CRT Ch 53

💎

Seok Ryu was sitting on the sofa in the CEO’s office, alone with Secretary Yang. Secretary Yang, who had gone to the emergency room following Jo Namheon, had rushed to the company as soon as he heard the news about Lee Sak and was now watching over Seok Ryu under Cha Yilhyun’s orders. He was shaking his massive legs, intermittently checking internet articles related to Lee Sak.

Jo Namheon’s face was damaged beyond recognition, and his life as an actor would also be over. The article about Jo Namheon’s injury, which had been briefly hot, was buried without a trace due to Yejun’s exclusive story.

After witnessing the shocking scene on the day Sanho died, and with the continuous company bullying incidents that followed, the thought of deleting the apartment CCTV footage never even crossed his mind. Who would have thought that single scene would be used to frame Yejun as Yoon Inoh’s murderer?

Public opinion, which had rapidly shifted from Yejun’s CCTV exclusive to Lee Sak’s poisoning incident, was in a state of chaos. The directors were in an emergency meeting in the conference room on the same floor as the CEO’s office. Seeing that the legal team and the response team had also rushed over, it seemed the situation was unfolding urgently.

It was said that the villa manager discovered Lee Sak after he collapsed in the morning. Lee Sak was immediately rushed to the emergency room, but it was reported that he was unconscious and in critical condition. Fans all over the world were engulfed in shock. Rumors, distorted and exaggerated, blazed fiercely, and Cha Yilhyun had become a demon of the world who preyed on a simple writer.

His blood ran dry from two thoughts: how to help Cha Yilhyun, and what Lee Sak’s condition was, rather than thinking about his master who must be terrified from being framed as a murderer.

Secretary Yang, who was looking at internet articles, protested with a face full of indignation.

“The President also put in so much effort for so long to acquire the rights, so to say he took them by force is absurd! Of course, Park Yejun played a decisive role……”

It was not entirely wrong, since Seok Ryu had doped Lee Sak to snatch the rights that had almost gone to Winple. Seok Ryu turned his stiff eyes toward Secretary Yang.

“Even though the rights have been transferred to Songhyul, can Kim Myungjoon take them back?”

As Lee Sak’s life hung in the balance, Kim Myungjoon, who he had expected to be dead, appeared. He declared that he would reveal the contract with Winple that Lee Sak had previously only signed but not handed over, and Lee Sak’s suicide note, at a press conference tomorrow. Once the documents were revealed, the content of the suicide note stating that Songhyul had forcibly taken the rights would gain even more traction.

Secretary Yang’s shoulders slumped, and he wore a woeful expression.

“I do not know the details either……. For now, just the fact that the writer pointed a finger at the President in his suicide note has an enormous impact. Mob justice is scarier than the law. We will have to first determine the truth of whether the rights were forcibly taken, so the President will also be called here and there and have to be investigated……. If it is determined to be coercion, a legal battle with Winple will be unavoidable. The President is not someone who would meekly hand over the rights just because people are making a fuss, right? They say the drama production could fall through if we just drag our feet like that.”

The future Secretary Yang laid out for Cha Yilhyun was utterly bleak. Seok Ryu clenched his trembling hands. The staff for the Lake of the Gods drama had also all declared a strike, paralyzing the filming. The Lake of the Gods Research Association, as well as novelists, copyright… every association there was rose up and issued statements that they would boycott Songhyul.

The statement that Lee Sak had ingested poison out of guilt towards Kim Myungjoon bothered him for some reason. When he first met Lee Sak, he was crushed under the pressure of having to write a new work and the fear that the Lake of the Gods drama might fail. The reason he had collected sleeping pills was also due to his fear of failure.

Unless he was mistaken, when Seok Ryu ordered him to hand over the rights to Songhyul, Lee Sak had seemed relieved on one hand. It was because Seok Ryu had cut away with a single stroke the promise with his friend that Lee Sak could not bring himself to let go of.

He had a feeling that Yejun was involved in this incident. Lee Sak, attempting suicide out of guilt for betraying a friend. It was a cause that anyone would find pitiful and worthy of public outrage. Lee Sak had been preparing to die for a long time. But the fact that he took herbicide instead of the sleeping pills he had so carefully collected over a long period meant it was a situation where he had to choose death urgently. The only people who knew Lee Sak was hiding in the villa were Seok Ryu, the villa manager, and Yejun.

