Chapter 299: Episode 299

We arrived at the sprawling food court situated in the center of Carnival Land. It sold a massive variety of dishes, ranging from basic Korean and Chinese food to revolving sushi, jumbo pork cutlets, and pad thai.

“Ah, that looks delicious!”

Hong Yeon pointed at a teppanyaki place, her voice brimming with excitement, but my gaze was longingly directed elsewhere.

I want to eat a steaming bowl of hangover soup.

Yeah, well, no matter how completely dead my romantic cells were, I at least knew that hangover soup was out of the question for a first date. Swallowing my tears, I nodded.

“Let’s sit in that empty spot over there.”

“Okay!”

The teppanyaki restaurant was structured in a rectangular space akin to an upscale wine bar. Chefs moved around fluidly, grilling meat right on the hot iron griddles directly in front of the customers. As we took our seats, a chef handed us a menu with a friendly greeting.

Fortunately, deciding on our order was quick. We chose the flat iron steak and seasonal fish, and since we were hungry, we added scallops and shrimp to the mix.

While the chef stepped away to fetch the ingredients, I looked at her and spoke. “Yeon, are you really…”

“Yusin, look over there.” Lowering her voice with a sudden, dead-serious expression, she discreetly pointed her finger. “The Westerner wearing a green shirt and sunglasses. Do you see him?”

“Yeah. What about him?”

“He’s a demonkin on the target list.”

Seriously? I turned my head to get a closer look. He was sitting at a curry specialty shop right across from our teppanyaki restaurant. At that exact moment, he shifted his head, and I hastily snapped my gaze back to the counter.

“And the person in blue sitting at the rice bowl shop on the opposite side. That person is also a demonkin.”

“…Did you purposefully pick this spot just to keep an eye on them?”

“Of course.”

The romantic delusions that had been swirling around in my head shattered into a million pieces.

“Ahem, then is everything ready?”

“Naturally. Association snipers have their crosshairs aimed at them from all directions. The moment I give the signal, they will execute them immediately.”

I nodded slowly. After side-eyeing the demonkins, she looked back at me.

“You remember the briefing, right?”

“Of course I do.”

This mission was a coordinated strike to eliminate the demonkins and apprehend their collaborators. The Association was making its move after receiving hard intelligence that the demonkin bigwig, Alexandro Carlus, had slipped into South Korea. His predicted destination was Carnival Land. According to the intel, Alexandro planned to personally meet with Lee Seokhun, the tycoon and CEO of Carnival Land, to trade a crucial item.

Lee Seokhun was also a Class 1 surveillance target for the Association. He was heavily suspected of laundering the astronomical amounts of money earned from Carnival Land to fund the demonkins. However, suspicions were merely suspicions, and the Association hadn’t yet found any conclusive evidence to nail him.

“So the bottom line is that we’re going to raid the site where Alexandro and Lee Seokhun are making their deal and bust them both. Something like that, right?”

“That’s correct,” she answered quietly, her eyes sweeping the area. “Seeing how the place is crawling with major demonkins who are usually hard to spot, it seems almost certain that Alexandro is coming.”

“Then that means all of Carnival Land is going to turn into a battlefield.” I crossed my arms, frowning. “I think we should evacuate all the civilians right now.”

“Then Alexandro will notice something is off and won’t show up. We wouldn’t be able to catch Alexandro and Lee Seokhun in the middle of their deal. The sacrifices of the agents who died for this intel would be reduced to nothing.”

Oh, how cold-hearted.

“Of course, I would rather die than see civilian casualties,” she added, leaning back against her chair. “That’s why I brought all of the Association’s elites and requested backup from you, one of the greatest hunters in South Korea. I’m confident we can control the situation…”

“Thank you for waiting!”

The chef reappeared, holding a platter of the raw ingredients we had ordered. Hong Yeon, who had been speaking so seriously just a second ago, snapped her head toward the iron griddle at the speed of light.

“I apologize for the wait. We’re quite backed up with orders today. I’ll make this for you right away.”

The chef spread a thick slab of butter smoothly over the heated iron griddle. A savory aroma exploded into the air as white smoke gently wafted up. Next to the melting butter, he placed thick, round slices of onion, sweet potato, and mushrooms, before gently twisting a grinder to sprinkle freshly cracked black pepper over them. After a quick, practiced flip, the perfectly caramelized exterior of the onions was revealed.

I unknowingly gulped. Just watching the vegetables cook was agonizingly appetizing.

