DB Vol 3 Part 12

“It’s going to take a while.”

The aunt casually announced as she left for work. Won-woo, who had come outside to see her off, frowned at those words.

“Haven’t you found everyone you were looking for?”

If it was just for work, it shouldn’t take long. For her to say those words meant that she had private business in addition to work. And she had already brought him back injured, so he thought that the business that would take a long time was over.

“There are many people to find.”

“Who?”

Won-woo followed Aunt and nagged.

“Don’t tell me the government asked you to find out about the whereabouts of the missing Purifier family again? They keep shamelessly using you and ordering you around because you’ve helped them a few times. Don’t do it. Your work is already hard enough.”

Though he spoke with irritation, Won-woo’s eyes were full of worry. It seemed the government kept assigning dangerous tasks to the aunt who could drive a truck in and out of Esper territories. And the aunt would have accepted this time too, as if it were nothing.

But in some places, they were already in the midst of war. If she was caught working for the Free Government in the territory of Espers, who were no different from enemies, she would surely be shot on the spot.

“Of course work is hard since I’m getting paid, and I’m just looking for the people the government wants me to find because I know them and I’m interested. Whether others use me or not, I’m doing it simply because I want to, so what does it matter?”

‘Simply’. The aunt spoke as if everything was easy, using this reason. Driving a large truck for a living, watching Ji Geun-oh and taking in his runaway son, searching for a boy she once considered a son for a long time, even looking into the whereabouts of the missing Purifier family in Esper territory.

She never hesitated to decide on something difficult, saying, “Why not?” and then took full responsibility for it. But people just saw her as an ordinary person with a scar on her face who drove a truck. Even though she was a Guide, she was only C-rank and didn’t have any special talents. She never tried to get credit for her work or make her name known.

“Why do you try so hard to help others?”

When Won-woo asked, still not accepting her answer, the aunt turned back as she was about to open the truck door.

“Why? Because I can do it, so I do.”

“But it’s hard.”

“You seem to misunderstand something about me. I’m not a saint. I don’t sacrifice myself to help others, and I have no intention to. I just do what I can within my limits. That’s why raising you wasn’t hard at all.”

Her answer came out as if it were bothersome, but it carried a different weight for Won-woo. A lump rose in his throat, and it hurt as he tried to swallow it down forcibly. She didn’t know. How relieved he was by those words she tossed out so casually, that taking him in hadn’t been hard.

In Won-woo’s heart, who hadn’t been loved as a child, there was an empty, unfilled hole. It was a bottomless pit with no visible end. Even Won-woo himself pretended not to know, but that hole would suddenly appear like a trap and drag him into darkness.

But the aunt’s existence, her words, covered that hole. So that he could move forward without falling into the pit even when she wasn’t around. She said she was just an ordinary, nameless person, but to Won-woo, she was the greatest and wisest person in the world.

“I’ll drive the truck next year. The Free Government is lowering the age for getting a license. I can drive next year too. It’s dangerous to go alone.”

“Just do your job well.”

“I’m going to take over your work.”

In fact, the government wanted to recruit Won-woo because of his abilities. For now, he was only helping with monster extermination, but they subtly hoped he would step up to fight against Espers. No, they even demanded it outright. Knowing this, the aunt stared blankly at Won-woo’s sudden career aspiration. Won-woo added, pretending not to notice her gaze,

“I only drive trucks in games too.”

“Try playing a housekeeping game.”

The aunt left after nagging. Won-woo watched until her truck disappeared, then headed home. As soon as he entered the house, he saw unfolded laundry. Why did laundry always have to be folded? Won-woo ignored the laundry, feeling lazy, and habitually entered the room where that guy was.

For the first few months, he had glared coldly at Won-woo as if he wanted to kill him every time he saw him, but now he didn’t even show emotion, perhaps exhausted by Won-woo’s persistent visits.

At first, Won-woo even suspected that he knew his identity because he glared with such intense emotion. But that couldn’t be possible. Who would remember Ji Geun-oh’s missing youngest son? Fortunately or unfortunately, he was staring into space with empty eyes.

