The Snake, the Flower, and the Tiger - Chapter 25

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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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Episode 25

“That would be it. The problem is, I can’t remember.”
Even if a president had been among those greeting her at the wedding, she wouldn’t have recalled it. The only vivid memory was from the first night—Kim Je-eon’s actions alone. Hui-seo sighed again, then something occurred to her. “I understand Jo looking into what I asked, but why did the others arrive today? Is this something Kim Je-eon ordered as well?”

“Yes. The Executive Director instructed a final inspection of the Dubai Center. I believe Han Do-yoon’s team was delayed in departing because of the preparations for that.”
“The Dubai Center?”
Hui-seo frowned as she asked, and Jo explained quickly, glancing downstairs for privacy.
Under the name of the Trident Project, Dubai was the first country where the GM Group was establishing a medical facility abroad.
The building was fully completed, and a dedication ceremony was scheduled for the day before Hui-seo and Je-eon returned to Korea. Until the ceremony, Kim Je-eon’s schedule was packed without a gap. Their honeymoon was nothing but a pretty façade.
‘If this had been a real honeymoon, he’d deserve a slap across the face from the bride.’
Had it not been for his own confession, Kim Je-eon would have seemed nothing more than a workaholic. To the degree that Kim Jong-hyeop, who was convinced something possessed him, was the one who appeared strange.
Jo hesitated as she rose from her seat, watching Hui-seo lost in thought. She seemed to have something to say.
“What is it?”
“It’s rather delicate for me to pass this along, Miss.”
“Go ahead.”
“Executive Director Choi visited the Chairman’s Residence and had a private meeting. It seems he discussed you during their conversation.”
“Executive Director Choi?”
“That would be Choi Jin-wook, the Executive Director and husband of Director Seo Hyun-a. He heads the Legal Team.”
Ah. Hui-seo exhaled softly. She’d wondered why things had been so quiet until her departure. Though she knew better than anyone that he wasn’t someone who would stay quiet so easily.
Hui-seo pressed her forehead and let out a long sigh. Jo comforted her with her next words.
“I’m told the Chairman didn’t hear exactly what Executive Director Choi said, but he became gravely enraged. Those waiting outside were so startled by his anger that Executive Director Choi practically fled—so please don’t worry too much.”
She could picture the scene without seeing it.
Choi Jin-wook had surely run his mouth about her to Kim Jong-hyeop, thinking her threats manageable enough.
‘But Kim Jong-hyeop wouldn’t have listened to it.’
She was already past thirty. Growing up without parents, she’d been used and betrayed by others countless times. As a result, she’d long abandoned any naïveté about taking things at face value.
‘Choi Jin-wook probably called me a charlatan shaman who hadn’t even completed a proper Shamanic Initiation. He’d have claimed he saw it with his own eyes. But Kim Jong-hyeop would have already known.’
The chairman of one of the nation’s leading conglomerates wouldn’t have placed an unknown woman beside his blood relatives without conducting a thorough investigation first. By the time he appeared before Hui-seo, he would have finished investigating her completely.
‘If that’s the case, then he already knew about the connection between Choi Jin-wook and me.’
Hui-seo pressed her forehead. She’d grasped his hand without hesitation to find her parents, but the exhaustion she’d incurred to do so had been too great.
Then, suddenly, a realization struck Hui-seo’s mind.
“Who was the construction manager for the Dubai Center?”
“Ah? Well, I believe it was Executive Director Choi. That’s why he couldn’t attend your wedding. Though there were other reasons as well.”
“Other reasons? And isn’t Executive Director Choi with the Legal Team? I heard he married while he was a prosecutor.”
“Ah…”
Jo hesitated in her response. Hui-seo pressed her, noticing the evasive manner. “The Chairman told you to help me. Don’t hide anything—tell me.”

