Only then did Jang Yijung show interest.
“Where are you going?”
“Looks like I can clock out early today.”
“…”
When I gestured toward Yeom Hajae, Jang Yijung wordlessly put a brownie in his mouth. Taking that as consent, I approached Yeom Hajae.
Gaunt.
Up close, he looked somehow… how to put it, thinner than before.
There'd been some articles about him clearing a Gate solo. Was it because of that?
Putting aside the stray thoughts, I tossed out a light remark.
“Workplace bullying?”
“?”
Yeom Hajae lifted his head with a puzzled face. He didn't seem to recognize my voice.
The perception-distortion effect on the mask applied to the voice, too.
I took out my phone and held it out to Yeom Hajae playfully.
“Should I call the Defense Helpline?”
“What? N-no… it's not bullying.”
Yeom Hajae waved his hands vigorously in denial.
“Yeah? For that, everyone was steering clear of you like you were a turd.”
“…I'm not even SPECAB Command personnel to begin with, that's why.”
“Hm.”
I shrugged and put my phone back in my pocket as if disappointed.
“Pardon me, then. I've got a habit, from being bullied when I was young, of not being able to just walk past stuff like this.”
“…That must have been hard for you.”
It was just something I'd said off the cuff, but Yeom Hajae made a genuinely sympathetic expression. He apparently still hasn't fixed his habit of pitying people easily.
“It's all in the past. More to the point, if you're not SPECAB Command, how'd you end up here?”
“That's…”
“Ah.”
Pretending to realize belatedly, I promptly grabbed Yeom Hajae's hand.
“Your legs must hurt. Should we sit and talk?”
“What? Yes…”
I led him to the table where Jang Yijung was. Yeom Hajae followed obediently, without complaint.
An eight-seat table with dessert plates scattered messily about. Leaving the empty seats be, I sat Yeom Hajae down right next to me on purpose.
I planned to drag out time appropriately, making a show of extracting information until the monster came.
As expected, Jang Yijung looked completely uninterested whether the target came or not. He didn't even spare Yeom Hajae a glance.
Yeom Hajae, apparently bothered by an opposite who hadn't even greeted him, glanced sidelong at Jang Yijung and quietly said:
“Thank you. The truth is, I was at a loss with no place to sit.”
“Seems you don't have a party with you?”
“No.”
In a shrunken posture, Yeom Hajae fiddled with his own arm.
“Earlier you asked how I ended up here… the truth is, I'd planned not to come out today.”
Yeom Hajae's eyes sank slightly. It was the look of recalling something.
“But then there was someone I wanted to find, so I came thinking there might be someone who knew anything. Looks like I came for nothing after all, though…”
“Someone you want to find?”
“A benefactor.”
A benefactor…
Who is there that Yeom Hajae would call that?
“A while back I fell into a Gate, and a certain awakener saved me.”
“…Oh dear.”
It's a story with something snagging about it somewhere.
As I was offering vague responses, the quiet Jang Yijung suddenly threw out a question.
“If it's an awakener, is the person you're looking for a Hunter too?”
“I don't know that.”
It was casual speech, but Yeom Hajae answered without any sign of fluster.
Jang Yijung tilted his head.
“What. You mean he could be an illegal awakener?”
“That's…”
Yeom Hajae dragged out his words. I cut in subtly.
“If he's such a dangerous figure, wouldn't it be better not to look for him?”
“No.”
Yeom Hajae shook his head, decisive as if the hemming and hawing of a moment ago had been a lie. An unreadable resolve dwelled in his eyes.
“Even if he's an illegal awakener, it's fine. I want to find him and repay him, no matter what.”
“…”
My expression must have shown it had stiffened, because Yeom Hajae flustered.
“Ah! Of course, separate from repaying him, I'd have to arr… arrest? Report him, but. Haha…”
My expression stiffened all the more.
Yeom Hajae smiled awkwardly with an embarrassed face.
“I've only talked about myself too much.”
“No. It's interesting. I'd like to help find him too.”
“Really?”
When Jang Yijung replied while scooping pudding, Yeom Hajae's eyes lit up.
Jang Yijung nodded readily, as if he truly had no other intent. At that, Yeom Hajae excitedly began his explanation.
“Then, at the risk of imposing, I'll ask for your help. His name is Kim Cheolsu, and according to my colleague, he used an electricity ability.”
“…Electricity?”
“Oh, electricity. How fascinating.”
…
“He was taller than me. Shoe size 275… light brown hair, and amber eyes. He was always smiling out of habit.”
I could feel Jang Yijung's gaze blatantly on me.
No, fuck…
So it really was my story after all. Why do you remember the shoe size?
“I don't really know the brand, but he was in a high-end tailored suit. On top of that…”
Creepy bastard…
Going forward, I'd better be careful about anything that might get my personal information spilled in front of Yeom Hajae.
After rattling off the explanation for a while longer, Yeom Hajae smiled, looking refreshed.
“If you happen to find him, please contact the Atlas Guild.”
“…Hm.”
