Dopamine Addiction - Chapter 46

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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46.
Hui-ju, who had been rushing toward the bathroom in the crouch he’d instructed, turned her head. Liam hadn’t finished what he was saying.
“Liam?”
Liam answered by peering intently outside instead. A quiet laugh escaped him.
He rose to his feet and gestured toward Hui-ju.
“Alert Status lifted.”
“What? What do you mean by that?”
Hui-ju asked, bewildered. Liam glanced out the window once more before answering.
“Doesn’t look like them.”
“Then what in the world is all this about?”
Hui-ju tilted her head and walked toward the window.
“A car crashed into the Motel.”
“What?”
Hui-ju’s eyes widened as if she’d heard the most absurd thing imaginable. The Motel Owner’s voice carried through from outside.
“Oh, heaven help me! My building…!”
Liam raised an eyebrow lightly. Hui-ju immediately opened the door and stepped outside.
“Where are you going?”
“A car hit the Motel, didn’t it? We should check if anyone’s hurt.”
“Ha.”
Liam let out a sound that could have been either a laugh or a sigh, then thrust his hands into his pockets and trudged along casually.
“Acting like that and thinking she’s composed.”
She looked after every unfortunate soul in the world. The grousing Liam’s eyes softened into crescents.
His mind was already racing through the situation and calculating how to finish what they’d started.
***
“Good heavens!”
The Motel Owner clawed at his head with both hands, wailing in anguish. Chunks of the shattered Motel wall crumbled to the ground.
The car’s hood was crumpled inward, and inside, the driver’s side airbag had deployed. An elderly woman was wedged between them.
Hui-ju opened the door, her expression grave with concern.
“Are you all right?”
No answer came. Hui-ju called out to Liam at the top of her voice.
“Call an ambulance, right now!”
But at that moment, a hand extending from the driver’s seat seized her arm. The elderly woman, lifting her head slowly, shook it.
“I’m fine. Just startled, that’s all.”
“But—”
Hui-ju frowned at the half-crushed hood. The old woman tightened her grip on Hui-ju’s arm, as if to prove her own resilience.
“Could you help me out instead?”
“Yes, of course. Be careful.”
Just as Hui-ju grasped the woman’s elbow, Liam stepped forward quietly.
“Allow me, ma’am.”
“Oh, thank you so much.”
The elderly woman, helped from the car by Liam, exhaled a deep breath. Hui-ju scanned her body carefully.
“Are you absolutely certain you won’t go to the hospital? A traffic accident can have serious aftereffects.”
“Thank you for worrying about me. Right now my heart’s just racing—there’s no pain anywhere. Though I suppose if my heart weren’t beating fast, that would be the worse sign, wouldn’t it?”
The elderly woman offered a light laugh as if joking, then added one more thing.
“If something feels wrong later, I’ll just call my physician.”
“All right.”
Hui-ju nodded reluctantly. There was no sense in forcing her if she refused.
The elderly woman, still holding Liam’s arm, turned to the Motel Owner.
“I’m terribly sorry. The brakes wouldn’t respond and I crashed straight into the wall. I’ll pay for all the damage, so don’t worry yourself.”
“That’s a relief to hear you’ll compensate. Are you sure you’re not hurt?”
Watching the Motel Owner finally ask after the woman’s well-being, Hui-ju shook her head slightly.
“I’ll leave you my contact information. Tomorrow I’ll send my lawyer—speak with them about compensation and the details. And—”
The elderly woman’s gaze drifted uncomfortably toward her wrecked car. Hui-ju, catching her meaning, offered kindly.
“Where do you live? Your car’s out of commission, so I’ll drive you home.”
“You’d do that? How kind of you.”
Hui-ju shot Liam a look that said *what are you standing around for?* Liam creased his brow.
What about what we were doing?
That matters right now? When someone’s been hurt?
Hurt? Didn’t you hear her say she’s fine?
You’re not going now? Should I kick you out the door?
The silent battle of glances ended in Hui-ju’s victory. Liam scratched his head and headed toward the parking lot.
“Maybe I need an exorcism.”
Whenever he tried to carry out any serious business, interference arrived. At this rate, he was probably possessed by a spirit. An exorcism was needed—or perhaps a ritual.
Western or Eastern, it hardly mattered.
“I think I’m going to need religion.”
Heaving a sigh, Liam disappeared and soon returned with the car. Hui-ju opened the rear door.
“Please, get in.”
“Thank you.”
Once Hui-ju closed the car door and settled into the passenger seat, she entered the address the elderly woman gave her into the navigation system. Then she introduced her to Liam.
