Once the wonderful lecture finally came to an end, Adam quietly followed behind Shuri and entered her private office room in the luxurious office space of the University that was usually reserved for guest teachers or valuable faculty members among the University staff.
"As tidy as always."
"This room doesn't really belong to me now, does it? It was just lent to me by the authorities of the University. So, it is my duty to take care of it and keep it in a pristine condition."
Not all teachers at the University have the honor to have their very own private office rooms. Even in a prestigious University such as the one Adam studied. So, Shuri had every reason to be proud of receiving this office space.
Shrugging his shoulders, Adam went inside and took a seat on the chair in front of her desk as Shuri went to the other side and sat down on her office chair.
"So… Adam, first things first, you have been absent for most of the days of this month. I pulled some strings so that it didn't reflect on your grades. After all, you have always been a model student until this last month of absence. But I hope I don't need to emphasize that even those strings have their limits."
She sighed under her breath before speaking in a soft tone, "So, can you tell me exactly why you have stopped attending school?"
"You should already know why."
Shuri bit her lips with quite a bit of force once she heard Adam's reply. Since she now knew that Adam had become a Gigolo, there was indeed not much that she was able to ask surrounding the reason behind his absence and what he had been up to these days.
She could more or less even guess the reason why he chose this kind of scandalous job. After all, Cecilia's situation had been quite alarming for the past year and it was only in recent times that she seemed to be gaining back her strength.
"For your mother…"
"Always."
Pindrop silence followed the firm statement Adam made while cutting off her words.
Shuri nodded her head in acknowledgment of his will, "I understand. I genuinely do, and you already know that. Either way, what is done is done and there is no meaning in dwelling in the past. Let's get things straight here, Adam. I hope that you will stop working as a Gigolo."
"Why should I?"
Adam's eyebrow rose in response to her words. It was more than just apparent that he had no wish to pay heed to her request.
Shuri kept a calm countenance as she explained her opinion to his student cum lover, "I am not just speaking of this because of our new relationship. I have no intention of entering into any form of marital bond for the foreseeable future. I am also saying this because I believe you have better options in your hands.
"Be it you or Cecilia, the two of you have always been very prideful and refused all forms of money I have tried to give you throughout the years. But now, I think you should put your pride aside and stop playing around. It's the life of your mother that is at stake, after all."
Adam listened quietly to Shuri's reasoning. Her words were filled with the worry she felt for him and his mother, along with an endless desire to protect him from the dark side of the world. She was without a doubt not talking with bad intentions in mind when she proposed for him to leave his job.
"You are already a few years away from achieving the title of Lawyer. Once you've earned that title, you'll be able to enter into my firm and become one of my people."
Everything had already been prepared for him on a silver platter, "I already planned your way of going up and how to name you as my successor. I wanted to keep this a surprise from you till you actually became a lawyer and entered my firm for a few years but I guess there is no need for that now."
She took a deep breath and exhaled before continuing, "If you think I am meddling too much in your life I can even back off for now. But please, do not sell yourself for money. In fact, why don't you simply take me as your sugar mommy or something like that? I think I can more than just afford any form of money that your Gigolo work can provide you."
"Your speech was so great… and then you had to go on and ruin it all."
"Well. I could more or less see that I was going nowhere with that speech."
Shuri was not an expert in psychology but she was still skilled in cold reading and she could see that Adam was in no way moved by her words. Not even the slightest.
"Firstly, you need to understand this fact… I am not just working with Yui as a Gigolo. I am her sworn brother. You should understand what it means in the underworld."
"I know and this is why I think you should stop before you go too deep. You have yet to commit any big crimes. Acting as a Gigolo can be quietly erased in the background and you'll have a clean sheet. I will ensure that. So, it still isn't too late."
She was truly worried for him. She had entered the criminal world because she had no other choice.
You couldn't work in her domain and not have a relationship with the dark side of the world.
Those who tried to stay pure until the end were generally the first ones to get betrayed by their loved ones.
But once you become dirty, there was no way to become clean again.
Hearing her words, Adam chuckled involuntarily
'Yet to commit any big crime.'
'Still isn't too late you know.'
Two sentences that felt so ironic to him after all he had done.
Of course, she wasn't technically wrong.
'Adam Gospel' was just a normal student who never had any dealings with the underworld outside of a few fights here and there back in his youth. The worst he did in recent times was to join an establishment affiliated with the underworld and act as a Gigolo.
Adam Gospel could still go back to his previous boring life.
The one who massacred hundreds of people a few days ago was still alive but his name was unknown and there was no way to link him to that monster.
There was power in staying in the shadows. Being the eminence in shadows, as they say. The fact that you would always be a hidden dagger that few could anticipate was an advantage that not many had.
He could indeed give up on his identity and live a 'normal life.' If he so wished.
But for how long?
Trouble seemed to find him even when he did not search for it.
Could he truly stay passive and let things happen? Continue to only react to the situation while being completely lost about what was happening?
Prior events had proven that such a way was nothing but a recipe for disaster. At least in his case.
Because he had waited too long to properly chase after the vampire, things spiraled out of control and led to the deaths of more people than he was willing to count and the near summoning of a Demon Prince.
Because he hesitated and underestimated Kang Ho, things once again spiraled out of control and reaped the lives of Hae-Won and her son.
Both times he had been lucky to survive through the ordeal. Once by having his mother save him and the second by having a very weakened enemy that got scared because of the similarities he possessed with his father.
But what about the third time?
Or the fourth?
Would he always be so lucky?
Sooner or later he was bound to lose someone or something truly important to him.
"I cannot stop. Nor do I want to."
He was honest. As much as possible, he did not want to lie to Shuri and keep her in the dark.
"I have already done many things. Some I am not particularly proud of. But if I was given the chance, I would still choose to do them."
Shuri could see that Adam was serious. This was not just an impulsive decision on his part but something he had been thinking about for a long time before coming to a conclusion of his own.
Now the choice was hers. To be with him or not despite knowing of his questionable job and ties to the underworld.
But her decision was already evident.
Marry a chicken and follow the chicken, Marry a dog and follow the dog.
It was a small Chinese idiom she loved quite a bit as it represented her views of marriage and relationships.
While it might be a little too traditional for some. This was her vision.
If it was impossible to stop Adam from being a criminal, she just had to make sure that he never got caught no matter how many crimes he committed.
It wasn't as if her hands were clean in the first place.
"So what are you going to do about university?"
"Dropping out."
Shuri opened her mouth almost immediately… wishing to say something to dissuade him. But in the end, she only massaged her forehead slightly before speaking in a tired tone.
"Are you sure? I think having an official identity could be useful."
"Don't worry. I do plan to pass the Bar exam."
"....So you will skip school but still pass the exam?"
"Yep."
"Adam, I know you are good. Very good even. But the bar exam isn't a joke."
"Oh, I know. Believe me. Let's just say I have a good memory."
'Calm down. Calm down. Believe in him. I'm sure he can do it…'
She had to repeat those lines like a mantra many times over in her mind to not blow a fuse and cuss right now.
"You and your mother will really be the death of me one day."
She placed a hand on her chest and sighed endlessly due to the shenanigans of the mother-and-son duo.
When she finally looked up again, she was startled to realize that Adam was nowhere to be seen.
"Now that we finished talking about the serious stuff… Why don't we relax a little bit?"
Two broad hands were placed on her shoulders, massaging her gently.
Shuri shuddered a little. Adam's voice was sensual enough for her to understand what he really meant by relaxing.
'He wouldn't dare…? Here?'
Well, there were very few things Adam wouldn't dare to do.
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