Jimin had worn a bikini, which revealed her slim figure, and paired it up with a cardigan . She walked past Sungyoon to reach Shinhae .

  “The fish was over there?”


  “Yes . ”


  “Let’s just look at the fish so that we don’t startle it . If we surprise it, the fish may become mad . ”


  “Yes!”


  Shinhae firmly gripped Jimin’s hand, and they swam a bit forward to have a clear view . However, they stopped at an appropriate distance from the fish and submerged their heads into the water .

  Whenever the fish changed their direction or speed, Shinhae would make an exclamation and laugh . On the other hand, Sungyoon looked a bit dejected, and he kept scratching his head .

  “She stole Shinhae from you . ”


  A voice came from behind Sungyoon, and he turned around to see Jiyoon . Jiyoon had accompanied them on the trip at Jimin’s insistence . She had worn a very modest one-piece swimming suit today .

  “Yes . She was stolen from me . ”


  “Their relationship really is like the relationship between a mother and daughter . ”


  ‘Mother and daughter?’


  For a brief moment, Miyun appeared in Sungyoon’s thoughts . However, he quickly erased all traces of that thought .

  However, the situation wasn’t far from Jiyoon’s words .

  “I owe a lot to the President . This includes everything she has done for Shinhae . It isn’t an exaggeration to say the President is like another mother to Shinhae . There are no other ways to view it . ”


  “Is that so?”


  Jiyoon discreetly stole a glance at Sungyoon’s face .

  “Mr . Sungyoon, you look like a boy whose mother was stolen away from him . ”


  Sungyoon let out a bashful smile . Seeing that, Jiyoon also laughed .

  After saying goodbye to the fish that traveled deeper into the ocean, Jimin and Shinhae looked around for more fish . However, they became surprised by the scene between Sungyoon and Jiyoon .

  ***

  As the three adults and Shinhae played in the ocean, Emily, Grace, and Chelsea lay down next to each other and tanned their bodies . Chelsea had untied her bikini top, and she let the warm sun bathe her back .

  She pulled down her sunglasses and looked toward the ocean .

  “He really doesn’t leave Shinhae even for a moment . ”


  A pout appeared on Chelsea’s face . The two women beside her also looked toward the ocean .

  “His daughter is everything to him . ”


  “Still, he should at least make an attempt to get along with others . ”


  Chelsea normally wore a stained lab coat and old-fashioned thick glasses . Today, she had gone out of her way to wear a bikini, yet Sungyoon was only focused on playing with Shinhae .

  Grace didn’t know what else to say, so she just laughed . Unlike the other two, Emily’s gaze toward the ocean contained a bit of envy .

  “Those two really look like a married couple . ”


  Sungyoon had returned to Shinhae’s side . The little girl was now happily laughing and playing with Sungyoon and Jimin . Emily was gazing at this wholesome sight .

  “They have a lot of history together . ”


  “Now that I think about it, Ms . Chelsea, you have been friends with Mr . Sungyoon for a while, right . ”


  “That’s right . I met him around the time when he entered Jimin’s company . ”


  Chelsea’s mind took her back to those days .

  Sungyoon had been handsome, but a dark and dreary atmosphere used to surround him back then . A conversation with him would always be uncomfortable . Before him, all the Connectors who had joined Jungbum had screwed Jimin over . So Chelsea had seen him in an even more negative light at the start .

  But the Sungyoon she was seeing right now had completely changed .

  Unlike Emily and Grace, Chelsea’s vision was ordinary, so she was unable to see Sungyon’s expression . However, she could tell that the dreary atmosphere that used to hang around him had lessened a lot over time .

  ‘Of course, he’s still too brusque . ’


  In the end, Chelsea pouted once again .

  “How was Mr . Sungyoon in the past?”


  The shy Emily mustered her courage and asked . Grace looked interested in the topic too .

