By Zephyria 
‘Unbelievable!’
His loudly shouting figure was vivid in his mind. Jin Mu-hae tried hard to erase the image that kept clouding his thoughts as he checked his equipment.
He would soon be getting off the small aircraft. Once he finished his assigned task, he could bring the kid with him.
Thinking of Joo-oh, who had looked dejected and droopy, made him feel uneasy for no reason.
‘It’s not just your group that’s being watched.’
Cheong’s face, smirking as he exhaled white vapor, came to mind. There was no mistake in his assumption that the guy had solidified his position by slipping money or favors to key figures.
However, it was unexpected that the scope extended beyond Goryeo City to unfamiliar groups. His obsession with his safety was thorough and strong, so even if he were driven out of his current place, he would quickly find new ground.
His vested interests extended beyond nearby Seogyeong City and Haka City across the sea, reaching even Bay City.
The fact that he readily showed this meant that Cheong didn’t just see them as disposable toys.
It was an attitude that was hard to understand, but he called it an investment.
Even though he felt uneasy about the look of intense interest on his face, there was no better opportunity to create a point of contact with West Wind and uncover the suspicious matters.
‘Bay City… What happened to the remnants there?’
Jin Mu-hae had not yet properly resolved his ill-fated relationship with Bay City. It was where he had faced the NPS. It was only recently that he had abandoned Hawkins to the Aberrant’s hands on a nearby beach and escaped with Joo-oh.
The city seemed to have many entanglements with Dunham and Hawkins, not just as a meeting place.
Even though he didn’t like leaving that guy in the hands of the blue-haired bastard, if he could revisit and search the place with Cheong’s money and resources, it was worth being apart from Joo-oh for just one day.
No matter how clueless Joo-oh was, he wasn’t a real child, and he wouldn’t do everything he was told just because he was given food.
‘I wonder if he’ll eat properly.’
Since he first brought him from Buckta, Joo-oh had always been with Mu-hae. He followed Mu-hae around, causing a ruckus, and became anxious when he wasn’t in sight.
He hoped the kid wouldn’t refuse to eat and mope around, thinking he had been abandoned. Because it was a task entrusted by Cheong, it was difficult to leave Joo-oh alone at home, considering the guy’s enemies everywhere.
Besides, this time, Joo-oh’s stubbornness didn’t last long. He gaped as if he couldn’t believe it, but soon drooped his eyebrows and nodded.
Had he become able to understand other people’s feelings now? Joo-oh, who had been staring into space for a while, regretfully smacked his lips and agreed.
‘It can’t be helped. It seems Jin Mu-hae has to go alone. Well. It was always like that.’
He was completely different, as if he had received some kind of revelation. From Mu-hae’s perspective, who didn’t want to take Joo-oh to a place like Bay City again, it was a welcome sight, but Mu-hae somehow felt a mix of relief and regret.
“Nonsense.”
Mu-hae, who muttered to himself for no reason, got off the landed aircraft. It was almost the first request he had taken on without Joo-oh.
He would finish the job smoothly without any hindrances for once. He didn’t need to worry about feeding him, and he didn’t have to keep looking back and to the side to make sure he was following well.
If he could catch a glimpse of Cheong’s secret relationships that spread like a spider web, he would also gain a weakness of his.
Since Cheong knew about Return flight’s existence, he needed to obtain a similar threat to feel comfortable later.
The reason why a human who had little contact with him was entrusting him with such an important task was probably because he wanted to get involved with Gu-reum or Return flight…
“I have brought the flowers.”
“…Follow me.”
It didn’t seem to be a trap, as a woman with long braided hair greeted the guest at the entrance of Seogyeong City.
Mu-hae nodded briefly and followed her into a black car.
“Jelly?”
“Hmph. Marshmallows too.”
Joo-oh pouted and sat buried in the plush sofa. An empty feeling crept into his insides, as if a hole had been punched in his chest.
Jin Mu-hae had really left. He had zipped up his collar all the way to his neck, packed him a bundle of jerky, and left him with Sakdal.
Of course, he had said it was okay for him to go, but he couldn’t help feeling down.
‘I’m not kidding. This time, I’m also in a difficult position. It’s a bit tricky to use my own people for this. I don’t want to leave any pretext.’
‘So, it’s okay to use a complete stranger like me?’
‘That’s why I’m entrusting your lucky charm to me as a hostage and a protector. Aren’t we in a relationship where we need to hold onto something?’
A conversation that wasn’t in the game. But a quest that was definitely in the story.
He wondered how it would proceed this time, but it was like this.
He knew that he was originally a character not in the story. But he didn’t expect to be separated like this.
It was true that the quest was meant to be done alone, so he understood, but… Joo-oh felt inexplicably sulky.
He thought that the situation would somehow change as usual, and he would follow Jin Mu-hae around, but sadly, there was no room for Joo-oh to intervene in the time attack mission where even the number of equipment to carry was fixed.
For the eight hours that Jin Mu-hae disappeared to deliver black money to someone outside Goryeo City, Joo-oh was stuck waiting, killing time.
“This is chocolate.”
“There’s marshmallow inside.”
What was fortunate was that he wasn’t left alone. Jin Mu-hae probably wouldn’t like it if he heard, but he was glad that he wasn’t sad or struggling because he was with Cheong.
Anyway, Cheong was an NPC that Joo-oh thought was okay, and he kept talking to him without giving him a chance to be bored.
Joo-oh chewed on the sweet snacks, staring blankly into space.
