It was good to be inconspicuous, but there was a little problem. People were walking straight toward them. Although that didnāt mean that everyone focused on him and Kwon Jae-hyuk like a guided missile. It just meant that people approaching from across the street tried to pass straight through them because they could not see them properly.
But they were not ghosts, so Kwon Jae-hyuk would catch him and turn towards him every time he bumped into someone.
Is it an ability to get out of a crowded street soĀ easily?
He looked up at Kwon Jae-hyuk blankly and suddenly a cold drop of water popped on his nose.
āHuh?ā
At one point, passersby, including them, were flustered by the sudden downpour. It was dark and the night view had been so spectacular that they hadnāt even noticed the rain clouds in the sky.
It was a desert city, but the raindrops were cold as ice, so they ran quickly.
As they tried to escape the heavy downpour, a neon sign marked āOpenā stood out before them with an arrow pointing towards the basement. They descended the stairs without looking back.
The bell rang with a clink.
* * *
[Jamie ran a small bar in Las Vegas. There were lots of people coming and going as if it were a pleasure city. Perhaps because it was so secluded, very few people visited her bar.]
āNo oneās coming today either.ā
""
Her fingers tapped on the counter table with smooth colored nails. She didnāt look nervous or anxious because there were no customers. She was relaxed. While she thought about closing early, two men came in and rang the bell.
āWelcome.ā
āHa, thank goodness. What a sudden rain.ā
She greeted them reflexively, and what replied to her was a young voice.
Is he in elementary school? Middle school?
It wasnāt racism, but in Jamieās eyes, all Asians looked young so she had no idea of their age.
The man with a young voice brushed off his wet hair from the rain. There were no windows and the noise was completely blocked, so she hadnāt even realized it was raining until the door opened. She gave up on closing early because she didnāt want to go home in the rain.
āHello?ā
āHello.ā
He sat casually in front of the counter table and said hello. He looked much younger up close and she suspected that he was really in primary school.
āExcuse me, Iām not an adult yet, but do you mind if I stay here? Itās raining too much. Oh, but I have a guardian. This guy. This person is an adult.ā
Then, he grabbed and pulled the person standing next to him. The man who was gently dragged down bowed to her.
āHmmā¦ā
She nodded, thinking of what to do. She was bored at the moment and wasnāt so cold as to kick the child out in the rain like that. When she said it was okay, the other person smiled.
āDo you have any non-alcoholic cocktails or anything else to drink? Iām here to avoid the rain, but I feel guilty just taking my seat.ā
āHow about some orange juice?ā
āThatās great.ā
She laughed and took out the orange juice she had for her cocktail from the mini refrigerator. Then she opened the lid and slowly poured it into the cup and asked the other person,
āWhat about you?ā
āā¦The same thing.ā
Usually, it was the younger one who was either taciturn or poor at English, but this one was less talkative.
She took out one more cup, poured juice, and put some ice in it. She felt good for some reason and wanted to provide a service, so she picked a mint leaf, let it float on the top, and thinly sliced an orange in a cup to decorate it.
Finally, she placed the cups in front of each other, finishing by inserting cute white and red spiral straws deep into the cups.
āWow, do you drink juice this fancy in Las Vegas?ā
She giggled as the young customer gleamed and admired her. The other remained quiet, but the person she spoke to amused her with a variety of expressions and exciting words.
The young guestās name was Yoonjae. He winked at her to call him Jay if she had a hard time pronouncing it.
āNo, I mean! Itās not worth the trip to Las Vegas. Iām not old enough to enter the casinoā¦ā
āHahaha.ā
āAnd yet, thanks to coming like this, I get to meet Jamieā¦ā
āOh, myā¦ā
Yoon-jae smiled and winked. She chuckled but frowned at his flirting. It didnāt seem like he really meant it, or perhaps he was drunk in the free atmosphere, so rather than taking it seriously, she just laughed.
āHuh? Why are you laughing? I meant it.ā
āWellā¦ I think you should say that after you become an adultā¦ā
Even though he said that he was serious about it, he did not show any hurt or discomfort towards Jamieās attitude. Yoon-jae grinned as he answered mischievously to her rhythm.
āHey, canāt we have a good relationship even if Iām not an adult?ā
āHmm?ā
āFor exampleā¦ Like a good friendship? How about I guide you when you come to Korea next time?ā
āWellā¦ā
āIf you donāt want to be friendsā¦ What about the relationship between a guild leader and a guild member? Iām currently recruiting talented people.ā
Jamieās face hardened at the remark. There was a sudden cold silence between the three.
Darn itā¦!
Jamie clicked her tongue. She was so flustered by Yoon-jaeās sudden words that she missed the timing to say no or ask what he meant.
Jamie moved her hand slowly. She had already created an emergency escape route because she knew someone would come after her someday.
When she pressed the button, the floor would open and the lights inside the bar would go off, so she could get inside and escapeā¦
āStay still.ā
āUghā¦!ā
However, the man who had been sitting quietly now had a sword in his hand and aimed at her neck. She didnāt even know when he had pulled it out.
She had forgotten he was there because he had been so quiet and she was only concerned about Yoon-jae. As she stared at the man in frustration, Yoon-jae, who sat still and sipped the remaining orange juice with a straw, waved his hand.
āHyung, stop it. Jamie, stop too. Iām not here to threaten you, Iām just here to make a suggestion.ā
āā¦How can I trust you guys?ā
āIf I were going to do something, it would have happened already. And weāve already met once.ā
Jade. When he called Jamieās real name, she, or rather he, looked down at him coldly and laughed.
āWeāve met? No, more importantlyā¦ How did you know I was here?ā
Jamieās voice was husky, but Jadeās real voice had a lower pitch than that. It was strange to hear a sensual blonde beauty speak in a voice like a humming sound in a cave. When Yoon-jae smiled awkwardly because it was a little uncomfortable to see her strange appearance, Jade snorted and shuddered.
Then something popped out of Jamieās skin, and before he knew it, a slender man with green hair escaped from her back.
āHaā¦ I think I feel alive.ā
Jamieās shell fell limply to the ground. The man roughly pushed it away in a corner with his foot, straightened himself up, and stretched lightly. Jamie was quite big, but when he stretched out her bent body, he was much bigger.
He was about 190 cm tall or over. In addition to being tall, he had a slender body and a beautiful face, so it would have been believable to say that he was a model. Yoon-jae thought he was a South American who had slightly dark skin and thick body hair.
Yoon-jae gazed at him blankly and opened his mouth.
āTo answer the questionā¦ Well, weāve met. Was it three years ago? In Seoul.ā
Jade tilted his head, looked down at him, and asked,
āSeoul?ā
āYes.ā
Yoon-jae turned to Kwon Jae-hyuk when he saw Jade pondering. Kwon Jae-hyuk was sitting with a look of boredom on his face, but when he looked at him, he smiled. Yoon-jae smiled awkwardly and recalled what happened before he came to America.
As soon as I received an invitation from SNT, this person came to mind.
The man who made the contract that reduced Ki Yoon-jaeās life in the original story and later stabbed him in the back. Jade, who had the maker ability. All he knew was his first name, but he remembered that he was American. He was also a gray man.
This didnāt mean that his skin was gray, but that his activities were somewhere in the middle between legal and illegal. He wanted him so that he could find Ki Yoon-jaeās memories.
Memories that he could not retrieve over time, and these empty memories were his weakness. Therefore, he wanted to find Ki Yoon-jaeās hidden memories for his safety.