DB Vol 4 Part 6

What would have happened if he had received love from his family as a child? Won-woo had never really thought about this possibility until now. He had met Aunt as if by a miracle, so he thought his luck was already at its peak. But seeing a father giving his child unconditional love right in front of him, he briefly wondered about that possibility. Would he have felt less lonely then?

“Oh, are you short on blocks? Should I bring you more?”

Won-woo, who had been lost in thought with his head down, looked up at Jae-hak’s voice. Since the child was shy, he had been asked to show his face for a certain amount of time each day. Thanks to that, he was sitting in the child’s room stacking blocks again today. Today, it was Jae-hak in the child’s room, and his face was visibly excited and overwhelmed. And for good reason, the child had finally come out and was playing with blocks together.

Although Hwan hadn’t spoken again since asking Won-woo if he was in pain, just coming out of that corner like this had her father excited as if he owned the world. It was clearly evident just by looking at the creation he was making with blocks right now. Won-woo muttered to himself. This is art.

Indeed, Jae-hak was a master of blocks. The stag he made with blocks was not only huge, coming up to an adult’s knee, but it was also so intricate and lifelike that it seemed about to prance away. In contrast, Won-woo was in the process of making an unidentifiable four-legged beast.

“No, the blocks are fine.”

Jae-hak smiled as if to say it was okay when Won-woo refused.

“You’ve only made the basic skeleton, so you’ll need more, right?”

“…It’s finished.”

The artist’s eyes wavered for a moment, but soon he smiled kindly.

“The car looks very pretty.”

“It’s a dog.”

Jae-hak seemed to startle slightly, but calmly nodded.

“I see, I once knew a dog that ran so well its name was Car. Haha, now that I look at it, it looks just like that dog. Oh my, you made it so well!”

No, no matter how you say it… Won-woo looked again at the art piece he had made and then gazed curiously at Jae-hak, who was praising him enthusiastically. He had no hostility towards Won-woo from the beginning. His eyes only showed gratitude.

It was surprising and somewhat suspicious that he could treat him, who came from the Ji family, like that. Wondering if he might be wearing a mask. But watching how he treated his daughter and himself in this room, he completely shook off his suspicions. He was treating him just like his daughter. With kind eyes, only praising, saying well done, you’re doing great. It felt like encountering the presence of a father he had never experienced, making Won-woo a bit awkward.

“Your father made it a hundred times better though.”

“Ah, I am quite good at it, aren’t I? Ahahaha—”

He was generous with praise for himself too. But soon, not forgetting, he praised Won-woo again.

“Won-woo, you really made it well too. You have talent.”

“At this age, isn’t having talent for blocks pointless?”

“No, it’s not.”

Jae-hak shook his head firmly while searching for blocks to complete the last antler of the deer.

“There’s no need to measure age or value in things you learn or like. Life is already so long and bleak, isn’t it? If you stop finding things you like, it becomes even bleaker, longer, and lonelier. So there’s nothing bad about trying anything.”

Bleak, long, and lonely. These words were unexpected coming from someone who always smiled and knew nothing but family. Even that person, surrounded by loved ones, finds life long and lonely. Realizing this felt strange yet oddly comforting.

“So, what do you like, Won-woo?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Then what’s the most pleasant thing that happened to you recently?”

Won-woo froze while making his unidentifiable four-legged block sculpture. The most pleasant thing was the erotic act he did with Gye Yoon at dawn today. It was so incredibly good that he felt self-loathing. Misunderstanding Won-woo’s silence, Jae-hak comforted him with an embarrassed laugh.

“Even if there’s nothing, you can start doing pleasant things from now on!”

“…Do I have to?”

“You should. It’s not like it’s something bad or illegal, right?”

That’s true. When Won-woo mumbled in response, Jae-hak nodded.

“Then you must do it. Even if it’s something trivial, you must.”

“…It’s not trivial.”

Just awkward and lewd.

“Then you should try harder and do it diligently. That’s the way to change your life. Doing what you like.”

Jae-hak spoke firmly again with a parental face and asked his daughter as if seeking agreement.

“Right? You’d like Uncle Won-woo to do pleasant things too, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“See, even Hwan-i says ‘yes’…”

Pause. Jae-hak froze like a statue, his eyes widening to the point of tearing. The child was still focused only on the blocks, but the father, having heard his daughter’s answer, was overwhelmed with emotion and covered his mouth with his hand. Watching him, Won-woo realized that what Chief Jung had said before was true.

