Chapter 5
The original Seong Dohyeon was an S-rank Hunter, so he could have lived quite comfortably. But this bastard was a genuine lunatic who abandoned all wealth and honor out of his insane obsession with Baek Eunseong.
Unlike other Hunters who paid insurance premiums through their affiliated guilds or centers, he belonged to nowhere and had to pour all his earnings into insurance.
Because of this bastard—who didn't even have a proper home and shamelessly slept at the Association—I was homeless right after possessing him. So before I could even finish grasping the situation, I scraped together every last penny I had and barely managed to get this studio apartment.
Looking around the studio, Baek Hamin took off his shoes with reluctant movements and then darted to a corner of the room, pressing himself flat against the wall. Around him, clover grass began to sprout delicately.
Seriously, he was clinging to me insisting he wouldn't fall off. But now he seemed wary, curling up and glaring at me.
Well, Baek Hamin was also from the Baekwoo Guild, so he'd roughly know what kind of person Seong Dohyeon was.
Letting out a small sigh, I opened the refrigerator door.
"Hmm."
I was going to feed him something and put him to bed... but there was nothing to eat in the fridge. It was because I'd been so distracted these past few days that I forgot to go grocery shopping.
Clicking my tongue, I took out two eggs and checked the cupboard for bread and instant rice. I was debating whether egg bread or soy sauce egg rice would be better for a kid when I suddenly felt a familiar flow.
Five people.
It was the kidnappers who had disappeared into the ground earlier.
Baek Hamin must have sensed the subtle flow too, as he straightened his curled body and slowly raised his head. Biting his peach-colored lips tightly and quietly staring at one direction, Baek Hamin didn't look like a child but a proper Hunter.
No matter how young, he's still of the Baek clan.
I stopped admiring and grabbed the scruff of the curled-up, beast-like Baek Hamin.
"Gasp!"
Baek Hamin, who had been glaring at me, gasped as he saw shadows rising from the spot where he had just been sitting.
This bastard... What if they damage the place and the landlord raises the deposit? Why are they messing with my home?
I glared at the shadows squirming with nowhere to hide, then remembering the studio's deposit, I threw the window wide open.
"Hold on tight."
At my words, Baek Hamin wrapped his arms tightly around my neck. I looked at the delicate grass entangling my clothes, then turned my gaze back into the room.
"Wait here."
I picked up a rolled-up blanket, tore it roughly, and made something like a sack. I wrapped Baek Hamin in it, secured him, and placed my foot on the windowsill.
If there were eyes watching, the kidnappers would be cautious, so a place where people walked would be better.
Just as I was about to jump with that thought, I saw white cloaks fluttering beneath the window. They were the Hunters who had been guarding Baek Hamin. Unlike Yang Jihwan, they had directly witnessed the moment Baek Hamin was kidnapped, so they must have known he was the real one and come after me.
Good.
I should extort enough reward money to not worry about living expenses for a while.
I jumped from the window and chased after the kidnappers for quite a while using 'Ariadne's Thread'. As the pursuit dragged on, I shouted into the air.
"Let's stop and come out~"
I had no idea how many times we'd circled the neighborhood.
What were they thinking? I might look a bit haggard from not eating properly, but I was still an S-rank Hunter in name. Did they think my stamina would drop from just this?
The thought hurt my pride.
"If you don't come out, I'm going in."
Just as I was about to flick my fingertips, the kidnappers revealed themselves.
"Why... are you interfering?"
At the voice that sounded genuinely unable to understand, I glanced at Baek Hamin clinging to me.
"I said it earlier. Kidnapping is illegal."
The kidnapper looked at me with an expression of disbelief, but I was confident in my own way.
The original Seong Dohyeon, while following Baek Eunseong around and doing all sorts of annoying things, never committed illegal acts.
He was a truly petty and sneaky bastard who would torment Baek Eunseong in every possible way, but the moment Baek Eunseong tried to fight back even a little, he'd scream about how that was illegal.
Clicking my tongue, I glared at the kidnapper manipulating shadows.
"Where do you think you're going."
When I flicked my finger, the kidnapper staggered greatly but soon regained his stance. Seeing the determined look in his eyes that he wouldn't be taken down easily like before, I struck the side of his head with my fist.
I'm not an idiot. Did they think I'd attack the same way?
With a crack, the flying kidnapper showed no movement, having lost consciousness. I was about to use 'Ariadne's Thread' to find the rest of them when—
"Cap... ture... Hamin..."
"Hiek!"
When I turned my gaze at Baek Hamin's movement of clawing at my neck and burying himself into me, the fallen kidnapper was unsteadily getting up with the whites of his eyes showing.
