Chapter 234
Chapter 234
It seemed Soyoung had come to the zoo by herself . Sungyoon asked her where her parents were, but she had a difficult time coming up with an answer .
A child around s.h.i.+nhae’s age was roaming around the zoo without her guardians . Sungyoon frowned at the situation . It was child negligence that bordered on child abuse .
However, Sungyoon had to berate himself .
‘I have no grounds to accuse others of child negligence . . . ’
Of course, the thought of child neglect hadn’t crossed his mind at the time, but Sungyoon had left s.h.i.+nhae behind to go to the Moon . Moreover, he was still doing it now . Thankfully, Jimin had taken pity on s.h.i.+nhae and looked after s.h.i.+nhae like her own child . If not for Jimin, s.h.i.+nhae would"ve been waiting for Sungyoon by herself .
The thought was frightening .
Soyoung didn’t look like a stranger to him anymore .
‘Should I call the police?’
The child looked at him with earnestness in her eyes . Her eyes kept s.h.i.+ning as she looked around . Sungyoon initially had no idea what she wanted to see so badly, but he soon noticed that Soyoung"s eyes became ardent whenever her gaze landed on the animals .
Her mouth had fallen open from just seeing the elephant walk .
‘… I guess I can let her stay for a little bit longer . ’
Sungyoon was still worried about leaving Soyoung alone .
Also, s.h.i.+nhae had taken a liking to the girl, and she liked the fact that Soyung had a bigger reaction than her .
“Did you say your name is Soyoung? Would you like to accompany us?”
Soyoung blinked with her big eyes as she looked at Sungyoon .
***
Soyoung was very curious about her surroundings, and she even seemed amazed by the bricks making up the road .
‘Did she come from the deep countryside?’
Sungyoon knew that some isolated villages didn’t enjoy much of what civilization had to offer . And when he thought about it, Soyoung"s clothes did look old fas.h.i.+oned .
‘Did she ride the train up here to see Seoul?’
Soyoung, who looked old enough to enter elementary school, had taken the train by herself to view Seoul . It was a storyline commonly used in books and movies . However, the girl’s unique behavior made Sungyoon think that it could be true .
‘… I’ll have to look after her until the end . ’
In a short while, the two children became very close to each other . They held hands as they walked forward . s.h.i.+nhae had been dragging around Soyoung for almost half the time, yet the expression on Soyoung"s face showed that she was enjoying it .
The two looked like sisters of similar age, holding snacks in their small hands .
The money Soyoung had was only enough for the entrance fee . When Sungyoon realized that, he had bought lunch and snacks for the girls . Since he felt sorry for Soyoung, he bought her quite a lot of food .
Soyoung was very cautious in accepting it, but once she did, she enjoyed the food as if she had never eaten such delicious food before .
The faces of s.h.i.+nhae and Soyoung held bright expressions . As if they wanted to conquer the whole zoo in one day, they tirelessly toured the zoo . However, as all good things must come to an end, evening arrived . The sky turned red, and the zoo would soon close down .
“Well, it’s time for us to leave now . ”
“Ooh! I want to play a little longer . ”
s.h.i.+nhae complained . Soyoung didn’t voice her opinions, but she also looked disappointed .
However, the situation was out of Sungyoon’s hands . He couldn’t throw money in the faces of the zoo employees, like in the Korean dramas, to keep the zoo open past their operation time .
“The animals have to go to sleep . If they don"t, they will get an ‘ouchie’ . ”
The faces of the two children darkened . However, they accepted Sungyoon"s explanation . Their gaze then traveled toward the giraffe that was languidly standing in its pen . The girls looked wistful .
“Mr . Giraffe! I’ll come back next time!”
“Bye!”
The two children waved their hands, but ignoring them, the giraffe continued to sway its tail as it walked away .
After saying goodbye to the animals, the girls came back to Sungyoon .
“Where should I take you, Soyoung? Should I contact your parents?”
“Ah . That is . . . ”
Soyoung’s eyes shook .
Sungyoon once again remembered his previous theory . Soyoung might be a brave country girl visiting Seoul by herself .
Soyoung’s eyes, which had been rapidly moving, suddenly came to a stop, and her expression darkened . Sungyoon looked in the direction where Soyoung"s eyes were focused .
He saw a man quickly approaching them . At a glance, Sungyoon could tell that the man was annoyed and angry .
