Chapter 29: That Won’t Happen (1)
“Is it not allowed?”
As Hyeon-yul looked on anxiously, Hae-ryeon held her breath.
What should she make of this?
‘They say people change before they die, but that couldn’t be it, right?’
She didn’t know why she felt so strange.
It seemed like Hyeon-yul was trying to do something, but it was difficult to guess what that something was.
‘It definitely wasn’t just a feeling.’
Hae-ryeon found it hard to dismiss.
Just then, as her mind swirled, she belatedly understood the situation.
‘……Ah, he was pissed off.’
He just didn't show it, but who would feel good after finding out about the person who tried to kick him out?
She wondered if this was what they called 'quiet fury'.
“If it's okay with Mr. Hyeon-yul, it's okay with me too.”
“Thank you. Then, could you tell me who is holding the collaborator right now?”
Hearing how the designation for the Team 5 leader had already changed to 'collaborator', Hae-ryeon was convinced her thoughts were correct.
“Team Leader Do-jin is holding him. He's an elder, so even if the guy doesn't like it, he'll have to stay put, right?”
“He has no choice but to stay caught.”
Na-yoon nodded.
Do-jin was an early Black Eagle and was still active.
Who could refuse Do-jin’s proposal?
‘…Ah. There is one person, though.’
Na-yoon glanced sideways at Hyeon-yul.
She knew Do-jin was targeting Hyeon-yul because she had seen it herself.
‘Keep, keep refusing him.’
As Na-yoon's gaze deepened, Hyeon-yul felt a strange pressure.
Did he say something strange?
Hesitantly, Hyeon-yul opened his mouth.
“Do you have… something to say to me?”
“Is it okay if I speak casually?”
Both Na-yoon herself and Hyeon-yul were flustered by Na-yoon's readily offered words.
‘Crazy, Chu Na-yoon! What’s wrong with you? Die! Just die…!’
To think what she always thought would just pop out of her mouth.
Na-yoon wanted to grab her own hair.
“Th-that’s not what I meant……”
“……Yes, please do as you feel comfortable.”
“Really…?”
“Yes.”
Since she was already speaking casually, Hyeon-yul looked at her with an expression wondering what she was doing.
“Alright, Hyeon-yul. Let’s go help the Team Leader.”
Hyeon-yul just blinked at Na-yoon’s words.
‘…Go help? Me?’
He had no such intention at all.
He thought Hae-ryeon would handle dealing with the Team 5 leader just fine on her own.
He was just trying to create an alibi.
If he went with the two of them, he wouldn't receive unnecessary suspicion.
‘Villain B will surely pull some useless stunt under the guise of the Poison King's transfer.’
Did they really plant a bomb inside the Nest?
He planned to check carefully on the way.
He liked the Black Eagle's welfare and various aspects, but they always acted like something was loose when it came to handling things.
Because quite a few people placed meaning on repentance.
In the first place, if they were going to repent, why become villains?
If they couldn't handle it cleanly, it was right for him to do it.
This was his Black Eagle, after all.
“…What, was that it? I’m really touched.”
Hae-ryeon looked warmly at Hyeon-yul upon hearing Na-yoon's words.
Na-yoon nodded as if she understood that feeling.
“Let’s hurry.”
As Hae-ryeon laughed happily, Na-yoon stood beside her and chattered away.
Hyeon-yul deliberately walked slowly.
He absolutely did not want to join that conversation.
***
Hae-ryeon and Na-yoon didn't stop talking for a moment.
Even listening closely, he couldn't understand what was funny or so interesting at all.
He just felt relieved that he wasn't part of that conversation.
‘Are they talking like that on purpose?’
Hyeon-yul looked around.
No matter how you looked at it, the two didn't seem like they were going to finish off the Team 5 leader.
“Ah, the interrogation room is that way.”
Hae-ryeon paused her steps briefly and pointed to the left.
Hyeon-yul’s gaze followed.
“Familiar, right?”
Hae-ryeon smiled.
“Yes. How could I forget the place where my two hands were tied?”
“…Tied? Hyeon-yul was?”
Na-yoon couldn't help but react to the story she was hearing for the first time.
“Back then, there was no choice. Mr. Hyeon-yul showed up holding Shin Dae-ho’s head and asked if the 4 Major Insurances were applicable.”
