Chapter 99 – Commencement (Part Four)

A lavish high-rise building, brilliantly lit.

Il-hyeon and Cha Yeon-hee strode confidently into the building, crossed the lobby, and boarded an elevator. It was empty, just the two of them.

“It’s gotten quite late, hasn’t it?”

Il-hyeon remarked, glancing at his watch before fixing his gaze forward.

They were supposed to be posing as two businesspeople, but because the real attendees they were impersonating had been running late, Il-hyeon and Yeon-hee were forced to be late as well.

“It’s fine. This won’t affect the plan at all.”

Cha Yeon-hee didn’t even spare him a glance, her tone nonchalant as if telling him not to worry.

“I’ll handle the information gathering as we discussed. You remember what you need to do, right?”

Il-hyeon nodded at her words.

His role was to use his ability to see the flow of Ether to check if there were any Awakened among the party guests.

If an unknown Awakened was present, there was a high chance they were connected to some shady business, which could lead to unexpected intelligence.

However, seeing Il-hyeon’s stiff, uncomfortable expression, Cha Yeon-hee shot him a sideways glance and asked.

“What’s wrong?”

“I’m a little nervous. This isn’t some spy movie.”

“Haha, don’t be so tense. It’s a safe mission. It’s not like you’ll die if we get caught, right? Though the cleanup would be a huge pain.”

Unfortunately, her attempt to calm his nerves had little effect.

He’d thought his job would simply be fighting criminals, not undertaking a mission like this.

But before he could mentally prepare himself, the elevator reached the upper floor. The doors slid open, and the two of them walked out with an air of confidence.

The party occupied an entire floor of the considerably large building. As was typical for foreign parties, it was a standing reception where guests mingled freely.

As they entered, a hired staff member approached and spoke in English.

“May I have your names, please?”

“Jang-wi.”

Il-hyeon presented the invitation, showing the name of the original guest.

The staff member took the invitation and, while checking the list, paused for a moment.

“Um… you were supposed to be accompanied by your wife, correct? The person with you is different from what’s listed here.”

Il-hyeon, whose face had been altered to look at least forty, and Cha Yeon-hee, dressed in a vibrant gown, hardly looked like a married couple.

At this, Il-hyeon, a complete novice in such matters, froze in panic, unable to utter a word.

*Why didn’t she change her appearance? Now we’re in this mess.*

Just as he was about to shoot her a resentful glare, she suddenly grabbed his arm, linked it with hers, and pressed her body close.

“My companion changed at the last minute. Was there a rule that I had to bring my wife? I don’t seem to recall one.”

“Ah… no, ma’am. Please, go on in.”

Unlike Il-hyeon, whose only foreign language was English, Cha Yeon-hee spoke Spanish with the fluency and boldness of a native. As they entered the party hall, Il-hyeon could feel the staff member’s envious gaze on his back.

This wasn’t a meeting of a heavily guarded criminal organization or a gathering of political giants; it was just a private party, so there was no reason for the staff to be overly strict.

The lax security of a party hosted by the mayor was nothing to her.

Il-hyeon, who had been tense, was inwardly amazed at how she’d smoothly handled the situation with such quick thinking, not even batting an eye. He hadn’t felt a single hint of unease from her.

Cha Yeon-hee noticed his gaze and offered a faint smile, subtle enough for others not to see.

She then stopped a passing waiter carrying a tray, picked up a glass of champagne, and made her way toward Mayor Nigues.

The mayor and two other men were deeply engrossed in a conversation about some development project.

Cha Yeon-hee naturally approached, introduced herself, and joined their conversation. The mayor’s eyes seemed to double in size at the sudden appearance of a beautiful woman.

The outcome already seemed obvious.

*At least I don’t have to worry about her part. I’m the biggest problem here.*

Il-hyeon took a deep breath and began to walk around, observing the people nearby.

He sharpened his senses, trying to detect the presence of any Awakened in the party hall.

The party was already well underway, with numerous people mingling or chatting in pairs. The somewhat chaotic scene actually made it easier for Il-hyeon to move about freely.

He picked up a glass to avoid looking awkward and wandered around, sipping from it, but the crowd mostly consisted of high-society figures. He couldn’t easily spot any Awakened.

“This project… we have to make sure it isn’t approved…”

“As for that… if we just give them a little something…”

“Hm?”

At that moment, Il-hyeon’s head snapped around.

Amidst the cacophony of the party, a hushed voice from the restroom on the other side of the wall caught his ear.

