CRT Ch 37

💎

It was past midnight when Seok Ryu finally managed to send Ryu Jihoon away, who had followed him all the way to the front door. He had been running around all day, his feet burning, but he had returned empty-handed. The followers he had lost had all failed in their doping attempts, and he had even missed Cha Yilhyun. Furthermore, he had ended up sleeping with him again. Whether it was forced or just the leftovers, it had happened.

The living room, insulated from outside noise, was dark, with the lights off. Only the owner’s bag and coat were strewn across the grayish-white marble floor. Within a scene similar to that nightmarish day, only Yejun was nowhere to be seen.

Seok Ryu lingered in front of Yejun’s door before quietly opening it. In the darkened room, he could see the covers of the wide bed bulging upwards. Yejun’s breathing was shallow, barely audible even when he strained his ears. Yejun was asleep, so he could put it off for now, but he was at a loss as to what to say when he woke up in the morning.

Seok Ryu first showered in the bathroom attached to his room. Looking at his naked reflection in the mirror, he was speechless. His lips were swollen, and his chest and thighs were covered in bite marks and a faint heat rash.

He was truly thankful that Yejun was asleep. If Yejun had discovered him in this state, Seok Ryu’s back wouldn’t have survived the day. Even if he tried to explain that he was just leftovers, like Jinguk, it wouldn’t reach Yejun’s ears. Worried that the washing machine might wake Yejun, he crouched naked and hand-washed his clothes.

After showering, he opened his suitcase. He frowned as he reached for a change of clothes. A foul, fishy smell emanated from his suitcase. He hadn’t cooked any fish in the past few days, and the bag had been tightly closed, so there was no way food smells could have permeated it.

With a sense of foreboding, he took out all his clothes and belongings. The jewelry box he had hidden at the very bottom was gone without a trace. Shinbi’s source stone was in that jewelry box. And the garnet necklace and sapphire necklace too…

Someone had definitely rummaged through his suitcase. His body temperature dropped sharply. He searched his room thoroughly, but the jewelry box was nowhere to be found. Seok Ryu bolted from his room and ran across the living room. Without even thinking to knock, he threw open Yejun’s door.

“Did you happen to come into my room?”

Yejun, startled awake, turned on the bedside lamp. He looked at Seok Ryu and then breathed a sigh of relief.

“Why would I go in there? That Noeul kid came by for a bit earlier, though. What’s wrong?”

His vision went dark. Back at the workshop, Noeul would often steal Seok Ryu’s things and throw them away randomly. Without even the composure to explain the situation to Yejun, he darted out.

💎

—What?

Seok Ryu knocked on the front door and repeatedly rang the doorbell, a voice laced with annoyance came back through the intercom. He was sure it was Yoon Inoh from the voice alone.

“Open the door.”

—Don’t cause a ruckus in the middle of the night and get lost.

“Open the door if you don’t want to be humiliated in the middle of the night, Mr. Yoon Inoh.”

After a brief curse, the front door opened a moment later. The instant it did, the stench of stagnant water, unlike anything he’d ever smelled before, assaulted his nose. Seok Ryu pushed past Yoon Yubin and went straight to the master bedroom through the long living room. Noeul had always bragged about taking over even his owner’s bedroom.

He threw open the door to find Noeul’s back facing him, lying on the wide bed and watching a video. Even though it was still early autumn, the heating was turned up so high that the air was stiflingly hot. Seok Ryu walked toward Noeul.

“Where is it?”

“What?”

Noeul nonchalantly kept his eyes on his phone. Seok Ryu immediately grabbed Noeul by the collar and shoved him against the wall.

“I know you took it, so hand it over.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

As expected, he wasn’t going to confess easily. Seok Ryu threw Noeul to the ground and checked under the bed. He ransacked the bedside table drawers, the closet, and even the suitcase. He searched the kitchen cabinets, the bathroom, and under the living room sofa, but the jewelry box was nowhere to be found.