“…Ah.”
Na-yoon understood immediately.
Anyone would see it was a situation where they had no choice but to restrain him.
Na-yoon cautiously observed Hyeon-yul’s expression.
He seemed unfazed.
“I hope you understand how desperate I was back then.”
“I know, I fully understand now.”
Hae-ryeon nodded.
Perhaps it was the last gamble Hyeon-yul made.
How disastrous would it have been if they had kicked him out then?
“But you were the one who said you wouldn’t go home right after work today?”
“I am aware.”
Hyeon-yul sighed.
It wasn't that he didn't feel regret.
He slowly followed Hae-ryeon and Na-yoon, who had started walking again.
As he took a deep breath in and out, he felt a suppressed killing intent and the smell of blood.
Hyeon-yul didn't look that way.
But he felt it.
Ahead.
Someone was coming from ahead of them.
Pretending not to notice, he focused on the footsteps and other senses.
Just as the man brushed past, the intense smell of blood hit his nose.
‘…Did he just kill someone?’
Hyeon-yul felt like laughing.
The smell of blood, right at this timing.
‘Who did he kill?’
At least it wasn't the Team 5 leader.
Because Team 2 Leader Yang Do-jin was with him.
‘He could have killed any of the collaborators.’
A middle finger to the Black Eagle.
A warning to the collaborators.
Wasn't that exactly the intention?
‘To think I’d witness the process of such a security breach with my own eyes.’
Hyeon-yul raised the corners of his mouth.
Numerous shadows followed the man walking behind him.
Like a very long tail.
The moment it swayed lightly and spread, a darkness vast enough to swallow even the lights behind was created.
The darkness gagged the man and swallowed him whole.
The lights flickered back on.
Around the time Hae-ryeon and Na-yoon turned around, Hyeon-yul opened his mouth.
“Is it near here?”
“That’s right. Each team has a different room number, though.”
Hae-ryeon was still smiling.
She seemed confident.
“Team Leader, then, may I quickly use the restroom?”
Hae-ryeon was briefly surprised.
But she composed her expression.
How urgent must he be?
Hae-ryeon looked at her phone.
There were no messages from Do-jin.
“Go ahead.”
“I’ll stand by the door.”
Na-yoon pointed to her eyes.
She could see well even from afar.
What if he got lost since he wasn't yet familiar with the interior?
“Yes. I’ll be right back.”
Hyeon-yul bowed his head lightly.
As he moved away, Hae-ryeon’s expression changed completely.
“Ms. Na-yoon. I’ll settle this before Mr. Hyeon-yul comes back, so if he does, send me a signal, anything.”
It actually turned out well.
She had been very surprised when Hyeon-yul said he’d follow.
“Of course.”
Na-yoon raised the corners of her mouth as well, as if she had done this once or twice before.
“We can’t let Hyeon-yul get his hands dirty with this, right?”
“Of course not, Ms. Na-yoon.”
When Hae-ryeon held out her clenched fist, Na-yoon bumped fists with her in response.
“They messed with our team member, right? You think I’d stand by and watch that?”
“Couldn't watch. I want to put a bullet in his head.”
“Can't do bullets, but I'll plant my fist.”
Even though the opponent was a team leader, Hae-ryeon wore a confident expression.
***
Hyeon-yul brought the man out in the forest near the Nest.
Although it hadn’t been long since he was swallowed by darkness, the man was drooling.
Countless spatial seas existed within his darkness, enough to drive one mad.
‘There’s nothing better than pain to bring someone to their senses.’
Hyeon-yul made the man’s hand touch the ground, then took out his dagger and plunged it in.
“……!”
The man’s eyes widened from the horrific pain.
“Who are you?”
“……?”
“I ask again.”
Hyeon-yul made the other hand touch the ground as well.
“Who are you?”
Along with the question, the man felt his skin crawl at the dagger's blade piercing his flesh.
He wanted to scream, but no sound came out.
Only then did the man move his eyes.
Looking around, he saw the Black Eagle insignia on the left arm.
‘……H-how did he know?’
He was definitely on his way back after a quiet assassination.
There was no one around, and no one had seen him.
“Is my question difficult?”
Hyeon-yul asked, tilting his head.
He had said he was going to the restroom, so this wasn't the time to be idle.
