Chapter 9: Humanitarian Concern

“Come in.”

The man serving as the director’s secretary entered and set a tray down in front of Ju-an.

Warm rice and soup, spicy stir-fried pork, and seasoned vegetables were neatly arranged.

At the sight of the food, saliva pooled in his mouth.

“We were called on short notice, so this is all we could prepare.”

Mo Jun-young gave the man a brief nod, but the secretary didn’t leave. He just stood there, staring at Ju-an.

If he’d leave, I could eat already…

Ju-an glanced back and forth between Mo Jun-young and the man, reading the room. Then their eyes met.

It wasn’t the threatening gaze of an Awakener, yet there was something unsettling about it.

Ju-an naturally turned his head away, avoiding eye contact. Mo Jun-young spoke.

“Do you have something to say?”

“It’s nothing. This is just my first time seeing something like this, so I got curious. Is this person really a Constellation?”

Mo Jun-young shot him a look that practically dripped with annoyance. The man flinched, muttered an apology for the intrusion, and hurried out.

…So, can I eat now?

Ju-an glanced over cautiously. The corner of Mo Jun-young’s lips lifted.

“Go ahead.”

“Yes! Thank you very much for the meal.”

“Let’s talk after you’re done.”

At the word talk, the rice he’d hurriedly shoved into his mouth nearly lodged in his throat, but eating came first.

****

Mo Jun-young watched him silently until he finished. The gaze was distracting, but Ju-an pretended no one was there, brazenly polishing off not just the rice but all the side dishes before setting down his spoon.

“Would you like some coffee?”

“Yes-yes, please!”

With his stomach full, an intense fatigue washed over him. It felt shameless, but there was no reason to refuse when it was offered.

Mo Jun-young rose, his large frame moving to the corner of the office. He turned on the coffee machine and inserted a capsule.
It was such a simple motion, yet he looked like he belonged in a coffee commercial.

Ju-an stared blankly, then met Mo Jun-young’s eyes as he turned back with the cup. Calm eyes slowly traced Juan’s face. Ju-an, unable to look away, met his gaze in return.

There was something strange about those eyes.

They felt familiar, yet foreign, and faintly, unmistakably, tinged with desire.

It felt like he’d be swallowed if this continued, so Ju-an spoke first.

“Th-thank you.”

Mo Jun-young walked over and handed him the coffee. Just the aroma screamed luxury.

It felt worlds apart from the coffee at KA Soft. Ju-an hurriedly took a sip,

“Ah-hot!”

He quickly set it down, nearly burning the roof of his mouth.

A sound like suppressed laughter reached his ears. When Ju-an looked up, Mo Jun-young had already smoothed his expression and checked his watch.

“If you’re full, then explain. How do you know the Creator of Sacrifice?”

With his basic needs met, his head finally started to clear. Since he’d been treated so kindly, he should tell the truth, but he had no confidence he could convince Mo Jun-young.

If it were emotional Gong Se-yoon or simple-minded Joo Ji-chan, maybe he could try bluffing.

But Mo Jun-young was the most rational of them all. He wouldn’t believe a word of this.

A civilian who couldn’t use sponsorship or skills claiming to be a Constellation, who would buy that?

“If you’re going to be this kind anyway… then provide me a place to stay for a while, and I’ll satisfy your curiosity.”

Mo Jun-young was silent for a long time. Ju-an kept his head bowed, trying not to shrink, then slowly looked up.

Mo Jun-young was looking down at him with a mocking smile.

“And why would I do that? I’m not even that curious.”

The words sounded genuine, and panic flared in Ju-an’s chest.

If he didn’t get a place to stay, he might end up sleeping somewhere in the city and get eaten by a wandering monster.

“Well, because I know where the Creator of Sacrifice is. And I also know Baek Eun-hoo’s weakness.”

At Baek Eun-hoo’s name, Mo Jun-young’s face twisted sharply. Veins stood out on his forehead beneath the mocking smile.

Thank god I’d set their relationship as bitter rivals to make gameplay harder.

After a moment that looked like internal calculation, Mo Jun-young nodded reluctantly.

“Fine. I’ll provide a facility originally built for newly awakened Awakeners. But not indefinitely. How about one month?”

One month…

That should be enough to reach some kind of conclusion. Ideally, I’d wake up from this dream before then, but I wasn’t in a position to be picky.

“Thank you. Then before I leave the facility in a month, I’ll tell you everything.”

It was a ridiculous demand, even to himself, but for some reason, Mo Jun-young accepted it.

