Dopamine Addiction - Chapter 6

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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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6.
Hui Ju pressed the Elevator button urgently. Ten seconds stretched like an eternity.
The moment she stepped inside, she released the breath she’d been holding.
“Phew, that aged me ten years.”
A passenger who’d entered first glanced at her with a puzzled expression.
Hui Ju straightened slowly, composing herself and staring ahead. She couldn’t wait to escape this place.
The only consolation was the certainty that she wouldn’t be in Korea much longer.
“Avoid shit not because you fear it, but because it’s filthy.”
***
“So why don’t you start by explaining what’s going on here?”
At Han Sang Jin’s words, Liam furrowed his brow and scratched the edge of his eyebrow. He lifted his gaze slowly, meeting Han Sang Jin’s eyes directly.
“I wanted to see the face of my handler’s replacement. Isn’t it customary in this country to pay respects when visiting?”

“Since when did you start caring about customs?”
“Starting today.”
Liam’s light reply shifted abruptly as his voice dropped.
“So.”
Han Sang Jin’s expression hardened in tandem. At least he could read the room, and he caught the subtle shift in Liam’s mood.
“Where’s Sahara?”
Liam scanned the Office again, his gaze lingering momentarily on each female employee’s face before finally settling on Han Sang Jin.
“I’d appreciate it if you still remember that I dislike repeating myself.”
“Of course. I haven’t forgotten.”
Han Sang Jin nodded, his expression thoroughly exasperated.
“How could I?”
He returned to his usual demeanor and met Liam’s gaze.
“Unfortunately, James here will be taking over as your handler from today on.”
Liam’s eyes shifted sharply. His gaze met that of Director Kim.
“Hey, Liam.”
Director Kim waved awkwardly with a smile. Under Liam’s cool stare, the corners of Kim’s mouth gradually stiffened. The air around them seemed to thicken, making it hard to breathe.
“One last question.”
Liam turned his gaze back to Han Sang Jin.
“Where’s Sahara?”
“She’s on leave starting today.”
“Leave? Starting today?”
Liam laughed coldly, as though the lie wouldn’t fool anyone. Han Sang Jin tried to infuse his voice with as much sincerity as possible.
“Something came up with her family.”
“Family troubles, I see.”
Liam rubbed his temple with his index finger and asked, “How long?” Han Sang Jin shrugged.
“Two weeks for now, though it could be longer. Unfortunately, it’s not good news.”
“Ah.”
Liam, grasping the situation, narrowed his eyes. Leave starting today—the timing couldn’t have been worse.
“Two weeks.”
Liam murmured to himself, then smiled. Just that smile transformed the atmosphere around him, as if he were the kindest young man in the world.
“God, how repulsive.”
Director Kim muttered so quietly only he could hear, then grinned awkwardly when his eyes met Liam’s.
“I’m looking forward to working with you, Liam.”
“Where does Sahara sit?”
“Excuse me?”
“Even though she’s on leave, she’d still have a desk, wouldn’t she?”
“Well, I can’t just go around revealing that sort of thing.”
Director Kim waved his hand awkwardly. Liam’s stare lingered. Crushed by the pressure, Kim reluctantly pointed to an empty desk.
“Over there.”
Liam started walking.
At that moment, Han Sang Jin and Director Kim’s eyes met. Han Sang Jin suppressed his laughter and deliberately put on a stern expression.
“Director Kim, what would happen if you carelessly revealed employee locations to outsiders?”
“My apologies, sir.”
Liam was standing at the desk of Assistant Manager Yoon, who had left for an Outside Work Assignment that morning. Director Kim shot Han Sang Jin a wink.
Liam’s eyes swept across Assistant Manager Yoon’s desk—a stack of documents occupying one corner, colored pens scattered about, empty chocolate bar wrappers.
A small laugh escaped him.
“Who do you take me for, a fool?”
His quiet voice carried a sinister tone. As Director Kim flinched, Liam’s gaze shifted to the neighboring desk. That one was equally empty.
Suddenly, Liam reached out. He peeled a photograph from the monitor.
Golden sand, and an unblemished sky of brilliant blue.
There was nothing else. The dunes, ruffled by the wind, would shift their shape with each passing moment, and this particular view could only ever be seen right now.
Footprints marked the surface—not human ones. Four-legged tracks, like those of a camel.
It was desolate.
For all its majesty, the landscape felt strangely hollow.
—Both parents deceased, no siblings. Outwardly bright and conscientious, but harboring a fundamental, irresoluble loneliness deep within. Others perceive her as easygoing and kind, yet she possesses a rather cynical disposition.
“Sahara.”