“The aunt left for work. She said it would take a while this time. Damn it, I guess the cursed government asked her to find someone again.”

Won-woo chattered, grumbling to him who couldn’t hear. At first, he deliberately spoke more to respond to his inexplicable hostility, but now it had become a habit. Even though it was a one-sided conversation since the other person couldn’t respond to his words, at some point, this chatter alone alleviated his loneliness.

“The aunt says she’s just doing what she can within her limits, but there are many people who don’t even do that much, right? There are even people who don’t give affection to their children, even though they’re family.”

Won-woo plopped down under his bed where he always sat and sank into the past.

“My family was like that. I didn’t have a mother, just a father and older brothers and a sister… but I wasn’t family. I was just a target for venting anger, always getting beaten… Our house was really big, you know? So there were many people working there, but among all those people, not a single one would even make eye contact with me.”

Won-woo let a bitter smile slip onto his lips as something came to mind.

“I was saved by aunt, and I’m always so afraid that salvation will disappear. Everyone says I’m strong, but… no, I’m too weak. So pathetically weak…”

Won-woo inadvertently looked up and met his gaze staring at him. For a moment, he was overwhelmed by an inexplicable anxiety that he might have understood everything he said, and he jumped up from his seat. He left the place in confusion, but for several days, he couldn’t look him directly in the eye.

It was clear that he couldn’t hear, but it felt unsettling. He couldn’t shake off the suspicion that he might have understood what he said, because after that, the hostility towards him completely disappeared.

But that made him more uncomfortable. If he had shown hostility, Won-woo could have brazenly used him, but it was difficult to put on a facade in front of those indifferent eyes staring straight at him.

To Won-woo, he was just a tool to look good to the aunt. So he never imagined it. That he, who silently listened to everything like a doll, would eventually fill the aunt’s empty place.

One day when the aunt entered Esper territory again to look for someone, she finally didn’t return. The government said it was fortunate that they could at least find her body, but how ridiculous that was.

But he couldn’t even get angry at them. He couldn’t remember how he got home. He didn’t know how the days passed.

What lifted Won-woo up when he was devastated because of the aunt  was a dry hand. The guy put his hand on Won-woo’s head and stroked it. With just that one gesture, Won-woo’s dam broke. The solid sadness that had imprisoned Won-woo crumbled at that small kindness and flowed out like a river. Only then could Won-woo cry out loud for the aunt’s death.

As the results Won-woo searched for appeared on the screen, a “wee-ing” sound rang out. It seemed an alarm had been triggered inside, noticing the intruder. The archives room had double doors, and Won-woo had already securely locked the outer door. But they would have keys, so they’d be coming in soon.

Ignoring the loud alarm, Won-woo quickly checked the photos that appeared on the screen. He stopped the mouse wheel on the second to last photo. Won-woo had sometimes been curious about the aunt’s original appearance and asked her if she had any old photos. Of course, she didn’t dwell on the past, so naturally, she had no photos.

‘I was ordinary.’

The middle-aged woman in the photo now was also ordinary. But Won-woo could confidently say that this unfamiliar face would stand out the most even if mixed among millions of people. He just knew. It was the aunt. Outside the locked door, footsteps were heard along with banging sounds of someone trying to open the door.

Won-woo, holding his breath, just looked at the photo on the monitor and then slowly checked the text beside it. As expected, an unfamiliar name and information caught his eye. But Won-woo’s gaze fell only on the last line.

‘Died in the Gye Family Head’s rampage disaster on xx/xx/xxxx.’

***

“Ah, Chief Jung. Good to see you.”

Chief Jung was about to leave the Gye family’s main house to sleep at home for once when he encountered an Esper on the first floor.

The Gye family, ruling the North, owned numerous monster farms and naturally had many management personnel. Part of the management team was stationed at the Gye family’s main house, and the one who called out to Chief Jung was one of the team leaders.

“I heard something strange, could you confirm it for me?”