This guy really cries a lot. But it wasn’t unsightly. Rather, it was enviable. It seemed he was living his life by finding what he truly liked and expressing it honestly. Would one really not feel lonely living like that? Won-woo lowered his gaze back to the blocks.

His hands were moving, but his mind was complex. Pleasant things… It really felt good. To the point where he could understand why everyone was so crazy about guiding sex.

But that’s why a sense of caution arose that he should avoid it even more. His body, accustomed to suppressing emotions and always being on guard during the war, warned that such pleasure was dangerous. It felt like he should come to his senses, saying it wasn’t like him.

But this good father advised following the emotions one likes. So Won-woo gently brought out the curiosity he had been suppressing. The question that had been lingering in a corner of his mind. …How much better could sex get?

‘The Family Head is looking for you.’

When the summons came, Won-woo anticipated a few questions she might ask in the private audience he was finally granted. The most likely was a negotiation offering to give him what he wanted in exchange for revealing his true purpose for coming to the Gye family. After all, there had been a coldness in her eyes when looking at him. But the first question that came out of her mouth completely deviated from his expectations.

“Do you like Yoon by any chance?”

Won-woo almost dropped the teacup he was about to drink from. Fortunately, he hadn’t yet taken a sip, so he avoided the unseemly act of spitting it out.

“Why do you ask that?”

“Because I don’t understand why you’re helping the Gye family. Yoon says you joined hands with us to take revenge on the Ji family, but if revenge is your goal, there’s no need to necessarily join hands with us. Unless there’s an irrational reason.”

A sharp gaze stared at Won-woo as if trying to discern the truth.

“Sometimes there are those who become irrationally obsessed due to guiding sex, but that’s not the case for you two, is it?”

“…That’s right.”

Won-woo lowered his trembling eyes, pretending to drink tea.

“So what’s the real reason?”

Won-woo took a deep breath as he looked at her expressionless face.

“It’s for revenge. I chose the Gye family because it gives me the highest chance of succeeding in my revenge.”

“We’re a place where even existing Espers are leaving due to lack of Guides. If we wage war, we’re bound to lose.”

The Family Head’s voice was tinged with sarcasm. As if it contained an accusation that it was all because of the Ji family. Won-woo calmly agreed with her words.

“Yes. That’s why it’s better for me. Because it’s a place that needs me.”

“Are you planning to Guide all the Espers by yourself?”

Of course not. Won-woo shook his head with a slight smile.

“We need to bring in Guides.”

“How?”

“In the way they do best. It’s easy if we use conspiracies, false rumors, and spies who will stab them in the back.”

Ha. An astonished laugh escaped Gye Min’s lips. Watching her laugh, Won-woo thought that indeed, the siblings were similar. When he had said the same thing to Gye Yoon, he hadn’t been displeased but rather seemed interested. However, Gye Min didn’t readily agree with his opinion.

“You’re saying we should become just as dirty.”

“You weren’t planning to use righteous methods anyway, were you?”

“You’re saying some insolent things.”

Gye Min’s voice was cold, but a light of amusement arose in her eyes.

“I just want to be honest in front of an ally.”

“If you’re going to use things like conspiracies, lies, and spies, there’s no need to specifically use you.”

“No. It will only be effective if I do it. Because I have information.”

Gye Min didn’t ask what kind of information. Instead, she stared silently and asked.

“What if you’re a spy?”

“Then you, your brother, and your daughter would have died by my hand long ago.”

Gye Min’s eyes instantly filled with coldness as if the temperature had dropped. Even the actual internal temperature seemed to have dropped, making the air feel chilly. It was a murderous gaze that would have made an ordinary person wet themselves, but fortunately, Won-woo wasn’t easily intimidated by Espers.

“But I don’t want to do that. It’s not just because of revenge. It might be an irrational reason, as you said, but I,”

Won-woo threw his gaze out the window and added in a mutter,

“I like this place.”

The lack of Guides made Espers leave the North. The Gye family spent enormous amounts of money to hire freelance contract Espers, known as mercenaries, but they brought other problems.

Because their only goal was money and they had no affection for the North, many of them acted recklessly and caused damage. However, even though they were rotten, their presence at least provided some safety from the danger of monsters.