  “I’m not sure . I don’t know too much about his past self . Even though I had met him early on in his career, he was a Connector who raided the labyrinth every day, and I was a researcher who was stuck in my lab all day . I’m pretty sure, Ms . Emily, you know more about him than me . You’re with him in the labyrinth almost every day . ”


  Chelsea flipped the question on Emily, and Emily became flustered .

  “A-after Mr . Sungyoon helped me, I just followed him around . There isn’t much to it . ”


  “Oh my! You don’t have to be so humble . You’re our precious member who supports and heals us . We can enter the labyrinth without any fear because we have you, Ms . Emily . ”


  Emily’s face turned red at Grace’s compliment . However, a small smile had appeared on her lips too .

  “Anyway, are you sure it was ok to leave behind Mr . Tim?”


  As Grace had said, Tim was nowhere to be seen .

  Although the number of people had increased in the trip, it was originally supposed to be a vacation for Sungyoon’s party . So Tim’s absence was odd .

  “He said he’d go somewhere else with his girlfriends . He’s even thinking about marrying them . We had spent quite a while on the Moon this time, so he hadn’t seen them for a long time . He probably wants to spend the vacation with them . It’s understandable . ”


  “Is that so?”


  Emily had spoken about it as if it were no big deal . Chelsea didn’t know much about Tim, so she just took Emily’s words at face value .

  However, Grace thought differently . She was Tim’s comrade, so she knew Emily’s explanation sounded a bit off . Tim almost worshipped Sungyoon, so there was no way he would turn down an opportunity to go on vacation with Sungyoon .

  However, Tim knew Sungyoon almost never spent time around women in his personal time . Sungyoon had no lovers, which made people think he swung for the other side .

  ‘He probably didn’t come here because of Ms . Emily and us . ’


  It turned out that everyone on this trip was a woman aside from Sungyoon and Tim . Moreover, all of them were interested in Sungyoon . Of course, this put Tim in an awkward spot . So he decided to skip this trip with the expectation that something would develop between Sungyoon and the women .

  “It’s too bad that he couldn’t come with us . However, he’s having fun, so we should too . Should we continue gossiping about our leader?”


  The other two women were a bit dumbfounded by Grace’s words, but that expression only lasted for a moment, and they had a very fun conversation about Sungyoon .

  ***

  “Ah~ Ahng~! Nyam!”


  Shinhae ate the big piece of meat skewered on a stick .

  The meat was grilled just now, so the juice ran down Shinhae’s mouth . While eating, Shinhae grabbed the cola bottle and drank its contents . The drink tickled her throat .

  “So good!”


  The little girl shook her head and laughed .

  The sun had completed its job for the day, so it was setting behind the mountain . The Moon had appeared to take its place . The sky looked like black velvet studded with diamonds . And underneath this very beautiful night sky, Sungyoon’s party was having a barbeque .

  The skewers had scrumptious meat and vegetable, and their delicious fragrance hit everyone’s nose . Sausages and corn were also being cooked on the sides .

  “Gulp! Gulp! Koo-ooh~!”


  It had been a while since Chelsea could drink beer without worrying about the price, so she didn’t hold back . She was already on her third beer .

  Shinhae sat next to her . Her left hand held a skewer, and the right a coke bottle . She looked up at Chelsea with eyes full of excitement .

  Soon, she started copying Chelsea and downed the coke .

  “Koo-ooh~!”


  When the coke was finished, she even made a sound similar to what Chelsea did . This made Chelsea uproariously laugh .

  “Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! That was pretty good, Shinhae . ”


  Chelsea hugged Shinhae, and the little girl burst out laughing .

  “.…… Ms . Jimin?”


  “Why, I oughta!”


  Chelsea’s behavior was a negative influence on the child’s education . So before Sungyoon could finish his sentence, Jimin moved toward Chelsea in a threatening manner . First, she put Shinhae in the care of Jiyoon, who was eating her food on the other side of Shinhae . Then, she glared at Chelsea .

  Seeing her friend’s sharp eyes fixed on her, Chelsea let out an awkward laugh and made up excuses .

