I sprang up from the sofa.
“I’ll be on my way now.”
“Wait, wait a second.”
The junkie kept rambling behind me, but I didn’t stop walking.
“Hey, I said stop. I just got my hands on something precious…”
I flinched and stopped in my tracks, on instinct.
…No way?
The junkie rummaged through his pocket and pulled something out. Even in the dim light, something beautiful and sparkling caught my eye.
“!”
“You like this kind of thing, don’t you? Shiny stuff.”
It was Hyunwoo.
The moment I saw it, I spun around and walked back toward the sofa.
Just as I reached for it, Hyunwoo vanished from sight. The junkie, having dodged my hand, smirked.
“Ah-ah, no you don’t.”
“……”
“What do you have to do to get this back?”
“Weren’t you taking it out to give it to me?”
“I was. But suddenly I felt like it’d be a waste.”
The junkie toyed with the jewel, opening and closing his hand around it, feigning indifference. Then he went ahead and pinned the brooch onto his clothes.
“Maybe I’ll just keep it?”
“Ha ha.”
It was a pearl necklace on a pig, if there ever was one.
Judging by his attitude, it seemed like he wanted something else.
I bent my body in a servile manner.
“Don’t be like that. Is there anything else you need done?”
“Something to do? Hmm.”
“Yes, Director. Just give the word and I’ll do anything. Hyun— I mean, if you’ll just give me the brooch…”
“Lightweight.”
The director, laughing as if he found it absurd, flicked his index finger downward.
That means kneel, doesn’t it.
I roughly cleared away the liquor bottles scattered on the floor and knelt near the junkie’s feet.
“This is why awakeners only understand things when you treat them like animals.”
“Tell me about it. Damn bastards.”
Looks like I’ll have to give up on leaving early after all.
“Hey, how’s the boss doing?”
I picked up the glass the junkie had dropped earlier and poured whiskey into it.
“Doing well, as always.”
“Seriously… how does he hide away like that. He’ll get sick living like that. He should show his face at gatherings like this once in a while.”
“……”
At that, the boss came to mind. The boss was always in a dim room, coughing. I felt like I could hear that heavy cough right now.
He’s definitely not a healthy person.
While I was nodding inwardly, the junkie muttered.
“I’d like to see his face, just once.”
“Same here. I’ve never seen it myself either.”
At my offhand remark, the junkie’s eyes widened.
“What? You’ve never seen his face?”
“…? No.”
“Don’t tell me you’ve only ever heard his voice this whole time?”
“That’s right.”
The boss never takes off his mask, no matter what.
“Is there a problem?”
“…He’s hiding himself that thoroughly.”
I handed him the glass, and the junkie took a sip.
“Hmm…”
He seemed to be mulling something over. Though how much could a drunk head really think.
“Surprising. I thought you, of all people, would be trusted with that. You’re a thieving bastard with no background, but I’ve known you a fair while.”
“Of course I’m trusted. It’s because I have some skill, after all.”
“You said you don’t even know his face.”
“His face is, probably…”
No one knows, I was about to say, but I hesitated. Because Go Sangwon, who had always stuck close to the boss like one body, both then and now, came to mind.
When I failed to continue, the junkie needled at me.
“See? You don’t know, do you?”
I don’t know. All this time, I’d naturally assumed he was reluctant to show his face because of his burn scars.
But then—had Go Sangwon seen the boss’s face?
Don’t tell me that bastard beat me to it?
The possibility hit me like a blow to the back of the head.
“Ditch that guy whose identity you don’t even know and just work with me, why don’t you.”
The director, smacking his lips, picked up the item he’d tossed onto the table earlier. Making a rustling noise as he checked the inside, he raised his eyebrows.
“What is this, this is just trash.”
“……”
I had no defense for that. I smiled silently.
“Are you kidding me? Where am I supposed to use this kind of thing.”
“I think it’d suit you very well, Director.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about.”
The junkie unfolded the small, folded-up whip.
“This isn’t even close to enough for developing something that could surpass that bastard’s new product.”
“Ha ha, it might look that way, but it’s an artifact that came out of a dungeon. If you do some research on it, surely there’s a use for it somewhere.”
