Seul-ah ca out of the taxi, finally taking pity on her own legs. She looked at the bright light coming out of a black-walled building, and a big holographic display on top of it spelled HELIOS. Expensive cars carrying people wearing trendy, luxurious clothes could be seen coming to the entrance.
Most of them wouldn't co out of the opulent entrance, however, but the back door or the basent. After all, their appearance seldom retained its initial elegance after spending a few hours there drinking and partying.
Seul-ah took a deep breath and walked toward the entrance of the lavish bar. It was a place that not everyone could enter; they scrutinized the guests, and only accepted those they knew could pay not only for the overcharged drinks they had inside, but also for whatever damage they might cause. Entrance fees and table charges were a must, but even if one could pay, the staff could deny entry if they didn't know who you were.
And how did the staff determine that?
Seul-ah walked toward a smaller side door instead of the huge, ornanted double door with security that other people used. The unassuming door was slightly hidden by a row of sculptures flanking the carpeted entryway, and those who saw it for the first ti would think it was a door for the staff.
It wasn't wrong; the staff did use that door for quick access. But there were other people who used that door: frequent, high-ranking mbers or those recomnded by the establishnt itself. Only two people were standing there, and only one was security.
"Excuse , Miss--have you made an appointnt?" one of them asked her with a generous smile but calculating eyes and a dry voice. Still sounded polite, however.
But even if they asked rudely, Seul-ah wouldn't be surprised. Well, she did co in all-black formal attire which did not spell fun, even if all of them were branded. And she replied in a not-fun way, staring at the security with a cold, haughty gaze. "Do I need to?"
Both the security and the other man did not react much, only looking at her with a silent gaze. She knew it ant they were scrutinizing her; the spectacle that the other man used would capture her face and all kinds of information about her life from her date of birth to the last taxi she took to co over would get processed. An assessnt would be conveyed in real-ti through the earpiece attached to their ears.
Seul-ah was sure so of that information got obtained illegally, but that was exactly why she was there--or to be exact, why she decided to get there right at that mont.
"May I have your na?" the man with the spectacles asked with a smile after three seconds, even though Seul-ah was sure he already knew.
Pretending to be sighing impatiently, she replied with a bored, unsympathetic tone. "Lee Seul-ah."
There were another few seconds of silence that made Seul-ah think she might have overdone it. Honestly, while she was trained to hide her emotions and display superiority in front of others, she never really did that in the past. And when she succumbed to depression and inferiority, the lesson she took from the company pushed even further into the depths of her unused common sense. At that mont, all she did was rember how the woman who ordered her to kill her acted--because her siblings were rather...too much.
But she only had one practice before coming over--with the taxi driver--so she wasn't sure it would work with these experienced scrutinizers, but...
"...of HS Group?" the man asked carefully.
But her identity as the second daughter of HS Group's chairman still stands. The man was probably confused because Seul-ah didn't act like how she was in high school, but he should also know she was fresh out of a car crash and a funeral.
Pushing her nervousness to the bottom of her heart, Seul-ah tilted her head. "What do you think?"
This ti, the reaction was imdiate. The man in spectacles bowed politely and gestured toward the door. "I'll guide you inside."
The first hurdle had been cleared.
Seul-ah discreetly took a deep breath as she followed the man through the door, holding back from looking around. It wasn't her first ti there anyway, and of all the tis she was there, none of them sparked joy.
Her older sister would drag her there to be a maid while humiliating her and turning her into a silly party clown. And after all of that, she had to take care of the drunkards. Sotis, she was even called when her sister ca without her, instead of her secretaries or the house staff.
Just anything to make her life more miserable at any turn.
But thanks to that, she knew more about Helios than even the regular guests. Being sober around drunkards made her hear all kinds of things, and sotis, the bar's staff even took pity on her and helped her with the drunkards, allowing her access to quite a few things others wouldn't know.
Although...that in itself brought her a sense of guilt.
After all, the information she received and forwarded to the first son was used to ss with the owner of this place in the past.
She shook her hand and clenched it. It wouldn't happen this ti, because she would use that information for herself. It did not ease her guilt, but it made her feel sowhat better.
As she was drowned in a bit of bitter nostalgia, the man had brought her to the 'second stage of the sun', the middle level of the bar. As an establishnt made to feed the wealthy's ego, the bar operated on several levels. The first stage was the entry level, which all guests could use and most parties were being held. The second stage, however, was reserved for those who had guaranteed backup even if they burned all of their money.
