Chapter 83
Chapter 83
“What are you doing here?”
“Didn’t you say you had finished clearing the Beginner’s Labyrinth? It means that you have to be a.s.signed a Personal Labyrinth . I’m here to start that process . ”
Even when faced with Sungyoon’s surprised face, Jimin spoke in a calm manner .
‘… as expected of the president . When things need to be done, she is quick as a flash . ’
He had been jealous about Tim and Emily’s company expediting the legal process of receiving a Personal Labyrinth . He almost wanted to take back that previous sentiment . Jimin was obsessed over finding traces of her father in the Great Labyrinth . So, it was a joyous day for her when her employee had taken the first step in achieving her dream . Sungyoon had been naive to think that his president would do nothing on such a day . He accepted the error in his thought process .
“Then why did you bring s.h.i.+nhae here?”
“I couldn’t leave the child behind . Thankfully, her summer vacation has just started . Also, this is a good age for a child to travel abroad . ”
She had equated a trip to the Moon to an overseas vacation . Sungyoon was taken aback by it .
“I shouldn’t have come here?”
s.h.i.+nhae asked as she pulled on the hem of her father"s clothes . He could see uncertainty and anxiety appear on his child’s face . It seemed that his question had stoked the anxiety that was present in her .
“No way! Dad was just surprised . That’s all . ”
Sungyoon quickly shot down such an idea . He, once again, tightly hugged his daughter . It seemed that s.h.i.+nhae felt relieved by his words, and she laughed as she clung to her father .
It had been a while since the father and daughter duo had reunited . Jimin wasn’t showing it outside, but she felt gratified to see their reunion . It was why she turned her head a little bit away from them . Then, there were the two people that had been relegated to third-wheel status when Jimin and s.h.i.+nhae had suddenly appeared . Two people, who were strangers to Jimin, were looking at them .
“Who are these people, Mr . Sungyoon?”
Sungyoon had been too busy playing with s.h.i.+nhae . When he heard the president"s question, he realized he had completely forgotten about the Ross siblings . He kept s.h.i.+nhae in his arms as he stood up .
“Ah! I’m sorry! I’m late in giving an introduction . I’ve spoken to you about them . They are my party members . ”
After introducing the Ross siblings to Jimin, Sungyoon turned to look at Tim and Emily .
“She is the president of my company . ”
He spoke as he gestured towards Jimin .
“h.e.l.lo . I’ve heard a lot about both of you . ”
Until now, Sungyoon and Jimin had been speaking in Korean . But now, fluent English flowed out of Jimin’s mouth .
“Ah! h.e.l.lo?”
Tim hastily grabbed the hand put forth by Jimin . He looked fl.u.s.tered . He had come here to apologize for their drunken and disorderly conduct, but he had never expected to meet the president of Sungyoon’s company here .
“… h.e.l.lo . ”
Emily and Jimin shook hands . But instead of being fl.u.s.tered, Emily felt wary .
‘She’s very pretty . ’
Emily had never thought she was inferior in terms of looks . When it was revealed that Sungyoon was an amazing person, she had felt a sense of crisis . However, she had a vague plan about worming her way into Sungyoon’s heart using her beauty . She was beautiful enough to have such thoughts .
However, she became shocked when she saw Jimin, the president of Sungyoon’s company . They were of different ethnicity, but the president was very beautiful . It was enough for Emily to have another sense of crisis . The only blemish she could see was the cold expression on her face . However, it was as if this trait gave her character .
This was proven by the fact that Tim couldn’t take his eyes off of Jimin’s face . Emily put all her displeasure in her fingers as she pinched Tim’s side .
“… so this child is Mr . Sungyoon’s daughter? Your name is s.h.i.+nhae, right?”
Tim grabbed at his hurting side, and he soundlessly howled in pain . His sister ignored him as she asked the question . She had seen the picture of Sungyoon’s daughter, but she was of different ethnicity . There was a kernel of doubt in her mind as to whether this was the same child .
Of course, she was 90 percent sure based on how Sungyoon acted in front of this child .
“Yes . She is my daughter . ”
At that moment, Tim and Emily saw an expression that they had never seen on him . Around them, he was always expressionless and gloomy . However, his current face was filled with parental love towards his child .
Emily quickly turned her gaze away . Her face was turning red . She had become used to seeing his expressionless face, so this new side of him hit her differently . It gave a fresh shock to her system .
“Let me see . ”
Tim wanted to give his sister time to calm her heart, so he approached the father and daughter duo . Of course, he was curious about s.h.i.+nhae too . If things turned out well, this girl might become his niece .
“You are s.h.i.+nhae?”
A man larger than her dad was sticking his head towards her . s.h.i.+nhae flinched in surprise . Moreover, Tim and s.h.i.+nhae couldn’t communicate with each other . This was why the little girl buried her face in her father"s chest .
“Uh? Uh? I wasn’t trying to scare her?”
At a glance, one could tell s.h.i.+nhae was afraid of him . Tim was taken aback . In his own way, he had tried very hard to gain favor with the child .
“Get out of the way . You stuck your bear-like face towards her . Of course, she would feel threatened . ”
Emily dragged Tim backward . He felt aggrieved, but he didn’t resist and retreated .
“Are you ok?”
s.h.i.+nhae heard a different voice, and she peeked out from Sungyoon’s embrace to check who was talking . It wasn’t the bear-like ahjussi . This time, it was a very pretty fairy-like unni . s.h.i.+nhae carefully raised her gaze . Tim, who had been watching from a distance away, had an interesting expression on his face . It looked as if the sky had fallen for him .
