Chapter 166

Watching that sight, I stopped explaining for a moment.

'Strange.'

Between the tightly packed walls, a single beam of light broke through and fell to the ground.

The ceiling was still dark, and there was no sun here—yet somehow, morning had come. Though, whether this could really be called morning was another question.

The light that had landed near my feet spread rapidly. The sky brightened completely soon after.

“Looks like it’s morning.”

When I stated the fact plainly, Do Yehyun—who’d been watching the light fill the space—turned his gaze back to me.

“Aren’t you tired?”

“Manageable. You?”

“I’m fine.”

I looked at him quietly.

'Doesn’t look fine to me.'

Still, even if he was exhausted, there was no time to let him rest. Things were moving too fast.

I picked up where I’d paused when the light appeared.

“First off, there’s a place where those bastards are gathered. Seems they’ve been there quite a while—enough to have made their own rules for how to move around.”

“Where is it?”

“Hard to explain, but I memorized the location.”

“You’re planning to go there first, right?”

“Yeah.”

Well, that was the obvious starting point. They clearly knew a lot more about this place than we did, and passing that up would be a waste.

“I don’t plan on joining them for now. Just watching from nearby is the goal.”

“Could we end up joining them later?”

“Depends on their condition.”

“......”

“They took Ryu Taejun with them. I basically handed him over halfway, but still. I can’t just let him die outright.”

Do Yehyun’s expression subtly stiffened at that. Up until now, he’d seemed willing to follow orders obediently, but this time his face hinted at something else—like the faint stir of resistance.

I watched him with interest and asked,

“Why?”

“...It’s nothing.”

“I don’t like it when people dodge questions. You know that, Yehyun.”

“......”

Only then did he lift his eyes again, meeting mine with a faint frown that barely showed his irritation.

“We’re not going back because of Ryu Taejun, right?”

“The main goal is information. We need a way out of here. If they’ve been stuck longer, they’ll know more.”

I answered simply—then paused.

“Why?”

“...What?”

That tone was a bit too blunt. Do Yehyun had no reason to like Ryu Taejun, but the way he said it sounded more like, He can die for all I care.

Caught off guard by my question, Do Yehyun averted his gaze for a second before looking back.

'Huh. Should I be worried about this?'

I already knew he was fiercely loyal to me—had suspected it even before he confessed it outright.

But now I wondered if ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ that loyalty was strong enough to override his basic morals. Or maybe this, too, was just an extension of his affection.

'Hard to tell.'

He seemed like a gentle kid—but sometimes he showed a spine. Easy to use, but maybe more of a wildcard than I’d thought.

I gripped his shoulder tightly, then released it.

“Maybe I should just kill him.”

“......”

The words came out half on impulse.

Not that I had no curiosity about how he’d react—but even I wasn’t sure what, exactly, I wanted to confirm.

If I’d said that to Joo Seowon, I already knew what would’ve happened.

'He’d have said, ‘Don’t.’'

Maybe he’d scold me, or maybe he’d just watch me nervously and try to talk me down. Whether it was Ryu Taejun or anyone else in that position, the answer wouldn’t have changed.

People’s natures don’t shift that easily.

So what was Do Yehyun’s nature?

'He’s got trauma, dependency, some practical sense, a mild temperament...'

I let out a short laugh.

“Yehyun.”

“......”

“Should I kill Ryu Taejun?”

A flicker of movement crossed his face. I couldn’t tell whether he wanted to say something or was just gauging my reaction.

'Why does he hesitate so much... when he’s not even that perceptive?'

Dropping the hint of amusement from my face, I spoke evenly.

“He’s a nuisance anyway. His usefulness ended the moment I entered this place. His condition’s poor, he’s uncooperative, and he’s not much help for intel. The only reason I’m keeping him alive is because I know his brother, and I want to stay on that man’s good side—he’s useful.”

“......”

“But I can’t just ditch him either. Who knows what kind of story he’d spin? I did threaten him, but he’s such a coward that if someone else scared him more... who knows.”

“......”

“Putting it like this, keeping him alive sounds pretty irrational, doesn’t it?”

It wasn’t like I was twisting logic; I actually meant it.

Do Yehyun just looked at me silently for a long while. Didn’t open his mouth, didn’t even seem to be searching for words.

Finally, after some time, he spoke.

“What was... the original plan?”

“The original plan?”

Well, if any plan even worked in this place... not sure.

“To hide our presence and observe them. Then bring Ryu Taejun back, see if he heard anything useful. If luck’s on our side, find one of them who knows a lot and threaten him separately.”

“Because the goal is information gathering?”

“Yeah.”

Do Yehyun fell quiet again.

But this time, he looked like he was actually thinking deeply about something.

I waited patiently for him to speak, curious what he’d say after coming this far.

When he finally did, quite some time later, it was:

“...Then.”

“Yeah?”

“We should join them first.”

'Hm?'

That was unexpected. Do Yehyun wasn’t usually the one to take initiative.

Ignoring my mild surprise, he pressed on carefully but firmly.

“We don’t know how those people move, and dragging them off one by one to interrogate them seems too inefficient. To understand what kind of people they are, we need to go inside.”

“......”

“And... they probably won’t attack right away. Right?”

“I don’t know. But... probably not.”

After all, seeing someone pull out teeth would give even lunatics pause before rushing in.

And unless one of them held absolute control, they’d have to discuss any decision as a group. That’d buy us time.

Do Yehyun nodded calmly at my reply.

“Then let’s join them first, and...”

“Yeah? What after that?”

“......”

Right, that was the real issue. Even if we wanted to join, there was no guarantee they’d accept us.

And even if they did, it wasn’t like they’d hand over valuable information to someone they’d just met.

'Not like I plan to stay here long anyway.'

Do Yehyun went silent again. I wondered what the hell he was calculating so seriously—was he actually forming a plan? Didn’t quite seem like it. He was still the dependent type.

'No, it’s fine. At least he’s offering ideas. That’s progress.'

At last, he seemed to make up his mind about something.

“...If it’s a group, there must be a leader, right?”

“There is.”

I answered casually, and Do Yehyun nodded, speaking with unexpected gravity.

“Then let’s kill him.”

“......”

I’d thought he might agree about killing Ryu Taejun—but the leader?

A laugh burst out of me before I could stop it.

“You want to kill their leader?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, but what’s the goal? Killing him for its own sake? Or to show off, maybe scare the others?”

“Well... once he’s dead, it’s all the same, isn’t it? They’ll be terrified either way.”

“That’s true. You’re right.”

I agreed cheerfully.

Ah... honestly, that had been my first thought too. Kill the head and control the rest.

It was a method doomed to crumble if dragged out too long, but in the short term, it worked beautifully—especially when fear was the goal.

'Didn’t expect Do Yehyun to suggest it first, though.'

I slowly let my smile fade and met his eyes directly. His eyelids trembled slightly with every blink.

“Let’s be honest—they probably planned to kill us too. So why shouldn’t I strike first? Right?”

“......”

“If I hesitate, I’m the one who dies. So killing them first... what’s wrong with that?”

Yeah—when I thought about it, it didn’t sound that evil at all. They were the ones who wanted us dead first, after all. And they were cultist scum to begin with.

The more I thought about it, the more reasonable it felt.

I cupped Do Yehyun’s cheek and pulled him close. His blank eyes fluttered as he was drawn in.

“But I’ve never killed anyone before...”

“......”

“What should I do?”

I whispered the words at close range. His body trembled. Sliding my thumb down the side of his neck, I felt the faint goosebumps rise under my touch.

I gently brushed the spot again and murmured, lower this time,

“Will you kill them for me?”