What are you?
That's my line.
So Yeom Hajae calling for me had been a lie after all.
After being called out, I'd been heading behind a giant wooden bucket at Choi Haegang's direction. The ominous feeling that kept creeping up had turned into certainty.
Choi Haegang, walking behind me, had suddenly lunged. With my arm seized out of nowhere, I was slammed hard against the wall. The instant he pounced, I just barely held back my ability from coming out on reflex.
Should never have given him my back in the first place….
Had going along with him been the mistake? I'd only followed him out worried that being overly wary might draw suspicion instead.
My heart pounded fast. First I calmed my breathing.
Choi Haegang's grip was rough, but he was waiting for my answer.
…It's too early to call it a mistake yet. If I work my mouth right, I can wriggle out of this.
It wasn't the worst-case scenario. The Choi Haegang of right now had no killing intent. If he'd meant to kill me, he'd have used a weapon, not his hands.
Both my shoulders had been dislocated, but my arms hadn't burst.
The karma window that popped up amid the dizziness only unsettled me further.
[Karma: 59779(-10)]
This was the second time, after the traffic accident.
Does this go down every time I get hurt?
The question flickered past. Noticing my attention had scattered, Choi Haegang pressed down hard on my body.
"Why did you approach us?"
"Ugh…."
I had to answer carefully. One thing was certain.
Choi Haegang doesn't remember what happened before regression.
It was a fortunate fact amid the misfortune.
This was an unexpected development that hadn't existed before regression. When I'd first been attacked, I'd even wondered for a second if this guy had regressed too. But if he had, he wouldn't be acting this carelessly. There was still plenty of room to slip away.
I writhed as pitifully as I could.
"Wh-why are you doing this…."
My voice and body trembled on their own, no acting required.
I was being pinned by a deranged sadistic killer. With no idea whether my ability would even work, it was harder not to tremble.
"Speak."
Choi Haegang rattled his sheath as if to make me hear it. I couldn't see it, but the sharp metal must've briefly shown itself and slid back in.
"If you lie, I'll kill you."
A cold, emotionless tone. The breath against the back of my neck gave me goosebumps.
Even if he thought I was suspicious, he couldn't have certainty yet. Give him that certainty here and it's over.
I hurried to open my mouth.
"No. I think there's some kind of misunderstanding, sir…."
He's just an ordinary office worker. His cat had been acting strange, so he was only trying to take it to a 24-hour animal hospital. He's dressed like this because he meant to head straight to work once the appointment was over. He doesn't know why this is happening, but he's truly just a regular person with no connection to the Association or the government. He has no idea what "approaching" means. Getting caught up in the gate was pure coincidence too, and he'd heard the guild name Atlas for the first time today….
So in short,
"Please spare me."
Choi Haegang looked at the man earnestly pleading before him. To anyone else it would've seemed quite pitiful, but he trusted his own instincts.
A blade honed razor-sharp slid completely free of its sheath.
"Ugh…."
"It's a lie. I'll kill you."
"What?"
From Seo Sinwoo's standpoint, it was absurd.
Look, this is the first time we've met today, isn't it? Well, technically it's not my first time, but. What are you basing "lie" on?
There's no reasoning with this guy. This bastard….
Honestly, I felt a little wronged.
Whatever might happen later, right now I hadn't come with any genuinely bad scheme.
I didn't want to run into you either.
Falling into the dungeon, ending up face-to-face with Atlas—both were coincidence. As for a scheme, the most I'd done was throw out a few words wondering if I might get close to Yeom Hajae.
For a moment I considered just frying him with electricity.
But I gave up quickly. The image of the Choi Haegang from six years later, on whom no ability had worked no matter what, lingered in my mind like a nightmare. Besides, my shoulders had been dislocated, sure, but my arms weren't cut off.
Sweat trickled down the back of my neck, bead by bead.
"It's… not a lie."
"…Then why did you approach Yeom Hajae?"
Two-faced bastard.
To his face he'd been all deference, and the moment the man's not around he calls him by name without honorifics.
"To—to get close to him."
Seo Sinwoo smiled obsequiously.
This time, instead of a flimsy lie, he offered a little bit of truth.
"He looks about my age, but he's already a guild leader. I figured getting close to him would definitely come in handy…."
"Handy?"
"It's just that…. It's dangerous inside a gate. I get scared too."
I went on, packing in as much aggrieved emotion as I could.
"You wouldn't understand, sir, since you've got power."
A brief silence fell.
Seo Sinwoo swallowed dryly.
…Did it work?
Before long came the sound of the blade being sheathed, and then my body was released.
The body that had been crushed against the wall throbbed. Slowly feeling the blood circulate through my whole frame, I cautiously turned around.
"I'm sorry."
Choi Haegang, looking no different from before, said expressionlessly.
