DB Vol 4 Part 7

After reviewing the list spanning several pages, he picked up a pen and started checking off a few names without hesitation. His unhesitating hand movements made Chief Jung beside him suspect he might be marking anyone randomly. But Won-woo’s words as he handed over the checked list were different.

“These should be eliminated first as the top priority.”

“What’s the reason?”

As Gye Min asked first while receiving the list, Won-woo smiled enigmatically.

“Because that’s how our victory becomes certain.”

Victory. The words were easy. It seemed like they could win just by eliminating a few vicious people currently tormenting the Gye family. However, the names Gye Min expected were not checked on the list. She frowned after examining the names. As the two noticed Gye Min’s strange expression and wondered, Gye Min tossed the list to them to look at.

And soon they realized why Gye Min had frowned like that. If they were to be eliminated first, they should naturally be the most vicious or high-ranking ones difficult to remove, but the checked names were far from that. Rather, some were people considered decent talents despite being enemies.

“What exactly is your criteria?”

When Gye Min asked sharply, Won-woo slowly opened his mouth. And after hearing the reason, the eyes of the three people shook with astonishment.

‘A guest has arrived.’

Won-woo, who had been quietly cooped up in his room as he hadn’t yet received permission for activities from the Gye Family Head, received a message. I have a guest? Wondering, he entered what appeared to be a large reception room and opened his eyes wide.

“Ms. Seona!”

As Won-woo approached with a smile of delight, Seona, who was awkwardly standing up, blushed slightly. She was also glad and worried to meet after a long time, but being someone who didn’t usually show such emotions, she managed her expression and sat down.

But Won-woo welcomed her so eagerly first. An awkward smile was about to leak onto her face, but she held it back out of habit. Seeing the stoic Seona, Won-woo smiled even more brightly.

“Seeing Ms. Seona puts my mind at ease. I was worried if you could safely come to the North Center. I was concerned you might miss the timing when guiding is needed.”

His concern made her feel good for no reason, as if a warm spring breeze brushed her heart. But expressing such feelings was still awkward.

“Guiding is still fine for now.”

“Fine? So much time has passed.”

“I was always in this state when Won-woo-nim wasn’t around, so what’s the difference?”

“Yes. But now I’m here.”

Won-woo spoke seriously as he sat across from her and reached out his hand. In fact, Seona wanted to grab that hand immediately as it was time for guiding, but it was difficult to grab it because he seemed like someone who was only interested in guiding.

As Seona hesitated, Won-woo took her hand and pulled it. And as soon as he grabbed it, Seona barely held back a satisfied sigh as she felt the energy that had been scratching and rampaging inside her body quickly drain away.

Yes, this feeling. Endorphins started circulating in her body, knowing from experience that she would soon be alright. And on the other hand, she was a bit touched seeing him worry about guiding as soon as he saw her. She didn’t regret her decision to come to the North, but she had anxieties. It was because she had heard so many bad rumors about the North. But seeing Won-woo in person, she thought she had made the right choice in coming.

It’s a body that might die from going rampage at any time anyway. It would be okay to throw het body away for someone who allows her to use her ability freely. She became confident again. So as soon as the guiding ended, she brought up her concern. When she mentioned what Seung-wook had told her when he came looking for her, Won-woo raised one eyebrow.

“He said to get out of the North immediately because it’s dangerous?”

Seona nodded and asked seriously.

“Have you heard of any strange incidents or accidents in the North that didn’t happen before?”

She had heard. Such an incident had occurred just recently.

“They say a monster tree appeared that grows rapidly in just a few hours.”

Won-woo’s explanation was brief, but the content was shocking. Growing in just a few hours? That means monsters are generated and pop out that quickly?

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. It seems it appeared a few months ago too. But they say it appeared again in the North a few days ago.”

“Why do such mutations appear only in the North?”

“I wonder. Why only in the North? It’s not like someone deliberately planted mutant seeds.”

Suddenly, Seona’s expression froze completely. Aren’t there many people down there who are desperate to bring down the North?

“So you’re saying it’s a deliberately created mutation?”

Won-woo looked out the window for a moment as if thinking, then muttered as if talking to himself.

