# Chapter 24
It was a strange situation. Despite his relaxed attitude, Lee Hwan felt a tingling at the nape of his neck whenever those eyes landed on him.
“Hyung said you could pull people as needed, right?”
“Yeah, that’s true… but I wanted to try doing this kind of thing myself.”
Kang Dongha answering obediently and grinning was an unfamiliar sight Lee Hwan had never seen before. That stupid response, as if he wanted to try doing something with his own hands, was also creepy in its own way.
Lee Hwan wore an expression of shock beneath his mask. Struggling to suppress his rough breathing from the impact, he observed the two.
“If anything’s too difficult, just pass it to hyung. You can’t stick with anything for long anyway.”
Meanwhile, from Kang Dongying’s mouth flowed malicious words in a beautiful voice, spoken as naturally as if it were normal.
Hearing this, Kang Dongha slightly lowered his eyebrows and nodded.
“Here.”
Kang Dongying pulled out a business card from inside his jacket and casually held it out. His hand came toward Lee Hwan, but his gaze remained fixed on Kang Dongha.
What was he trying to do? Kang Dongha nodded at Lee Hwan, who was just looking with his eyes. Take it, he meant.
“It’s hard to take care of an inadequate brother. Isn’t that right?”
It wasn’t clear whether he was speaking to Lee Hwan or intending for Kang Dongha to hear. The business card was for Lee Hwan, but his face while talking remained turned toward Dongha.
This bizarre encounter only ended after Lee Hwan accepted the card.
“It’s my secretary’s number. They should be able to help with most things, like your circumstances of covering your face.”
Only then did Kang Dongying look directly at Lee Hwan, and with those meaningful words, he left with a smile.
Only after he had walked far toward the center and a certain distance had been established did Kang Dongha’s face return to its sensitive and unpleasant expression.
“Look at him, drooling and making a fuss again…”
“…”
“What are you staring at? From there to there, it’s basically all that person’s close associates, so be careful with your attitude.”
Kang Dongha grabbed Lee Hwan’s clothes and pulled him sharply toward himself. Lee Hwan momentarily lost his words and stared blankly at Dongha. The kind and simple-minded face from earlier had completely disappeared.
Lee Hwan’s tongue automatically clicked at both the impact of what he’d just experienced and Dongha’s shrewd acting.
…An inadequate human compared to his other siblings? This guy?
Lee Hwan realized it just then. Not all the Kangs were crazy elites. Kang Dongha, under his brother’s influence, was pretending to be less capable, shrinking himself.
This place was truly a jungle. Lee Hwan sighed quietly inside his mask.
It was because things were this fucked up that Taesung had tried so hard to distance himself from politics. And Lee Hwan had just been by his side, unable to help, only enjoying delicious steaks.
* * *
In the car on the way back, Lee Hwan tried to erase thoughts of Taesung that kept rising like a disease. Distracting thoughts constantly obscured his vision.
It was all because of that man. Jade. If he hadn’t seen him at the research building, he could have focused on his original plan without recalling Taesung.
Through this affair, Lee Hwan had obtained the gate where a skill stone would appear and knew the trick to clear it. However, since the gravity skill stone would appear around this time, if he missed this opportunity, it would be smoothly found by someone else as scheduled and transferred to England.
Moreover, despite taking a shortcut, it was still Class 2. Being such a dangerous gate, he needed to prepare thoroughly.
So he should have been too busy with those thoughts to think of anything else…
But he had seen something that was far too concerning.
‘If that bastard is from the research building, why is he sticking around Kang Taesung?’
Of course, Kang Dongying’s presence was intense. Memorable enough.
But afterward, Lee Hwan had been thinking continuously about Jade, who hadn’t been seen in the hall, rather than the brothers full of pretense.
Ziiing-
Lee Hwan lowered the window to feel the breeze and looked up at the cloudy sky with a hardened face.
‘What kind of relationship do they have?’
He became curious. Now, he was extremely curious about that.
Lee Hwan still hadn’t forgotten what happened at Taesung’s house on the first day of his regression. It was something he would never forget, even after a lifetime. The shock and resentment from that time still remained, twisting his insides whenever he recalled it.
That day, Taesung had tried to attack him, and Jade, who appeared belatedly, had stopped him. With just a single word.
Taesung had also obediently listened. At first, Lee Hwan thought it was because Taesung wasn’t the type to act irrationally, but thinking back, it seemed like he had listened because it was Jade who spoke.
‘While he was ready to burn me no matter what I said.’
Looking back, Jade was someone Taesung had known and brought into his house before meeting Lee Hwan. Remembering that fact, Lee Hwan couldn’t help but feel concerned belatedly.
