Maybe she was busy, so I couldn't call her up by notifying her of the appointment. Wasn't it polite to give her a day or so? I didn't have an artifact in my hands right now, and it took time to create one. Pollution near the West Sea would inevitably fester for a few more days. Certainly, I didn't want to go outside again today. I sat on the couch and summoned a small creature through the Channel in my chest. The creature was a class that could be easily summoned without having to bother to go to the roof.
-Keeek, keeeek.
A lump of flesh about the size of a baseball floated in the air before my eyes. It had dark maroon skin with no strands of hair growing on it, a long torn mouth, and one ear immersed in the flesh without an earlobe. I grabbed it in one hand and spoke, holding the ear close to my mouth, at a whispering distance.
"Yes…client. It's been a while since we've eaten together. How about Chinese food? See you at 1:00 tomorrow at the Magical Garden. As usual, please make a reservation… it's two weeks earlier than the promised day, but I'll bring a 'gift.' Tomorrow…it's lemon flavor."
When I had finished speaking, I squeezed the creature in my hand to make sure the recording went well. The words I had spoken flew out of its mouth, and its body was crumpled. It was a voice that had been altered so that the original voice couldn't be understood. After confirming that the last word was well recorded, I opened the window on the first floor and blew it out.
The destination had already been synchronized telepathically. It was confirmed that the recipient was in Seoul and hence flew away from the strange creature, carrying my message. If I was too far away, I couldn't control my pet; I had to let it go when I knew she was in Seoul. I didn't know where the person who would receive this message would be going tomorrow, because she had so many local business trips.
'By the way, what should I wear tomorrow?'
***
The next day,
I stood at a Chinese hotel restaurant entrance on the hillside overlooking the Han River and Anyangcheon Stream. Fortunately, it was in business. No matter how overwhelmed the world was by the sudden appearance of strange races and magical beings, business was business; people had to eat and live.
This restaurant was one of the places that my client had chosen to meet after I gave her a rough idea of the range of my completed barrier. I asked her to set up an appointment only within this range. Looking at the place, I wondered, "My client has such expensive tastes." A friendly staff greeted me at the restaurant entrance. Unlike me, they didn't recognize me at all. It was expected. I looked completely different compared to the last time I came here.
I spoke with the middle-aged man. He seemed to be in his 40s, and his face had a bit of roundness to it.
"Can you see if there is a reservation in the name of Lee Seo-rin? Two people."
The man flinched for a moment when he heard the name that was too familiar at unexpected times and then turned to the reservation book.
"Oh, I…I'm sorry. Sir, I can't confirm today's reservation under the name you gave me…"
"Oh, really? Hmm, it's a mess. Under what name did I make a reservation?"
"May I look for any reservations under your name? May I have your name, please?
I waved my hand in denial of his request.
"No, I wouldn't have made a reservation under my name."
It was because my client didn't know my name, after all.
"I've made a reservation under some other name, not my name. Could you take a look again just in case?"
At that time, a cold voice came from behind my back.
"You can just go in with me."
I turned my head. It was the client. It looks like she was listening to our conversation from behind me. A woman with black, long, straight hair was looking at me with her arms crossed. She was a little over 170cm, but today she was similar to me in height because she was wearing high heels. I could see her eyes staring at me from under the pale sunglasses she was wearing. She wore sunglasses, but she couldn't hide her natural beauty. An employee who recognized her ran out quickly.
"Ah! It's been a long time since I saw you. I was just wondering, but I guess you really made a reservation today. By the way, what name did you make your reservation under? It wasn't in the record right now, so I was checking with your companion who came first."
She took off her sunglasses, staring disapprovingly at me as her "companion who came first." As the beautiful face with a subtle mix of Eastern and Western culture was fully revealed, the hotel lobby began buzzing with people who recognized her in an instant. It seems that many eyes were staring at us. I could roughly make out the distant whispering, "Oh, it's Lee Seo-rin!", "Wow, I saw a celebrity today!" and a few more similar chants, spoken in hushed, excited voices. She looked at me, tilted her head, and frowned.
"…It's you, right?"
"Yes, that's right, client," I replied with a bright smile.
She asked me once again as if checking the authenticity of my claim.
"What is the taste for today?"
