RG 112

‘An amusement park? Are you kidding me?’

Is this really the time to be leisurely heading to an amusement park? I’m so worried about the kid I can’t even transform into Cover, and I’m even considering relocating. In this situation, an amuuusement parrrk?

‘Does the damn system exist just to mess with me or something?’

The way it threw up a mission prompt saying ‘Get close to the antagonist’ without any sense of the situation was insanely irritating. And there’s even a time limit. Go to the amusement park within two days?

Judging by the lack of clear instructions on how to complete it, it was obvious I’d have to hang around the amusement park until the quest cleared.

“Ugh…” I clutched my head and groaned as a sudden headache hit me.

That quest—last time, I cleared it easily just by taking a bath with Cha Sahyeon. Why the hell did the difficulty suddenly spike on the second run?

‘If I fail, the seed progress will increase, so I can’t just ignore it.’

If it were any other quest, I’d have just taken the penalty and moved on, but if it affects the seed’s progress, that’s a whole different story. This was one quest I absolutely had to succeed in. But saying it is one thing. Even if it’s not bad enough to run off to the Yesung Guild’s building, this was still a time to lay low. Especially after causing that scene at Gwanghwamun just before.

If the lab had picked up on Cha Sahyeon and was plotting to snatch him away… it wouldn’t be safe even at an amusement park.

Considering the bastards who caused that mess at Gwanghwamun, would they really leave us alone just because it’s an amusement park?

Those assholes aren’t the type to kindly let people have fun in a place filled with children’s dreams and hopes. No matter where it is, they’ll charge in to grab Cha Sahyeon.

‘It’s too dangerous for just the two of us to go.’

At the very least, I needed someone strong enough to protect Cha Sahyeon if something went down. Since I could only transform into Cover at night.

‘Someone I can ask for help…’

After crossing off the short list of possible candidates one by one, only a single person was left.

“…”

I looked up at the ceiling and let out a hollow laugh.

Is this seriously the best option? Just yesterday, I left Cha Sahyeon’s affection score in the negatives toward him, and now I’m taking him out to an amusement park tomorrow? Does this make sense?

‘Yeah, it’s the best option.’

Answering my own question, I sighed deeply. No matter how hard I thought about it, no better plan came to mind. It couldn’t be helped. The problem was whether that guy would be free tomorrow, and how Cha Sahyeon would react.

“Brother.”

“Huh?”

Just as I was busy wracking my brain and laying out plans, a voice called me. When I lowered my head, I met eyes with Cha Sahyeon, who had put down his game console and was looking up at me. The kid’s face, with his long eyelashes fluttering and eyes blinking, was full of worry. He must’ve heard my sigh just now.

I let it slip without meaning to, feeling suffocated—and now I’d just made him worry. I felt a sudden pang of guilt, so I forced a smile and opened my mouth.

“Hey, kid. Wanna go out with me tomorrow?”

“Go out?”

“I promised, didn’t I? That I’d take you to the amusement park.”

Cha Sahyeon’s eyes briefly sparkled. No doubt about it—he reacted to the words amusement park.

A kid’s a kid after all. Just hearing it made him light up, and I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh too. “Well, you didn’t exactly follow my advice to stay put at home… but, well, I did leave you with someone else while I went off to work. I’ll let it slide this once.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Have you ever seen me lie?” I grinned as I asked, and Cha Sahyeon looked a little flustered. He chewed his lips for a moment, then answered with a determined expression.

“N-no!”

“…” If you’re gonna be that obvious, you might as well just admit you’ve seen it before. “Ahem, anyway — we’re going tomorrow.”

“Mmhm.”

“You’ve been through a lot lately. Rest up today, and tomorrow we’ll go have a blast.”

Only then did it seem to hit Cha Sahyeon that we were actually going to the amusement park. His face turned slightly pink as he gave a firm nod. Anyone could see how excited he was. I couldn’t help but reach out and gently tug his soft cheek. Cute.

‘I should sneak a call when Cha Sahyeon is in the shower later.’

I need to ask if he’s free tomorrow. Hopefully he says yes—there’s really no one else I can ask.

***

“Are you ready?”

“Yeah!”

As I slipped my phone into my pocket, I gave Cha Sahyeon’s outfit one last check. With the hat pulled down over his head and a black mask covering his face, the kid’s features were completely hidden. Just looking at it made me feel stifled, but there was no choice—the lab knew what Cha Sahyeon looked like.

“It’s uncomfortable, but hang in there for a bit. I’ll let you take off the hat later if the situation allows.”

“It’s fine. I like this.”

I knew how uncomfortable it was—I wore stuff like that all the time when I transformed into Cover. Even so, Cha Sahyeon answered cheerfully, saying it was fine. That mature attitude made me feel a little bitter.

