Crisp footsteps from dress shoes. Behind them followed a quiet presence with its existence deliberately suppressed.
The cat’s ears perked up at the familiarity. Then it stepped right over Seo Sinwoo’s body and trotted toward the source of the sound.
It arrived at the feet of the man walking behind his superior.
“Meow….”
The cat made an affectionate sound and rubbed itself against the man’s thin leg.
The man crouched down and scratched the cat’s chin.
As the cat purred and sprawled out completely, the bony, knuckle-ridged hand touched the melted-looking cat.
Meanwhile, the other person paid it no attention and kept walking.
The sound of hard dress-shoe soles striking the ground drew closer.
Cough!
A heavy cough echoed through the alley.
Through his hazy vision, a pair of suit trousers came into view. The figure that appeared stopped in front of Seo Sinwoo.
The man exhaled smoke like a sigh. A familiar smell of cigarettes hit his nose.
Seo Sinwoo weakly stared at the dress shoes in front of him.
Recognizing who it was, the tension drained out of him, and his vision blurred even further. Now he could barely make out a dark shape.
At some point his body had slowly slid down, until he was nearly lying on the ground with only his shoulder still propped against the wall.
A cigarette butt fell between Seo Sinwoo’s legs. A dress shoe stomped down on it, still smoking.
After grinding it out thoroughly, the toe of the shoe lifted Seo Sinwoo’s chin.
‘…….’
He could feel a cold gaze sweeping over every part of his face.
Then, a low, languid voice rang out.
“That mutt’s a mess….”
The familiar voice, with that cracked edge at the end.
Seo Sinwoo lifted his half-closed eyelids.
He barely managed to look up at the person before him. A neatly fastened jacket, suit attire. A black tie… and—
Smack!
A sharply swung foot struck his cheek.
A knocked-out tooth rolled across the floor.
As Seo Sinwoo’s body fell sideways, the shoe stomped down on his head.
Hearing the sound of the impact, Go Sangwon pulled his hand away from the cat clinging to him. He quickly stepped up beside his superior and spoke.
“He’s unconscious.”
It wasn’t to stop the violence.
It was a dry statement, simply conveying a fact.
So that his superior wouldn’t accidentally kill his beloved dog.
‘…….’
“Are you going to kill him?”
Han Yugyeong looked down at the fallen Seo Sinwoo.
His jacket and vest were gone who-knows-where, leaving him in just a shirt and pants. He was even missing one shoe.
He was covered in some unidentifiable dark red liquid, making it hard to even tell the color of his skin.
From head to toe… every inch of him was covered in wounds.
A pathetic sight.
“No.”
He hadn’t vented enough yet. But the circumstances weren’t right for it now.
Han Yugyeong gestured to Go Sangwon without another word.
Go Sangwon took off his gloves and hoisted Seo Sinwoo onto his back. He then reached toward the cat, which was sidling around his feet, but stopped.
A single tooth lay on the ground.
‘…….’
Go Sangwon picked up the blood-covered tooth, put it in his pocket, and grabbed the cat by the scruff of its neck with one hand.
Whoosh—….
The wind blew, and fallen leaves swept into the alley.
After the cold wind died down, all four of them had vanished without a trace.
In the alley where no one ever came, only fallen leaves rolled about.
***
[Congratulations! Achievement unlocked: 〈Karma Reduced by 500〉!]
[A reward will be granted.]
It was dark. It felt like being inside a cave. My body was hard to move, as if I’d sunk into a swamp.
On top of that, lumps of flesh kept falling from the sky, getting in the way of my search.
I pushed my way along the ground with my elbows, barely managing to move while dodging them.
The one fortunate thing was that it wasn’t completely dark.
Glowing eyeballs, unidentified fluorescent fruit… the monster had apparently swallowed all sorts of things. I moved relying on that faint light.
I pushed through the slimy, mushy things and made my way forward.
Floundering, I rummaged through the garbage.
After all that struggle, I finally found it.
A gaudy jewelry box, small enough to fit in one hand.
The box, plated in gold, was studded with all kinds of gems.
This was what I’d gone through all that hell for—this artifact.
[Mysterious Jewelry Box: Can store any item.]
I pressed the largest crimson gem among the decorations on the lid.
Click.
The box opened. I immediately reached my hand inside. The small opening swallowed my hand, which was bigger than the opening itself, without any trouble.
Feeling around for the core, my hand found something round.
A fist-sized black sphere. The core of this dungeon.
The moment I pulled it out, about to destroy it—
Seo Sinwoo.
A scarred hand emerged from the darkness.
His hand gently wrapped around my wrist. The grip wasn’t strong, but I couldn’t shake it off. My attempt to destroy the core was blocked.
‘…….’
Did you think you could run away?
A corpse-like face emerged from the darkness.
Flash!
“Gah!!”
A ragged breath tore out of me. I jolted upright reflexively, my heart pounding wildly.
