“Cooper-ssi!”
The man who had been standing motionless beside the elevator called out excitedly when he saw Theo entering through the main door.
“I’m so glad you’re safe!”
“Lower your voice.”
Though Theo responded coldly, the man couldn’t contain his excitement, wagging his tail like a puppy who had finally found its master after a long wait.
“I was so worried. The media was in an uproar reporting that the Gostin Family boss had been captured. I was so anxious thinking you might have been caught too.”
Of course, I knew the boss would have planned ahead, but still. Theo ignored the man who was excitedly chattering away and stepped into the elevator.
“Ah, at least have some coffee before you go.”
Seemingly reluctant to part ways, the man forcibly held the closing elevator door and grabbed Theo’s arm. How long had he waited for this day to come again? The man gathered his courage as he recalled the past days when he’d been anxiously pining like someone lovesick.
However, it was the worst possible timing for Theo. The man was too caught up in his racing heart to notice Theo’s expression turning murderous.
In the time they hadn’t seen each other, Theo seemed to have lost weight, making his jawline and nose bridge appear even sharper, and the dark circles under his eyes looked strangely alluring. The man was so distracted by Theo’s enhanced appearance that he couldn’t resist when a hand as large as a pot lid crushed his jaw like it would pulverize it.
“Th-Theo…?”
Only then did the man’s face turn pale at Theo’s glaring eyes that looked ready to tear him limb from limb. Despite the man’s frightened whimpering, Theo wouldn’t release him, drawing the attention of everyone in the lobby.
“Why don’t you control yourself?”
While everyone was just watching without any intention to intervene, someone nudged Theo and entered the elevator.
“You know perfectly well this isn’t the time to cause this kind of trouble.”
The tone was irritatingly rigid. Theo took a deep breath as if trying to calm himself, then released the man. The man who fell flat outside the elevator looked blankly at the man standing next to Theo.
He was a stranger. Calm reddish-brown hair and gleaming emerald green eyes in a scornful, frowning expression.
“Herick.”
Herick responded curtly to Theo’s voice that scraped the floor.
“What.”
“…”
They maintained silence until the elevator doors closed and reached the top floor. However, their eyes continued to glare at each other with displeasure.
“You’re both late.”
Enya, who had been organizing documents at her desk, greeted them as she removed her glasses.
“It was close, but I think we arrived right on time.”
“You just passed the one-minute mark.”
Herick frowned after checking his wristwatch. Theo moved forward without saying anything, as if used to her reprimands.
“Keeping appointments is a fundamental rule among fundamentals. Don’t you think so, Michael?”
“Shit…”
Theo reflexively cursed when he spotted Michael already sitting on the sofa.
“Why the hell did you bring them too?”
“Because they’re worth it.”
Enya answered simply despite Theo’s criticism.
It was Enya who had helped Theo, Michael, and even Herick escape the police investigation. Her connections were already spread throughout the police force, so they only needed to prepare reasonable excuses. The pretext they created was that they were “residents of Caysenderson City.”
That fact remained on official records. To the question of why they were with Federico and the other mafia members, they gave the flimsy but not implausible excuse that “the vicious mafia had taken innocent, good citizens hostage.”
“So Hyungoh wasn’t worth bringing?”
“You guys were apparently my limit.”
Enya shrugged. Though Theo spoke as if blaming her, he knew he was being unreasonable. After all, Hyungoh wasn’t a resident of Caysenderson City to begin with, and being a foreigner made him sufficiently suspicious.
“Everyone’s face looks quite worn. You must have been through some emotional distress.”
Especially you, Theodore. You look absolutely terrible. Enya smiled teasingly.
“Couldn’t sleep properly worrying about Hunter?”
“…”
“You really have a faithful side to you. You still love him even after picking up the fact that Hunter didn’t kill your father?”
Theo turned his head away, his face shadowed so heavily it seemed like it could pierce through the ground. Herick frowned, concerned that Theo might make another mistake driven by his emotions.
“Why did you call all of us here?”
Herick asked, glancing at Michael who had been silent all this time.
“I want to make a proposal to you all who have lost your place.”
“What kind of proposal?”
“Why do you think I took the risk to extract you all when I didn’t have to?”
Herick lowered his eyes, thinking that the inevitable had finally come. He had anticipated this outcome from the moment he accepted her help, but…
“You want us to work under you, I suppose.”
“Indeed. Unlike those two idiots, I like that your brain works well.”
She stood up from her seat and spoke with satisfaction.
“Our Gostin treasure has been spacing out this whole time.”
Enya, who had been stroking Michael’s head as if petting him, suddenly grabbed his hair and lifted his face.
“Your abilities certainly deserve to be called a treasure.”
“…”
“The only major flaw is that the vessel containing those abilities is stupid.”
Michael’s unfocused eyes soon filled with murderous intent as he stared directly at her.
“What do you know?”
“Oh my, seems I touched a nerve.”
But it’s the truth. What can you do? As she taunted him, the agitated Michael reached out toward her.
“He’s going to…!”
Theo tried to block him, but Enya continued without blinking.
“I heard you made a very important promise with Hunter.”
Seeing his hand frozen in mid-air, Enya smiled broadly as if she had expected it, and pulled his head back even further.
“That promise Hunter ultimately couldn’t keep—I’ll fulfill it for you.”
