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    Won-woo was about to ask how he knew that, but realizing he didn’t have the ability to hide sounds, he sat down without argument. Then he watched as Gye Yoon turned over a large yellow plastic container. Colorful, large blocks spilled out with a noisy clatter. Gye Yoon laid out a large green board on the floor and passed a block to Won-woo, who was staring blankly.

    “Here.”

    Why are you giving it to me? Won-woo wondered with his eyes, but soon glanced at the corner where the child was hiding. Apparently, blocks were a game the child liked. Was he planning to attract the child’s interest with this? As if confirming Won-woo’s thoughts, Gye Yoon offered another block. Reluctantly accepting it and fiddling with the block, Won-woo whispered so the child couldn’t hear,

    “How do you do this?”

    Gye Yoon gave him an incredulous look.

    “You just connect them and make anything you want.”

    “Anything… like what?”

    Instead of answering, Gye Yoon pulled out doors and windows that were mixed in with the blocks. Ah, a house. Won-woo nodded and asked again.

    “Is there no blueprint?”

    Gye Yoon, who was about to carelessly stick a block into the base board, stopped his hand mid-motion.

    “Don’t tell me this is your first time playing with blocks?”

    “It is my first time.”

    One of Gye Yoon’s eyebrows went up. He muttered in disbelief,

    “The Ji family couldn’t have been so poor they couldn’t afford even one set of blocks.”

    “They have plenty of money, but I was the child who fell out of favor. Because I was born as a D-rank Guide who didn’t need support.”

    Won-woo felt the gaze staring at him intently, but ignoring it, he carefully stuck the block he was holding in one place. To build a house, shouldn’t you roughly decide on the size and calculate how many blocks are needed in advance? Unlike Won-woo, who couldn’t easily place the next block due to his complicated thoughts, Gye Yoon stuck blocks in without hesitation. To anyone watching, it looked like he was just sticking them in randomly.

    “Ah, if you make the bottom layer that big, won’t we run out of blocks?”

    “Then what did you play with when you were young?”

    Won-woo quickly counted the blocks, trying to check before Gye Yoon used them all up in the wrong places, and answered half-heartedly.

    “Just things I picked up here and there.”

    “Like what?”

    Won-woo recalled his memories and listed a few things.

    “Like packaging ribbons, or pens that were thrown in the trash. Things like that.”

    His favorite was an eraser. He had probably held onto that small eraser, which his brother had thrown on the floor in frustration during art class, for days without letting go. He just really liked that soft, squishy feeling.

    “I had an eraser too, but I was scolded for collecting garbage and everything was taken away. Wait, we need to leave space in the center for the door.”

    Won-woo removed a few blocks that Gye Yoon had stuck in without planning and inserted a door-shaped block in their place.

    “You have two older brothers, don’t you? Didn’t you get any hand me down toys?”

    “I told you. I was the child who didn’t receive support. Wait, are we supposed to stack these by color?”

    As Won-woo seriously considered whether he should also separate the blocks by color, Gye Yoon stuck in blocks with rough movements, like an angry person.

    “Even so, you didn’t grow up alone, did you?”

    “From when I started walking, I grew up almost alone. The people who took care of me changed so often and did the bare minimum anyway. No, we need to put a window there.”

    Won-woo, feeling frustrated, removed the blocks that Gye Yoon had stacked haphazardly.

    “Were you hit?”

    At the suddenly cold voice, Won-woo looked up while separating only the window blocks. Gye Yoon was staring at him intently, his hands stopped.

    “Did your father and brothers hit you?”

    It wasn’t a difficult question, but Won-woo couldn’t answer easily. Because no one had ever asked him like this before. The aunt had directly witnessed Won-woo’s injuries with her own eyes and knew the truth, and when he came to the North, no one knew he was from the Ji family.

    Moreover, it was such an old memory that even Won-woo himself was hazy on the details. Yet, the fact that someone cared enough to ask made him feel strange. Won-woo demonstrated his specialty: pretending everything was fine and nonchalant.