Yoon Inoh’s apartment used to be overflowing with mirrors, but this house was practically devoid of them. And scattered throughout the house were drops of an unidentified, sticky red liquid.

Seok Ryu, panting, headed back to Noeul’s room. Noeul was sitting on the bed with his legs crossed, listening to pop music on his phone. His demurely lowered eyes were as beautiful and alluring as a painting. Even his ankles, which he kept bobbing, were so sleek he wanted to break them.

“Did you lose something again? Try taking better care of your things. What kind of slave barges into someone else’s house in the middle of the night, and what kind of owner doesn’t even offer a guest a glass of water?”

“If you try anything funny with Yejun, I’ll grind you to dust this time.”

“Why? Are you scared I’ll spill your secrets?”

Seok Ryu curled his twitching lips into a sneer.

“I have no idea what nonsense you’re talking about.”

“You’re pretty good at playing innocent, aren’t you?”

Noeul fiddled with the velvet choker around his neck and scoffed.

“If you stole someone else’s owner with dirty tricks, you should’ve done a better job, shouldn’t you? Judging by the fact that you’ve even had your choker confiscated, it seems like you’re really in Yejun’s bad books, huh? Well, who would get attached to a stone-cold, loyal machine like you?”

“At least I offered my choker with my own hands. What about your owner?”

Seok Ryu approached Noeul and stared directly into his venomous, dark red eyes. He spoke as if to be heard by Yoon Yubin in the living room.

“Does your owner know that you drove the families of your former owners to suicide, stole their lovers and slept with them, and even threw your owner’s beloved dog out of a moving car because you were jealous? Does he know how much your former owners loathed and ran away from your obsession and love-starved behavior?”

What was infuriating was that despite all that, people were still lining up for Noeul.

“You have to accept that much if you want a perfect jewel.”

Noeul glanced at Yoon Yubin in the living room and his cheek muscles twitched. He was still flawlessly beautiful, but somehow he seemed grotesque. The corners of his lips were raised asymmetrically. His skin had an exaggerated sheen, making it look inelastic, as if barely clinging to his bones.

Guardian stones, like people, each had their own unique scent. The smell Seok Ryu remembered from Noeul wasn’t this stench of stagnant water. He now remembered where he had smelled this familiar stench before. It was from the sample bottles collected from Noeul when he had become a liquid monster.

“You’re a jeweler’s botched work. I don’t know what kind of scheme you two cooked up, but it’s always good to watch your back. Just look at me.”

“Don’t you dare insult Heewan. He gave me more than a new life. Heewan took a gamble on my limits instead of giving up on me, and I’m proving it right now.”

Noeul spread his arms wide and declared as if making a prophecy.

“I gained omnipotent power after being resurrected. I don’t have to suffer the side effects of a slave hating garnets anymore, unlike a half-baked one.”

Noeul closed his eyes as if intoxicated by his great power.

“And once you become my slave, you can never be taken away.”

Seok Ryu couldn’t immediately grasp the meaning of those words.

“……What nonsense are you talking about?”

That he could never be taken away once he became Noeul’s slave? He thought Noeul, consumed by his narcissism, was bluffing. Noeul closed the distance between them and whispered.

“You ran around harder than ever today, but all your doping attempts failed. Haven’t you thought it was strange?”

Seok Ryu was paralyzed like an insect stung by a poisonous needle, unable to even blink. He had assumed his complete failure today was simply due to incredibly bad luck. He thought Noeul had let his slaves roam free out of arrogance, confident that he could steal them back even if Seok Ryu took them.

Dark red eyes turned towards Seok Ryu. It felt as though sticky fluid was crawling over his face.

“I’ll show you just how useless a half-baked one is.”

Noeul added in a gentle voice.

“Oh, and I buried Shinbi’s body in the dirt. Why would you carry something like that around in your bag, it’s creepy.”

