the greenhouse.
“You’re not doing anything dangerous, are you?”
“Absolutely not.”
Seo Jae-yi answered confidently, despite his sharp question.
“You need a special method to cultivate dungeon plants. It’s not dangerous, but I’m not going to tell you what it is. It’s a trade secret.”
It was true. The special method was Hae-wi’s power, which she possessed. How could she possibly reveal that?
Everyone would be clamoring to obtain Hae-wi’s power if they found out.
“…As long as it’s not dangerous, I don’t care. Do as you please.”
Kwon Yi-soo nodded after observing her expression for a moment.
Seo Jae-yi was a bit surprised by his unexpectedly lenient reaction.
“That’s it? I thought you would tell me to stop because it’s illegal.”
“There’s no law against it, so how can it be illegal?”
That was true… It couldn’t be illegal if there was no law against it.
She had no intention of stopping anyway, but she felt relieved. She would continue to cultivate and sell plants diligently.
“Continue using dungeon plants for dungeon subjugations, since it seems to be effective. Any method that helps with subjugations is good.”
Right. Seo Jae-yi was running this business not just for profit, but also to make dungeon subjugations easier.
“And close the shop today.”
“What? But we were just having a good time. Why suddenly?”
“I’m not telling you to close down; just close it for today. We found Park Jung-soo’s house.”
Seo Jae-yi’s face hardened.
“It took a while to find it because the address he registered with the Center and his actual residence were different. Close the shop and come with me if you want to go.”
“I’m coming! Wait for me!”
She could put aside her business for this.
Seo Jae-yi rushed to the greenhouse and threw off her apron. Baek Joo-won, following behind her, also straightened his clothes.
“Logi, watch the shop.”
Airok, who had heard everything from the greenhouse, nodded reassuringly.
Seo Jae-yi and Baek Joo-won got into Kwon Yi-soo’s car and headed towards South Chungcheong.
“He lived here?”
Seo Jae-yi, getting out of the car, scrutinized the house before them.
It looked like an ordinary detached house. But the overgrown weeds made it look abandoned.
“He rarely came home because he practically lived in his lab. But lately, he’s been going home frequently for some reason.”
“Lately, you mean when he was frequently experimenting on Gong Ju-hyun?”
“Right. He experimented on Gong Ju-hyun here. Gong Ju-hyun gave us this address.”
He had a lab at home?
She knew he was obsessed with research, but this was creepy.
She turned the doorknob, which was, of course, locked. Seo Jae-yi effortlessly ripped the door off its hinges and tossed it onto the pile of weeds.
“Wow, what a mess.”
She stepped inside, her shoes crunching on the weeds, and saw an empty house. At least Seo Jae-yi’s house had basic furniture, but this place didn’t even have that.
Ironically, seeing this confirmed that it was indeed the crazy bastard’s house.
“But there’s no presence.”
The house, already eerie, felt even more like an abandoned haunted house, devoid of any human traces.
“That perceptive bastard must have run away.”
“He’s good at escaping.”
Kwon Yi-soo clicked his tongue and pointed.
“The lab is at the very back of the house. It’s locked.”
Seo Jae-yi headed straight towards it. There was a sturdy-looking door, unlike the others.
“There’s no lock.”
There was a hook for a padlock, but there was no lock.
As if inviting them in.
Seo Jae-yi, feeling a surge of anger, ripped the door off its hinges, even though it wasn’t locked, and tossed it aside. And the moment she stepped inside…
“That damn bastard…”
She froze, her gaze sweeping across the lab, cold and sharp. A cracking sound emanated from her clenched fist.
Baek Joo-won also looked around the lab, seeing her reaction.
Computers, complex machines, flasks, a transparent glass wall, a metal stool behind it.
It was an ordinary lab.
“….”
But Kwon Yi-soo, following behind them, also froze, his face contorting in anger.
“I didn’t know he was doing this kind of shit here.”
Seo Jae-yi entered the lab and turned on the computer. It had been wiped clean; there was nothing to recover. And there were no files, which were usually scattered around labs.
Then why the invitation? There was only one reason.
“Center Head, what did you do with the equipment from the research floor when you closed it down?”
“I ordered them to dispose of it all…”
Seo Jae-yi entered the space behind the glass wall and stood before the metal stool. She felt a phantom scream emanating from the cold, hard stool.
She touched the armrest. It was covered in scratches, as if someone had been digging their nails into it.
Familiar scratches. Of course.
“He must have smuggled it out and brought it here.”
They were her nail marks, from her childhood.
This metal stool was the one she had been strapped to during the experiments at the Center.
And it wasn’t just the stool. The entire lab was an exact replica of the place where she had been tormented.
Park Jung-soo had recreated that lab in his house.
He’s a creepy bastard! Wtf!!