Episode 15
Fortunately, Jeong Iheun didn't treat him like a child.
It meant he hadn't stayed by his side until the bowl of porridge was emptied.
"Ah, damn it."
Black waves still flickered at the edge of his vision, an aftereffect of the hallucinations.
The same ones that had devoured countless members.
"Mr. Han Chasu."
A voice like a spark pulled Han Chasu's consciousness back up.
"Guild Master."
Han Chasu raised his head with a dull rattle and slowly closed and opened his eyes.
Calm gray pupils, like embers sunken into the sea, stared at Jeong Iheun.
"What did you call me for?"
The tall man looked down at him with a subtle expression.
The man, who had maintained his silence, tossed out a question.
"Don't you have any intention of explaining how you ended up like that?"
Ah.
Only then did it dawn on Han Chasu that Jeong Iheun might have seen that mess.
It was a disaster.
'I should have thought of that earlier.'
The aftereffects of the hallucinations were too strong. Realizing his dulled mind, he clicked his tongue inwardly.
But it wasn't too late yet.
Instead of putting Awakener-grade handcuffs on him, the fact that he'd brought porridge meant that fortunately, he hadn't seen the diary.
Ahem.
Han Chasu, who had wet his throat with water, spoke in a hoarse voice.
"I ran into a bit of a problem while organizing my luggage."
"People don't usually collapse while spitting blood from organizing luggage."
He would just let it slide.
Jeong Iheun was a pushover, but he wasn't a tactless character.
He didn't know why the man was nitpicking every word when he was obviously beating around the bush because he didn't want to talk about it.
Han Chasu let out a deep sigh and opened his mouth as if he had no choice.
"It's because of my profession; among the reagents I was researching at home, there must have been some that had changed properties due to age."
There really was a research lab in Han Chasu's house.
Although it was a lab for manufacturing poison, not potions.
"I was sorting and disposing of the reagents when I accidentally inhaled fumes. That's why my airway was damaged and I bled a bit."
"……."
"There's nothing else wrong. As you would know, Guild Master."
You already called a doctor to examine me anyway.
'Otherwise, there's no way you would've brought me porridge so peacefully.'
As Han Chasu stared fixedly at Jeong Iheun, the man bit his lip slightly.
It was what one did when hit in a vital point.
He closed his mouth for a moment, then cautiously opened it.
"You really have no intention of being hospitalized again?"
Seeing Han Chasu's expression instantly drop below freezing, Jeong Iheun let out a sigh.
"Yes. I suppose asking was pointless. I already knew."
Jeong Iheun, who spoke calmly, somehow looked sulky.
In fact, he was somewhat dispirited.
It was because he realized that Han Chasu's will to be discharged was stronger than he had thought.
'To think he'd even resort to white lies.'
He knew that further treatment was meaningless for Han Chasu.
But this was a man whose body had crumbled from saving his younger sibling.
Jeong Iheun couldn't let him go easily.
How could he keep him here? As he was worrying about another method—
"Your situational judgment is precise and swift. As expected of the Guild Master."
Han Chasu didn't miss the timing and made an effort to match Jeong Iheun's mood.
"There must be many places that need the Guild Master even now. Rather than wasting your outstanding abilities on me, how about using them for others?"
'Just leave me alone, please.'
He was truly sick and tired of this pushover protagonist.
A sense of responsibility was one thing, but—
Where was the man who tried to take responsibility for someone's life just because their body got a little worse from saving their younger sibling?
"I understand that following the Grade 1 Gate that appeared in Jeju Island recently, Dungeon Breaks have been occurring sporadically."
As it happened, he knew that a Dungeon Break had occurred in the city center today as well.
When Han Chasu mentioned that, Jeong Iheun's gaze grew subtle.
"Guild Master?"
It was the moment Han Chasu felt a sense of crisis at that subtle change.
"I've held you for too long."
Jeong Iheun shook his head, briefly stepped away, and returned holding a coat.
"I'll have a driver take you home, so get ready."
Han Chasu struggled not to let out a scream of joy right then and there.
But Jeong Iheun wasn't so easily dealt with.
"Take this with you."
What he held out at the front door was a familiar contract.
A one-way ticket to hell with the words "Lifetime Contract" written blatantly on it.
"……."
Don't tell me he's giving this to me now, calling it a gift.
Han Chasu sincerely thought that if he could just punch Jeong Iheun in the solar plexus once, he would have no more wishes.
Of course, he didn't do anything foolish enough to show it outwardly.
"Guild Master, you really don't have to do this. I didn't do it expecting anything in return—."
"I've changed the clauses that Mr. Han Chasu found burdensome, so I'd like you to take a look."
Cutting off Han Chasu's words, Jeong Iheun gently pressed him.
"I'll give up the annual salary, the house, and the car, so please look through it once more."
Just from listening, it was a tone that made it sound like he was really making some tremendous sacrifice.