    “I was hit. That’s why I said they were enemies.”

    “I see.”

    What did he see? His answer bothered Won-woo, but there was something else that bothered him more at the moment.

    “…We have a problem.”

    As Won-woo’s expression turned serious, Gye Yoon’s eyes sharpened.

    “Why?”

    “The window blocks are odd-numbered.”

    “So what?”

    What do you mean, so what? They’re supposed to be in pairs for opening and closing, so there should be an even number, but one is missing. Won-woo started searching through the blocks in frustration. But it wasn’t there. No matter how much he looked, he couldn’t find the other half.

    “We need to contact the block manufacturer right away.”

    At Won-woo’s dead serious voice, Gye Yoon strained his face, trying not to laugh. He had been consumed with anger after hearing about Won-woo’s past, but the person in question was now acting urgently as if the world was ending over a missing toy window. Finally, as Won-woo picked up the plastic container to check where the manufacturer was, Gye Yoon couldn’t hold back and twisted his lips.

    “I’ll get that later…”

    Both Gye Yoon, who was about to say he’d get it for him, and Won-woo, who was trying to find the manufacturer’s phone number on the container, froze. Instead, they both silently rolled their eyes. Between the two of them, a single block piece was floating in the air, drifting towards them.

    The yellow half-window. It quietly landed exactly on top of the window blocks that Won-woo had sorted out. Only then did Won-woo realize what the child’s ability was. Telekinesis. Even while hiding, she must have been paying attention to what was happening here. Imagining that scene, a smile unconsciously spread across Won-woo’s face.

    “Thankfully, someone found the window for us, so we won’t need to call the manufacturer.”

    Won-woo said in a deliberately loud voice so the child could hear, looking at Gye Yoon. His eyes signaled for Gye Yoon to play along and praise the child, but Gye Yoon just stared blankly at Won-woo. Unable to bear it any longer, Won-woo whispered softly.

    “Hurry up and praise her.”

    “…Your smile is pretty.”

    What? As Won-woo looked at him as if to say ‘What are you talking about?’, Gye Yoon frowned and turned his head abruptly.

    “You told me to praise, didn’t you?”

    “No, not praise for me…”

    Won-woo gestured with his chin towards where the child was hiding. However, Gye Yoon, not seeing this, said something tactless.

    “If you don’t want to hear praise, then praise me.”

    “…”

    When there was no answer from Won-woo, Gye Yoon finally turned his eyes that he had been avoiding.

    “You have nothing to praise about me?”

    At the dissatisfied voice, Won-woo grumbled in response.

    “Well, that you have two eyes, one nose, one mouth?”

    If someone else had said such a thing as praise, Gye Yoon would have performed the miracle of making the other person’s eyes into one and nose into two. But far from feeling bad, he felt a tickle inside his chest and couldn’t hold back his laughter. The grumbling tone couldn’t have been cuter. The expressionless face, the hands fiddling with the blocks, and even those closed lips. Gye Yoon’s gaze lingered on those lips for a moment.

    “Want to check something else?”

    What? Won-woo asked, glancing up. Gye Yoon tilted his head to the side, erasing his smile.

    “Whether everything that should be attached to my body is properly attached. There’s something you’ll admire as soon as you see it.”

    Even though he hadn’t pointed to any specific body part, Won-woo’s gaze almost dropped downward for a moment. Surely not, right? As he was doubting, suddenly Gye Yoon leaned towards Won-woo and whispered.

    “I’ll even let you touch it. It’s big and hard enough that it won’t fit in one hand.”

    It was definitely sexual harassment. What was even more ridiculous was that he was already estimating the size. Too big to fit in one hand, is that even possible? Ha, Won-woo let out a short, hollow laugh and stared at him, not wanting to lose.

    “I don’t know. I think it might shrink as soon as I grab it.”