That’s why there weren’t many people who could restrain them when they misbehaved. The situation was similar at the North Center in charge of District 39. Here, the ratio of Center-affiliated Espers was only 60%, with many mercenaries. This meant there were many abuses committed by them.

Team Leader Choi, nearing his 60s, had originally thought about retirement, but due to lack of manpower, he was still an Esper working in the field. He had applied for support at the Gye family’s main house because he couldn’t trust the mercenaries.

And sure enough. While Espers were running around at the monster farm where anomalous energy had been detected, the mercenaries were sprawled out chatting idly at the command camp set up at the entrance, as if they were on vacation.

“Hey, didn’t you get the message to change shifts?”

When Team Leader Choi entered the tent covered in dust, only a few glanced at him. Seeing them still chatting or fiddling with their phones, Team Leader Choi’s voice rose.

“You guys, if you got paid, then do your money’s worth!”

There were a total of 11 mercenaries inside, but only about half raised their heads this time. Even then, their faces were full of sneers.

“It’s not like you gave us the money, right?”

When a mercenary in his late 30s asked back with a voice mixed with laughter, others snickered along. Team Leader Choi frowned deeply and glared.

“What does it matter who gave the money? Don’t you know the problem is that you’re not doing the job you’re paid to do? Or are you incapable? If so, say it. I’ll make sure to let the person who paid you know clearly.”

“Old man.”

Someone who had been sitting, almost lying down, behind the mercenaries called out to Team Leader Choi as he raised his upper body. As the mercenary in his mid-30s got up, Team Leader Choi frowned even more. What bothered him more than the way the other party called him was the mercenary’s ears. He was wearing five suppression piercings. An Esper with such unstable energy came as a mercenary?

“Want to see my ability?”

“You want to show off your skills? Then go into the farm right now!”

“Team Leader…”

A subordinate who had hurriedly followed him in grabbed Team Leader Choi’s arm to stop him, glancing nervously at the mercenary. The subordinate hated mercenaries to the point of grinding his teeth, but there was a reason they had left them alone this time. Among the mercenaries inside, six moved as one team. And their reputation was quite bad.

The one who could be called their leader was this A-rank Esper wearing five piercings. As evident from the number of piercings, he was an Esper with a high risk of going rampage, but he was a mad dog who used his power recklessly without caring about that. His team members were said to act arrogantly, believing in him. They didn’t know that these guys would be among the mercenaries who came for support today.

“Let go. Even though we’re bringing in mercenaries due to the lack of Espers, there haven’t been such blatantly idle and shameless guys. Other mercenaries at least pretend to work out of consideration for the Gye family who pays them, but these guys…”

“That’s because our contract states we don’t need to pretend to work.”

As the leader spoke in a relaxed voice, not only Team Leader Choi but also the subordinate trying to stop him opened their eyes in surprise. What kind of contract says not to work? As if reading their confusion, sneers spread again among the leader and his subordinates. One of the laughing mercenaries boastfully explained the reason.

“We’re very skilled, but we have one drawback. We use our power without caring about going rampage. But it’s not like we get compensation for going rampage, right? So our contract has a special clause. If there’s a risk of going rampage, we can stop working.”

The mercenary pointed to himself and his nearby colleagues as he announced.

“We’re on the verge of going rampage right now.”

The words spoken while leisurely sitting, looking at phones, and chatting idly were nonsense to anyone watching. Anger spread across Team Leader Choi’s face. Noticing that he was about to say something, the mercenary leader preempted him.

“Want me to show you what going rampage looks like?”

Just as Team Leader Choi couldn’t advance further at the threatening, fierce voice.

“Ugh.”

The mercenary leader suddenly opened his eyes wide, exhaled, and his face started turning red. What’s wrong with him? At first, everyone thought he might have choked on something, not taking it seriously. But he opened his mouth and stared with his eyes wide open like someone being strangled. His expression was unusual.

“Boss?”

One subordinate called out, but strangely, no sound came from his gaping mouth. Even though he looked like someone screaming.

“What’s wrong?”

The subordinate who had called him approached and asked, then hesitated. He wasn’t the only one. Those watching the leader also stopped in surprise. Bulging blood vessels about to burst and reddened skin like a monster from a horror movie. Eyeballs protruding as if about to pop out. If someone were to say a person looked like they were about to burst like a balloon, it would probably look like this.

