Chapter 144

I didn’t want to think about it, but the scene from back then kept replaying in my head.

I’d wanted to piss off that pointlessly laid-back Seo Jehyun, but I hadn’t expected karma to come back like this. He was quiet, then suddenly looked a little annoyed. Then he seemed to think of something and burst into a cheerful laugh.

Maybe because he’s a lunatic, I couldn’t follow the flow of his thoughts. Anyway, after that it was a whole parade of bare skin. I barely remember the first time I came. No—after that... and the next time after that, either.

From the moment his lips touched me here and there, I think half my mind checked out, and when Seo Jehyun nonchalantly stirred up inside me, I wanted to die from the shame.

He even did the act like himself. He ignored me completely when I said it hurt and kept ramming inside, yet he put more effort into foreplay than I’d expected; I shoved him away because it was honestly too much, and even while he was grinning like an idiot he kept kissing me just fine. I couldn’t tell if his bedroom manners were dogshit or weirdly considerate.

Thinking I’d take something that big down there in the first place was insane.

“Fuck, I shouldn’t have said I’d bottom....”

...But if I’d asked him to bottom, I’d definitely have gotten my face rearranged. And honestly, I wasn’t confident I could top Seo Jehyun anyway.

When he said “one more time,” from there on I was face-down while we did it. Heat pressed down from my back and a tongue brushed my ear until I was about to black out; he grabbed my hair and made me breathe. I only realized then I hadn’t been breathing.

Every sensation from one to ten was violent enough that calling it pleasure felt iffy. It felt like my organs were breaking, but my lower half was peaking. My stomach felt too full so I begged him to pull out for a second and pushed at him, but my wrists were pinned and lifted. If I’d made up my mind I probably could’ve forced him to back off, but with my insides getting churned like that, my thoughts never made it that far.

After doing that for hours, my brain felt like shards had flaked off and my thought circuits were running slow. I felt unbelievably dumber.

Even so, I did come away with a couple realizations from sleeping with Seo Jehyun.

First, right up to the bitter end... if I could deny it till I died I would, but Joo Seowon really did like Seo Jehyun.

If I weren’t out of my mind, there’s no way I could worry about him after sex like that, but damn it, I still worried about him, and I thought I could probably go a few more rounds. And I didn’t think I was that far gone.

Second, Seo Jehyun really would “go along with it,” most of the time. I didn’t know why. I didn’t think I could even guess to begin with.

It didn’t feel like that trademark generosity of his... and just when I thought he was acting without thinking, following his own pull, I wondered if there was a degree of obsession mixed in. Not that it was love. Absolutely not.

I shouldn’t have told him I liked him. My mouth tasted bitter, like I’d handed him a weakness with my own lips.

“To a bastard who doesn’t even know what it means to like someone....”

I’d never once thought I might be gay, but if I was going to like a man, I should’ve liked someone normal. Liking a guy whose character came pre-broken from birth made me hate myself.

He doesn’t care much if someone dies, uses people like parts, never considers other people’s feelings, he’s violent, and his moral compass is completely twisted.

“Why the hell do I....”

With self-loathing, I slammed my forehead against the steering wheel. A faint pain pricked through my skin.

Not that it would change anything. Like he said, I’d keep seeing his face... and I’d get jerked around like shit °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° again. All that was left was the difference in how much I could stomach it without twisting up inside.

The sensation between my eyelids felt needlessly hot. At this point I couldn’t tell if I was heartsick or fucking pissed.

And what pissed me off more was that after avoiding him all that time, the voice I finally heard again sounded good.

Only after a long while did I finally get up. I couldn’t run from it in the first place, and I guess I’d given it a pretty long grace period.

“Ugh, you fucking bastard....”

In the empty parking lot, only a low voice leaked out.

***

January 31, Seoul.

The first thing I did after making the brace out of Aquarion’s Heart was enter a dungeon. I took Do Yehyun alone into a dungeon to scuffle bare-handed a bit, and I tried out a few skills as needed.

There were a few hiccups, but in conclusion... it was great.

Body Reinforcement helped as reinforcement, and the thing in my hand quieted down, so it was basically my world.

“Hm.”

And once I put on the brace, a very small realization came to me.

“Have I... used Mimic anywhere else lately?”

Before I got the fiend in my hand, whenever I felt like it I’d copy abilities here and there and use them wherever they fit, but for a while I hadn’t been using Mimic at all.

I realized this a few days ago.

Even if the proficiency drops, one-off copying of other people’s skills should be quite useful; aside from those moments when my body condition was at rock bottom and it was hard to trigger skills, I hadn’t imitated anyone else’s skill.

