Dopamine Addiction - Chapter 5

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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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4.
“That’s not particularly impressive to look at.”
—I wasn’t expecting much, though.
But that bastard…
Hee-ju’s eyes narrowed to sharp points, and Liam added offhandedly.
—I’m curious, though. What you look like.
Hee-ju swallowed dryly without thinking. That casual remark had burrowed into her ear with unusual clarity.
—Your cold hasn’t cleared up yet, has it?
“…Yes.”
Hee-ju cleared her throat with a small cough and, for no good reason, flipped through her notebook before speaking.
“But it seems your memory isn’t the only sharp one, Liam.”
Liam’s eyes narrowed as if he didn’t understand. Hee-ju took a sip of tea before continuing.
“There’s a witness who saw you enter that alley.”
—Ah.
Only then did Liam, grasping the full picture, nod casually. Hee-ju’s voice took on a note of triumph.
“A retired teacher. He says you picked up his wallet. Then he watched you go into the alley where the murder happened. And he remembers your face quite accurately, too. For someone who claims to be a perfectionist, your sloppiness is showing.”
—You remembered that? So you are interested in me after all?
“Not at all.”
Hee-ju denied it flatly, but Liam laughed without seeming offended. His gaze, as he leaned back slowly in his chair, fixed on a point just above the camera.
After a brief silence, he spoke again.
—Even if I was seen entering that alley, there’s no evidence. I was simply passing through. Unlucky timing, that’s all.
“That’s exactly the problem—that you happened to be there at that exact time.”
—I stole the man’s wallet to pose as a robbery. Tell me, do I look like a robber?
Liam spread his arms wide and flashed a brilliant smile. It was the smile of someone who knew perfectly well how exceptional he was.
How irritating.
Hee-ju, silently thanking the technical team once more, suddenly froze. Something he’d said caught her ear.
“You said you stole the wallet? Where is it now…?”
—Following your advice, I buried it nicely in my backyard. Dug up the one from the front and moved it.
Hee-ju lowered her head and rubbed both temples. Her head throbbed dully.
When she lifted her eyes, she saw the man’s face wearing an air of casual amusement. She took her tea slowly, buying time.
She’d caught on long ago that Liam was deliberately provoking her. And yet she couldn’t quite bring herself to get angry at him.
Once fooled, but not twice.
Hee-ju forced her voice to be as rational as possible.
“The local police are looking for you, so you should lay low for a while. Fortunately, it doesn’t look like you were caught on CCTV, so things should quiet down in a few days. If you want, I can provide you with a safe house.”
—I already told you—I’m a perfectionist. There’s no way the police will catch me.
“The last two times you were ‘perfect,’ it nearly became a diplomatic incident.”
—But it didn’t, so that’s fine. So what’s the next assignment?
“Did you not hear what I just said? Lay low for a while.”
—Just this much?
“Just this much.”
Hee-ju answered with her teeth clenched. Her insides were churning. She felt like the lid might blow off any moment.
Perhaps it was simply bad timing. If her mind had been a little more at ease, she would have laughed off such provocation.
But Hee-ju’s thoughts were tangled like a knotted thread, and the man kept pressing her. On top of everything, she hadn’t been sleeping properly.
And then, Liam’s indifferent voice drove the final nail in.
—That’s why desk workers are—
“!”
In that instant, something snapped. Whether it was the thread of reason or the limit of patience, she couldn’t say.
But one thing was certain: she had taken Liam’s bait.
“That’s exactly why field operatives are—”
A cold, cutting tone flowed from between Hee-ju’s teeth.
Liam, who had been reaching for his mug, went still. He slowly looked up.
Hee-ju told herself to stop. If this escalated, she’d be the only one to suffer.
Liam was a highly capable Black operative, and if he filed a complaint, she would be branded as incompetent.
In the worst case, she’d have to write a letter of apology, which would directly impact her performance evaluation.
For someone who’d never won more than five thousand won despite buying lottery tickets weekly, a termination notice was still premature.
Stop.
But her mouth moved of its own accord. It must have been her reason that had snapped.