Tuhk!
The man stood in front of Soyoung, who lowered her head .
“… Who told you that you could leave by yourself?”
Although his voice was calm, it was obvious that the man was furious . He was pressing down on his anger .
‘As expected, she came out without getting permission . ’
Sungyoon inwardly let out a sigh .
“I’m . . . I’m sorry . ”
The child’s body shook . The man s.n.a.t.c.hed Soyoung’s wrist and dragged her away .
Sungyoon felt he was watching a man drag away unwanted luggage, and he frowned . Even if the man was angry due to the worries about the child, his actions were too much . They had crossed a line .
Moreover, the girl"s shaking was not normal .
“Unni… . ”
s.h.i.+nhae also looked at Soyoung with a worried expression .
In the end, Sungyoon couldn’t hold back . He was the type of man to ignore others, but that aspect of him changed a bit when it came to children .
“Hey, you!”
Sungyoon wasn’t sure if the man hadn’t heard him or if he was ignoring the words, but the man kept walking .
Tuhk!
Sungyoon scurried forward to grab the man’s shoulder .
Tahk!
The man looked annoyed as he slapped Sungyoon’s hand away .
“What the h.e.l.l!”
The man"s eyes held a scary expression . Even the boldest of men would have retreated a couple of steps at the man’s fierce glare .
However, Sungyoon had hunted in the labyrinths . This was nothing to him .
“The girl is scared right now . ”
“Mind your own business . Get lost . ”
“I"ll do so if you change your att.i.tude toward the girl . In the first place, who are you to her?”
Sungyoon had initially a.s.sumed that the man was Soyoung"s father . However, as he thought about it, Sungyoon realized that he didn’t know the relations.h.i.+p between the man and Soyoung .
“Is he your dad?”
When Sungyoon asked Soyoung, Soyoung shook her head from side to side .
“Then what is he?”
“What does it matter to you?”
“I am a father of a daughter . How can I stand by and watch you treat Soyoung this way?”
The man’s eyes twitched .
“… Soyoung?”
The man glared at Soyoung .
Soyoung’s head dipped further, and he roughly tugged at her arm .
“Ahk!”
The delicate little hand of the child had been forcefully pulled by the man’s rough hand . Soyoung screamed out in pain .
s.h.i.+nhae grabbed Sungyoon’s clothes, and sparks flashed within Sungyoon’s eyes .
“You told them you"re Soyoung?”
The man growled . He was about to pull her arm once again, but—
Tuhk!
Sungyoon grabbed the man’s wrist .
“What the h.e.l.l?”
“You should stop now . ”
“I told you to mind your own business . ”
The man tried to move his arm but found that he was unable to . He looked at Sungyoon with surprise in his eyes, but Sungyoon had the same reaction .
‘He’s strong . ’
Sungyoon was a Connector, yet he found this man’s strength to be very strong . It meant that his opponent was a Connector too .
The atmosphere between the two men turned dangerous . The children looked uneasy as they gazed at the two adults . The situation looked like a powder keg about to go off .
“Soyoung!”
Suddenly, someone came running toward the group .
“Mom!”
The glum face of Soyoung brightened . A woman hugged Soyoung .
The man clicked his tongue as he let go of Soyoung’s hand, and Sungyoon let go of the man’s wrist .
“You little rascal! Where were you all this time?”
The woman scolded Soyoung . However, Sungyoon relaxed at the sight .
Even though the woman was angry, she stroked Soyoung’s crying face . This exchange was completely different from what he saw from the man .
“I wanted to see the animals . . . ”
Moreover, Soyoung wasn"t afraid of the woman . She just looked like a glum kid afraid of being scolded by her mother .
“But still! How could you go out by yourself!”
“I’m sorry . ”
When Soyoung begged for forgiveness, the woman hugged her tighter . While she hugged her child, the woman looked at Sungyoon and the man .
She finally became aware of her surroundings .
“What’s going on here?”
The mood between the two men had deteriorated, so the woman asked the question to the man she was familiar with . Soyoung quickly pointed toward Sungyoon and s.h.i.+nhae .
“Ahjussi looked out for me today! He bought me a lot of tasty food! I also played a lot with s.h.i.+nhae!”
The woman looked at Sungyoon and s.h.i.+nhae . She then got up and bowed to Sungyoon .
