It was a coincidence that I thought of Kim Woo-jin.
There was no other character who spoke like Kim Woo-jin in the novel, and the guy's ability came to mind when I felt someone following me from a certain distance.
After waking up in Han Yi-gyeol's body, the only time I met Kim Woo-jin was when I went to see Cheon Sa-yeon. Kim Woo-jin, who was arguing with me in the hallway, was memorable in many ways, and I remembered him clearly.
Above all, Kim Woo-jin was the only attendant who followed Cheon Sa-yeon's orders and had the ability to carry them out. He appeared several times in the novel, most of the time as the main character's watchdog.
Kim Woo-jin's ability to 'blur his presence' was a skill that was so useful that even the SS-ranked protagonist, who was much more sensitive than the general public, couldn't sense him properly.
If I hadn't known Kim Woo-jin's abilities in advance, I would have thought the person behind me was an ordinary person.
"You still don't understand the situation… Me telling you to not follow me isn't advice; it's an order. You can try following me like a dog one more time, if threats won't stop you."
If Kim Woo-jin hadn't gotten any information on me, there would have been no use in threatening him, but he had sent a video of me helping put out the fire. Anyway, the reason why Cheon Sa-yeon had Kim Woo-jin follow me was to see what kind of action I would take after a sudden change. There was no meaning beyond that.
As ordered, I would kidnap Cha Soo-yeon, and the protagonist would come rescue her. If the plan did not go awry, it was clear that Cheon Sa-yeon would become disinterested in me again.
'It should be like that, so there should be no problem.'
It was just bothersome that Cheon Sa-yeon became interested in me for no reason. I decided to get away from him, so I had to find a way out from now on while Cheon Sa-yeon was interested in me… Just imagining it was terrifying.
I got out of the building where Kim Woo-jin was and immediately caught a taxi. When I told him to go to the gate of the G7 area, the driver asked with a smile, "Oh! Do you also have an ability? If not, at that G7 place, isn't there a Red Fire something-or-other there?"
"Yes. 'The Empress of Red Flames', Cha Soo-yeon. I'm in the same guild," I lied shamelessly.
"Wooow~ then what's your ability, young man?"
"Eh, I'm nothing impressive. At the guild, I just process paperwork."
When I answered with an awkward smile, the driver said, "Is that so?" and smiled with me.
* * *
After 40 minutes, the taxi stopped. As I got out of the taxi, I sighed at the sight of the crowd, which was much larger than I had seen on the news. How would I get Cha Soo-yeon out of there?
Cha Soo-yeon, who was called the 'Empress of Red Flames,' was an A-rank belonging to the Jayna Guild (제이나 길드). Cha Soo-yeon, who could handle fire like Han Yi-gyeol handled wind, was one of the representative talents in Korea who had attracted many followers with her strong power and beautiful appearance.
I looked at the gate shining blue through the crowds. Like the Milky Way, black and dark blue were mixed at random, and the oval-shaped gate sparkled. Beyond that, there were a lot of vicious monsters out there that would kill any ordinary person immediately.
As described in the novel, gates appeared 20 years ago. Gates that appeared suddenly from all over the world began to spit out monsters and, in an instant, threw the world into chaos.
Six months after the gate appeared, ordinary people awakened one by one. Those who became ability users teamed up and went beyond the gate to subdue monsters by killing all the monsters, known as a 'clear'.
The gate had to be cleared once every two months to prevent monsters from overflowing the gate, and ability users established guilds to manage the gates.
Many people were enthusiastic about ability users, who saved the world from ferocious monsters. This was an era when you could grab wealth and fame at once if you had the ability.
'But Han Yi-gyeol…'
No matter how much I thought about it, I just couldn't understand why he would let his life be controlled by someone like Cheon Sa-yeon. If it were me, I would have let my abilities be recognized earlier, and I would have made a lot of money and lived comfortably. No, even if I didn't catch a monster, Han Yi-gyeol's abilities were highly useful, so wherever I went, I wouldn't starve to death.
"Whoa!"
"The Empress of Red Flames!"
"Cha Soo-yeon-ssi! Please take a moment for an interview!"
As I looked up at the clear sky and lamented Han Yi-gyeol's life, the surroundings became noisy. It seemed that Cha Soo-yeon came out of the gate. I was swept away by the crowds from behind and approached Cha Soo-yeon.
