Chapter 145- Red Cloth
The news of ten corpses found dead in an alley near the Red Velvet auction house spread like wildfire. When it turned out to be Stephen Layl, an extremely wealthy businessman and someone who attended the auction, all eyes were directed toward the Red Velvet auction house.
Police and investigators swarmed the place to search for evidence. However, they could find nothing that could lead them to the killer. There were no cameras either. It was a perfect crime.
Meanwhile, the culprit was inside his room, sitting on a desk in front of a laptop. His cold, distant eyes shone faintly under the light emanating from the screen.
His fingers were running through the keyboard at an alarming speed as he opened and closed windows. Eventually, he heard a 'ding' sound, announcing that he successfully finished the task.
Running his hand through his hair, his eyes shifted to look at the phone that he linked to the laptop.
'It's harder than normal phones to hack.' Kai thought as he fiddled with the phone until he opened the contact info and checked the last phone call Rosa had. The number didn't have a name. Kai's eyes squinted slightly before he put the phone down again and used the laptop again.
"As I thought, the number is encrypted. It's a variable number." He murmured with a click of his tongue.
Unless he gets the actual phone these calls come from, he won't be able to locate the one who has it.
'It was expected. Knowing her, she won't leave such blatant flows.'
Then, he picked up the phone again and looked at the number. His eyes shone with a menacing light before he tapped on it and then put it on his ear.
The rhythmic sound of ringing echoed in the room as Kai waited silently. Eventually, the call connected and he heard a voice.
"Yes?" It was the same cold voice he heard a few hours ago.
Kai didn't reply immediately as he felt a surge of memories flash in his head in a split second before it vanished again.
"It's been a while." He finally spoke in a cold tone, hiding any other thoughts he had.
"..."
No response, it was as if the person he called had vanished. But, Kai knew that she was there, listening to him.
Eventually, the voice responded, in a rather wavering tone.
"K-Kai…? Is that you…?" She asked.
"You don't need to speak since I'm only leaving a small message to you. It seems that your love for antiquities is still vivid."
"Wait, Kai…"
"Shut up." He said with a domineering tone. "What happened a few years ago, do you think I forgot? I tried to find you so I could go back and finish what I should've done years ago. But, you're lucky that I couldn't. So listen carefully, I will definitely find you. And when I do, I will make you and that piece of shit regret the day you were born into this world."
"No, Kai, wait…"
Before the girl could even finish speaking, Kai hung up the call and then crushed the phone with his hand.
"Sigh…" He then sat there, silently as he looked through the window.
The next morning, Kai woke up early and sat down on his bed to meditate for one hour before he went on with his day. By the time he was cooking breakfast, Kaya woke up.
"Darling~ You're always so early. How many hours do you sleep?" She asked as she hugged him from the back and rested her head on his shoulder sleepily.
"Enough not to get sick." He replied plainly.
"Which means?"
"... 5 hours."
"5?! 5 hours?! Kai, that's far from enough!"
"..."
"Even if you think you don't need to sleep, you should at least sleep 7 hours a day."
"Is that supposed to be a medical advice?" Kai asked calmly as he set up the table while Kaya sat down.
"Yes, you're talking to the best doctor in the world. Doctor Kaya, ready to heal you in any way, shape, or form. Oh, I forgot to mention that I'm only available for one patient if they need me." She said as she rested her head on her hands seductively.
"I don't get sick." Kai replied with a deadpan look which made Kaya explode in laughter.
"You're too cute, my love. The fact that my flirting never works on you is impressive. Maybe I'm not that good at it after all."
"..."
"Sigh, all those hours of reading books and researching went down the drain."
"Practical is more important than theoretical in this case," Kai replied as he took a bite of the fried eggs.
"That's what I'm saying. *Num* *Num* But, then again, the problem is probably not with the books themselves. They are meant for normal people and the last time I checked, we're far from normal, aren't we?"
*Sip*
"That's a given." He replied.
"Hmm, maybe we should write a book about it. We can title it 'The Ways of Love for Origin Users'... Add 101 at the end to make it more professional."
"Who's going to publish it?" Kai asked as he went along with Kaya's random ideas. He found her topics rather amusing in their own way.
"... That's a good point. Goddamit, can't one write a book in this day and age without worrying about such stuff? No one thought of making a book publishing company for Origin Users. Imagine the number of Origin Users that could turn into world-renowned authors if given the opportunity."
"Nobody would want to waste their time writing a book when they can make use of their powers in other places."
"Maybe? I mean, if you think about it. In the eyes of a normal person, we are basically fictional creatures with superpowers. Our imagination can be way broader than that of a normal person. Add a sprinkle of writing skills and voila! You have a great author with a series of best-seller books!"
"Why don't you try it yourself if you're that eager?" Kai asked.
Kaya chuckled awkwardly as she scratched her head. "I… Well, let's say writing isn't one of my better skills."
"..."
"What? Ok, fine, geez. Don't look at me like that! I said don't!" Kaya yelled as she hid her face awkwardly.
"... Are you going to get ready? We're leaving in about… 30 minutes."
***
Meanwhile, somewhere else in the world. A dark figure sat on a bed, looking down at her hands. Her dead eyes seemed to regain some light in a very rare occurrence. In one of her hands, her phone showed a number that she tried to call a few times.
Nobody could understand what her mind was thinking of. After a while, she lifted her head and looked at a beautiful red cloth that was resting on the table next to the bed. Then, she picked up that cloth and looked at it from up close. Her fingers traced it gently as if it were her most precious object in the world.
*Knock* *Knock*
"Claire, wake up. Time to leave." A feminine voice spoke to her from the outside.
Instantly, the shred of livelihood that sparkled within her eyes died down completely before lifted the cloth up and wrapped it around her eyes, covering them completely.
"I'm ready." She said as she stood up and left the room.