Dopamine Addiction - Chapter 51

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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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51.
“Don’t worry. By now Margaret and Emma should have left. I gave Emma my key. So if there’s anything I can help with, let me do it, Liam.”
Peter’s eyes brimmed with trust and goodwill—a dramatic shift from his cautious demeanor at first.
Hee-ju set down the frame she’d been holding and slipped quietly from the room. Work had its priorities, and the immediate task came first.
Which meant James first.
***
First, Liam mapped out the Estate’s layout. After identifying blind spots and escape routes, he methodically locked the doors to rooms they wouldn’t need.
Then he inspected the firearms. They hadn’t been handled in at least a year, yet they were surprisingly serviceable. Likely Melpis had maintained them with care.
He couldn’t find spare Bullets. What was loaded in the gun was all there was. Which meant he couldn’t afford to waste a single shot.
Liam installed the Rifle at the window of the 2nd Floor Guest Room. From that vantage, the path from the Garden to the Entrance was clearly visible.
He brought his eye to the Scope. As he adjusted the focus, a familiar silhouette came into view.
Hee-ju. She and Peter moved busily through the Garden.
Liam’s gaze softened. His eye still pressed to the Scope, he magnified her image. He could see her lips moving earnestly toward Peter.
He couldn’t hear what she was saying, but her expression was serious. Occasionally she extended a finger to point at something, and other times she placed both hands on her hips and let out a sigh.
Then she’d pause in thought, tapping the ground with her foot, before breaking into a slight smile toward Peter.
It wasn’t boring in the slightest. He would have gladly agreed to watch her all day.
“Peter, I think this spot would be better than there. With the shrubs, it’ll be less noticeable.”
Peter, finding her logic sound, moved toward her. Together they set up a Booby Trap.
Peter was deft with his hands, while Hee-ju mainly assisted. Partway through, he asked with genuine curiosity.
“What does your boyfriend do?”
“Hmm.”
Hee-ju found herself gazing up at the sky. She simply didn’t know what to say.
After a moment’s thought, she shrugged and gave a vague answer.
“State Secret.”
“Ah, I see.”
Peter nodded without suspicion and pressed no further. Yet trust seemed to deepen in his eyes as they glanced back toward the Estate.
Hee-ju sighed inwardly. What did Peter see when he looked at Liam?
Then her gaze, too, turned toward the Estate. She recalled how Liam moved—fluid and natural, like water flowing.
He was accustomed to this sort of work, and Peter had clearly noticed as much.
The Foyer door creaked open. Liam walked straight toward where she stood. Hee-ju pointed at the Booby Trap with confident pride.
“Well? What do you think?”
“A bit rough around the edges, but they don’t look like professionals, so it should work.”
A bit rough around the edges?
Hee-ju’s eyes narrowed. She’d just been congratulating herself on her fieldwork potential, which made that comment sting all the more.
Liam pulled something from his pocket and attached it to the end of the Booby Trap. Hee-ju, who had leaned forward to look, immediately frowned.
“Where did you get a Grenade?”
“Found it rolling around in the Warehouse. It’s been sitting there for quite a while, so I’m not sure it’ll work properly, but it’s better than nothing.”
“Why would something like that be rolling around in a Warehouse?”
Peter asked, bewildered.
That should be our question, Hee-ju thought.
She watched him with suspicion, but Peter genuinely seemed to have no idea. Hee-ju finally spoke with a deflated tone.
“Melpis’s hobbies apparently extended beyond hunting?”
“Likely something he received as part of business dealings. The fact that it was shoved away in a Warehouse suggests he forgot he even had it.”
“Business dealings?”
Hee-ju’s eyes widened. Peter merely offered an awkward smile, as if to say it wasn’t his place to speak.
Hee-ju didn’t press further. She wasn’t curious about how Melpis had built his wealth.
Liam’s gaze shifted to Peter.
“You should go now.”
“It feels wrong leaving you two with all this work…”
Peter glanced between them apologetically. Liam turned back to Hee-ju.
“One last question. Would you consider going with Peter?”
“I didn’t hear that.”
Liam furrowed his brow and shook his head.
“You’re rather stubborn, aren’t you?”
“My goodness, am I? I never thought I’d hear that from you.”