Whether it was because he feared Taesung might be in danger due to that man’s movements, or simply because he was upset about the fact that he was with Taesung, he didn’t know, but he just didn’t like it.
‘Forget it.’
Lee Hwan deliberately buried the thought and turned his attention to more pressing matters. For example, the semi-awakening, or information about the gate they would soon enter.
But in the end, that led to yet another thought about Taesung.
‘A-08 gate gravity skill stone… Kang Taesung regretted that too.’
Taesung had always said it would have suited Lee Hwan, and if he had met Lee Hwan a little earlier or if the skill stone had been discovered later, he would have given it to him somehow.
Not just anything, but a skill stone.
Though he said there was nothing he couldn’t give, Lee Hwan’s heart had still tingled for a moment. Whether Taesung could give it or not was already beyond consideration.
Skill stones were the dream of all Awakened ones. With fewer than 100 released worldwide until before the regression, they were rare and important items, frequently mentioned in various content featuring Awakened protagonists.
Considering that various crimes and national deals had been made over multiple skill stones, even empty words of giving one were appreciated.
But unfortunately, Lee Hwan’s response had been rather dull.
‘Um… thanks?’
Lee Hwan was so used to apologizing, having done it frequently. Especially after encountering all sorts of difficult customers while working part-time jobs, he had developed dozens of repertoires for apologies.
But offering a sincere thank-you was quite awkward and embarrassing for Lee Hwan at that time. He had rarely had to do so in his life.
Lee Hwan had needlessly cleared his throat and patted Taesung’s shoulder while saying thanks with words that didn’t quite convey his feelings. Taesung’s rather subtle expression only relaxed after Lee Hwan, finding it difficult to express himself verbally, simply gave him a tight hug.
‘That was really such a long time ago.’
Why did that brief memory keep circling in his head?
‘That bastard can’t even remember now.’
Damn. Thinking that far, Lee Hwan suddenly felt upset.
Now, if Taesung had both Lee Hwan and a skill stone in front of him, he’d grab the skill stone like a stone-age weapon and beat Lee Hwan with it.
Or maybe he’d heat the skill stone with flames and press it against his forehead.
It was quite a contrasting situation, considering the echo of Taesung’s voice saying he would still come looking for him.
“…This time, I’ll take it myself.”
That skill stone.
His heart churning, Lee Hwan spoke out loud without realizing. The driver glanced at him through the rearview mirror.
‘Because the memories will return.’
Lee Hwan calmed his rising breath slowly with that reassurance. He now habitually opened his skill window.
– ! It operates using the target’s memories as parts.
☞ □□□ □□□ □□ □ will be returned.
He had been rereading the same part for days. If all this wasn’t just a dream while he was dying after being hit by a monster, Lee Hwan could meet him again.
He could think negatively, but he shouldn’t fall into self-pity. He was a professional hunter who had stood on the front lines.
Lee Hwan closed his mouth again and stared blankly out the window.
* * *
The field schedule for new recruits resumed. Lee Hwan put on his uniform and went to the gate, watched his peers being criticized for various reasons after exploration ended, and took time to have a drink.
Lee Hwan made fewer mistakes than even his superiors. Everything was so by-the-book that none of the seniors bothered to look after him later.
Nevertheless, at the drinking gatherings that concluded the day, conversations were fortunately initiated quite often.
“How did you memorize all of that, Lee Hwan-ssi?”
“I just studied centered around the guidebook, that’s all.”
“That sounds like saying you studied with textbooks and got into a prestigious university.”
“I did study with textbooks and got into a prestigious university.”
The last statement was somewhat exaggerated, but his peers seemed to have accepted it as part of Lee Hwan’s character. They just let it slide and filled his glass with soju.
Only his mentor and a few senior members who had observed Lee Hwan up close wore ambiguous expressions.
Gulp. As he received and drank the alcohol, Lee Hwan absently looked at his team members.
He seemed to understand why he couldn’t blend in well with them. The original rookie Lee Hwan had been a friendly and sociable character. He often joined in with them, excitedly sharing various stories.
But post-regression Lee Hwan… honestly speaking, had arrived utterly exhausted. Putting it nicely, he was burned out, or more directly, he was old, rough, and tattered.
Moreover, he had unexpectedly gone too far into the past. It was like rewinding to rewatch the end of a seven-hour director’s cut film, but something broke and he ended up watching from the production company logo.
And right after that, he lost Taesung in a different sense and lost his way. The only reason he hadn’t lost hope as well was the small comfort that there was still time before the doom.
However, now, knowing that Taesung’s memories weren’t completely lost, and feeling the future changing little by little, Lee Hwan was gradually calming down.
Woong-.
[We need to work together a bit]
At least, that’s how it had been for a moment.
