By Zephyria 
“How long am I grounded?”
“Indefinitely.”
“Then how am I supposed to go to work?”
“You stay, I go.”
For a moment, his eyes drooped with disappointment.
Strictly speaking, Jin Mu-hae was the only one hired. The guy tucked in as an assistant merely received pocket money split from Mu-hae’s salary, but to Joo-oh, that seemed to be a wonderful profession in its own right.
Though he had spat out sharp words because he was in a foul mood, in truth, it was more peaceful to drag him along by his side than to leave him at home.
If he could have stopped him by installing about forty locks on the front door, he would have locked him up forever. However, the opponent was an escape expert who could spring in any direction.
Even if he couldn’t pick a lock without a key or dismantle a locked window without a trace, he could break out from anywhere using sheer strength, regardless of technique.
No, perhaps he could even click through locks like solving a wire puzzle. He was the kind of fellow for whom detention or restraint itself was meaningless.
Mu-hae, who had been attempting to read a magazine without turning a single page for ten minutes, continued as if granting a favor.
“Depending on how you behave, you can come along to the Defense Force.”
“……!”
“Walks are still forbidden. Don’t act weird, and don’t wander off once we get to work. Stay glued to the office.”
“Okay!”
Joo-oh gave a mindless, hehe-ing laugh, happy that at least one thing had been permitted. Seeing the amount of sandwich wrapper trash piling up beside him, it seemed he had polished off a few more in the meantime.
Damn it. It would be easier to lock up Jackal with a dagger. There was a difference greater than 30,000 pyeong of the Crystal Zone between a human who could be stopped by force and a being who could not.
“Stop eating.”
“Why?”
“You’re not listening, are you?”
Red eyes flickered with conflict, glancing back and forth between the sandwich and Mu-hae. Eventually, he gave up, gathered the remaining food in his arms, and walked toward the refrigerator.
If left alone, he would devour everything in less than two days. Rather than watching him writhe in withdrawal from fried meat sandwiches, Mu-hae had to make a daily quota to let him enjoy it for as long as possible.
“I’ll make some sandwiches, so eat those.”
“Jin Mu-hae is?”
“Then what, should Cheong make them?”
Jin Mu-hae never thought of himself as the type to hold a grudge. Yet, strangely, his tongue kept finding and airing out the points that irritated him.
Joo-oh shut his mouth tight with a flustered look. Even though he was the one scolding him, seeing that expression made him feel bad again, and his gaze turned cold once more.
‘Damn it.’
For a mercenary living alone, cooking was merely a process. One of those meaningless repetitions one must pass through for the purpose of a meal.
And for Mu-hae, even those meals were nothing more than a part of survival. In short, he ate anything as long as it was a suitable energy source.
In contrast, fried meat sandwiches were a popular item, meaning they tasted great to anyone. Once he took out the meat, conscious of the gaze on him, a ridiculously simple dish suddenly felt daunting.
‘Should I brine it?’
Nonsense. He wasn’t given that kind of time. If the food was late, Joo-oh would cautiously eye him and devour the fried meat sandwiches again.
He was clearly the one administering the punishment, yet he felt the strange sensation of being the one punished. Mu-hae wiped the blood from the meat and applied a few available spices here and there.
Sizzle—!
Since he had to buy large chunks to feed him enough, the ingredient was inevitably Beast Meat. As the smell of searing protein wafted through the air, Joo-oh’s nose twitched.
While the seared chunks of meat were cooking in the oven, he took out some bread that had been neglected somewhere in the freezer. It had been over two weeks since he bought it, but it should be fine since it was frozen solid.
“Haha. Great.”
The idiot, who didn’t even realize he was in confinement, cheered. Mu-hae wondered if it was because food was coming, but Joo-oh was licking his lips while watching the cook’s back.
“I love watching Jin Mu-hae cook.”
Does he think this is an open-kitchen dinner show?
“Put one hand on your waist for me.”
“Get lost.”
A chill ran down his neck, the feeling of being stared at by a predator. Mu-hae kicked away the fellow who had approached unnoticed to rub his cheek against his waist.
Ding—!
The cooking finished while Joo-oh was rolling away. He pulled out the sizzling meat on the tray and tossed in the still-hard bread to toast it with the residual heat.
He had wanted to make something decent, but the result was a very simple sandwich.
It was nothing more than grilled meat sandwiched between toasted bread, but a feast that could easily serve eight people was completed.
“Finish this first.”
With a face as if he had encountered an unexpected stroke of luck, Joo-oh looked back and forth between the mountain of sandwiches and the plump bag.
Chomp. With a slight curl of his lips, he popped a sandwich into his mouth.
Ominously, he had a look in his eyes as if he had realized something.
* * *
“I’m sorry. The car broke down on the way.”
“I told you it was time to change that. Just go and get ready. Time’s almost up.”
Hwang-jae scratched the back of his head and hurried toward the truck. Fortunately, no sharp reprimands or pathetic looks flew his way.
It was only because he was late after a very long time. Since he didn’t frequent Sakdal, he had plenty of time left even after sleeping until he was sick of it, making it nearly impossible to be late.