A lie. Going by the information that showed up on the status window, it was just an unusually durable whip. I knew it was junk, but I sold it anyway.
Even with a little coaxing, the junkie frowned. He wasn’t even a researcher himself—what was he so dissatisfied about.
“Next time, bring something more useful. Not garbage like this.”
“Understood.”
I nodded along vaguely. While letting his griping go in one ear and out the other, something the junkie said in passing caught my attention.
“Good thing we got another supplier this time…”
“Another supplier?”
Was there really someone else, besides the boss, willing to work with a pathetic person like him?
“Yeah. From the guild side—”
The junkie, noticing me watching, stopped talking.
“Curious?”
From the way he was talking, it seemed like looking into it further would only cause trouble.
“No. More than that, my knees are starting to hurt.”
All I wanted was to leave as soon as possible. Naturally, my knees shifted restlessly. The sharp-eyed junkie stepped on my thigh.
“Take your clothes off.”
“What?”
“You don’t think handing over the item is the end of it… that irresponsible, do you?”
In terms of the job, I’d handed over the item, so it would’ve been fine to leave. But…
The junkie licked his lips and tapped his own chest. The brooch pinned to his clothes swayed, reflecting a brilliant flash of light for an instant.
My eyes flew open.
Hyunwoo.
That’s right. A hostage was being held. The entire reason I’d started this conversation in the first place was to save Hyunwoo.
Now that I’m his hyung, I can’t abandon my brother.
“Since you’re the one who brought it, you should prove it’s a usable item yourself.”
That twisted bastard ultimately wanted to see an awakener on his knees, suffering.
Instinctively, I realized this was the last hurdle.
Showing him the suffering he wants to see would be best, I guess.
At this point, there seemed to be no way to avoid the lashes of the whip.
Even so, with my heart pounding, I took off my clothes.
I want to get my hands on that sparkling thing, fast!
***
Seo Sinwoo took off his top and knelt down. He looked obedient, waiting for the next order.
The director approached Seo Sinwoo with a satisfied expression.
“You’re awfully docile today? Let’s see, you don’t have a fever… Did you get beaten up somewhere again and now you’ve got no energy?”
A hand, rude in its roughness, swept over Seo Sinwoo’s forehead. Even with a hand on his face, Seo Sinwoo stayed unusually still.
Finding that curious, he stroked his hair a few times, and the neatly arranged bangs came loose, a few strands falling over his forehead.
“There’s no fun in it when you’re not being a brat.”
The moment he spoke, he noticed the corner of Seo Sinwoo’s mouth trembling.
Is he forcing himself to endure it?
As expected, having someone touch his hair seemed to displease him.
“Should I leave?”
“No.”
The director abruptly held out a glass.
“Here.”
“……”
Seo Sinwoo took the cup. Instead of drinking right away, he stared down into it. The transparent glass held a brown-tinted liquid, swaying gently.
The director knew. Seo Sinwoo wasn’t good at drinking alcohol. Even when offered just one glass, he always adamantly refused.
This time too, seeing him hesitate, the director added one more line.
“I’m giving this to you for your own good.”
It was an obvious lie, but Seo Sinwoo agonized over it. And then.
Hyunwoo, hyung will save you.
He brought the glass to his lips. The harsh smell of alcohol stung his nose, but he endured it.
Gulp, gulp.
A burning sensation followed, from his throat down to his insides. After his throat bobbed a few times, the liquid in the glass disappeared completely.
“You can drink it down just fine. Not even gagging.”
The man, having stroked Seo Sinwoo’s hair as he pleased, tapped the table with the whip.
“Get down.”
The alcohol seemed to be hitting him already, as Seo Sinwoo staggered to his feet. Watching him hesitate, the director, unable to bear it any longer, unfastened the brooch.
Smiling viciously, the director confirmed that Seo Sinwoo’s gaze was fixed on it, then tossed the brooch he held onto the table.
“!”
Crash!
Seo Sinwoo lunged at the table and snatched up the brooch. In that moment, the director planted his foot on the back in front of him.
“Ngh!”
