Chapter 121: A Twisted Paradise

“Brainwashing.”

“What did those disgusting bastards do to Sa-yoon?”

Sa-yoon watched Han Do-hoon’s face contort in a frown, and a realization dawned upon him. It seemed Han Do-hoon believed Sa-yoon was being manipulated by Airain, utterly oblivious to Sa-yoon’s own actions.

Sa-yoon’s voice naturally dropped to a low tone.

“Even without any brainwashing, this is exactly how things should be. It’s only natural for an Irregular to be with Airain, isn’t it? Don’t Irregular Hunters think so too?”

“That’s… not true.”

Han Do-hoon shook his head, his expression firm.

“You are different from other Irregulars, Sa-yoon.”

“Of course not. I’m exactly like all the other Irregulars you’ve captured over the years.”

“Sa-yoon. Please…”

Han Do-hoon’s repeated denials were almost pitiful to witness. He acted as though being rejected by Sa-yoon was driving him to madness. Not content with deceiving and manipulating Sa-yoon to the very end, he was now putting on the same act again.

Just how foolish did he think Sa-yoon was to behave this way?

“Just stop. It’s been years since we ended things between us.”

“I never ended it.”

“Then end it now.”

It was a truly old memory. Suddenly, the contract they had signed when Sa-yoon first became entangled with Han Do-hoon, long before he lost his memories, flashed into his mind.

The faded clauses of that contract, which he thought he had forgotten, abruptly resurfaced.

“We agreed to end it if one of us wanted to break off the relationship. It’s very late, but let’s just finish this.”

“Sa-yoon…”

Their relationship had become too twisted and complicated to be dismissed as a mere contractual arrangement now, yet it had all begun with those few simple lines in that contract.

Indeed, that contract contained such a clause: not to interfere with each other’s private lives, to simply use each other’s bodies. Sa-yoon should have realized it then.

Han Do-hoon had known Sa-yoon was an Irregular from the very beginning. That was why he had suddenly approached Sa-yoon and kept appearing in his path. And then… he had treated Sa-yoon with a tenderness usually reserved for a loved one, gradually breaking down his guard.

To Han Do-hoon, Sa-yoon was merely a target for arrest, someone to approach after lowering their defenses, and a robust guide to lightly enjoy in the process. The contract made this fact abundantly clear.

Han Do-hoon had, in fact, revealed everything to Sa-yoon from the start. It was only Sa-yoon who had been too foolish to realize it.

“While it feels a bit unfair, I won’t blame you for being an Irregular Hunter, Han Do-hoon. After all, no hunter would reveal their identity to an Irregular. It truly was a relationship where I was the only one losing out.”

Han Do-hoon, who had frozen at the words ‘Irregular Hunter,’ slowly began to speak.

“I intended to tell you.”

“When? Were you planning to explain after you’d already strapped me to an experimental table?”

One corner of Sa-yoon’s mouth twisted into a bitter sneer. Han Do-hoon’s eyes wavered at the words, laced with scorn and mockery. His effort to offer an excuse, even now, was commendable, but…

“It’s too late. Far too late.”

Sa-yoon’s heart had already been torn to shreds by betrayal, making him long to escape reality. He had endured such agonizing times, wishing to disappear, leaving behind all the difficult moments.

Days without sleep had accumulated, painting his calendar red, and sometimes he had to overcome days so challenging that the weight of his past felt suffocating.

Han Do-hoon, meeting Sa-yoon’s gaze, furrowed his brow. He stared directly at Sa-yoon with a look of utter despair before bowing his head.

Han Do-hoon desperately wanted to convey his true feelings to Sa-yoon. His inadequate words made it impossible to explain, so he hesitated for a long time before finally opening his mouth with great difficulty.

“I merely… needed time for you. I wanted to give you a paradise, Sa-yoon, where you wouldn’t have to hide as an Irregular, where you’d have no worries. I intended to tell you everything once I was ready.”

“Paradise? A paradise? Ha… hahahaha.”

It was an uncharacteristically long-winded excuse from Han Do-hoon. Sa-yoon burst into laughter at the ridiculous claim, his mirth echoing through the enclosed corridor.

After laughing for a long time, bent at the waist, Sa-yoon finally lifted his head again.

“It wouldn’t be a paradise, but rather a meticulously crafted miniature garden. A place where I couldn’t leave, where I couldn’t do anything. I would simply be buried there like a plant in a garden, living a life solely dedicated to guiding Han Do-hoon. Should I be grateful that you weren’t planning to send me to a laboratory, at least?”

It was truly amusing. Han Do-hoon’s thoughts, Han Do-hoon’s plans—all of them surpassed Sa-yoon’s wildest expectations. Sa-yoon had thought Han Do-hoon was merely pretending to be kind to deceive him, but that wasn’t it at all.

“How horrifying.”

The reality was far worse than Sa-yoon had imagined.

“From the very beginning, Han Do-hoon, you never saw me as a human. I was merely a guide who could be used without restraint. And a defective one, too, too shameful to be shown outside.”

A flawed entity, a bundle of defects that needed to be hidden away in a fake world masquerading as paradise. That was how Han Do-hoon intended to treat him. Sa-yoon didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at the bitter reality.

He felt as utterly devastated as he had when he first discovered Han Do-hoon was an Irregular Hunter.

“……”

Han Do-hoon remained silent. His wide eyes flickered. His lips, which had parted as if to argue, hesitated for a moment before closing completely.

“You’re wrong. If you truly cared for me as you claim, you shouldn’t have done that.”

Tears threatened to well up from his anger. Sa-yoon gritted his teeth.

