# Chapter 23
The long-awaited Wednesday morning. Lee Hwan trimmed his hair while sorting through the suit Kang Dongha had sent for him to wear.
A dark wine-colored shirt with a white vest and white suit. Despite thinking what kind of outfit this was, Lee Hwan put it on quietly for now. Kang Dongha had insisted that he absolutely not wear a home shopping network suit to this meeting, which almost made Lee Hwan’s face turn bright red from embarrassment.
So that bastard knew. He had thought the well-fitted clothes would pass as custom-made…
Then did he notice the imitation on that first day at the bar too?
‘How embarrassing.’
But back then, Kang Dongha hadn’t said anything.
Lee Hwan, who had been pressing his lips tightly, sighed as he picked up the clothes. The pure white that brightened his eyes just by looking at it made him dizzy. In the past, Lee Hwan rarely wore overly flashy clothes.
Moreover, being custom tailoring, everything fit perfectly. It seemed Kang Dongha had measured him with his eyes when he kept looking him up and down at the restaurant, and had the clothes made accordingly. It gave him an oddly unpleasant feeling.
Meanwhile, feeling something strange about the material of the suit, he examined it and realized it likely contained monster byproducts. After realizing that this outfit was worth no small sum, Lee Hwan put it on more respectfully.
Why had he sent something so expensive? Since Lee Hwan hadn’t received an apology until the last day, was this Kang Dongha’s own way of showing remorse?
After adjusting his tie, he finally put on the mask. Thinking about it now, the mask was also well-carved to fit Lee Hwan’s facial features. No wonder it was so comfortable to wear.
Lee Hwan looked at himself in the mirror and sighed.
Due to the uniformly bizarre tastes of the wealthy, special clothing made with monster byproducts always had such flashy designs. Of course, thanks to the well-cut fit, his body, toned from recent training, looked particularly good, but…
‘It’s not like I’m doing an idol photoshoot…’
It was burdensome and embarrassing.
After putting on his shoes and going downstairs, there was a chauffeur sent by Kang Dongha. Being driven by someone was a first since Taesung before the regression, so Lee Hwan hesitated momentarily.
Then, out of habit, he naturally opened the passenger seat, only to meet the eyes of the surprised chauffeur instead of Taesung’s smiling face, and quickly closed the door again. It seemed sitting next to Kang Taesung whenever they went somewhere had become ingrained in him.
‘Damn it.’
Lee Hwan grumbled inwardly about whether it was really necessary to have a chauffeur.
Well… thinking about it again, taking the bus or subway in this outfit would have been a bit much. With luck, he’d be immortalized as an attention-seeking hunter; with bad luck, as a cosplay guy on the morning commute, with a 99.9999 percent probability of ending up preserved somewhere online.
‘At least before the regression, I was photographed as a star hunter.’
Now, having such a title attached to me and floating around the internet would probably be a bit painful.
The research building complex had a very peculiar layout. Of course, he understood they couldn’t be arranged alphabetically since they had to be built efficiently on the site, but some buildings were connected in incomprehensible ways.
As a result, Buildings B and D could be traversed back and forth via corridors connecting the facing buildings.
Lee Hwan, who had never entered this building in his previous life, wandered for a while before finally entering the café area where money had been lavishly spent. No wonder no employees were in sight; Kang Dongha was sitting at a central table, tapping away at his phone.
“You’re late.”
“You said to come by 10.”
“Then you should’ve been here by 9:30.”
‘He sent the car timed for 10 o’clock himself.’
Lee Hwan shuddered at the extreme boomer statement and pulled out a chair to sit. Seeing an untouched coffee in front of him, Lee Hwan lifted his mask to drink it, partly to wake himself up.
“Don’t take it off.”
A quiet command. Lee Hwan lowered his hand silently without arguing. It was because Kang Dongha gestured to the side without even turning his head.
A man in a familiar outfit was walking down the corridor. A tightly tied man bun and sunglasses worn even indoors.
A figure he never expected to see here.
‘Sungla… no, Jade…’
“…Is Kang Taesung coming too?”
“Why would he come here?”
As Jade approached, preventing them from speaking further, Lee Hwan quietly gestured toward him. An Awakened person could easily hear conversations from this distance. But this civilian guy seemed unaware of that sensitivity.
“Ah.”
Kang Dongha snickered. He didn’t seem to feel the need to lower his voice even after noticing Jade.
“That’s not Kang Taesung’s man.”
“Speak quietly.”
“He’s the old man’s dog.”
Calling a person a dog? At these contemptuous words, Lee Hwan slightly furrowed his brow.
Even for a spoiled third-generation chaebol, was it acceptable to use such language toward a random passerby?
‘Dog bastard.’
Lee Hwan cursed inwardly as he glanced away again.
The old man’s dog. If by Kang Dongha’s grandfather, he meant the Naru Chairman, did that mean Jade was his man?
