Chapter 32

“Uh, do we have to just keep walking like this?”

“Shut it.”

If you’re gonna kidnap someone, at least think it through. What the hell was this? I had to shuffle down a long alley, wrists bound, practically dragged along.

“......”

“......”

The longer I walked, the more ridiculous it felt. Was kidnapping always this low-tension?

“Is this... the usual way you do it?”

“Be quiet and follow!”

“I am following.”

“This all happened because you ran, didn’t it?!”

'What a dumb fuck.'

Of course I ran when you came at me. Who just stands there? If they’d rushed me from behind, knocked me out and carried me off, at least it would’ve looked the part.

But seeing their builds—all smaller than mine—I got it. Knocking me out and dragging me would mean one guy couldn’t carry me, and a whole group lugging me like cargo would look pathetic.

After walking quite a while, we reached a spot where they shoved me into the back of a shady black van. One guy climbed into the driver’s seat and immediately made a call.

“Yes, we’ve got him. Bringing him in now.”

Some kind of communication item, maybe. I couldn’t hear the other side. Still, I shut my mouth and pricked my ears—any hint mattered. No matter where they were taking me, leaving this many traces behind didn’t bode well.

'...Fuck.'

Should’ve made my location tracker shareable. Then maybe Joo Seowon or Do Yehyun could—

'Nah. No chance.'

Maybe Yehyun. But Seowon? Not happening. The probability was too damn low, so no use regretting it.

Meanwhile, the guy kept reporting.

“What? No, I didn’t get hit.”

“......”

“Yes, sir. No, it’s just that he suddenly ran... Yes. Yes. No, I wasn’t hit. I mean it—really not hit.”

'...What the hell are they talking about?'

“Yes. Hunter? No, sir. He’s being quiet, not fighting.”

“......”

He glanced at me, then turned back to finish the report.

“No, sir. Description? ...Uh. Handsome.”

...?

“S-sorry! Tall, black hair, yeah. Looks like an asshole—ah! Yes, that’s him. We’ll bring him now.”

'This fucker.'

When his pitiful report ended, he gave me a dirty look and started the van.

'The fuck you staring at?'

Breaking it down, it was clearly some vertical-structure organization pulling the strings.

'No way Haeseong would stoop to this crap.'

So someone with a grudge... Kwon Taehan? Nah. That guy wasn’t the type to order a kidnapping. Not right now, anyway—he’d even said there was a “grace period.”

'...Though if you’ve died four times, maybe?'

On second thought, not impossible. But in the original story, nothing like this ever happened. So if I had to bet—

'Infinite Guild.'

Those bastards I’d beaten yesterday.

But strong enough to track me in a day? No way. They weren’t even named in the original, not exactly top-tier material.

Unless...

“Fuck.”

...Unless they’d tracked Do Yehyun.

Not impossible. I’d been out all day, and Infinite’s guild master had a Tracking skill. If they’d tailed my car, closing the distance, nabbing Yehyun was entirely plausible.

“What? Fuck? You crazy bastard?”

Shit. If that were true, things just got a hundred times worse.

Yehyun might’ve been a D-rank, but he’d awakened without proper process. Even with training, with his trauma and skill set, there was no way he could break out of a mob like this on his own.

'Fuck.'

The thought alone gave me a splitting headache.

If—just if—these fuckers really had taken Yehyun and killed him?

'Goddamn it. This feels like shit.'

Kill Yehyun?

The debt was ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) already cleared. Sure, I’d beaten them yesterday, but they’d struck first, and I figured they’d keep quiet out of shame.

'Then what the hell are they doing now?'

Yehyun—he was a healer I went out of my way to find. I’d blown ten billion won to save his ass. And these sons of bitches—

The more I thought about it, the more my fury built.

'Motherfuckers. I kept him hidden so Im Haekyung wouldn’t snatch him. If they kill him...'

Resting my forehead on the seatback, rage finally surged past control. I kicked the seat hard.

THUD!

“The hell?! Crazy bastard?”

“......”

“Christ. Kid never seen one like this. You don’t get the situation, do you?”

I ignored the bullshit, head still pressed to the seat, forcing my thoughts into order. I wanted to tap into their comms, but with my hands tied behind me, I couldn’t even check location, let alone make contact.

One of the guys, still cursing, suddenly grabbed my nape and yanked me upright. I silently turned my head, locking eyes with him.

“...Look at this fucker’s eyes.”

He gave a nervous laugh, then slammed my forehead back against the seat.

I wanted nothing more than to beat them bloody, but not a chance. The ropes were solid, not cloth scraps, and we were in a sealed van, five grown men surrounding me.

'Three of them Awakened, too.'

All F-rank, sure—but that made it worse.

'Mimic’s useless here.'

At the very least, I needed to know where we were headed, but with my head forced down, all I could see was the floor.

Be rational. Jumping to conclusions that they’d already grabbed Yehyun was premature. They might’ve just wanted revenge for yesterday’s beating, tattling to their boss.

'Fine. If they only beat me, good.'

But if they killed me? Infinite’s guild master was C-rank—three whole steps above me. With my hands tied, I couldn’t use a single skill. That’d be the end. If it was money they wanted, better—but then they’d have taken Yehyun to extort me already.

The more I thought, the worse it all looked.

'Should I just raise hell? If their goal’s to deliver me alive, they can’t kill me en route anyway.'

So I slammed my knee into the seat again. THUD! The front seat rattled violently.

“Hey, you little fuck—what are you—”

“Excuse me...”

I turned my head, eyes on the guy beside me. He swallowed and flinched back.

“My legs are long. The seat’s too cramped.”

I cut myself off mid-sentence, punctuating with knee-thrusts. Thump. Thump.

“The seat’s cramped.”

“......”

“The seat’s cramped. My legs are jammed. Right now. In this tiny-ass space.”

“Y-you little shit. What the hell are you doing?”

'Fucking infuriating.'

I forced myself to think straight. So far, I’d been on my way to work, only to get kidnapped out of nowhere. Now Yehyun might be dead or alive, and everything I’d done till now could all be wasted.

'That’s where I’m at...'

Then the guy next to me smacked me across the back of the head.

WHACK!

The recoil slammed both forehead and skull into agony.

“Where the fuck do you get off? Can’t you read the situation? Wanna die?”

But it wasn’t the pain that stuck—it was that last line. Wanna die?

It felt like someone had pressed the big red button deep inside me. My head went clear, and all the rage I’d been holding down detonated at once.

“The seat’s cramped, you fucker. It’s cramped as shit.”

“......”

“Fuck. You think my height fits in this toy car? You blind sons of bitches?”

“......”

“The seat’s cramped! You cunts! And this van’s a fucking shoebox, huh? Fuckers. You joking with me? The seat’s cramped as hell, motherfuckers!!!”

“......”

'Haaah...'

Letting it out eased some of the fury inside.

As I panted, trying to calm down, the guy beside me suddenly half-rose and slapped the passenger seat guy across the back of the head.

“Argh!”

“You—y-you rude fuck. You should’ve moved the seat forward.”

Once he started, the others joined in.

“Yeah, Min-tae hyung, move up a bit. He’s tall, for fuck’s sake.”

“Seriously! This isn’t right. Move up already.”

“Christ, Min-tae’s such a rude bastard.”

After they ganged up on him, a buzzing sound rang out and the passenger seat slid forward all the way. I could just barely hear the whimpering of the guy called Min-tae.