[Quest]
Main Quest
Tutorial (Completed)
Chapter 1 (Completed)
Chapter 2 (Completed)
Chapter 3
☞ Rampaging Clown (In Progress)
Unidentified Love Letter √
Special Delivery
[Special Delivery]
Cheong’s backing extends beyond Goryeo City to the cities where he relies on for support.
While Central monitors the presumptuous vested interests, you are the only one capable of delivering tribute to them.
It was a route he had never considered, so he was a bit surprised at first. This was a story that only appeared when maintaining a friendly relationship with Cheong.
If the exchange between Cheong and Jin Mu-hae does not continue steadily, the Love Letter quest is merely a signal announcing Cheong’s full-scale intervention.
As an example, Cheong has been constantly interfering with Jin Mu-hae. It’s just that Joo-oh goes out for a walk whenever he gets a chance and destroys them one by one.
Could it be that if there is no harm to Jin Mu-hae himself, Cheong’s pranks are treated as if they never happened?
“What are you reading?”
Speak of the Aberrant, and he appears. Cheong bothers him with words next to the one in agony.
Jin Mu-hae would have told him not to stare into space with a blank expression. Surprisingly, he seemed to have immediately grasped that Joo-oh was reading the system window.
“Quest.”
“Quest?”
Joo-oh, who would have usually rambled about things he couldn’t understand anyway, turned his head and stopped talking.
Jin Mu-hae wasn’t bad at reading the room, but Cheong was an unusually intelligent and open-minded person.
There was no need to say unnecessary things out loud. A clearer reason whispered.
Yes. You’re right. Joo-oh nodded to the human inside and tore off a piece of jelly to eat.
It was funny. In the setting, Cheong was supposed to be a very busy person, apart from being jaded, but he kept talking to him without doing his work.
It had been two hours already. He had left his desk and deliberately came to the sofa where Joo-oh was sitting, constantly placing snacks on the tea table.
It wasn’t like he was a dog or cat that was obsessed with snacks. He wasn’t going to not eat them, but the trivial attempts were absurd.
“Are you just going to stay like that until your guardian comes?”
“Blueberry cinnamon roll.”
“Scratching like that won’t make Jin Mu-hae appear any faster.”
“Tch.”
As Cheong mentioned that name, he suddenly missed Jin Mu-hae even more. Joo-oh sighed deeply and swung his legs.
As if noticing the change in his mood, Cheong brought up a welcome topic.
“Come to think of it, it’s almost mealtime. You said you wanted to eat that steamed fish again yesterday, right?”
His drooping expression instantly brightened up.
Before leaving, Jin Mu-hae had said that as long as it didn’t taste weird, he could eat as much as he wanted until it was all gone.
Instead, he said that if the blue-haired bastard tried to touch him, he could break his fingers. Joo-oh had been caught by him and heard the same warning several times.
Don’t let him touch your head, cheeks, neck, or body. Even if it’s hot or stuffy, don’t take off your clothes casually like you do at home.
Seriously. Jin Mu-hae must have thought he was an idiot.
“Come and sit down.”
However, besides that, he had said a lot of things, such as not following anyone and staying put here, but he hadn’t explained this situation.
Joo-oh blinked several times, looking at the situation unfolding before him.
“That’s not a chair.”
“It is a chair. I just sat down first.”
Cheong tapped his lap. No wonder all the food was piled up on one side. It seemed that place was Joo-oh’s seat from the beginning.
Hadn’t Jin Mu-hae said not to sit between other people’s legs?
But that wasn’t between his legs, it was on top, so it should be okay.
“…Okay.”
Joo-oh, who had been looking back and forth between the food and the chair, shrugged and walked over.
Cheong’s lap, which he readily sat on, felt a little thinner and harder than Jin Mu-hae’s.
But it was just as warm, so he didn’t feel too bad. He didn’t touch his head or ears, he just wrapped his arms around his waist to keep him from falling.
At this point, he wouldn’t have to fold Cheong’s fingers backward or break his skull. Jin Mu-hae would say he did well.
Joo-oh reached out with a satisfied expression to the steamed fish that was steaming hot.
“Your mouth doesn’t seem that big. How can you fit all that in?”
“Jin Mu-hae said that too.”
“Won’t you give me a bite?”
“No.”
His back and butt were warm, and the meat and fish all tasted good. The fish that Joo-oh knew was hard and stiff, and had to be soaked in water.
He didn’t know when, but he probably ate it when he was an Aberrant. So, the fish he ate now as a human must be very different.
Joo-oh, who had devoured a plate in the blink of an eye, smacked his lips and pulled the bowl of noodles forward.
“By the way, I’ve heard rumors that you’re very mysterious.”
“There are no such rumors.”
“There are some projects I want help with.”
“Jin Mu-hae said not to do anything he asks me to do.”
“Wouldn’t it be helpful to Jin Mu-hae too?”
The voice whispering from behind was calm and soft. Joo-oh perked up his ears at the breath that blew on him.
“It’s nothing much, you just have to pick out the useful ones from among these.”
At the same time, a hologram window flashed in front of him. Brief personal information and photos of six people were listed in a row.
Pfft. Joo-oh smiled, unusually raising only the corners of his mouth. His blurry eyes became clear as if they were about to shine.
Even if others didn’t know, Joo-oh knew. These were the people from the side quest that Mu-hae had missed the activation period for because he didn’t go to Sakdal.
Since it was past the deadline, Cheong must have already found out who the hidden spy was among them.
Haha. Joo-oh let out an innocent laugh and turned around slowly.
“It’s not Jin Mu-hae’s job anymore. Are you testing me?”
There was a chilling aura in the pleasant voice.