For a moment, blood rushed to his head. Seok Ryu’s eyes rolled back as he strangled Noeul. Even with his face turning purple, Noeul giggled as if he found the situation amusing. When Noeul had become a liquid monster, Seok Ryu had felt a sense of liberation for the first time in his life upon seeing that hideous form.

He bitterly regretted not taking more thorough revenge on Noeul. He hated Heewan for collaborating with Noeul. What angered him most was his own helplessness against a flawless garnet.

Yoon Yubin rushed in like lightning, pushing Seok Ryu away and supporting the collapsed Noeul. Noeul whimpered, nestled in his owner’s arms.

“Yubin, I’m scared!”

Yoon Yubin, soothing his garnet, glared at something beyond the door.

“Why are you trembling before these insects? Just crush them and be done with it.”

Yejun was standing beyond the door, dressed in his pajamas. Yejun’s haggard face looked distraught. Yoon Yubin smirked at him.

“Expose my past, reveal Sanho’s video, do whatever you want. But I won’t die alone.”

💎

Yejun entered his bedroom with a pale face and burrowed under the covers. Seok Ryu immediately ran to the penthouse. If Noeul’s words were true, he had to move Cha Yilhyun to another location.

Cha Yilhyun didn’t seem to be home, as there was no response no matter how many times he rang the doorbell. No matter how hard he racked his brain, all he could recall were the last few digits of Cha Yilhyun’s phone number. Everyone who might know his contact information had blocked Yejun, so there was no way to find out immediately.

If Cha Yilhyun was doped by Noeul, he was determined to retrieve him, even if it meant clashing and breaking repeatedly. But a chuckle escaped him as he realized it was all a pipe dream. Even the side effect of owners’ slaves hating garnets had disappeared, he’d been told. Noeul had truly become a flawless, miraculous jewel.

No, it was too early to despair; perhaps Noeul had lied. The workshop still wasn’t answering the phone, and the only way to verify Noeul’s words was to confront him directly.

He slumped down in front of the penthouse door. The long hallway was silent, as Cha Yilhyun occupied the entire floor by himself. Even after waiting for a long time at the door, Cha Yilhyun didn’t return. Could something have happened? Was Yejun asleep now? What about Lee Taeon, trapped at the company? His head spun with disorganized thoughts.

Cha Yilhyun didn’t come eventually, so he went down to the first floor. Remembering Noeul’s words about burying the jewelry box in the dirt, he decided to search for it briefly.

He went to the back of the building and saw the walking path bathed in the streetlights. The tree benches nestled among the lush greenery and the artificial pond in the middle of the land created a picturesque scene. He lived in the officetel but had never actually come to the walking path. Searching this vast area would probably take all night.

He decided to start searching from where the flowerbed began. The well-maintained flowerbed didn’t even have a single pebble or cigarette butt. Just then, a flashlight beam pierced Seok Ryu’s eyes.

“What are you doing there?”

The building had bulky security guards patrolling frequently because obsessive fans of the actors constantly tried to break into the officetel.

“I’m Park Yejun’s manager. I lost something.”

The guard, recognizing Seok Ryu, lowered the flashlight.

“Stay there for a moment.”

Seok Ryu stopped the guard who was about to resume his patrol. He hadn’t even considered the guard as a follower because he was useless, but now every single person was precious.

Seok Ryu stared intently into the security guard’s eyes. It had been a while since he’d seen someone’s jaw drop and their pupils dilate. The doping was successful, suggesting Noeul hadn’t touched the guard yet. Seok Ryu recited his phone number to the guard.

“Absolutely do not interact with Yoon Yubin or the person who sticks by him. Instead, watch what they’re doing and report it to me.”

“Understood.”

He decided not to inform Yejun about the guard in order to use him as a convenient pawn. As the guard went back inside the building, Seok Ryu resumed his search for the jewelry box, rummaging under the poodle-shaped topiary.

