Chapter 158 – Red
Although it is small in size, this place is no different from an ordinary airport.
I stand in front of Gate 2, where the ‘guests’ will enter, and swallow dry saliva.
Your belongings will be inspected quickly, so let’s organize your clothes one last time.
Noah said they are quite high-ranking people, but I feel nervous for no reason.
“…It’s okay, I can take care of it! Just trust me!”
“…I brought him here on a whim, but if I say something unnecessary, I’ll be in real trouble.”
Hye-mi adjusts her glasses and maintains the upright posture of a secretary.
I wonder if my older sister, who is so popular and enjoys the tension, will make the same mistake she did.
She was honestly worried, but since Noah had fainted, this was the only solution.
My older sister Hye-mi plays the role of Noah, a Korean agent who monitors me.
She’s sorry for tricking her after promising cooperation, but she can’t help it.
The owner of the mask welcomes them alone without any agents from the Korean branch?
Isn’t this a picture that naturally arouses suspicion from the customers’ point of view?
In order to catch the red-haired woman, you must not be suspected.
It is an important position where I have to prove my usefulness and that I am safe.
However, such an important role was entrusted to Hye-mi.
“Oh… This tablet really looks like special agents use it…!”
“Of course, that’s real special agent stuff.”
“Ah! That’s right!”
Hmm, should I ask you to call another agent right now?
I think I was captivated by the strange confidence of my older sister who shouted that she could do it.
What on earth did Hye-mi believe that made her nod her head? That was when she regretted it.
“Ah, space, it’s coming out there…!”
“Ugh…”
The door of Gate 2 with its blinking light opens, and crowds of people pour in behind it.
Unlike the various races, people walked out dressed uniformly in black suits.
Among them, a trio stands out in particular.
Two male and female agents looking around and a middle-aged man who appears to be their superior.
I could tell at a glance that they were agents from headquarters who had promised to meet with me.
Carefully, I silently approach them, repeating the greeting I had prepared.
To make a good first impression, walk up with a bright smile and extend your hand.
“Mr. William? It’s an honor to meet you. This is Hyemi Yang, Section 3, in charge of support at the Korean branch.”
But it was Noah and Hyemi who reached out before me.
Instead of a mischievous smile, he gives his hand with a businesslike smile.
But now, Hyemi, are you using English? How did you know that man’s name…?
“Oh, you’re from Korea… Oh my, nice to meet you, I’m William.
“The friends behind me are agents who followed me to protect me.”
“It’s Jack.”
“It’s Emma.”
William and the agents briefly give their names and shake hands with their sister.
As soon as the stiff self-introduction was over, the eyes of the three naturally turned to me.
My older sister seemed to have noticed this as well and pointed at me with a faint smile.
“Yes, this man standing in front of you is the man who promised to cooperate with us.
He’s a man who knows something about the exponentially increasing prevalence of masks.”
“…I have heard many stories about the master who brought down the two masks.”
“Ah, yes… My name is Choi Woo-joo.”
While I was dumbfounded by my sister’s fluency in English, William’s hand reached out to me.
Even as he shakes her hand, his eyes continue to look at Hye-mi. You’re so damn good at acting, what is it?
Yang Hye-mi, who had a strange image and was far from acting, deceived the special agents.
No, right now it was Kwon No-ah, not Yang Hye-mi.
The synchronization rate is so high that one wonders if Noah is really disguised as his older sister.
She was completely the same, from her tone of voice, her gaze, and her businesslike yet sly appearance.
“By the way, it looks like she isn’t the agent you were originally supposed to be…”
“Ah, Agent Noah Kwon said he will be late in arriving due to the current traffic jam.
So, for now, I have decided to provide guidance on your behalf.”
You seem to speak English much better than me, so what is it?
To the point where you can have a conversation with a native speaker without any hesitation?
Where has Hye-mi, who always asked me to read English to her, gone?
“So, first of all, I would like to tell you what Choi Woo-joo found out…”
“…Is there something else besides the woman spreading the mask…?
Hmm… Yes, please. Should we change seats first?”
“Okay, I’ve prepared the lab, so I’ll show you around.”
Hyemi bowed her head and took the lead leading her guests.
I walk along with them, shaking her head full of question marks.
It’s so amazing to see her imitating Noah, even with her straight steps.
’Isn’t it fascinating?’
At that moment, Hye-mi’s voice rang in her head.
I hold her card number 402 tightly in my pocket and send her a reply.
‘How did you do it?’
‘I just copied Noah to look like a special agent!
Universe, I also took note of Noah’s personality and behavior that you remembered.
These people’s names I snuck a peek at Noah earlier when she was playing with her tablet.
English is a little bit written out of your head. It was easy to understand~’
The knowledge I had accumulated over several years was copied in an instant?
What on earth is a Daeseongnyeo? A bewildered laugh escaped me.
I almost felt defeated, but it was okay.
You can think of it as how I was able to fool these special agents thanks to my intense study.
‘That’s right, that’s right~ Just like this, Universe, you just have to cheer up a little more! Please?’
“Im here.”
Unlike the lively voice in her head, my older sister speaks in a harsh guidance voice.