Il-hyeon quickly circled around, entered the restroom, and scanned the interior.

There were only two men inside, and both were Awakened.

They were a far cry from the level of Aegis agents, or even his ally Seo Jeong-hwa, but for criminals, their skills weren’t half-bad.

“Ahem.”

Il-hyeon washed his hands, subtly glancing at the men.

They had stopped their intense conversation and were now staring at him silently.

Not wanting to arouse suspicion, Il-hyeon left the restroom, quickly leaned his back against the adjacent wall, and listened intently.

After a moment of silence, the two men resumed their conversation.

“It has to be denied. Our production facility is right under that new development site.”

“Yeah, damn it. I get it, so stop talking about it. When the hell can I quit this gig and go back to the organization?”

“I’m in the same boat, so it’s not like I can tell you. Their guys are everywhere, so we have no choice. Anyway, keep a close watch. If they try anything funny, we have to take them out immediately.”

The men were speaking in Spanish, but the micro-communicator in Il-hyeon’s right ear translated everything for him.

Il-hyeon scraped a small piece from the wall and created a tiny insect.

Two realistic-looking flying insects entered the restroom and burrowed into the men’s clothing.

They weren’t summons fed with a core, so they couldn’t be used for eavesdropping or sharing vision, but they could transmit a signal indicating their location.

Although his targets were Awakened, the summons were so small and imbued with a presence-hiding trait that there was no fear of them being discovered.

Even if they were noticed, the men wouldn’t be able to identify them as summons and would likely just brush them off as bugs.

*This is getting interesting.*

***

Walking through the city, Il-hyeon entered a luxury hotel.

He had left the party after receiving a signal from the micro-communicator in his ear.

His face and build had returned to their original state. He crossed the resplendent lobby and rode the elevator up.

“33rd floor, last room on the right…”

Il-hyeon muttered as he pressed the button.

Arriving on an empty floor, he headed toward the corner on the right, just as instructed.

The door, which should have been guarded, was completely unattended.

Thanks to that, he was able to walk up and grab the doorknob without needing any special tricks.

*Click.*

The door was unlocked. As he opened it and stepped inside, he was greeted by the sight of two unconscious guards sprawled on the floor.

Il-hyeon remained unfazed and walked through the living room.

There, he came face to face with Cha Yeon-hee, who was sitting on the large bed with her legs crossed.

With slightly damp hair and wearing a white bathrobe, she was casually smoking a cigarette.

“You’re here?”

She waved a hand in greeting, as if she had been waiting for him.

“Looks like you’re all done.”

Il-hyeon said, glancing around the room.

Lying on the floor next to the bed was Mayor Nigues, passed out with a blue bruise on his face.

“What happened to him?”

“The old man got handsy, so I punched him. You can erase that part of his memory, right?”

Cha Yeon-hee said with a chuckle. Il-hyeon let out a dry laugh in response.

The man was in league with the worst criminal organizations in history, responsible for the deaths of countless people. There was no reason to feel sorry for him.

He was a man who should have been thrown in prison immediately, but that would have to wait until their work was done.

“What about the information?”

“Of course I got it. There’s a facility in the forest on the northern outskirts. I have the exact location. He was in much deeper than we thought. Team Leader Yoon In-hye’s skills are truly amazing.”

“But can we be sure? What if the mayor gave you false information?”

“Men and women in love hold nothing back.”

Cha Yeon-hee said it half-jokingly, but her words weren’t particularly convincing.

No matter how smitten he was with her, it was unlikely he would just spill such crucial information without thinking.

If anything, it was more plausible that he had lied to lead them into a trap.

Cha Yeon-hee read the lingering doubt on Il-hyeon’s face, shrugged her shoulders, and continued.

“Hmm, fine. Since this won’t be the last time and we have to work together, I’ll be honest with you.”

“Ugh?”

She suddenly cupped Il-hyeon’s cheeks with both hands, forcing him to meet her gaze.

For a moment, he was bewildered by her sudden action, but then his face began to flush red.

*What is this…*

He couldn’t understand what was happening to him, but his heart was pounding uncontrollably, and his stomach churned.

It wasn’t that he had suddenly fallen ill.

Her already beautiful face began to shimmer with a faint halo, and her lovely smile captivated him.

Before long, Il-hyeon was certain of his condition.

In this fateful encounter, he had fallen hopelessly in love.

“This is true love…?”

*Slap!*

With the hand that had been holding his face, Cha Yeon-hee lightly tapped his cheek and stated firmly.

“No, it’s not.”