“What did you hear?”

“I heard that the new Guide for Miss Hwan almost died? Is that true?”

Chief Jung frowned as if it was nonsense. He was well-versed in lying, so this level of acting was as easy as breathing. But the irritation in his voice as he asked back was real.

“Are strange rumors going around again?”

“If it’s not a rumor but truth, it’s a problem, right? We barely got that Guide with an Alpha seed. Apart from the Gye family making a fuss, if it gets out to the world that another Guide was hurt…”

The Esper shook his head with a sigh.

“Many Guides died when caught up in the previous Family Head’s rampage state, right? Even after all this time, the world still says the Gye family is cursed, calling them Guide killers…”

“Watch your words.”

When Chief Jung spoke sternly, the Esper’s eyes turned cold for a moment. But he responded with a twisted smile.

“Shouldn’t you tell the whole world to watch their words? It’s not just me saying this. It seems you find me easy to push around, Chief Jung.”

He smiled, patted Chief Jung’s shoulder once, and turned away. But with that one gesture, Chief Jung almost collapsed, his knees buckling.

Although he knew the other had used Esper power, all Chief Jung could do was clench his teeth and swallow his anger with an expressionless face. Even though Gye Yoon had supposedly cleaned out the internal spies, trust in the Gye family still wasn’t as firm as before.

Especially among the younger generation, many were dissatisfied that the North couldn’t develop due to pressure from the East and West, and that Guides were restricted in the North because of the Gye family’s interference.

In this unfavorable situation, Chief Jung felt frustrated that he couldn’t just tell people to blindly trust and follow the Gye family. Even though the Gye family had Gye Yoon, the best Esper, without a Guide, he couldn’t become a central figure to attract everyone.

But even so, how could they outright call the Gye family Guide killers? Anyone who knew the previous Gye Family Head would never say such a thing. Chief Jung gave up on going home and headed back to the office. Forget home, he’d sleep in the night duty room.

Bang! Bang!

Click, click.

Along with the sound of banging on the iron door, there was the sound of the handle turning as if trying to unlock it. The locking mechanism that Won-woo had damaged in advance seemed difficult to open from the outside.

But it was only a matter of time before the guards burst in and caught Won-woo. Nevertheless, Won-woo couldn’t move easily. He kept staring at the monitor as if he were in another world. What made him move was an unexpected vibration.

Boom!!

With a loud noise, the entire building began to shake. Not only the chair Won-woo was sitting on, but even the desk shook, and the monitor on top of it fell over. Thanks to this, Won-woo was finally able to break away from the screen. The powerful vibration shaking the ground was like an earthquake. Like the one Gye Yoon had created before.

The vibration triggered an even louder alarm inside. Only then did Won-woo check the time, tilting his head to the side in confusion. There were still 4 minutes left. But Gye Yoon, waiting outside, had already used his power.

Was he urging him to finish quickly? But Won-woo had no intention of leaving right away. After quickly surveying the interior that had turned into a mess in an instant, he opened the door to the inner server room. The numerous servers humming away were doing their job unfazed by the earthquake-like vibrations.

Won-woo took out a few seeds from his pocket, wrapped them in paper, and rolled the end of the paper to make a wick. With familiar movements, he quickly made a few simple bombs, then lit the ends with a lighter and tossed them towards the servers. Just as Won-woo closed the door to the server room, an explosion loud enough to shake the interior again erupted from inside the server room.

After confirming that flames were rising inside, Won-woo left through the middle door and escaped through the secret passage he had entered from. As if there was a shortest route programmed in his head, he returned to Ji Dong-hyeon’s office on the third floor and immediately opened the window. Then, without hesitation, he stepped over the windowsill.

Of course, he had no intention of falling to the ground. He could climb down the wall. The outer wall, built with large stones, had gaps between the stones. He could support his body by hooking his fingers into these gaps. Won-woo reached the first floor quickly, as if familiar with climbing the wall.

