CH 53

“Long time no see, Han Chasoo-ssi.”

The man’s toothy grin was literally intimidating.

Bang!

With a single kick, the partition that had fallen out of place was stuck in the middle of the railing. The hoods of the development office employees standing around were forced back by the wind.

“Ouch!”

“Boom!”

They scrambled to cover their faces, but it was too late. Geum Myeong-yeol smirked and walked away.

Shuffle.

A shadow rose from the man’s feet as he walked across the wind.

Kieeeeeeeeeeeeee-!

All sorts of evil aura emanated from him, as befits a curse mage.

‘Is that allowed in the medical centre?’

Han Cha-soo leaned his head against the partition, lost in thought. The employees of the development office had already fled to the corner. They were shivering in unison from the aura of Geum Myeong-yeol.

“That’s the curse mage, isn’t it?”

“I can’t believe we’re having a bad day today, damn it.”

“Hey, shut up, shut up.”

Where was the momentum from just a moment ago when he was talking about killing Ki Tae-yeon?

“Han Chasoo-ssi.”

The man who approached without a sound looked down at him with eyes like the sun. Only instead of scorching sunlight, they burned.

“It’s been a while.”

Staring at him, Han Cha-soo realized one thing.

“Earrings, aren’t you wearing them?”

“Oh.”

There were no earrings in the man’s ears. He touched his own smooth ears and smirked.

“We’ll talk about this later, but for now, why don’t you come with me?”

What does he mean, we’ll talk about this later? Han Cha-soo naturally drew his brows together. Geum Myeong-yeol chuckled and stretched out his hand.

“Hold it.”

Does he have to hold onto him?

When I turned my head to a small whisper behind me, the people turned their heads.

“What, what did those humans say about Han Chasoo-sii? Do you want me to scold them?”

Geum Myeong-yeol snapped his wrist and spoke meaningfully. Han Cha-soo shook his head at the thug-like behavior.

“Forget it, you don’t have to touch them. There’s nothing particularly damaged.”

In the first place, it’s not him who’s being targeted in the development office, it’s Ki Tae-yeon. He’d just put his foot wrong and almost become a hostage.

‘Still, I’ll have to tell him to be careful when I see him later.’

He doesn’t think they’re really going to kill him, but… aren’t they? Han Chae-soo thought about it. He had seen something, but he wasn’t sure.

“Ugh.”

A sharp pain shot up from his ankle as he stood up from the floor. As he frowned, he heard a tongue-lashing sound overhead.

“You never do what you’re told, anyway. It’s damn hard to get a hold of your hand.”

He thought his arm was being grabbed, but his whole body was lifted up. Why is the sky so close. When he came to his senses, he was in his arms.

From the corner of his eye, he could hear people swallowing in surprise. Han Cha-soo quietly grabbed Geum Myeong-yeol’s arm. Let go. When he protested strongly with his eyes, he smirked and adjusted his position.

“Ugh!”

A large hand squeezed his twitching leg. Han Cha-soo swallowed an expletive in exasperation.

“How can you walk with a leg like this? Han Chasoo-ssi, you said you’ve been eating a lot lately, but where did it all go?”

“…It’s probably somewhere in my stomach.”

“You say your stomach isn’t here?”

“It’s not here because it’s been digested. Stop fidgeting with your hands, I’m going to fall off.”

“Fidgeting, you sound like my secretary.”

Grumbling, Geum Myeong-yeol withdrew his hand. Han Cha-soo smiled sheepishly.

“If I were your secretary, I don’t think we’d be talking.”

Geum Myeong-yeol, who had been walking away, stopped dead in his tracks. The golden eyes beneath his thick eyebrows stared at Han Cha-soo.

“Why do you look at me like that?”

“Hmm….”

Geum Myeong-yeol blinked slowly. Inside the deep eyeholes, the shadowed pupils held a serious light.

Han Cha-soo wondered what was wrong with this sudden behavior. If he tried any more tricks, he would throw himself to the floor. As Han Cha-soo gauged the distance to the floor, Geum Myeong-yeol opened his mouth.

“Am I mistaken….”

“?”

“It feels much brighter than before.”

Geum Myeong-yeol whispered, bowing his head. His lined eyes curved like a painting.

“What should I say, like a wall has come down?”

“…….”

“Or should I say, like you’re finally realizing I’m a decent person? Hmm. Personally, I’m hoping for the latter.”

Han Cha-soo frowned at Geum Myeong-yeol’s mischievous grin. Whether he did or not, he didn’t wipe the smile off his face.

‘I’m definitely less wary.’

In the past, he would have shouted for him to get off. Han Cha-soo had drawn a clear line at him. Perhaps it was because their first meeting hadn’t gone well.