    Won-woo boldly provoked him but immediately regretted it. Gye Yoon’s eyes changed so drastically that they seemed dark. The level of the joke suddenly rose precariously, threatening to overflow. Won-woo tried to ignore the tension, but he held his breath at an unexpected touch on his hand. He quickly pulled his arm back, but the other was faster. Gye Yoon grabbed Won-woo’s wrist and quietly asked.

    “How were you going to grab it? Like this?”

    With these words, he traced Won-woo’s wrist with just his index finger and thumb. The place where his fingers brushed sent chills down Won-woo’s spine. Although he was holding his wrist, the gesture of stroking down and then up again was clearly symbolic.

    Suddenly, his lower abdomen felt tight. Won-woo barely resisted the urge to avoid Gye Yoon’s gaze and forcefully tried to pull his arm away. Then Gye Yoon gripped his wrist painfully hard and whispered.

    “I think mine is thicker than this.”

    Won-woo leaned his upper body back, not wanting to show his tension.

    “What would your sister say if she knew you were talking like this in front of a child?”

    As expected, there was nothing like family to break the mood. As Gye Yoon frowned and loosened his grip, Won-woo didn’t miss the opportunity to pull his arm away. Gye Yoon also returned to his original posture and grumbled.

    “Of course, I made it so only Ji Won-woo could hear.”

    Then he ran his hand through his hair and left without saying goodbye. Won-woo didn’t try to stop him either. No, he couldn’t even look up because he was keeping his head down. He had seen the long shape revealed over his thigh when he stood up.

    Am I really going to get kicked out by the head of the Gye family at this rate? While worrying internally, his face unnecessarily heated up. Won-woo covered his mouth with one hand and was about to touch a block with the other when he paused. A block was floating, silently flying towards him.

    “Stop crying.”

    Chief Jung took his eyes off the CCTV and passed a tissue to Jae-hak beside him. Although no more blocks flew after Ji Won-woo completed the house alone with blocks, Jae-hak’s eyes were still red just from seeing the child’s reaction. As he finally calmed down, blowing his nose with the tissue, Chief Jung couldn’t help but say,

    “It’s just two blocks that moved.”

    She hasn’t even come out yet and is still in the corner. If she shows her face, he’ll probably wail.

    “Our Hwan’s, sniff! favorite thing is playing with blocks, but, sigh, she hasn’t played with them once in months.”

    Honestly, even now it’s not accurate to say she played with them, but Chief Jung let it slide, not wanting to stimulate his tear ducts again. Anyway, it was a signal that the child was no longer sick.

    “By the way, Ji Won-woo isn’t bad, is he?”

    Chief Jung quickly changed the subject, pointing at the CCTV. On the screen, someone who had just come to take over was telling Won-woo that he could leave. He couldn’t leave right away and looked once towards where the child was, but soon turned around after politely greeting.

    This behavior was a bit unexpected for Chief Jung. Occasionally, there are Guides who volunteer to come in despite not meeting the conditions, or those who want to be the child’s nanny. The common point among these people is that they try to stick close to the child from the beginning.

    There was passion hoping that the child would become familiar with them and open up, and also sympathy for the child. But no matter how much they said it was for the child, there was always a bit of greed in the corner of their hearts.

    This was the Gye family, rumored to be the wealthiest in the continent. The heir of this place suffers so much that it’s called a curse. There were quite a few people who secretly hoped to become the savior of the Gye family that rules the North. So they tried hard to win the child’s favor.

    But the Gye family didn’t want such people. If their purpose was pure sympathy, they were kicked out and told to help those in worse situations. Because those drunk on the fantasy of being a savior wanted to receive something in return for the results later. Even if not material compensation, they wanted gratitude, recognition, or people’s respect.

    But Ji Won-woo was clearly different. Even though he could most easily take the position of savior. And Jae-hak, who was watching the screen together, agreed with Chief Jung’s opinion.

    “Not just not bad, but really good.”