To Han Chasu, it was simply absurd.
To some, it might be a lifetime contract they'd jump for joy over, but to him, it was nothing more than a one-way ticket to hell.
"I'll look it over."
Anyway, since the other party had taken a step back, it was right for him to concede this much as well.
Han Chasu, who took the contract, opened the front door.
"Then, goodbye."
"…Take care on your way home, Mr. Han Chasu."
Click.
The door closed.
***
"The Wolf has boarded the vehicle. We will maintain distance and follow."
At the voice that came through with static, Jeong Iheun gave a slight nod.
"It's fine even if you lose him, so make sure not to get hurt."
"Yes. We will do our best to protect the VIP."
The response was satisfactory.
Jeong Iheun pulled out his earpiece and turned to open the window.
The ground viewed from the dizzyingly high floor looked like a miniature.
A small, meaningless world that looked like it would collapse if he waved his hand.
"Ah."
Then, a car speeding across the road came into view.
It was the car Han Chasu was in.
Having confirmed the security vehicle following behind, Jeong Iheun tried to pull his body back.
Crash! Crash, smash—!
A red sports car had precisely rammed into three security vehicles.
If only that damned bright-red car wasn't charging toward the vehicle Han Chasu was in.
***
"Hold onto your seatbelt tight!"
The driver shouted with an extremely tense face.
Inside the chaotically shaking vehicle, Han Chasu silently held the belt tight.
There was no life in his gray pupils that stared into the empty air.
"Ha…."
By now, he was too tired to even be surprised.
Why did another crisis always come just when he thought he had gotten past one?
'Is it the sin of possessing a villain?'
If so, it was a possession he never wished for.
As Han Chasu was thinking about the futility of life, a strong impact shook the car once more.
Smash!
"Kuk!"
The bright-red sports car was an outlaw on the road.
Han Chasu realized that before he knew it, the only cars visible on the wide avenue were his own and the madman's.
The driver seemed to have realized the same fact.
"Don't worry. This vehicle is sturdy enough to be used as cover even if a Dungeon Break occurs… Damn it, that crazy bastard!"
Crash!
"Uwaak!"
The driver urgently turned the steering wheel.
Han Chasu swayed, hanging from the seatbelt like a lifeless doll.
Just then, a blue, wide river was visible below the bridge outside the window.
'…Should I jump?'
Han Chasu's eyes measured the distance.
The fact that they were following so openly usually meant there was no intent to kill.
At worst, kidnapping and confinement. They probably wanted to obtain something through the accompanying threats.
If he became a tool for blackmail, the target was obvious.
'The protagonist who keeps bothering people forever.'
Jeong Iheun. Most likely, he was the reason Han Chasu was in this predicament.
Sighing, Han Chasu placed his hand on the door handle.
If he fell from a rapidly moving car, it surely wouldn't end with just bruises.
But Han Chasu's expression was utterly indifferent.
'As long as I don't die, it doesn't matter if I get hurt.'
The regeneration skill would heal him even if it took a long time.
It would be fine even if he was smashed up worse than expected and forcibly readmitted to the hospital.
'If I can say this happened because of the Guild Master's excessive attention and ask him to back off, that would settle it.'
He would trigger guilt instead of responsibility.
Whichever way he looked at it, it was a fine ending.
Having roughly finished organizing his thoughts, Han Chasu casually spoke to the driver.
"I think this is probably because of me."
"Yes?"
"I'll draw their attention, so after you get out of here, please call the Guild Master."
"What… Absolutely not!"
The driver's face, which had been spewing all kinds of curses at the other vehicle, turned pale.
To him, Han Chasu's calm words were more frightening than the rampaging sports car.
"Once we enter the city, that guy won't be able to do anything either. So if you could just wait until then…!"
But fierce pressure crushed down on the roof.
"Geum Myeonggyeol, you son of a bitch!"
The driver's shout burst out as a scream.
Crash!
As if it had been waiting, the car's windshield shattered into pieces.
Screech!
Leaving deep skid marks, the car eventually came to a halt.
"Hard to get a look at your face, isn't it?"
The roof buckled, and someone jumped down onto the hood.
The man silhouetted against the backlight was so tall that even the word "imposing" fell short.
When the driver screamed upon recognizing his face, the man shoved his hand through the broken window.
"It's been a while, Mindeok. It must have been hard driving something you're not used to?"
"Crazy, insane bastard! Are you in your right mind? Doing this, and still—"
"Take care. See you next time."
Along with his farewell, the man casually threw the driver into the river.
"Geum Myeonggyeol, you son of a bitch—!"
The driver's wail mixed with curses echoed.
And Han Chasu stared at the man with a pale face.
Geum Myeonggyeol?
'The curse sorcerer, Geum Myeonggyeol?'
Why on earth was that bastard chasing me?
Han Chasu's eyes narrowed slightly as he watched the approaching man.
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