Choi Haegang leveled his sword at the throat of Seo Sinwoo, who was crawling toward him. If the man tried anything funny, he'd cut him down on the spot.
“Instead of standing there in a daze, why not lean back against something over there?”
“...”
Even after Seo Sinwoo went to the trouble of offering advice, Choi Haegang didn't budge.
It can't be comfortable, though.
If the man wouldn't move, there was nothing to be done. Seo Sinwoo rubbed his head against Choi Haegang's leg.
“Lift your foot, please.”
Eyeing him with suspicion, Choi Haegang nonetheless raised his foot just as told.
The sole of the black combat boot was caked with mud and unidentifiable clumps, filthy beyond belief.
Looking at it, Seo Sinwoo cursed inwardly.
Ugh, son of a-
A wave of instinctive revulsion rose up. At least the Boss, who never left his room, was clean.
...Think positive. My mouth's already plenty filthy from the murky water of this waterway anyway. If I shut my eyes, get it over with, and this ends it, then I come out ahead.
After hesitating, he brought his tongue to the sole, and Choi Haegang flinched as if caught off guard. Telling himself he must be imagining it, Seo Sinwoo kept going.
“Stop...”
“...”
A small, wet, sloppy sound of saliva echoed through the chilly space.
Suppressing the urge to gag, he pushed in a little deeper, and the sole touched his nose. At the same moment, the faintly trembling sword grazed his throat and drew blood.
“Stop!”
“Gah!”
Choi Haegang shoved Seo Sinwoo's face away with the boot. Bent over as he was, Seo Sinwoo toppled backward.
“What do you think you're doing?”
“Isn't this what you meant?”
Choi Haegang scrunched his brow hard and scraped the sole against the ground. Tongue still out, Seo Sinwoo stared at him for a beat, then smiled like he'd figured it out.
“Or does our dear hunter prefer being the one who gets serviced?”
Choi Haegang cut him off flatly.
“I don't have any filthy tastes like that.”
“Filthy tastes?”
Choi Haegang shot him a glance full of contempt. Blinking as if he hadn't expected to be turned down, Seo Sinwoo broke into a grin again.
“If that's how you feel, then it's a shame.”
A breezy reaction. Bracing his bound arms against the floor, he pushed his upper body up.
He didn't seem the slightest bit fazed even when disgust was thrown openly in his face. Choi Haegang let out a short sigh.
Had licking the boot sole just been another one of his jokes? Come to think of it, an awakened of this man's caliber being captured so easily might have had some other intent behind it from the start.
“?”
Sensing the menacing aura, Seo Sinwoo tilted his head. Even then, the corners of his mouth stayed loosely raised. A smile worn into his very bones.
That seemingly carefree look only heightened the wariness, a fact the man himself failed to register.
Convinced he was being mocked, Choi Haegang changed the subject.
“Is there no other way to prove it?”
“Such as?”
“It's simple. Tell me about your organization, and I'll let you go, Seo Sinwoo.”
A carrot held out to win him over. The promise to release him for information was a lie, but inside a dungeon there was no fear of anyone eavesdropping. Recording devices died in here too.
He himself was no upstanding man like Yeom Hajae. Which was exactly why he knew rehabilitation wasn't easy. Killing a criminal was far simpler than reforming one.
But he'd already gotten tangled up with Seo Sinwoo. There was even a chance Atlas had landed on a villain organization's watch list.
For the safety of his guild members, he needed to dig up at least some small clue about the organization Seo Sinwoo belonged to before killing him.
This wasn't part of the plan, but...
Choi Haegang glanced at the kid slumped in the corner.
If the child's power were abused for crime, it'd be terribly dangerous. The kind of ability a shady organization would burn with desire to get their hands on.
There was no way a lowly grunt would bother concerning himself with recruitment. Between that and the formidable power that surfaced now and then despite his attempts to hide his hand, Seo Sinwoo was clearly a more dangerous figure than he'd assumed.
“I'll guarantee your safety too. Using every means at our disposal.”
Atlas wasn't large in scale. But Choi Haegang's own combat ability had surely been proven.
If things were as Yeom Hajae had claimed, if Seo Sinwoo was a good man bound to a villain organization by some form of coercion-
Then he wouldn't want to let a chance this good slip by.
An ordinary person wanted to live a normal life, unconnected to criminal organizations. That is, if he wasn't sticking with the organization by his own choice.
Choi Haegang watched Seo Sinwoo's reaction closely.
He'd demanded an exposé, but he didn't expect much right away. A yes, or even the faintest nod, would do.
“...”
This was a man who, with his life on the line, licked someone else's shoe for laughs. He kept his expectations low.
Seo Sinwoo laid a hand over his chest. The motion looked unconscious. The standoff dragged on for a while, a tense air hanging in the underground waterway where only the sound of running water echoed.
