# Chapter 15
First Piece: C-17
Money and connections were indeed beneficial. Lee Hwan got a new place and spent four days sleeping well and eating well.
An officetel with twice the space of his previous place. In a room where hot water flowed abundantly, Lee Hwan alternated between commuting and resting.
His sorrowful and upset feelings dissolved like the bubbles in the bathtub after a few half-body soaks.
Only then did he gain the strength to move.
Lee Hwan checked Taesung’s schedule through Dongha and secretly returned to his previous home to erase all traces. He cleaned thoroughly, not leaving even a single strand of hair, and removed everything that could hint at his identity, from documents to sticky notes.
After a few days of deep sleep in a cozy blanket, the wound on his head was already starting to scab. Though reluctant to admit it, he had received quite a lot of help from Dongha this time.
“Taesung and Jade shook off the information room that day.”
At his tone suggesting he had a rough idea of what happened, Lee Hwan just drank his coffee without responding. He was already feeling uneasy about the fact that this guy knew about his situation. Plus, that familiar name.
Jade. A name he had heard while cutting meat at the hotel restaurant. So that sunglasses bastard was Jade. Judging from the skill with which he had chased Lee Hwan, his eyesight seemed fine, so what led to the derogatory term “fucked-up eyes”?
Recalling the silent sunglasses directed at him, Lee Hwan suddenly felt a surge of anger and gulped down his coffee.
Even during the desperate escape, Lee Hwan had observed this ‘Jade.’ Despite appearing to be Taesung’s close associate, he was someone Lee Hwan didn’t know at all.
Lee Hwan awakened his abilities and joined the attack team 4 years from now, chronologically speaking. That meant Jade would exist for at most the next 4 years before vanishing at some point.
‘This isn’t some urban legend.’
Someone that even he, who knew Taesung well, didn’t know. It was extremely suspicious.
Moreover, was it because this guy was standing beside Taesung every time something happened to him? Lee Hwan’s feelings toward this person weren’t particularly positive.
In fact, if we were to be precise, it was Jade who had restrained Taesung on the first day, and it was rather Lee Hwan who had choked him during their last meeting.
‘Instead, my head got cracked.’
Was it because their ability domains subtly overlapped? Lee Hwan had never liked telekinesis from the start.
“Jade? What a fucking weird name.”
Lee Hwan picked a fight with someone else’s name for no reason and took a solid bite of a cream-filled croissant. The outer layer crumbled crisply, and the sweet, milk-rich cream gushed out.
Taesung’s ambush eventually led to a complete alliance with Dongha. Entrusting himself to his money, life suddenly became easier, and Lee Hwan newly realized his own reality.
Seeing Lee Hwan’s dejection, Dongha became gentle for the first time. He had recognized that Lee Hwan had no other options. Like having implanted a chip in an animal that produced golden poop, his wariness had noticeably diminished.
“Why don’t you register? You don’t seem to be doing anything illegal.”
“…”
“Stalking is actually mild compared to the incidents unregistered people cause.”
Dongha muttered as if it was hard to understand. He was speaking under the assumption that Lee Hwan was already a criminal. Well, he wouldn’t know. That the moment Lee Hwan registered with the state, he would be discovered hiding at Naru.
Of course, having already been beaten up and attached to Dongha, there was no need to be nervous about being discovered by Taesung anymore, but…
Even so, thinking about having to give up on him, he regretted losing the merit of hiding at Naru without anyone knowing. He still had a vain attachment to the formal route, which was now completely crushed.
“My personal information would be exposed.”
“Is there anyone in South Korea whose personal information isn’t exposed? Even our grandfather had his information exposed to China at that age and had to change his resident registration number.”
Even the Naru chairman had his information exposed, making him want to avoid it even more. The moment he registered with the state, not only Dongha and Taesung but even his teammate’s in-law’s eighth cousin’s friend’s younger sibling would know about it.
Lee Hwan didn’t want to see relatives he had long lost contact with, nor did he want to see the Naru security team lining up before reporters to wait for him on his way to work.
“Forget it. I’ll be a criminal.”
“Sure, you seem to know everything, so I’m sure you’ll handle it somehow.”
Lee Hwan pretended not to hear and pushed the remaining piece of croissant into his mouth. Bread eaten with someone else’s money tasted particularly sweet and savory.
“The things you asked for, I can support all of them. I’ll try my best to find and secure gates for you too. Even though I offered to give you money, you insist on repaying it, so I won’t stop you.”
Of course. Everything he was receiving now would return as debt. But a few bucks, he’d be able to pay back eventually. Either by secretly raiding gates that would open in a few years, or if Taesung regained his memories before then.
