# Chapter 178
Instead of moving right away, Sano stood like a stone statue in front of the door. Although the metal door could vanish without a trace with just a gesture of his hand, strangely, it felt like an absolutely impenetrable wall. That sense of helplessness resembled fear.
He felt the urge to go back in immediately and drag Iyeon out, but he also had an almost certain intuition that if he actually saw Iyeon’s face, he would just stand there like an idiot, blankly staring at him again. Unable to do either, his indecisiveness was irritating him to no end.
Sano inhaled slowly, but it didn’t help much. His superpower, which leaked out as he failed to control his emotions, flowed into the corridor floor and made it rattle. It was a familiar feeling that hadn’t visited him in a long time.
In this situation, having to deliberately focus on controlling his power was also irritating. Sano was about to let the energy spreading through his skin run wild, but even in that moment, what came to mind was that overly calm face that made him boil with anger. It was an absurdly strange connection, but surprisingly, it served as a tiny brake.
No, actually it wasn’t surprising. Jung Iyeon always functioned that way inside Sano. Just before the sensation of imminent explosion took over his entire body, Sano barely managed to grab onto the rationality closest to instinct and transported himself here.
[I’m surprised, though. I thought you’d forgotten how since you never use it.]
“Would it have been better if I just flipped the city upside down?”
[Of course not. I’m glad you used it so effectively.]
Seohyun seemed to be responding smoothly as usual, but he couldn’t completely hide the wariness in his voice. The energy Sano had released this time was much more intense compared to previous experiences. Even the land manager, who had seen Sano’s ability several times before, was flustered enough to call Seohyun in the late night, so it was understandable to be alarmed.
[Is it because of Director Jin? I heard a bit about it too. They say even the internal departments are all in trouble.]
“Useless talk.”
Sano harshly dismissed it. He had already been on edge trying to make sure Heesu wouldn’t notice, and now thinking about how this mess happened because he couldn’t properly pay attention to what Iyeon was doing and where he was going made him so irritated his ribs ached. As Sano recalled Iyeon’s face the last time he saw him, his pupils flared up with a green light. Simultaneously, a booming sound was heard from somewhere on the mountain.
“If you have nothing to say, just go to sleep.”
[If the Kim secretaries can’t handle it, please let me know. You know, right? Jesan is a decent force.]
“You name-thief sure have a lot to say.”
[Hearing that makes me relieved because you sound like your usual self, Sano-nim.]
Finding no value in continuing the conversation, Sano hung up. The dimly glowing screen quickly died, covered in darkness. Sano slowly closed his eyes and reopened them.
There were still many things to do. He wasn’t such a fool that he would truly abandon everything and leave just because of one command to go. If that had been his mindset, he wouldn’t have been making trouble for 10 years.
Jung Iyeon needed to clearly realize who he had saved. It was too late to regret it now.
Among other things… he also needed to resolve the Jin Heesu situation, and Lee Taejin wasn’t finished yet either. Barely suppressing the desire to just destroy everything, Sano turned his phone screen back on. As soon as the monotonous dial tone reached his ears, it cut off and a calm voice was heard.
[Yes, Sano-nim.]
“How are things going?”
Despite the sudden question, Jonghee immediately understood and answered.
[It seems they still haven’t decided on a direction. There’s still a possibility they’ll contact Lee Taejin, but considering that side will unconditionally demand a reduced sentence in exchange, it won’t be easy to accept given their nature. Perhaps Lee Taejin caused this hospitalization commotion anticipating this. Still, there’s time left.]
“What’s the possibility of them contacting Jung Iyeon?”
[Considering Jung Iyeon-ssi’s grade assessment report, it’s minimal. They’ll judge that he doesn’t have the capabilities they want.]
“The machine?”
[All materials have been prepared, but we lack the facilities for mass production. However, I think we can meet the deadline.]
The preparations were going smoothly. Sano raised his gaze to look somewhere in the hazy dawn sky. If Iyeon found out what the current situation was, his actions would be predictable. It was vividly clear in his mind even without seeing it.
And Sano had no intention of watching it with his eyes open.
“One more thing.”
