Perfect World [EN]: Chapter 437

439

“Hahaha. Thank you, then.”

Teresa, watching Beomseok settle into his seat, initiated the conversation with a light tone.

“So, what brings you here to see me?”

“Well, what other reason could there be? Isn’t it obvious that the Angela faction’s support is crucial for Avondale?”

“Us support Avondale?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Well, I feel bad about this. Vice Chairman Lewis already visited my mother and secured her commitment. She’s firmly promised to support the Arkan region. It seems you’re a bit late, Mr. Beomseok.”

Beomseok, maintaining a welcoming smile, looked at her intently.

“That’s only the case when I haven’t personally made a plea. If I’m the one requesting it, Madam Angela would find it difficult to refuse.”

“That’s just your opinion. I don’t think so.”

“Why? Ms. Teresa, you’re aware of my relationship with Madam Angela, aren’t you?”

Teresa’s eyes flickered slightly. She was already aware, but she hadn’t anticipated him directly referencing his connection with her mother.

“Of course, but my mother strictly separates public and private matters. Regardless of who the person is, if their actions conflict with the Angela faction’s interests, she deals with them decisively. The same applies to me, her daughter.”

“Huhu. Oh, is that so? Well, I appreciate you enlightening me about this new side of Madam Angela.”

“Yes. So, stop talking and head back now.”

“But Ms. Teresa, your own thoughts aren’t always one hundred percent accurate, are they? No one can truly know what lies within another person’s heart.”

“That may be true, but under no circumstances will we withdraw our support for the Arkan region. In other words, this conversation is pointless.”

Beomseok narrowed his eyes.

“Why is that?”

“My mother sent me here as her representative, specifically instructing me to support the Arkan region. I must honor her wishes.”

“But can’t you contact her and ask again? Ms. Teresa, you’ve been given full authority, so surely you can do that much.”

“That’s not possible. My mother is unwell and unable to take calls.”

Beomseok responded with an exaggerated gesture.

“Ah? Is that so? Could you perhaps tell me which hospital Madam Angela is staying in?”

“Why are you asking that?”

“I was planning to visit her today.”

Teresa waved her hand dismissively, looking annoyed.

“There’s no need for that. She’s resting comfortably at home.”

“Huhuhu. Someone in such a serious condition that they can’t answer the phone is staying at home instead of being in the hospital? Does that make sense? If that’s really the case, then you’re at fault, Ms. Teresa. You should have taken her to the hospital immediately.”

She retorted sharply.

“Who said she’s that sick!”

“Then?”

“She’s simply tired from working hard and needs to rest for a while. It doesn’t mean she’s in critical condition.”

“Ah, that’s a relief then. She should be able to receive phone calls.”

“That’s not true. If you call her on a day like this, she’ll be furious.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll take full responsibility if she gets angry.”

Teresa bit her lip and subtly signaled to the people around them to leave. As soon as everyone had moved away from the table, she spoke frankly.

“Let me be honest with you. My mother is not sick.”

“No. What are you saying? Are you admitting you’ve been deceiving me all this time?”

“I’m truly sorry about that. But I couldn’t help it because of my mother’s orders. Please understand.”

“Well, let’s say I understand. Where is Madam Angela anyway?”

“All I can tell you is that she’s neither at home nor in the hospital.”

Beomseok crossed his arms and glared at her.

“What I need to know is Madam Angela’s location. I need to visit her and ascertain her intentions.”

“I can’t tell you that.”

“Even though I’m asking you like this?”

“Yes. I’m really sorry. Actually, I don’t even know where she is. She left without telling me her destination.”

He let out a long sigh and abruptly stood up.

“Hmph~ Is that so? Then Ms. Teresa, there’s no need for you to feel sorry. I’ll find out Madam Angela’s whereabouts myself. I wouldn’t want any harm to come to Ms. Teresa. Then, goodbye…….”

