By Zephyria “I want Hyung.”
Their eyes met, and Eui-jae forced a smile, awkwardly raising the corners of his lips.
What? An unknown person? No one knows of his existence? Eui-jae recalled the educational comic book featuring a caricature of himself wearing a mask, and the documentary he had once glimpsed. There couldn’t have been anyone as famous as me, you crazy brat….
“Someone skilled but not affiliated with any group. And someone unknown to the public. The more unknown, the better.”
“……”
“The conditions are demanding, aren’t they?”
Sa-young silently moved, slowly circling Eui-jae. It felt like a snake slithering through the bushes.
“I was starting to give up on finding the right person, but then Hyung appeared.”
“……”
“Like fate.”
“Are you a believer in fate?”
“I never believed in that kind of bullshit, but I might start to now.”
Before he knew it, Sa-young was standing right behind Eui-jae. He bent slightly at the waist.
“I’ve looked into Hyung a bit.”
A black finger wrapped around Eui-jae’s shoulder. The owner of the finger whispered sweetly.
“The high school you attended, as well as the area around your house, were completely swept away by the Rift, so there’s nothing to find…. Your parents died on the Day of the Rift, and there aren’t even any remaining relatives to dig up. If you had worked somewhere, there would be a contract, but there’s no contract, no bank records, and your phone was only activated a few months ago. I can’t find any records before that.”
“……”
“The Grandmother and her nephew here aren’t really your relatives, are they? They’re complete strangers.”
Eui-jae remained silent. Sa-young continued, unfazed.
“There really is nothing.”
Of course. While active as J, Eui-jae was J, not Cha Eui-jae. It was no wonder that Lee Sa-young couldn’t find any trace of ‘Cha Eui-jae.’ Sa-young sighed deeply.
“Originally, I was going to scout you nicely, meeting any conditions you set. But….”
“……”
“Right now, it seems like this shop is all that matters to Hyung.”
The voice, which had been sounding gentle, came even closer to his ear. Eui-jae involuntarily held his breath for a moment.
“Is there anything Hyung wants?”
What I want?
There is no one in the world who wants nothing.
Even now, when he closes his eyes, he hears desperate screams and cries. Hands clinging to his feet, begging for help, and the stench of blood vibrating in his nostrils emerge unexpectedly at every moment. The vivid sensation of frantically rummaging through piles of corpses, trying to salvage even a scrap of flesh and bone, remains clear.
If he could, Cha Eui-jae wanted to retrieve the bodies left abandoned in the Rift. He had survived alone and fled here as if escaping, but that feeling was genuine. He wanted to return them to where they belonged. He wanted to fulfill the last duty of the survivor. Because that place… is too lonely.
But he knew it was impossible.
That’s why Cha Eui-jae had no choice but to say he wanted nothing.
“No.”
“…Is that so?”
When Eui-jae replied briefly, Sa-young slowly blinked and raised the corners of his lips in a slight smile.
“Then shall I suggest something?”
He took out a tablet from the air and placed it in front of Eui-jae. A photo of a sensitive-looking man wearing glasses appeared on the screen. Sa-young reached over Eui-jae’s shoulder, as if embracing him from behind, and slowly swiped the photo to the side. The man, with long white hair tied back in a low ponytail, was wearing a doctor’s gown.
“Do you know Nam Woo-jin? He’s an A-class Healer.”
Eui-jae remembered seeing him when he was looking into Lee Sa-young.
―Ranked 6th in South Korea, Scribe Nam Woo-jin. The leader of the Seowon Guild. South Korea’s only A-class Healer. Before his Awakening, he was an orthopedic surgeon at a university hospital, leading some to wonder if his pre-Awakening specialty influenced his Awakened ability….
That was roughly who he was. It seemed to vaguely ring a bell, and when he nodded, Sa-young smiled.
“How about Master getting treatment from Nam Woo-jin for her leg?”
“What?”
“I heard she has trouble with her leg.”
From abilities that allow one to float 2cm off the ground to abilities that can lift an entire building. Since the Day of the Rift, as many abilities as there are Awakened have appeared, but Awakened with skills to heal others are very rare. During Cha Eui-jae’s time, there was only one B-class Awakened in the United States.
And he’s South Korea’s only A-class Healer. An individual that ordinary people can’t even meet. Eui-jae was so dumbfounded that he chuckled briefly.
“An A-class Healer treating a regular person? Don’t talk nonsense.”
“Our Guild and the Seowon Guild have a cooperative relationship, so we can ask him to treat one person. He was an orthopedic specialist before his Awakening, so he can provide general treatment as well.”
“……”
“How about it?”
It was a terribly sweet condition. But Cha Eui-jae wasn’t young enough to be intoxicated by sweetness and neglect his surroundings. All these deals and conditions were peripheral, not essential.
“Lee Sa-young.”
“Yes, Hyung.”
“Why are you doing this to me?”
“……”
Eui-jae turned his head and met Sa-young’s violet eyes. He was staring intently at Eui-jae’s face, as if observing him. Instead of averting his gaze, Eui-jae raised the corners of his lips in a grin.
“Why are you digging up everything about me, trying to find a weakness to exploit, and then throwing me a carrot to try and drag me in?”