“Ah! Thank you for looking after Soyoung today . ”
“It’s fine . As someone with a daughter, I was unable to mind my business . ”
Sungyoon placed a hand on s.h.i.+nhae’s head .
“Your name was . . . s.h.i.+nhae? Thank you for playing with Soyoung . ”
“It’s nothing! I had a lot of fun playing with Unni!”
“Really?”
The woman let out a smile . Unlike the man, she resembled a proper mother . Sungyoon felt the need to speak up .
“I know your child left on her own, but you should be more careful . She might have gotten into a lot of trouble by herself . ”
“I have no excuses . I’ll be careful from now on . ”
The woman once again bowed .
“Also… . ”
Sungyoon’s gaze fell on the man . It seemed the man didn’t like the current situation as his eyes were full of anger .
“I don’t know what kind of relations.h.i.+p you have with this man, but please keep him in check . Even if he"s angry, he shouldn’t pull a child’s arm like that . ”
“You . . . ”
The man glared at Sungyoon as if he were about to charge at him . However, a cold voice froze the man in the place .
“What did you do to Soyoung?”
The woman glared at the man, but the man returned her glare .
“… Hmmph!”
He snorted as he turned around and walked to the exit of the zoo . The woman continued to glare at the man’s back, then she turned toward Sungyoon .
“I’m sorry . I’ll give him an earful . ”
“I have no qualms if you do that . Also, I want to apologize for unnecessarily getting in your business . ”
“No . It wasn’t unnecessary . It was something I should know . ”
The man was nowhere to be seen now . The woman politely spoke to Sungyoon .
“We’ll be going now . Thank you for protecting Soyoung today . I would like to repay you . . . ”
“No . I don"t need any repayment . ”
“Still, I feel bad about it . At least, let me recompense you for the food that Soyoung ate . . . ”
“It really is fine . s.h.i.+nhae had a good time playing with Soyoung . That"s enough for me . ”
s.h.i.+nhae vigorously nodded at her father"s words . The woman hesitated for a brief moment before smiling .
“You are a good person . I’ll receive this kindness with thanks . ”
She then patted Soyoung on the back .
“Soyoung, you should say thank you to ahjussi and s.h.i.+nhae . ”
Soyoung took a step forward and obliged .
“Thank you very much for looking out for me today . ”
She made a ninety-degree angle as she bowed toward Sungyoon . Then she waved at s.h.i.+nhae .
“It was fun today! Goodbye, s.h.i.+nhae!”
“Yes! I’ll see you again next time, Unni!”
s.h.i.+nhae waved goodbye too .
Soyoung and her mother walked away . As Sungyoon and s.h.i.+nhae watched their backs, Sungyoon grabbed s.h.i.+nhae’s hand .
“Shall we go… . ”
Sungyoon froze when he turned his head to look at s.h.i.+nhae .
s.h.i.+nhae’s eyes held a longing expression as she watched Soyoung and her mother walk away . The envy in her expression was evident .
‘… She misses her mom . ’
Even if Sungyoon did his best, it wasn’t enough . Other women like Jimin tried to act as her mother, but they couldn’t replace her real mother .
s.h.i.+nhae looked mesmerized as she continued to watch the mother and daughter until they disappeared . Sungyoon could only look on with sympathy in his heart .
***
After leaving the zoo, Soyoung and her mother went into a high-end hotel .
Holding hands, they conversed with each other . The mother and daughter entered their room, but they paused to find someone else inside .
It was the man who had exchanged some words with Sungyoon .
“Go into your room, Soyoung . ”
Soyoung walked on eggsh.e.l.ls as she entered her room in the suite .
The man continued to look at her with cold eyes . When the girl was gone, he approached the woman .
“I told you that we shouldn’t have brought her here… . ”
Sss-ahk!
The woman"s hand moved like a beam of light, and something appeared inside it . She didn’t hesitate as she placed the item on the man’s neck .
“… What are you playing at?”
The man glared at her .
“Plu-El . ”
Plu-El . It was the same word that the archer had shouted at the man in the black armor when Armstrong"s Connectors had entered the labyrinth to find the ambushers .
In fact, the man and the woman in the suite were not speaking Korean right now . They were using the language spoken by the ambushers .
The more surprising part was the fact that a greatsword was pressed against the man’s neck . This greatsword was the one that had been wielded by the black-armored man .
Plu-El spoke in an icy tone .
“What did you do to my Soyoung?”