* * *
“⋯⋯.”
Strangely, seeing my father frozen stiff, barely even breathing, helped calm my nerves.
There was nothing to be gained by provoking this guy here.
I carefully averted my eyes from my father’s pale profile and opened my mouth.
“What do you want?”
Judging by the fact that he’d gone as far as taking a hostage, it didn’t seem like he intended to kill me right away.
That only left one possibility—he planned to take me north.
Whether it was to sell me to another country or use me for their own purposes didn’t really matter.
At my blunt question, the man raised one eyebrow, as if amused.
“Clear out the people and lock the door.”
So that’s how it’s going to be.
The moment he spoke, I turned around and naturally clapped my hands toward the customers.
About ten people, including a few kids, turned their attention to me.
“Sorry, but we’re closed for today.”
“Huh? But we haven’t finished eating!”
“Can’t we just finish this quickly?”
Complaints broke out here and there, but I coaxed and placated them with promises of free food next time, finally managing to get everyone out.
Just as I was locking the door as he’d asked, I felt something squirming under my clothes.
It seemed like Chirpy was about to pop out, so I quickly grabbed my waist, pretending to adjust something.
If my spirit suddenly showed up now, it could put my father’s life at risk.
“Hand over your phone and put this around your neck.”
Luckily, the man didn’t seem to notice Chirpy.
He casually dropped a collar onto the table.
No wonder it looked familiar—it was the same kind of numenstone I saw in the warehouse last time.
Guess it was too risky to just drag an S-rank away without precautions.
Didn’t expect to see that thing again.
Suppressing a sigh, I pulled out my phone and began fastening the collar around my neck.
The cold sensation on the back of my neck made a chill crawl down my spine.
“I-Inho, don’t—!”
Seeing that, my father seemed to realize it wasn’t an ordinary collar.
He suddenly reached out toward me.
I flinched inside, but it was already too late.
Thud!
My father collapsed limply to the floor after being struck in the head with my own phone.
Blood welled up along the wrinkles of his face as the skin split.
Watching that made my blood run cold.
And yet, the man didn’t show the slightest concern.
He casually crushed my phone in his hand and stood up.
His expression had shifted from earlier—he now looked cold and merciless.
“Now come quietly.”
With that emotionless command, a worn-out jackknife suddenly slid from his back pocket.
The sharpened blade gleamed as it pointed straight at my father.
My veins bulged at my neck in anger.
So this is how he acts the moment I put on the numenstone?
He thinks he can subdue me easily now?
“If you touch my father, I’ll kill myself.”
Just before the knife could pierce my father’s heart, my words stopped him.
It wasn’t like I had a plan—I just blurted it out, figuring he wouldn’t risk everything after coming all this way.
Luckily, it worked.
The man turned his head slightly, an annoyed expression twisting his face.
“You think I’d just let you die?”
“I don’t know. But I’ll keep trying.”
I’ll be so persistent, it’ll make your skin crawl.
If they tied me up, I’d bite my tongue like last time.
Even if they healed me with potions, I’d just try again.
I kept my tone calm, suppressing my emotions.
The man smirked as if he couldn’t believe it.
Then, in a flash, he snatched the item pouch from my waist.
“Such a dutiful little Southern boy, aren’t you.”
At least he seemed to change his mind—he put away the knife.
That was something.
Instead, he picked up my unconscious father with one hand and roughly tossed him toward the kitchen.
The loud crash made me worry, but I didn’t even have time to check on him.
The man grabbed me by the back of the neck and dragged me outside.
But something felt off.
Once we stepped outside the shop, people started appearing on the street—but none of them looked our way. It was like they couldn’t see us.
Puzzled, I glanced at the man—and realized why.
His body had turned semi-transparent, like frosted glass.
And I, now in contact with him, was the same.
Invisible?
I’d heard that the North didn’t have any S-ranks, but I didn’t expect a rare ability like this.
Now I understood how he got here without being caught.
“I don’t need to tell you what happens if you open your mouth.”
“⋯⋯.”
It was a threat.
If I made a sound, he’d go back and kill my father.
Based on what I’d seen, it wasn’t an empty threat.
Dragged along through side roads to avoid people, we eventually reached a run-down van on a quiet street.
