"I want you, Hyung."
Their eyes met, and Cha Eui-jae forced a smile. What? An unknown person? No one knows I exist? Cha Eui-jae recalled the educational comics featuring caricatures of himself and the documentaries he had glimpsed. There couldn't be anyone as famous as him, this guy….
"A skilled person who doesn't belong anywhere and is not known to the public. The fewer people who know, the better."
"…"
"Is that too demanding?"
Lee Sa-young silently moved, slowly circling around Cha Eui-jae. It felt like a snake slithering through the underbrush.
"I was about to give up finding the right person, but then you showed up."
"…"
"Like destiny."
"Are you a believer in fate?"
"I never believed in such nonsense, but now I'm thinking of starting."
Suddenly, Lee Sa-young was right behind Cha Eui-jae, bending slightly at the waist.
"I've learned a bit about you."
Black fingers wrapped around Cha Eui-jae's shoulder, and the owner of those fingers whispered gently.
"The high school you attended, and even the area around your home, was entirely swallowed up by a rift, leaving nothing to find… Both parents died on the Day of the Rift, and you have no remaining relatives to investigate… If you had a job, there would be contracts, but there are no contracts, no bank transaction records, and your first phone activation was only a few months ago. There are no records before that."
"…"
"The owner of this place and her niece aren't your real relatives, are they? They're complete strangers."
Cha Eui-jae remained silent. Lee Sa-young continued speaking, undeterred.
"There's really nothing."
That was only natural. While he was active as J, Cha Eui-jae lived entirely as J, not as Cha Eui-jae. It was no wonder Lee Sa-young couldn't find any trace of 'Cha Eui-jae' that he was searching for. Lee Sa-young let out a long sigh.
"I initially planned to scout you nicely, meeting any conditions you had. But…"
"…"
"It seems like this shop is the only thing that matters to you now."
The voice, which had been soft and pleasant, moved closer to Cha Eui-jae's ear. Cha Eui-jae involuntarily held his breath for a moment.
"Is there anything you want?"
Want?
No one in the world wants nothing.
Whenever he closes his eyes, he still hears the desperate screams and cries. The hands clinging to his feet, begging to be saved, and the stench of blood lingering at the tip of his nose intrude on him unexpectedly. The slimy sensation of desperately digging through the piles of corpses to retrieve even a piece of flesh or bone is vivid.
Cha Eui-jae wished he could retrieve the bodies left behind in the West Sea rift. Though he had escaped and hidden here, that feeling was genuine. He wanted to send them back to where they belonged. He wanted to fulfill the last duty of the survivor. Because that place… is too lonely.
But he knew it was impossible.
So, Cha Eui-jae could only say he wanted nothing.
"Nothing."
"…Really?"
As Cha Eui-jae gave a brief reply, Lee Sa-young slowly blinked and then smiled slightly.
"Then let me suggest something."
He took out a tablet from the air and placed it in front of Cha Eui-jae. On the screen was a photo of a sharp-looking man wearing glasses. Lee Sa-young reached over Cha Eui-jae's shoulder and slowly swiped the photo to the side. The man with long, white hair tied back and wearing a doctor's coat appeared.
"Do you know Nam Woo-jin? He's an A-grade healer."
Cha Eui-jae remembered seeing his name when looking up information about Lee Sa-young.
—Currently ranked 6th in South Korea, Nam Woo-jin, the Leader of the Seowon Guild. South Korea's only A-grade healer. Before awakening, he was an orthopedic surgeon at a university hospital, raising questions about whether pre-awakening skills affect awakening abilities….
That was roughly what he recalled. As the vague memory came back, he nodded, and Lee Sa-young smiled.
"How about having Granny's leg treated by Nam Woo-jin?"
"What?"
"I heard she has trouble with her leg."
From the ability to float 2cm in the air to lifting an entire building, countless abilities had emerged since the Day of the Rift, but there were very few awakeners with healing skills. When Cha Eui-jae was active, there was only one B-grade awakener in the United States with such skills.
Moreover, the only A-grade healer in South Korea. Ordinary people wouldn't even get to meet such a person. Cha Eui-jae let out a short laugh.
"An A-grade healer treating a common person? That makes no sense."
"The Seowon Guild and our guild are in a cooperative relationship, so I can ask him to treat one person. He was an orthopedic surgeon before awakening, so he can handle general treatments as well."
"…"
"What do you think?"
It was an incredibly tempting offer. But Cha Eui-jae was not naive enough to be swayed by sweetness without considering the surroundings. All these deals and conditions were peripheral, not the essence.
"Lee Sa-young."
"Yes, Hyung."
"Why are you doing this to me?"
"…"
Cha Eui-jae turned to meet Lee Sa-young's violet eyes. Lee Sa-young was staring intently at his face. Instead of avoiding his gaze, Cha Eui-jae raised the corners of his mouth in a grin.
"Why are you going to such lengths to drag me in, investigating me thoroughly and finding my weak points, and then offering me such a tempting deal?"
