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Chapter 244 (Part 1)
Chapter 244 (Part 1)
Chapter 244: Min Juri’s Courage (Part 1)
‘John should be fine as long as he stays hidden for now, so there shouldn’t be any trouble with Berber, right?’
When Ryu Min informed John that Berber was aiming for the leader position, John’s reaction was fierce.
“I knew it! What should I do, Master? Should I bring that traitor here and skin him alive right now?”
“Calm down, John. What do we gain from killing him like that? Nothing but self-satisfaction.”
After calming the enraged servant, Ryu Min ordered him to stay hidden in the Messiah’s cabin for the time being.
‘They’re dead men anyway by the 15th round. Berber, the Despair Cult—doesn’t matter.’
He had no intention of letting the murderers of Christine’s followers live freely. He planned to use them for strategies and then kill them off when the time came.
[We will soon be landing at Incheon International Airport.]
After arriving in Korea, the first thing Ryu Min did before heading home was make a call. He had seen a message from Min Juri.
“Hey, Juri. You said you wanted to talk to me? Should we meet now? Got it. See you there.”
Ryu Min hung up and drove his Lamborghini toward the meeting place. Yet, on the way, Min Juri’s voice kept echoing in his mind.
‘Is she sick? She sounded really down…’
Well, no one could always be in a good mood. People had their ups and downs.
‘I don’t know what she wants to talk about, but this is good timing. I needed to meet her anyway to share some strategies and give her the invisibility potion.’
The invisibility potion was vital for tackling the first mission of the 15th round more safely. He had already given one bottle each to Christine and John Delgado.
‘If I give another one to Min Juri, that leaves me with two.’
After some deliberation, he decided to give the remaining ones to Seo Arin and Yamti. They were valuable allies.
After about 30 minutes, he arrived at the agreed-upon café.
Ding-ling—
As he stepped in, he saw Min Juri waiting for him.
“Hey, you came early…”
But her expression was unusual. Sitting opposite her, Ryu Min asked worriedly.
“Juri.”
“Oh… you’re here?”
“Have you been waiting long?”
Min Juri shook her head slowly, avoiding eye contact as if she didn’t have the courage to meet his gaze.
‘What’s going on? She looks like she’s done something wrong.’
It wasn’t because she had committed a misdeed; it was more that meeting his eyes would make her emotions uncontrollable.
‘Why is she like this?’
Although Ryu Min tried not to read her mind, he felt he couldn’t stay ignorant any longer. He needed to know what was going on.
About 10 seconds later, he figured it out.
‘Ah.’
The reason was clear, enough to make him sigh.
‘So she came by the house with Seo Arin while I was in America.’
In the process, Min Juri had misunderstood, believing he was visiting a Japanese girlfriend.
‘Won… You said something unnecessary, didn’t you? No, it’s not time to blame my brother. I’m the one who created this misunderstanding.’
Silence loomed between them, but Ryu Min had grasped the situation.
It was time to untangle the knot.
“Juri, why do you look like that? Did something happen?”
He pretended not to know, aiming to let her speak first rather than jumping into explanations.
“Well…”
Hesitating, Min Juri finally spoke, still avoiding his eyes.
“You… went abroad, right?”
“Huh? How did you know?”
“I tried calling you, but you didn’t pick up, so I visited your house to check. Your brother was there…”
“Oh, you met my brother? That’s Ryu Won, my younger brother by four years. He’s my only family. That was your first time meeting him, right?”
It wasn’t, but Min Juri nodded.
“Yeah… I didn’t know you had a brother, so I was surprised. But what he said shocked me even more.”
‘She’s getting to the main point?’
Ryu Min swallowed nervously and asked.
“What did he say?”
“He said… you have a girlfriend. A Japanese one…”
“Oh, that…”
“How could you do that to me?”
Min Juri finally looked up, her eyes glistening with tears.
“If you had a girlfriend, you should’ve told me. Did I really have to hear it from someone else?”
“No, that’s…”
“Do you know how shocked and worried I was? Aren’t we friends? If you were dating someone, you should’ve told me at least.”
“…”
Seeing her tears fall one after another as she spoke rapidly, Ryu Min felt conflicted.
‘If just hiding a girlfriend affects her this much, what would she do if she found out I’m the Black Scythe?’
Would she feel like he’d toyed with her, refuse to see him, or even cut ties with him?
It was frightening to think about losing his closest friend over this hidden truth.
‘Just the thought makes me uneasy.’
He wanted to keep his identity hidden, at least from Min Juri. But her determined gaze pierced him.
“When did you start dating her? Why did you hide it from me?”
Her eyes, glaring like those of someone who caught their partner cheating, made him nervously gesture.
“Wait. It’s a misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstanding?”
Finally given a chance to explain, Ryu Min calmly continued.
“Let me be clear: I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“You don’t?”
“My brother must’ve misunderstood. I went to Japan once and started coming home late more often afterward. He jumped to the conclusion that I must have a Japanese girlfriend.”
“So… your brother just misunderstood? You don’t have a girlfriend?”
Ryu Min nodded sincerely.
“Yeah. I haven’t been to Japan since then.”
“Then why didn’t you clear it up with him?”
“I didn’t want to go into detail, so I let him believe it. I didn’t think it would make you react like this…”