While he was pondering this, Jade approached close enough to spot Kang Dongha and subtly paused his steps. He slightly bowed his head in silent greeting, then turned around and disappeared down another corridor.
That action, which seemed conscious of his own shortcomings, left a bitter taste in Lee Hwan’s mouth.
‘But wait, then today… he came here separately from Kang Taesung.’
After staring at where Jade had disappeared, Lee Hwan suddenly became suspicious.
Why was he lurking around Building D today of all days? And without Taesung. If he could walk so calmly in a place where Lee Hwan had to make an effort just to show his face, it suggested he had been here more than once or twice.
Lee Hwan had been ruminating on everything these days anyway given his current situation, but meeting Jade here just now was truly suspicious beyond measure.
‘In this case, it’s impossible not to be curious.’
He had already been uneasy about Jade, a person he had never seen before the regression.
Until now, Lee Hwan had casually dismissed Jade as someone who had existed only until Taesung met him and then disappeared. Just considering him as one of the secretaries or subordinates that Naru family members typically kept around.
But seeing him freely wandering around Building D without Taesung made Lee Hwan feel anxious and unsettled.
Moreover…
Lee Hwan had subtly sensed that Kang Dongha’s assessment of Jade was extremely harsh and mixed with contemptuous glances.
What could be the reason?
Even the morally corrupt Kang Dongha still considered Lee Hwan a “person.” Being someone who valued utility, he seemed to give some recognition if there were abilities involved.
So what was wrong with Jade, who appeared to be quite a capable Awakened person, that he couldn’t even receive that level of treatment?
Whatever the reason, Lee Hwan felt uncomfortable seeing someone who seemed older than Kang Dongha being treated that way.
Like it or not, Lee Hwan was a Confucian boy who grew up in a Confucian culture. As soon as he saw that sight, the principles of respecting elders that he had never been formally taught bound him.
“Shamele… bastard…”
“…What?”
“Nothing.”
Lee Hwan lifted his mask slightly and gulped down the coffee, driving away his unsettling feelings and remaining drowsiness.
* * *
The meeting place was a large hall on the upper floor of the building. There, simple beverages and dishes had been set up for a gathering of ‘those’ people.
Lee Hwan couldn’t understand why they wanted to meet in the research building when there were plenty of flashy places available. It seemed that those associated with this side preferred familiar interior spaces to the wide and bright outdoors, like cats.
As soon as he got off the elevator to the upper floor, Lee Hwan encountered several figures. Among those entering through the door were a couple of people from the attack team, as well as several strangers he had never seen before.
Thinking that any of them could be future villains made Lee Hwan feel dizzy.
“Don’t take off your mask inside.”
“I won’t.”
“Don’t drink alcohol either. I’ll have it modified later so you can just remove the lower part.”
Fuck. Just go ahead and remodel it completely, why don’t you. Lee Hwan swore inwardly.
The hall was similar in size to the large conference room where Lee Hwan had gone through orientation when joining the support team. The difference was that instead of outdated seats, a party space was spread out.
Though they called it a “gathering,” it seemed to be an occasion for them to build relationships amongst themselves. Lee Hwan, wearing eye-catching clothes and standing next to Kang Dongha, was advertising his affiliation with him to the world.
The moment they entered through the door, the piercing gazes of several people flew their way.
Kang Dongha in a black suit with a yellow shirt, attracting attention with a flashy handkerchief, and the white-clad weirdo beside him. Their appearance couldn’t help but draw eyes.
‘I’m going to die of embarrassment.’
What’s worse, Kang Dongha was limping despite being dressed up like that. It was an eyesore.
Lee Hwan couldn’t tell whether it was fortunate that he had covered his face with a mask, or unfortunate that this crazy mask drew even more attention.
That’s when it happened.
“Dongha.”
A man who resembled Kang Dongha approached him as he was heading toward the edge of the room, as if sensing the atmosphere.
“Hyung.”
Kang Dongha, who had been keeping his mouth shut the whole time, suddenly brightened and turned around. It was an uncharacteristically nice demeanor that didn’t match his usual brazen attitude. Lee Hwan almost rubbed his eyes in disbelief.
‘…Kang Dongying?’
If there was someone he would call hyung, it had to be Naru’s influential figure, Kang Dongying. Lee Hwan’s face hardened at the unexpected appearance.
He had no connection with this person even before the regression and had never seen him in person. There had been several opportunities to meet him when he was going to gates with Taesung as vanguards, but each time their schedules would miraculously fall apart, and in the end, he only heard about him through news.
The man who had seemed like an incredible iron man when described, well, how should he put it? His impression was better than expected. His height and frame were ample, and his drooping eyes, similar to Kang Dongha’s, gave more of a kind-hearted feeling than a sensitive one.
“This person is…”
“Ah, the Awakened person I mentioned.”
Under the gaze that immediately sized him up, Lee Hwan tensed up and stood still like a guard next to Kang Dongha.
