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I touched my neck. In the prediction that I saw with [Foresight], the pain I felt when Ha Hyun Seo’s fingernails pierced my neck came to mind again.
It was clear that Kwon Jae Hyuk also cared about Ki Yoon Jae a lot… If he had acted like Ha Hyun Seo, I would have already met my end. His strength was reliable when we were on the same side, but I would be horrified if it were directed at me.
Let’s not get caught.
Never. I should never be caught. I refused to turn into a hedgehog with weapons stabbed all over my body.
Back in the mansion, I sighed and leaned deeply into the sofa in my room. There was no time to relax in this spacious mansion.
Ah… wasn’t it always like this from the beginning?
There was only one trustworthy person among the gifted.
Jung Yi Joon. He was a bit crazy when he got angry for no reason, but he was the only one who liked ‘me’, not Ki Yoon Jae.
Because he didn’t get along with Ki Yoon Jae before.
Locking eyes with me was enough for Jung Yi Joon to spit and curse at me, but he hasn’t been doing that these days.
He still got angry and cursed at Kwon Jae Hyuk, but seeing that he treated me more leniently than before, it was clear that he started to feel more amiable towards me.
If I said that I was not Ki Yoon Jae, wouldn’t he be bewildered at first and then say, “Really?” Or, “I see, as expected.”
I had no intention of doing that, but…
Everything I had just said was only conjecture, and there was a chance that it wouldn’t play out that way. Taking Ha Hyun Seo’s example to heart, I decided against being reckless. Even if Jung Yi Joon knew the truth, I didn’t think he would kill me like Ha Hyun Seo, but I didn’t know for sure.
I don’t think the system will give me another life as kindly as it did then.
Back then, it had been during a tutorial. Now that I entered the main game, I didn’t know if a single mistake would lead to an irreversible result.
I might return when I die, but I didn’t want to gamble with the only life I had.
Someone knocked on my door while I was lost in thought.
“Are you ready?”
It was Ki Hyun Joo who opened the door and entered. Ki Hyun Joo came closer and looked at me once. Then, she reached out and grabbed the bow tie around my neck.
She grinned and while fixing the crooked accessory, she whispered to me:
“The bow tie is very cute. You look great, young master.”
“Tsk.”
Ki Hyun Joo, who laughed at my displeased face, wrapped her arms around my arm.
“I think we’re ready, so let’s go.”
Her affectionate gaze was a far cry from the way she had looked at the ‘me’ back when I first possessed this body. During that time, her eyes were always fierce…
It had only been a short while ago, but somehow it seemed like that was already part of the distant past, so I laughed hard.
“Okay, let’s go.”
When I stepped outside in line with Ki Hyun Joo, gifted people were waiting with the attendants. All of them were dressed in suits or otherwise similar smart attire to Ki Hyun Joo and me.
“Hyung!”
“Hyun Seo-ya!”
As soon as he saw me, Ha Hyun Seo’s eyes began sparkling. He ran to me at once while avoiding his sister’s shaking hand, which had been holding him.
“Hyung, you look pretty!”
“Um, you, too.”
Ha Hyun Seo, who naturally dug into my arms and hugged me around my waist, looked up at me. Ki Yoon Jae was scary because he was crazy, but Ha Hyun Seo’s cute attitude remained unchanged. As I was rubbing Ha Hyun Seo’s head without realising it, Ha Hyun Seo rubbed his face into my chest.
“Stop it. The clothes are getting wrinkled.”
“Jeez…”
Ha Hyun Seo’s mouth jutted out at Ki Hyun Joo’s rebuke, but he meekly followed. Still, he wiggled his hand and grabbed my sleeve.
When I glanced at Ha Hyun Seo and checked on Ha Eun Seo, I noticed her face turning pale. I couldn’t understand why she was so afraid of me.
Because of Ki Yoon Jae’s personality… I wouldn’t have used violence or anything.
Come to think of it, it seemed that Ha Eun Seo wasn’t good at communicating with others. Even if she did, I think it was either Ki Hyun Joo or Ha Hyun Seo whom she spoke to? I hadn’t seen her talk to anyone else.
Did she just dislike people? While I was lost in thought looking at Ha Eun Seo, Jung Yi Joon approached me in a prickly manner. His tie was nowhere to be seen.
“Ugh, it’s annoying. Why do I have to go to your family gathering?”
“It’s not a family gathering, it’s just a party. Just think of it as you’re going somewhere to eat something delicious.”
That’s right, it was all because of the end-of-year family gathering. It was a big party in which not only the immediate family and branch families gathered at the hotel banquet hall to greet each other, but also people and officials from companies affiliated with the Sungwoon group participated.