Seok Ryu clutched his phone and stared at Yejun’s number in his contact list.

💎

Cha Yilhyun opened a slit in the blinds and looked down at the tiny, ant-like scenery of the street. Reporters who had camped out in front of the Songhyul headquarters and security guards were in the middle of a physical scuffle.

He took an old jewelry box out of his pants pocket and opened it. On the corners of the case, small grains were gathered closely together. It was the most valuable keepsake left by the sculptor. He had stomped on the stone slate engraved with Kim Ilwoo’s writing with his shoe and left it behind in the hut.

The dark red precious stone, seen in a bright place, was as Shinbi-esque and beautiful as Seok Ryu’s eyes. He picked up one grain with his finger and placed it on his tongue, and it had a salty taste. The salinity was similar to Seok Ryu’s tear he had tasted in the car earlier. Seok Ryu had confessed a few secrets of the guardian stone, but he had a feeling that he had not even told half of it yet.

Cha Yilhyun put the jewelry box back in his pants pocket and turned around. The executives, who had been summoned to the conference room at dawn, were sitting at a U-shaped table. With Jo Namheon’s facial injury, Yoon Inoh’s disappearance and Park Yejun being named a suspect, and writer Lee Sak’s poisoning incident breaking out one after another, the directors looked as if they had been hit by a bomb.

Director Gwak, along with all the other directors, had long since become Yoon Yubin’s slaves. They knew well that Songhyul was the only place that could transform the unimpressive Yoon Yubin into a luxury item, and that Songhyul without Cha Yilhyun was just a shell, so they would not be able to do anything rash. Now that he knew the Seok Ryu replica named Noeul could not dope him, there was no reason to avoid him anymore.

He had Seok Ryu wait in the CEO’s office. There was no need to have Seok Ryu sit among Yoon Yubin’s slaves, and he had no intention of watching Seok Ryu worry about the writer throughout the meeting. If Seok Ryu wore a face drenched in sorrow, like when he heard the tragic news from Director Gwak, his stomach would turn over and he would not be able to get the meeting or anything else into his head.

Cha Yilhyun placed both hands on the table and looked around at the directors.

“As the CEO, I feel proud to see you all united in the face of the greatest crisis since our founding.”

The appearance of the directors, sitting blankly with pouting lips, resembled seahorses. Cha Yilhyun let out a puff of air and said.

“I heard Kim Myungjoon is going to release the full text of the writer’s suicide note at a press conference tomorrow morning. He will come out as provocatively as possible since he needs to have public opinion on his side to even have a chance against Songhyul. The prosecution will summon me to investigate whether there was coercion, and Songhyul will be thoroughly털ed over as well. We are now fucked.”

“So do you have a solution in mind?”

Director Gwak asked with a complicated expression.

“I do not, which is why I jumped into the enemy camp all by myself.”

Who could have predicted that writer Lee Sak would write a backstabbing suicide note and attempt to kill himself? However, the worst thing was an ending where he could not have Seok Ryu. Even if he regained the rights and completed an unprecedented masterpiece of the century, the light of victory would be tarnished if Seok Ryu was not there.

In the somber atmosphere, it was Director Gwak who spoke first.

“The final candidates for Biryu have all withdrawn. Director Choi is also out of contact, so it seems best to postpone the Biryu audition scheduled for the day after tomorrow. And Lee Taeon says he will step down from the role of Munyul. Jo Namheon is unable to appear due to his facial injury, and Kim Gyubin and the main and supporting actors are announcing their intentions to drop out one after another. We are blocking it from becoming news, but there is a limit.”

Pausing for a moment, Director Gwak looked at Cha Yilhyun.

“Lee Taeon will change his mind if Director Choi persuades him, so it would be better to meet him in person and discuss it. Since you returned from Venice with Director Choi, you must know his whereabouts well.”

“To fatten whose belly would I throw Director Choi into the tiger’s den?”

When Cha Yilhyun sneered, Director Gwak’s facial muscles tightened slightly. What Seok Ryu said about them using something called doping to make the audition participants give up was true. Lee Taeon stepping down from the role of Munyul was likely also a preliminary step to drag Director Choi back to the surface.

As for Director Choi who was hiding at the set, his plan was to retrieve him along with Seok Ryu once the urgent fire was put out. Since Seok Ryu said he had to go himself, there was no other option. It seemed he would not be able to look at Director Choi, who would likely be dazed while making eye contact with Seok Ryu, as kindly as before.

