“I understand your plan, but…”
Cha Soo-yeon, who was following me, hesitated, then opened her mouth. “What will you do if it fails?”
“Fail?”
“…Taeheon-ssi.” Cha Soo-yeon made a dissatisfied face. “He may not come to find me.”
“Well,” I answered without hiding the bland expression on my face, “I don’t know. There is a possibility, but it’s rather low. About 10%?”
“What? So, there is a 90% chance that Taeheon-ssi will come?”
“Right.”
I lifted my head and looked up at the building that smelled of cement.
The abandoned building, which had been demolished, was barren. This abandoned building was accidentally discovered by Ha Tae-heon in the novel, and was useful in various situations. For example, catching and interrogating a cannon fodder villain.
The abandoned building was discovered later so the only person who knew of it was me. The first person to find it is the owner.
“…why are you so sure?”
“Pardon?”
Cha Soo-yeon looked at me with complicated eyes as I looked around the abandoned building.
“I’m sorry if you expected it like that, but honestly, I’m not that close with Taeheon-ssi.” Cha Soo-yeon frowned and blushed. “Of course, I love Taeheon-ssi… I think of him like that, but he doesn’t seem to think the same.”
“……”
“I’ve only met him twice in person. I’ll cooperate with you, but I think Taeheon-ssi…”
“Will come.”
It’s not that I don’t understand what Cha Soo-yeon meant. If I hadn’t read the novel, I would never have made a plan like this.
“Even if he doesn’t come, absolutely no harm will come to you, Cha Soo-yeon-ssi. You can hit me with all your anger. We’d need a plausible excuse for the kidnapping to fail anyway.”
“Why are you doing that?”
“I believe in Ha Taeheon-ssi. He will definitely come,” I answered firmly on purpose.
If Cha Soo-yeon became unsure now, it would mean all my efforts were for nothing. With a soft smile, I began to speak so that I could persuade Cha Soo-yeon, “Trust Ha Tae-heon. Do you think he’d turn away from Cha Soo-yeon-ssi, who is in danger? Absolutely not, in my opinion.”
“……”
“And Ha Tae-heon has already saved Cha Soo-yeon before, right? Ha Tae-heon is that kind of person.”
Cha Soo-yeon’s eyes shook. Cha Soo-yeon, who looked at me with her mouth slightly open, quickly averted her gaze and her ears turned red. I was puzzled by the strange reaction, but I didn’t bother to point it out.
“…Okay.” Cha Soo-yeon nodded her head. “Then what should I do now?”
“Please call Ha Tae-heon. When he answers the phone, tell him to help you. It would be nice if you could pretend to be scared, but… it’s enough if you just say it well.”
“Okay.”
She took her cell phone out of the combat leather jacket she was wearing. Staring at the screen with a nervous expression, she pressed the call button desperately as if she had made up her mind.
Trululu— Trululu—
As the ringing tone got longer, Cha Soo-yeon pursed her lips nervously. Until 20 seconds passed, Ha Tae-heon did not answer the phone. I didn’t show it, but inside I was a little embarrassed. Has he already entered the meeting?
Click.
[Hello. This is Ha Tae-heon.]
The moment I became anxious, the call was finally connected. A slightly low-key, very business-like voice was heard. My heart fluttered for a moment when I heard the main character’s voice for the first time. What a good voice.
“H-hey, how are you?”
[Cha Soo-yeon-ssi?]
Cha Soo-yeon’s voice trembled as if she was more nervous than she looked. I nodded my head to Cha Soo-yeon, who was not sure what to do, with the meaning to not worry. Seeing me like that, Cha Soo-yeon closed her eyes tightly and opened her mouth.
“H-he…”
[Pardon?]
“Help—help me please, Taeheon-ssi…!”
It was almost like a scream.
Good. Cha Soo-yeon, whose face was so red, smiled, and handed over her cell phone.
[Hello? Cha Soo-yeon-ssi? What happened?]
Perhaps he was surprised by Cha Soo-yeon’s sudden request for help, Ha Tae-heon’s voice tone rose slightly.
[Cha Soo-yeon-ssi!]
“Good morning,” I greeted Ha Tae-heon without hiding my smile.
Ha Tae-heon, who heard my voice instead of Cha Soo-yeon, spoke after a brief pause. His voice was much lower and harsher than before.
[…who are you?]
“If you’re curious, could you come over here now? I’m taking good care of Cha Soo-yeon.”
[Cha Sooyeon-ssi, put her on the phone right now.]
“It’s a bit… Cha Sooyeon-ssi’s condition is not good right now.”
It wasn’t a lie. It was because Cha Soo-yeon shook her head with a pale face at Ha Tae-heon’s words.
[If you don’t change to her right away, you’ll regret it.]
I looked at Cha Soo-yeon again. Cha Soo-yeon shook her head more strongly. It seemed she didn’t want to receive it. Well, acting kidnapped isn’t easy.
“No… She’s not really in a position to receive it,” I answered with a little more sincerity.
[Ha… Where?]
“Pardon?”
[Where do I go?] Ha Tae-heon became irritated upon my confusion.
Huh, he was going to come. Success! Although Ha Tae-heon seemed a little pissed off, what was more important was that it was going according to plan.
“You know the Sky Restaurant, right? If you pass by the restaurant, you will find an abandoned building. That’s it. The time limit is… I’ll give you 50 minutes. You’re not gonna be late, right?”
[……]
“It can’t be that you won’t come, right? You should come for Cha Soo-yeon-ssi.”
