Jang Ijung finally showed some interest.
“Where are you going?”
“Looks like I’ll be able to get off work early today.”
“……”
When I gestured toward Yeom Hajae, Jang Ijung silently put a brownie in his mouth. Taking that as agreement, I approached Yeom Hajae.
He’s gotten thinner.
Seeing him up close, something seemed different. He looked thinner than before, somehow.
I’d heard he’d made the news for soloing a Gate. Was that why?
Setting aside my idle thoughts, I tossed out a casual remark.
“Workplace bullying?”
“?”
Yeom Hajae looked up with a puzzled expression. He didn’t seem to recognize my voice.
The cognitive distortion effect on the mask apparently applied to voices too.
I pulled out my phone and held it out to Yeom Hajae playfully.
“Should I call the Military Help Line?”
“What? Ah, no… it’s not bullying.”
Yeom Hajae shook his hands vigorously in denial.
“Is that so? For something that isn’t, everyone sure seems to avoid you like the plague.”
“…To begin with, I’m not part of the Special Ability Squad anyway.”
“Hmm.”
I shrugged and put my phone back in my pocket as if disappointed.
“Sorry about that. I have a habit of not being able to walk past this kind of thing—I was bullied when I was young.”
“…That must have been hard.”
I’d just said it casually, but Yeom Hajae’s expression turned genuinely sympathetic. He apparently still hadn’t broken his habit of easy sympathy.
“It was a long time ago. Anyway, if you’re not with the Special Ability Squad, what brings you here?”
“That’s…”
“Ah.”
Pretending I’d just realized something, I quickly grabbed Yeom Hajae’s hand.
“Your legs must be tired. Shall we sit and talk?”
“Huh? Y-yes…”
I led him to the table where Jang Ijung was sitting. Yeom Hajae followed along obediently without complaint.
The eight-person table was scattered messily with dessert plates. Ignoring the empty seats, I deliberately sat Yeom Hajae right next to me.
My plan was to drag out time until the monster arrived, pretending to extract information in the meantime.
As expected, Jang Ijung seemed completely uninterested in whether the target showed up or not. He didn’t even glance at Yeom Hajae.
Yeom Hajae, glancing sideways at the person who hadn’t even greeted him, seemed bothered by it and spoke quietly.
“Thank you. Honestly, I was having trouble finding a seat.”
“You don’t have anyone with you?”
“No.”
Yeom Hajae fidgeted with his arm, his posture shrinking in on itself.
“You asked earlier what brought me here… actually, I wasn’t planning to come out today.”
Yeom Hajae’s eyes sank slightly. It was the look of someone recalling something.
“But then there was someone I wanted to find, so I came hoping someone here might know something. Though I guess it was a waste of time after all…”
“Someone you wanted to find?”
“My benefactor.”
Benefactor…
Who could Yeom Hajae possibly call by that name?
“I fell into a Gate not long ago, and an Awakener saved me.”
“…Oh dear.”
There was something about this story that caught my attention.
While I responded vaguely, Jang Ijung, who’d been quiet, suddenly threw out a question.
“This Awakener—is the person you’re looking for a Hunter too?”
“I don’t know about that.”
Despite the casual tone, Yeom Hajae answered without any sign of being flustered.
Jang Ijung tilted his head.
“What, you mean they could be an Illegal Awakener?”
“That’s…”
Yeom Hajae trailed off. I subtly cut in.
“If they’re that dangerous, wouldn’t it be better not to look for them?”
“No.”
The hesitation Yeom Hajae had shown just moments ago vanished as he shook his head firmly, almost like a different person. There was an unreadable resolve in his eyes.
“Even if they’re an Illegal Awakener, it’s fine. I really want to find them and repay them.”
“……”
My expression must have stiffened visibly, because Yeom Hajae fumbled.
“Ah! Of course, separately from repaying them, there’s the matter of de—detention? I’d have to report them, but, ha-ha…”
My expression stiffened even further.
Yeom Hajae gave an awkward, embarrassed laugh.
“I’ve been talking about myself too much.”
“Not at all. It’s interesting. I’d like to help look too.”
“Really?”
Jang Ijung replied while scooping up pudding, and Yeom Hajae’s eyes lit up.
Jang Ijung nodded obligingly, as if he had no ulterior motive at all. At that, Yeom Hajae began explaining excitedly.
“Then, sorry to impose, but please. His name is Kim Cheolsu, and according to my colleague, he used electric abilities.”
“…Electricity?”
“Oh, electricity. How interesting.”
…….
“He was taller than me. Shoe size around 275… light brown hair, amber eyes. He had a habit of always smiling.”
I could feel Jang Ijung’s gaze on me, blatant.
Oh, f—
It really was about me. Why the hell does he even remember my shoe size?
“I’m not sure about the brand, but he was wearing a high-quality tailored suit. Also…”
Creepy bastard…
I’d better be careful not to let any personal information slip in front of Yeom Hajae from now on.
After going on with his explanation, Yeom Hajae smiled, looking refreshed.
“If you happen to find him, please contact me through Atlas Guild.”
“…Mm.”