“We will cancel the audition for the day after tomorrow and decide the role of Biryu by a private vote. I will be the one to nominate the candidates.”

If all the final candidates had withdrawn, the only ones left were Park Yejun and Yoon Yubin. Whichever one it was, it was the worst development. An actor to his satisfaction would never appear anyway.

The directors, who had been blindsided, were clearly flustered. As always, Director Gwak stepped forward first.

“A vote runs the risk of firepower being concentrated on a specific actor, which goes against fairness. As it is, the fate of the rights is up in the air, and if the audition also becomes a source of controversy, the fans of ‘Lake of the Gods’ will not stand for it.”

“It is the fans who have to cater to my whims. Because if I get upset, I will not make it into a drama.”

At Cha Yilhyun’s answer, Director Gwak let out a laugh as if he was dumbfounded. The other directors also looked speechless.

“But if by any chance the writer were to pass away……”

“Then I will dig up his grave to get the rights back.”

Cha Yilhyun bit his molars so hard his jawline stood out. He would grant Songhyul the legitimacy to take the rights, even if it meant digging into the writer, his family, friends, and private life. He had no intention of giving up either Seok Ryu or Lake of the Gods.

The moment Seok Ryu confessed, his whole body trembling, all his doubts and confusion were cleared away. Whether Seok Ryu’s identity was a human-shaped guardian stone or a humanoid, how he had served his masters in the past, or how dangerous the cabin was. The only one who could hold him back was Seok Ryu.

Just then, a call came from Reporter Hwang. When Cha Yilhyun answered the phone, Reporter Hwang laughed slyly.

—Oh my~ You must be busy, right? You have to give D-Day the exclusive for your heartfelt confession interview, right?

The directors glanced at Cha Yilhyun with suspicious eyes. Cha Yilhyun strolled around the directors sitting in their chairs and continued the call nonchalantly.

“If I am going to do it, I should do it with a big publication, why would I do it with a fringe magazine company?”

—Your words are too harsh.

Reporter Hwang’s grumbling voice sounded pleased. It was because the Park Yejun exclusive had created a huge stir, firmly imprinting the name D-Day on the public.

—Oh, by the way, a tip just came in from a resident of the neighborhood where Park Yejun used to live. They say Park Yejun has fled back to his family home now. He went inside and there have not been any other signs yet.

No matter where he ran, it was within the palm of Cha Yilhyun’s hand. He would make him get branded as a murderer, struggle under a mountain of debt, and then give up on life himself. Reporter Hwang, who had been hesitating for a moment, brought up some unexpected news.

—There was something I missed and did not mention earlier, but the day before yesterday, Park Yejun rented a car and went out of the city. I was tailing him well, but I lost him at the tollgate. Thinking about it, that day was the day right before writer Lee Sak drank the herbicide. This smells fishy, does not it?

A spark of life entered Cha Yilhyun’s voice.

“Secure the tollgate CCTV.”

—My goodness, I am busy to death with this exclusive…….

“I guess you do not want to get an interview of my heartfelt confession.”

At Cha Yilhyun’s words, Reporter Hwang burst out laughing so raucously it was deafening.

💎

Cha Yilhyun’s strategy meeting with the directors continued late into the night. As the meeting dragged on, Secretary Yang was fast asleep, lying on the CEO office sofa. Seok Ryu sat opposite him, searching for articles and frequently checking the atmosphere.

People in the same industry who had been living with bated breath under Songhyul’s tyranny raised their voices together. A massive boycott targeting products and content related to Songhyul began. It was noisy with news that a large number of people who had left the Songhyul platform had flocked to Winple.

Media outlets that usually could not even touch Songhyul took this opportunity to try and tame Songhyul. Various media outlets put Songhyul’s top three actors on the chopping block one by one. Lee Taeon’s character issues and frequent assault cases, Yoon Inoh’s alleged affair with a certain politician, Jo Namheon and Kim Gyubin’s drug and sex scandal, and so on……. As if they held a grudge against Songhyul, they poured out articles that were close to curses.

Lee Sak, lying in the intensive care unit, was said to be still unconscious. If Lee Sak had attempted suicide under Yejun’s orders, there was a high possibility that Yejun had also dictated the contents of the suicide note.

