Foe To Flame

Chapter 23

Their peaceful moment was cut short when ringing could be heard. Namsoon jerked her eyes open and looked at Si-O's phone on the table. She found it weird, as his phone doesn't have any incoming calls. Trying to search further, she followed the sound and stopped her track at the first drawer of the desk. She wondered if Si-O had another phone. She is contemplating whether she should wake Si-O up, but he looked like he really needed a shut eye.

She was still calculating her action when she felt Si-O move. She looked down at him and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry, I wanted to wake you, but you seem like you needed the rest." Si-O smiled softly and kissed her forehead. "It's okay, I got to answer it whether I like it or not." He reassures, with a sigh. "Please wait for me there, will you?" He gestured to the sofa in the middle of the office.

Namsoon hopped off his lap and walked to the sofa, not forgetting to steal Si-O's cup of coffee to bring it with her to the sofa. She smiled naughtily at him, and he returned the smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. He is stressed about something. Namsoon figured. She slowly sat down on the sofa and tried not to eavesdrop. She drank the coffee slowly.

Si-O got up from his chair and turned his back on Namsoon, looking out the window behind his desk. "Hello." Namsoon could hear him speak. "Did you locate the missing puffer jacket?" Beom said on the other line. "Not yet." Si-O answered. Namsoon was surprised. She thought he would be speaking in Russian, but he was speaking in Korean instead. Trying to mind her own business, she looked around the office as if she hadn't seen it 100 times.

Namsoon's eyes dropped to under the coffee table, and she could see a light reflecting onto something. Bending her body, she tried to pick the item up. To her surprise, it was her spy watch. Her heart skipped a beat. Has this been here the whole time? Did Si-O notice it? But if he noticed it, he would surely take it away. Namsoon inspects the watch. It's still working well. She tried to switch on the camera, and it turned out the camera was out of battery. She heaved a relief sigh. As much as she wants to help Heesik, she doesn't want him to find out about Si-O's drug and antidote business yet.

"So you'd rather die?" Beom threatened. "The police found out." Si-O answered nonchalantly. Namsoon's eyes turned wide. How did the police find out? She inspected the spy watch, praying that whatever she was thinking was wrong. She put the spy watch in her bag after making sure it was switched off. "Do you call this doing your job? If things go south..." "You'll kill me?" Si-O cut her. Namsoon's eyes turned wide once more. The conversation seemed to be very serious, no wonder Si-O was stressed. "Anton." Beom warned. "I'm not Anton, I'm Ryu Si-O!" Si-O yelled, and an echo could be heard in the office. Namsoon almost jumped at how loud his voice was. She started to feel nervous, this was the first time she saw him explode.

"And you are done ordering me around." With that, he threw the phone on his desk. Namsoon turned to look at him. Si-O looked as if he were in disbelief. He couldn't believe whatever was going on. He started to chuckle and laugh, but the laugh doesn't sound genuine, far from it, actually. He rests his hands on the desk, his head hanging down from his shoulder. He won't stop laughing. Namsoon starts to feel anxious, he looks extremely scary right now.

Namsoon slowly walked to him, stopping in front of him and saying, "Si-O." She called him slowly. He doesn't respond. He keeps on laughing while looking to his left and right. She bends down to be on his eye level. "Si-O." She tried again, but it was still not working. Frustrated, she put her palms on both of his cheeks to force him to focus on her. "Si-O." She said it more sternly this time. His eyes started to look at her. "Are you okay?" She asked with concern written clearly on her face.

He stopped laughing, and his face started to cool down. Her palms were still on his cheeks. He started to stand up straight, causing Namsoon's hands to drop from his face. He looked at her guiltily, with a bit of anxiousness in it. "Tsetseg." He called. "Yes?" Namsoon immediately responds. "Have you ever rebelled against your parents?" He asked. Rebel? Is he rebelling against Pavel now?