Chapter 173

EP.173 Lifetime Companion

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“Thank you. Please contact us immediately if any issues arise.”

Dr. Jennifer Cash stepped out of the wedding ring shop, leaving behind the polite farewells of the staff, and looked up at the sky.

It was a clear day. The kind that naturally lifts your mood.

But she also secretly missed rainy days.

Because they felt like watering her parched emotions.

Of course, only when Jihyuk was by her side. Without him, rainy days were just dreadful.

For a moment, Dr. Cash wore a lazy expression, then opened the ring box she received from the shop.

A pair of rings with a thin band, a prong, and a finely crafted diamond perfectly placed in the center.

They were exactly as she had designed them.

Thinking that they were worth the high price, she got into her car.

Then, she turned on the tracker to see where Jihyuk was.

‘Uijeongbu Cathedral…?’

Jihyuk wasn’t religious, so why was he suddenly at a cathedral?

Tilting her head in confusion, she soon remembered that Adeline was a saint.

Surely, the immature girl must have whined at Jihyuk to take her to the cathedral.

Resigning herself to that thought, she was about to start the car when a sudden worry struck her.

‘The tracker… what should I do…’

Dr. Cash was well aware of how dangerous her actions were.

The tracker she had secretly installed on Jihyuk.

For now, it was fine since he hadn’t noticed, but if he ever found out, the relationship they had built could crumble in an instant.

Last time, when Jihyuk succumbed to Chae Boyeong’s persuasion and took drugs, she had used the tracker to find him.

At that time, Jihyuk was too distraught to question how she had found him, and he never brought it up afterward, so it was brushed aside.

That was a relief, but she couldn’t guarantee it would be the same next time.

Slowly, anxiety began to creep in.

Buzz-!

Lost in thought, Dr. Cash’s face lit up when her phone vibrated with a message.

[Did you take your medicine this morning, noona?]

It was a message from Jihyuk. He must have sent it while he was with Adeline, worrying about her.

Overjoyed, she quickly replied.

[I took it right in front of you while you were brushing your teeth. You praised me with sleepy eyes… don’t you remember?]

[Oh, right. I was out of it. Sorry.]

[It’s fine. Where are you?]

[At the cathedral. Adeline asked me to bring her.]

Relieved that Jihyuk was telling the truth, Dr. Cash moved her fingers.

[Did you teach her how to take a taxi?]

[Yeah. She said it was easy and looked disappointed. I’ll call you before heading back. Book a movie. Anything you want to watch.]

[Okay. I love you.]

[I love you too.]

After reading the last message, filled with happiness, she placed her phone in the cup holder and started the car.

Right… I’ll remove the tracker when the opportunity arises.

With that thought, she didn’t head straight home but stopped by the laboratory.

[Biometric authentication complete.]

Whoosh-!

The door with radio interference opened sideways, and Dr. Cash entered the lab. She was about to grab a fireproof box when she glanced at the control panel.

The Evil Energy Explorers installed worldwide were functioning properly.

“Haah…”

Letting out a long sigh, she sat in front of the control panel and blew on the keyboard for some reason.

The dust on the keyboard swirled and was sucked into the ventilation system.

After roughly tidying up, she silently stared at the monitor for a while.

‘…..’

A complex and subtle emotion welled up inside her.

All of this could be considered Edward’s legacy.

A place created to honor his will.

If asked whether she wanted to continue running it, the answer leaned toward “no.”

It wasn’t worth it. It cost too much money, and the effort was immense…

The World Union was also a problem.

Originally, she had a sense of mission to save the world with them and had built a strong bond over time, but after Jihyuk was falsely accused and sent to prison, her perspective changed.

The world was full of rotten people, and those in power were corrupt.

Even within the World Union, many subtly offered bribes, asking her to take care of their countries.

Because of that, Sehwa also suffered greatly…

She really didn’t want to help such people for free.

But even though her sense of mission had faded, a sense of responsibility remained.

The responsibility to take care of the Beast Slayers.

And the belief that she and Jihyuk were the only ones who could take care of those who wanted to save the world.

“Phew…”

Her head aching, Dr. Cash tightly closed her eyes.

She just wanted to live on a remote island with Jihyuk for the rest of her life, without thinking about anything.

‘Maybe I should sleep for a bit…’

That’s what she should do. Sleep is the best when your mind is cluttered.

She’ll rest for an hour and then head back.

Getting up from her seat, she trudged toward her lounge.

After roughly shaking out the blanket, she turned on some classical music, set an alarm, and lay down on the bed, closing her eyes.

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“…. Me…”

A tender voice reached her ears.

Tossing and turning in bed, Dr. Cash opened her bleary eyes and the first thing she saw was Jihyuk looking down at her with a gentle expression.

She felt his warm hand slip between the bed and her back.

Smiling contentedly, she sat up with Jihyuk’s help.

Rubbing her eyes, she asked,

“When did you get here…?”

“Five hours ago.”

Shocked, Dr. Cash was taken aback.

“F-five hours…? What time is it now?”

“It’s almost nine at night. You didn’t reply to my messages, and you weren’t at home, so I got worried and came here… and found you sleeping.”

“Nine…? You should’ve woken me up… I need to book a movie…”

“You were sleeping so soundly, I didn’t want to wake you. Why did you come to the lab?”

“Well… I needed a box to burn some photos… but when I saw the control panel, I got lost in thought and then got tired…”

Jihyuk, tilting his head, sat on the edge of the bed.