The morning dew had dampened his shirt. His hands, covered in dirt from digging through the grass, were cold. Should he have taken Noeul’s words about burying it in the dirt literally? Maybe Noeul had created this distraction in anticipation of his suspicion. He felt like he had to keep searching, even if it was futile, to find even a small measure of solace for the sense of loss that came with letting go completely.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of someone stepping on the grass behind him. A face abruptly dropped into Seok Ryu’s view. Startled by the sudden appearance of the stranger, Seok Ryu fell back.

The face illuminated by the streetlight was Cha Yilhyun. Judging by the fact that he was still wearing the same clothes from earlier in the day, he seemed to have just returned. He straightened up and asked,

“Are you on a treasure hunt in the middle of the night?”

Seok Ryu calmed his racing heart and stood up. He held out his hand to Cha Yilhyun without a word.

“Give me back my phone.”

Cha Yilhyun casually pulled a silver phone out of his pants pocket. Seok Ryu snatched the phone and turned it on. He was going to factory reset it in case Cha Yilhyun had tampered with it. There was nothing important on it anyway, other than Yejun’s number. Seok Ryu, after checking Noeul’s lit room, pulled Cha Yilhyun behind the topiary.

“Stay somewhere other than the officetel for a while. Don’t go to work either.”

“Then what about the surveillance?”

“If you behave yourself, there won’t be any. Now get out of here. Hurry!”

Whether Noeul’s claim of absolute power was a bluff or real, Seok Ryu’s duty to protect Cha Yilhyun remained unchanged. He had to protect him to get his choker back, and the consequences of failure were obvious without being stated. However, oblivious to Seok Ryu’s burning anxiety, Cha Yilhyun asked a carefree question.

“What were you doing at this hour?”

“I told you to get out of here.”

“I’ll go if you answer.”

It seemed better to tell him quickly and send him away rather than arguing here.

“I’m looking for something.”

Cha Yilhyun raised his eyebrows expectantly, waiting for the next words.

“A jewelry box.”

“It really was a treasure.”

His eyes gleamed boldly with curiosity. Seok Ryu had a bad feeling.

“Now that I’ve told you, go quickly.”

Seok Ryu grabbed Cha Yilhyun’s arm and tried to pull him up, but he had already rolled up his shirt sleeves and started rummaging through the bushes. Seok Ryu’s mouth went dry at the thought of being discovered by Noeul. Besides, finding the jewelry box would also be a problem. He absolutely didn’t want Cha Yilhyun to find out that he still kept the necklaces he had been given.

“I met with Jo Youngseop, do you not want to hear about it?”

Seok Ryu’s hand, pushing him away, hesitated.

“So you were meeting with Jo Youngseop all this time? What happened?”

“He yelled at me and even overturned a teacup.”

“And?”

“He left as if he’d never see me again.”

The incident with grabbing his collar seemed to have become a bigger deal than he thought. He needed to contact Jo Youngseop soon and turn him into a follower. He wasn’t the owner of a guardian stone, so with enough time, he had a good chance. Seok Ryu sighed softly and glared at him.

“Why can’t you handle such a simple task properly and make me do it twice?”

Cha Yilhyun let out a puff of air. Perhaps it was better to keep an eye on the unpredictable Cha Yilhyun. He could just make up an excuse that he was saving the necklaces to sell them. Seok Ryu paused as he examined under the topiary.

“Oh, and also earlier…”

He hesitated for a moment, remembering what had happened in the meeting room. Seok Ryu pressed his lips together firmly and snapped at Cha Yilhyun.

“What was that disrespectful remark in the meeting room? Calling Yejun ‘that guy’? Are you out of your mind?”

As a devotee of his owner, it was something he could never tolerate. Cha Yilhyun furrowed his brow slightly.

“What are you talking about? I never said anything like that.”

“I heard it clearly, so don’t play dumb.”

Cha Yilhyun stared coldly at Seok Ryu before pulling up the corners of his lips.

