.  ‘No, hell no……’ Eun Jiho said to himself astonishingly. His thought should be better when it came to dealing with this matter; however, if it was true, Woo Jooin would no longer be a mere mortal man within Eun Jiho’s mind.

  His cheeks turned pale, but Woo Jooin just smiled nonchalantly and placed his elbow on the computer chair. Resting his chin on his hand, he answered back.

  “I saw her name there, Choi Yuri.”


  “.……”


  “The photo was from 5 years ago, and she had longer hair back then, so it was not so unusual that I didn’t recognize her.”


  ‘Holy, Christ…… What on Earth were You planning when You gave Woo Jooin to this world?’ Eun Jiho thought while burying his face in his hands. Woo Jooin, however, continued serenely.

  “Choi Yuri, the only daughter of the chairman of Yuseong Enterprise, a company that mainly manufactures cement. If the family didn’t expand over the last 5 years, she would yet be the only child. Yuseong Enterprise mainly focused on cement, but they gradually widened their business and now doubled its business model into that of a larger company. They aren’t big enough to stand toe-to-toe against your company, but it was, at least, enough for them to join the ranks of other conglomerates. Thus, for a girl like her, having a bodyguard outside the school isn’t such a strange thing.”


  “Then, the reason you asked Woo Bee to check their occupation was……”


  “If Choi Yuri constantly logged in with the same computer, tracing her wouldn’t be that difficult. She must then use another computer, but how can an heiress use PC bangs? What if she created an account using her real name? She was born and raised as an heiress since she was young, so wouldn’t she, at least, know the weight or the responsibility of doing something under her name? Thus, let’s say, what if she borrowed someone else’s ID and hand?”


  “Are you saying that……”


  “She might have borrowed her bodyguard’s SSN and hand.”


  After hearing Woo Jooin’s words, the room was enveloped by a deafening silence. Eun Jiho slowly dropped his hands that he used to cover his face. He then sat blankly for a moment and rubbed his platinum blond hair nervously.

  ‘Oh, I have no idea anymore. His father truly named him so well. I’m quick-witted, too, but I would never even dare to think about trying to match the wit of this alien.’ Eun Jiho murmured to himself.

  It was 5 years ago, and the document that Eun Jiho handed over to Woo Jooin was about 60 pages. Woo Jooin only had about 2 minutes to look through all of it; however, how could he determine Choi Yuri’s face and name using that snapshot in his memory? Eun Jiho became so dumbfounded that he was at a loss of words.

  Woo Jooin stared at Eun Jiho, who was giving a hollow smile. He then opened his mouth.

  “Do you remember what Bee said earlier? Reed is a globally renowned security company. The business contents of their affiliated workers, the bodyguards, would then be in their database. The company is, however, too globally-competent to risk a hack. If they caught us, then we would be able to see Woo Bee’s mugshot in INTERPOL’s wanted list.”


  ‘International wanted list…… What a grandiose name it is……’ Eun Jiho thought while swallowing his sigh.

  “Hmm, that wouldn’t happen regardless of the probability of it occurring,” Eun Jiho responded.

  “Me too, but I think that there would be another way. I think I can find someone who can legally access the database.”


  “What?”


  Woo Jooin leaned his head forward a little before smiling slowly.

  He asked, “Last time, mama and Yeo Ryung told us that they met Yi Ruda’s father in a Chinese restaurant. Do you remember his father’s name? It was Ian Reed.”


  “Oh, yeah, I remember.”


  “As I looked up right now, the co-representative of Reed is Ian Reed and Jenny Reed. Jenny Reed’s maiden name is, however, Yi. Yi Jenny, she’s Korean, and Yi Ruda said he’s half Korean and half American.”


  “Dude, then……”


  “Those Mercedes that appeared at multiple school entrances to chase Yi Ruda and the men in black…… they probably didn’t want to make a big fuss about the heir running away from home, so they might have not revealed their affiliation out loud. There were no words written on the cars except for the equipment they used, the in-ear receiver. I saw a word engraved on it, Reed.”