It was so old that the paint had peeled in places and the frame was dented like it was ready for the scrapyard.
“Get in.”
After double-checking that no one was around, the man opened the door and shoved me inside.
I stumbled into the vehicle, where three other people were already seated, including the driver.
All of them were small, skinny men.
Judging by their shabby appearance, they probably came from the North too.
Which meant this guy could make at least three people invisible at once.
No way they brought them over one by one.
I sat in the middle of the van, away from the windows, glancing around cautiously.
“Where are you taking me?”
“You’re seriously asking that?”
The man dropped into the seat in front of me and turned his head slightly to look at me.
His shadowed eyes had a faint trace of a smile.
“You’ll find out soon enough. No need to rush.”
That was the last thing he said.
The van filled with the rumble of the engine, and no one else spoke.
Are they awakened too?
The men on either side of me were clearly under 170cm—small and wiry.
In Korea, I would’ve pegged them as civilians, but with the North, I couldn’t be sure.
Still, they’d come to capture an S-rank.
It was unlikely they were ordinary people.
And the fact that I wasn’t tied up meant they were confident they could handle me.
Let’s see, then.
I casually crossed my arms, discreetly pressing on Chirpy hidden at my side.
I couldn’t let him pop out in surprise.
Then, I suddenly swung my leg at the man by the window.
Thwack!
But it was blocked—easily and anticlimactically.
Despite his small frame, he stopped my attack with the back of his hand.
I didn’t break my shin like last time, but the pain still flared.
Probably a C-rank?
Gauging his strength, I pivoted and drove my elbow at the guy on my other side.
But this time, his fist slammed into my solar plexus, and blood gushed up my throat.
“Gah!”
He hit just the right spot—it was hard to even breathe.
A bit more force and my insides would’ve been pulp.
“Don’t pull any stupid tricks.”
Despite the commotion, the man in front just stared out the window, his tone casual—like he was scolding a child for misbehaving.
Seeing that smug expression, I felt an irrational surge of defiance.
Just this once, I fully channeled ‘Seo Inho’, embracing his villainous persona and causing a scene.
Half-rising from my seat, I threw wild punches in every direction and kicked at the car window with loud, echoing thuds.
That was when the man on my right lost his patience.
He grabbed me by the throat and clenched his glowing fist tightly, brimming with strength.
“Enough. He’s a valuable resource—you can’t just rough him up.”
At the sound of that cold voice from the front, the man flinched and quickly adjusted his posture.
It was clear who outranked whom in that moment.
“Don’t make me waste a potion. Unless you want to be tied up.”
Now that I had a decent read on their hierarchy, I quietly sat back down like nothing had happened.
I could feel their sharp gazes stabbing at me from both sides, but I couldn’t care less.
After sensing their power levels, I figured the two guys next to me were maybe C or D-rank at best.
The fact that they’d sent such weaklings to capture me only made it more obvious that North Korea wasn’t doing so hot these days.
The man sitting in front, at least, might be around A-rank.
Though even then, he probably held that position more for his abilities than raw strength—just like me, who barely made it to S-rank thanks to a single skill.
Who knows how long we drove.
The surroundings grew quieter and quieter until we reached a shadowy place, devoid of even a single streetlight.
After getting out of the car and glancing around, I was struck by how utterly dark it was—like they’d gone out of their way to find the most desolate place possible.
The scent of the sea…
The salty breeze stung my nose, and judging by the distance, we were probably near Incheon’s coast.
Sure enough, after being yanked by the collar again and dragged past a rust-covered container, the dark ocean came into view.
In front of it stood a small fishing boat, and next to it, an elderly man who looked visibly tense.
The man who had been keeping himself invisible revealed his presence only after confirming that no one else was around.
As four of us suddenly appeared out of nowhere, the old man jumped, eyes wide with shock.
The man scowled, clearly displeased with the elder’s reaction.
“You. What’s your rank?”
“…‘Ra’-rank, sir.”
“Anyone in Donggang City?”
“N-No problems, sir.”
The old man, sweating buckets, quickly led us onto the boat.
It was so cramped that once all five grown men got on board, it felt suffocating.
Even for a smuggler’s boat, wasn’t this a bit too small?
* * *