As soon as he landed on the ground, he checked the time. It was exactly 30 minutes. Bombing the server room and escaping through the window had all been done within 4 minutes. But he heard a reproachful voice in his ear.

“You’re late.”

As soon as he heard the pleasant low voice, his arm was grabbed. Then, with dizziness, everything around him blurred. When the dizziness disappeared, he was already standing at the place where they had first arrived, with the Guide Center in view.

“Why were you late?”

That incredulous voice was heard again. However, Won-woo, who had come out on time, didn’t even try to argue, but just stared blankly at the person who had grabbed him. Sensing something odd, Gye Yoon raised one eyebrow.

“Couldn’t you find the information you wanted?”

“…I found it.”

But why that expression? Confusion rose in Gye Yoon’s eyes, but he didn’t voice his question. It was because Won-woo suddenly turned his body and bent sharply at the waist.

“Ugh!”

While Won-woo repeatedly dry heaved, his bent back trembled as if in spasms. After a long while, he finally calmed down and straightened up, but he was expressionless as if nothing had happened.

“I’m sorry.”

“…”

“Shall we go?”

Just leaving without any explanation. Gye Yoon looked down at Won-woo askew, but Won-woo turned his body with a blank face as if he didn’t want to say anything more. Gye Yoon followed him as he walked slowly and opened his mouth as if changing the subject.

“I remembered ‘Chick’.”

Flinch. Won-woo’s shoulders trembled and he stopped walking. Gye Yoon stopped a step ahead and turned to look at him.

“It was a childhood nickname.”

Originally, he had intended to ask how Won-woo knew about ‘Chick’ and why it was important. But he simply couldn’t. In the darkness, Gye Yoon could see clearly. Won-woo was still expressionless, but his eyes were full of tears that seemed about to spill over.

Won-woo’s term for addressing him was officially ‘little brother’. He didn’t reveal his name, and he couldn’t call him ‘Chick’ like the aunt did.

At home, it wasn’t difficult to not use any term of address, but on the rare occasions when he took him out, people would be curious about who he was, so at least a word to define their relationship was necessary.

Fortunately, the North was a place where people with circumstances gathered, so not many found it strange when he just said ‘little brother’. Here, no one asked about the past, and no one went around talking about their own stories. But even in a place where people weren’t very interested in others, there were those who wondered about the aunt’s absence after she died.

So Won-woo moved, as if running away. There wasn’t much luggage. That was all he needed. He followed Won-woo obediently. It was hard to know if it was truly obedient since he didn’t express opinions, but it wouldn’t have mattered if he had said no. Won-woo needed him.

He still had stiff hands and spent most of his time sitting and staring blankly into space, but when he came to his senses, it was a bit different. He would slowly drag his body to where he wanted using his arm strength to take care of necessary business. However, he still needed help eating, dressing, and bathing.

Surprisingly, Won-woo didn’t find this bothersome at all from the beginning. After the aunt died, he rather clung to him more, focusing on him. Minimizing trips outside, he constantly stayed by his side, talking to him, sleeping, and reading books. He was obsessed with him as if afraid he might leave too.

When he first came, he was only lucid for about an hour a day, but at some point, that time gradually increased. But after the aunt passed away, as if fulfilling Won-woo’s wish, the time he spent in reality suddenly increased to several hours.

At first, he was happy about this, and it was nice to be able to properly talk while making eye contact. But gradually, deep emotions began to fill those eyes, which were the only way he could express feelings. Of course, at first, he tried to ignore it. He thought it might be his imagination.

Because until then, the only emotion he had shown was hatred. Maybe it was just lingering hatred that he was misunderstanding. But that emotion kept growing like a tree that didn’t know how to stop, and it deepened to a point where Won-woo couldn’t ignore it.

Even when talking to himself, Won-woo would unconsciously turn to look at him, and when their eyes met, he would startle without realizing. The piercing gaze held onto Won-woo, not letting go, to the point of being frightening. Those black pupils seemed to be shouting, filled entirely with one emotion.

I love you.

