* * *
I went to see Lee Shinhae for a checkup.
The results came back with no abnormalities—whether that was fortunate or unfortunate, I couldn’t tell.
“Why did you get a checkup? Are you feeling unwell?”
“No, Baek Gunho just overreacted for no reason.”
“Ah, yeah. That’s typical of him.”
Using Baek Gunho as an excuse seemed to do the trick.
I sent him the test results via text, ignoring the mountain of unread messages he’d sent me.
Instead of heading home after the checkup, I went to the Samho Guild.
After picking up an access card, I headed straight to Kwon Sahyeok’s office.
He was waiting for me inside and greeted me warmly.
“Hey, welcome.”
“…Yeah.”
“Aren’t you going to greet me back?”
“I brought you a gift.”
“So, no greeting then…”
The more he pushed, the less I felt like obliging.
Instead of a greeting, I placed a juice gift set I’d picked up nearby on the table.
“It’s nothing special… Drink it.”
“Take a seat. Want anything to drink?”
“I’m fine.”
“Alright, alright. Have some juice, then.”
Why even ask?
Kwon Sahyeok poured two glasses of the juice I’d brought—one for himself and one for me.
Left with no choice, I took a sip.
Sahyeok seemed satisfied as he watched me and then asked,
“So, what brings you here?”
“I need your help taking down Baekmyeon Sect and the Black Sea Guild.”
“I’m always happy to help with that, no need to even ask.”
“I’m not planning to half-ass it this time.”
“….”
“I need you to take this seriously too.”
“That’s not a problem.”
Kwon Sahyeok shrugged, his tone no different from usual.
He didn’t sound particularly more serious, as I had expected.
Instead of trying to persuade him, I asked a question.
“There’s something I’m curious about. Can you answer me?”
“What is it?”
“Why did you decide to go against Baekmyeon Sect? Your real hatred is for the Black Sea Guild, isn’t it?”
“Hmm? Why do you think that?”
“Well, because you’re Cha Sungjun’s biological son.”
Kwon Sahyeok’s expression hardened.
The deceased leader of the Black Sea Guild, Cha Sungjun, was Kwon Sahyeok’s only biological father.
Sahyeok’s mother had him without marrying Cha Sungjun, who didn’t even know about his child’s existence.
Later, she married Kwon Hyeok-pil, the guild leader of Samho.
Cha Sungjun found out much later, but by then, he had chosen to pretend the child didn’t exist.
Even Baek Gunho didn’t know about this.
The only ones aware of the truth were Sahyeok, his mother, Cha Sungjun, Cha Sungjun’s confidant Lee Jaehee, and me, who learned of it from Lee Jaehee later.
Sahyeok despised his biological father to the core.
Despite multiple attempts by Lee Jaehee to recruit him, he firmly rejected them each time.
A man who stood against both Baekmyeon Sect and the Black Sea Guild.
Someone who wasn’t one of Baek Gunho’s companions, making it easier for me to collaborate with him.
Kwon Sahyeok was the ideal partner for my plans.
He stared at me with his hardened expression.
“How do you know that?”
“I can’t explain.”
He wouldn’t believe the truth even if I told him.
Not that I had any intention of telling him in the first place.
“Did Baek Gunho tell you?”
“Baek Gunho doesn’t know.”
“Then how…”
Suddenly struck by a thought, Sahyeok picked up his phone and called someone.
A middle-aged woman’s voice answered on the other end.
─ Oh my, Sahyeok.
“Mother. Is everything alright?”
─ Why wouldn’t it be? I’m at the department store with your father right now.
“…Really?”
─ Yes, and he went into work again today. It’s his day off; he should rest a little. He’ll wear himself out.
“I’m fine, as you know.”
─ You might feel fine now, but stress piles up little by little, and eventually, it’ll hurt you.
His mother’s nagging began.
Sahyeok gestured for me to step out of the room, and after a while, he ended the call and came back.
“You think I did something to your mother?”
“…Just in case. She’s the only one who knows the truth.”
“Cha Sungjun knows too. So does Lee Jaehee.”
“What?”
Sahyeok’s face contorted.
“They all knew? And yet…”
He was angry at how his mother had been made to suffer despite everyone knowing.
I could guess his thoughts.
I didn’t bother explaining that Cha Sungjun found out only after she’d married Kwon Hyeokpil—it wasn’t worth defending Cha for the Black Sea Guild’s sake.
If anything, stirring his anger further served me better.
After calming his anger, Sahyeok looked at me.
“Did you hear this from Lee Jaehee?”
“Something like that.”
“What does ‘something like that’ even mean…”
“More importantly, if people found out you’re Cha Sungjun’s son, that’d be a problem, wouldn’t it?”
Sahyeok scowled at my words.
It’s not like there’s a law that would punish him, but his reputation would take a hit.
And he certainly wouldn’t want to be known as the son of a man he loathed.
“Don’t worry, I’ll keep it a secret.”
It was something Sahyeok often said to me.
Now that the situation was reversed, it wasn’t the time for him to enjoy it, but it felt oddly satisfying.
Sahyeok ran his hands over his face and let them rest there for a moment before looking up.