“Oh, Mr. Hwang. You’re late today?”
“I need to change my car. Sigh… I think it’s finally gone.”
“Don’t you still have plenty of reward money? Just splurge. You can’t drive a piece of junk while cleaning up junk. Anyway, does that mean we can’t have a drink today? I was thinking we could gather for one after a while.”
“Yeah, well. I had things to do anyway.”
After the terror incident, the way his coworkers looked at him had changed, and the treatment he received was different. It was awkward, but thinking about it, Hwang-jae himself had completely changed starting from that day.
The intensity or quality of his labor hadn’t increased. He had performed all his duties without fail even back when he did everything half-heartedly.
Instead, his face, once soaked in chronic fatigue, had brightened as if he’d undergone an exorcism. He quit drinking, started exercising at least three times a week, and even began keeping up with the news.
It was only natural. Hwang-jae was now a member of the Secret Society. It was a membership he couldn’t show off, but it was incredibly cool and heart-pounding, and he had to improve his abilities to match it.
Ping—!
Tee— Tto—!
The hologram records in the shape of the World Tree, shining like a halo. He remembered the noble man who glowed brightly before them.
From that moment, that man—who was not just young, but youthful—became Hwang-jae’s new role model. Every time he completed a mission delivered by him, the anticipation and sense of accomplishment in his chest grew day by day, like the jackpot prize of a 10-deal slot machine.
Of course, the “missions” were limited to things like reporting specific geography in central or tucking received waste into a few districts…
‘But it’s a job only I can do.’
A member of the Secret Society hiding his power, disguised as a cleaner. The scars of glory revealed only when lifting his clothes.
Wasn’t this status—so cool it was almost overwhelming just to imagine—his own?
Life became so enjoyable that he didn’t even mind when trash got jammed twice in a single day.
‘Anyway, there’s been no contact lately.’
The actual head of the Return flight wasn’t someone who frequently contacted others or exchanged greetings. However, Joo-oh would send messages whenever he was bored, exchanging trivial stories with Hwang-jae.
That habit had been sparse lately. He had even sent a message two days ago, but no reply had come back.
‘He must be busy carrying out some grand operation.’
Hwang-jae thought of the self-defense spray and baton he had newly purchased as he efficiently finished his familiar tasks.
After entering the incinerator and completing the sorting and verification work, his body was exhausted, but his heart pounded with excitement.
This won’t do. After work today, I should visit a shoe store in another district. A colleague’s cousin’s friend was the owner of a fairly large store, so he should be able to get a 30 percent discount as he’d heard.
Vowing to find shoes befitting a member of the Secret Society, Hwang-jae cleaned his house and even finished his workout.
He arrived in the Jaegang District by train 30 minutes before the store opened. While debating whether black or navy would be better, a man who was a couple of heads taller than others came into view in the distance.
“Jin Mu-hae?”
That height was uncommon. He recognized him instantly. The man whose name was called shifted only his eyes to scan Hwang-jae.
The cold and fierce face became calm as soon as he recognized the other person. The man, holding huge bundles in both hands, approached with a slight twitch of his eyebrows.
“What brings you here?”
“I have some things to buy… Anyway, it’s been a while. You’ve been well?”
“Always the same.”
“What about him, Joo-oh? I thought you two always went together, why are you alone today?”
When he asked about Joo-oh, the face he faced seemed to turn cold again. Jin Mu-hae looked in one direction and answered in a blunt voice.
“I had something to pick up briefly, so I stopped by alone.”
“That’s perfect. If you haven’t eaten, call Joo-oh and let’s have breakfast. Though it’ll be dinner for me.”
“…….”
“Already ate?”
“No. I have a schedule.”
That made sense. This young man lived a life so busy that even two bodies wouldn’t be enough.
However, for a simple refusal, the expression that flashed across his face for a split second was very strange. The bags he was holding were bursting with all sorts of cooking utensils and ingredients.
Now that he looked closer, a faint sense of fatigue lingered on the face that had seemed merely expressionless. Didn’t he look exactly like a kitchen assistant facing a mass-cooking task?
“When do you have time?”
“I’m sorry, but it’ll be difficult for the time being.”
“What about Joo-oh?”
“That guy.”
The conversation didn’t continue, as if there were a secret too difficult to tell. Again, a momentary chilling aura brushed past, but it was soon buried and disappeared in a weary sigh.
He had heard he worked as a Defense Force instructor, but perhaps he had found a job as a chef instead of an instructor?
“Uh, see you next time.”
Hwang-jae glanced back at the man’s retreating figure as he disappeared with a light nod.
It was strange. He felt a dangerous and gloomy atmosphere, as if a crime were being committed.
Nevertheless, as someone who had been stabbed because he trusted the wrong people due to poor interpersonal skills, Hwang-jae didn’t trust his own intuition much. With the short thought, ‘He must be dog-busy,’ he erased the impression from his mind.
Jin Mu-hae was a diligent, upright young man with a promising future. Even if he were doing something dangerous, it would all be for the sake of the operation.
Anyone who knew him would likely think the same.
244 – I Became an Anomaly in a Dead Game