“There was a fatal accident during the Center’s construction. We were found at fault. So during the aftermath, the project manager was changed to Executive Director Choi. Since he’s one of the Chairman’s closest associates, you understand.”
“…”
Now everything made sense. Kim Jong-hyeop, discovering her connection to Choi Jin-wook during his investigation of her, had moved preemptively to keep him from appearing at the wedding. He’d even crafted a plausible excuse.
Choi Jin-wook had occasionally shown signs of recklessness in the past. If he hadn’t reformed that nature, Kim Jong-hyeop, already carrying the risk of Hui-seo’s false identity, couldn’t afford to carry Choi as well.
“Shit, how can luck be this bad… Anyway, I understand. Thank you for telling me.”
“Yes, Miss. Then please rest. The Executive Director has an appointment soon, so he’ll be heading out.”
Jo glanced at her phone and quickly rushed from the room. Soon the sound of people hurrying out followed. True to Jo’s word, Kim Je-eon was leaving to attend to his schedule.
Hui-seo lay flat on the bed. Her mind was heavy with a tangle of thoughts.

***

Whether fortunate or not, Kim Je-eon was extremely busy after that day. Yet Hui-seo couldn’t let her guard down for a moment. Every day brought an unexpected ill omen to find her.
“…”
It was a day Je-eon had vanished before dawn under the pretext of a site inspection. Hui-seo, her sleep fractured by restless dreams throughout the night, rose languidly and headed for the bathroom.
The bathroom, adorned with genuine gold and jewels, had felt overwhelming on first sight, but humans were creatures of adaptation.
She was filling the enormous bathtub—large enough for four grown adults to enter at once—and had turned to wet her toothbrush when she saw her reflection in the mirror and her eyes went wide.
“…Damn it.”
The bathtub was flooding with water that shone bright red, like fresh blood. The crimson liquid poured from the tap as though molten lava were flowing—gushing, rushing. It was a scene fit for a horror film.
Hui-seo instinctively stepped back, then stopped. The water that had already overflowed the tub was soaking her feet. Even though the structure was designed so that once the water reached a certain level, it would drain through the overflow pipe at the top of the tub and not overflow further.
Normal water could never overflow like this in the first place.
“Huff, huff…….”
The water crept higher, soaking Hui-seo’s calves, lapping gently against her skin. Standing in the bloody tide with her eyes closed, she steadied her breathing. Then, drawing her focus inward, she began to recite a Buddhist sutra in a low voice.
Even as she recited, blood continued to pour from the faucet, and the stench was enough to turn her stomach.
“If one wishes to understand, all Buddhas of the three worlds — the law-realm’s nature is such that all things are but creations of the mind.”
A passage from the Diamond Sutra. Hui-seo repeated the same verse again and again, calming her startled mind. And then, as if in response, the water level that had risen to her waist began to drop rapidly.
By the thirty-third recitation, she heard a sound like all the water draining away at once.
…….
Opening her eyes carefully, the bathroom had returned to its original state, as if nothing had ever happened. The water in the tub was clear and pristine, holding at its usual level.
With one final deep exhale, Hui-seo wiped her brow.
A sudden premonition flashed through her mind — today would not be like any other day.

Unfortunately, Hui-seo’s premonition proved true.
Jo, who had come to bring lunch to Hui-seo while she was alone, let out a scream that seemed to tear the air itself. At the sudden cry, Hui-seo, who had been on the phone with Hae-jeong in her room, bolted downstairs.
Rushing to the first floor, Jo sat collapsed on the ground, her face drained of all color, shock written plainly across her features.
“Miss, the, the food……. I just ordered it from room service, but——”
“Huff…….”
Bzzzz. Ignoring the flies darting before her eyes, Hui-seo approached the table.
A sigh escaped her lips unbidden. The food that had looked appetizing mere moments ago had rotted completely.
Flies buzzed over dishes barely recognizable by their shape, and maggots crawled across them. From the putrid chicken viscera, thick with decay, worms continued to pour forth. It looked as if it had been left to rot in a trash bin for days.

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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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