CH 28.1

The wind that passed through the pale night caressed his cheeks. The stream of light flowing from the house floated in the yard. Cocaine, who had just died, was resurrected and stood on the cracked ground. He opened his mouth slowly.

“I asked the kids what you did in front of the water purifier. They all said they didn’t see anything. No knife or scissors are allowed in the dormitory, so why wasn’t anyone wary of you collecting such a dangerous poison? Because you’re thorough? Because they’re all blind?”

Cocaine looked at Yaba.

“Because you didn’t put anything in. You were empty-handed on the day you were found out. But I’m pretty sure you put something into the water purifier. What did you want to put in it? What would I put in it, if I were you? The answer came out surprisingly easily.”

His eyes gleamed against the light.

“Poison. A poison that only I can see.”

Yaba staggered, he struggled to endure the dizziness, his vision blurring Cocaine did not miss a single look on Yaba’s expression. Just as he did when Cocaine was dying.

“This is what I thought. This time, I want to hear it with your own mouth. What did you put in the water purifier?”

There’s no poison? From the beginning? No matter which one he chose, with or without poison, he was standing in despair. Chose? No, it wasn’t a choice, it was the truth. The existence of the poison. For several months, he thoroughly gathered information, did his legwork, and bought poison. It was manufactured with care and put into the water purifier without anyone noticing.

Even in the morning, he opened the toilet tank and checked that there was a poison bag. He could swear to God. But how could he say it didn’t exist? Bullshit, nonsense. Cocaine was digging a trap and asking the leading questions. He must not overlook it. Never. Never.

Yaba struggled to keep calm. He looked straight ahead.

“What… is this bullshit? Didn’t you just say with your mouth that I was empty-handed? And then asked what I put in there? Are you crazy now?”

“Then why didn’t you ask anyone for help when I collapsed a little while ago?” Cocaine asked coldly, ignoring Yaba’s jittery voice.

Yaba almost burst into laughter. He bit his tongue and shook his head.

“You should speak properly. There wasn’t blood and you didn’t really collapse.”

You’re doing well. You will do well. If you are resolute in your focus, you can pass it. This was the last gateway given by the god. The god was asking.

“Then why haven’t you touched the water from the water purifier? Stop making silly excuses. It’s been weird since you ignored the water purifier right next to you and went to the refrigerator.”

His voice gradually grew furious.

“You poisoned the water purifier. To be precise, two months ago. More precisely, since Cha Yiseok became a regular at Sky Lounge. How about telling this to Cha Yiseok? He likes romance, so he’ll find it very interesting. Shall I call him right now and tell him?!”

The tip of Yaba’s lips froze. The unexpected attack left his head in a moribund state. Cocaine crushed the sun-dried earthworm.

“You took my place, my people, even my honor and everything I built up, little by little. You who only sings the chorus in the back! Did you think you’d have all mine when I died? Don’t get it wrong just because that person is interested in you. In the first place, the reason he made you imitate me was to protect me. Cha Yiseok is not attracted to you, he’s possessed by that petty voice…”

Cocaine cut the words and narrowed his eyebrows. Soon he smiled coldly.

“I’m sorry, but Cha Yiseok is mine. I don’t know anything else, but that alone will never be taken away.”

He wanted to rip my self-confidence to pieces. Yaba clenched his knuckles until they almost broke and raised his gaze. He said, pulling the tip of his lips.

“You keep insisting that it’s poison. Do you have any proof? Who do you think would believe that bullshit?”

“It doesn’t matter if it’s real or a delusion. The only important thing is that the intention is real. It was you who pushed me and tried to kill me. I’m so pathetic that I’m even in tears because I thought of someone like you as a friend for a while.”

Cocaine shuddered. That was the limit. Yaba let out a snigger he had been holding back.

“It’s the first time I’ve laughed out loud like today. Friend? You are a person who doesn’t make friends. You don’t think of me and the singers as friends, you just don’t want to make enemies. You are an abominable and disgusting two faced individual.”

The two were conscious of the outside and swung shapeless swords at each other. Cocaine spit out a hateful voice.