    It was clearly praise for Won-woo, but strangely, his face was serious.

    “You don’t look like you think it’s good.”

    “There’s something that bothers me…”

    As Jae-hak trailed off, Chief Jung nodded as if understanding.

    “Ah, I feel the same. It seems the Vice Head has fallen for him, right?”

    “Huh?”

    What, that’s not what you were worried about? As Chief Jung narrowed his eyes, Jae-hak said “Ah” and chuckled.

    “He said he hadn’t.”

    “Even though he was staring and saying his smile is pretty?”

    “It is pretty, isn’t it?”

    “…True.”

    Chief Jung couldn’t deny that Ji Won-woo’s appearance was excellent.

    “Yoon is an Esper, so it’s inevitable that he’s attracted to a charming guide.”

    “The problem is that for Espers, that attraction can grow into obsession. Are you okay with him being from the Ji family?”

    “After meeting him, he doesn’t seem like a bad person. And Yoon needs obsession. People can’t live on revenge and hatred alone.”

    Jae-hak’s expression darkened as he thought of the Gye family siblings who had lived until now on the power of revenge and hatred. Chief Jung thought Jae-hak’s opinion sounded like a fairy tale dream and didn’t agree.

    After all, wasn’t it thanks to that desire for revenge that Gye Yoon had endured and survived until now despite the pain of not being able to receive guidance? However, he didn’t bother to argue. Jae-hak always smiles kindly, but on the other hand, he sometimes shows sharp insight.

    “If not the Vice Head, what are you worried about?”

    “Ji Won-woo’s toys.”

    “You mean playing with trash?”

    Yes, Jae-hak nodded.

    “Even if not blocks, everyone has toys when they’re young. At the very least, they play with dolls.”

    “I didn’t have dolls.”

    “Then you probably played with boring science kits or something.”

    “My grandfather was a mathematician.”

    “Wasn’t your grandfather a gambler?”

    “…That means he loved probability that much.”

    This is why Chief Jung hated getting a job in his hometown where everyone knows about family circumstances.

    “Anyway, Chief Jung, you received love from your grandfather, right?”

    But it seems Ji Won-woo didn’t have anyone who bought him even a small gift. Jae-hak couldn’t believe the brief words he heard from Won-woo through the CCTV. Who would believe that a direct descendant of the Ji family was raised so thoroughly neglected? Even Jae-hak, who had a lot of information about the Ji family, only thought of him as being in an outcast position, but the reality was much more serious.

    “Of course not me, but not everyone grows up receiving love as a child. And Ji Won-woo didn’t seem to care about that past at all.”

    That’s why it was more concerning. It was clearly a deficiency, yet he didn’t seem to think it was a big deal. Just then, Chief Jung patted Jae-hak’s shoulder.

    “Focus only on Hwan for now. We’ll keep a good eye on Ji Won-woo.”

    “Not surveillance, um, treat him well.”

    “Of course. He’s still a Guide, after all. We even catered to that trash Guide sent by the Ji family.”

    Although that wasn’t the reason, Jae-hak didn’t bother to correct him. Then Chief Jung added in passing,

    “Even if not us, the Vice Head who hasn’t fallen for him yet will treat him well.”

    ***

    Whether unable to control his ability or after gaining control, sounds always tormented Gye Yoon. To him, all sounds in the world were noise. Now he knows well enough how to pick out necessary sounds even when too many sounds are heard at once, but still, this sea-like world of sounds was suffocating.

    At one point, he even had the urge to eliminate everything that moved and breathed. So, unlike Espers who feel considerable pride in their abilities, Gye Yoon often thought his ability was dispensable. But now it was different. With this power, he could instantly pick out that person’s breath among the numerous breaths within the mansion.

    Now, as if he had fallen asleep, only his regular breathing continued without any movement sounds. It seemed he couldn’t sleep until dawn, but the small movements he made then, the rustling of bedding, and even the occasional deepening sighs all became stimulating like a drug.