For the briefest of instants, the trace of a smile vanished from the corner of Seo Sinwoo's mouth.
“Negotiations have broken down.”
A refusal so cold it was unmistakable. In effect, a declaration that he wouldn't betray the organization.
The mood chilled at once.
As I thought, the odds he's with the organization against his will are low.
He'd turned down even an offer of help to get out of the organization.
At the thought that his hunch hadn't been wrong, Choi Haegang's eyes darkened. Meeting that gaze, Seo Sinwoo shrugged.
“I'm hurt. I thought I was giving it my all, and yet here you are, doubting me this much.”
A tone that sounded not the least bit regretful. There was surely some scheme hidden behind that grinning face.
Choi Haegang snapped at him, cold.
“As I thought, you can't be trusted.”
“I'd love it if you would, though.”
When Seo Sinwoo tilted his head slightly, water dripped from his soaked hair.
“If I cooperate to the fullest until we get out of this dungeon, will you trust me a little then?”
This was a man who, right up until moments ago, had done nothing but size up his chances to flee. Granting him freedom under the pretext of cooperation would only repeat a situation like this over and over.
As he mulled it over for a moment.
“Mmgh...”
“Oh dear, you'll wake the kid.”
Seeing the child stir, Choi Haegang withdrew his sword.
“...Cooperate.”
“I'll work hard.”
Seo Sinwoo's voice was already as bright as if he'd gained an ally.
“So that's the end of the discussion, right?”
Seo Sinwoo twisted around and held out his arms, bound behind his back.
“First things first, untie these.”
Choi Haegang didn't answer. When Seo Sinwoo glanced back, puzzled, what met him was a solid scabbard.
Whack!
A dull pain spread from a spot already bruised.
“Ow, ow, ow...”
Knocked onto his side, Seo Sinwoo squirmed. Inwardly he was pouring out curses at Choi Haegang. Conveniently erasing from his memory that he'd tried to sneak off with the kid while the hunter was away.
Choi Haegang grabbed the bound wrists and hauled Seo Sinwoo to his feet by force.
“The restraints stay on.”
“What?”
Seo Sinwoo asked back in an incredulous voice, but Choi Haegang silently walked over to the child.
He'd learned it through this string of events. When it came to dealing with this man, Seo Sinwoo, there was no “going easy.” There was no need to pull his punches the way he would with ordinary people.
“Mmm... what's going on?”
Choi Haegang took the half-asleep kid's hand and helped him up. It was time to move again.
The kid studied the man in front of him. His wrists were bound behind his back. The skin had been scraped raw, painful just to look at.
...Not that it's any of my business whether it hurts or not.
The kid turned his eyes away with a huff and pressed closer to the hunter at his side.
“What happened?”
“...”
“Why's he tied up? That bastard did something, didn't he?”
No matter how much he asked, Choi Haegang gave no answer. Just then, Seo Sinwoo, walking ahead, whipped his head around. Feeling caught talking behind his back, the kid clammed up out of guilt.
Instead of scolding him, Seo Sinwoo grinned with a face bruised blue across the cheekbone.
“We were just having a grown-up conversation.”
“...What's that supposed to mean.”
“Nothing for you to worry about, Cap.”
“I told you not to call me by that weird nickname...!”
“Then tell me your name.”
“...”
“Suit yourself, then.”
He was clearly doing it on purpose to get a rise out of him. There was no way the kid would fall for that man's tricks.
Deciding not to engage, the child sorted through his thoughts.
After they'd settled on taking a break, he'd fallen asleep with strange ease. He'd slept so deeply he hadn't even dreamed. But when he woke, Seo Sinwoo was in a sorry state.
Seo Sinwoo said they'd talked, but... did the two of them fight?
Choi Haegang's mood had turned awfully sharp. Being beside him felt like treading on thin ice.
Above all, the most serious thing was Seo Sinwoo's condition. Not only had new wounds appeared, but the old ones seemed to have reopened too, blood seeping out from the bandages.
He'd better not die like that.
The thought crossed his mind unbidden, and he shook his head. This was a man who'd taken part in murder.
Drop dead! Just die already.
...But still.
No, he couldn't die. He'd promised to take him to the man who'd killed his dad once they were out.
Dad.
Out of habit, he raised his hand. He went to clutch his necklace, but for some reason his throat felt bare.
Right, I'm sure it was in my pocket...?
“...”
“?”
The kid, who'd been rummaging through his pocket, stopped dead. Choi Haegang and Seo Sinwoo halted along with him.
“What's wrong?”
“...It's gone.”
“What?”
“My necklace... it's gone.”
A silver cross necklace. Currently the only trace of family he had left. The moment he realized he'd lost it, the color drained from the kid's face.
Meanwhile, not a flicker of expression crossed Seo Sinwoo's face as he thought.
Oh. That thing.
