“Haa.”
Ian let out a deep sigh and looked down at his own hands.
The pure white power that burst forth from his palms was cleanly erasing the wound on Vermouth’s chest. The torn flesh reattached as if it were a lie, and the red blood that had been gushing out and soaking his clothes stopped.
It was a miracle. The absolute authority of healing that only a ‘Saint’ could wield. It was a power that could drag even those with one foot in death’s door back to the world of the living in one go. However, after going to the trouble of saving him, the words this crazy bastard was spouting were spectacular.
“I’m happy.”
Vermouth was smiling like someone who’d arrived in heaven, despite wearing blood-soaked clothes. His eyes, lost in ecstasy as if pain was already completely out of his mind, persistently followed Ian.
And beside him stood Choi Jaeheon, emanating a murderous aura so fierce it seemed he would bite out Vermouth’s throat at any moment.
The curse he’d been thinking all along finally burst out of his mouth.
“…Crazy bastards.”
What made it different from the curse he’d uttered earlier was that it had become plural. The usual Ian would never have cursed at his hyung, but now wasn’t the time to worry about such things.
Let’s organize the situation.
One was the hyung he’d believed to be family, but until just moments ago had cornered him against a wall and lunged at him with ‘a man’s eyes.’ Then he’d confessed his love, saying they didn’t share blood.
The other had come to see Ian, and when prevented from entering the house, stabbed himself in the chest and resorted to self-harm blackmail.
Were these really human beings?
Ian pressed his throbbing temples. Even when fighting the Demon King’s army for five years, he hadn’t been this exhausted.
“Ian-nim, you have blood on your hands. I’ll wipe it for you.”
“Ian, come here first. Behind me.”
Vermouth tried to take out a handkerchief from his breast, and Choi Jaeheon urgently reached out his hand.
Ian simultaneously and very coldly swatted away both men’s hands.
Smack—!
A crisp friction sound echoed through the entrance. The two men’s hands, frozen in midair, stopped with nowhere to go. Their eyes widened simultaneously.
“Both of you, don’t touch me.”
Ian said coldly.
His voice wasn’t loud, but it had the power to freeze the space.
“Why are you really doing this to me?”
Perhaps sensing something different from usual, Vermouth’s attitude became cautious.
“Are you very angry?”
“Are you asking because you don’t know?”
Ian ground his teeth.
“Ian, if you grind your teeth like that, they’ll get damaged.”
And whose fault is that!
“Hyung, you shut up too. Did you forget what you were trying to do to me earlier? How can family do that to each other? We don’t share blood? Is that something to say to your younger brother?”
Choi Jaeheon’s lips moved, but no words came out in the end. It was an irrefutable fact. Having been caught with the desire he’d hidden under the name of brothers, he could no longer be a ‘good hyung’ to Ian.
Ian’s cold gaze turned to Vermouth this time.
“Same goes for you. Where in the world is there a crazy bastard who stabs himself with a knife just to see someone? Are you a masochist? I’ve never seen a pervert like this before!”
“I’m not particularly a masochist, though.”
“Shut up!”
Ian clutched his head. Communication wasn’t working. If he stayed here any longer, he felt like he’d go crazy.
He couldn’t breathe. This house—no, every air particle floating in this space felt contaminated with these two people’s sticky obsession. So he declared.
“I’m running away from home.”
At Ian’s words, Choi Jaeheon and Vermouth reacted simultaneously.
“Running away? No. That’s too dangerous!”
“Running away means you’re leaving home? If you have nowhere to go, how about my house?”
Choi Jaeheon quickly blocked the front door, and Vermouth, who had been sitting on the floor, stealthily stood up and cut off the escape route.
Two of South Korea’s strongest S-rank Awakeners had deliberately blocked the way. Physically, it was an iron wall of encirclement that not even a baby ant could escape through, but far from being intimidated, Ian snorted.
“Who said I’m asking for permission?”
Ian took one step forward.
At that moment, sacred light burst forth from his body. It wasn’t a physical flash that pierced the eyes. It was a secret yet absolute light that erased all presence in the world and even twisted causality.
[Sanctuary Declaration]
An absolute space isolated from the present world—within it, no presence leaked outside. It wasn’t simple concealment, so even Vermouth and Choi Jaeheon couldn’t detect it.
“……!”
Choi Jaeheon gasped at empty air.