    ‘Haa.’

    Blocking out all surrounding sounds as if muting them, he focused on that small breath. As his body relaxed, indicated by the slow and repetitive breathing sounds, Gye Yoon’s hand moved even faster.

    Between his spread legs as he sat on the sofa, his erect dick pointed towards the sky. Although he had already ejaculated several times, his dick didn’t lose its hardness. As he stimulated himself by stroking his dick with his hand, only the sensation of touching Won-woo’s wrist earlier came to mind.

    The tingling that spread from his fingertips when he stroked down the muscular, lean arm now gathered as heat in his dick. It was ridiculous that he could masturbate so many times with just the sensation of grabbing a wrist once. However, reason and shame were easily trampled by instinctual desire.

    It felt like he could keep holding his erect dick and ejaculating for hours just listening to that breathing. Won-woo’s breathing was like a drug to that extent. A shiver ran through him again as he even had the illusion of that breath flowing into his ear like a warm breath.

    “Huu…”

    Gye Yoon tilted his head back with his eyes closed. Although he could see situations like videos with just sound, he deliberately focused only on the breathing. He wanted to enjoy the memory of Won-woo more than his current appearance.

    The expressionless face when he grabbed his wrist. But the eyes that trembled slightly. That momentary expression of confusion when he tried to pull his hand away but Gye Yoon wouldn’t let go. Gye Yoon obsessively delved into the memory.

    As if breaking down the frames of a video, he retraced that expression over and over again, finally stopping at the slightly parted lips. The breath that had been rising silently now blocked Gye Yoon’s breath in faster, larger chunks.

    Instead, only the sound of rapidly shaking the hard flesh echoed in the darkness. Transparent fluid flowed down from the tip of the swollen, red glans onto the shaft and his hand. The fluid amplified the squelching friction sound with each shake of his dick. 

    When his mind was filled only with the sound of his own breathing, his held breath burst out and turbid semen shot from the tip of his dick. Gye Yoon’s muscular lower abdomen convulsed. The pleasure of ejaculation quickly dissipated after expelling the result, but he couldn’t easily escape the afterglow.

    While his body and mind became languid, his desire for him kept growing, consuming all other thoughts. Why was he so aroused by Ji Won-woo? Why wouldn’t his trivial movements, expressions, and sounds leave his mind? There was no time now to question the reason for this emotion he was experiencing for the first time.

    In place of the disappeared pleasure, greed for the real thing was rising. He’s on the same floor, not far away. Just go and strip him, mount him. It would be amazing to forcefully press him down and thrust his dick into his body. A cruel instinct rose as if his sense of ethics was broken, but it didn’t feel wrong.

    He had already felt the pleasure of overpowering the other when he forcefully held Won-woo’s hand and prevented him from escaping. There was reason that considered it wrong to disturb his mood, but there also coexisted a desire to thrust his hips while pushing ruthlessly with force. Gye Yoon took a deep breath to calm the rising cruelty. And with his head tilted back, he continued to focus on Won-woo’s sweet breathing.

    ***

    [It all disappeared after a day. Completely gone.]

    Hwang Sang-cheon, who had called out of concern, was the first to inform Won-woo of the news from the East. The news and internet, which had been covered with Won-woo’s name for several days, were now only showing Ji Geun-oh’s name, as if nothing had happened.

    [Ji Geun-oh is already acting as if he’s a member of the People’s Committee. But even though public opinion has calmed down, um, it seems like they’re still after Ji Won-woo-nim. It seems like they’ve gone to all my store’s customers one by one.]

    “I’m sorry.”

    When Won-woo apologized, Hwang Sang-cheon immediately raised his voice.

    [No, don’t be sorry! Absolutely not. Thanks to you, I was able to move comfortably. The bru… ahem, Yoon took great care, so all my things were brought over well, and the accommodation and shop he provided are even better than I deserve. It’s all thanks to you, Ji Won-woo-nim.]