Liam’s lips moved silently. This time, his eyes swept across the desk.
There was nothing. No pens, no documents, not even a memo. The only sign that someone occupied this space was the single photograph he held in his hand.
Liam’s lips curved into a slight smile. His eyes, narrowed to slits, fixed on Han Sang Jin.
Liam’s gaze sharpened.
“You’ve gotten quite good at lying, Sang Jin.”
Though Liam was smiling, Han Sang Jin immediately sensed his mood had twisted. The moment an awkward expression crossed Han Sang Jin’s face, the Office door swung open and Assistant Manager Yoon walked in.
Sucking on an Iced Americano, he noticed Han Sang Jin standing motionless and quickly bowed his head.
“I’m back, sir. I’ll organize the materials and report to you shortly.”
Receiving no response, he hesitated and headed toward his desk. Only then did he notice Liam, and he glanced between the team leader and Director Kim.
But neither offered an explanation. Scratching his head in confusion, Assistant Manager Yoon set his bag down on his chair and spoke.
“By the way, did Hui Ju leave safely? She said she’d come in briefly this morning, but my Outside Work Assignment ran long so I didn’t get to see her. I wanted to at least wish her well. She’ll be in the United States for two weeks.”
“Hui Ju.”
Liam murmured the name with unmistakable meaning. Assistant Manager Yoon looked at him in confusion, and Director Kim buried his face in his palm.
Liam curved his lips with amusement and turned his gaze to Han Sang Jin.
“Hui Ju—you mean the one from just now…?”
The ellipsis contained countless unspoken questions. Han Sang Jin chose silence instead of an answer.
After placing the photograph back on the monitor, Liam stepped toward him.
“This just keeps getting better. Right in front of me, such a cute little act. No wonder I fell for it like an idiot.”
……
“So where in the United States can I find Hui Ju? Which city?”
Liam smiled more brightly than ever, like the Grim Reaper brandishing his scythe.
***
The taxi sped down the open highway, leaving the city behind. Low residential buildings gave way to emptiness.
The landscape was peaceful enough that it felt unreal to be in the United States. Though Hui Ju’s mind was anything but peaceful.
Meeting her biological father for the first time, terminal lung cancer, the Hospice Ward. None of it had anything to do with peace. And then there was Liam Cloft, who unsettled her at intervals.
Even though the Pacific Ocean now lay between them, the sense of dread wouldn’t fade. Those grayish-blue eyes that had pierced through her lingered in her thoughts.
“We’ve arrived, ma’am.”
The driver’s voice scattered her reverie. Hui Ju lifted her head slowly. The taxi had stopped in front of a building.
“Thank you.”
As the engine sound faded, Hui Ju looked up at the structure before her. The cream-colored building looked more like an ancient castle than a Hospice Hospital.
The grounds were well-maintained, but no one was taking a walk. The fountain appeared to have been still for a long time.
With Liam Cloft pushed from her mind, thoughts of her biological father filled the space.
Why did he wish to see her? Was blood calling to blood in the face of death? Or did he regret the past only now?
“I’ll find out soon enough.”
Hui Ju straightened her posture and took a step forward. As she opened the door and entered, contemporary interior design greeted her.
After a brief glance around, she headed straight for the information desk. The Hispanic female employee, who had been setting down her phone, looked at Hui Ju with a businesslike gaze.
There was no cordial “How may I help you?” Hui Ju spoke first.
“I’m here to visit someone. I’m not sure which room.”
“The patient’s name, please.”
“Alan Smith.”
Yes, that was strange too. Why would her father’s name be Alan Smith? Had he obtained U.S. citizenship? Changed his surname?
The answers to countless questions lay right before her.
Her quiet heart finally began to race. Whether it was excitement, anticipation, or anxiety, she couldn’t say, but her chest trembled with an odd flutter.
“Alan Smith?”
The employee’s eyes widened. She studied Hui Ju’s face carefully. A warm smile spread across her face.
“This is the first time Alan has had family visit. I’m Emily.”
“Nice to meet you, Emily.”
Emily nodded, then her expression grew sorrowful.
“He was so active despite the terminal lung cancer diagnosis, but his condition has deteriorated these past few days. As you probably know.”
Hearing about her father from a stranger stirred something strange within her, especially when that stranger seemed quite intimate with him.

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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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