It’s good that the kid’s starting to learn and pick things up, but lately it seemed like he was trying a little too hard to ease my burden.

‘Isn’t he still too young for that kind of thing?’

Not that I even knew his real age. Cha Sahyeon’s status still showed as 22, so there was no way to tell.

Whatever his actual age, for a kid like Cha Sahyeon, who’d spent his whole life locked away in a lab, it made a lot more sense for him to be buzzing with excitement about going to an amusement park than acting all grown-up.

“Let’s go.”

Grabbing the kid’s hand, I left the office. And the moment I shut the front door, I spotted a crisp white slip of paper lying on the hallway floor. A small card stamped with a spider logo. On the back, it had the same address as last time.

‘I told you to stop watching me, you bastard…’

The day after I got discharged from the hospital and you’re already sending a card? You’re not even trying to hide it anymore—that just made it more irritating.

‘Didn’t the fake say I’d be running into the Spider’s Web soon.’

I recalled the info the fake had given me, folded the card in half, and stuffed it in my pocket. Honestly, I wanted to toss it in the trash, but for now I held onto it.

After locking up the office, I stepped outside the building—and there it was: a black car, with a man standing in front of it.

“You’re here.”

The man, standing perfectly straight without the slightest hint of disorder, gave me a light nod as a greeting. I returned the gesture and slowly took in the sight of him.

Unkempt, shaggy hair, thick horn-rimmed glasses, a gray checkered shirt, and plain jeans. It was so completely different from usual that I blurted out in genuine surprise, “You look like a totally different person, Yesung’s Guildmaster.”

“That’s good, then.”

“Did you dye your hair too? I thought it used to have more of a bluish tint.”

“I didn’t have time, so I just sprayed it black.”

“Oh.”

Thorough, as expected. That’s Kwon Taehyeok for you. I gave him a silent round of applause in my head, then turned to Cha Sahyeon. “Hey, uh, Sahyeon. Look. Doesn’t this big brother look completely different?”

“…”

Cha Sahyeon, who’d been clinging to me and glaring daggers at Kwon Taehyeok, furrowed his brow and sharply turned his head away.

The kid was making it way clearer than I expected how much he disliked him. Cold sweat gathered on the back of my neck. Damn it—should’ve just come clean and confessed my screw-up in the hospital room instead of throwing Kwon Taehyeok under the bus.

It had seemed like a good idea at the time. Who would’ve thought, just two days later, we’d be heading to an amusement park together with this exact lineup.

“…Sorry. My little brother’s just really shy around new people.”

“It’s fine.”

It was obviously more than just shyness, and I was sure Kwon Taehyeok had picked up on it too—but thankfully, he let it slide without a word.

‘Yeah, you’re a grown man. You can deal with it.’

A kid’s allowed to show when he doesn’t like someone. While I was indulging that ridiculously biased thought, Kwon Taehyeok opened the car door. “Get in.” He took the driver’s seat himself after Cha Sahyeon and I climbed into the back. Well—calling for a chauffeur while in disguise would’ve been ridiculous anyway.

I handed the still-pouting Cha Sahyeon a lollipop I’d brought just for a moment like this, then turned to ask Kwon Taehyeok. “By the way, Guildmaster—it’s fine now since it’s just us, but… once we get inside the amusement park, I think we’ll need to change how we address each other.”

“Yes.”

If people found out who Kwon Taehyeok really was and gathered around, it’d be a disaster. So, acting deliberately easygoing to coax a little cooperation out of him, I asked, “What’s easiest for you?”

He hesitated for a moment before slowly opening his mouth. “I… was thinking…”

And then, right at that moment, a sharp voice cut in out of nowhere.

“Why do we have to decide that?”

Startled, I looked beside me. Cha Sahyeon hadn’t even unwrapped the lollipop I gave him, just clutching it in his hand, eyes flashing as he spoke clearly. “Why bother deciding? Is there even a reason for that? Can’t we just go with, ‘hey you,’ or whatever?”

“Uh… what?”

“I don’t think we’ll even need to call him that often, so what’s the point of picking a title?”

“…”

“Right? I’m right, aren’t I, brother?” Expression ice cold, he stared at me, demanding an answer. The atmosphere was so heavy I instinctively swallowed hard.

Was this kid always this good at talking? He usually had a blank look and gave short, clipped replies no matter what I asked.

‘Wait—more importantly, if I answer wrong right now, I feel like I’m dead.’

The air in the car had grown almost frigid. In the suffocating silence, I wiped the cold sweat from my brow and finally gave a nod. “I’ll… just call you ‘hey you,’ Guildmaster.”

“…Understood.”

Sorry. Cha Sahyeon’s glare is just too scary.