“The Alpha Seed. Can it only enhance Espers’ abilities? What if it could enhance the abilities of the same seeds too?”

There was no answer, but looking at Seona’s shaking eyes, Won-woo understood the complex shock she was feeling. It was hard to accept for an Esper fighting monsters on the front lines. To think someone would deliberately do such a terrible thing.

In fact, Won-woo was surprised when he thought of this possibility too. In his original world, although Espers had waged war against ordinary people, they hadn’t created such mutant seeds. After a long while, Seona asked in a calm voice.

“Has the Gye family found any information related to this?”

“The Alpha Seed is rare, so it would be difficult to find places researching it.”

“But they might have succeeded and be preparing to use it in the North.”

Only then did Seona understand Seung-wook’s warning. With a rapidly growing mutant monster tree, monsters would pour out without time to prepare, and the North would be devastated. She gritted her teeth and spat out.

“That Hong Seung-wook, even though he’s an Esper himself…”

“He probably doesn’t know the exact situation. It’s more likely he only knew that problems would arise in the North.”

When Won-woo spoke in his defense, Seona openly showed her displeasure. Won-woo grinned as if to say not to misunderstand.

“He’s a strict person who keeps to his principles. If he knew the detailed circumstances, maybe… he might have left the family.”

He had already left once. Although there were different reasons in his world, many Espers became disillusioned with the war between Espers and ordinary people. No matter how much Purifier was on the side of ordinary people, he didn’t want to kill powerless ordinary people for that reason.

“So that’s why Hong Seung-wook said such things.”

Seona said as if remembering, then explained to Won-woo.

“He said not to dig deeper, as if anyone who learns this information will be killed.”

“He’s pretending to know something, but it’s unpleasant.”

“Ah, that’s what I mean.”

Seona strongly agreed and added, seeming displeased.

“He doesn’t even know the details himself. Besides, I don’t understand why he’s so concerned about you. It’s not like you two are dating.”

Won-woo hesitated. They weren’t dating, but it seems the original Ji Won-woo had dated him briefly. Misunderstanding Won-woo’s reaction, Seona’s eyes widened.

“Don’t tell me you have lingering feelings for Hong Seung-wook?”

No, before Won-woo could answer, suddenly, a strong force grabbed his shoulder.Startled, he looked up to see someone wearing a black hood, who had appeared without notice, gripping his shoulder. He was wearing clothes stained with dust and blood, showing how much he had struggled over the past few days.

“Gye Bru-… Gye Yoon?”

Seona recognized him and called his name, but he only stared intently at Won-woo. Won-woo wanted to ask if he had resolved the matter he went for well, but he couldn’t open his mouth due to the intense gaze fixed on him. Although his energy was unstable, it wasn’t urgent enough to need immediate guiding. Then a low voice was heard.

“You don’t have any.”

Any what? As Won-woo wondered, Gye Yoon pushed back his hood, revealing an expressionless face. He said something, but Won-woo and Seona were so surprised by his face that they couldn’t hear properly. Dried dark red blood was smeared on his face and teeth.

Only then did the two notice that his clothes were also covered in those stains. It was chilling. Because monster blood wasn’t red. So the numerous bloodstains had to be from animals or humans. Then the cold voice repeated lowly towards Won-woo.

“You don’t have any lingering feelings.”

***

Even while working late into the evening, Min couldn’t help but keep glancing at the list she had reluctantly placed next to her. If she wanted to ignore it, she could just throw the paper away, but on the one hand, she was tempted by the idea that this hit list might be the right answer.

Finally, she called the Chief Secretary and Chief Jung again. The two seemed to understand why the Family Head had called them, their expressions rigid. But Gye Min brought up Ji Won-woo’s story first, not the list.

“Although Ji Won-woo denies it, it’s clear that the sudden increase in his ability is due to human experiments conducted by the family.”

The two nodded greatly as if agreeing.

“It seems necessary to investigate thoroughly.”

Gye Min tapped her pen on the desk, then ordered.

“Use the Shadows if necessary.”

The Shadow team, composed of individuals excellent at disguise and stealth, was rarely mobilized as Gye Min valued them highly. Originally, she had planned to use them to find the source of the mutant seeds that suddenly appeared in the North.