It seemed he chose the relatively safe Kim Myungjoon, as handing over the rights to ‘Lake of the Gods’ to Yejun could raise suspicion. Yejun’s goal was likely to throw a wrench in the works when everything was almost done.

Seok Ryu picked up his phone. He placed his finger over Yejun’s name in the call log. At that moment, Yejun’s name popped up on the screen. It seemed Yejun was thinking something similar to him. That the time had come for the two of them to face each other.

When the ringtone sounded, Secretary Yang stirred in his sleep. As soon as Seok Ryu hurriedly answered the phone, a panting, agitated breath came through first.

—Come to my family home right now.

Even at his master’s voice, which was suppressing hatred, Seok Ryu’s heart felt strangely calm for some reason.

“I will just say goodbye to the President and go.”

A moment later, a voice that was gritting its teeth and trying to hold back a sob was heard.

—You people do not even deserve to say goodbye. If you do not want your core stone shattered, do not say anything to the President and come alone. I will wait for exactly one hour. If you are even one second late, I will kill you and the President both.

Doot doot…… His ears went deaf at the unilaterally disconnected signal. Within an hour, even if he left now, time would be tight. Since the master holding his leash was calling, he had no choice but to run. Whether he used his followers or punished him directly, Yejun was cornered on a cliff, enough to even harm Cha Yilhyun.

Perhaps it was better to leave quietly like this. If he met Cha Yilhyun under the pretense of saying goodbye, he felt he would never want to part with him. Also, Cha Yilhyun was not the type of person to let Seok Ryu go meekly. The thought of just dragging his feet and turning into dust before his eyes was horrifying just to imagine.

He had not told Cha Yilhyun the fact that a guardian stone’s life was directly connected to its core stone. He did not want him to get any more deeply involved. He would rather die than see a shining person like Cha Yilhyun have his life held hostage by the likes of the Hyun brothers.

He had to get up and go to Yejun, but his feet would not move. Seok Ryu gripped the sofa he was sitting on to stop his whole body from trembling.

Yejun had already killed Seok Ryu once by abandoning him on the island. If Cha Yilhyun had not appeared that day, Seok Ryu would have been shattered just like that. If Shinbi had also had someone to save her, perhaps her heart, which had been buried in the master who abandoned her, would not have been broken. Therefore, Seok Ryu’s life was no longer Seok Ryu’s, nor was it Yejun’s.

From the moment he thought Yejun’s actions were unjust, Seok Ryu had already lost his qualification as a guardian stone. Then what was he now? He was living in human form, feeling sad and happy like a human, so why did they say he was not human? Was it right to endure harsh abuse just because he was not human? He felt that if he faced Yejun, he would understand the reality of this dog leash.

Seok Ryu detached his hand that was stuck to the sofa and forced himself to get up from his seat. The glass cabinet where the plastic models were displayed, the wide desk where the sun would rest when day came, the chair he must have sat in countless times……. He engraved Cha Yilhyun’s traces, which were soaked into every corner, into his eyes until the very last moment he closed the door.

There was a place to stop by briefly before going to Yejun’s family home. It was the last repayment Seok Ryu could make to Cha Yilhyun, who had taught him love before hatred.

💎

In the hospital courtyard, fans holding placards were praying for Lee Sak’s safety. Upon entering the hospital lobby, this time it was reporters occupying the waiting chairs. While people criticized Songhyul for its tyranny against Lee Sak, they seemed to be hoping for a tragic ending rather than a happy one where Lee Sak would miraculously survive. That way, the justification for burning the giant dinosaur that had destroyed the ecosystem with the torch of justice they had raised would be more solid.

He got off the elevator and entered the long corridor that stretched out on both sides. A man’s sobbing voice could be heard from somewhere. In front of the intensive care unit door at the end of the corridor, Kim Myungjoon was wailing in the arms of a gray-haired old woman.

Kim Myungjoon was wearing the same clothes he had seen at the yacht party. His face, with its dark stubble, was rough and pale.

“Mother, it is all my fault. I should have contacted him sooner instead of being so petty……. I swear on my daughter’s name, I will not touch a single thing of Lee Sak’s rights! How can I take the price of my friend’s life? But I want to clear up the injustice he suffered at the hands of that bastard with my own hands. I will risk my life to make the ‘Lake of the Gods’ drama a success so that I do not tarnish Lee Sak’s name……”

Kim Myungjoon’s shoulders shook as tears streamed down his face. The old woman, who had a gentle impression, patted Kim Myungjoon’s back with her wrinkled hand. It seemed she was likely Lee Sak’s mother.