‘Can’t be helped.’
Hyeon-yul looked at the splayed fingers.
The man’s gaze followed suit.
‘……He’s going to cut them? A Black Eagle?’
No way.
At that thought, laughter almost burst out.
Thwack!
But along with the sound of the dagger digging into the ground, the man’s entire body shook violently.
Even the veins on his neck stood out.
“Who are you?”
Hyeon-yul asked.
Cold sweat dripped down, and unimaginable pain caused the blood vessels around his eyes to stand out, turning red.
‘……My finger! My fingeeer!’
He really did it.
He really cut it off.
“I have especially little patience today.”
“…….”
The man panted, looking down.
His index and middle fingers were gone.
“…….”
Despair seeped through his open mouth.
“Eight left.”
As Hyeon-yul raised his hand, the man shouted frantically.
“Assassin! I’m an assassin!”
“How did you get in?”
“Dis-disguised as a manager.”
“You must have been quite desperate.”
Hyeon-yul smiled.
The main reason for planting collaborators was to grasp internal information for a long time.
Seeing them use an assassin like this made their situation obvious.
It was cutting tails, coupled with a warning: confess and die.
“That’s right. Absolutely right.”
The man bowed his head low.
He looked at Hyeon-yul with tear-filled eyes as if he could nod even more.
But Hyeon-yul wasn't swayed by such emotional games.
If he couldn't tell if it was a lie or not, it was better to just toss it aside.
“Did you kill the collaborator?”
“…Yes.”
The man’s voice trembled.
It seemed like he would break down sobbing at any moment.
“It seems the collaborator you just killed betrayed you. For example, like finding out they were going to hand over evidence to the Black Eagle about the tricks you’d pull inside the Nest before you fled.”
The fact that there were collaborators inside the Black Eagle was exposed.
They couldn't stay any longer.
But would they just leave nicely?
Wouldn't they try some trickery to deal a blow internally?
Hyeon-yul looked at the assassin.
The man couldn't hide his surprised eyes.
He quickly lowered his gaze, but his wavering eyes couldn't be hidden.
“Good.”
Hyeon-yul smiled.
What was good about it?
The man trembled with anxiety.
“Who is your boss?”
Hyeon-yul asked the final question.
But there was no answer.
Hyeon-yul glanced at his watch briefly, then rummaged in his pocket.
“Not answering won’t change anything. You’ll die anyway even if you go back.”
The assassin stared with shocked eyes at Hyeon-yul’s words.
“Surely, you didn’t think you wouldn’t die?”
Taking out a medicine packet, Hyeon-yul smiled at the man.
The moment he accepted this job, the man inevitably learned too deep a secret.
“If you were irreplaceable, they wouldn’t kill you. Instead, they’d be more excited and order you to do something else.”
Hyeon-yul shared from experience.
No one could replace him.
Therefore, even though he held many secrets, they didn't kill him.
“From what I see, you are not. So speak. I will kill him for you. It’s not exactly a loss, is it?”
“…….”
“Your salary is probably delayed, and you’re working like a dog. Is he really worth being loyal to?”
“……Please spare me.”
“Even if I don’t kill you, you know that man will hunt you down to the end and kill you, don’t you? Or are you confident you can escape?”
The man shook his head.
It was as if the word 'escape' itself didn't exist.
“Do you perhaps have a family?”
“…I do.”
“You know that no matter which choice you make, the end won't be good.”
If he ran away, his family would likely die first.
Of course, they wouldn't just kill them simply.
They might kill them in the most miserable way and present them before the man.
Crunch.
Hyeon-yul chewed the medicine and looked at the man.
By now, he was shedding tears and snot, starting to look at him desperately.
He could predict what he would say.
“Don’t ask me for favors. You knew everything when you chose this, didn’t you?”
The fact that being a villain wasn't as light as the name suggested was something one inevitably learned the moment they became one.
Because peers would die right from the start.
Once the process of killing others became familiar, other things also became dull.
He, whose mind was broken by drugs, was different from them.
They pretended not to, but guilt held them by the ankle, and they committed worse acts to escape it.
“I can promise only one thing. I will kill the man and avenge you. How about it?”
Hyeon-yul smiled kindly.
He didn't know about other things, but this was something he was good at.