As he put his full weight down, Seo Sinwoo ended up sprawled face-down.
“I kept saying you’re like a dog, like a dog—did you actually become one?”
The body pinned beneath him was trembling. At a glance, it was hard to tell whether he was crying or laughing.
Still scared of pain, I see.
The director smirked and ran his hand along the whip. The whip was a type with several broad straps attached at the end of the handle. The leather-like straps gathered and scattered smoothly in Director Kim’s hand.
“When I was a kid, the neighbors next door kept a dog.”
“?”
“That dog—the kid from that house, it really took to him, but whenever it saw me, it barked like it wanted to kill me.”
Seo Sinwoo, in a low voice, spat out one line.
“Sounds like you must’ve made quite the impression.”
“Shut up.”
Crack!
“Ugh!”
“There was a fire next door and that mutt burned to death… but for some reason, whenever I see you, it reminds me of that.”
The director looked down at the skin where red marks had begun to rise. Unlike before, his expression had hardened completely.
“……”
In truth, there was one more person he thought of when he looked at Seo Sinwoo. His own younger brother. The enemy who had stolen his place with nothing but a single special ability.
The director despised those who, without any effort of their own, lived their lives easily simply because they were awakeners.
He swung the whip, filled with rage.
“Ngh!”
Every time the body before him flinched, he felt a tight sense of satisfaction.
The man who had now powerlessly surrendered his body to him was an awakener. And a fairly capable one, at that. And yet, even as the whip was lashed against him, that person endured without resistance.
Ability or whatever—in front of power, it’s nothing but a tool.
***
“……”
When I opened my eyes, it was quiet all around.
Did I doze off for a bit…?
I staggered and managed to get up. As my vantage point rose, my stomach churned even worse.
“Ugh!”
I was hunched over, retching, when someone grabbed my collar.
“Where are you going?”
His speech was slurred, like his mind was hazy. When I tried to ignore him and leave, the junkie pulled at me with his full weight.
Crash!
We ended up tangled together and fell. The junkie collapsed on top of me, squirming. Every time he moved, strange parts of him brushed against me, and I wished he’d just stop…
The junkie buried his mouth near my neck and gnawed at the skin he found there. Then he suddenly jerked his face up.
“Ah… look how handsome this bastard is.”
Now he went straight to biting and chewing on my cheek. While I was momentarily dazed from the alcohol, my face ended up covered in saliva.
After thoroughly licking my face, the junkie went after my mouth too, flicking his tongue out. His tongue brushed against my front teeth, and I recoiled in shock.
Crack!
[Penalty triggered: 〈Prohibition〉 in effect. (00:05)]
Maybe because he was drunk, even that weak electric current was enough to knock him out instantly.
I should’ve done this from the start and just stolen it.
I dismissed the window that had popped up in front of me. After confirming the collapsed junkie still had a pulse, I pushed him off. Since he was thoroughly wasted anyway, he wouldn’t remember any of this when he woke up.
“Mmm….”
I looked around to check if anyone else was awake. Once I confirmed everyone was asleep, it suddenly seemed like a waste to leave just like this.
Carefully, I removed accessories from the bodies of the men scattered all over the room. I searched the room once, but it seemed like all the wallets had been put away in the safe.
I tried a few passcodes, then gave up and got to my feet.
After confirming one last time that the item was on the table, I headed for the front door.
“…Hm?”
Just as I was about to leave, something caught my attention.
Not a breath of wind was blowing, yet the curtain swayed slightly. It seemed like a bird perched on the railing had flown off.
In many ways it had been a dog-awful situation, but I’d gotten Hyunwoo back, so as a parting service, I closed the window neatly and left the room.
***
Late at night. Yeom Hajae went out for a walk. His head was too full of thoughts to sleep.
Hyung… he looked off.
The face he’d seen that evening kept circling in his head. He’d been smiling, but it was different from when they’d run into each other during the day. His eyes had definitely seemed dim. Like someone forced to go do something they didn’t want to do.
He was lost in worry, wandering aimlessly around the hotel, when—
Thud.
Something knocked against his foot. He looked down to see a single shoe.
A familiar shoe.
“…Hyung?”
