* * *
Even in a moment like this, my father was busy trying to protect his son, Seo Inho.
A son who’d barely acted like a son—practically a stranger.
What was so precious about someone like that…
No, not even strangers had treated him as harshly as Seo Inho had.
And just because he’d raised his son in poverty, my father spent his whole life acting like a criminal.
And Seo Inho… wasn’t all that different.
He treated his father like one too.
Feeling overwhelmed, I slowly stood up.
I needed to splash cold water on my face.
I couldn’t let my mood get ruined on a day like this—especially not because of Seo Inho.
“I’m just going to the bathroom for a moment. Keep eating.”
I slipped out of the room and walked down the hallway.
But then my steps came to a sudden halt—through a slightly open door, I caught a glimpse of a familiar figure.
The Hunter Association President?
He was drinking alone.
Oddly, the seat across from him was empty.
Judging by the extra glass on the table, he must’ve come here to eat with someone.
Not my business.
I really didn’t care, and I wasn’t in the mood to think about others anyway.
I quickly passed the room before he could notice me and headed toward the bathroom.
“Why’s it so dark…”
Of course, being such a fancy place, even the bathroom was something else.
The dim lighting made for a nice atmosphere, but it was so dark that regular people would probably complain.
Clicking my tongue silently, I was washing my hands at the sink when I felt someone walk up beside me.
I assumed it was just another guest, but they just stood there—making no move to use the sink.
Unable to suppress my curiosity, I cautiously glanced up.
And there—through the mirror—I met a pair of pitch-black eyes.
“Do Soohyuk?”
Unbelievably, it was Do Soohyuk standing there.
It became instantly clear who the Association President had been waiting for.
His eyes, calm and unblinking, seemed to have been watching me from the start.
“What are you doing here…”
But I didn’t get to finish.
A large hand suddenly grabbed the back of my neck and started dragging me somewhere.
Clunk.
“Ugh!”
I was shoved hard into a bathroom stall, my shin slamming against the toilet.
The pain shot through me, but before I could even react, he grabbed me by the collar and slammed me against the wall.
Every inch of my body ached.
But the man in front of me—Do Soohyuk—simply stared at me without a flicker of emotion.
He stepped in closer.
From his slightly parted lips came a low, quiet voice.
“You were the one who planned to kill Do Soohyuk, weren’t you.”
“…”
“Then what made you suddenly change your mind?”
That snake of a man—the Association President—he really planned to pin everything on me.
Forget the contract, it looked like he didn’t care anymore.
When I couldn’t say anything and only mouthed silent words, Do Soohyuk, as if he expected it, threw me down onto the toilet.
Then he wedged his knee between my thighs so I couldn’t escape, and immediately gripped my face roughly.
My heart pounded with dread, but I didn’t even dare think about running.
“If you don’t want to talk, I’ll just make you want to.”
With those words, Do Soohyuk pulled something from his pocket.
It was a small potion, just big enough to fit in his palm—oddly shimmering gold in color.
It looked… familiar.
Wait. That’s…
If my memory was right, that potion was a confession elixir—once drunk, the person would be forced to speak only the truth.
Even if you kept your mouth shut, your voice would spill out against your will.
Realizing what Do Soohyuk intended, I gasped and squirmed.
But before I could do anything else, his long fingers suddenly pried between my lips.
“Ugh!”
His thumb pressed down on my tongue, forcing my jaw open helplessly.
Panicked that things would go really wrong at this rate, I grabbed his wrist with both hands and tried to resist, but of course, it was pointless.
Dammit!
And so, the potion began to pour into my forcibly parted mouth.
“Guhk!”
“Swallow. Don’t bother fighting it.”
His finger pushed deeper inside, pressing down on my tongue, leaving me with no choice but to gulp it down.
I could feel the sweet liquid sliding past my throat as my Adam’s apple bobbed.
As I began to cough violently, his finger finally withdrew.
“Now. Ready to start answering?”
In the middle of coughing, I almost blurted out “No.”
The effects of the potion were kicking in.
What was I supposed to do now?
