Hambaek Flower Restaurant - Chapter 20

After shaking hands with the protest organizers, Choi Yoon received water from someone.

The moment he took a sip out of courtesy, thirst overwhelmed him. He emptied the bottle in an instant.

“Thank you for your hard work. We truly appreciate you coming all this way.”

The protest leader approached and offered a handshake. Choi Yoon declined the kind offer to escort him to his car, saying there could be unfortunate incidents, and pulled his hat down low again.

The streets were chaotic.

Even though the protest had ended, many citizens remained.

Pushing through the disorderly crowd, Choi Yoon finally found his car.

Only after getting into the driver’s seat did he realize how tense he had been. He roughly rubbed his face with one hand and took out the phone Kim Tae Rin had returned.

Skipping past the many missed calls, he pressed Yoo Ji Ho’s number. Before the ringtone could sound more than a few times, a shout burst out.

– Are you really crazy?

“That’s how it turned out.”

He started the engine and drove off.

– It’s not just how it turned out, you went there planning this from the start!

“What’s the atmosphere like?”

– Don’t even ask. It’s like a funeral. Everyone thinks you’re just dead.

“What about Lee Kang Woo?”

– Seems he left his office right after the live broadcast started.

“Where to?”

– Where do you think he went?

“I want to hear it for sure.”

– To Representative Jeon Min Seok’s residence.

“Ah, is that so?”

He felt a thrill to his fingertips.

What would Lee Kang Woo have said to Jeon Min Seok?

Would he have knelt and apologized for failing to properly manage his people? No, Lee Kang Woo doesn’t bow his head to anyone.

Then what kind of proposal would he have made?

Since it was our company’s celebrity who did this, I’ll take responsibility and make him retract his statement, would he try to negotiate by saying he holds that bastard’s entertainment career in his hands?

Either way was fine. Lee Kang Woo, Jeon Min Seok, and that damned minister and government would all have quite a headache because of Choi Yoon.

But they wouldn’t be able to touch him easily either.

Choi Yoon had mentioned having audio recordings in front of the public. He had stated that the full investigation had no other purpose than to weed out infiltrators and that the recordings were evidence, but both sides knew there was no such pretty peace. Choi Yoon had essentially issued a public warning.

Your dirty inner thoughts. I’ll spill them if you make a wrong move.

They wouldn’t want that. So for the time being, they’d have no choice but to move according to the frame Choi Yoon had set.

Try as he might to hold it back, laughter kept bubbling up.

“That’s what you get for carelessly calling people in and making them do dirty work.”

– What’s with that attitude? Do you think this is a joke? We’ll die first trying to make fools of those people!

“Even if I die, you’ll be fine. More importantly…”

Choi Yoon gripped the steering wheel tighter.

Those pretty eyes that had stared straight at him. Pitch black and dense lies.

“Can you look into someone for me?”

– Who?

“Kim Tae Rin. Female. Twenty-five. 5 Soseul-ri, Haewon-eup, Jangcheon-gun.”

– A tenant?

Yoo Ji Ho asked back in a sullen voice.

Ignoring it, Choi Yoon recited Kim Tae Rin’s resident registration number. He had an exceptionally good memory. Compared to thick scripts, a single line of numbers was nothing.

But Yoo Ji Ho seemed to have no intention of writing it down.

– Why her?

“I’m not sure if that resident registration number is correct. There’s a high chance it’s forged. Anyway, I need to see her moving history too, so get her resident registration abstract. She said she had no parents, check if that’s true. If so, which orphanage she was in. Or if she was adopted and then the adoption was canceled. Just everything you can find out. And…”

Choi Yoon recalled Kim Tae Rin, with her eyes wide open, asking if he had killed people twice.

He couldn’t help but laugh. Trying to deceive me when you can’t even lie properly.

Actors deal with emotions. Choi Yoon had lived wearing characters rather than being himself for a long time. He was skilled at detecting lies, and even more skilled at telling them.

But to do it in front of me.

“And she said she had been dating someone who died, look into that too.”

– You know you’re asking me to do something illegal, right?

“You’re good at this kind of thing.”