Having scooped up the vegetables, the chef placed a thick slab of steak—our main dish—straight onto the sizzling butter on the griddle.

The hiss of the meat and vegetables searing on the hot iron created a heavenly harmony. Right next to it, the fish fillet, scallops, and shrimp were already cooking to a golden crisp.

This is torture.

Forget the high-stakes mission; I felt like my very soul was being sucked into the food.

Completely unaware of my internal suffering, the chef busily moved both arms, his spatulas clacking as he chopped the vegetables, meat, and fish into perfect bite-sized pieces. The exterior of the meat was seared to a golden brown, but the inside retained a perfect, juicy pink center—exactly how I liked it. It looked unbelievably mouthwatering.

Now, he was transferring the fully cooked meat onto a plate. The seared surface of the steak gleamed under the lights. I wanted to eat it so badly that I felt like jumping out of my seat like a little kid.

Was humanity, the supposed crown of creation, truly this enslaved by its primal instincts? To calm myself down, I picked up my glass and took a sip of ice-cold water.

“Yusin.”

I looked at her questioningly.

Hong Yeon was holding out a piece of meat stabbed with her fork, offering it right to my mouth.

“Say ah…”

I nearly spewed the water I was drinking, which would have drenched both the hot iron griddle and the chef in one go. With all my might, I forced the liquid back down my throat, coughing lightly.

Her face flushed, and she smiled shyly. “Hurry. My arm hurts.”

It felt like the professional barriers I had erected under the guise of the mission were rapidly crumbling down around me. My mouth opened on autopilot, and she fed me the meat. I was so incredibly tense that I didn’t even register how the steak was sliding down my throat.

She asked with a satisfied smile, “Is it good?”

Ughhh! What kind of psychological warfare was this?! Just why is she doing this to me?!

As I frantically reminded myself of the lethal threat of the demonkins scattered all around us, desperately trying to steady my wavering heart, the chef cooking in front of us chimed in.

“Ah, the honeymoon phase! You two are adorable together. It’s so lovely to see.”

Sir, please shut up.

-I was watching silently to see how ridiculous this would get, but as expected of the Tower Master.

Now even Ea was chiming in telepathically.

Whether she knew how I felt or not, Hong Yeon hung her head deeply, seemingly embarrassed by the chef’s teasing remark.

Let’s just eat and pull myself together.

Just as I was about to bring my fork to my own steak, I felt Hong Yeon’s intense gaze burning into the side of my head. When I turned to look, she quickly averted her eyes. Then, she sneaked a sidelong glance at the meat on her plate, then back at me, before timidly lowering her head again.

I guarantee it. This was a textbook trap.

I tried to pretend I didn’t see her and moved some onions to my plate, but I ended up making eye contact with the chef instead. He was glaring at me with a look that clearly screamed, ’What are you doing, you idiot?’

Ah, damn it. You don’t even know our situation.

Completely deflated, Hong Yeon stared blankly down at her meat with the most pathetic expression in the world, not even picking up her utensils. What kind of magic trick was this? Even the fake bunny ears she was wearing seemed to droop listlessly to the sides.

Screw it, I don’t know anymore.

In the end, I surrendered. I picked up a piece of meat with my fork and fed it to her as well. She covered her mouth delicately as she savored the bite.

“Mmm, it just melts in my mouth!”

“This place is really good.”

The chef placed the plates with the scallops and shrimp in front of us, wished us a pleasant meal, and walked away to serve the next guests.

As soon as he retreated out of earshot, Hong Yeon spoke, her eyes suddenly turning dead serious.

“The demonkin in the green shirt. He’s been watching us for a while now.”

“…Huh?”

I was about to turn my gaze to check, but she shot me a sharp, warning look.

“Don’t ’huh’ me. He’s getting suspicious because you keep staring at him.”

And now she’s blaming this on me.

“If we get caught here, all our plans will go down the… Ah.” Sweeping a glance toward the demonkin out of the corner of her eye, her pupils trembled in genuine panic.

“What’s wrong?”

“He’s heading this way.”

Is he coming?

It was true. I could clearly hear the footsteps closing in on us.

A sudden wave of tension hit me, and my heart began to race.

What do I do?

My concentration kicked into overdrive, my brain working at a breakneck pace.

Killing a demonkin was simple enough, but if anyone saw us, our entire operation would go up in smoke.

With their two lives, it was completely impossible to eliminate a demonkin without drawing a massive crowd.