Emily discreetly glanced backward towards her big brother . She had a triumphant expression on her face as if she wanted to rub it in, and it suddenly made him feel a surge of anger .
“My name is Emily . Your name is s.h.i.+nhae?”
She spoke in a kind manner . However, s.h.i.+nhae was still learning Hangul, so there was no way she could understand English . Sungyoon translated Emily’s words from the side .
“Yes!”
“Unni is called Emily . I work with your dad . ”
Emily and s.h.i.+nhae talked to each other by using Sungyoon as a bridge . Emily really was interested in the little girl, so she kept acting in an agreeable manner . This was why s.h.i.+nhae didn’t hesitate to answer her questions .
After the brief greeting and introduction came to an end, Emily spoke to Sungyoon .
“She’s a cute child . ”
“Isn’t she?”
If Emily had thought that this was a method that would allow her to get a step closer to Sungyoon, she would have been very right . It was very effective . For the first time, Emily saw a bright smile on Sungyoon’s face .
Emily was unexpectedly and directly exposed to his smile, so she, once again, turned her face away . This was the only way she could hide her red face .
For better or for worse, Sungyoon was too busy playing with his daughter to notice Emily’s predicament .
“We have to start going now . ”
Tim basically watched his sister short-circuit from embarra.s.sment . It was pathetic . So, he spoke to Sungyoon and Jimin . This was a joyous reunion between father and daughter, and it would probably be for the best if they made themselves scarce right now .
“Are you free during dinner time?”
Suddenly, Jimin asked a question .
Was she asking him out? A beautiful woman like Jimin was asking him if he was free . It was understandable for Tim"s heart to skip a beat . Of course, he knew the chances of her asking him out was extremely small .
“Yes, I am . ”
He didn’t give that answer because he had dark intentions . At the very least, a labyrinth run took a whole day . It was why the two siblings had earlier turned down the offer to go into the Beginner’s Labyrinth . However, they weren’t busy enough where they couldn’t carve out some time for Jimin .
“That’s great . It seems Mr . Sungyoon owes the both of you a lot of favor . Therefore, I would like to treat you guys to dinner . Is that fine?”
He had expected this answer . Even though he had prepared his heart for it, a part of his heart inevitably became very disappointed . Tim pushed down on such emotions as he nodded .
“I’m fine . You have time too, right?”
“Yes!”
Emily also gave the go-ahead .
“We’ll see you at dinner in a little bit . ”
“Yes . We’ll see you at dinner . ”
“See you at dinner . ”
After saying their farewell, the Ross siblings moved away from the Chicken Coop . When they completely disappeared from their sight, Jimin turned her gaze towards Sungyoon . As soon as the Ross siblings made themselves scarce, he had started laughing and talking with s.h.i.+nhae . She didn’t want to interrupt such a happy sight, but they had work to do right now .
“Shall we go too?”
“Sure . ”
Sungyoon planned on following Jimin with his daughter in his arms . However, he couldn’t do as he intended .
“Dad . ”
“Hmm?”
His lovely daughter had something to say . Sungyoon brought his ear next to her mouth .
“You stink . ”
“… . ”
Sungyoon became expressionless . He turned to look at Jimin, who had her hand on her mouth, and whose body was shaking . Her normally cold self was nowhere to be seen . It seemed that she was close to letting out a belly laugh at s.h.i.+nhae’s words .
“… please wait a moment . I’ll go wash . ”
“Pfft! P . . . please do so!”
Sungyoon left s.h.i.+nhae with the president, and he went to the pay-to-use shower stall . Even if this service was expensive, he had to immediately take care of his hygiene .
* * *
After he washed his body, Sungyoon brought out a fresh pair of clothes . They were the clothes he planned on wearing when he went back to Earth . As soon as Sungyoon appeared in from of her, his daughter jumped into his arms . She told him he didn’t stink and let out a trilling laugh . Sungyoon laughed along, but he was laughing a bit awkwardly, as if saying that it wasn’t his fault .
Jimin took the lead as she walked in front of the two . Sungyoon had never been on this street before .
After walking for a while, the buildings suddenly disappeared, and a large lot appeared .
This place was filled with cars . It was either a parking lot or a used car lot .
However, the cars in this place weren’t normal vehicles .
First, they were large . They were slightly larger than a bus and had a rectangular shape . They also had neutral designs . A total of 12 large tires were attached to them . They looked like they would run better on rough terrains compared to normal cars .
“Those cars are HUGE!”
s.h.i.+nhae’s eyes shone as she watched the cars . In the eyes of a child, seeing vehicles with so many wheels was quite an amazing sight .
“Yes! They are huge cars . ”
Sungyoon raised the little girl higher, so she could get a better look at the vehicles .
At that moment, someone approached them .
“What brings you here?”
It was a very obese man that looked very greedy . His narrow eyes swept over the party to see if they were customers that would spend a lot of money .
Jimin stepped forward .
“I came here to pick up a vehicle . ”
“What is your name?”
“My name is Hahn Jimin . ”
“Please wait a moment . ”
The man started tapping on the tablet in his hand . He put on a smile when he found what he was looking for . He might have been trying to project a friendly and bright image to his customers, but his corpulent face made him look like a dishonest car dealer who only saw people as money .
“Please come this way . ”
The man guided them towards the lot where all the vehicles were parked . The vehicles were packed next to each other, yet the man didn’t seem to have any trouble finding his way through the vehicles . He navigated the crowded lot until he came to a stop . He pointed towards something .
“This is the item you ordered . ”
His finger was pointing towards a vehicle that looked similar to all the cars here . It was a large rectangular vehicle .