Tut.
While talking, the call was cut off. What a cold-hearted man. As expected, the main character was arrogant. I shrugged my shoulders while returning the phone with the screen off to Cha Soo-yeon.
“See. He said he was coming, right?”
“He didn’t even say he was coming.”
“He asked about the location. Then why wouldn’t he come?”
Cha Soo-yeon looked at me with doubtful eyes. That was unfair.
However, unlike Cha Soo-yeon’s anxiety, I’d gained 100% confidence through this call. The reason was that Ha Tae-heon’s attitude was exactly the same as in the novel. In fact, I had a faint memory of the first part, so I only knew that Ha Tae-heon was coming to rescue Cha Soo-yeon, but as we talked on the phone, some additional lines came to mind.
‘The words we said on the phone match the lines in the novel.’
In the novel, Han Yi-gyeol and Ha Tae-heon talked on the phone. Of course, the situation was different.
Originally, Han Yi-gyeol bumped into her head-on to kidnap Cha Soo-yeon. Han Yi-gyeol, who was much better at handling his abilities than I was, beat Cha Soo-yeon and dragged her away to a deserted place. Originally, it was on the roof of a closed elementary school.
There, Han Yi-gyeol took Cha Soo-yeon’s cell phone and called Ha Tae-heon. Then the conversation between the two was like this:
* * *
‘Are you Ha Tae-heon?’
‘…who is this?’
‘If you want to save this woman, come to the place I’m talking about.’
‘Put Cha Sooyeon-ssi on the phone right now.’
‘That’s not possible.’
‘If you don’t change to her right away, you will regret it.’
‘If you don’t come, this woman will die.’
‘Ha… Where is it?’
‘Are you coming?’
‘Where is that place?’
* * *
Afterwards, Han Yi-gyeol lost against Ha Tae-heon, who ran over immediately, then fell down the rooftop. He would have died if he had not used a handful of skills he had saved until the end and wrapped himself in the wind. It was why I didn’t choose the school roof as Cha Soo-yeon’s abduction site.
‘Looking at this, the novel was correct.’
Everything went so smoothly that I forgot for a moment. I brushed my hair in the back and said, “Cha Soo-yeon-ssi.”
Anyway, my plan was going smoothly, and I couldn’t afford to think about anything else right now.
“This is important. In fact, even though I succeeded when I got Ha Tae-heon to come over, Cha Sooyeon-ssi isn’t in the same situation as me, right?”
“I-is that so?”
Cha Soo-yeon had been struggling as if her mind had been sold elsewhere. Why are you like that?
I nodded my head. “As you know, Ha Tae-heon is a bit quick-witted, isn’t he? I’m sure he thought I kidnapped Cha Soo-yeon-ssi, but if you’re fine, it will look weird.”
“That’s true…”
“Well, it doesn’t matter if Ha Tae-heon takes me as a kidnapper… But if Ha Tae-heon misunderstands me and Cha Sooyeon-ssi as accomplices…” Having said this, I thought for a moment… After all, it wasn’t a misunderstanding, was it?
“What? No!” Cha Soo-yeon responded quickly.
Yeah, I guessed so. I took two things out of my pocket and showed them to Cha Soo-yeon.
“What is this?”
“Can’t you tell just by looking? It’s a necklace and a handkerchief.”
“Who wouldn’t know? I’m asking why?”
Before explaining, I approached Cha Soo-yeon with the necklace. Cha Soo-yeon trembled as if surprised by my sudden approach, but surprisingly, she did not run away and looked at me. Thanks to this, I was able to hang the necklace around Cha Soo-yeon’s neck without much trouble.
“Wh-what?” Cha Soo-yeon awkwardly avoided my gaze and touched the necklace.
“This is a necklace I just happened to have. Let’s use that.”
“How?”
The necklace was an ordinary accessory with a rather childish appearance, studded with blue jewels.
“An item that blocks the wearer’s spirit. Do you know what I’m talking about?”
“I know. You mean ‘shutter’, right?”
“Yes. From now on, that necklace is a shutter item. Pretend you’re wearing it because I tricked you.”
“Ah…”
Cha Soo-yeon made a strange expression again. I was starting to wonder why but it was annoying to ask.
“And with this handkerchief, I will tie Cha Sooyeon-ssi’s hands behind your back. I’m going to tie it up pretty strongly, but it doesn’t really block your abilities anyway, so if you’re in danger, burn it.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“After that, you can just sit on the floor.”
As soon as I finished speaking, Cha Soo-yeon reflexively looked down at the grey cement floor and wrinkled her face.
…it’s a little dirty.
“…would you like me to lay out my coat?”
“No, you wouldn’t be sitting on your kidnapper’s clothes when you're kidnapped, would you?”
In that case. I turned my attention to the necklace hanging on Cha Soo-yeon’s neck.
“Finally… When everything is in order, crush the necklace with your feet. He might try to check if the item is real later.”
“…it’s kind of a waste.”
“It’s cheap anyway.”
In response, I forced myself to look away from the necklace.
That necklace was a gift that Han Yi-gyeol bought for his younger sister. A necklace that he bought when he still had the expectation that they would meet up one day.
‘I don’t need it anymore.’
Han Yi-gyeol’s younger sister was dead. Therefore, the necklace was nothing but a meaningless object.
“Okay, the preparations are all set,” I said, smiling deeply to deliberately drive the uncomfortable feeling away.
“Now, shall we welcome the protagonist?”