But the man in his arms was more subdued than he’d expected, perhaps because he’d been sending gifts and making an effort. Geum Myeong-yeol liked that quite a bit.

“If I told you I wanted to get to know you better here, would you say no?”

“Do you really want my word for it?”

“We’re not there yet. I see.”

He shrugs his shoulders in disappointment, but his smile remains. A roar of laughter echoes through the rooftops, and Han Cha-soo sighs as if he can’t help it.

“Chasoo-ssi!”

Just then, a voice called out to him from afar. A soft, precise voice that reached his ears clearly despite the distance.

“Han Chasoo-ssi, are you okay?”

Moon Yeon-chul was running towards him.

“Ah, Professor.”

“Professor?”

“The one who works at the psychological counselling centre in the administration bureau.”

“Ah.”

Geum Myeong-yeol nodded in understanding.

“I guess we’ll just have to leave them to deal with that, then.”

The development staff scurried away. Several of them were struggling to silently take something wrapped in cloth.

“Well, I don’t think it’s going to make any difference if he takes over.”

In the first place, it’s unlikely that an advisor from the psychological counselling centre would be able to do anything against the development office. Han Cha-soo shook his head, and Geum Myeong-yeol raised an eyebrow.

“Then I can’t help it.”

“?”

“I’ll just go.”

The man said firmly and stomped off. Moon Yeon-chul’s eyes widened as he kicked over the collapsed wall and headed for the exit.

“Wait a minute.”

“I’m sorry, but Han Chasoo-ssi is in a bit of a hurry.”

Geum Myeong-yeol said in a frosty voice.

“I’d appreciate it if you’d move out of the way.”

“…Are you the Leader of Exilis?”

A surprised voice came from Moon Yeon-chul.

“Hmph, you didn’t say that in a nice way, pretending to know me.”

Geum Myeong-yeol shook his head with a pitying look on his face. Then he called out to Han Cha-soo, who was still closing his eyes.

“I wonder why people are so clueless. What do you think, Han Chasoo-ssi?”

“Haa….”

It wasn’t worth holding my breath. Han Cha-soo blinked and opened his eyes. Moon Yeon-chul was staring at him, his face full of concern.

“What the hell happened, Chasoo-ssi?”

He said he hadn’t been back since he’d taken out the rubbish, so he’d gone looking for him.

“You haven’t been back for over ten minutes, I thought you’d collapsed somewhere.”

“Has that much time passed?”

Moon Yeon-chul nodded, but someone called out to him from behind.

“Professor, you’re not there either… Hu, hunter Han Cha-soo!”

The doctor, his hair tied up in a high ponytail, spotted him and jumped. It was a familiar face.

“What are you doing here!”

“Oh.”

“Why is your face like this, and why are you sweating so much, and no, your hands are cold, and oh my God, the cramps, the cramps…!”

“Just calm down.”

“Do you think I can calm down right now?”

“…….”

“Just eat this first. Come on.”

There was no one in the room who could stop the angry doctor. Even Geum Myeong-yeol of being the most arrogant of the S-ranks could only watch him quietly.

“Whoa…. Now, what the hell did you do to make you look like this?”

After confirming that Han Cha-soo had taken his medication, the doctor began his probing. With his chin and his hands on his hips, his eyes were like a lion’s.

“Well, you know.”

“You know those hooded idiots over there?”

Geum Myeong-yeol said, pointing to a corner of the overgrown garden. The doctor’s eyes widened at the ruins visible through the fake reeds and partitions.

“What’s that… I mean, have those bastards been hiding in there all this time?”

The doctor called into the distance. As if things were about to get interesting, Geum Myeong-yeol laughed and flicked his hand away.

“Aaaah!”

“Crazy, help!”

For some reason, the screams were getting farther away.

The sight over Geum Myeong-yeol’s shoulder was a nightmare.

“Gah!”

“Let go of me, no, don’t let go, put me down, put me down!”

Dozens of black evil spirits grabbed people’s ankles and spun them in circles in the air.

“…Is that okay?”

“They’ll come to me to ask me to do it again after tasting it.”

He doesn’t know how many Exilis’ guild members are addicted, and Geum Myeong-yeol snorted.

‘… There are no proper human beings in this world.’

What do you do with abundant resources and pristine nature, when the people who live in it are insane?

Han Cha-soo was beginning to have doubts about his possession.

Kwaang!

The nearby door opened roughly. With a bang, a black man appeared through the fallen iron door.

“Haa….”

The cold air dug into his spine. It was a chill that threatened to freeze his lungs.

“You bastards.”

A pair of jet-black eyes were exposed to the sun.

jjojojojok-

Han Cha-soo looked up. The medical centre’s famous rooftop garden had been transformed into an ice garden.