Chapter 08
At that moment, the door opened and the sashimi was brought in.
Thinly sliced blowfish sashimi was arranged in the shape of a crane.
Each translucent white slice had been carefully shaped like a crane’s feathers.
It looked almost too beautiful to eat.
“This sashimi is really good. The chef here worked at a five-star hotel for 30 years, and he’s been a specialized fugu chef for 25 years,” Kim Gi-jin said as he poured drinks.
I lifted my glass and accepted the drink he offered.
“How old are you, attorney?” Kim Gi-jin asked.
There was no malice or hidden intent in his face.
It was pure, childlike curiosity.
“Thirty.”
“Oh, we’re the same age. Then let’s be friends.”
He said it casually.
I simply smiled without answering.
—Wow, what kind of ‘let’s be friends’ is that? We’re not even on the same level… what a clueless guy.
A red-eyed voice muttered while quietly inhaling the scent of alcohol and fugu.
“Let’s really be friends. What, you don’t want to be friends with someone like me?”
“I don’t form personal relationships with clients.”
But Kim Gi-jin kept insisting like a child.
“Why do you even want to be friends?”
“Because in my life, I’ve gotten into trouble in a lot of ways.”
He spoke lightly while holding his glass, but his eyes were more serious than ever.
Completely different from before.
“Every time something happens, these so-called lawyers show up, and they’re really annoying. Big law firms, small law firms—it’s all the same. They pretend to care, but their eyes and expressions show how much they look down on people. I know I’m not educated, but it still feels bad when I’m paying them.”
I listened quietly.
I was slightly surprised by his new side.
He seemed sharper and deeper than he looked.
“But you’re different, Yoo Hyun-jae. Even if I’m wrong, you don’t look down on me—you just correct me and help me. That feeling… I like it. And also…”
“And also?”
“I told my grandma about you, and she said I should stay close to you.”
“……”
—This guy really has no answers…
The red eyes muttered in disbelief.
After hesitating, I scanned Kim Gi-jin’s aura again.
Yellow and orange vitality… and a white light that seemed to protect him overall.
He wasn’t the type to stab someone in the back or easily betray them.
Rather, he seemed recklessly loyal.
The biggest problem was that he liked women too much and spent money too freely…
“Alright. Let’s be friends.”
—Are you crazy? Becoming friends with that sucker?
The red eyes shot me a glare.
“Nice! Then let’s drink to our friendship!”
Kim Gi-jin held out his glass.
—I’m against it.
The red eyes crossed their arms, pouting.
“Uh… what’s this?”
Kim Gi-jin waved his hand toward the empty space where the red eyes were sitting.
The red eyes glared at him like they wanted to eat him alive, but couldn’t physically act.
I clinked glasses with him and drank.
“Hyun-jae—no, I mean, Attorney Yoo.”
He immediately dropped honorifics.
Fast learner.
“Yeah.”
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
“No.”
“Why not? You’re handsome, tall, and didn’t you go to the best university in Korea?”
“Yeah, Korea University.”
“See? Then why don’t you have a girlfriend? Girls must be lining up for you.”
—Pervert bastard.
The red eyes frowned.
I had received plenty of confessions and blind dates before.
But I never dated anyone because of my ability.
Beautiful women or women with good backgrounds always had at least one or two grudges following them.
Kind-hearted women didn’t have grudges, but their aura often showed they were overly dependent or weak.
Once I saw those things, I couldn’t feel attachment.
Maybe my standards had simply become too high.
I had never met someone I genuinely wanted to date.
“Should I introduce you to someone? My friend Seul-gi has lots of pretty friends…”
“It’s okay.”
I declined politely with a smile.
“Really? Different taste? Whatever, tell me anytime. Pretty girls, hot bodies, smart ones, cute ones—I can bring anyone.”
He said excitedly.
For a moment, I wondered whether I had made a friend or accidentally met a pimp.
“You’re young and handsome, so I’m sure you’re popular everywhere. My friends would like you too.”
Song Seul-gi added fuel to the fire.
Kim Gi-jin clapped his hands.
“Right? Right? Even you think so, honey? Even as a guy, I think he’s handsome.”
He spoke loudly.
The two of them continued praising my looks for quite a while.
Meanwhile, a snake-like woman clinging to Seul-gi kept flicking her tongue at Kim Gi-jin, but his protective aura repelled her.
I just drank quietly, unused to this atmosphere.
“Hyun-jae. Want to come to my place for just one more drink?”
“Your house is in Seoul, right?”