I muttered a curse and clutched my chest.
A nightmare….
It was just a dream.
I’d made it out of the dungeon safely.
With the artifact I’d been aiming for, too.
I took a long, deep breath.
Once my breathing calmed down, I belatedly noticed the smell of medicine.
Looking around, I saw an interior that looked like a hotel room. I was lying in the middle of it on a hospital bed, which felt out of place in the surroundings.
A hospital….
The thought struck me belatedly.
It’s been a while since I was hospitalized.
The hideout had a dedicated medical team.
Most injuries were treated there, but occasionally, for serious injuries, people were admitted to a hospital.
Though honestly, since I tended to use the people around me as meat shields, I didn’t get injured all that often myself.
So how had I ended up here?
My memory after my side got pierced was almost completely gone.
On the nightstand beside the bed, I saw neatly folded clothes. The same suit I’d been wearing before I lost consciousness.
My original clothes were probably in rags by now, so this was likely a new set someone had brought.
Just as I reached for the clothes—
“Mr. Seo Sinwoo?”
The door opened, and a man in a white coat appeared.
The man, meeting my eyes, came closer. He clearly looked like a doctor, so I asked about my missing memories.
He moved efficiently. After checking various things and finally confirming that my consciousness was clear, the doctor spoke.
“You’d lost a severe amount of blood, so it’s not unusual for your memory to be hazy. You came in with a colleague, so you should ask them about what happened before.”
Then, looking at his tablet, he began his explanation.
“I used my ability to mend your broken leg and torn organs. There will be faint scarring. And as for your tooth….”
The explanation went in one ear and out the other.
Tooth?
‘…….’
Why does my cheek feel numb?
The inside of my mouth felt swollen.
The monster had hit me on the forehead, though.
Hm….
Now that I thought about it, I vaguely remembered getting kicked by something before I lost consciousness.
The injury I couldn’t remember bothered me.
As I quietly rolled my tongue around, the doctor asked.
“Is the pain severe?”
He seemed to have misread my reaction as something else.
Honestly, if this had happened in the past, I would’ve made a huge fuss about how much it hurt—but surprisingly, it didn’t feel like it hurt that much.
Maybe because over the past few months I’d already hurt in every possible place there was to hurt.
Or maybe it was because I’d been tortured by that psycho.
No, I can manage.
If I said that honestly, there was no telling what the other person would think. I chose to lie.
“Well… it hurts like hell, here and there.”
“We’re administering painkillers, but it’ll still hurt a lot. You don’t need to hide it. I’m a doctor, after all….”
The man, blinking his sleepy-looking eyes, made an “ah” sound and added.
“You don’t need to worry about us reporting anything—we’re in a position where we receive all sorts of help from the Boss.”
“Right… of course I trust you.”
There’s no way the Boss would entrust this to just anyone. They were definitely someone bound by a contract.
“If you wait just a little…. Um, your colleague will be here soon.”
Colleague?
“Let’s do another thorough examination then.”
Just as the doctor finished speaking, the hospital room door opened.
My question was answered immediately.
“Good to see you’ve come to.”
Cold-looking monolid eyes, black hair neatly slicked back, an overall clean, office-worker-like impression.
It was Go Sangwon. The Boss’s personal teleporter.
His ability made it convenient to get around, so he stuck close to the Boss almost like a secretary.
As such, he had more contact with me than most other organization members.
Maybe that’s why—
“Heey….”
It was nice to see a familiar face after so long.
Still got those dead-fish eyes, I see.
He should’ve looked much younger than I remembered… but his appearance hadn’t changed much at all.
I didn’t know his exact age, but he looked exactly six years older.
Or maybe it was the Go Sangwon of six years from now who looked six years younger.
While I was lost in that pointless thought, Go Sangwon gave me a puzzled look.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
He let it go without further comment and picked up the clothes on the table. Holding them out to me, he spoke in a husky voice.
“I’ll explain the situation later. Get changed. The Boss is calling for you.”
“Right. By the way, my belongings?”
My artifact… the jewelry box was nowhere in sight.
“The Boss has that.”
“Ah, I see….”
Fuck.
As I took the clothes, the doctor cut in.
“Are you leaving now? You still need examinations, and you should rest for a few weeks.”
At that, Go Sangwon rubbed his chin.
“Is that so. That’s troublesome.”
His expression as he said it didn’t look troubled at all.
“Immediate movement should be avoided, but….”
The doctor looked conflicted.
“Mr. Seo Sinwoo.”
Go Sangwon turned to me and asked.
“What would you like to do?”
I smiled as I undid the buttons of my hospital gown.
“What’s there to ask? Let’s go right now.”
In the end, Go Sangwon and I cheerfully went hand in hand back to the hideout.
Taking advantage of a lull, I asked something I was curious about.
“By the way, how old are you?”
“Thirty-three.”
So he really did look six years older.