“At the very least, you should have asked what I wanted. What I was feeling. You should have done at least that much. Even now…!”

His voice, filled with indignation, resonated loudly. Sa-yoon approached the motionless Han Do-hoon, moving on his own accord until he was close enough to grasp Han Do-hoon’s lapels with both hands.

“Instead of interrogating me about being brainwashed, you should have been curious about why I made this choice, about the truth I truly wanted to speak!”

It was a cry that seemed to rip from his very soul. All the emotions that had been holding their breath, crouching deep within Sa-yoon’s chest, now poured out.

Having fully vented his indignation, Sa-yoon struggled to catch his breath. His heart, which had been subtly fluttering as if fallen to the floor when he first faced Han Do-hoon, now beat wildly and unpredictably.

The two stood facing each other for a long time. With lapels clutched and lapels gripped, they couldn’t even meet each other’s gaze, only hearing the pounding of their own hearts in the silence.

“I… I wanted you to be happy, Sa-yoon. I thought that was the best way for you to be at peace.”

Han Do-hoon’s eyes were dark as he finally spoke with difficulty. In the dimly lit corridor, his expression was obscured by shadows, making it impossible to discern.

“What a shame. It seems that didn’t quite work out.”

Sa-yoon roughly released his grip on Han Do-hoon’s lapels, pushing him backward. As he moved away from the man who stumbled back weakly, he spoke.

“I’m leaving now. That’s enough of this unbearable nonsense.”

“No, you can’t.”

Han Do-hoon answered desperately, trying to approach Sa-yoon. But that was as far as he got. Sa-yoon manipulated the ground, instantly piercing through to the ceiling. The space between them was severed in an instant.

Heat radiated from beyond the thick wall. Sensing Han Do-hoon’s attempt to melt everything, Sa-yoon quickly ran in the opposite direction. He secured the glass bottle he had kept inside, just in case, and fled.

“Sa-yoon!”

Before he had even moved a few hundred meters, the walls surrounding Han Do-hoon began to melt. Han Do-hoon’s shout, calling Sa-yoon’s name, echoed through the air.

Sa-yoon didn’t look back, instead moving the building itself. He followed the predetermined path to the coordinates he had already scouted. Walls, towering high enough to obscure the sky, encircled Han Do-hoon like a maze, instantly trapping him within a colossal labyrinth.

‘This should be enough,’ he thought.

Even if it only took a few seconds to break through a single wall, he had built dozens. That would buy him at least a few minutes, which was ample time for Sa-yoon to escape. His feet pounded against the ground, hot with exertion as he ran with all his might.

Avoiding Han Do-hoon’s sight would be difficult at any ordinary distance. To escape his surveillance, which was abnormally good at detecting heat, Sa-yoon needed to reach the opposite side of the island. Just as Sa-yoon was about to push himself harder, an intense wave of heat, as if his back were on fire, washed over him.

The heat-laden air swirled like a tornado, making his nostrils burn. With this abnormal rise in ambient temperature, Sa-yoon knew the situation without even looking back.

“Is he crazy?”

Sa-yoon pushed off the ground, accelerating his pace.

That ignorant brute, Han Do-hoon, was emitting enough heat to melt the entire labyrinth Sa-yoon had created. It was just like the first time Sa-yoon had gone on a mission with him, when he had vaporized an entire river.

If the obstacles between him and Han Do-hoon disappeared, Sa-yoon would be at a disadvantage. This was an island, and the space to escape was limited.

Sa-yoon gritted his teeth and manipulated the terrain. If he continued like this, he would be caught. It would be better to move underground towards the coast…

“Team Leader!”

Someone in the distance waved at Sa-yoon. Sa-yoon squinted, examining the person calling out to him. The owner of a familiar, longed-for voice came into view.

“It’s me, Kim Chae-jun!”

Kim Chae-jun, whom Sa-yoon hadn’t seen in a long time, was waving at him. His eyes were red-rimmed, and his mouth was twisted in a tearful grimace. As Chae-jun and Sa-yoon got close enough to see each other’s faces, Kim Chae-jun immediately ran and embraced Sa-yoon.

“Team Leader!”

In an instant, the chest Kim Chae-jun buried his face in became damp. Sobbing uncontrollably, Kim Chae-jun spoke, his voice still choked with tears.

“Put up walls around us. Make it a completely sealed room. Quickly.”

There was no time to ask why, so Sa-yoon followed Kim Chae-jun’s instructions, digging into the ground and surrounding them with earth to create a sealed room. Once it became a perfect, airtight chamber, not a speck of air or light reaching them, Chae-jun’s hair began to gently sway.

This was a phenomenon that occurred when he used his abilities. Kim Chae-jun, who had been concentrating with his red-rimmed eyes closed, grinned through his tears.

“I’ve fixed the temperature inside this room to be the same as outside. Since I’ve hidden our body heat, Team Leader Han Do-hoon won’t be able to find us.”

“Chae-jun…”

Sa-yoon’s voice trembled, affected by the unexpected reunion with someone he missed dearly. He wanted to say something, but no words of greeting came to mind. Amidst the daily emotional fluctuations, Sa-yoon raised his hand instead of speaking and gently stroked Kim Chae-jun’s head.

“Ah, it really is our Team Leader. Truly… it’s Team Leader.”

Kim Chae-jun’s tears, which had momentarily stopped, began to pour out once more.

📚 Also on NHV Novels

Killed by a Spy, So I Chose to Infiltrate Them

Female ProtagonistGender BenderMarriage

Read Now →
Not interested