I patted Baek Hamin's back and used 'Heavenly Command'. The kidnapper wavered briefly but then crawled toward Baek Hamin, frothing at the mouth.
["Ah, just go to sleep!"]
When I shouted with irritation mid-song, the kidnapper collapsed on the spot. I traced my Adam's apple with a strange feeling. Baek Hamin was also looking up at me as if he found it fascinating.
Just now... I couldn't explain it, but it felt like a massive wave had erupted from my body.
I turned on the status window and quietly glared at the words 'Heavenly Command'. I thought I could only sing since it was called a command, but apparently not. Can I also put power into words?
To immediately verify the power of 'Heavenly Command', I chased after the group of kidnappers as guided by 'Ariadne's Thread'.
"They're over there."
I held Baek Hamin securely and looked at the gathered group of kidnappers.
No, is there something wrong with their heads?
The one who looked the strongest had clearly been taken down earlier. If that guy was defeated, they should be scrambling to flee together, but instead they were waiting in formation?
"Are you going to attack?"
I let out a scoff and was about to flick my finger, but stopped. It was to wait for the Baekwoo Guild members who would witness me defeating the kidnappers and rescuing Baek Hamin.
But even after waiting for a long time, the Baekwoo Guild members didn't appear.
The kidnappers gave me puzzled looks as I stood still, but they seemed too afraid to attack first.
Expanding my senses to scan the surroundings, the Baekwoo Guild members who had been running around chasing the kidnappers until just a moment ago were gone.
Don't tell me they were taken down by these lackeys?
I furrowed my brow and clapped my hands.
From the ripple spreading from my fingertips, I could see the kidnappers' mana shaking violently, and they soon began to collapse with nosebleeds.
When I crouched in front of the most intact-looking one, Baek Hamin scrambled over in panic and burrowed into my arms. I waited for him to settle in before asking the kidnapper with rolling eyes.
["Who sent you?"]
"Baek... Hamin... kidnap..."
["I'm asking who ordered the kidnapping. Won't you talk?"]
"Cap..."
Even when I asked again, the kidnapper only mumbled about having to kidnap Baek Hamin.
Hmm. Interrogation was out of the question. It seemed I couldn't control their consciousness after all.
["Stand up."]
Instead, when I commanded their actions, the kidnapper who had been mumbling about kidnapping Baek Hamin rose unsteadily. A person walking unconscious while streaming nosebleed looked just like a zombie.
I can't control consciousness, but I can control the body.
I looked at the zombies moving according to my gestures and bit my lip.
Something was strange.
In the original work, the person who kidnapped Baek Hamin was me, Seong Dohyeon—the first and the last.
No one would want to mess with Baek Hamin, who was not only under the protection of the Baekwoo Guild but also showered with love from Baek Eunseong, unless they wanted to be buried alive.
But suddenly, someone other than me was trying to kidnap Baek Hamin...?
"Don't tell me."
Was it because of me?
Because I possessed Seong Dohyeon and eliminated the person who would kidnap Baek Hamin, did something like the power of the original work activate to somehow follow the original storyline?
But in the original work, Baek Hamin doesn't get kidnapped until he's at least 10 years old. Why are they kidnapping him already?
I racked my brain but couldn't get the answer I wanted. I didn't even know why I possessed this body in the first place. Sighing, I looked at the still-staggering kidnappers.
Even if I took them to the Association or the Baekwoo Guild, they'd treat me exactly the same as before.
They wouldn't believe me and would slander me, claiming I was colluding with the kidnappers to put on a show.
This was why I wanted to create those excellent witnesses, the Baekwoo Guild members.
Sighing, I looked at the trembling Baek Hamin.
Baek Eunseong and the guild leader both said they had family matters to attend to and left briefly. Then they'd notice Baek Hamin was missing when they returned, right?
When Baek Eunseong returned, these kidnappers would serve as evidence that I rescued Baek Hamin. Was there nowhere to lock them up...? As I was pondering, I looked at 'Ariadne's Thread' floating in the air.
Since this was also thread, couldn't I weave cloth?
The moment I thought that, the elongated threads entangled with each other and created a large cloth. I threw the kidnappers inside, tied it up like a bundle, and the cloth in the air disappeared smoothly.
"Oh."
Didn't I just make something like an inventory?
Wanting to check, I thought about taking the bundle out again, and just as I expected, the disappeared bundle reappeared. And it repeatedly appeared and disappeared according to my will.
Skills change depending on how you use them...
I let out a small exclamation of admiration and patted the back of Baek Hamin, who was hiccupping and sobbing. His small hands were gripping me with all his might, his fingernails dyed bright red.
"Phew, what kind of hardship is a kid going through in an adult's fight."
"……."
"I'll mix some egg into rice for you, so eat and go to sleep."