Fair Trade

The interior was full of the scent of the woman. There was another scent that came up from time to time and he guessed it probably belonged to her roommate named Chloe. The shelf above the fireplace was filled with cute dolls that did not seem to go with Jang Sei’s style. Yuri picked up a small picture frame placed between the dolls.

Jang Sei appeared to be in her early 20s, and there was an American woman next to her. Her roommate was pretty ordinary with vague features and looked exactly like the rest of the kids of her age.

But no matter how much he looked around, there were no pictures of Sei’s teenage years.

Yuri looked carefully at the pictures in the frames that were placed on the shelf, and then turned around. His eyes gleamed coldly when he stepped on an exceptionally thick carpet.

Yuri walked on the carpet, carefully feeling it out with the tips of his spotless shoe. Then he noticed a piece of wood with a different texture from the rest.

When he touched it, the flooring material moved to the side.

“Found it.”

Standing in the center of the triangular drawing room, he smiled eerily as he looked

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down at the hidden safe under the carpet.

“Hey, are you listening?”

“I heard everything. I’ll sign it and send it to you, so buy it. Just take care of the media for me.”

“… I’m only asking because I’m genuinely curious. Why her? Since when did you get into black-haired girls?”

“At the beginning, I didn’t find her my type either. But she’s just… Should I say, she’s fun to be with? She’s also kinda cute. I like the way she gets her hackles up every time I provoke her. Her love for money is also up to my taste.”

“Hmm… I don’t know, Yuri. I beg to differ with you.”

“Kirill.”

Kirill stopped his nagging at Yuri’s subdued voice.

The safe was a dial and key safe and could be opened only if its key was put in it. Yuri guessed most of the goods stolen by her must be hidden there.

He covered the safe with the carpet again and turned around.

“Jang Young-guk — a criminal imprisoned for the murder of Albert Bradley five years ago. It’s Jang Sei’s father, so dig a little deeper this time.”

“That Korean dude?”

“Hmm, find out who killed the real Albert Bradley. I feel something is off about this… Should I say it seems more like safekeeping rather than imprisonment?”

“What?”

“Maybe her father is being protected.”

Yuri, who opened Sei’s door, heard the sound of someone climbing the stairs. Grabbing the pistol in his pocket, he approached the hallway and peered through the door hole into the hallway.

In front of the door stood a sweating man holding a bunch of hyacinths.

The man wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked around. He then put down the bouquet, took out a letter from his pocket, and put it on top of it.

He looked like an ordinary office worker in his mid to late 20s. He had an average height and appearance. His vague and ordinary features reminded him of Sei’s roommate.

Yuri turned his head, frowning at the funny feeling he just had. His eyes rested on the picture of the two women on the shelf.

The blushing man kept walking in circles around the door with an excited look on his face. He seemed to be practicing some lines and organizing what to say.

Yuri turned around with an amused expression. The man appeared to be a blood relation of Chloe Johnson. Seeing his behavior, it seemed he most likely had a crush on Jang Sei.

He took off his jacket and laid it on the back of the sofa, feeling an unfamiliar discomfort scratching his skin. His eyes, as he unbuttoned his shirt one by one, turned to the front door again.

* * *

“Justin…?”

Sei couldn’t hide her embarrassment when she saw Justin standing in front of the front door when there was a high chance of Yuri Petrov being in the house. Justin, with a beaming smile, picked up the bouquet he had placed on the floor and shouted loudly, “Happy birthday, Rose.”

Yuri Rose.

People called her Rose.

And today was Yuri Rose’s birthday.

Grasping the long straps of her bag, she hurried forward. Chloe’s brother, Justin, had been pursuing Sei for a year. He said that he fell in love with her at first sight in a shopping center where they had met by chance.

“I have booked a restaurant. It took me four months just to get a reservation at that place. Let’s celebrate your birthday today.”

Sei looked at Justin’s bouquet of flowers with an embarrassed expression. Receiving this would mean accepting his invitation to dinner. But today was not even her real birthday and she had a lot of work to do. Besides, hadn’t she already rejected Justin’s advances many times in the past?

“Oh, that… I’m sorry, Justin. I have a prior engagement.”

Justin’s eyes widened at her words.

No way! Chloe couldn’t have said that. She had even warned Sei to avoid her brother’s advances if he approached her.

“Umm… It’s with my boyfriend.”

“What…”

“I’m really sorry. Oh, why don’t you go to the restaurant with Chloe instead of wasting the reservation? Her shift ends early today.”

It wasn’t a lie. Giulio and Yuri monopolized all of her time nowadays.

“All of a sudden, a boyfriend…”

Justin, holding a bouquet of flowers, squinted his eyes with disbelief. Sei stood in front of the door and took out the key. Just when she was about to insert it into the keyhole, she saw the door handle turning, and the door suddenly opening. A hand suddenly stretched out and grasped hers.

“That prior engagement will be with me. Miss Rose.”