He had a feeling that Kim Myungjoon was not the type of person to covet his friend’s wealth. If he were, Lee Sak would not have felt so much guilt.

Just then, the glass door of the intensive care unit opened, and a nurse urgently called for Lee Sak’s mother. The mother’s face turned ashen as she followed the nurse inside. Kim Myungjoon, left alone, clung to the closed door and wailed loudly.

As Seok Ryu approached, Kim Myungjoon looked at him with tears welling in his eyes. Soon, his eyes, recognizing Seok Ryu, blazed with hostility.

“What are you doing here!? The CEO should have come himself, not send an employee like you!”

Seok Ryu grabbed the shoulders of the fiercely agitated Kim Myungjoon and made eye contact. At that moment, a shock as if his heart had been struck by a sledgehammer made his breath catch. Ever since he used his power on Director Choi, his heart seemed to be barely maintaining its form. Seok Ryu staggered and then found his footing. Cold sweat poured down like rain. Kim Myungjoon, seeing Seok Ryu’s complexion, stuttered with a flustered face.

“A, are you alright? You look very pale…… should I call a nurse?”

Just like Lee Sak’s friend, Kim Myungjoon was also in deep trouble himself, yet he was being unnecessarily meddlesome. Where did that warmth come from? Were they born with a gene that resonated sensitively with the pain of others? What truly made Seok Ryu ashamed was not Yejun’s insults or Jinguk’s violence.

Seok Ryu clutched Kim Myungjoon’s collar as if clinging to him and stared into his eyes. He cast a curse on the clear pupils that resembled Lee Sak’s and attempted to dope him. It was a moment of complete concentration. Crack—! He clearly heard the sound of his heart splitting in half. Suddenly, his vision went white.

When he barely regained his senses, his own fingers gripping Kim Myungjoon’s collar began to crack. Inside his shoe, a toe shattered. Starting from there, the cracks spread terrifyingly upwards. Seok Ryu’s arms and neck were covered with a mesh of fine lines, as if he would crumble with just a gust of wind. Kim Myungjoon, who witnessed the scene right before his eyes, was deathly pale.

Since being restored, he had never loved anyone other than his master, nor had he ever had to use his power for someone else. The side effects, which he had only heard about, were far more ruthless than he had imagined. Seok Ryu bit his molars to shake off his fear. With that clenching force, several of his teeth crumbled away futilely.

With his last remaining strength, he looked into Kim Myungjoon’s eyes. A moment later, Kim Myungjoon blinked with a dazed face, showing signs of a successful doping. Seok Ryu gasped for breath and said.

“Will you give me the suicide note and the contract?”

When Seok Ryu urged him, Kim Myungjoon fumbled and took out two envelopes from his suit’s inner pocket. The white envelope had the honest words ‘Suicide Note’ written on it.

“If there are copies, please erase them all.”

Kim Myungjoon made a pained expression before deleting all the backup copies of the suicide note and contract in front of Seok Ryu. He folded the suicide note and contract in half and put them in his pants pocket. His fingers were barely attached, so he did not have the strength to tear them, nor did he want to.

“In an hour…… no, in thirty minutes, hold a press conference. Announce that the suicide note and contract never existed in the first place, and that you are retracting every word you have said until now.”

It was getting harder and harder to breathe. He looked up at Kim Myungjoon.

“And that the rights to Lake of the Gods belong to Songhyul forever……”

The doping would wear off after a while anyway. If Kim Myungjoon just announced what Seok Ryu had instructed at the press conference, it would be a half-success. Even if the doping wore off, the memory would remain, so Kim Myungjoon would not be able to easily retract the words he had spoken. If he did retract them, all his future statements would lose credibility, and there was a risk that the public, which was giving them the power to stand against Songhyul, would also turn their backs.

Kim Myungjoon’s lips trembled, and then he nodded his head as if in resignation. Seok Ryu suddenly opened his mouth.

“Did you know that writer Lee Sak had collected a bottle full of sleeping pills?”

As if it were the first he had heard of it, Kim Myungjoon’s eyes widened.