At that moment, Teresa grabbed Beomseok’s sleeve. Beomseok’s information network was unparalleled. Her plan could be completely ruined. She urged Beomseok to sit back down and whispered.

“That won’t do.”

Beomseok looked at her with a serious gaze, trying to decipher her motives. Her current actions were encouraging.

“Why not?”

“My mother is currently on a trip.”

“Hmph. Madam Angela is quite free, isn’t she? Traveling during such a crucial time? Anyway, that’s good. I can visit her and ask for support.”

“P, please don’t do that.”

“I have no choice. Our Avondale desperately needs Madam Angela’s support right now.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll discuss it with my mother.”

“No, how can you? You just said you don’t know her destination, right?”

“Still, I can contact her.”

Beomseok shook his head.

“Is there a need for that? It’s not difficult to find Madam Angela. I’ll take care of it myself. What Ms. Teresa says and what I say are different.”

“That’s true, but……. Okay. Then I’ll help Avondale. Our faction’s three votes will go to Avondale. How about that?”

Beomseok quietly raised one eyebrow.

“Ms. Teresa is supporting us? Even going against your mother’s orders?”

“Yes. It’s an unavoidable situation right now. And after thinking about it carefully, considering how much my mother cares for you, Mr. Beomseok, I think she’ll definitely change her mind and support Avondale.”

“Well, if that’s the case, I have no complaints……. But I still want to see Madam Angela. So, I must find her.”

Beomseok’s remarks were crossing a dangerous line. If Angela was not dead but imprisoned, they might try to eliminate her immediately because of this.

However, this process was absolutely necessary to at least get a sense of whether Angela was alive or dead.

If Teresa kept preventing him, there was a very high chance that she was alive. Also, he had already prepared an excuse to back down, so there wasn’t much danger. He would bring up the honeymoon rumor that was openly circulating among the martial arts circles.

If she declared that she would never allow him to meet Angela under this pretext, then Angela was safe.

Whether she realized this or not, Teresa sighed urgently and said.

“I have no choice then. I have to tell you the truth.”

“Yes. Tell me.”

“My mother is currently on a honeymoon. With a man. She’ll probably be very surprised if you showed up there, Mr. Beomseok.”

Beomseok took a deep breath and said.

“Hmm. So the rumors were true.”

“Did you perhaps know?”

“Yes. That’s right. And in fact, the reason I came here was not to get the support of the Angela faction, but to confirm the rumors about Madam Angela’s honeymoon.”

“You heard the rumors? From where?”

Although she was speaking in a trembling voice, Teresa’s eyes were shining. Beomseok sensed that she was probably relieved to hear such words from him, so he put on a troubled expression and said.

“Oh, didn’t you know? When I looked into it, most of the martial arts figures knew about it. I heard it from Julian.”

“Hmm. That’s what happened. I’m really sorry for hiding it.”

“Hmph~ Is it Ms. Teresa’s fault?”

Teresa looked at him with a subtle gaze.

“So, what are you going to do?”

“What else can I do? I have to leave her alone. I can’t interfere with a person’s love life, can I?”

“You’ve made a good decision. Then, as a way to console you, Mr. Beomseok, I’ll give all the votes of the Angela faction to Avondale. Is that okay with you?”

‘Hmph. She’s completely blocking my approach.’

Beomseok made his expression bright. With this, the possibility that Angela was alive became even stronger. The fact that Teresa was willing to give him votes that she didn’t have to give him, even though she harbored resentment towards him, could be interpreted as her thoroughly preventing him from finding Angela. This was because he might go to find her in order to get the votes.

On the other hand, if she had died a week ago, she would have taken all necessary measures. There was no reason to block him while helping him. If she continued to be missing, it would mean that something had happened to Madam Angela, and eventually the police would get involved.

‘But it’s not time to relax yet. She might eliminate Madam Angela because she feels uneasy about this. I have to somehow divert Teresa’s attention away from her.’

Then the solution was simple. Finding Madam Angela was enough for Inspector Lexter and Margaret, so he had to keep following Teresa and distract her so that she couldn’t act.