“……”
“If I refuse here, it seems like you’ll reveal that I’m an Awakened to the whole neighborhood.”
“……”
“What do you want?”
“Well….”
Sa-young scanned Eui-jae’s face with cool, emotionless eyes. The answer came out quite quickly, considering how much he had been trying to coax him.
“I did consider that method.”
“……”
“But simply threatening you is a poor strategy….”
“……”
“And I’ve concluded that you’re not the kind of person that would work on.”
“You’ve made a decent judgment.”
“Thanks for the compliment. Anyway, to answer your question.”
A brief silence fell. Sa-young asked in a low voice.
“Do you remember the crazy brat you hit with a ladle back then?”
Of course, he remembered. If it hadn’t been for that guy, he wouldn’t be sitting face to face with Lee Sa-young like this. When Eui-jae nodded, Sa-young swiped his finger across the tablet screen and continued.
“A suspicious drug has been circulating for the past few years.”
“……”
“Of course, ordinary drugs and narcotics don’t have much of an effect on Awakened…. But this drug has shown a strangely significant reaction.”
“For example?”
“Increased aggression, addiction. And…”
A long finger brought up another photo on the screen. Something that used to be human, with bizarrely twisted limbs and black thorns protruding from all over its body, looking like a withered tree at first glance. Eui-jae had seen this before.
“Physical Mutation.”
Suddenly, Lee Sa-young’s words from the day they first met came to mind.
‘Sorry. This crazy brat doesn’t know anything. His brain is fried from drugs.’
The guy Lee Sa-young was beating up was an Awakened addicted to this drug. The being in the photo was in a form closer to a Monster than a human, even more so than the man he had seen back then. Eui-jae, observing the unnaturally contorted body in the photo, muttered.
“Just taking the drug turns you into this?”
“…That’s the annoying part.”
Sa-young, as if echoing his words, turned off the tablet screen.
“Anyway, I’m looking for the guys who are spreading this drug. But,”
“……”
“My Guild members and I are already too well-known… If we dig even a little deeper, they’ll cut off the trail immediately.”
The Wave Guild was a small group, but each of its affiliated Hunters was famous. Being a small number, every action was bound to stand out. This was a fatal handicap if the target of the pursuit or reconnaissance was an Awakened.
“But I can’t just throw anyone in there either. They’ll either get killed by those bastards, or get high on the same drug and crawl around.”
‘Someone skilled but not affiliated with any group. And someone unknown to the public. The more unknown, the better.’
In order to track down a well-hidden opponent, one must also be similarly concealed. Moreover, since the opponent is an Awakened with enhanced aggression, someone with the skill to fight and win against an Awakened must step forward.
Even Cha Eui-jae thought that the conditions Lee Sa-young demanded had a valid reason. And he himself was the perfect fit for those conditions. But―
“But why?”
“Huh?”
“Why are you looking for those guys?”
Why was Lee Sa-young trying to find them?
For the sake of the Awakened? No. To protect South Korea? No way. To protect civilians? Hardly.
Based on what he had seen so far, Lee Sa-young was not the kind of person who would pursue them for the sake of lofty causes. Although they had only met for a short time, Eui-jae could instinctively tell.
Lee Sa-young is a human who moves solely according to his own standards. Neither the pride of being ranked 1st in South Korea, nor a sense of responsibility, nor even the Awakened Special Act, which sets the protection of civilians as its primary principle, could be a special motivation for Lee Sa-young.
“……”
Sa-young, who had been silent, raised his index finger to his lips.
“Anything beyond this is a secret.”
“Hey.”
“I’ll tell you if Hyung agrees to the deal.”
“……”
“Oh, and the drug story is confidential, so keep it a secret. Otherwise, Jung-bin will come looking for you again.”
This crazy brat, he’s putting a leash on me by telling me a secret? Eui-jae’s expression turned cold. Conversely, a smile returned to Sa-young’s face.
Lee Sa-young put the tablet into his Inventory and lightly massaged Eui-jae’s shoulder, which had been close to him until just now, a couple of times. Even when his hand was slapped away, he laughed out loud without showing any displeasure. Eui-jae, who had gotten up from his seat, waved his hand dismissively.
“Go quickly. I have to close up.”
“Yes, sir.”
Lee Sa-young hastily put on his Gas mask. Sa-young, who had once again become a suspicious figure in a Gas mask, suddenly reached out his hand. What, is he asking for a handshake? As he looked at him with suspicious eyes, the tip of the black-gloved hand beckoned.
“Phone.”
“Why?”
“So I can put in my number.”
“I don’t need it.”
“My number is expensive.”
“I’ll sell your number on the Tomato Market too.”
“Then you’ll see me often, what’s the problem?”
At the threat that wasn’t a threat, Sa-young laughed as if it were amusing. Even so, he didn’t intend to take his hand back, so Eui-jae eventually handed over his phone. Even if he refused the deal, he thought he should leave one last stronghold in preparation for any possible situation.
Sa-young quickly entered his number and left the store without hesitation. Left alone, Eui-jae turned on the contacts app.
His contacts originally had only two numbers saved. Grandmother and Ha-eun’s home phone number and Ha-eun’s cell phone number. There was no need to save any other numbers.
But it was different now. A new name had been added below the only contacts.
[Sa-young]