True to his efficient nature, Mo Jun-young summoned the same man who’d brought the food and instructed him to guide Ju-an to the facility.

Something about the secretary’s gaze made Juan uneasy, so he said he could go alone, but Mo Jun-young threatened him just enough that he had no choice but to follow.

****

“Get in.”

Beep-

The man pressed a remote, and the door unlocked. Ju-an had expected a shared center vehicle, but the car wasn’t one of them. With its heavy tinting, it looked suspicious no matter how you sliced it.

Juan hesitated. The man urged him on.

“What are you doing? I’m busy.”

“Um… aren’t we taking a center vehicle?”

The man frowned and openly sneered.

“Are you an Awakener? You said you’re a civilian. This isn’t official business, Director Mo Jun-young is covering this personally out of sheer humanitarian concern. You think we’d use a public vehicle?”

Strangely, that reassured Ju-an.

Mo Jun-young being someone who never violated principles, that fit his character perfectly.

Still… this tint is really dark.

With lingering unease, Ju-an got in. The car pulled off immediately.

I need to stay alert until we reach the facility safely, but why am I so sleepy?

Did I eat too much? I should’ve stopped earlier.

Well, at least I have a place to sleep. Tomorrow I’ll look for some simple work.

With that thought, he struggled to keep his heavy eyelids open, then drifted off.

****

Tap, tap-

The sensation of someone tapping his cheek woke him.

“…Ah.”

His cheek prickled like static shock. He tried to scratch it, but his arms wouldn’t move, as if bound.

“Awake now?”

At the familiar voice, Ju-an lifted his head.

Baek Eun-hoo was looking down at him with a slick smile.

Staring blankly at that face, so perfect it looked like a movie star’s in real life, Ju-an then hurriedly scanned his surroundings.

A luxurious desk, a wall-length bookshelf, a sofa.

It was the same office he’d seen the last time he matched with Baek Eun-hoo.

On the desk, a nameplate read:

Guild Leader — Baek Eun-hoo

What the hell is going on?

He’d fallen asleep on the way from the Awakener Management Center to the facility, so why was he waking up in Baek Eun-hoo’s office?

Was he kidnapped?

Then that man must’ve been planted by Baek Eun-hoo.

It had felt off from the start…

Tap, tap

Baek Eun-hoo poked Ju-an’s cheek again.

Ju-an deliberately gasped, then immediately pretended to pass out again.

Claiming to be a Constellation wouldn’t work on Baek Eun-hoo either, and unlike Mo Jun-young, Baek Eun-hoo had zero humanity to rely on.

Better to play unconscious until he figured out why he was taken.

“Hm?”

A low sound rumbled in his throat, but Ju-an didn’t open his eyes.

Then an arm wrapped around his shoulders. Warm breath brushed his ear, and a voice followed.

“Stop pretending and wake up. My patience is wearing thin…”

The threat in those words snapped Ju-an’s eyes open.

Baek Eun-hoo was smiling right in front of him.

“W-why are you doing this? Who even are you?”

“You don’t know me?”

I do, but right now, I really shouldn’t.

“Who are you? I honestly don’t know.”

“You don’t watch the news? Even a civilian should know an S-rank Awakener.”

Ah. I messed up.

In a world where Awakeners and civilians lived together, S-rank Hunters were celebrities.

Pretending not to know him was unrealistic.

“I-I mean, I know of Awakener Baek Eun-hoo. I just meant we’ve never met before. We don’t know each other.”

Baek Eun-hoo, who’d been leaning close, slowly straightened.

Where Mo Jun-young was a hulking mass of muscle, Baek Eun-hoo had broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs, perfectly proportioned.

Like a model.

Ju-an’s gaze drifted before he caught himself. Blue eyes flickered faintly.

“Yeah… we’re strangers.”

Baek Eun-hoo’s index finger touched his chin, slid along the jawline, and stopped at his earlobe.

“Ah!”

A jolt shot through him like static. His shoulders twitched.

Figures, an electric-type Hunter. Even a touch stung.

“Then why does it feel like I’ve seen you before? Are you sure you don’t know me?”

If anything, Ju-an was the one frustrated.
Mo Jun-young, Baek Eun-hoo, both saying the same thing.

It’s not like they know I’m the developer…

And even if I said it, they wouldn’t believe me.

“How would I know? You kidnap a stranger and that’s what you ask?”

Irritation crept into Ju-an’s voice. Baek Eun-hoo’s brow furrowed.

He looked scarier when he frowned.

Did I just provoke him?

A chill ran down Ju-an’s spine.