“Then how do you plan to find the mastermind behind the mutant seeds?”

“Mastermind? Is there a need to find them? It’s obvious anyway.”

Gye Min spoke coldly as she pulled Won-woo’s death note towards her. And she recalled what Won-woo had said.

‘What exactly is your criteria?’

When Won-woo suggested that those checked on the list should be eliminated first, Gye Min had asked. Then he answered like this,

‘Loyalty. These are people with enough faith to fight for the crumbling family until the final moment when defeat is certain. Because they truly care for the family, persuasion, threats, and bribes don’t work on them. These people are the pillars silently supporting the family. So we must eliminate them first. Then those full of greed will naturally cause the family to rot. That’s how it becomes easy to annihilate them.’

After that strange first guiding experience, Won-woo had worried if he could properly face Gye Yoon again. So he hesitated at Gye Yoon’s intense gaze now holding him. He couldn’t even remember the words demanding an answer.

‘You don’t have any lingering feelings, right?’

Despite the threatening aura waiting for Won-woo’s response, or rather, demanding an immediate affirmation, that guiding experience came to Won-woo’s mind first. No, those movements that were more like pseudo-sexual acts than guiding.

The sensation of his and Gye Yoon’s dicks held in his hand and rubbed together came back with surprising vividness. So he hesitated momentarily. The words that he should naturally agree with, ‘Of course, I don’t have any lingering feelings,’ didn’t come out easily. But he didn’t realize those few seconds would make the other’s eyes turn cold.

Fortunately or unfortunately, he had no time to gauge the other’s mood. There was a faint, very faint smell of blood. Though the scent coming from Gye Yoon’s body, which was practically drenched in blood, was really weak like an air freshener that had lost all its fragrance, Won-woo unconsciously covered his mouth with his hand.

“Ugh.”

As he retched, he felt the hand on his shoulder tighten its grip strongly. He vaguely saw Seona jump up in surprise in front of him, but Won-woo couldn’t pay attention as he rushed to the bathroom. Luckily, there was a bathroom nearby. With a loud bang as the door slammed shut, Won-woo disappeared, and the two left behind frowned. As Gye Yoon tried to follow Won-woo into the bathroom belatedly, Seona blocked him.

“Where are you going? That…”

In that state? The criticism couldn’t be fully expressed. Literally, she couldn’t open her mouth. No sound could be heard. It was different from simply not hearing external sounds. Even the sound of her own breathing that should be coming from her body had disappeared. The eerily complete erasure of sound gave her goosebumps. It felt as if she couldn’t be sure whether she was alive or not.

But the goosebumps were soon overtaken by pain that felt like her lungs were being squeezed. She tried to inhale unconsciously, but no air came in. Only then did she realize she was in a state where she couldn’t move a finger. To the point where she couldn’t even breathe. Her brain, the only part moving, recognized the cause of this state.

Right in front of her, an expressionless face was turning emotionless eyes towards Seona. Just moments ago, when looking at Won-woo, his gaze had been so full of overflowing emotion that it was burdensome. Now he seemed like a completely different person, which was chilling. It was as if he was just lightly pushing her aside like clearing away bothersome trash for trying to stop him.

She realized that her previous complaints and openly expressing dislike to Gye Yoon had only been possible because it was in front of Won-woo. Seona had prided herself on being a fairly capable Esper, so this overwhelming difference in ability was also astounding. However, there was someone more important than herself right now. Resisting the force constricting her, Seona managed to barely move her lips. No sound came out, but that was okay.

‘Where are you going looking like that.’

The other read the words Seona mouthed. Though his gaze was still emotionless, Seona’s blocked airway opened up.

“Heuk!”

Her waist bent reflexively as she suddenly inhaled, but Seona didn’t take her wide eyes off the other. She didn’t know when that madman might choke her again. Her mouth opened quickly.

“Won-woo is suffering, haa, because of you right now, where are you trying to follow him?”

“Because of me?”

Gye Yoon tilted his head to the side as if he didn’t understand. That appearance looked somewhat innocent, but Seona wasn’t fooled. She was certain that the blood covering his entire body was human.