There was no voice to be heard, no visible expression, but it felt like his ears and eyes might go blind. Even though silence reigned if he just kept his mouth shut, and nothing would be seen if he turned his eyes away, he couldn’t close his ears or shut his eyes.

Surprisingly, after he was filled with feelings of love for Won-woo, he had erections several times when with Won-woo. It wasn’t unpleasant or disgusting.

If there were no feelings for Won-woo, he could have casually relieved his desire with his hand. But once he realized his love, he couldn’t respond with actions that acknowledged those emotions.

It felt like feeding prey. Selfishly saying, I’ll accept your love, so stay by my side. Instead, he chose a cowardly method. He pretended not to know about his feelings. Won-woo felt like a terrible monster for not being able to accept the guy after saving him from death.

As his love grew, Won-woo’s guilt also increased in volume. If only he hadn’t asked him to stay, these feelings wouldn’t have developed in him. During the last month they spent together, he deliberately spent most of the day outside, using work as an excuse.

But he felt uneasy. Now, the time he was lucid was gradually increasing. It was painful to leave him alone, unable to do anything with a sound mind. Yet he couldn’t return to him and chat casually like before.

During this period, Won-woo had joined the government forces to avenge the aunt. There was a lot to do, and using that as an excuse, the time he spent with him gradually decreased. Even knowing that he was lonely, just looking out the window by himself, Won-woo didn’t have the courage to meet his eyes. On the other hand, he sometimes irresponsibly hoped that he would give up.

However, selfishness always has a price to pay. Won-woo’s indiscriminate elimination of Espers, fueled by revenge, became a problem.

Perhaps caught by enemies, Won-woo’s house was attacked in the middle of the night. The Espers first sent trained civilians to invade the house to capture Won-woo.

The plan was to distract Won-woo by making him fight these intruders, then have the Espers launch a surprise attack. Their strategy was somewhat successful.

At the time, Won-woo didn’t know that the Espers were already lying in wait near the house, concealing their energy.

He was focused on dealing with the intruders in front of him, thinking only of luring them outside. As long as they were inside, he would continue to be in danger. After barely fending off the intruders, he hid him in the hiding place under the bed. Laying him down in a space that could only fit one person, he promised.

I’ll come back for you. He promised as he stood up. In the darkness, his strong gaze looking up at Won-woo held him, but without properly looking, Won-woo broke the window and jumped outside.

He deliberately made a lot of noise to lure the attackers, but no one immediately gave chase. Only then did he realize there were other attackers waiting outside the house. Even as Won-woo swung his knife and bled, his attention was entirely focused on the inside of the house.

He had to lure all the attackers outside. He had to save him. Not for himself, but for him who was now trying to live, he wanted to save him. But the blades of attack poured down like rain, and Won-woo didn’t have the strength to block all that rain.

But he survived. It was because of an inexplicable explosion that occurred inside the house. Perhaps the civilians attacking Won-woo had brought explosives, and they had unfortunately detonated. Civilians who jumped into war often carried dangerous explosives.

Whatever the reason for the explosion, its impact was tremendous. Even Won-woo rolled on the ground like a leaf. The massive explosion swept up all the intruders, and most of them died. Won-woo had no idea how he alone had survived unscathed, but he had no time to be grateful for this luck.

Before his eyes was the house turned to ruins. Without time to check if any enemies had survived, he ran frantically. The short distance felt as long as tens of kilometers, and his lungs felt like they would tear from breathlessness. Unaware of injuring his hands, he frantically dug through the broken debris and entered the house.

Inside, he found one burned corpse. It was him.

***

“No! …Well, that is.”

Hwang Sang-cheon, who had raised his voice in excitement, quickly lowered it while glancing at the sofa. Won-woo was curled up sleeping on the narrow two-seater sofa. Though it wasn’t clear where he had been, seeing him sleep like that was somehow pitiful. And worrying. He had already spent a full day just sleeping. What could have happened?

“Where exactly did you go with Won-woo-nim last night?”

