After this auction was over, Cheon Sa-yeon had agreed to return me to the room on the 23rd floor of the guild.
The other people who heard it also brazenly put forward their opinion that they would stay for two or three more days and return without missing a single one.
“They really have no conscience.”
When Cheon Sa-yeon grumbled with a sign of boredom, Park Geon-ho shrugged.
“How do you trust Master and leave Talented Han Yi-gyeol alone here?”
At those words, Woo Seo-hyuk, who remembered the three of us visiting Park Geon-ho’s house before, said something with a dumbfounded expression.
“…it’s true that Team Leader Park Geon-ho has no conscience.”
“What does that mean, Secretary Woo Seo-hyuk?”
“What else do you ask when you know what it means?”
“Please stop it.”
“Secretary Woo Seo-hyuk did it first.”
When I stopped them, Park Geon-ho quickly blamed Woo Seo-hyuk. There were children here too, what were you doing, really.
“How old are you now, Team Leader Park Geon-ho?”
“I don’t think it’s about my face.”
In response to Cheon Sa-yeon’s criticism, Park Geon-ho slyly responded by touching his smooth face. Cheon Sa-yeon, who heard this, finally loosened his forehead and smiled.
‘Ah…’
As I sat on the sofa and looked at it without thinking, I felt something warm spreading in my chest.
This moment, when everyone was alive, was achieved after Cheon Sa-yeon constantly tried without giving up on anyone. When Kim Woo-jin died in the previous time period, if Cheon Sa-yeon had given up on him and continued to live, this moment wouldn’t have come.
If Cheon Sa-yeon didn’t want everyone to stay in this house until the auction was over, he would have kicked them all out sooner. If not, he accepted it… I could see that Cheon Sa-yeon didn’t really hate us being in this house.
Living happily with everyone. It was the future that Cheon Sa-yeon had been longing for a very long time. I feel the same way.
As I was watching Cheon Sa-yeon with my chin on my hand, someone tapped my cheek. It was then that I realized that I was smiling.
“Ha Tae-heon-ssi?”
“……”
Ha Tae-heon, who frowned and touched my lips with his fingertips, then spoke to everyone in a low voice.
“Let’s make the final decision on how to get into the museum. The auction day is in two days.”
“I agree.”
Woo Seo-hyuk, who was pleased with what Ha Tae-heon said, handing over the documents he was holding.
There, various explanations such as photos of the inside of the museum, a list of works, and the overall atmosphere were written in great detail.
“I tried to collect as much information as possible about the museum. The location of the auction has also been confirmed.”
“As Team Leader told us, they’re doing it in the underground.”
Kwon Jeong-han, who read the first part quickly, turned to the second and pointed out the most important content.
“The stairs leading down to the underground are blocked, so the inside is unknown. It seems that the auction house can only be entered on the same day.”
Min Ah-rin, who looked at the documents with an anxious look, asked carefully.
“Is it really all right if only the three of you go?”
“It’s okay. There’s no other way.”
“It’s even scarier because it’s underground.”
“If anything happens, I will contact you right away.”
“Then you will need this.”
Cheon Sa-yeon, naturally intervened, knocked on the watch, and pulled out one of the cases. What was inside were earpieces prepared for the number of people.
“They just arrived today. This will be necessary because we have to divide into the team that participates in the auction house and the team that protects the museum upstairs.”
“A wireless earphone. It’s good.”
I took one of them and looked around. As it was an ear-plugging object, it was small in size and black, so it wasn’t easily noticeable.
“It’s too early to be relieved.”
Ha Tae-heon, who checked the earpiece like me, opened his mouth.
“The space we experienced in America. Just like the gate, all the electronic devices were jammed.”
“Um…”
“If the space was made with the blood of a being called Kali, something similar could happen again at any time after this auction or after.”
I was also worried about it, but unfortunately, there was no solution right now.
“If something happens, it’s best to join immediately. If there’s a problem in the whole building, please take care of the non-combat members, Min Ah-rin-ssi and Kwon Jeong-han. I will leave Fox as well.”
“It would be better to set a point of gathering.”
“How about gathering in the central hall? The three of us go to the underground, but with my wind ability and two SS-rank people, we can get out even if the building collapses or a battle breaks down.”
“The main hall is the widest and right in front of the exit, so it sure looks safe. Just go there for now.”
Everyone, including Park Geon-ho, nodded in response to my answer. Even if we entered a new space, as in America, we were more likely to find a way out if everyone moved together. It’s safe as well.
When I saw the earpiece on the table, my heart sank heavily.
There are two more days left. I sincerely hope that we could get through this as well.
* * *
Two days later, I, Cheon Sa-yeon and Ha Tae-heon, who started preparing early for the auction, dressed up in suits on Saturday morning.
Unlike us, who had to participate in the auction, the others dressed up in relatively simple attire and were also ready to go out. Among them, only Kim Woo-jin was handed the changing item I used before.