Just then, Yeon, who had been agonizing over the exact same problem, suddenly shot up.

Her hair fluttered as she leaned across the table, her eyes burning with sheer determination.

Propping one knee on her chair, she lowered her posture. And then…

Something soft brushed against my lips.

We fell into a stunned silence.

I was completely paralyzed. My brain, which had barely managed to piece together a solution moments ago, short-circuited and went completely blank.

I could hear people whispering as they looked our way. At the commotion, the approaching demonkin stopped in his tracks.

However, Yeon’s movements were clumsy. Thrown off balance by her awkward posture, her lips slipped away from mine. Despite her panic, and perhaps out of consideration for me, she brought a hand up to lightly cover our mouths.

I let out a mental sigh and grabbed the back of her head.

She gasped in surprise.

Her eyes widened. I stood up from my seat and pulled her flush against me. The murmurs of the crowd grew louder.

I drew the line of duty. Slipping my index and middle fingers between our lips, we feigned a passionate kiss, staring into each other’s eyes from barely an inch away.

Her wide eyes, her flushed red cheeks, her breath laced with urgency, I felt like I could hear the frantic pounding of her heart.

I seriously don’t know what I’m doing.

Eventually, with the entire food court’s attention solely focused on us, the demonkin turned around and walked away.

Only then did I relax my tense muscles and let her go.

“Ah, a-ah…”

Yeon was trembling, completely at a loss for what to do. Tears were even welling up slightly in her eyes.

…Why does she look so shocked? She’s the one who started it.

“Let’s go if you’re done eating.”

She nodded silently. We had averted the immediate crisis, but drawing this much attention wasn’t good either.

We quickly slipped out of the food court.

*

Meanwhile, about two thousand feet away from Yusin, three hunters were watching the scene through military binoculars from the rooftop of the four-story management building.

They were a trio of certified Rank 3 hunters who had been following Yeon since their Academy days.

Kim Seunghyun gasped and dropped his binoculars to the pavement and stuffed a fist into his mouth.

“Yusin, you piece of trash…!” he shrieked, muffled by his own hand. “Taking advantage of the Association President under the guise of a mission?! He planned this! That calculating bastard! Disgusting! Aaaargh! Do you have any idea how precious those lips are?!”

Watching Seunghyun pound his chest and vent his frustration, Yoon Seulah shook her head in pathetic disbelief.

“Yeon initiated the kiss, you know.”

“Shut up!”

Seunghyun whipped his head around and yelled at her.

“What do you know?! Yeon is the ultimate fantasy of all fifty million men in South Korea! Do you honestly think you could possibly comprehend this burning rage boiling up from the very depths of my soul?”

“By that logic, wouldn’t fifty million women be cursing Yeon right now? Yusin is incredibly popular himself, it’s just two gorgeous people doing their thing. Honestly, Seunghyun, it’s not like you’re in the same league as her anyway.”

“Shut uuuuup!”

Devastated by Seulah’s brutal verbal takedown, Seunghyun’s shoulders trembled violently as his inferiority complex exploded.

Beside them, Oh Hoseung slowly lowered his binoculars.

“We are on a mission. Restrain your personal feelings.”

They exchanged a blank look.

Seunghyun and Seulah suddenly fell silent.

“We’re not out on a picnic. How long are you going to act like childr—”

“Hoseung.”

Seulah reached out a finger and pointed at his face.

“Are you crying?”

A single, crystalline tear rolled down Hoseung’s cheek.

Seunghyun let out a hollow laugh, and Seulah furrowed her brows in disgust. Hoseung quickly scrubbed his face with his sleeve.

“T-This is…! No! I’ve just been looking through the binoculars for so long that my eyes got dry…!”

“Wow,” Seulah said, deadpan. “You’ve played the role of Yeon’s loyal hound all this time, but you actually had ulterior motives? That’s disgusting.”

“Such a pure, innocent, unrequited love is rare in this day and age, Hoseung.”

“Shut up!”

Watching the two men break out into a sudden, pathetic squabble, Seulah just shook her head.

Just then, a sharp beep rang out in her earpiece.

—”This is Peacock. Cutting Wind, please respond.”

She pressed her finger to her ear.

“Cutting Wind here. Go ahead.”

—”A Threat Level 2 demonkin is currently heading toward an unmonitored sector.”

Upon hearing the transmission, Seulah’s expression turned dead serious. She kicked the two men who were still wrestling on the roof and switched to the commander channel.

“Yeon! Can you hear me?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep