Chapter 9
“You don’t have to keep coming like this.”
“But how would I know when you’re going to kick the bucket, Hyung?”
“…….”
Han Chasu ignored the vein bulging on his forehead and pointed Baek Seon toward a seat.
“Stop talking nonsense and come in, sit down.”
After learning that his older brother was Baek Dam, Han Chasu had become a bit more lenient toward Baek Seon. *If I hurt his feelings for no reason and it reaches Baek Dam’s ears, I’m the one who’ll be ruined.* Until he went into hiding, he needed to maintain a moderately friendly relationship.
But today in particular, Baek Seon was acting strange. Opening the door with gusto was the same as always, but instead of coming in, he was fidgeting outside.
“Is there a problem?”
“Uh, well.”
Baek Seon kept glancing behind him while gripping the half-open door.
Was someone chasing him? Han Chasu tilted his head, grabbed the bed frame, and raised himself up.
“Ah, Hyung, no. Stay still!”
At the same time as Baek Seon’s startled shout, a creaking hinge sound was heard. At the same time, something pitch-black rolled forward until it reached right in front of him.
Making eye contact with the pitch-black something, Han Chasu cried out in a raised voice.
“Mr. Jeong Seoheun?”
“F-Fancy meeting you again.”
Jeong Seoheun, who had barely opened his mouth, squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again. Guilt lingered at his tightly tense lips.
“Are you feeling a little better?”
A ripple fluttered in his red irises.
***
“I’m sorry I couldn’t come all this time.”
“It’s fine.”
This was already the seventeenth apology.
“I believe you were also badly hurt, Mr. Jeong Seoheun. Are you alright?”
“Huh? Are you worried about me right now?”
“…Yes.”
*Because if something happens to you, I’ll be the one catching flak for no reason.*
Han Chasu nodded with an impassive face.
Then suddenly, Jeong Seoheun became strange. As if something was surging up from inside, he bit his lip with a tearful face.
“I-I’m fine. From the start, compared to you, Mr. Han Chasu…!”
His Adam’s apple bobbed greatly, and he hung his head low. Han Chasu wondered if he had gone crazy.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t come here to do this.”
His shoulders trembled finely as he hung his head.
Only then did Han Chasu roughly understand what was going on and clicked his tongue soundlessly. *He’s harboring useless guilt.* A moderate amount of regret would have been fine.
Even if he felt guilty, just enough to be buried and forgotten someday. That would have been just right.
But it seemed Jeong Seoheun was a softer-hearted fellow than he thought.
Han Chasu lowered the hand that had been scratching his head and called out to him.
“Mr. Jeong Seoheun.”
Red irises turned toward him cautiously.
Han Chasu stiffened his face rigidly. The atmosphere changed in an instant.
“Whoever had been in that place, my actions wouldn’t have changed.”
“…If you’re trying to make me feel at ease, that’s alright.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
Han Chasu raised his eyebrows.
“I’m saying that you’re wasting your feelings on something pointless, Mr. Jeong Seoheun.”
“Pardon?”
“Hyung, what are you saying!”
Baek Seon flinched like a startled rabbit.
Han Chasu sent a stern gaze his way, then stared at Jeong Seoheun again.
“You don’t need to take responsibility for the results of my choices, Mr. Jeong Seoheun.”
“But….”
“Haven’t you considered that it only makes things harder for me?”
Jeong Seoheun’s eyes trembled. His quivering lips couldn’t say anything and pressed shut tightly.
*Good.*
Han Chasu smirked deeply in his mind. *He’s being persuaded.* His efforts to sweet-talk had paid off. *That I would have saved them no matter who was there?* As if.
Han Chasu knew himself well.
He was neither a hero, nor an altruistic person, nor a good man.
He was merely a plebeian struggling desperately to survive.
So even when he told Jeong Seoheun, “I didn’t save you because it was you,” he didn’t feel much guilt.
He continued with a brazen face.
“In that situation, I did the best I could and survived. I was able to save others as well.”
“…….”
“That’s what I wanted. Not the sympathy of the people I saved.”
At the last words, Jeong Seoheun looked shocked.
“Sympathy? I’ve never thought that way, Hyung!”
Baek Seon beside him was the same.
“But that’s how I feel.”
Han Chasu spoke calmly.
“Sitting alone in this hospital room, I always feel it every time I see the Guild Leader who comes to visit every single day.”
“…….”
“I risked my body to save my teammates, not because I wanted this kind of treatment.”
So please, just leave me alone.
Han Chasu gazed deeply at the two men who had turned pale and stiff, pleading with his eyes.
*If you truly care about me, I’m asking you to stop now.*
*And as a bonus, make sure that Guild Leader bastard can’t come either.*
“I… I understand what you mean.”
The first to open his mouth was Baek Seon.
Jeong Seoheun seemed to have yet to recover mentally—big as he was, his heart was like soft tofu.
“We’ve been too much of a burden all this time, haven’t we?”
*That’s right.*
Han Chasu was pleased with Baek Seon’s attitude, who understood his words perfectly.
“Then we won’t apologize anymore.”
“Yeah, so….”
“Instead, I’ll do what I can to get you healthy again.”
*What?*
Why did the conversation jump there?
Before he could stop them, Baek Seon grabbed Jeong Seoheun’s hand and sought his agreement.
“You think so too, right, Seoheun?”
“…Yeah, you’re right.”
The irises stained with tears were nowhere to be seen, and Jeong Seoheun opened his red eyes wide.
“Sorry—no. I shouldn’t say such things anymore. Because that’s what you want, Mr. Han Chasu.”
“No, that’s not—”
“I’ll respect your choice, Mr. Han Chasu. So I hope you’ll respect our choice as well.”
Jeong Seoheun sprang up from his seat and spoke, radiating firm determination.
“We’ll do whatever it takes to return you to how you were, Mr. Han Chasu.”
“…L-Let me finish.”
“Then we’ll see you next time.”
Leaving behind a resolute will like a general heading to the battlefield, Jeong Seoheun and Baek Seon disappeared.
*No.*
He had to catch them first.
To sneak out of the hospital room and catch those guys…
[ Silent Footsteps (B) ]
“Ugh!”
An agonizing pain like an awl striking his skull.
Han Chasu collapsed to the floor.
[ Warning! ]
[ Penalties will be imposed for actions not befitting your False Identity! ]
*What? Wait.* It wasn’t this bad in the dungeon.
His limbs trembled faintly, and his joints felt as if they were burning in fire. *How is catching those brats an action unbefitting…* As if reading his complaints, a blue window floated before his eyes.
[ False Identity (A): Activated ]
[ Activated Identities: Potion Maker (B), Glass Body (A) ]
[ Changes in stamina are occurring due to the new identity ‘Glass Body.’ ]
[ Change synchronization complete. ]
[ False Identity: ‘Glass Body Potion Maker Han Chasu’ ]
[ Penalty will be determined randomly. ]
[ You have contracted the Abnormal Status ‘Headache’! ]
“…….”
*This crazy novel bastard.*
Han Chasu let out a hollow laugh at the absurdity.
Soon, a skull-splitting pain overwhelmed him.
[ You have contracted the Abnormal Status ‘Headache’! ]
Han Chasu groaned and curled up.
“Urrgh….”
“Patient! Are you alright?!”
The nurse who witnessed the scene rushed over in surprise. It was a stormy examination.
***
“Are you telling me there’s nothing wrong?”
“Yes… Even by Awakened standards, there’s nothing particularly abnormal.”
Nothing wrong? A very serious abnormality had occurred.
Regardless of whether Jeong Yiheun, who had rushed over, was talking with the doctor with a grave face, Han Chasu glared at the ceiling with needles dangling from his arms and legs.
[ False Identity: Glass Body Potion Maker Han Chasu ]
Something useless had stuck to his False Identity, which had previously been just Potion Maker. It seemed a strange update had occurred because of his health.
Han Chasu clicked his tongue as he looked at the status window floating in the air. *If I deactivate the skill to get rid of the Glass Body penalty, the Potion Maker identity will probably fly away too.* He could guess without even testing it. Han Chasu ignored the skill deactivation button floating in a corner of the status window and closed it. *Like I’d go looking for a place to die.* Han Chasu glanced over at Jeong Yiheun. He was still arguing with the doctors.
“What could you possibly know from just that… Mr. Han Chasu, are you uncomfortable anywhere?”
Even though he had only looked over for a moment, those red irises noticed like a ghost and met his gaze. Han Chasu shook his head with a silent sigh.
“No. I was just wondering if I had unnecessarily called over someone busy.”
“Not at all. If it’s related to you, Mr. Han Chasu, I must always come running.”
“…….”
Looking at his beaming face made Han Chasu feel conflicted.
As long as that guy stayed by his side, skill deactivation was something he couldn’t even dream of.
*Right, in this world, S-ranks exist outside the standard.*
They were closer to beasts than humans in the realm of instinct. In that they could uncannily discern whether someone was an opponent they could kill or not.
In other words, if he deactivated his False Identity, he could get his collar grabbed with a “Oops, so you weren’t a B-rank Production class but an A-rank Combat class!”
“Ah….”
It was really hard living as a villain.
While he was spacing out in helplessness, he sensed a presence. He turned only his eyes to look; it was Jeong Yiheun.
“……?”
It was suspicious that he was approaching with a somehow shy face. Wondering what it was this time, Han Chasu looked and saw he was holding something in his hand.
“Mr. Han Chasu.”
“…Yes.”
“You may not know, but this time the Cheonryeong Guild is cooperating with the government to develop a new treatment drug for Awakened. So…”
“I’m not signing a lifetime contract.”
“…….”
“…….”
Ignoring Jeong Yiheun’s eyes as if sparks were flying, Han Chasu flipped the blanket over himself.
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