Dr. Cash felt like she was being drawn into his dark brown eyes.

Those mesmerizing eyes. Her face quickly turned red.

Noticing her reaction, Jihyuk chuckled.

“Seems like you’ve been worrying a lot? Want to talk about it?”

Her heart racing, Dr. Cash looked at Jihyuk, who was fiddling with her earlobe.

Why am I acting so foolish… I should be used to this by now, but every time I see Jihyuk, my heart feels like a girl experiencing her first love.

Fidgeting, she spoke.

“It’s just… this facility was created because of my late husband’s will… and suddenly, it’s annoying.”

“Annoying enough?”

“Actually, it’s complicated. I don’t know what to do. If I keep running it, it’ll cost you a lot of money… but if I stop, the Beast Slayers, including Sehwa, will be affected…”

“Really? Then try changing your mindset.”

“Changing my mindset?”

“Think of it as following my will. I like running this place.”

“Ah…”

It felt like a fog in her mind was lifting.

If Jihyuk liked this place… then there was no need to worry.

She could just think of running the lab for the sake of Jihyuk, whom she loved.

Dr. Cash nodded vigorously.

“I’ll do that.”

Until now, she had been fulfilling her duties as the person in charge due to her late husband’s will.

But not anymore. This was Jihyuk’s lab now.

From now on, she would let Jihyuk run the lab as he wished, and she would simply follow his lead.

“You look better. Is it resolved?”

Jihyuk asked with a puzzled expression.

Dr. Cash let out a small laugh and nodded.

“It’s resolved.”

“That’s good. Let’s get ready to head back. It’s late.”

“Okay. But I haven’t finished sorting through the belongings… I was sleeping…”

“Leave it for tomorrow. No need to do it today.”

“You told me to do it today…”

“And now I’m telling you to do it tomorrow.”

Jihyuk said with a grin.

Dr. Cash couldn’t help but smile back.

She used to play these word games with Edward often, but it was never as enjoyable as it was now.

Why did she ever love such a boring person? It made her deeply reflect.

“Alright. I’ll do it tomorrow. Oh, wait…”

Leaving Jihyuk, she got out of bed and rummaged through her handbag, pulling out the ring box.

She approached Jihyuk, opened the box, and showed him the rings.

“How are they?”

“Pretty.”

“Can I put it on you now?”

“Now? Isn’t the situation a bit too plain?”

“I think it’s just the right situation.”

“Really? Then…”

Trailing off, Jihyuk extended his left hand.

Suppressing her trembling heart, Dr. Cash took out the larger ring.

She placed it on Jihyuk’s long ring finger and slowly pushed it down.

The ring fit perfectly at the middle of the third knuckle.

Seemingly awkward, Jihyuk averted his gaze and scratched his head.

But the way he kept glancing at the ring showed that he liked it.

Feeling that her careful design had paid off, Dr. Cash extended her left hand and asked,

“Will you put mine on too?”

“Ah, right.”

Jihyuk carefully picked up the ring as if handling something precious.

Then, staring intently at Dr. Cash, he slid the ring onto her finger.

‘Ah…!’

At that moment, Dr. Cash felt that she and Jihyuk had become one.

In the lab that now belonged to Jihyuk, they had exchanged rings, pledging their love.

Thinking that, her nose tingled.

Blinking back tears, she spoke in a choked voice.

“Thank you…”

“I’m thankful too.”

Hearing Jihyuk’s gentle reply, Dr. Cash hugged him tightly.

Rubbing her cheek against his broad, firm chest, she felt Jihyuk’s soft hand on her head.

The emotion of love exploded within her, and she wished time would stop right there.

She confessed her true feelings to Jihyuk.

“I’ll love only you forever…”

And Jihyuk… said the words she had longed to hear.

“I love you, Jenny.”

Hearing that nickname, Dr. Cash couldn’t hold back her tears.

The term of endearment she had wanted to hear from Jihyuk.

Hearing it on this special day was overwhelming.

“I’ll call you that sometimes.”

Jihyuk continued.

Dr. Cash didn’t reply, just nodded in his embrace.

She wanted to obey him. She wanted to do whatever he desired.

This feeling consumed her heart.

Occasionally, news stories featured people who, after not knowing each other long, gave their bodies, hearts, and even their livers and gallbladders to their partners.

She used to not understand such people, but now she completely understood.

They were all intoxicated by the love of someone who perfectly matched their dreams, inside and out.

And now, she was just like them.

Her relationship with her late husband felt like puppy love in comparison. That’s how perfect Jihyuk was to her.

When the first demon appeared, saving Jihyuk from the rubble and bringing him to the lab was a stroke of genius.

Hiring him as an assistant, gradually developing special feelings, and now loving him so deeply—it was all a blessing.

Otherwise, she might never have found her true self.

After holding onto Jihyuk for a while, Dr. Cash pulled away.

Jihyuk wiped her tears and asked,

“Are you hungry? Should we eat out before heading back?”

“Yeah…”

Dr. Cash, biting her lip with her head down, replied.

Jihyuk chuckled softly and asked again.

“What do you want to eat?”

“Anything…”

“Anything? Before you say street food like tteokbokki and fried snacks, speak properly.”

“I’m fine with that too…”

Jihyuk laughed incredulously.

But Dr. Cash was serious.

As long as she was with him, she was fine with tteokbokki from a street vendor or even a skewer that had fallen on the ground.

To be continued―――――――――――――――――――――

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