“If Winple had made ‘Lake of the Gods’ into a drama, Lee Sak might have taken those pills much earlier. Because if he died, it would become a huge topic. Do you think your sense of betrayal and the fear Lee Sak carried his whole life have the same weight? Are you confident you can make ‘Lake of the Gods’ as successful as Songhyul?”

Kim Myungjoon just rolled his bloodshot eyes and could not give any answer. He did not know what weight the betrayal his friend felt and Lee Sak’s fear each held. But he knew clearly that the person who could prevent the fear of failure that Lee Sak feared most was Cha Yilhyun.

Even at this moment when Lee Sak was fighting for his life, Seok Ryu put Cha Yilhyun’s dream first. Cha Yilhyun had called Seok Ryu more human than anyone, yet Seok Ryu himself was repaying him with a deed that was less than human. It seemed he was a lost cause when it came to becoming human.

“If……”

Seok Ryu looked down at his cracked palm and then clenched the mark of his sin. His skin felt dry, as if it belonged to someone else.

“If the writer survives…… please tell him I was sorry that day.”

Perhaps those were words that could never be delivered. Tears flowed down Seok Ryu’s cheeks. The transparent drops barely clung to the tip of his chin before falling after a short while. The grain, which had by now turned into a dark red crystal, rolled on the floor with a faint sound. Seeing that, Kim Myungjoon stood with his mouth open, looking dazed.

Seok Ryu limped and walked to the end of the corridor. Yejun was waiting. There was really not much time left now.

💎

After losing Seok Ryu and Director Choi, Noeul and Yubin were heading to a hotel in Lee Taeon’s sedan. The security guards had searched the entire area around the officetel for hours, but Seok Ryu had vanished without a trace.

Even though it was late at night, it was a busy street, so the car could not pick up speed. Noeul chewed his parched lips and fiddled with his velvet choker. Noeul’s core stone had shrunk in size, like a piece of candy that had been licked away bit by bit.

Yubin, who was looking at his phone in the back seat of the car, fell into a panic as articles searching for Yoon Inoh’s whereabouts continued to appear. If even the police got involved in finding the missing Yoon Inoh, there was a risk that Yubin’s true identity would be exposed.

Yubin had disappeared without a word even to his grandfather to prevent the role of Biryu from going to Yejun, and that had snowballed and come back to him.

Lee Taeon was holding the steering wheel with one hand and calling Director Choi with the other. He clicked his tongue and threw his phone onto the dashboard.

“I guess he is ignoring all my texts and has even blocked my number?”

Even though Lee Taeon had gone so far as to declare he would step down, Director Choi was holed up somewhere, unmoving. It was certain that Seok Ryu was controlling Director Choi by doping him.

Just then, a message arrived on Yubin’s phone. After checking the message, Yubin ground his teeth and hit the shoulder of Lee Taeon, who was driving.

“That psycho decided to pick the role of Biryu by a vote. We’ll deal with Director Choi later, for now, go to the company. That psycho is in a meeting right now, so if we hurry, we can meet him.”

As soon as Yubin’s words fell, Lee Taeon made a U-turn toward the Songhyul headquarters. Yubin turned his gaze and gently stroked the core stone attached to Noeul’s velvet choker.

“That Seok Ryu or whatever was spouting nonsense earlier, right? There is no way a perfect kid like you would fail twice.”

Noeul met Yubin’s gaze with a venomous look. Only ragged breaths flowed from his trembling red lips. The only way to not get caught for failing to dope Cha Yilhyun was to kill Cha Yilhyun before getting caught. The desire to get rid of him, even if it meant creating a personal slave just for Noeul, was desperate. But after Seok Ryu ran away, Yubin had confiscated Noeul’s phone and had not taken his eyes off him for a second, so there was no opportunity at all to do anything else.

Noeul put his hand in his pants pocket and gripped the T-shaped wine opener. He had secretly hidden it from the hotel suite where it was placed for decoration.

Yubin gave Noeul, who was stiff, a sweetly melting smile.

“This time, you have to dope Cha Yilhyun right in front of me. You know what will happen if you go easy on him or mess around again, right?”

Noeul, like a cornered rat, rolled his bloodshot eyes and then gave a seductive eye-smile.

“Alright, I will prove it. I have something to confirm, too.”

Whether the reason for his consecutive failures was a side effect of being restored too quickly, or if Cha Yilhyun was truly Seok Ryu’s fated master.