“Then is it because of me? He was talking to me just fine and gave me guiding just fine…”

Ugh. Seona tensed her whole body again due to her breath getting blocked. She was too busy trying to push back the force pressing down on her to have room to find anything strange in the other’s question.

“You, you received guiding?”

“Yes. I’m lucky enough to have Won-woo guide me.”

“How?”

What do you mean how? Seona frowned and barely held back the panting breath she wanted to let out.

“Ugh, by holding hands.”

“And then?”

His voice was still dry, making Seona suspect that Gye Yoon might just be tormenting her with meaningless questions.

“Don’t you know how guiding works? Through his hand, ungh, he organized my energy with his hand.”

“That’s all?”

“What else should there be?!”

Seona spat out her answer and glared at Gye Yoon again. He muttered to himself, lost in thought while looking at empty space with emotionless eyes.

“Then he really did retch because of me.”

“Yes. It’s because of you. Your appearance is disgusting. Your whole body is covered in blood.”

Only then did Gye Yoon slowly look down at himself. Seona thought he might get angry at the blatant criticism, but contrary to expectations, Gye Yoon nodded.

“I see.”

And that was all before he went outside. As the door closed, the shackles pressing on Seona’s body were released, as if the restraining force from Gye Yoon had completely disappeared. But she felt dirty. She had never felt so helpless in the face of such overwhelming power, causing severe self-loathing. So she wasn’t even angry at Gye Yoon. Though it was less than a minute, she felt as exhausted as if she had run for hours. Seona collapsed into a chair and let out a hollow laugh.

“That crazy bastard. He only treated me like a person in front of Won-woo.”

Gye Yoon washed himself clean several times but couldn’t go to Won-woo. Instead, he was dragged before Gye Min. Already irritated because he wanted to quickly check on Won-woo’s condition, Gye Yoon’s eyes were full of a fierce light. His will to overturn everything and leave if his sister nagging was evident, but Gye Min just kept looking down at the documents on her desk while keeping him standing.

“Speak quickly.”

Even at Gye Yoon’s urging, Gye Min didn’t look up for a long while before finally opening her mouth.

“You’re still fine even after stirring things up like that?”

One of Gye Yoon’s eyebrows furrowed in irritation. That was precisely why his displeasure had already risen. He really never dreamed he would come to long for going rampage.

“I’m on the verge of going rampage.”

Gye Min raised her head and glanced at him.

“You look completely fine to me.”

This time, Gye Yoon’s eye area trembled as if having a spasm. Fuck, I should have forcibly woken up all the monsters in the farm and killed them. As he turned around to go out and create non-existent monsters, Chief Jung hurriedly held him back.

“You’re going to see Ji Won-woo, right? His condition is fine now. The doctor who examined him also said there’s nothing wrong with his health, just gastritis.”

“How can gastritis be nothing wrong?”

“…I have gastritis.”

However, Gye Yoon only heard the gastritis that had befallen his Guide as something serious.

“Does he need surgery?”

“If Ji Won-woo-ssi needs surgery, I should be preparing my coffin right now.”

“So, what’s Won-woo’s pain level now? Isn’t he in pain?”

“He took his medicine and is snoring in his sleep.”

“How did he end up with such a serious illness?”

Chief Jung’s stomach started to ache. He informed Gye Yoon of the typical causes of gastritis.

“It’s probably due to stress. Especially because of someone close to him.”

“Close… Fuck, it must be because of those Ji family bastards.”

Seeing his superior who would never consider himself as a possible cause even if he died right now, Chief Jung now felt like the meal he ate 3 hours ago was sitting heavily.

“Since Ji Won-woo is still alive and well, shut up and look at this.”

Gye Min threw the list Won-woo had checked in front of Gye Yoon.

“What is it?”

“A list of those who need to be killed as a priority.”

Gye Yoon scanned the list with disinterested eyes.

“What do you think?”

“We’re going to kill them all anyway, what does it matter who dies first?”

“Why doesn’t it matter? The enemies we’re trying to eliminate are Espers who protect ordinary people from monsters. If the fight drags on, ordinary people will suffer the most damage.”

Gye Yoon knew well that Gye Min’s words were spoken not as his sister, but as a leader leading a region. That’s why he sneered at her even more.