Sang-cheon grabbed Gye Yoon, who had gone out in the morning and returned in the afternoon, and led him to the small kitchen. It was barely a kitchen, just two sink compartments, a small drain, and a single gas burner. Speaking here wouldn’t reach Won-woo’s ears, but Sang-cheon still lowered his voice just in case.

“Something did happen, right?”

The only person who could answer was Gye Yoon, who had come with him, but all he said was this,

“It was nothing special.”

“Then why is he just sleeping like that?”

“Guess he’s sleepy.”

Gye Yoon answered nonchalantly, but his gaze towards Won-woo was dark. After causing such a scene at Guide Center last night, he had come to Sang-cheon’s office and just lay down to sleep like that. There was no explanation, and those tear-filled eyes Gye Yoon had seen earlier had disappeared as if they were never there.

People can sleep when tired, but Won-woo’s sleep didn’t look like normal sleep. It was more like a machine that had completely run out of battery and stopped functioning. That’s why it was concerning, and his eyes kept being drawn to him. But to feel sympathy for Ji Geun-o’s son?

This didn’t sit well with him. He was supposed to be seducing and recruiting Ji Won-woo, but it felt like he was the one being drawn in instead. Even now, he was forcibly restraining himself from looking back at Ji Won-woo when Sang-cheon’s displeased voice was heard.

“Is he really just sleeping? What if he’s sick?”

“He’s just sleeping.”

You’re a doctor now? Sang-cheon looked like he wanted to retort, but Gye Yoon cut him off by turning away. Gye Yoon had also spent the whole day wondering if Won-woo might be sick, focusing all his attention on Won-woo’s breathing. But it was clearly the sound of someone sleeping.

“Still, he’s been just sleeping all day without even eating…”

At Sang-cheon’s worried mumble, Gye Yoon suddenly remembered and said,

“He did vomit though.”

“Hey! You should have said that earlier. He is sick then.”

“It didn’t seem like it was because his stomach hurt, so I didn’t.”

Thwack. Sang-cheon grabbed Gye Yoon’s arm tightly with shocked eyes. Why? Before Gye Yoon could even ask, Sang-cheon asked in a low voice,

“Did you hit him?”

“Are you crazy?”

“Did you hit him with a rock?!”

Gye Yoon was so dumbfounded he couldn’t even get angry. Partly because the other person was just a pathetic ordinary person not even worth half a fist.

“I don’t want to bother explaining, so get lost.”

“This is my house, you know?”

“What does that matter?”

Right, as if you’d know. Sang-cheon’s jaw trembled as he pointed towards where Won-woo was.

“Still, with Won-woo-nim here, I can’t leave. I absolutely can’t leave you two alone.”

“…”

“Why?”

“You’re really looking after him just because you got some money.”

“It’s not just money that I received.”

What did you receive then? At Gye Yoon’s cold gaze, Sang-cheon shrugged his shoulders.

“I received his heart. How can someone who trusts me so much after meeting me for such a short time not be important?”

What’s so great about that heart? Another criticism flowed inside Gye Yoon, but he couldn’t voice it. Because he hadn’t received that heart himself.

And because Won-woo was sleeping so defenseless in the space of Sang-cheon, to whom he had given his heart. An ordinary person with no power, and in such a rundown place?

Yet Won-woo had fallen asleep as if it was the safest place in the world, letting go of everything. If he opened his mouth, his jealousy would show. Feeling annoyingly envious of Sang-cheon, Gye Yoon looked back at the sleeping Won-woo. Sang-cheon’s gaze followed his, and his voice returned to being worried.

“Did you know the Guide Center is in chaos? They say there was a big fire last night from an Esper attack. I wonder how amazing the Esper who touched the Guide Center building must be. …It wasn’t you, right?”

“No.”

“Of course not. No matter how great you are…”

“It was Ji Won-woo.”

There was no reaction, so he turned his head to find Sang-cheon frozen in shock with his mouth open.

“What?”

What do you mean, what? How can you not be surprised? Sang-cheon barely managed to move his stiffened jaw to make a sound.

