CH 12

A week passed. Fortunately, no one had followed him suspiciously, and he hadn’t run into the Apostle by accident. I was back to my normal routine before I realised Simeon was Heo-sang. There was nothing more I could ask for than a peaceful day of commissioned work.

[Do you deliver?]

As usual, the order came through open chat.

[Yes, as long as the contents aren’t dangerous].

[It’s an ordinary bouquet].

[Then it would be cheaper to just use a flower delivery company].

[I don’t want people to know who I am, can’t you?]

Little did I know at the time. That this would be the beginning of a bad relationship.

[No. I can. Just tell me where you want me to deliver them.]

To be honest, I was suspicious. There’s no reason for someone to pay me several times more than the average vendor for a simple bouquet delivery, so I kept my eyes peeled as I made my way to the local storage facility where the client had left the package. At the slightest hint of suspicion, I would run away.

The subway was business as usual. Even the bouquets of flowers in the cloakroom were unremarkable. It was still a long way from summer, but inside this square steel container were blue hydrangeas in full bloom.

As I carefully removed it, I noticed a note taped to the bouquet.

[Dearly Beloved]

The careful handwriting and the sweet smell of perfume on the note gave me a sense of foreboding.

“This can’t be… an affair?”

Suddenly, I understood why they had entrusted me with the secret, rather than the vendor. Clients who spend a lot of money and want to send gifts anonymously are usually having an affair. I’ve been running errands for a long time.

[I checked your stuff, I’ll be there in 30 minutes].

I texted the client, got back in the car, and plugged the address into my Navi. He wanted the flowers delivered to a commercial building in Songdo. I hope I didn’t get into a love affair for nothing…. I stepped on the accelerator, worried as ever.

After about 30 minutes in the car, I started to see skyscrapers in the distance.

“Is that it….”

Ding-ding.

The car beeped, announcing that I had reached my destination. I still had my doubts, so I parked the car opposite a shopping mall and gently rolled down the window. I could see a 10-storey building behind the office workers coming out for lunch.

It was the first floor of that building where the client had asked me to deliver.

“Huh…?”

But the entire first floor was a flower shop. I double-checked my texts to make sure I wasn’t mistaken, but the location was correct. So I’m giving flowers to a florist? Well, there’s no law that says you can’t get a cake from a pastry chef, but it was weird.

I shoved my phone into my pocket and carefully picked up the bouquet of hydrangeas on the passenger as if it were a baby. I closed the car door and got out, waiting for the walk signal to change. There were quite a few customers coming and going. Apparently, I was very suspicious.

As soon as I crossed the pedestrian crossing and entered the shop, I greeted the part-time student who was tending to the potted plants.

“Hello, I have a flower delivery for you.”

“Flowers…?”

The part-time worker’s eyes widened.

She was probably only about twenty years old, her long raw hair tied back in a bun, and her pale pink chiffon dress swayed like petals. She looked like a florist in a romantic drama.

“Can you tell me who sent it?”

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that.”

Apparently, the bouquet wasn’t for her, but for the boss, who wasn’t here, so she couldn’t tell him.

“Is it for the boss….”

Muttering to herself, the part-time student frowned in confusion.

“I’m sorry, but could you wait inside for a moment? The boss has to receive the gift in person, otherwise we’ll get in trouble….”

I left as soon as I was done. If I stayed too long, I would just get bothered. I was going to do the same this time, but I couldn’t put the fidgety part-timer in any more trouble.

“Sure, sure.”

“Thanks!”

The part-time student put down the dishcloth she was using to clean the plants and led me to the back of the shop. I didn’t know if it was a rest area or a place to welcome customers with appointments, but it was cozy enough.

When I was standing a good distance from the door, she gestured for me to take a seat on the sofa.

“Make yourself comfortable and wait.”

She smiled softly, and I couldn’t resist, so I took a seat on the couch. As she set the bouquet down on the table, a sweet scent wafted through the air. It was not a floral scent, but something strangely artificial, like the smell of her perfume.