I quickly clamped both hands over my mouth—but he grabbed my wrists just as fast, stopping me.
I felt like I was being pushed off a cliff.
I didn’t know why Do Soohyuk was doing this, but the fact that he went so far as to use a confession potion meant this situation was absolutely dangerous.
What the hell is going on…?
“Seo Inho Hunter. Were you planning to kill me in the ‘First S-rank Dungeon’?”
“Yes.”
The answer flew out before I even had time to process the question.
It was like my body understood and responded before my brain could react.
But I had no intention of killing Do Soohyuk. So why had I said that? Could it be… a side effect of Seo Inho’s consciousness?
Do Soohyuk didn’t react much to the answer.
He just calmly moved on to the next question.
“Then why didn’t you even try?”
“Because I wanted to live.”
I was shocked by my own words and twisted my body in panic.
In response, Do Soohyuk grabbed my wrist with one hand and pinned my shoulder with the other, holding me in place.
It was unfair—he was S-rank too, but the difference in strength was painfully clear.
“You wanted to live?”
Unlike before, a faint crease formed between Do Soohyuk’s brows.
His normally upright head tilted slowly, like he couldn’t understand.
“Did you know I was going to kill you?”
What?
I forgot to resist.
I just stared up at him, frozen.
Could it be… was he planning to kill ‘Seo Inho’ from the very start?
Even hearing it with my own ears, I couldn’t believe it.
Do Soohyuk was like a protagonist from a movie.
Not exactly righteous, but not the kind of person who would kill without reason.
At least, not in the films I’d seen.
But now I was learning something I never wanted to know.
Trusting a movie had almost gotten me killed in a dungeon—without a trace.
…Then why did he let me live?
Even as my head spun in confusion, my mouth moved on its own.
“Yes.”
“How.”
“I saw it.”
I wanted to rip my own lips apart for answering so easily.
I couldn’t take it anymore—kicked the stall door with all my might.
Bang!
The door flew off its hinges.
But that was all.
Do Soohyuk didn’t even flinch.
He just stared at me with a puzzled expression.
“Saw what?”
No. Not this one. I absolutely couldn’t say this.
I shook my head wildly to resist, but just like with my wrists, he immediately grabbed my jaw.
And then—against all my will—the word that should never have come out slipped through my lips.
“A… movie.”
“……”
Do Soohyuk’s reaction was strange.
The piercing gaze that had been fixed on me suddenly shifted to the empty vial on the floor.
Suspicion flickered in his eyes—as if he doubted whether the potion had even worked.
Well, of course.
If someone asked where you saw something and you answered a movie, even I’d be skeptical.
It sounded absurd.
Was this the end?
But any hope I had vanished the moment Do Soohyuk opened his mouth again.
His next words turned my blood cold.
“Seo Inho, what exactly are you?”
I honestly hadn’t expected that question.
I didn’t think he’d ever doubt my identity.
This was the first time someone in this world had.
If the truth came out now, I wouldn’t be able to handle the consequences.
But even knowing that, I was powerless.
“I’m—”
“Inho?”
Just as the truth was about to pour out from my lips, my father’s voice called out from the bathroom entrance.
I must’ve taken too long, and he came looking for me himself.
The situation, already bad, instantly nosedived into the worst-case scenario.
No.
The realization hit me like lightning, and I acted purely on instinct.
I couldn’t let my father find out—no matter what.
“Guhk!”
I bit down on my tongue with everything I had.
Blood burst from my mouth like a waterfall.
And just like that, no more words came out.
My lips moved like a gasping fish, but my throat was clogged with blood.
It was extreme, but it was the only way out of this mess.
“……”
Do Soohyuk looked down at me, his eyes wavering for the first time.
Maybe my ghastly appearance finally shook him a little.
Taking advantage of the momentary loosened grip, I shoved his chest and bolted out of the stall.
“Inho! Wh–What the hell happened!?”
My father’s face went pale the moment he saw me.
Even Chirpy, the little bird with him, sensed the danger and flew straight into my clothes to hide.
A son coughing up blood—on his father’s birthday, no less.
It couldn’t get any worse than this.
* * *