“Do you think you’re some kind of genius? That you’re so brilliant you’re single-handedly keeping all us desk workers fed? Think again. Do you have any idea how much groveling I’ve had to do because of the mess you create? Contacting our people planted at the London Metropolitan Police to get a situation update, listening to their complaints and whining, begging them to smooth things over—”
As the words spilled out, her throat felt like it might tear. Each time she raised her voice, a whistling sound escaped.
“What did I do wrong, honestly? If anything, I was just unlucky. If James’s leg hadn’t broken, I never would’ve been stuck with the Picture Ripper case, and then I wouldn’t have had to deal with the police commissioner’s temperament.”
—…
“So when management says to stay quiet, just stay quiet, please.”
Hee-ju’s shoulders heaved as she expelled ragged breaths.
A heavy silence fell. An ominous silence. Reason slowly crept back. Her eyes filled with embarrassment.
I’ve lost my mind.
Hee-ju looked away from the screen and gripped her tumbler. Then she slowly drank the now-lukewarm tea. Very slowly.
Liam, by contrast, didn’t take his eyes off the screen. His expressionless face trained on the camera, his eyes suddenly softened.
—Wow.
He scratched his chin with his index finger. A cheerful voice emerged from between his teeth.
—But you know, Hee-ju.
“…Yes?”
Hee-ju answered a beat too late, gripped by an inexplicable sense of foreboding. She instinctively edged her chair backward. Just in case she needed to run.
Then a beat later, she remembered he was in London. She pressed her rear back into the seat.
—What do we do about this?
“About…what?”
—Now I really do want to see your face.
“…”
—Well, what should we do?
Liam raised his eyebrows lightly. As if he were casually wondering whether to have chicken for dinner.
Hee-ju might not know much, but her ability to sense danger was second to none. She read the moment with eerie precision and knew this was the time to retreat.
“In any case, it’s an order from above to stay still for now. I’ll contact you again.”
—When…
“That’s all.”
She ended the call without waiting for his response. Her own face reflected in the now-black screen.
“Sigh.”
Hee-ju exhaled what must have been her hundredth sigh and rubbed her dry face with her hand.
“I just took it out on an innocent person. …Or not innocent, actually. Why does he have to push someone who’s just minding their own business?”
Her self-recrimination ended in blame for someone else. Hee-ju stood and left the counseling room.
Outside the window, the night was still dark, and vehicle lights streamed past below.
“At least there’s the Indian Ocean between the Picture Ripper and me.”
Hee-ju thought of the distance between Seoul and London and exhaled with relief. The chill still hadn’t faded, though perhaps it was just the cold.
Besides, didn’t a much bigger problem await her right now?
“Does it even make sense to go meet him now?”
She had no answer. She couldn’t even be sure her decision was right. Her eyes, gazing out the window, grew dark.
***
At the sound of the office door opening, Hee-ju turned her head and suddenly stood up.
“Director Kim!”
Kim Min-ho, hobbling in on crutches, flashed her a broad grin. Pausing for a moment, Director Kim rattled the crutches he was holding.
“Hey, been a while.”
“Are you okay? How did you manage to come in?”
“I finally got to use my wife card. Rode in together, and let me tell you, having her commentary playing like background music the whole way was anything but boring.”
Hee-ju shook her head in mock exasperation and frowned at his casted leg.
“How’s your leg feeling?”
“Good, good. Just can’t do fieldwork for a while. Sorry you’ve had to deal with all this because of me, An.”
Liam’s face flashed across her mind for a moment, but Hee-ju shook her head. She walked over to Director Kim and supported him with one arm.
“Thank you.”
“It’s not that. Director, you’ve suffered more. I’m sorry for putting you through this when you should be resting.”
“I was itching to get back anyway. Clean break, good prognosis. The doctor said as long as I don’t overdo it, I should be fine. So you’re taking leave? Your family had something come up, right? Nothing too serious, I hope?”
“My biological father received a terminal diagnosis. He says he wants to see me.”
“Ah…”
Director Kim, who had asked so casually, found himself at a loss before such an unexpected answer.
Hee-ju wasn’t the type to go around sharing personal details, but when you work together long enough, you notice things whether you mean to or not.
She got along easily with everyone, yet never allowed herself to grow truly close to anyone.
“Please don’t make that face. He might as well be a stranger to me. But I thought it only proper to pay my respects one last time before he goes.”

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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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