Ian was clearly standing right before his eyes, but he couldn’t sense him. He could see him with his eyes, but Ian’s existence couldn’t be grasped. It was like seeing a ghost, or perhaps a mirage—a phantom without substance.
“Ian?”
He urgently reached out his hand, but Choi Jaeheon’s hand passed through Ian’s shoulder and cut through empty air.
“Catch me if you can.”
Ian walked boldly between the two men with a cold smile, passing right through them.
Vermouth also reflexively tried to grab him, but Ian passed through him like the wind. He was currently in a state where physical interference was impossible.
“Well then.”
Vermouth clicked his tongue and stopped in place. Soon Ian’s form blurred and eventually disappeared. In this state, even he couldn’t find Ian no matter how hard he tried. Whenever Ian got upset, he would hide somewhere like this.
“Ian!”
In front of the entrance where Ian had disappeared. The two men left behind looked forlornly at the spot where he’d vanished. A breeze that blew from somewhere carried away the lingering smell of blood.
The silence was short, and the explosion was swift.
“…It’s because of you.”
Choi Jaeheon growled. The concrete floor began to crack from beneath his feet.
“If you hadn’t pulled that shit, Ian wouldn’t have run away from home.”
“I wonder about that. From what I can see, it seems the cause was Choi Jaeheon-ssi’s sordid confession.”
Vermouth dusted off his blood-stained clothes and replied nonchalantly. Unlike when he’d been constantly smiling in front of Ian, his expression had now completely disappeared, making him look even colder.
“I could hear everything even from outside. How could you do that to your younger brother?”
Choi Jaeheon’s expression twisted savagely.
“I’m going to kill you!”
Kwang—!
Choi Jaeheon’s psychokinesis swept over Vermouth like a storm. However, Vermouth raised his dagger and blocked the invisible attack. Due to the aftermath, the door that had been barely hanging on flew off completely.
“My temperament is better too.”
This time, a powerful force pressed down on Vermouth from above. However, he easily dodged it by moving his body slightly.
“I think I’m also more handsome.”
Even in this situation, he didn’t stop provoking his opponent. Since he couldn’t find Ian who was cloaked in Sanctuary anyway, he felt like taking this opportunity to deal with Choi Jaeheon.
‘I want to kill him.’
But even if he was someone like that, he was still Ian’s family. The goddess had said that keeping the household harmonious was important. So once again, he had no choice but to back down.
“Well, I’ll stop here for today.”
Saying this, Vermouth leaped and jumped far back. Seeing him, Choi Jaeheon’s fists trembled. He wanted to chase after him and kill him, but there were too many concerns. And for now, he needed to find Ian first.
In the end, he had no choice but to suppress his anger.
Meanwhile, as if the reporters who’d been keeping their distance had called them, police car sirens could be heard in the distance. Moreover, seeing reporters cautiously approaching again, rage boiled up from within. Right, there were things that needed to be dealt with.
***
South Korea was truly in the calm before the storm. No, it was already in the middle of the storm.
The scandal about ‘Vermouth’s lover’ that had caused such a public uproar was suppressed in just one day. The method was merciless and efficient, befitting S-rank Awakeners.
The first to step forward was Choi Jaeheon.
He mobilized the entire legal team of his guild, ‘Stigma.’ Dozens of South Korea’s best lawyers attached themselves and scoured the internet thoroughly.
[Those who spread false information or defame Choi Ian-nim will be sued. There will be absolutely no leniency or settlements.]
The wealth and power of an S-rank Awakener was terror itself. Malicious commenters received police summons, and media companies were hit with lawsuits demanding astronomical amounts in damages. Posts digging into Ian’s personal information on internet communities were deleted in real-time, and netizens kept their mouths shut, afraid of lawsuits.
Next was Vermouth’s turn.
He appeared before the public and delivered a perfect ‘lie’ with a sacred face.
“That night, I was suffering from severe mana backflow due to aftereffects from dungeon clearing. My life was in critical condition.”
Standing before countless cameras, Vermouth smiled elegantly with a pale complexion. That pallor was due to excessive bleeding from self-harm, but the public had no way of knowing that.
“Ian-nim, as a healer, simply performed emergency medical treatment to heal me. That kiss was a noble act to save a life.”
In this process, he had no choice but to reveal part of Ian’s abilities. Otherwise, there would be no excuse to fabricate. Awakeners sometimes had triggers for activating their abilities. It was a rare case, but Vermouth said that Ian was one such person.