Burst? The question that arose in everyone’s mind soon led to one answer. Going rampage. But why so suddenly?! Everyone backed away with wide eyes, only able to utter “Uh” sounds. In those few seconds, the leader’s face swelled to the point where his features were barely recognizable.

It really looked like his skin would tear and burst at any moment. His blood vessel filled neck writhed. Blood flowed from his open mouth, and his red tongue trembled as if screaming.

‘Urgh… ugh…!’

It was strange. The mercenary leader seemed to be screaming at the top of his lungs, but the eerie fact that nothing could be heard sent chills down everyone’s spine.

“B-Boss… huk!”

As one subordinate tried to help somehow, he was stopped by hands grabbing him from behind. The person who stopped him shouted urgently.

“Get away!”

But even without his shout, the Espers who had already sensed the danger were rushing outside. At the same time, the tent burst as if hit by a bomb.

Bang!

With a loud noise, the remains of the torn and shattered tent flew in all directions along with a wind as strong as a typhoon. As the dust settled and silence fell, no one could open their mouth.

They just stared at the exploded tent, either sprawled on the ground or rolling from the impact of the explosion. Not a single piece of flesh remained of the human who must have exploded inside. Just what happened…

“It’s worth putting in a special clause.”

An indifferent voice was heard. People turned to look at the owner of the voice as if entranced. Someone was walking through the crowd. With his tall stature and broad shoulders, he exuded an intimidating presence as if a door had blocked the way. Although his face wasn’t fully visible due to the black hood he wore, one could guess he was in his early twenties.

“What are you talking about?”

When one of the mercenaries, who had lost their leader in an instant, shouted angrily, the man glanced at him. The moment their eyes met, the mercenary shuddered from an inexplicable chill.

“What do you mean, what? I’m saying you’re good at going rampage, just as you bragged.”

“But that wasn’t going rampage.”

Someone denied it urgently. A mercenary who had barely raised his upper body after rolling on the ground shouted with trembling eyes as attention turned to him.

“The boss’s suppression piercings were still intact. If it was going rampage, those should have burst first!”

“You have unnecessarily good observation skills.”

“W-What?”

“You’re going to go rampage too.”

The moment incomprehensible words came out of his mouth, the face of the mercenary who had mentioned the suppression piercings began to swell like the leader’s just before. The Espers sitting on the ground all backed away at once like popping popcorn.

“Huk! What the…”

Before someone could finish their astonished cry, the explosion repeated.

Pop!

This time the sound was a bit different. The sound of just a person exploding without a tent was similar to a balloon popping. And its remains rained down on people’s bodies like a rain.

“Ugh…”

The fear-mixed sob that escaped from one mercenary’s mouth represented everyone’s feelings. Again, everyone was sprawled on the ground from the impact of the explosion, but one was different. The man in the black hood, standing leisurely as if existing in a different world, turned his gaze to the other mercenaries. Those met by his gaze felt their breath catch from an inexplicable fear.

Run away. Their instinct screamed, but it was already too late to move their bodies. They couldn’t breathe. Suddenly, the sound disappeared and they couldn’t hear anything. The feeling of swelling from within, as if blood was about to burst, seized their bodies in an instant. And they realized. They were going to die. The man with indifferent eyes muttered something, but they couldn’t hear it.

“As per the contract, there’s no compensation for going rampage.”

Only after all the mercenaries in front of him had gone rampage without exception did the hooded man turn around. Not only Team Leader Choi but also other staff who had rushed over simultaneously flinched and trembled. They feared he might do something to them too, but the words that came out of his mouth were different.

“The farm?”

“Huh? Ah, the f-farm still has trees in bloom, so we’re dealing with it now…”

As soon as he heard this, he started walking towards the farm. He didn’t seem to be walking fast, but with his long legs, he was already far away. Just who could he be? Could it be that he made all the mercenaries explode? They need to check.

Team Leader Choi, belatedly coming to his senses, ran into the farm. And when he arrived at his destination, running through the long farm while panting heavily. He could see his subordinates standing with blank eyes, exhausted from fighting monsters. Their gazes were all directed at one person standing in the middle of a pile of monster corpses. It was the man in the black hood.

“Just what…”

How did this happen? Team Leader Choi’s question wasn’t fully out, but an employee who noticed him explained stutteringly.