“So you’ve been driving a wedge between me and Yejun by falsely accusing people like this. Go ahead and tell Yejun. I’ll humbly accept the consequences of my disrespectful behavior.”

Seeing his unwavering demeanor, Seok Ryu suddenly felt a flicker of uncertainty in his memory. Had he misheard because he was extremely tense due to Noeul at the time?

Cha Yilhyun resumed searching, examining every corner of the flowerbed. Seok Ryu also rummaged through the bushes, constantly on alert for any sign of Noeul. Even after a long search under the benches and streetlights, there was no sign of the jewelry box. Cha Yilhyun roughly wiped the sweat from his face with his arm.

“How old is he? Shinbi.”

Seok Ryu’s dirt-covered hand paused at the sudden question.

“I told you I mistook him for Jo Youngseop.”

“So I’m asking how old Shinbi, the one you said that other person abandoned, was.”

Divulging information about guardian stones was a violation of the long-standing rules of the workshop. Cha Yilhyun was someone who would mock and deface even a competitor’s heartbreaking story. Just like he had buried Shinbi alive the day after giving Yejun a sweet drink. But the night was deep enough that he didn’t care anymore.

“Five years old.”

“He died young.”

“Yes.”

“He seemed to be quite attached to his manager.”

Shinbi, who died at the tender age of five, had been a child who followed Seok Ryu around relentlessly. Shinbi had always been a burden on his heart, both alive and dead. But strangely, as he searched with Cha Yilhyun, Shinbi felt like a real treasure. It felt like he was finally giving him a proper memorial.

Seok Ryu sat there lost in thought for a bit longer before abruptly standing up. This wouldn’t do. At this rate, far from protecting Cha Yilhyun, he would be so preoccupied with his every expression and gesture that he wouldn’t be able to make rational judgments. Now wasn’t the time to be searching for a jewelry box. Leftovers were leftovers.

“Just stay somewhere other than the officetel. And don’t go to the company either…”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Cha Yilhyun slowly rose and dusted the dirt off his hands. Eyes that seemed as hard as diamonds fixed on Seok Ryu.

“Why run from dirty things? They need to be cleaned up.”

He uttered those ambiguous words and headed towards the building.

💎

Noeul examined his neck from various angles in the bathroom mirror attached to the master bedroom. Seok Ryu’s handprints, from how fiercely he’d been choked, wouldn’t disappear. Scoffing, he opened the toilet tank lid. Inside was the jewelry box, sealed in a plastic bag.

He opened the jewelry box and held a piece of peridot up to the light. Looking at the lime-green gemstone, he felt a pang of longing for Shinbi, who was like a forsythia. On one side of the jewelry box lay the garnet and sapphire necklaces. Just the diamond strings alone looked worth tens of billions of won. Top-grade diamonds with cheap garnets, what a mismatch.

Noeul tossed Shinbi’s source stone and the two necklaces into the toilet and flushed. The toilet was the perfect resting place for a loser. The jewels were swept away by the water, disappearing without a trace. After the funeral, Noeul washed his hands in the sink. A smile lingered on his face.

Then he heard Yubin’s scream from the living room. Noeul hurried out of the bathroom.

“Aren’t you going to put that down?!”

When he entered the living room, burly security guards were removing Yubin’s belongings. They were all wearing dark sunglasses, securely fastened with bands. Yubin, who had been desperately trying to stop them by grabbing their clothes, suddenly rushed towards a bear-like man. The bear-like man was also wearing sunglasses connected by a band. Yubin shouted furiously, his face contorted with rage.

“Are you telling us to live on the streets?! You bastard, Secretary Yang, I won’t let you get away with this! Call Director Kwak!!”

“Cursing at someone you just met…”

The man, with a look of displeasure, handed a file to Yubin.

“This is your contract termination notice, Yoon Yubin. If you have any questions, please contact the legal team.”

The man, his lips set in a determined line, added,

“And the CEO told me to deliver this message: Your leader slave lost to me, so get lost quietly.”