– That was to find out if the women approaching you were sent by Lee Kang Woo or not. This is the opposite. Did the tenant approach you? No, right? Rather, you’re interested in her but something seems suspicious so you want me to look into it, right?

Choi Yoon blinked. He couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.

“Me? Not at all.”

The sound of Yoo Ji Ho exhaling deeply could be heard. He asked gruffly.

– Ultimately, what do you want to know? Is this personal or for the public good?

“Of course it’s for the public good. If it’s too much trouble, forget it. I can look into it myself.”

– Don’t cross the line.

“How should we identify infiltrators?”

Yoo Ji Ho fell silent for a moment.

Choi Yoon tried to remain calm. But his voice came out sharply grated.

“There will be surgical scars left on the body. Right? If we thoroughly examine from head to toe, we’ll find the answer.”

– If you start suspecting innocent people like that…

“Think you can fool me right to my face?”

Choi Yoon recalled Kim Tae Rin.

That fierce intensity, the look in her eyes, her tone when talking about infiltrators.

You’re saying that was because of a dead ex-lover? No, I can say with certainty it was about herself.

“She’s like a gumiho.”

He clenched his hand holding the phone. His voice came out hoarse and sharp. He repeated.

“I think she’s like a gumiho.”

Gumihos are overwhelmingly beautiful among both humans and monsters.

Looking at Kim Tae Rin made him dizzy. Beyond just his taste, she moved the hearts of those who saw her. She kept making him mistake it for falling in love.

If she were a gumiho, that unrealistic beauty and my wavering emotions would finally make sense.

– Brother. Gumihos died out ages ago. You think people would just leave those beauties alone?

“Looks like one Kim Tae Rin remains.”

– That’s nonsense.

“It makes sense. Because she’s unbelievably beautiful.”

– By that logic, half the celebrities would be gumihos.

“You think I can’t tell the difference? Kim Tae Rin is different. She drives people mad.”

His insides were boiling. He muttered lowly.

“I’m going to find out. Find out and…”

In the past, those vertically slit blue eyes had turned towards the young Choi Yoon huddled and hiding under the shadow of the dining table.

If that’s the case. If she’s of the same bloodline as that.

“I’ll kill her.”

– Brother, even if by some chance that tenant is an infiltrator, it’s not like she’s harmed anyone.

“Who knows.”

– And infiltrators aren’t just lying around on the streets like that. What if you stir things up for nothing and just end up hurting her feelings?

“What do you mean, what if? We’ll both end up hurt and that’s it. My feelings are already hurt anyway.”

– Someone working at a place like Yomilji probably has a lot of stories, so don’t go digging unnecessarily and just leave it be.

“There’s a civic duty. If you suspect someone of being an infiltrator, report it. I promoted it myself. The report number is 127.”

– Don’t go making trouble for an innocent person. Is whether that woman is an infiltrator or not even important right now? The bigger problem is that you’ve turned your back on the government. We don’t know how they might retaliate…

Choi Yoon couldn’t answer right away.

Because something vague appeared at the end of the road.

It became clear in an instant. A long barrier stretching across the road, alternating yellow and black.

The small container next to it was a temporary checkpoint.

Did I take a wrong turn?

He checked the navigation. Damn it, he was driving in the middle of the sea. Before he could complain, he looked around. There were no guide signs to be seen.

He slowed down. This didn’t feel right.

First of all, there were too many police officers. Officers in uniform carrying firearms were milling about, watching him. Although it was unlikely, it was as if they had been lying in wait knowing Choi Yoon would pass by.

Was there a checkpoint like this before?

He quickly retraced his memories. When he entered Jangcheon-gun yesterday, he definitely passed this road. But he hadn’t seen even a scrap of a barrier, let alone a checkpoint.

So, this checkpoint must have been set up temporarily since it wasn’t there last night. His heart beat roughly.

– By the way, brother.

Hm. He answered halfheartedly.

Not knowing that all of Choi Yoon’s attention was focused on the checkpoint in front of him, Yoo Ji Ho said lightly.

– That tenant. What was the vibe like?

The vibe, Choi Yoon murmured unconsciously. He reduced his speed and stopped the car.

– She must be quite charming, for you to be digging into her like this.