“He suddenly appeared… and in an instant…”

The employee’s explanation wasn’t complete either, but Team Leader Choi could understand. And he looked at the man in the black hood with the same eyes as the employees. If a god came down to earth and demonstrated his abilities, wouldn’t it be like this? He couldn’t stop trembling from awe and fear.

However, the god of Espers seemed displeased as he looked down at his own hand. Team Leader Choi swallowed hard and moved his trembling legs.

“May I ask who you are?”

The black hood turned his head. Team Leader Choi glimpsed annoyance in the gaze he met. Why is he in a bad mood?

“You requested support, didn’t you?”

“Yes. To the Gye family… Did you come from the main house?”

The black hood seemed too bothered to answer and walked past Team Leader Choi. Team Leader Choi didn’t dare to stop him, but he could hear the complaint he muttered.

“Fuck, just how well did he do the guiding?”

***

People acknowledged the Family Head’s love for her child, given how frantically she worked for Hwan’s Guide, but they didn’t think she was affectionate or warm towards the child. Since the family always came first, even after giving birth, it was mostly her husband’s job to take care of the child, which reinforced this perception. But there was something people didn’t know well. If Jae-hak took care of the child during the day, Gye Min always guarded the child’s bedroom at night.

“Family Head.”

As Gye Min quietly entered the child’s room, Supervisor Lee, who had awakened from sleep, approached. She was one of the few who knew that Gye Min spent every night in the child’s bedroom. How is it? When Gye Min asked with her eyes, Supervisor Lee explained in a whisper.

“She still flinches when the door opens, but once she confirms it’s not a stranger, she doesn’t hide in the corner again. And she went to the potty by herself and did her business well.”

Supervisor Lee expressed her admiration with a face full of pride.

“My goodness, she remembers her potty training and does it so well.”

She reported that although the child still wasn’t speaking and rejected human touch, she ate her favorite cheese rice balls neatly. Of course, Gye Min knew everything from watching the CCTV without being told, but she wanted to hear it directly in Supervisor Lee’s voice. Because it led to this conclusion.

“I think she’s not in pain anymore.”

Gye Min’s expression was impassive, but she couldn’t take her eyes off the child sleeping in the bed.

“She still rejects people, but getting used to not being in pain also needs time.”

Gye Min nodded, understanding Supervisor Lee’s words. She didn’t mind waiting. As long as the child wasn’t in pain, it was okay even if she couldn’t hear that cute voice with imperfect pronunciation yet, even if that small body didn’t come to embrace her.

“Since Won-woo has been coming every day, Hwan must be used to him now. I think tomorrow we could slowly try having Won-woo guide Hwan.”

“Isn’t it too early?”

Sensing Gye Min’s intention to do it while Hwan was sleeping, Supervisor Lee shook her head.

“I think it’ll be fine because Hwan seems to like Won-woo quite a bit.”

She likes him. If her husband Jae-hak heard this, he would cry his eyes out in disappointment, but Gye Min was troubled for a different reason. To think she would receive salvation from a Ji. Behind the desire to hold onto Ji Won-woo by any means was an anxiety that had not yet disappeared. This anxiety still remained even after talking with Won-woo. Because he gave such an irrational reason that he liked this place.

“What do you think of Ji Won-woo? Does it seem like he’s deliberately acting?”

“Well, he hasn’t shown enough emotion to be mistaken for acting. But he seemed comfortable.”

Comfortable. Why? The current Gye family isn’t such a good environment. Aren’t people all leaving due to the lack of Guides, and those who remain are barely hanging on?

“That’s why I think he was able to cry.”

Ah, right. Ji Won-woo cried. He cried unexpectedly in the child’s room, and thanks to that, they also heard Hwan’s voice. She still didn’t understand why he cried. But was it because he was comfortable?

“At least, unlike other Guides who have come so far, he doesn’t seem to have any lies.”

Gye Min remained silent without any particular response, then asked as if changing the subject.

“Why do you think Hwan likes Ji Won-woo?”

“He’s handsome.”

Gye Min raised her eyes in disbelief, but Supervisor Lee just shrugged.

“Children naturally like pretty people.”

My daughter is judging by looks. While Min was momentarily speechless from shock, Supervisor Lee gently added,

“Plus, Won-woo is kind.”

Supervisor Lee then pointed out another characteristic unlike the Ji family.