I was only able to take the gifted, so they were all dressed up.
I ignored Jung Yi Joon, who was grumbling and full of complaints, and looked at them once. I didn’t see any problems…
Oh, it’s crooked.
Kwon Jae Hyuk’s tie was crooked. I was wondering if I should tell him, but I remembered that there was no mirror in the hallway. Deciding it would be hard to fix it himself, I approached and fixed Kwon Jae Hyuk’s tie instead.
“Thanks.”
Kwon Jae Hyuk greeted me with a smile. It was nothing, so I shrugged my shoulders, but I felt a stabbing look from somewhere. Looking back, it was Jung Yi Joon.
“Huh! I can’t believe it!”
I couldn’t tell what was wrong. Jung Yi Joon, fuming, stomped his feet and tried to leave, but was stopped by Ki Hyun Joo.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m going to my room!”
“What? We have to leave now!”
However, Ki Hyun Joo could not beat the devil, Jung Yi Joon. There was no way that Ki Hyun Joo could win against Jung Yi Joon, who didn’t even listen to Ki Yoon Jae. Eventually, Jung Yi Joon left for his room, and returned with a tie in hand.
“Ugh, really…”
Ki Hyun Joo, who stared at him as if she was looking at a beagle who didn’t listen to her, grabbed her forehead and waved at him to go quickly. As always, cars were standing in front of the front door with attendants.
As everyone got into the car, Jung Yi Joon and I got in as well.
“Oi.”
As soon as I got in the car, Jung Yi Joon stuck out his tie to me. “What do you want me to do?” When I looked at him, Jung Yi Joon made a gesture by moving his chin.
“Put it on.”
“What?”
“Put the tie on me.”
As I hesitated, Jung Yi Joon’s glaring eyes flared up. This crazy guy.
As I was sticking close to Jung Yi Joon while pulling the tie around his neck and tying the knot, Jung Yi Joon’s lips trembled. He looked quite happy.
He must be happy with it.
How happy it must be to be served by Ki Yoon Jae. I felt an urge to strangle him with the tie, but I didn’t do it because I was afraid that he would do more than just glare at me.
I’d never fitted a tie around someone’s neck, so I was a little lost, but somehow I tied it up.
Jung Yi Joon smiled in satisfaction when he saw his neck reflected in the rearview mirror. You didn’t know how difficult it was to get that tie into shape.
“Are you satisfied?”
“Yes.”
Jung Yi Joon answered with a big smile despite my sarcastic questions.
Despite such ups and downs, we arrived at the meeting place. When I arrived at the affiliated SW Hotel and entered the reserved reception hall, I saw people.
I thought we’d be the first to arrive because we were in such a hurry, but there were more people than I thought.
Most of them were people from other companies, and the rest were customers of said companies.
“I can hardly see the immediate family.”
“That’s right, since they’re being swarmed by everyone else.”
Ki Hyun Joo heard my muttering and said cynically. There was a slight contempt in her eyes.
“Oh, it’s my mum.”
However, it disappeared when she saw her family. She had begun to approach her mum subconsciously, but then paused and looked at me. I waved my hand because it seemed like she wanted to go.
“Just go.”
“…No.”
“I told you to go. What’s wrong?”
“…I’m afraid you’ll make an accident.”
She hesitated and said that. I still had memories of being a rascal, so it seemed that Ki Hyun Joo almost ran out of trust in me.
I’m not a child. What kind of accident do you think I would make?
“Ah, that’s enough. Just go.”
“…You’re not going to cause an accident, are you?”
“I’m going to get angry.”
After seeing the annoyed look on my face, Ki Hyun Joo stopped asking and went to her parents.
Seeing her go, I sat down at the table. They were large, round tables that could seat about ten people all over the place.
Sitting here for dinner, listening to his grandfather Ki Jae Mu’s words of blessing, and then after the meal, gathering together to drink champagne and talk about politics and economy.
I was just going to eat as much as possible, but…
Can’t I just leave after that?
Well, I could skip the after meal gathering if nothing else happened. When I sat at the table, other people followed me.
Next to me was Jung Yi Joon, who was talking with Kwon Jae Hyuk. I couldn’t hear the contents of the discussion, but I could tell by looking at Jung Yi Joon’s grinning face that he was happy.
But why does Kwon Jae Hyuk look like that?
Normally, he teased Jung Yi Joon with a smile, but today the positions seemed to be reversed. Jung Yi Joon looked so happy that he could die, but Kwon Jae Hyuk didn’t look so happy.
I didn’t know what happened, but Jung Yi Joon must have caused it. I pretended not to know.