    “It’s not because of me. It’s because Gye Yoon thinks of you that much as his foster father.”

    [……]

    “Hello?”

    [Sorry. I suddenly heard a dog barking.]

    Was there a house with a dog nearby?

    “That’s interesting. Nani also said it often heard dog barking nearby.”

    […Ugh, this bru…]

    There seemed to be a sigh of frustration, then Hwang Sang-cheon quickly changed the subject.

    [Anyway, there are still people chasing me, so they told me to stay here for now and refrain from making calls. Are you doing okay there, Won-woo-nim?]

    “It’s not bad.”

    [Not bad? Isn’t it good? Is that bru… Yoon do anything unnecessary?]

    At the name Yoon, Won-woo flinched. All night long, a really unnecessary comment kept coming to mind, preventing him from sleeping. What he said while holding Won-woo’s wrist.

    ‘I think mine is thicker than this.’

    Even thinking about it again, it was nonsense. No, would such a thing exist in common sense? How could it be thicker than a wrist? It’s not like an Esper’s power comes from there.

    Won-woo touched his own wrist while recalling that moment, then startled, pulled his hand away. He forcibly closed his eyes, telling himself it was really unnecessary thinking, but in the end, he couldn’t sleep properly. But now, hearing his name again brought back that fierce thickness debate he had alone. Haa. Won-woo barely swallowed a sigh, lowered his eyes, but when he saw his wrist, he immediately squeezed his eyes shut. Damn it.

    “What’s wrong?”

    At the sudden unwanted voice, Won-woo’s heart sank a little. Trying to act nonchalant, he looked up to see Gye Yoon leaning crookedly against the open doorway.

    [Huh? Are you really okay? Ah, did that bastard say something strange?]

    As Hwang Sang-cheon was raising his voice to ask through the phone, Won-woo gave a vague answer that everything was fine and hung up the phone first. 

    “It was a call from Director Hwang. Thank you for bringing him safely to the North.”

    Fortunately, the greeting came out well as usual. However, Gye Yoon just stared at him.

    “What is it?”

    “Did you not sleep well?”

    For a moment, the night’s anguish came to mind, but Won-woo replied as if it wasn’t a big deal.

    “I’ll sleep well once I get used to it.”

    “Ah, once you get used to it.”

    Somehow feeling like his excuse had been seen through, Won-woo’s voice became slightly sharp.

    “Or should there be another reason?”

    “I thought you might have insomnia.”

    He did. Damn, he should have used that as an excuse. Won-woo felt pathetic for feeling awkward even in such a simple conversation, while regretting his response. What irritated him more was how nonchalant the other person was.

    He felt unfairly annoyed at how calm Gye Yoon seemed, as if he didn’t remember or care about what had happened and what was said yesterday. His tone became unnecessarily aggressive.

    “Once I get used to it, I can sleep well even on the ground, so don’t worry about it.”

    “We don’t do rude things like making guests sleep on the ground.”

    “It’s just a figure of speech.”

    “I’m being serious.”

    The eyes staring at him while answering indifferently were burdensome to Won-woo. Those eyes focusing so intently on him reminded him of his past self. The current Gye Yoon was becoming more and more like him when he could only express emotions through his eyes.

    When he first saw him, his eyes were filled with cold contempt towards the Ji family. But now, he couldn’t find hatred or rejection. Instead, he felt uneasy as it seemed like a different emotion was filling them. Gye Yoon, who had been observing Won-woo, muttered,

    “You’re wary of me.”

    “I have to be. I don’t want you falling for me.”

    The reaction Won-woo wanted most was ridicule. He wanted him to assert his pride, saying, ‘Why would I fall for you?’ But what came back was pure question.

    “What does it mean to fall for someone?”

    “Are you asking because you don’t know?”

    “Yes. I’ve never liked anyone in my life.”

    Gye Yoon said bluntly, tilting his head to focus on Won-woo.