By then, his usual composure had returned.
“So, what do you want?”
“I’m not demanding anything. I’m asking for cooperation.”
“Cooperation?”
“Like I said, I want to take down both the Black Sea Guild and Baekmyeon Sect as soon as possible.”
“You already have Baek Gunho. Why come to me instead…”
Now that was a question I couldn’t answer.
“Don’t tell me… Did you break up with your boyfriend?”
That damn boyfriend comment.
It annoyed me on normal days, but this time it genuinely pissed me off.
I snapped at him.
“Shut up about that. I don’t want to hear it.”
“Ah, so you really did break up.”
“….”
“Alright, fine. I won’t mention Baek Gunho anymore.”
He raised both hands in a gesture of surrender. I sighed.
“We need to deal with Kim Kyungmin and Lee Jaehee. To catch Lee Jaehee, we’ll probably need to start with Im Nayoung.”
“Im Nayoung? Who’s that?”
“A seer from the Black Sea Guild.”
Sahyeok looked genuinely surprised at my words.
Kim Kyungmin and Im Nayoung—both anomalies in this world.
In the past, Baekmyeon Sect’s leader was someone entirely different and far less powerful than Kim Kyungmin.
Likewise, the Black Sea Guild’s precognition wasn’t the work of an individual like Im Nayoung.
It had been a collective ability spread across several precogs.
This was why even Baek Gunho couldn’t completely anticipate their moves.
He was operating based on his past knowledge, but these two S-rank awakeners, who didn’t exist before, were unpredictable variables.
Of course, if Baek Gunho couldn’t anticipate them, it was even harder for me to do so.
Most of the finer details of our plans were executed by Lee Jaehee; I only knew the broader strokes.
“Even if we wanted to, we don’t have a solid plan to deal with them right now.”
“If we can’t get to Im Nayoung immediately, we’ll start with Kim Kyungmin.”
“There’s no immediate way to deal with him either…”
“We’ll kill him.”
“…What?”
“I said we’ll kill him.”
They were people who deserved to die.
Killing them wasn’t difficult as long as I ran into them.
The only opponent whose outcome I couldn’t predict was Baek Gunho.
Against anyone else, I never considered the possibility of losing.
So, somehow, I had to kill them…
“Your hand’s shaking.”
“….”
Kwon Sahyeok’s comment made me grip my trembling hand.
In the past, Seo Heewon had killed countless people. T
he memories and sensations of those moments were vivid.
That’s why I was even more afraid—afraid that I might become a monster, like the Seo Heewon of the past, someone who killed without a second thought.
“What’s the rush?”
“There’s no reason to take my time.”
“Did something happen?”
Kwon Sahyeok spoke as if trying to soothe me. Unable to explain, I stayed silent.
Why am I in such a hurry?
Because I don’t know when my control might slip, when I might lose myself completely.
In just a week, my control rate had dropped again—down to 95%.
And when it did, I coughed up blood once more.
Scraping at the floor in pain, staring at the blood pooling beneath me, I thought, I have to do something.
Of course, I had no intention of destroying the world recklessly like Seo Heewon once did.
What I focused on instead was the word atrocity written in my trait description.
Murder is certainly an atrocity.
While killing people connected to Baekmyeon Sect or the Black Sea Guild could be seen, in the long run, as paving the way for peace… I planned to exploit a loophole first.
Whether this would actually work was uncertain. If the system understood cause and effect too well, it might even accelerate the drop in my control rate.
I was anxious, but I had no choice but to take the risk.
After all, I didn’t know when my control might drop again—even at this very moment, I was living on edge.
“So, what do you need?”
“I’d prefer if no one found out I killed them. Help me fabricate an alibi.”
“You’re seriously planning to kill, huh?”
“….”
“Alright. I’ll help. Not sure if you’ll pull it off, though.”
Kwon Sahyeok seemed to think I was bound to fail.
That stung a bit, but expecting me to succeed at killing people would’ve been worse, so I let it go.
“If we’re done talking, how about grabbing something to eat?”
Unlike my grave demeanor, Kwon Sahyeok got up lightly, as if we’d just discussed the weather. I glared at him.
“We’re not done talking.”
“You’re not killing anyone today, are you? You think alibis just pop out of nowhere in a day?”
“….”
“Bonding time between comrades who share secrets. Sounds good, doesn’t it?”
Not at all.
But after hesitating briefly, I nodded.
Since we’d be cooperating from now on, I figured I should at least curb my excessive hostility.
When I stood, Kwon Sahyeok grabbed my coat and held it open as if to help me put it on.
“I can do it myself.”
“Just wear it.”
Why is everyone around me so stubborn?
I sighed and slipped my arms into the coat.
As soon as I was dressed, Kwon Sahyeok suddenly hugged me from behind, resting his chin on my shoulder without warning.
“You’ve got a really thin neck.”
“What?”
“And your waist is so slim too…”
What the hell is this guy saying?
Is he mocking my complex now?
Is this his way of showing off his height and build?
* * *
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Hmmm, sahyeok r u makin moves now ←_←
Hmmm, me agrada. JAJDJAJJSJA