  “.……”


  “So, what if Yi Ruda is the son of the co-representatives? Wouldn’t he know how to access the database?”


  After Woo Jooin’s remark, the two boys remained silent for a while. Woo Jooin just stared at Eun Jiho with his pure golden eyes as if he was checking his reactions.

  Scratching his hair, Eun Jiho soon heaved a sigh. He then opened his mouth while showing the nonsensical state of this situation through his face.

  “Why does such a complicated situation sound so easy when it comes out from your mouth?”


  “Well, Yi Ruda doesn’t seem to be that cooperative, so I don’t think this will be that easy, though.”


  Eun Jiho’s eyes widened after hearing Woo Jooin’s unexpected response. He frowned in a confused face.

  “Why?” Woo Jooin asked.

  “I mean, that bastard looks like he has a crush on Ham Donnie, although our girl doesn’t seem to even regard him as a guy. Anyway, his actions are so obvious, so wouldn’t he help her out?”


  “Maybe not.”


  “What? Why wouldn’t he if it involves the girl he likes?”


  Eun Jiho replied as if he really didn’t understand the reason. Although he knew Eun Jiho for a very long time, Woo Jooin couldn’t answer further, so he just smiled in silence.

  Looking at Eun Jiho, who furrowed his brow in confusion, Woo Jooin murmured to himself, ‘You can think like that because you aren’t a perverse person.’


  From the glitter in Yi Ruda’s eyes, Woo Jooin grasped it already that he and Yi Ruda were the same types of people.

  * * *

  It was almost at the end of the June mock exam. In the morning, there were language and math tests, and we were all now only left with the social studies section after the foreign language test since it was late in the afternoon. Tick, tock, tick, tock. The clock above the board was constantly running with a dull ticking sound. Starting to reflect crimson shades, the sunlight poured into the classroom and shed light on the desks near the window.

  Some kids didn’t think about the social studies section seriously since they just became freshmen in high school. Those who shoved their heads onto the desk would probably be like that. Resting his chin on his hand, Yi Ruda looked around the classroom and rolled his pencil.

  Kim Hye Woo was sleeping on the desk. Yoon Jung In and Shin Suh Hyun were, unexpectedly, concentrating on the test while narrowing the middle of their foreheads. The Kim twins were both sleeping in the same positions. Yi Ruda’s glance then paused when he saw Ham Donnie.

  She was gazing at the test sheets while propping her chin on her hand; however, she didn’t seem to have solved the questions. Her pen slipped out of her hand and was now rolling around the desk. She was just fixing her brown gaze at the test sheets blankly. Yi Ruda could assume that her eyes were on something else rather than the paper itself.

  A couple of days passed after the incident wherein Lee Soo Yeon pushed Ham Donnie into a corner with a rumor she heard from somewhere. During the past few days, Ham Donnie behaved as if she didn’t care about that at all. She still looked bright and didn’t hesitate to hang out with others except for Lee Soo Yeon. Ham Donnie, however, would show that look on her face when in her lonesome. She might be thinking about the incident.

  When Yi Ruda had that thought in mind, a melody from the speaker cut through his contemplation.

  “The exam is over. Each proctor should collect the questionnaires and the answer sheets.”


  “Who didn’t finish marking?”


  The other homeroom teacher, who was sitting on the chair with an exasperated look the whole time, flung the question. When nobody answered, he soon asked the kids to collect the test sheets.

  Yi Ruda passed his test papers to the kid who was sitting at the edge of the row before standing up. His whole body felt stiff. Massaging his hardened body, Yi Ruda saw that Ham Donnie was talking to kids around her as she carried a bag on her shoulders.

  ‘See you tomorrow,’ bidding farewell, she turned back and walked past right next to him. When their eyes met, she smiled gently as usual.

  “See you tomorrow, Ruda.”


  “Bye.”


  She acted like usual before turning herself back to leave the classroom. Her fluffy brown hair waved alongside her steps as it finally disappeared from his view. The view of her back showed her weakened state.