“And he seems humble. Even though he could boast after guiding the Vice Head and Hwan, he doesn’t complain at all about being confined. Moreover, we’re all refraining from expressing gratitude, right? After all, he’s from the Ji family… But he accepts even that as natural. It makes me wonder if we’re mistreating him due to our prejudice against the Ji family. He’s an incredible benefactor, after all.”

“The Ji family created the prejudice.”

Min retorted coldly, but she couldn’t completely ignore Supervisor Lee’s words. After all, she was now realizing anew how solid and thick her prejudice against the Ji family was.

“Yes, but it’s those who hold the prejudice who need to overcome and discard it.”

Gye Min was about to respond to Supervisor Lee’s words but closed her mouth. Instead, she lay down next to the bed where the child was sleeping. And she listened to the child’s soft breath.

Just from the child’s peaceful breathing, a hot surge of emotion rose. She’s really not in pain anymore. No matter how many times she confirmed it, the magnitude of this joy didn’t diminish. Gye Min watched the child’s face while gently patting her small body. Won-woo’s stated reason kept coming to mind.

‘I like this place.’

Why? There was some emotion flickering in Ji Won-woo’s eyes as he said those words.

Even as he was summoned again by the Gye Family Head, Won-woo still thought she would need time to accept him. When he entered her room like that, a meeting was in progress inside. It was with Chief Jung and the Chief Secretary.

Won-woo hesitated, wondering if he had mistaken the time, but Chief Jung, noticing him, gestured for Won-woo to sit next to him. As Won-woo sat down with a puzzled expression, he heard the Chief Secretary’s report.

“Over the past three days, there have been a total of forty-six Esper casualties. All were problematic mercenaries and were processed as work-related accidents.”

Won-woo looked at the Chief Secretary in surprise at the number of casualties. Had there been a battle in the North? But there had been no signs of major incidents internally over the past three days. As Won-woo wondered, he heard Gye Min’s low voice.

“So what about that damn bastard? He’s still wandering around after stirring up the North like this?”

Despite her monotone voice, the content was harsh. Won-woo wondered who could have made her this angry while observing the internal atmosphere, but he couldn’t detect any tension or killing intent from the others. How could no one be worried with so many casualties?

“The pursuit team is chasing, but he’s so elusive…”

“Are you proud that the Gye family’s skills are only at that level?”

“I’m sorry.”

The Chief Secretary apologized and bowed his head, but there was no particular sign of regret on his face. It only looked like he was apologizing out of habit, like a daily scolding from a superior. That’s why Won-woo was more worried about the North. How many attacks must they have suffered to not even flinch at this level of attack as if it were routine? He felt sorry for the North’s situation.

“Catch him immediately before he causes more chaos.”

“Currently, there’s no one in the North capable of doing that.”

Won-woo’s eyes widened at these words. Had attackers come who couldn’t even be handled by Gye Yoon, an S-rank Esper? …No, that couldn’t be. Won-woo shook his head inwardly. Gye Yoon must be unable to step in because she’s assigned to other tasks. Just how short of Espers must the North be… Won-woo could only feel sorry for the North again, viewing it like a fragile terminally ill young lady. At that moment, Gye Min, who had nothing but her health, gritted her teeth.

“Then create bait to lure him. I’m sick of reading reports about mercenaries dying because of that bastard.”

Won-woo saw the Chief Secretary nod with a stern expression at her order. He barely restrained himself from asking who the attacker was. After all, he knew the weaknesses of most Espers. But he couldn’t act rashly when he hadn’t yet earned the Gye Family Head’s trust. In fact, he wondered if he should even be listening to this report content. So he lowered his gaze to the desk, pretending to be uninterested, when he heard his name.

“Ji Won-woo.”

As he looked up, he met cold eyes. Gye Min stared at Won-woo for a moment, then calmly asked.

“How do you plan to start that revenge?”

Revenge. To some, it might be an infinitely heavy word laden with deep emotions difficult to describe, but for Won-woo, it was a bit different. Coming from a world where he had already claimed victory once, the weight of revenge was light. This was also thanks to people who hadn’t changed. Among them, the Espers who enjoyed privileges were not much different from his world. So Won-woo made this request to the Gye Family Head,

“I’d like to see a list of who the living enemies are. It would be even better if I could know the power structure of those families.”

“By enemies…”

As Chief Jung trailed off as if asking about the range of enemies, Won-woo answered simply.

“The Ji family, Yang family, and Hong family.”