"I had my reasons, so I checked for a moment."
He brazenly admitted it had been a probing threat. He even brushed off my clothes, pat pat.
…Crazy bastard. You think saying sorry makes it fine after threatening an innocent, terrified civilian?
"No, well. I'm sure you had your reasons, haha."
In any case, thank goodness the obsequious approach worked. Now that it had come to this, maybe it'd be better to give up on the get-close-to-Yeom-Hajae plan.
Seo Sinwoo lifted his arms and answered affably.
"I don't know what it was about, but I'm glad the misunderstanding's cleared up."
Pop.
With the sound of a joint locking back in, the bone returned to its place. With the arm that was now fine, I fit the other shoulder back into its socket too.
It hurt, but it was bearable.
Choi Haegang calmly observed Seo Sinwoo as he set his bones.
There was something Seo Sinwoo had overlooked.
To be precise, a fact he'd failed to consider because long torture had numbed him to pain.
Ordinary people can't endure the pain of a dislocation.
The way he popped his arm back in, calm and composed without so much as a single groan—no matter how you looked at it, that wasn't an ordinary person's response.
"…."
Choi Haegang thought.
He'd seemed frightened, and lacking certainty, Choi Haegang had let him go for the moment—but it had clearly been a hasty judgment.
As expected, he's not an ordinary person. I can't just send him back like this.
Not realizing Choi Haegang's mind had changed, Seo Sinwoo rolled his shoulders and spoke lightly.
"Shall we head back now? It's not great for a Hunter to be away from the civilians too long."
"Sure. Let's go."
Choi Haegang stepped back one pace. Watching for his reaction, Seo Sinwoo stepped back two. The swordsman backed up that much again.
"…."
Seo Sinwoo chewed out a curse inwardly.
"Let's go."
Choi Haegang beckoned, his face still unreadable and expressionless. He stood firm, as if he wouldn't budge a single step first. His posture said he didn't mind drawing his sword and going another round if I didn't comply.
My eyes kept drifting to the blade hanging at his side. The other was still holding the sword in a loose grip. There was nothing for it—Seo Sinwoo reluctantly moved his feet as told.
A sense of unease crept in.
He's not going to strike from behind again, is he….
In the end, unable to overcome the anxiety, Seo Sinwoo glanced back.
Sure enough.
Fck.*
A sharp edge came into view.
The instant I registered it, the blade touched my neck.
It wasn't a strike meant to kill.
But faster than Choi Haegang could open his mouth, Seo Sinwoo's body reacted.
—Flash.
A strong current spread out in an instant.
The blade touching his neck seemed to glow for a moment, and in the blink of an eye smoke rose from the heated metal.
Choi Haegang's body went stiff.
Only after catching the smell of scorching did Seo Sinwoo realize his mistake.
"Oops…."
He'd done it before he could even think it over, but the other was already electrocuted.
Choi Haegang collapsed. In the very stance of holding the sword.
Thud.
And then he didn't move.
Huh….
Dead?
Wait. Dead?
My dazed mind snapped to attention.
…Isn't this a good thing?
Seo Sinwoo looked down. Even when he nudged with his foot, the fallen swordsman didn't so much as twitch. But he couldn't relax just yet.
This bastard's not playing dead like last time, is he?
He even bent his knees and peered closely. After laying Choi Haegang out flat, he held a hand under his nose to check for breath.
Not breathing.
He felt for a pulse.
No beat.
Really dead?
To be sure, he pressed his ear to the chest.
…….
"He's dead!"
Seo Sinwoo cried out, delighted.
I'd used my ability by accident, sure, but I'd wanted to kill Choi Haegang from the start. I'd only held back because I had no certainty the ability would work.
If Choi Haegang was dead, there was no longer any need to fear a future of retaliation. I could just kill everyone and leave like this, couldn't I?
That's the story if he was really dead, though.
What to do to avoid repeating the same mistake as before?
The answer was a confirming kill.
Electricity might not finish him properly like last time….
Seo Sinwoo looked at Choi Haegang's sword.
Was there a surer method than stabbing the heart?
The sword was still in Choi Haegang's hand. The grip stuck out a little over the firm fist. It looked like I could just grab that part and pull it out.
"Hyung'll borrow this for a sec."
Seo Sinwoo laid his hand on the jutting grip. But however tightly he'd gripped it, with a moderate amount of force it showed no sign of coming loose.
That was when it happened.
Clamp.
Over Seo Sinwoo's hand, as he struggled to pull the sword free, a hand full of calluses came down and covered it.
"?"
The man I'd thought was dead slowly opened his eyes.
Dry lips spat out a parched voice.
"As I thought…."
Gray pupils rolled slowly. Seo Sinwoo's and Choi Haegang's eyes met.
"You were an Awakened."