“No, Seul-gi’s place. The officetel I mentioned is in Ansan. Let’s go and just have one more drink.”
“No. It’s late, and I’m already a bit drunk.”
“What a shame… it would’ve been fun. Right, honey?”
“Oppa, you’re too drunk. Let’s go home now and meet the attorney next time.”
“Alright then. See you next time, Hyun-jae!”
Kim Gi-jin waved brightly until his taxi disappeared.
—Inviting someone and then leaving drunk himself? What a terrible manner…
The red eyes muttered irritably.
I shrugged and started walking toward home.
My new officetel wasn’t far.
A night walk in the cool air would help me sober up anyway.
The red eyes grumbled beside me.
—Hey, Yoo Hyun-jae. Are you really going to be friends with him?
‘Why? Don’t like it?’
—You’re not even on the same level. He’s rich but ignorant. You don’t even share hobbies. Can you even enjoy his lifestyle of throwing money at women?
‘No.’
—Then why accept him as a friend?
‘Kim Gi-jin… that guy. He’s a “benefactor.”’
—What?
‘He’s someone important to me. I saw a light around him. He’s connected to me, even if others don’t see it.’
Knowing my ability to recognize people who would benefit my fate, the red eyes had nothing more to say.
People hurried home through the dark streets.
After deciding to work in Ansan, I rented an officetel nearby.
It wasn’t new, but it was cost-effective.
I waited for the elevator in the lobby.
The elevator that had gone up to the 11th floor slowly descended.
Just as the doors were about to close, someone reached in. I quickly pressed the open button.
A young woman stumbled into the elevator.
“Thank you.”
She bowed deeply—almost 90 degrees—after stepping in.
She looked to be in her mid-to-late twenties.
If I had seen her normally, she would’ve been quite beautiful.
But now she could barely stand, swaying unsteadily.
A faint shampoo scent mixed with alcohol filled the air.
When I pressed the 9th floor, she glanced at me with unfocused eyes.
She leaned against the wall, unable to stand properly.
Without realizing it, I saw her aura.
Red, orange, yellow, green… blue?
Surprisingly, it was a rainbow aura.
Bright, vivid colors flowed gently around her.
What is this?
I had never seen anything like it before.
The elevator stopped at the 9th floor.
The doors opened and she tried to step out—but staggered heavily.
I quickly grabbed her before she fell.
“Ow?”
She looked at me with startled rabbit-like eyes.
“Oh, sorry.”
I quickly let go.
“No, I’m the one who’s sorry.”
She bowed slightly again and staggered forward.
I followed behind her—more like we were simply going in the same direction.
Ghosts exist everywhere, and officetel hallways were no exception.
In dark corners, you could always find a few lingering spirits crouching.
This building was no different.
The problem was that one of them was a lust spirit.
It wasn’t very strong, but whenever a young woman passed by, it would expose itself or try to touch her.
I watched the woman sway toward it.
She lost balance and drifted right toward the spirit.
The lust spirit looked thrilled, raising its arms.
But suddenly, the woman stopped.
Right one step before it.
“Huh?”
She shook her head and turned sharply—avoiding it completely.
As if she could see it.
The lust spirit was stunned.
Then it grabbed her arm.
“Ah—!”
She lost balance and started falling.
I instinctively pulled her toward me.
She was dragged away from the spirit and into my arms.
—What is this?
The angry spirit swung a fist at me.
Thud!
But it bounced off instead.
“Ah, I’m not good at keeping my balance…”
She collapsed toward me again.
Her face came dangerously close to mine.
Big round eyes stared straight at me.
Black pupils, flawless white skin.
No woman had ever looked at me this closely before.
“Wow… you’re handsome…”
Her warm breath touched my face.
It smelled of alcohol—and something sweet like lilac.
My face grew hot.
I quickly let go of her arm.
“Thank you.”
She bowed deeply again.
The spirit, realizing too late, tried to grab her—but she was already gone.
It reached out in frustration, but she disappeared down the hallway.
—Hey… did she just see that? She hesitated earlier…
‘Too close for someone who can see spirits.’
Normally, someone with spiritual sight would avoid a spirit like that immediately.
—Maybe she just has good instincts?
‘Maybe… interesting woman.’
She stopped at her door and pressed the button.
My room was 902.
She didn’t even glance at me as she went inside.
The door closed.
I went into my apartment.
It was cold and empty.
I turned on the heater and took a hot shower.
Even after lying in bed, the image of her lingered in my mind.
That rainbow aura… and how she hesitated in front of the spirit…
A woman whose identity I couldn’t quite figure out.