"Thank you for waiting. The G7 area gate has just been cleared. All of the team members who came with me are safe and there were no problems inside the gate."
Cha Soo-yeon's voice responded to the interview. Cha Soo-yeon skillfully led the interview without showing a sign of surprise even when she saw the crowd. I listened to the interview while in the middle of the crowd, but once I got through the crowd, I moved out of the way. Far from kidnapping Cha Soo-yeon in that crowd, I wouldn't even be able to speak.
I thought about how to isolate Cha Soo-yeon, who was surrounded by people. I couldn't see a single hair. I thought about using my abilities but soon changed my mind.
'In the end, this is the only way in these cases.'
After waiting for a while on purpose, I ran straight to Cha Soo-yeon, who was getting out of the crowd after finishing the interview.
"Cha Soo-yeon seonbaenim (senior)!"
Cha Soo-yeon, who was about to get into the car parked on the road, turned her head to my cry. I walked over to her with the most innocuous smile I could ever make.
"Who are you?"
"Good morning! It's an honor to meet you! Ah, I am a newcomer to the Roheon Guild."
The Roheon Guild was the guild that the main character belonged to. At my words, Cha Soo-yeon naturally thought of the main character, so she made a friendly face.
"Are you new to the Roheon Guild? You have an ability?"
"Yeah. But I'm not as good as Cha Soo-yeon seonbaenim. My name is Han Yi-gyeol."
Cha Soo-yeon gladly took the hand I stretched out shyly and carefully.
"Nice to meet you."
"Me too! I really like you, Seonbaenim. I'm a fan. Ah! Is it okay if I call you 'seonbaenim'?"
"Of course. You belong to the Roheon Guild? Did the Roheon Guild get new ability users this time…?"
"It's 'cause I was cast on the street."
"Aah."
Fortunately for my quick thinking, Cha Soo-yeon nodded her head without any doubt. Contrary to her harsh impression, this person was pure. Right now, my appearance was truly award-winning.
"But what did you come here for?"
"It's nothing…"
I deliberately took a breather and lowered my voice.
"Actually, I came here to convey an important message to Seonbaenim."
"What is it?"
"Do you have any other plans afterward?"
When asked in a whisper, Cha Soo-yeon gave a bewildered expression on her face, but she answered faithfully, "No, I don't think so."
"That's good."
When I was truly relieved, a strong curiosity flashed in Cha Soo-yeon's eyes. Just for what reason would I be wasting time? At this point, I felt that she had enough, so I smiled softly and brought out my main point.
"…'He' said he had reserved a high-class restaurant, and he gave me the precious task of bringing Cha Soo-yeon."
"He…"
"Yes. Ha Tae-heon seonbaenim."
When Cha Soo-yeon heard his name, her eyes widened, and her cheeks immediately reddened. As she looked at me, her face was full of confusion, but she couldn't hide her anticipation nonetheless. She must really like him. My conscience hurt a bit.
"I—really? Taeheon-ssi?"
"Yeah, really."
"But why didn't he text or call…"
I grinned.
"He is in a meeting now. It was a meeting that suddenly came up and overlapped with Cha Soo-yeon seonbaenim's gate clearing time, so he sent me as quickly as possible. He said he would come to the restaurant right after the meeting."
"I see."
Cha Soo-yeon's cheeks turned even more red and she nodded her head. It was a look that meant she really liked him. She loved him so much. My conscience, which I had lost long ago, kept shaking my heart. If the situation allowed me, I would've confessed it was a lie to get rid of this feeling.
Ha Tae-heon. He was the only main character in the novel 'Abyss'.
He was a handsome man who saved countless women and received their love. He had a handsome face (얼굴 훤칠하지), good ability, perfect personality, was quick-witted—he was a man who had it all. Cheon Sa-yeon had a perfect face, abilities, and was quick-witted, but didn't he lack humanity? On the other hand, Ha Tae-heon was someone befitting the main character role.
"Where should I go?"
"I will guide you there," I quickly got into the driver's seat and answered boldly.
Even though the driver's seat was taken away unexpectedly, Cha Soo-yeon sat in the passenger seat without saying anything. From the look on her face, she seemed to be half-conscious.
"I'll start driving now."
After carefully fastening Cha Soo-yeon's seat belt, the car started. It was a lie I brought out to kidnap Cha Soo-yeon with no effort, and even if I could turn back time, I would do the same thing… I sighed.