"…"
"Are you going to expose me as an awakener to everyone if I refuse?"
"…"
"What do you want?"
"Well…"
Lee Sa-young's eyes, devoid of laughter, scanned Cha Eui-jae's face. The answer came surprisingly quickly, considering how long he had been beating around the bush.
"I did consider that option."
"…"
"But simply threatening you would be a bad move, and…"
"…"
"I concluded that you wouldn't be the type to respond to such tactics."
"At least you made a decent judgment."
"Thanks for the compliment. Anyway, to answer your question."
A short silence followed. Lee Sa-young asked in a low voice.
"Do you remember the guy you hit with the ladle that time?"
Of course, he remembered. If it weren't for that guy, he wouldn't be sitting here facing Lee Sa-young. Cha Eui-jae nodded, and Lee Sa-young rubbed his finger on the tablet screen and continued speaking.
"A strange drug started circulating a few years ago."
"…"
"Of course, ordinary drugs or narcotics don't usually affect awakeners… but this drug caused an unusual reaction."
"For example?"
"Increased aggression, addiction. And…"
His long fingers swiped to reveal another photo. A grotesquely twisted body with black spikes protruding from it, looking like a dried-up tree. It was once a human, now something else. Cha Eui-jae had seen this form before.
"Physical mutation."
Suddenly, he remembered what Lee Sa-young had said when they first met.
The guy Lee Sa-young was beating up was an awakener addicted to this drug. The thing in the picture looked even more like a monster than the man he had seen before. Observing the unnaturally bent body in the photo, Cha Eui-jae muttered.
"Just by taking the drug, you turn into that?"
"…That's the troublesome part."
Lee Sa-young, echoing Cha Eui-jae's muttering, turned off the tablet screen.
"Anyway, I'm looking for the people spreading this drug. But,"
"…"
"People like me or my guild members are too well-known… If we dig a little deeper, they'll notice and cut us off."
The Pado Guild was small but had famous hunters. Their every move would stand out. Tracking and scouting such targets would be a significant handicap if the target were an awakener.
"And we can't just send anyone in. They'd either get killed or end up crawling around addicted."
'A skilled person who doesn't belong anywhere and is not known to the public. The fewer people who know, the better.'
To track a well-hidden target, one must be similarly concealed. Since the target is an aggressive enhanced awakener, someone with the skills to fight and defeat an awakener must take on the job.
Cha Eui-jae could see the logic behind Lee Sa-young's conditions. Those conditions perfectly matched himself. But—
"Then why?"
"Hm?"
"Why are you after them?"
Why was Lee Sa-young going after these people?
For the sake of awakeners? No. To protect South Korea? No way. To protect ordinary people? Impossible.
Based on what he had seen, Lee Sa-young wasn't someone driven by high ideals. Despite the short time they had known each other, Cha Eui-jae instinctively understood.
Lee Sa-young moved solely according to his standards. Pride as South Korea's number one, responsibility, or even the Awakened Special Law prioritizing the protection of ordinary people wouldn't be strong enough motivations for him.
"…"
Lee Sa-young, who had been silent, placed a finger over his lips.
"That part is a secret."
"Hey."
"I'll tell you if you agree to the deal."
"…"
"Oh, and the drug story is confidential. Keep it secret, or Jung Bin will visit you again."
This guy chained me with a secret under the pretense of sharing it. Cha Eui-jae's expression turned cold. On the contrary, Lee Sa-young's face was full of a satisfied smile.
Lee Sa-young put the tablet back into his inventory and lightly squeezed Cha Eui-jae's shoulder a couple of times. Cha Eui-jae had swatted his hand away, and Lee Sa-young laughed out loud without showing any sign of irritation. As Cha Eui-jae got up from his seat, he waved his hand dismissively.
"Go quickly. I have to close up."
"Sure."
Lee Sa-young began to put on his gas mask again. Now once again, Lee Sa-young had transformed into the suspicious figure in the gas mask. He suddenly extended his hand. What, was he asking for a handshake? Cha Eui-jae looked at him skeptically, but Lee Sa-young's gloved fingers wiggled slightly.
"Your phone."
"Why?"
"To give you my number."
"I don't need it."
"My number's valuable, you know."
"I'll sell it on Tomato Market."
"Then we'll see each other often, won't we?"
Threatening but not quite threatening, Lee Sa-young laughed as if he found the whole situation amusing. Despite his words, he didn't retract his hand, so Cha Eui-jae finally handed over his phone. Even if he intended to refuse the deal, it seemed wise to leave at least one last resort for any unexpected situation.
Lee Sa-young quickly entered his number and left the store without hesitation. Alone, Cha Eui-jae opened the contacts app.
Originally, his contacts list contained only two numbers: the home phone number of grandmother and Park Ha-eun, and Park Ha-eun's mobile number. There had been no need to store any other numbers.
But now it was different. Below the two previously lone entries in his contacts, a new name had been added.
[Sa-young]