“If we find him, I’ll be sure to contact you.”
Unlike Jang Ijung, who just gave a noncommittal hum, I answered confidently.
Yeom Hajae thought of me as his benefactor. What he’d discovered about me wasn’t one of my bad deeds—it was a good one. There was nothing to feel guilty about.
On top of that, it was a bit of a gain that Jang Ijung had heard this too. A villain with a decent heart underneath—if he thought of me that way, I’d be grateful, honestly.
While consoling myself with that thought, the conversation, which I’d expected to wind down naturally, flared back up. Because Jang Ijung spoke up.
“Isn’t that maybe… that thing?”
“That thing?”
“Electric Man.”
“!”
Yeom Hajae looked at Jang Ijung with a puzzled expression.
“He’s famous among Hunters. You don’t know him?”
“No, I mostly handle Dungeon-related work.”
“Hmm… if we’re talking about an Awakener who uses electricity, he’s the most famous one.”
Yeom Hajae’s eyes lit up.
“Electric Man…! Please tell me!”
“Yeah. The story goes back to a scorching summer eight years ago…”
Jang Ijung, who up until then had shown no interest at all while stuffing his face with desserts, suddenly became talkative.
Meanwhile, I had to consciously keep my fingertips from twitching.
Electric Man.
That was my cringe-worthy past. I hadn’t known Jang Ijung knew about that. Even if he did know, I never expected him to bring it up in front of me of all people.
This memory is too painful to face.
I shut off my hearing for a moment. To keep from getting flustered, I sipped my wine and deliberately let my mind drift away.
“…and that’s how he came to be called Electric Man. Though there haven’t been many sightings since then.”
After hearing the whole story, Yeom Hajae remarked.
“There really are a lot of similarities with him. Enough that they could be the same person…”
Well, of course—they were the same person.
“But I don’t think they’re the same person.”
Yeom Hajae shook his head. Somehow a sense of closeness had formed between us, and his tone had become more relaxed.
“The part about saving someone is similar, but assault…? Cheolsu wouldn’t do something like that.”
…?
My eyes met Jang Ijung’s.
“…Really? What kind of person is he?”
“Cheolsu… reminds me of my older brother.”
“Your brother? In looks?”
“No. Just something about the feeling, I guess.”
I had no idea how, after seeing “Kim Cheolsu” so little, he could say something like that.
“Anyway, thank you. I should head back and look into it more.”
Yeom Hajae wet his throat with some water. Bothered that he’d been quiet for a while, I added, pretending I’d been listening to the conversation.
“Glad you found a lead. So coming here wasn’t a waste after all, was it?”
Yeom Hajae nodded. He set down his glass and said,
“By the way, you two… I take it you’re not part of the Special Ability Squad?”
“……”
It was about time to cut this off. I spoke up naturally.
“We’re…”
While speaking, I deliberately knocked over the wine glass beside me. The wine spilled and soaked Yeom Hajae’s clothes.
“Oops!”
I fumbled around like a flustered person and grabbed a napkin.
“Oh no, I’m so sorry about this…”
While wiping up the wine, I fussed over his clothes. Yeom Hajae pushed my hand away, saying he’d clean it himself.
The moment Yeom Hajae’s hand brushed against mine, I attached a metal patch to the inside of his wrist.
I deliberately moved more conspicuously than usual. As intended, Jang Ijung’s eyes locked onto the wrist where the patch had been attached.
As I kept fussing in a distracting way, Yeom Hajae said,
“It’s fine. I’ll go to the restroom for a moment.”
He headed for the restroom without showing any sign of being upset. Once I confirmed Yeom Hajae had gone through the door, Jang Ijung asked,
“Is your real name Kim Cheolsu, by any chance?”
“As if.”
On the surface, I needed to look like I wanted to hide the fact that I was Yeom Hajae’s benefactor.
Far from killing a Hunter, I’d helped him and sent him off alive. It would be a problem if my villain colleagues found out. Unless said colleague happened to be an Association spy, that is.
I smiled cryptically.
“Just a coincidence, maybe?”
“……”
Then, as if trying to change the subject, I held up the thread wound around my finger.
The organization had researched several tools to make use of my ability, and this was one of them.
The metal patch attached to Yeom Hajae was connected to a thread so fine it was nearly invisible to the naked eye. The thread was made of a special material that conducted electricity extremely well.
Once the target was at a sufficient distance, I’d kill them and then cut the thread. That way, I could kill someone from a short distance away without leaving a trace.
“Anyway, I’m ready now. So…”
I was about to keep talking to stall for time until the monster appeared, but Jang Ijung stopped me.
“No. Wait a second.”
“Huh?”
At that moment.
Whoosh…
The sound of wind drew closer. The faint sound of something massive flapping its wings could be heard.
Now, huh.
Looks like I won’t need to drag this out much longer. Before I could even bring up an excuse to move, Jang Ijung suddenly stood up.
Without a word, he pulled me toward the opposite wall.
?
As if he already knew the wall was about to collapse.
At the same moment—
Crash!
One of the curtain-covered glass walls shattered all at once.