He announced it as easily as if calling dog names, but those three were the actual power holders ruling the rest except for the North. Chief Jung and the Chief Secretary slightly frowned. Taking revenge on all three places? Not just the Ji family?

“What grudge do you have against the Yang and Hong families?”

A sharp question was heard from Gye Min. Won-woo momentarily thought of the aunt but then calmly replied.

“Not much.”

“Then why do you want to take revenge on the Yang and Hong families too?”

“Because to bring down the Ji family, we need to strike those two places as well.”

Again, it was a light answer as if talking about the weather. Gye Min looked at Won-woo for a moment, then nodded to the Chief Secretary, who instructed an employee by phone to bring what Won-woo had requested. Meanwhile, the three people looked at Won-woo with similar eyes. Could it be that he had gained great ability and something was wrong with his head?

“Is the information you have so incredible that it can bring down two families in one fell swoop?”

When Gye Min asked sharply, Won-woo shook his head honestly, saying, “No.” As the three thought there must be something wrong with his head, Won-woo calmly added.

“But I know how to bring them down eventually, even if it takes time.”

“What is it?”

“Well, let me check the data first.”

Is it important who’s alive? Beside him, Chief Jung looked at him curiously, then met Gye Min’s eyes. And he remembered there was something to tell Won-woo today. There was a reason they called him to this meeting.

“By the way, we released the original video of Ji Won-woo assaulting the Esper.”

Ah, that. Won-woo nodded and thanked him. However, Chief Jung immediately shook his hand with a serious face.

“There’s no result worthy of thanks. Even though it was revealed that Ji Won-woo was stalked by an Esper, public opinion hasn’t completely flipped.”

“That’s okay. We can’t expect to be full after the first spoon. Even if public opinion hasn’t flipped, the Ji Family’s insides must have turned upside down.”

Would they be turned upside down with just this? As the people wondered, Won-woo smiled slightly.

“Those people are petty. They tremble at small things.”

They easily hurt others, but if they get even a small scratch, they scream and jump around. Won-woo asked while maintaining his smile.

“Didn’t the Ji family immediately release a rebuttal article? The content probably pushed the narrative that I’m mentally unstable.”

It was as Ji Won-woo said. Less than an hour after uploading Won-woo’s video, an article came out saying that Won-woo was crazy and spreading false stories. So people believed that video was fabricated too.

“Yes, they responded immediately.”

“Please release another article tomorrow.”

“With what content?”

“That Ji Won-woo is a victim exploited in the Ji family’s horrific human experiments.”

A heavy silence flowed inside. Astonishment arose in the eyes of the three people looking at Won-woo. Gye Min asked seriously as a representative.

“Did Ji Geun-oh experiment on your body?”

“I’m not sure.”

What? As the three were surprised, Won-woo finally realized. They actually believe what I’m saying.

“It probably wasn’t experiments. I was tested since I received the Alpha Seed injection, but that’s all.”

It was well-known that Ji Won-woo had received the Alpha Seed injection, but hearing it from his own mouth made it difficult to brush off lightly.

“Did it hurt a lot?”

Gye Min asked gruffly. Won-woo hid his surprise inwardly. Ah, they’ve been fooled so much because they’re this naive.

“I don’t remember well, so I’m not sure.”

“Losing your memory… Could it be that you lost the memory of being experimented on?”

“Yes.”

Seeing him readily answer that he had lost his memory, the eyes of the three became serious again. He was experimented on. That vicious Ji Geun-oh, committing such terrible acts even to his own child. The three’s gazes towards Won-woo now changed to pity. As Won-woo and the Gye family were pitying each other like this, Won-woo explained why he wanted to release the article.

“I wasn’t subjected to human experiments, but we don’t know about other Guides. If he did it to his own child, there’s a high possibility he did it to other Guides too.”

In Won-woo’s estimation, that possibility was 99%. Fortunately, the sharp three people immediately understood.

“You want to see the Ji family’s reaction by releasing the article, right?”

When Chief Jung asked, Won-woo nodded.

“Yes. Since Guide One has the support of the Guides, so I want to find a weakness to break that support. If they experimented on Guides, that would be ideal.”

As Gye Min nodded as if giving permission, an employee entered the room and handed over the requested documents. It was a report briefly outlining the people belonging to the three families, descriptions of them, and their internal power structures. Won-woo slowly examined the list, occasionally tilting his head as if curious, and sometimes smiling subtly.