“If you have the mind to care for others, give up on revenge.”

Gye Min’s eyes turned cold, but Gye Yoon ignored it and threw the list on her desk.

“I’m enough for revenge on my own.”

“Does receiving guiding make all the world’s Espers seem laughable to you? Don’t be mistaken. You’re not the only strong one in the world. There are Espers like you out there.”

“No, there aren’t. I’m the best.”

Gye Yoon responded indifferently and turned around again. Before closing the door to leave, he heard Gye Min’s order to bring Won-woo immediately when he woke up, but he let it go in one ear and out the other. When Ji Won-woo wakes up, he’ll naturally be with him. He couldn’t let others see him as soon as he woke up. He raised his arm, sniffed himself once, and quickly walked down the corridor.

Was it because of the sedative? Won-woo, who rarely dreamed, had a dream for the first time in a very long time. His old house where he used to live. And he was there inside. A face distorted by scars, eyes that had lost their vitality, a body that couldn’t move properly. As soon as Won-woo saw him in the familiar old room, he stopped breathing.

Even though he knew the other couldn’t hear sounds, he felt like he shouldn’t make even the slightest noise. But his heart, seeing him after a long time, was pounding so loudly it was noisy. Won-woo had always tried not to recall anything about him after he left.

Because he was a sinner who had only used him for his loneliness. He had made excuses while holding onto him, who wanted to die but couldn’t die alone. If even he leaves, who will remain by my side? Out of selfishness, he had ignored the death the other might have wished for. And yet, ridiculously, he still felt guilty. That was why he was always afraid to face him.

Wouldn’t there be blame and hatred towards him? Too scared, he didn’t even properly meet his eyes. But there were other emotions in his eyes towards him. When he noticed, he had turned away.

So now, as he slowly turned his head to look at him, his breath caught again. In his eyes, which he was seeing after a long time, were full of the emotions Won-woo had so feared. Hatred, dislike, resentment.

‘I’m, I’m sorry.’

Won-woo muttered in a trembling voice, but he, unable to hear, turned his gaze back to the window.

‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.’

Apologies that had turned into sobs came out endlessly, but he didn’t turn to look at Won-woo again. Feeling like a rebuke that his apologies were already useless, Won-woo sobbed until he couldn’t breathe. I’m sorry, still sorry.

“…woo! Ji Won-woo!”

Huk!

With his name suddenly heard, his reason awoke sharply. His heart, which had been immersed in guilt, was as heavy as cabbage pickled in salt. Moreover, the eyes identical to his that he met as soon as he opened his eyes further constricted his heart.

“Did you have a nightmare?”

Nightmare? Ah… it was a dream. Won-woo thought blankly and opened his mouth.

“Gye Yoon…”

Gye Yoon, sitting at the edge of the bed, looked down at Won-woo seriously and asked in a low voice.

“Yes. Do you recognize me?”

Instead of nodding, Won-woo tried to grasp the quickly fading afterimage of the dream. It was Gye Yoon. Right, he was Gye Yoon too. But the Gye Yoon from the original world and the Gye Yoon before his eyes were so different it was hard to believe they were the same person. This world’s Gye Yoon still had his whole body intact, and even though he had experienced misfortune, he still had the will to live. This world’s Gye Yoon still had a chance to be happy.

“Breathe.”

Only at the low murmur did Won-woo exhale the breath he had been holding. Even so, he couldn’t take his eyes off Gye Yoon. At his reaction, Gye Yoon asked curiously.

“Why are you looking at me with those eyes?”

“What kind of eyes do I have?”

Though ashamed of his cracked voice, he focused on the eyes of the living Gye Yoon.

“Like someone who’s done something wrong to me.”

“…There’s nothing like that.”

Won-woo belatedly muttered and fully came to his senses. This world’s Gye Yoon and the past one are different people. I’ve already lost the chance to atone. Even if he told himself coldly, his heart wavered when he saw the Gye Yoon in front of him. He wanted to make at least this person happy. So as soon as he raised his body from the bed, he pulled Gye Yoon’s hand.

“I’ll give you guiding.”

“No.”