“You’re saying Won-woo attacked his own family? No, why? Are you not framing him for something you did?”

“…”

“Why, why are you looking at me like that?”

“I was thinking maybe I should kill the landlord here and frame him since I don’t like him.”

The landlord took a step back and immediately changed the subject.

“Ah, but is Won-woo’s relationship with his family that bad? Even so, that’s too much. The Guide Center is practically their family’s biggest business. I heard the server room was what burned this time. That’s why it’s been chaos all day today.”

Gye Yoon knew too. He had been receiving calls from Chief Jung about it all day. The Gye family had decided not to respond until the Ji family made an official announcement.

“The Ji family is in big trouble. The Women Association vote is coming up soon too, so it’s completely overlapping with this adversity.”

At Sang-cheon’s words, Gye Yoon twisted his lips.

“There’s no such thing as adversity for Ji Geun-oh.”

Ji Geun-oh is not only a man of vulgar greed, but he also has the shamelessness to flip all truths into lies for his desires. That thick skin was an important ability that got him to where he is now.

False agitation. So this time too, he will turn this crisis into an opportunity. Sang-cheon was puzzled by what Gye Yoon meant, but there was no time to explain. Knock knock, someone was knocking on the door of Sang-cheon’s office.

***

Ji Seong-hyeon frowned as he looked at his older brother wearing an oxygen mask. He understood it was because he had inhaled smoke and gotten injured due to the fire, but the other injuries had nothing to do with the Guide Center incident.

Ji Dong-hyeon’s face was a complete mess now. Like a boxer who had been one-sidedly beaten in a boxing match, his face was so swollen and bruised that it was unrecognizable. His head, which had already been injured, seemed to have reopened its wound and required several stitches.

“So you’re saying he was first hit by father?”

Ji Seong-hyeon asked Director Shin, who was one of his older brother’s trusted subordinates, guarding the hospital room.

“Yes.”

Although he too had bruises on his face and his arm was in a cast, seemingly broken, Ji Seong-hyeon didn’t care about his injuries. It was natural for underlings to get beaten for failing to do their job properly. The problem was what he said next.

“But the injuries worsened because of your younger brother.”

“No, fuck… Really, Ji Won-woo did this? Was it really that bastard Ji Won-woo who broke in and trashed Guide Center?”

Even though he had asked and confirmed this several times already, Ji Seong-hyeon couldn’t believe it.

“Mr. Ji Won-woo came directly to the Guide Center and requested a meeting with your older brother. He entered your older brother’s room, but after that, he was seen on the archive room’s CCTV.”

This answer too, he had heard several times. That’s why it was even more unbelievable. To think his older brother would be bested by Won-woo.

“Fuck, he acts all high and mighty, but gets beaten by that Won-woo bastard? It’s too embarrassing to even talk about, shit. That’s what he gets for making a secret passage from his room straight to the archive room. What an idiot…”

“Shut your mouth.”

Startled by the cold command, Ji Seong-hyeon turned around and immediately frowned. An unwelcome figure appeared. With the sound of clicking heels, a woman in an impeccable high-end suit approached.

“Such vulgar language.”

“N-Noona. When did you arrive?”

Ignoring Ji Seong-hyeon’s flustered question, Ji Yoon-im first looked him up and down as if appraising him. Though she didn’t say much, Ji Seong-hyeon noticed the contempt in her eyes and deeply furrowed his brow.

“Don’t frown. Your face is the only thing you have going for you, after all.”

“Ha, sh…”

Ji Seong-hyeon swallowed his curse and gritted his teeth. Everyone thought Ji Dong-hyeon was their father’s favorite child because he managed the Guide Center, but the reality was different. The child Ji Geun-oh cared about most was actually his eldest daughter.

That’s because she had married into the direct line of the Yang family, who ruled the West. The Yang family was Ji Geun-oh’s greatest ally. So from a young age, both Ji Dong-hyeon and Ji Seong-hyeon couldn’t treat their sister carelessly.