In the dark hallway down the stairs that followed her, there was a study room.
My older sister continued her explanation, pointing beyond the large glass wall that sealed the laboratory.
“Those are masks No. 2 and No. 4 that appeared in Korea not long ago.”
“No. 2 and No. 4… Then where is No. 3?”
“The Choi Universe was destroyed.”
“…I beg your pardon…?”
William asks his sister a question, laughing loosely as if he heard something wrong.
My sister spoke again, gesturing to me with an unwavering expression.
”Korea’s first owner, Choi Woo-joo, discovered Mask No. 3 and immediately destroyed it.”
“…Oh my god, if that’s true…”
William and the agents looked surprised, looking back at me with wide eyes.
I nodded, scratching my cheek at the uncomfortable gaze focused on one point.
“…I thought you might find it hard to believe, so I prepared to show you for myself.”
Hye-mi and I exchange glances and execute the plan we had prepared.
“Ah, you’re here, Noah… Huh? It’s not Mr. Noah, it’s a saint…”
“Thank you for your hard work. I am Yang Hye-mi, here on behalf of Agent Kwon Noah.”
“Huh? Ah, ah~ Hye, it was Hye-mi! Ah, ahaha…”
First, my older sister noticed Shindo, a researcher who was waiting for Noah and me in the lab.
Fortunately, he quickly realizes the situation and prepares to pass by the researcher who accepts the play.
A researcher who unlocks the containment case following his sister’s instructions.
After glancing at them, she extends both hands forward and calls out softly.
“Moon, star?”
Shrug──
The black smoke that arose in the empty air took shape in my hands,
Soon, two masks, Moon and Star, appeared on the right and left hands.
When the door to the isolation room is wide open and you throw the two down in front of it, two lights flash.
The twins, each transformed into human form in their respective colors, jade and purple, look back at me.
“…The mask is that of a girl… How could this happen…”
I put aside William’s exclamation of surprise and nodded at them.
Byeol-i responds with a quiet, soft laugh, and Dal-i responds with a lively snort.
The twins stepped into the isolation room and approached the mask in the case.
The moon and stars each hold numbers 2 and 4 in their hands and turn back to look at William.
“…Gulp, gulp…”
Without saying a word, they began to drink in the desire that had accumulated behind the mask.
The more your desire is eaten, the more dry and cracked the No. 2 and No. 4 masks become.
Finally, the twins, who drank all the desires inside the mask, fulfilled their purpose and threw the cup on the floor.
Crispy…
With a faint sound, the mask turned into a handful of powder.
“…Now, what about the foreigner over there? You guys can’t destroy this?!”
“Dal-unni, we should become friends with those people instead of fighting with them.”
“…Oh God…”
Three agents cautiously enter the isolation room with wide eyes.
Each person touches the powder placed at the feet of Dal-i and Byeol-i and blows on it.
The mask, which had never been broken, crumbled into powder and lost its function.
From a human perspective, it was a sight like a ray of light for William, who had been fighting the mask for a long time.
“How is this possible… Choi Woo-joo, what on earth is this? By what principle did you destroy the mask?!
Are those twin sisters the mask of Woo Joo? How do they take on human form…”
“Now, wait a minute…! You seem too excited…”
“Oh, wow, that’s right…! I’m sorry, I’m really, sorry…”
William, who had been excitedly running towards me and pouring out a barrage of questions, now even showed tears.
Maybe it’s the reason Isabelle said? A story about losing someone important to a mask, or something like that.
“…I sincerely want to cooperate with you. I really do.
To you all, I may still be the owner of the mask, but I mean it.
“I don’t think desire itself is bad, but I don’t like people dying.”
I wasn’t confident enough to offer comfort, so I only conveyed my true feelings.
To him who experienced a hell that was hotter and more painful than the hell I went through for a week.
William, who looked like he was going to cry for a while because of my short words, regained his composure faster than he expected.
William wipes his tears with his sleeve and nods his head with emotion on his red face.
“…I will cooperate. I will inform everyone at headquarters as soon as I return.
“Choi Woo-joo was not a new threat, but a hope to end a long war.”
William hugged me with the greatest joy despite his complex emotions.
It was a little embarrassing and cringy, but it didn’t feel bad.
I feel like my desire has found a way to help everyone.
It was a time when I was laughing awkwardly and trying to get away from the crying William.
I was the only one who noticed that strange incident.
Emma, the agent, was wiping away tears as if she was moved behind William.
There was something strange about the male agent named Jack who was standing next to her.
Her height, which was taller than me, has shrunk and she is now about the same height as Hye-mi.
His skeleton became narrower, his muscles disappeared, and the suit he was wearing became baggy.
Her short blonde hair quickly grew long enough to reach her hips,
The fierce expression hidden beneath sunglasses transformed into a soft and beautiful look.
Above all, a blank expression that seems to be looking at something beyond empty space.
The guy who was drooling from the corner of his mouth, no.
When she smiled cruelly again, her empty eyes glowed red.
“…No, that’s not what he wants.”
“───Sister Hyemi!!”
Jack, who seemed possessed by something and muttered something unintelligible, took out his pistol and pulled the trigger.
Bang───!!
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