“Then I’m simply grateful.”

“Then is your business finished now?”

Beomseok gently waved his hands. If he parted ways with her like this, there could be a problem with Madam Angela’s safety.

“No. Actually, I had something more to discuss with Ms. Teresa.”

“With me? What is it?”

“I was hoping to get help from the Youth Business Association in dealing with the remnants of the Black Society. If you have time, I’d like to discuss this.”

Teresa, who looked troubled for a moment, readily nodded.

“Okay. What do you want to talk about?”

As expected, Beomseok smiled slightly. If she was the one who had harmed Madam Angela, she needed to monitor his sudden actions, and since it involved attacking the Black Society, there was no way she wouldn’t be interested. Of course, she wouldn’t refuse his request.

He looked around and said quietly.

“There are too many people, so it’s a bit difficult to talk here. How about we move to another place?”

“Yes. Let’s do that.”

“Thank you. Then let’s move to a quiet cafe in the hotel. I happen to have a place in mind.”

“Yes.”

As Beomseok stood up, Teresa followed him. After taking the escalator to the 3rd floor, they entered a quiet cafe. It was a place that sold tea, drinks, and cookies, and it had private rooms, making it a very good place for a conversation.

He and Teresa were led by the cafe employee into a room with an impressive blue door.

“Okay. Please sit down.”

“Yes. But what is it that’s so important that you brought me all the way here?”

“Yes. It’s very important.”

Teresa, with a curious expression, sat down and looked at him.

“What are we talking about?”

Beomseok sat next to her, not directly across from her, and pulled his chair closer. It was such a close distance that they could feel each other’s breath, causing Teresa to look displeased. He was the enemy who was trying to destroy her father’s enemy, the Black Society, so she couldn’t be happy about this closeness.

Although he noticed this, Beomseok brazenly replied.

“I’m really sorry to say this, but it’s not about the Black Society.”

“Wh, what are you talking about?”

“Didn’t you notice anything strange about me when we were talking earlier?”

“What do you mean?”

“Madam Angela went on a honeymoon, but I didn’t show any reaction, did I?”

Teresa nodded calmly. She hadn’t thought about it in detail because she was flustered, but his actions were definitely strange. If Angela had gone on a honeymoon with another man, he should have been very angry and rampaged. Of course, he had dated a few human women, but the desires of a normal male were endless.

“That’s right. It’s definitely strange. But why?”

“That’s because I don’t love Madam Angela. To be honest, I was very happy to hear the news that she went on a honeymoon with another man, and I even cheered in my hotel room.”

Teresa’s expression twisted strangely as if she couldn’t understand.

“What are you talking about?”

“That’s because I’m in love with another woman, not Madam Angela.”

She, receiving Beomseok’s intense gaze, slowly moved her chair to the side.

“Th, then why don’t you just love her? It’s not like you don’t have other women, Mr. Beomseok, and I don’t think there’s a problem with dating.”

Beomseok made an incredibly earnest expression.

“But that woman is different. It’s a love that can never be achieved.”

“Wh, who is it?”

“Are you saying that you don’t know?”

Teresa swallowed hard and pointed to herself. The only woman who could not be loved while loving her mother, Angela, was herself. Even though the law allowed polygamy, it was strictly forbidden to marry both a mother-in-law and a daughter because it was incestuous.

“S, surely it’s not me?”

“Yes. That’s right. In fact, I fell in love with Ms. Teresa at first sight. Her glossy black hair, her haughty figure, and her witty and intelligent appearance were exactly the woman I wanted.”

Teresa was embarrassed and moved further away from him. It didn’t make sense that Beomseok loved her. He was an enemy who had to be eliminated.

============================ Review of the work ============================

Park Ji-sung is playing soccer. It’s 1-1. Daum is broadcasting it, so please refer to it.

Then I’ll go watch soccer. Have a nice day everyone. I’ll see you again tomorrow.