“You? Stubborn?”
Liam’s eyebrows rose slightly, as though hearing this for the first time. His gaze seemed to ask: Have I ever once defied you?
“Is there another obedient lamb like me out there?”
“An obedient lamb doesn’t cross from England to Korea to America just to find one person.”
“That’s—”
Liam started to speak but stopped himself. Hee-ju opened her eyes wide. “That’s what?” she prompted, but he chose silence instead.
Peter, watching, burst into laughter.
“You two are quite heated. I remember feeling that way once.”
Only then did Hee-ju remember Peter was still there, and she looked away awkwardly. She turned her gaze to the darkening sky and spoke in a gentle tone.
“You should leave before it gets dark, Peter. This place is about to become a Battlefield.”
Liam’s eyes narrowed slightly. Hee-ju was generally kind to others. Everyone but him.
“Hmm?”
So that meant he wasn’t an outsider? That was fine with him.
Liam smiled meaningfully at his own thoughts, and Hee-ju shot him a look that suggested she found something ominous in that smile.
“Please, take care of things. We’re being presumptuous.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll call once it’s done.”
“Be careful. Both of you.”
“Don’t worry.”
Peter nodded and turned to leave. Hee-ju watched his retreating figure as he crossed the Garden, then slowly turned back.
“Should we eat something?”
“Would you like a Sandwich? I checked the Kitchen earlier and thought I could manage to make one.”
“You’re going to make it?”
Hee-ju’s eyes widened as if she’d heard something unexpected. Liam, in turn, looked surprised as he asked back.
“Were you planning to make it?”
“What do you mean by that?”
Her voice turned sharp again. There was a question written across her face: Surely you don’t dislike my cooking?
“Watch your step.”
Liam smoothly changed the subject and offered her his hand. Hee-ju, who had been glaring at him, meekly placed her hand in his.
His large hand enfolded hers. Carefully, she stepped over the wires laid across the ground.
Her voice softened.
“Well, if you’re making it, there’s no reason to stop you. A Sandwich made by someone else—how nice.”
“I also.”
“Pardon?”
“I also like you.”
“!”
She was caught off guard. Her mouth fell open as her face slowly flushed. The grip of his hand tightened.
Hee-ju deliberately answered curtly.
“I meant I like the Sandwich you make.”
“And I meant I like you.”
“…”
She was speechless again.
It would have been easier if he were being sarcastic, or if he’d let it slide with a playful joke. But faced with such a direct confession, she had no idea what expression to wear.
She kept her eyes on her feet as they walked, when soft laughter reached her ears from beside her.
Hee-ju glanced sideways at him. Liam opened the Foyer door with one hand and said.
“Ladies first.”
“What kind of Sandwich?”
“I think we can only manage a Carrot Sandwich with what’s left.”
“I don’t like carrots.”
“Don’t worry. I don’t dislike you.”
Hee-ju shot him another look, but Liam was utterly unmoved. A cheerful laugh rippled through the quiet air.
***
The night deepened. Hee-ju yawned as she peered into the Garden through the Binoculars she’d found in the Study. She rubbed her watering eyes and turned to Liam.
“It doesn’t seem like it’ll happen tonight.”
There was no trace of sleepiness in Liam. Rather, he seemed perfectly at ease, like a man wearing clothes that fit him exactly.
“It will definitely happen tonight.”
“Why are you so sure?”
“He doesn’t strike me as the patient type.”
“Ah, I see.”
Hee-ju nodded in agreement. Liam brought his eye to the Rifle’s Scope and spoke in a casual tone.
“He’ll be furious at having taken a beating from me. He’ll be eager to repay the favor as soon as possible.”
“You seem to have a lot of experience with that.”
“Much more than with exchanging bodily fluids.”
“Right. That lie even a stray dog wouldn’t buy?”
“Whether others believe it or not, you should. It’ll be good for you.”
“But you were remarkably skilled at it. My hand was already inside your shirt before I even realized.”
“That’s instinct, not learned behavior.”
“Hmm.”
Hee-ju watched him with lingering suspicion. That easy smile made it impossible to tell whether he was joking or serious.
Liam, who had started to say something with his lips moving, turned his gaze toward the window.
“They’re 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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