Dopamine Addiction - Chapter 47

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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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47.
“I can’t possibly impose on you like this.”
“Impose? Not at all. It’s been so long since we’ve had a visitor—it’s positively invigorating. I’m sure our guest room will be far more comfortable than some motel.”
It was the same expression her parents always wore when she came home for a visit and then prepared to leave—that face that said they wished she’d stay just one more night.
That was why Heejoo found it difficult to refuse Margaret’s request. She turned to Liam as if to ask what she should do.
He gave a light shrug, as if to say she should do as she pleased.
“My luggage is at the motel.”
“I moved it to the car trunk.”
At Liam’s words, Heejoo’s eyes widened.
“When?”
“When we left. You know I’m a perfectionist. It’s only natural to be prepared for contingencies like that.”
“Then there’s nothing to worry about. So what do you say—you’re welcome to stay as long as you’d like.”
As Heejoo hesitated, Margaret quickly added to her pitch.
“You mentioned going to Wasatch State Park, didn’t you? I’ve heard you need to reserve a campsite there months in advance. Did you make a reservation?”
“No, not yet…”
In fact, that was precisely the problem. Wasatch State Park was thirty times the size of Yeouido.
Finding her father’s cabin in such an expanse would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.
What’s more, she wouldn’t be able to come down from the mountain until she’d found it. Sleeping rough in this season—the very thought was daunting.
But then Margaret made an unexpected proposal.
“I happen to own a cabin there. I’d be happy to lend it to you if you’d like. Feel free to use it as much as you need.”
“A cabin?”
Heejoo’s eyes widened. Margaret nodded as if it were nothing remarkable.
“There are scattered parcels of private property within the state park. They belong to people who refused to sell when the state was buying up land indiscriminately.”
“Really?”
Heejoo leaned forward, her interest clearly piqued.
“Mostly people who worked in mining or ranching. My husband is one of them.”
“Then you also own private land within Wasatch State Park.”
“My husband’s hobby is hunting. When the mining business began to decline, we sold most of the land, but we kept some. We built a cabin on it and he goes there occasionally to hunt.”
Lost in thought, Heejoo asked with sudden significance.
“Then there must be several other people who own private land there? Some might have built cabins as well.”
“Of course.”
Heejoo turned to look at Liam. His gaze was already fixed on her.
Their eyes met. Without a word spoken, it was clear they were thinking the same thing.
Could it be that her biological father’s cabin also sat on private property within the state park?
It wouldn’t be a place shared by many. Somewhere like that seemed unlikely to be where important things were kept.
!
In that moment, the Deer Antlers in the photograph came back to her. Had her father hunted as well? Suspicion hardened into certainty.
It was then that Liam asked Margaret,
“Do you happen to have a map marking the private properties?”
“A map.”
Margaret, who had been looking up at the ceiling, shook her head slowly.
“I’m not sure. Hunting doesn’t interest me. However…”
She paused there, then offered an intriguing suggestion.
“It might be in my husband’s study. I’ve left his things as they were. If you’re planning to stay here tonight, you’re welcome to look through his study.”
Margaret spoke these words while regarding Heejoo with her rounded, warm eyes.
“I’d truly be delighted if I could spend more time talking with you.”
Faced with this, Heejoo’s expression wavered, but she finally nodded.
“Thank you for being so considerate. I’m grateful to accept your kindness.”
“Wonderful decision, Heejoo. Emma needs to prepare the guest room. It’s been so long since we’ve had visitors. Emma!”
Margaret rose abruptly from her seat, barely containing her excitement, and left the room. Liam’s lips curved into a faint smile.
“Is it because you need a map, or because Margaret looked lonely?”
“Both, let’s say.”
“You know what? The lines you draw are remarkably clear, and because of that, no one dares cross them lightly. Yet you’re always stepping across your own lines. And you offer your hand so readily to anyone.”
Heejoo made as if to object, her lips parting. But Liam was faster.
“If you don’t intend to let someone in, don’t extend your hand so carelessly. There’s a risk that when you try to pull back, you won’t be able to.”
…
Heejoo found herself holding her breath. Despite his flat tone, Liam’s eyes burned with an intense, glowing heat.
Liam tilted his head to the side with a thin smile.