    “Tell me. What happens when you fall for someone?”

    “……”

    “You can’t take your eyes off them, you feel anxious when you can’t see them, and when you do see them, your heart gets so noisy it’s annoying. Is that it?”

    The low voice resonated as if whispering in his ear. It wasn’t a difficult question, so it should have been easy to answer, but Won-woo’s mouth wouldn’t open. Because Gye Yoon’s description of falling for someone sounded like his own experience. He couldn’t just admit it. Staring at the eyes that wouldn’t let go of his gaze, Won-woo took a step back.

    “I don’t know. From the symptoms alone, it sounds like an investor checking on stocks that have plummeted in a bear market.”

    Gye Yoon’s lips curved silently. Not the usual crooked smile, but a deeply curved line that made him look boyish.

    “It certainly feels like I’ve been caught.”

    With the lightened atmosphere, Won-woo felt a sense of relief and turned his gaze away.

    “If you feel that way, step back on your own. There’s nothing funnier than Gye sobbing and obsessing over Ji, saying he loves him.”

    As Won-woo exaggerated deliberately, a slight irritation flashed in Gye Yoon’s eyes. It wasn’t because of the situation Won-woo described, but because he didn’t like himself for momentarily thinking, ‘So what?’ He didn’t feel like his pride would be hurt by clinging to Ji and sobbing that he loved him. Gye Yoon, disliking this side of himself, replied half-heartedly.

    “If no one laughs, is it okay to do it?”

    “There’s no way no one would laugh. At least the head of the Gye family would sneer.”

    There was no better cure to bring one to their senses than family’s reaction. Gye Yoon’s eyes hardened instantly.

    “Fine. Even if I end up clinging and saying I love you, I absolutely won’t cry.”

    “No, it’s not a problem that can be solved with tears…”

    “It’s fine as long as Gye Min doesn’t laugh, right?”

    No, it’s not? Won-woo was about to say something in disbelief, but Gye Yoon added indifferently.

    “You’ve been cast out by the Ji family anyway. There’s nothing strange about us loving each other.”

    “It is strange. First of all, we’re not even in love with each other…”

    “It’s not strange. You’re being heavily criticized right now, so even if you say you love me, who’s been criticized for a long time, there’s no more criticism to receive.”

    That premise of love is the problem. Won-woo wanted to point out, but he gave up, feeling like he was the one harping on about love. As he did so, he brought up the reason he was being criticized. By now, hasn’t he become the worst person in the world?

    “Ji Geun-oh will become a member of the People’s Committee, so they must be excitedly pouring out articles praising him in the media. The higher his status rises, the more his expelled son will fall into the role of a villain. But as they say, the higher you climb, the harder you fall. It’s time to turn public opinion around.”

    “How?”

    “We need to let it be known that Ji Geun-oh ruthlessly expelled his innocent son. I’ll send you a file containing the voice confession of the Esper who was stalking me. Can you use the media?”

    Gye Yoon looked at Won-woo with curious eyes.

    “Was this evidence originally created to get back at Ji Geun-oh?”

    “It was to create a justification for leaving Guide One, so it’s similar. Now it should serve as a justification for why I had to come to the North.”

    In response to Won-woo’s words, Gye Yoon coldly shook his head.

    “It’s a bit weak as a justification. The Gye family’s image is quite bad, so they’ll probably criticize you more for joining hands with villains. If you really need justification, I’m sorry, but once you’ve come to the North, you won’t receive support from anyone.”

    “Let’s try anyway. We just need to plant the perception that I’m a victim.”

    Won-woo added with a bitter smile.

    “We need to emphasize the victim aspect to gain sympathy. The truth doesn’t matter. This is a tactic Ji Geun-oh uses well, so it should work.”

    When there’s something to be criticized for, he deliberately stirs up controversy by highlighting only his own victimhood. When it becomes a mud-slinging fight, people gradually forget his wrongdoings.

    Hello~
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