Where had I smelled this before? As I pondered, she poured me a cup of hot tea.

“Please drink this for a while. I’ll call the boss as soon as I can.”

“Thank you.”

Somehow, I’d been treated to tea.

After the part-time student quietly closed the door and left, I remained alone in the break room and picked up the mug. As I stirred the hot tea and took a sip, I tasted a peculiar flavour that was neither green nor black tea. It must be a trendy tea leaf. I grimaced at the bitter taste on the root of my tongue and picked up my mobile phone. I had to let my client know how things were going.

[I’ve delivered the flowers, but I sure the recipient will want to know who sent them, is that okay?]

I was about to send the text and make myself a cup of tea when suddenly a phone beeped in the room. I put my cup down and go to the source of the sound, and there’s someone else’s phone next to the water dispenser. It looked like a part-time student had left it behind on his way to the car.

Wait a minute. Didn’t she say she was going to call the boss? If she left her phone behind, I don’t know how she’s going to reach him. I tapped the screen, just in case, and the most recent text popped up.

[I’ve delivered the flowers, but I’m sure the recipient will want to know who sent them, is that okay?]

It was a text I had just sent to a client.

What the hell? Why did a text from a client to a part-time worker…. Does that mean she’s the client? Let’s say you gave in and bought yourself a bouquet of flowers, but why did you pretend not to notice them? That’s when your suspicions snowballed.

“Ugh…!”

Suddenly, a severe dizziness hit me and my vision spun. I lost my balance, spun around, and tripped over the couch. I grabbed the table and tried to get up, but my whole body was weak. My stomach was churning, and everything was rippling.

Suddenly, I remembered the car the part-time student gave me a ride in. A trap. It must have been drugged because it tasted strangely bitter. It’s Nabal, and I need to get out of here somehow. I crawl to the door, barely able to move my arm, and the handle turns.

Creak.

“Oh my.”

The part-time student who opened the door covered her mouth in surprise when she saw me on the floor. But I soon realised it was an act. The corners of her mouth, visible between her fingers, were tracing elongated arcs.

“Just lie there for a while. The boss will be here soon.”

“Why… would you do this….”

“Don’t you really know?”

I felt an unfamiliar touch as I reached out and grabbed her ankle. It felt nothing like the touch of living flesh. It was cold and hard, like touching an iron pillar.

Suddenly, I remembered something from a few days ago. Hunter, her black frilly dress fluttering, striking Salamander with her silver prosthetic leg. She was wearing a mask, but I remembered her clearly. That’s why I can’t help but get goosebumps.

She was frighteningly identical to the one in front of me now.

“Apos…tle?”

I muttered in a shaky voice, and she smiled lightly.

“You’d better be quiet, my boss was very much looking forward to meeting you.”

The boss…. is the only person she’ll ever use a title for.

“Oh, you’re here. I did as you asked.”

As she backs away, shaking off my touch, I hear a knock at the door. Footsteps approach, slow and leisurely, just like the ones I heard in the dark alley. As soon as I see a long shadow on the floor, a shiver runs down my spine. I don’t know why. I don’t know if it’s because I’m afraid of what’s about to happen or because I’m happy to see him after so long.

The next moment, he’s down on one knee in front of me, and he stays that way for a long, silent moment before suddenly reaching out and grabbing my chin. The force of his hand lifting my face from the floor was unnerving.

He clicked his tongue and whispered in my ear as I struggled to control my drugged body.

“Why are you so nervous?”

A low, rumbling voice snapped me out of my reverie.

“Are you….”

“Are you scared? Are you afraid I’m going to do something bad?”

When my eyes finally came back into focus, I saw a midwinter landscape. Skin as pale as the dawn sky, calm black hair, and cold black eyes. The line that ran from his forehead to the tip of his chin was still sharp and beautiful. Just making eye contact with him sent a chill down my spine, like being buried in frost.

There is only one person who can make me feel this way.

“You don’t know how hard I’ve been trying to find you, Mr. Shin Ha-jae.”