“If I find him, I'll be sure to contact you.”
Unlike Jang Yijung, who only let out a noncommittal hum, I answered confidently.
Yeom Hajae thought of me as a benefactor. What he'd caught me at wasn't a bad deed among the incidents I'd pulled, but a good one. I had nothing to feel guilty about.
On top of that, Jang Yijung hearing this was a gain, if you could call it one. A villain whose heart is actually decent… if he'd think of me that way, that's all the more welcome on my end.
As I was consoling myself with such thoughts, the conversation I'd expected to wrap up reasonably reignited. Because Jang Yijung opened his mouth.
“Hey, isn't it that, maybe?”
“That?”
“The Electric Guy.”
“!”
Yeom Hajae looked at Jang Yijung with puzzled eyes.
“He's famous among Hunters. You don't know?”
“No. I mostly do dungeon work, so.”
“Hmm… if it's an awakener who uses electricity, that person's the most famous.”
Yeom Hajae's eyes lit up.
“The Electric Guy…! Tell me!”
“Sure. The incident goes back to a sweltering summer eight years ago…”
Jang Yijung, who'd had zero interest just moments ago, busy scarfing desserts, suddenly turned talkative.
Meanwhile, I had to consciously hold back my fingertips from twitching.
The Electric Guy.
It was my dark history. I never imagined Jang Yijung would know about that. Even if he knew, I really never expected him to go out of his way to bring it up in front of me.
It's too painful a memory to face.
I shut off my hearing for a moment. To keep from being shaken, I sipped wine and deliberately sent my mind far away.
“…and that's how he came to be called the Electric Guy. Though there've been almost no sightings since.”
Having heard the whole story, Yeom Hajae assessed it.
“He does have a lot in common with the man. Enough to look like the same person…”
That's because it's the same person.
“But I don't think it's the same individual.”
Yeom Hajae shook his head. At some point a sense of closeness had formed, because his speech had gone casual.
“The part about saving someone is similar, but assault… Cheolsu isn't the kind of person who'd do something like that.”
…?
My eyes met Jang Yijung's.
“…Is that so? What kind of person is he, then.”
“Cheolsu… he resembles my hyung.”
“Your hyung? In looks?”
“No. Just something about the feel of him.”
I don't know how much he could've seen of "Kim Cheolsu" to say something like that.
“Anyway, thank you. I'll have to look into it more once I get back.”
Yeom Hajae wet his throat with water. Bothered that I'd been keeping my mouth shut for quite a while, I added, pretending to have followed the conversation.
“Glad you found a clue. So coming here wasn't a waste, right?”
Yeom Hajae nodded. He set down his glass and said:
“By the way, the two of you… seem like you're not SPECAB Command personnel.”
“…”
It was about time to cut off the flow. I opened my mouth naturally.
“We're…”
While talking, I deliberately knocked over the wine glass beside me. The wine spilled and soaked Yeom Hajae's clothes.
“Whoops!”
I fumbled like a flustered person and grabbed a napkin.
“Ah, I'm so sorry, what do I do…”
Wiping the wine, I fussed busily over his clothes. Yeom Hajae pushed my hand away, saying he'd wipe it himself.
The instant Yeom Hajae's hand brushed mine, I attached a metal patch to the inside of his wrist.
I moved more excessively than usual on purpose. Just as intended, Jang Yijung's eyes fixed on the wrist where the patch was attached.
When I kept being a distracting mess, Yeom Hajae said:
“It's fine. I'll just go to the restroom.”
He headed for the restroom without a single sign of being annoyed. Confirming Yeom Hajae stepped out beyond the door, Jang Yijung asked:
“Is your real name Kim Cheolsu, by any chance?”
“As if.”
On the surface, I had to look like I wanted to hide that I was Yeom Hajae's benefactor.
Far from killing a Hunter, I'd helped him and let him go alive. It'd be a problem if a fellow villain learned that. Unless that fellow happened to be an Association spy, that is.
I smiled cryptically.
“Coincidence, maybe?”
“…”
Then, as if to change the subject, I lifted the thread wound around my finger to show him.
The organization had researched various tools to make use of my ability, and one of them was this.
The metal patch attached to Yeom Hajae had a thread connected to it, fine enough to be hard to see with the naked eye. The thread was made of a special material that conducted current extremely well.
Once a suitable distance opened up, I'd kill the target and then cut the thread. That way I could kill someone without a trace from a bit of a distance.
“More importantly, it's ready. Now…”
As I was about to at least run my mouth to drag out time until the monster appeared, Jang Yijung stopped me.
“No. Hold on.”
“What?”
That's when.
Whoosh….
The sound of wind drew closer. The faint sound of something enormous flying with flapping wings could be heard.
Is it now?
It seemed I wouldn't have to drag it out much longer. Before I'd even brought up an excuse to move locations, Jang Yijung suddenly rose from his seat.
He wordlessly pulled me toward the opposite wall.
?
Like someone who knew the wall was about to collapse.
And at the same moment.
Crash!
One glass wall, curtained off, burst apart all at once.