His green eyes blazed fiercely. That gloomy face saying it was his fault wouldn’t leave him alone and kept getting on his nerves.
“Find out everything that’s happened to Jung Iyeon in the past few days.”
*
When Iyeon had just moved to Chohosi, he often woke up at dawn for no reason.
His consciousness, which had sunk beyond the unconscious, would suddenly become clear, and it would take a very long time to fall back asleep afterward. During those times, Iyeon would toss and turn countless times before eventually getting up and quietly slipping out of his room. He’d drink a glass of water in the kitchen, sit alone on the living room sofa, appreciate the bluish moonlight beyond the window, and occasionally glance at the city’s night view.
Finally, he would stand in front of the master bedroom door.
After lingering in front of the closed door for a while, he would quietly put his ear against it, only to hear a flowing silence. Around the time his heart began to beat faster, Iyeon would turn the doorknob very carefully to avoid making any sound.
His parents lay on the large bed in the center of the master bedroom. Covering themselves neatly with blankets pulled up to their chests without tossing or turning, they were sleeping with peaceful faces. Iyeon would stealthily approach the bed and gaze endlessly at his parents’ faces.
Then suddenly, he would realize that the blanket wasn’t moving as if it had hardened.
The body, which should naturally rise and fall as humans breathe, didn’t move at all. The faint moonlight made their closed-eyed faces look even paler. Iyeon hastily reached out his arm, then noticed his hand was trembling.
‘Lee Jeongyeon-ssi’s parents passed away recently.’
His breath caught. His lungs contracted, unable to take in air. His heart raced madly. His parents, who had rushed into the collapsing research institute without hesitation to save Iyeon. His parents, who had devoted themselves to nursing the unconscious Iyeon. His parents, who had passed away just before Iyeon opened his eyes.
And the two corpses in front of him.
“…Gasp!”
Iyeon woke up with a start, his eyes wide open. His entire body was drenched in cold sweat. His chest expanded and contracted with heavy breaths.
Squeak. Woken by his thrashing, Mungchi burrowed into Iyeon’s side, then raised its head in surprise upon noticing his wet body. Only after inhaling rough breaths for a long time as if taking in insufficient air, could Iyeon stroke Mungchi, who was rubbing its head against his exposed neck as if to wipe away the beaded sweat.
“What the…”
A dejected voice echoed in the room.
It was true that when he had created fake parents to live with, he occasionally woke up at dawn and peeked into the master bedroom. But each time, his parents were definitely alive—though it might be ambiguous to say they were actually alive, they at least appeared to be living—and Iyeon would close the door with relief, return to his room, and go back to sleep.
This kind of nightmare was a first.
And of all times, on the day Je Sano left… Iyeon looked at the empty space beside him with slightly sunken eyes. Even though the large figure had no particular sleeping habits, his presence was vivid just by being there. Seeing more than half of the bed empty made him feel dejected.
It was a shameless thought. It was none other than himself who had driven Sano away. Iyeon smiled bitterly.
After saying things like that, Sano probably wouldn’t return. Iyeon muttered blankly as if repeating to himself.
“It was just a matter of time, just a matter of time.”
Anyway, Sano’s help was just a temporary job, and living together was just a temporary cohabitation. A brief intersection that wasn’t even a line.
What he believed to be grace was an illusion. Sano would return to his place and live as the city’s hero, while Iyeon would live as one of the citizens. A top-tier hunter and a lower-tier hunter. It was an impossible combination from the start.
This is the right distance.
[Je Sano]
[JSO]
[Hunter Je Sano]
[Je Sano sighting]
Sprawled on the office sofa, Iyeon had been continuously tapping on his phone keypad when he let out a deep sigh. He had made that resolution just hours ago, but his heart really didn’t obey. When he came to his senses, his search history in Unchat was filled with one person. Worse, the results he saw were far from satisfactory.
Logically, he knew that since Sano had left the house just last night, there was no way news would appear right away. Moreover, wasn’t he a hunter who operated without revealing his face? Unless there was a major incident, there wouldn’t even be any sighting reports. It would have been a bigger problem if whatever he did in the early morning had immediately appeared on the internet.