Except for Cheon Sa-yeon, Ha Tae-heon, and myself, Kim Woo-jin was the most known face to the public, so I had no choice but to do so. As a changing item, he planned to change his hair and eye colour and wear a mask.
“Do you know how to use it?”
“Ung.”
Kim Woo-jin, holding the changing item in his hand, smiled faintly. It was a very simple conversation, but there was an indelible awkwardness between me and Kim Woo-jin.
After we talked in the room to clear up the misunderstanding, Kim Woo-jin didn’t come closer than a certain distance to me. Of course, there was no open conversation.
I smiled bitterly and sent Fox sitting on my shoulder to Kim Woo-jin’s clone. Like Kim Woo-jin, the clone that would normally have been close to me was also far away from me.
“Fox is sensitive to energy, so he would be helpful if he stayed with your clone.”
Kim Woo-jin, who played the role of reconnaissance outside the building, had to be especially careful.
At my words, the clone who took Fox meekly blinked blankly with no complaints.
His previous act of hating Fox had gone nowhere. Piik, Fox looked at me as if it was quite confusing, and quietly hovered around the clone.
“Please take care of Min Ah-rin-ssi and Kwon Jeong-han.”
“Don’t worry.”
The emotional gap between me and Kim Woo-jin was still there, but now I had to deal with the upcoming auction case first. Once this was over, the time would come again to talk slowly with Kim Woo-jin.
“I’m going to go, too.”
Elohim walked to the front door where we were gathered. Elohim, who had stayed with us for the past week to get information about the auction house, now was the time to return to Elahah’s side.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be of much help.”
“No. It’s enough just to let us know that there’s the cult in the museum.”
Those under Kali’s influence couldn’t be read their thoughts even with the power of Elohim and Elahah. Thanks to this, it was possible to distinguish that most of the staff assigned to the museum were members of the Praus Cult.
“Take care of yourself.”
Finally, Elohim, who hugged me tightly, departed with greetings.
Me, Cheon Sa-yeon, and Ha Tae-heon also wore the shoes and finished preparing for departure.
“Then we’ll go first. Follow me slowly.”
Just in time for the auction, the three of us were going to the museum first, and the rest of us were planning to leave about 30 minutes apart.
It wasn’t clear what the enemy’s plan was, so we had to act cautiously while hiding information as much as possible.
We left the house and got into the car right away. Ha Tae-heon was in charge of driving, and Cheon Sa-yeon and I looked at the museum information that Woo Seo-hyuk had retrieved.
‘As expected, a week was too short.’
Requiem and Roheon worked together to gather as much information as possible, but there wasn’t much information that could be of practical help. In the end, the earpieces didn’t solve the problem pointed out by Ha Tae-heon.
I remembered what happened back in the day at a party hosted by the management headquarters at the hotel. An incident in which a moving item was activated on the entire floor of the party hall and we were dragged into the gate of Gulupdo Island.
‘Are they planning something similar this time around?’
According to the book, Kali must have been asleep for six months from the point in time when Cheon Sa-yeon’s time returned. If so, she must have already woken up at this time.
If Kali intervened in the world too much, she would have to pay the price, so she would use the Praus Cult… It might be possible to give blood as much as they needed. After thinking that far, I said seriously.
“Should we get blood from El, too?”
“What?”
Cheon Sa-yeon, who was looking at the documents next to me, heard it and laughed. Ha Tae-heon, who was driving, also raised one eyebrow.
“It bothers me that the Praus Cult draws Kali’s blood and uses it here and there.”
“She’ll be paying her a separate price. Just as you paid the price for my past.”
“It sounds like a good idea to give it a try if you can afford it.”
“Hm… if you are so curious, ask him next time.”
Cheon Sa-yeon responded with a strange smile. I felt like he was making fun of me somehow…
In the meantime, the car that entered Gangnam Street arrived in front of the museum shortly after. The staff who was standing in front of the main gate of the museum came as soon as the car stopped.
As we got out of the car, wearing the earpieces we had brought in advance, the staff greeted us politely and asked.
“Do you have a reservation for an art museum?”
“We have been invited.”
When we handed out the invitations, the staff who accepted them with an expected attitude, checked the invitations and handed out cards made of stiff paper one by one.
“This is a cautionary note when entering the auction house. Please be sure to follow it. Once inside, another staff member will help guide you.”
Cautionary note? When I narrowed my eyes in discomfort, the staff ripped his lips long and smiled and bowed his back.
“Then have a good time.”
“……”
Cars lined up behind us. Seeing that they were all foreign cars, it was clear that they weren’t ordinary museum visitors.
The card handed out by the staff turned dark red in the glow of the setting sun. Like me, Ha Tae-heon, who saw the contents of the card, also frowned.
“Should I use a pseudonym and stay only in the room the staff will guide?”
“…fortunately, the three of us came.”
If there were four people, we would have to enter two people per room. I sighed and read other things.
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