“It is thanks to you that I have become like this. The one who made me realize what betrayal is and how useless a friend is. You must have been scared because you were young. I understood that enough. But was that really all? Did you only snitch on me because you were afraid of their threats?”

Cocaine pointed his finger at Yaba’s heart. He spread a voice like frost.

“This is my first and last question. I might kill you if you don’t tell me the truth.”

On this street, one scream of Cocaine would shatter one’s head. Being young was a very convenient indulgence to hide the truth. But it’s the first and the last time, how can it be so tempting…

“The truth is…”

Yaba lifted his lowered eyes and looked at him without hesitation. His lips drew a vicious line.

“It wasn’t that scary. If I could tell the truth about where you were and live forever with my mouth shut, how can I be afraid? I even emptied a bowl of rice the evening my dad hit my mom’s chest. I had only one thought back then. To get you out of my sight. If I had known you would be castrated and exploited for the rest of your life, my choices would not have changed.”

The tip of Cocaine’s lips twitched. The answer has already been found, as the hatred for him remained more vivid than the fear of being castrated that day. Yaba did not stop attacking.

“What do you feel so wronged about? What the hell is the difference between Kang Giha and your mother? After all, they’re pimps trying to use your powers to fill their pockets, right? Because you came here, you were treated like a god. You enjoyed it too. That’s why you’re trembling for fear of losing your seat now.”

“You are a messy, disgusting human. You messed up everything with that tongue, but instead of repenting, you tried to kill me! Before you poisoned me, you should have said sorry to me! If you were a human, you should have said sorry at least once if you had a conscience!”

Cocaine’s cry parted the dry air. Yaba’s limbs trembled from the poison that spread throughout his body. He moved his tongue, which was covered in poison.

“If I hadn’t been involved with you, I wouldn’t have been dragged into this living hell. My future is all ruined, and even though I was born a man, I am not a man. You should have said sorry to me before you practiced vocalization, before you saved humans!”

Cocaine twisted the corners of his lips.

“With a mother who died of cheating with another man, a sick brother, isn’t it the same thing that you and I lived in the gutter? I think I saved you who was like that.”

“Then we’re even, right?”

Yaba’s voice was hysterical. If heaven gave him another chance to go back to that time 10 years ago, he would never have spoken to Cocaine. If that were the case, he wouldn’t have known the human being or the secret. He wouldn’t have had enough jealousy to wreak havoc on his brain.

Perhaps he and the object of Cocaine’s hatred were at odds with each other. Both of them lost their manhood because of Kang Giha. Kang Giha was the garbage. Garbage that was not worth any more trouble than putting it in an incinerator. However, they had no power to oppose Kang Giha. So, there is no choice but to bite a reachable target. Because this hatred did not rust and had no end.

“Didn’t you ever think that, rather than me stealing it, it might not have been yours in the first place? Yeah, did you feel threatened by the accompaniment that puts the chorus behind you? Were your legs shaking enough to do such a childish show?”

Cocaine countered, biting his lips.

“You know it was poison in that rotten, bruised head. What you put in the water purifier was poison. You wanted to kill me. So you put poison in it. After all, if your delusion breaks down, you will not face reality, but will create another delusion and escape. You live your whole life in such a gutter-like delusion and you will die that way.”

He poured a curse as stark as his eyes. The curse of the resurrected god would be more powerful than any other spell. A chill passed, scratching the nape of his neck. Yaba took one step closer and stared at Cocaine’s face. His poisoned eyes were a cruel blade. The teeth stained with red pigment were bizarre. The Cocaine he had unmasked was very attractive.

“Your face is amazing. It’s such a waste to see it alone. How hard must it have been to hide it? The claws hidden inside pierced your flesh, and even if you bled, you must have endured it, right?”

Cocaine’s lips trembled. In the distance, the voices of singers were heard. They had to get a glimpse of Cocaine’s real face before they entered the gate. Two glowing eyes collided in the darkness. After a while, the eunuch singers and Jang Sejun came in. Yaba whispered so that only Cocaine could hear it.

“What are you doing? Control your expressions.”

t/n: the plot twist was that he actually wasn’t poisoning Cocaine! hehe was it a big twist? I think some readers had already predicted it though ><