  Jiyoon didn’t like what she was seeing, so she made sure Shinhae couldn’t see it as well . She cut off the little girl’s line of sight to the two women and gave her a new plate of food .

  “The President is really scary . ”


  Usually, Jimin was cold and calm; she was never flustered, no matter the situation . Whatever task was thrown at her, she silently finished all of them . She was the ideal career woman . So this version of Jimin surprised Emily .

  “The President and Ms . Chelsea are old friends . They are on very familiar terms with each other . ”


  Sungyoon spoke as he flipped the skewers before the meat could burn . Then, Grace, who had been cooking the sausages by his side, took the opportunity to ask a question .

  “I heard you’re visiting someone tomorrow?”


  “Yes . I purposefully scheduled the vacation here because I wanted to meet him . If it were only me here, I would’ve met him much sooner . However, I had to play with Shinhae, so I delayed it . ”


  In two days, the vacation would already be over .

  “Who are you meeting?”


  Emily was interested .

  “He’s a 1st Gen Connector like me, and a powerful one qualified to enter the Great Labyrinth . ”


  “Is this about the heartbeat you can hear?”


  “Yes . ”


  Sungyoon subconsciously rubbed his heart . Emily and Grace looked worried . Sungyoon had been helped by an unknown power, and as of now, this power had only been beneficial . However, this could change in the future . It was the source of their worry .

  Fear always came alongside the unknown .

  “I hope you can find a clue this time around . ”


  “I really hope so too . ”


  As he responded to Emily’s words, Sungyoon looked at the sky full of twinkling stars .

  ***

  A new morning arrived .

  Sungyoon left Shinhae in the care of Jimin and Jiyoon and went to look for the 1st Gen Connector . Shinhae was a bit down when she learned that she would have to be separated from her father for a short time . However, she got over it soon since she was too busy having fun .

  Of course, Sungyoon was both half-disappointed and half-relieved by Shinhae’s reaction . With those complicated emotions, he left for the road . Since Grace and Emily were Connectors, they decided to accompany Sungyoon .

  Soon, they arrived at a house with a front yard filled with palm trees . The house had been made with white bricks, and it looked to be straight out of a fairytale . Moreover, the ocean was not far from the house and could be seen clearly from here .

  “This is a great location . ”


  “It really is . London is dreary all year round . I’m really envious of places like this . ”


  Emily and Grace kept looking at the picturesque house and scenery, while Sungyoon pressed the doorbell next to the front gate .

  “Who is it?”


  “I contacted you before . My name is Sungyoon Woo . Are you Adam Lee?”


  “Ah . Please wait a moment . "

  The gate soon opened, and Sungyoon’s party entered the front yard .

  Click!

  As they walked inside, someone opened the front door and exited the house .

  “Welcome, Knight . I never expected to really meet you in person like this . ”


  A man with black hair and brown eyes welcomed Sungyoon .

  “Ah . You came here with the Princess and your other party member . Please come in . ”


  On the outside, Adam Lee looked to be in his mid-twenties, and his voice sounded young too . However, the way he spoke and acted gave away the fact that he was old . From what Sungyoon knew, Adam Lee was over seventy years old .

  The party followed the man into his house . There wasn’t much furniture inside the house, and it was only limited to the essentials . However, the furniture was placed in a strategic manner so that the house didn’t look empty .

  Lee asked Sungyoon’s party to sit in the living room and went to bring coffee and biscuits .

  “I’m sorry, Princess . I don’t have any black tea . ”


  “It’s fine . I like coffee too . ”


  Grace replied while displaying a small smile . She smelled the fragrance of the coffee .

  The four of them exchanged small talk for a short amount of time . Sungyoon and his party members complimented Lee on his house and view, and Lee also showed a lot of interest in the man called the Knight .

  After they got to know each other, Sungyoon brought up the topic he wanted to know most about .

  “I came here today because I have a question I would like to ask you, Mr . Lee . ”


  “Yes, I know . You want to know about the heartbeat that we can hear?”


  Lee’s face, which had a pleasant expression until now, hardened in an instant .