No, I hadn’t even thought to.

“Why?”

At first I clicked my tongue at my own stupidity, thinking I’d just been too absorbed, but the more I thought about it, the stranger it felt. No matter what, there’s no way I’d thought this little about my own skill, right?

And I only started thinking this... very coincidentally, right after I put on the brace that worked like a restraint to subdue the fiend.

“Well, shit.”

Looked like the influence of the fiend in my palm on my body was bigger than I’d thought. At this rate it wouldn’t stop at imitation—hell, it felt like we might have fused.

It was a bit late, but I was really glad I realized it now.

I spread my palm and stared at the now-fainter mark, then clenched my fist tight. It was fine; it was something I’d already dealt with.

“It’s about time.”

So today I was waiting on someone to knock out two tasks at once.

Maybe because I had something to lean on now, I ended up overhauling my original plan. One of those changes was that I decided to wholeheartedly green-light cooperating with Im Haekyung.

Originally, I was going to hand over the bare minimum of info and just milk him for his abilities, but time was passing faster than I’d expected, so even if I exposed a bit more, I found myself leaning toward joining hands with him.

For obvious reasons. To stand against Cheonmyeonggyo, I needed at least someone on the level of Im Haekyung. It left a bad taste, but for now there was nowhere else to pin my hopes.

Besides, whatever got into him, Im Haekyung was favorably disposed toward me for the moment, so before that goodwill ended I had to use him for all he was worth.

Accordingly, I planned to take Im Haekyung and Do Yehyun with me into Jinsando, Cheonmyeonggyo’s base.

And before executing that, I decided to take care of a light chore first.

“Expose information to Im Haekyung? Sure, I’ll do it.”

Sung Uijae had once told me he wanted to visit the night market Im Haekyung runs. I’d wondered how the hell he knew what that place even was, but planning not to reveal my closeness with Sung Uijae, I’d neatly refused his request. Now I’d changed my mind; that much felt fine.

Only, if we “got caught” suddenly it’d be a pain in the ass, so I’d make the first move.

So I set up separate appointments with two S-rank hunters.

Just then, the door opened and a familiar face I hadn’t seen in a while appeared.

“You said let’s meet once in January; I didn’t think it’d be the last day.”

In a comfy top with a jacket thrown over it, Sung Uijae sat down, grumbling right from the start. I ignored how he looked a little crooked and offered a greeting.

“Long time no see, Hunter Sung.”

“Yeah. You said you’d reply to my messages, didn’t you?”

“I did.”

“Right. I thought I’d screwed up my phone so the replies weren’t sending. Turns out you just didn’t reply.”

“I don’t usually reply to other people’s messages.”

When I said it cleanly, his eyebrows twitched. What, did he want me to clutch my phone all day?

Anyway, it was surprising he was still in Korea.

“So why are you still here in Korea?”

“...What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Literally what I said.”

“I sent it to you. That if I went back to Australia, there’d be all kinds of people looking for me.”

“Ah.”

“You didn’t read it, did you?”

Well, he’s popular; of course work would pile up. I cut off whatever he was trying to say and got to the point.

“I can’t get a read on you at all. If it were me, I’d think you had a weakness and at least—”

“Do you remember that ‘Altea’ you mentioned?”

“.......”

Does he not remember? I added a quick explanation for his baffled expression.

“The hunter market you said you wanted to check out. The one that needs a Korean ID—like a resident registration card, whatever.”

“...I wasn’t quiet because I didn’t know.”

“Anyway, I’ll take you.”

Only then did interest flicker over his face. I smiled and waited for his answer.

“...How? Didn’t you say we can’t get in?”

Hm. Fair question.

To clear up that perfectly reasonable doubt, I turned my eyes back to the door.

“Well, someone’s com—”

Clack. Before he even finished, the door opened and another familiar silhouette stepped in.

A face no Korean could fail to recognize—Im Haekyung, guild master of the number-one guild in the country—curled his lips slightly, then smoothed back to a blank look as he glanced between us.

I knew the two of them didn’t get along.

But... so what? Even if I knew it, I could just pretend I didn’t.

For the record, I hadn’t exactly asked either Sung Uijae or Im Haekyung for permission for this double booking; I just figured it would be efficient and set it up on my own.

“...Are you kidding me?”

“Mr. Jehyun... this is a bit....”

Hearing the two of them speak in perfect timing, I tossed out a compliment to lighten the mood.

“With such handsome men here, the whole room brightens up.”

“.......”

“.......”

“Oh, and you’re both S-rank, famous, and your personalities are... similar. What a meaningful connection.”

As an icebreaker, it was an excellent opener.