As Gye Yoon pulled his hand away, Won-woo misunderstood that he was saying this out of concern for him and shook his head.

“I’m not sick. So I can do guiding.”

“Does it have to be now?”

“Are you unsatisfied even when I’m offering to do it?”

“Then tell me what your dream was about first.”

Won-woo stopped as he was about to grab his hand again. And with his gaze fixed on his hand, he answered nonchalantly.

“I don’t remember.”

“Was I in it?”

“It might have been that kind of silly dream.”

Won-woo brushed it off lightly, but his gaze was still downcast.

“Give me your hand.”

He urged again, but there was no response. Unable to bear it any longer, Won-woo raised his eyes, and as if he had been waiting, Gye Yoon met his gaze and asked.

“Am I ‘on your side’ to you, Ji Won-woo?”

“…Yes, we’re on the same side. Do you still not believe it?”

“It’s ambiguous. At first, you firmly said guiding was only once, but at some point, you seem desperate to give me guiding.”

Who’s desperate? Won-woo barely held back from getting angry and crawled back to the center of the bed, flopping down.

“Fine. I’ll just continue my silly dream, so do the guiding later or whatever.”

“Good thinking. I’m an expert at enduring pain anyway.”

Gye Yoon nodded and turned his body. If it had been someone else, or for a different reason, Won-woo would have ignored him, but at the mention of pain, his heart ached without him realizing. So he jumped up and called him back.

“Wait. I’ll… just do it. It’ll be bothersome to do it later.”

Won-woo didn’t notice the strange light that appeared in Gye Yoon’s eyes as he mumbled his excuse. Although Won-woo denied it, he was sensitively reacting to his pain and death. But since he was trying to hide it, there was no need to dig into the reason right now. There was something more important. The one who had turned around tilted his expressionless face crookedly.

“If you’re going to do it, do that guiding you did before.”

***

“Are you concerned about Ji Won-woo’s list?”

The Chief Secretary, who had come to report, asked, noticing that Gye Min was still looking at that list. But there was no answer, and after waiting for a moment, he cautiously spoke up.

“Should we investigate the authenticity of the list first?”

Gye Min raised her sharp eyes.

“How? By asking if you’d fight to the end even if your family collapses?”

She lowered her gaze back to the list, expressing her puzzlement.

“It’s really strange. There are a few suspicious individuals mixed in for people supposedly highly loyal to the family.”

Gye Min turned the list towards the Chief Secretary and pointed out a few checked names with her finger.

“These people, at least outwardly, maintain neutrality, or are completely on Yang Cheon-hyo’s or Ji Geun-oh’s side. Yang Cheon-hyo and Ji Geun-oh probably believe some of these are their own people. However.”

Gye Min’s words stopped there, but the Chief Secretary could understand her implied meaning. The Gye family had spent a long time trying to gather information on the Ji and Yang families. They had recorded even the smallest habits of those with Ji and Yang surnames.

So the Gye family had created their own power map. And they had separately classified a few who were suspected of hiding their true intentions contrary to outward appearances.

These were exactly the names Min was pointing to. If these people were hiding their true intentions and extracting information from beside Yang Cheon-hyo and Ji Geun-oh, it would be proof that they were prepared to die for their family. That’s why they couldn’t ignore Ji Won-woo’s list.

“How on earth did he know?”

“Could he have obtained information from the Ji family?”

Gye Min shook her head.

“These are people who anyone can see are favorable to Yang Cheon-hyo. If Yang Cheon-hyo had suspected them, they would have been dealt with already.”

That was Yang Cheon-hyo’s way. From the moment he started gaining power within the Yang family, he thoroughly distinguished between those on his side and those who weren’t, drawing a clear line. And if they weren’t on his side, he ruthlessly cut them off.

“What do you think?”

“We’ll need to verify the list.”

At the Chief Secretary’s words, Gye Min shook her head.

“Should we eliminate this list first?”

“I don’t think that’s a bad idea.”

When Gye Min looked up as if surprised, the Chief Secretary calmly added.

“But if that many Espers disappear, as you said, ordinary people will pay the price.”

Gye Min was silent for a moment before ordering.

“Bring Ji Won-woo.”