Celebrities? Only those who made enough connections that they wouldn't go bankrupt even if a terrible scandal arose would be considered. Of course, a direct lineage of conglorate families had no problem going into this stage--after all, even if those people maxed their cards, the bar could just send the bill to their family.
Even then, it was only the 'middle' level.
The 'upper stage' needed a lot of money and conditions to access, feeding even more egos of these wealthy figures. Seul-ah didn't think she would be able to access it when it should be her first ti in that place, but the man surprisingly made an offer. "Would you like to have a private room?"
She wondered if it was a test, to see if she would bite and humiliate herself when the man told her she would have to do this and that first before she could achieve the upper level of that establishnt.
Seul-ah, however, aid at an even higher level. One that not many knew about.
One that was actually placed underground.
"No, I'd like a bartender's table," she said nonchalantly, as if it were a regular nu she always had in her favorite restaurant.
The silence this ti was longer than the one at the door. The man looked at her more thoroughly, and Seul-ah could see his brows twitching a little bit. Still, his business smile was as immaculate as she rembered. "You an counter, Miss?"
Seul-ah repeated firmly. "No, table."
The man looked at her eyes, as if gauging her intention. He must have been madly curious--suspicious, even--that she knew their code even though it should be her first ti being there. The excellent information gathering that they were so proud of only made them even more confused because, in their data, Lee Seul-ah should be a model student who never set foot in a bar or any adult establishnt catered for adult entertainnt; a perfect conglorate child raised to handle public image.
Seul-ah tilted her head and decided to make another blow with a smile. "Are you going to take there, Mister Lee Sol?"
The man raised his brows; after all, only seasoned visitors knew the face of Helios's general manager. For a few seconds, Seul-ah wondered if she was doing too much, but it seed like the manager's curiosity was greater than his suspicion. "Very well, Miss," Lee Sol smiled and gestured toward the staircase. "Would you like to forward your order in advance?"
"No, I would like to see what the bartender has tonight," Seul-ah replied easily, passing yet another test.
"You're in luck," the man laughed amusedly. "We have so fresh drinks tonight."
Seul-ah smiled and climbed up the staircase after the guards opened the rope barrier. She glanced at the second stage, trying to see if there was soone she knew, or if there was soone who knew her--not because she didn't want to be found out. In fact, she was very much wanted to be seen.
The perfect daughter got wild in an upscale bar after crashing her car and killing her mother. What a gossip it would make. He wondered how the people back ho would react if they knew.
Seul-ah smiled at the thought, feeling more at ease after stepping over the second hurdle. The next step, however, had to be done carefully. She had only gone there once when the first son brought her after the information she gave, and that was the last ti she ever stepped inside Helios.
"This way," Lee Sol brought her to one of the private rooms he offered earlier. This one, however, was not an ordinary private room. He walked right to one of the walls, where an ordinary-looking wine cabinet could be seen. He pressed one of the many knobs and held the corner of the cabinet, before swinging it open like a door.
Honestly, even if she already knew, Seul-ah was still fascinated by the chanism. It was like a movie, and she couldn't help but feel excited despite her situation. Then again, it was supposed to be her first ti there, so being amazed by it would lower the manager's suspicion.
At least she hoped so.
After the hidden door, there was a plain long corridor with several turns that she carefully kept in mind just in case. They went through several doors without going inside--which Seul-ah presud to be the doors from other access points she didn't know--until Lee Sol stopped in front of a cupboard used to store cleaning stuff.
Of course, there were no cleaning tools inside. Seul-ah found herself inside an elevator instead. Quite a cozy one, actually, with comfortable couches on two sides of the walls. She never understood why those were needed, however, since it wasn't a long ride. Perhaps to accommodate drunk clients?
As the elevator moved, Lee Sol stepped to one of the couches and lifted the seat, showing rows of masks for Seul-ah to choose from. "Would you like one?"
She raised her brows; they weren't offered one when she ca with the first son in the past. She did see several people using masks, but she thought those people brought the masks themselves.
Well...no reason not to wear one. She wanted to be seen outside, but where she was headed, she would like to hide herself as much as possible.
When Seul-ah ca out, she was wearing a deep green coat and an erald butterfly mask over her eyes, stepping onto one of the balconies overlooking a wide circular area with several fighting rings. Big screens displaying nas and betting odds were mounted in several places around the arena. Quite literally, a Colosseum.
Seul-ah exhaled slowly as she once again stepped into the dark side of the sun, hidden by the glamour above.
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