“She says her name is Margaret. Margaret Melphis.”
Liam glanced at the rearview mirror. In the glass, his eyes met Margaret’s. She offered him a warm smile.
“What brings you to these parts?”
“We’re headed to Wasatch State Park.”
“Ah, I see. I’ve heard young people have been visiting quite a bit lately. Camping and hiking are all the rage, I’m told. So that’s where you two are going.”
“Yes.”
Liam lied without blinking an eye.
“Well, such things are best done while young—once you get older, everything becomes a bother. Are the two of you a couple?”
“Yes.”
Again, he did.
Hui-ju shot him a sidelong glance.
“You make a lovely pair.”
“…Thank you.”
Hui-ju replied reluctantly, and Liam chuckled softly. After driving for some ten minutes, the car pulled up before a large iron gate.
Between the long stone walls stood a black wrought-iron gate, its upper portion curved into vine-like ornaments. Through the gates lay a broad expanse of lawn.
Hui-ju turned to look at Margaret.
“Is this it?”
“That’s right. Just a moment and—ah, Peter.”
An elderly man approached the car. He was presumably checking the identity of the visitors.
When Margaret rolled down the window and called to him, Peter came rushing over with a startled expression.
“Is something the matter, ma’am?”
“There’s been an accident.”
“An accident? Surely you don’t mean James—!”
Peter’s face suddenly went ashen. Margaret shook her head firmly.
“No. The brakes suddenly failed, so I had to crash into a building wall. There was no other way to stop the car.”
“No, ma’am. It must be James’s doing. Sound brakes don’t just fail out of the blue, do they? Just like the last time—”
“Spare me the lectures and open the gate.”
Margaret cut off his words sharply. Peter turned with a face full of things he wanted to say. When he pressed the button, the gate swung open.
Liam drove the car toward the Estate. Margaret offered the two a slightly embarrassed smile.
“Peter worries too much. Normally he won’t let me drive alone, but when I visit my husband, I drive there myself.”
“Where is your husband?”
“At the Church Cemetery. Today is his anniversary—I couldn’t skip paying my respects.”
“Ah.”
Hui-ju’s expression shifted with surprise, her eyes darting uncertainly. As the moment hung, the car arrived at the Estate.
Hui-ju finally spoke.
“I’m sorry to hear that, ma’am.”
“Not at all.”
Margaret, getting out of the car, turned to face them both.
“Would you stay for dinner?”
“No, thank you. We’ve eaten not long ago.”
“And we have things to attend to.”
Liam murmured quietly, and Hui-ju glared at him sharply. Liam avoided her gaze with practiced indifference.
“I wouldn’t feel right just letting you go. Please, have tea with me at least. I’m asking as a favor—don’t dismiss my sincerity.”
At Margaret’s heartfelt request, Hui-ju relented and nodded.
Soon after, the three sat facing each other with teacups between them. As Hui-ju surveyed the expansive Drawing Room, her gaze came to rest on Margaret’s face.
Margaret wore a pensive expression.
“When my husband was alive, this house was never so quiet. Without him, the place feels far too large.”
“I imagine so.”
“But—”
Liam lifted his teacup and began to speak. He paused, took a sip of tea, and set it back down. Margaret’s eyes widened slightly.
Soon after, a warm smile settled at the corners of her mouth.
“My husband would have been pleased to see that. He was always complaining that young people these days didn’t know the proper etiquette for drinking tea. If he’d seen you, he’d have been delighted and talked endlessly about tea.”
At those words, Hui-ju flinched. She was grateful not to have met Margaret’s husband. Otherwise, she’d have subjected him to a lecture about tea-drinking decorum.
Liam glanced up at her.
“Who is James?”
Caught entirely off guard, Margaret’s expression hardened. Hui-ju jabbed Liam in the ribs. Liam turned to her with an impassive face.
“What?”
Hui-ju shot him a sharp look—the look of someone asking *don’t you usually read the room, so why are you pretending not to now?*
Then she turned to Margaret with a gentle smile to reassure her.
“If it’s difficult to talk about, you don’t have to. There’s no need to share such things with strangers you’ve just met.”
“No, it’s not that difficult. James is my nephew.”
Even so, she didn’t easily elaborate further. Hui-ju, glancing out the window, changed the subject.
“Your garden is beautiful. Even in winter, it’s lovely—I imagine it’s even more so in spring.”
“That’s Peter’s handiwork. He’s quite skilled as a gardener. He’s been with us for over twenty years now.”
“Like family, then.”
“Exactly. Family.”
Margaret murmured quietly, gazing at Hui-ju with a lonely expression.
“Will you stay the night here?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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