The police officers swarmed towards Choi Yoon’s car as if they had been waiting.

Choi Yoon confirmed the badges gleaming on the officers’ uniforms.

They weren’t ordinary police. They were special officers dispatched from the Monster Management Department.

One of them approached Choi Yoon’s left side. The young-faced officer shifted the submachine gun he had been holding with both hands to one hand, and clenched his other hand into a fist.

Before the smooth, flawless fist tanned by the sun could knock on the glass, Choi Yoon immediately lowered the window.

At the same time, he took out his wallet from his back pocket and pulled out his ID.

– So what does that restaurant sell? Have you tried it?

“I’ll call you back later.”

He ended the call and held out his ID through the window.

About to take it, the officer’s eyes widened. If he hadn’t been wearing a uniform, he looked ready to ask for an autograph or photo.

Choi Yoon slipped his ID between the officer’s fingers awkwardly suspended in the air. He asked with a slight smile.

“Is there a problem? I don’t think this was here until yesterday.”

He gestured broadly at the barrier blocking the way and the temporary checkpoint, then added.

“This. It wasn’t here. Until yesterday.”

The officer cleared his throat and answered.

“An infiltrator escaped from nearby.”

Choi Yoon blinked. He asked again.

“And?”

The officer was flustered. He tried to answer but ended up dropping the ID.

Another officer who had been watching this scene with disdain from a step behind walked up and said stiffly.

“What do you mean, ‘and’? We don’t know where they might have fled, so we’re sealing off this area. We’re only allowing entry and exit to those whose identities have been confirmed. May we check your trunk?”

“Of course. Look all you want.”

Answering cheerfully, Choi Yoon opened the trunk.

He heard some officers walking around to the back of the car.

Towards the young officer who stood looking dazed after picking up the ID and clutching it tightly, Choi Yoon held out his hand.

The officer startled and returned the ID. As he received it and inserted it into his wallet, Choi Yoon asked casually.

“You said an infiltrator escaped?”

“Huh? Ah, yes, yes!”

“What kind of monster is it? A black tiger? A dokkaebi? Maybe one of those gumihos that are hard to see these days because the rich have snatched them all up?”

“Ah…”

The officer looked around with a troubled expression as if seeking help. But none of the other officers opened their mouths.

One of the officers who had returned from checking the trunk approached with a frown and gripped the car window. He said warningly.

“Why are you curious about that? You’re leaving anyway, aren’t you?”

“It’s strange, isn’t it? It’s not common for an infiltrator to be detected in the first place, and now they’ve escaped? Today of all days? Here of all places?”

There was no answer. Choi Yoon asked brightly.

“Which areas are being sealed off?”

“This vicinity.”

“So Jangcheon-gun here and neighboring Seoju City too? The range must be quite wide, right? I hear quite a few people are coming over from Seoju to protest in Jangcheon.”

Silence hung in the air.

*

Save yourself from story hunger — the novel below will blow your mind!

“How dare you!”

“How dare you make me love you, only to cast me aside as nothing more than a friend?!?

“I will never accept that.”

“I will never let you return to him.”

“Even if I have to burn myself to ashes.”

“Even if I must shatter my purity, my dignity, my very soul.”

“I will never let you escape me!”

This was the first novel that introduced me to the matriarchal genre. I’ve read it three times already!

At first, the male lead despised the female lead. Later, he misunderstood that she liked him, so he condescendingly and reluctantly reciprocated her feelings.

Then, he suddenly discovered that she was kind to everyone in the same way, and there was already someone she cherished in her heart, and that person was not him.

The male lead couldn’t believe it, he became angry and crazy. He was determined to capture her body and heart by any means necessary.

Synopsis:

Want to see how a green tea bitch male lead falls in love with the female lead?

Want to see how he flirtatiously pursues the female lead?

Want to see how he gets slapped in the face repeatedly?

The male lead is a green tea bitch, a poisonous lotus, jealous, ruthless, unscrupulous, with a venomous heart, and he’s also a delusional maniac.

The female lead is righteous, positive energy-filled, kind, a holy mother.

Let’s see how two people with extreme personalities come together~

_____

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