"Lemon!"
"Yes, damn it."
She walked into the restaurant entrance with an elegant gait, complaining to herself in a calm voice, asking why I used a face that confused people like this. Walking through the entrance, she turned her head and spoke to the staff as if she were suddenly reminded of it.
"The Solidarity for the Reform of Unfair Trade."
"Pardon?"
"The Reservation. It's not my name but the name of the civic organization I sponsor. Do you understand?"
"Oh, yes, of course. Let's see… yes! You two are reserved in the name of 'The Solidarity for the Reform of Unfair Trade.' We didn't know, and we prepared for a hall seat…today; we will guide you to a special room with a good view."
Lee Seo-rin nodded and walked along with the staff's guidance. I laughed bitterly as I followed them. Understandably, she made a reservation using a pseudonym instead of her name because of her professional status as a celebrity. But did she really need to bring in the name of the civic organization? In fact, if you think of it with common sense, she could choose any name randomly. The Solidarity for the Reform of Unfair Trade… Haha. She was protesting against me now. She was protesting to me that our deal was so unfair. Did she come late on purpose today?
***
As the staff said, the room we were guided to was really nice. It was also quite spacious for an arrangement of only two people.
"I will keep the bag next to you."
The server carefully picked up the scarlet-colored bag, placed it on an empty chair next to her, and covered it with a napkin large enough to cover several bags. I imagined that it must be extremely expensive.
"I'll keep your bags, too."
I shook my head and refused.
"No, that's okay. I'll be choosing the menu first, so could you come back later?"
"Yes, then shall I give you water first?"
I glanced at Lee Seo-rin and spoke.
"I'll have mineral water…and you'll have the Perrier, right? You like it."
I smiled as I spoke; Lee Seo-rin frowned as if she saw something she couldn't see and responded.
"Give me anything as long as it's not Perrier."
"Oh? You must have changed your taste."
"I don't feel like it today. I have too much Perrier."
Her eyes would catch fire due to the fierce gaze she had. Lee Seo-rin talked to the waiter, keeping her gaze fixed on me.
"You can bring anything, so please go out and wait outside until we call you. Thank you."
As soon as the waiter went outside and closed the door, Lee Seo-rin snapped.
"Let's start with this month's stuff."
"Yes, yes, I understand."
I opened my backpack, which I was holding without handing it over to the server, and took out a yellow paper bag from it. When I handed the paper bag over to Lee Seo-rin, she took a green glass bottle out of it. The sticker on the glass bottle said Perrier lemon flavor. Still, the bottle was actually recycled after all the contents were consumed. What's inside now was a low-grade elixir, a magic solution.
"Can you please put it somewhere else? Why do you always put this in a used bottle? It's uncomfortable."
"This is the right capacity. The lid locks well. At first, I put it in a soju bottle, but because you didn't like it, I purposely changed it to this Perrier bottle."
"Can't you just put in a glass bottle from a kitchen shop? Or, what about Lock & Lock?"
"I don't know where they sell those bottles. And no to plastic containers. Elixir is different from plastic in composition. If plastics were okay, I would have brought it in a lighter plastic bottle."
What I told her was true. The Elixir was easily contaminated when it came into contact with petroleum compounds.
"Don't worry because I washed it cleanly. And even when I was drinking the sparkling water inside, I didn't touch it."
This was a lie. I lived alone, so it was annoying to drink it in a cup. When Lee Seo-rin listened to me, her expression became darker as if she was more upset. Soon, she sighed as if she had given up. She opened the Perrier bottle and began pouring the transparent contents into the empty wine glass in front of her. She divided it, poured it into a glass, and drank in a gulp without taking a break. And I was staring at her all the while.
As expected, the closer I looked, the more beautiful she was. Her small face was harmoniously arranged with distinct eyes, nose, and a petite mouth. When I looked at her eyes and nose, I could see exotic lines that didn't resemble Asians. I thought that the rumors that she was mixed blood might be true.
Lee Seo-rin continued to swallow the elixir without breathing. I stared with wonder as the tiny white uvula moved.
"You drink really well."
Lee Seo-rin, who poured the last drop in her mouth, spoke, putting down the wine glass.
"You have to drink it to live."
There was a thorn in her voice.