Lee Hwan wiped his mouth with a napkin and gestured for him to continue. Dongha cleared his throat briefly and then threw something heavy while pretending it was light.
“But I have one condition too. I need a bodyguard cum trophy. As my person.”
He subtly inserted the phrase “my person.” In the end, it meant proving that he had joined Dongha’s side. It wasn’t something he couldn’t do. After all, Lee Hwan had no hole to return to now.
“Not on weekdays.”
Still, he flatly refused. The reason for stubbornly remaining unregistered despite the risks was to stay at Naru, so what was the point if he got fired for unauthorized absence and neglect of duties?
Of course, he could drop by like a casual visit after work, but as it was clear that the moment he said OK, Dongha would shamelessly try to encroach on his working hours, Lee Hwan cut him off from the start.
“…On weekends?”
To Dongha, who asked after briefly biting his lip, Lee Hwan gave a cheerful answer.
“Nine to six.”
“What kind of guy is this.”
The face in front of him finally twisted a little, and only then did a smile rise to the corners of Lee Hwan’s mouth.
* * *
Dongha’s security detail was carried out the very next evening. It wasn’t much, just a task of intimidating the leader of Attack Team 3. Lee Hwan, fearing that his face might be discovered, procured a party mask and covered his face with it.
Dongha was pleased, saying he understood well even without being told, but he still had a disgusted expression at the appearance of the mask.
“I wouldn’t be able to find such a grotesquely shaped clown mask even if I paid for it.”
“But I found one.”
Dongha clicked his tongue as if tired of responding and suddenly brought out what he had prepared.
A matte white mask. As Dongha boasted that it was made from monster bones and wouldn’t be damaged by ordinary impacts, Lee Hwan thought to himself that it looked like a fucking monk’s disease mask.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t entirely displeasing as it had a certain weight to it despite being white. Additionally, the fit was unexpectedly good. Though it was annoying to admit, it was in a completely different league from the ugly clown mask that reeked of rubber with every movement.
Of course, he didn’t show that it was good.
‘When he gets smug, I want to hit him.’
It was because of Dongha who brought out nonexistent violent tendencies. If he made a triumphant “I told you so” expression, it would be incredibly infuriating.
Watching the team leader who was summoned by Dongha on Saturday kowtowing, Lee Hwan suddenly disliked all the Kang guys. These young bastards were treating a poor old person who couldn’t even get married.
But when he remembered that Team 3 Leader was skimming gates meant for Taesung’s team, his sympathy suddenly disappeared.
Lee Hwan played with space in front of Team 3 Leader as a service. Perhaps thinking that Dongha had brought a mysterious awakened person as an escort, Team 3 Leader became more compliant. Lee Hwan thought that the hunter society, where everything was evaluated solely on power and ability, was extremely barbaric, but since he was also a beneficiary in most situations, he didn’t object.
And so the weekend passed, and Monday came again. Starting another day like a hamster wheel, Lee Hwan felt like he was setting his mind a bit more firmly.
His wandering had ended, and the work to change the future began anew. From a different position than before, with different people.
Although it was annoying that the start was the same old commute as always, even this was an opportunity he almost lost. Lee Hwan tried to endure more positively.
“Mr. Lee Hwan, the field schedule has been set. Please check, sign, and pass it on.”
It was the first field schedule that he had been hearing about incessantly since last week. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that most of the tedious training until now was essentially for this field work.
Since the gate business, like the production industry, placed great importance on achievements like “nnnn days without accidents!”, they even provided expensive and sturdy gloves to prevent even a finger sprain.
‘Is there anything to check? I could walk in blindfolded, yawn once, and come out through the exit.’
Lee Hwan, who was tapping the keyboard with a drowsy feeling after lunch, quickly skimmed through the file folder handed to him. Is this where he’s supposed to sign?
He was just feeling bored anyway. Lee Hwan quickly scribbled his pen on the first page and quietly flipped through the back documents that he wasn’t even told to look at. The entire April schedule for Team 3 was contained in one file folder.
‘Which bastard is going to have it easy this month?’
Honestly, was this left here to be seen? Lee Hwan, who was excitedly about to look at other people’s schedules, was checking the schedules of senior staff when he suddenly felt a chill running down his back.
[C-17: Internal Ecosystem Recording]
In the last week of April, a gate he knew all too well was listed.
“…”
Clatter. The sound of a pen dropping to the floor was heard. Lee Hwan picked it up again with a blank mind and took a deep breath.
C-17 on the April schedule table… was the stage of the suspicious incident that Lee Hwan had first recalled.