“What if I don’t let go?”
Heejoo merely blinked, breath suspended. Liam’s voice softened further as he continued.
“Just don’t draw lines that exclude only me. That would drive me mad.”
Suddenly she recalled the image of Liam in the Hotel Lounge Bar. The Italian man whose name she couldn’t even remember.
…
The one who had cast the room into cold silence raised his teacup with the air of someone for whom nothing had happened at all.
The gesture was so refined and immaculate that it captured her gaze—much to her irritation.
***
Hunter and Anthony pulled up outside a Mexican Restaurant. Anthony headed straight for the restroom, while Hunter placed a simple food order.
When Anthony returned to the table moments later, he bit into a taco and asked,
“No signal?”
“Either turned off or ditched. One of the two.”
“You’re certain they came into this area?”
“The gas station CCTV caught the two of them in the car, and the vehicle with that license plate was last seen entering this area.”
“Utah. Where are they headed? Or is this their destination?”
“Beats me. No CCTV footage of them after that point.”
Hunter, who had been munching on chicken, sucked the grease from his fingers as his voice emerged in a tone wholly at odds with the gesture—utterly indifferent.
“That car.”
“Yeah.”
Without even glancing out the window, Anthony simply nodded. Not far from their vehicle, a sedan sat parked.
“I think it’s been following us since we crossed into Utah.”
“I spotted it back at the gas station before we checked the CCTV. They were fueling up. They might have been tailing us since much earlier.”
“Much earlier? Since San Francisco?”
“Possibly.”
Anthony shrugged as if it were of little consequence.
“Then it’s the Russian Mafia? Looks like it really is time for me to retire. I didn’t even notice a tail.”
“It was the middle of the night. They probably followed without their headlights on.”
Hunter nodded once, then muttered almost to himself,
“The question is, what do we do now? They seem to be moving without leaving a trace. How are we supposed to find those two?”
“Who knows. For now, let’s stay in this area tonight. I’ve been cramped up all night. I need to stretch my legs. And the home office might call.”
“This case has a way of throwing nothing but complications at us. Shouldn’t this be assigned to a junior agent? It feels like something we did ten years ago.”
Anthony laughed at Hunter’s complaint. He bit into his chicken and replied,
“Can’t hand this off to a recruit—what Heejoo’s got is too important. I noticed a motel next to the restaurant when we parked. Let’s stay there tonight.”
***
A cell phone rang inside a luxury sedan. Andrei, seated in the front passenger seat, answered it. After a brief conversation, he turned his head toward the back seat.
“They say it’s Utah.”
“Utah?”
Sergei’s brow furrowed. It was a location he hadn’t anticipated at all.
“Our agents haven’t found them yet, but we’re pursuing them. Apparently they checked into a motel. What should we do?”
“Tell them to keep watching. They have more information than we do at this point.”
“Understood.”
“They haven’t noticed they’re being followed?”
“If they had, they would’ve acted by now. There’s no sign of that.”
Sergei narrowed his eyes and gazed out the window. Getting entangled with a government organization was never good. But it would be a waste to let that woman slip away.
If only that came into my hands, I could change everything.
“Change everything? I could end the game entirely as things stand.”
Sergei’s blue eyes glinted with avarice as he thought of what Alan Smith had left behind. They widened with greed.
He’d learned its nature purely by chance. Alan’s nurse had been his mistress.
I cannot afford to miss this opportunity.
Sergei turned his gaze from the window and gave Andrei an order.
“Send more men, just to be safe.”
“Understood.”
“No matter what happens, we have to capture that woman before the CIA does.”
“Understood.”
The vehicle slowed as it approached a grand Mansion. Through the surveillance cameras, a subordinate watching them opened the gate.
Clang. With a heavy metallic sound, the iron gates began to swing open. The sedan, which had paused briefly, passed through.
***
At the sound of the door opening, Liam, who had been reading in bed, checked the time. It was nearly nine at night.
Setting down his book, Liam straightened his posture.
“You were held captive for quite a while.”
“I heard Margaret’s entire life story. I could write her autobiography at this point.”
Liam’s expression became more relaxed.
Margaret, believing them to be a couple, had prepared only one bedroom. And Liam had claimed the bed first.

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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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