INV 29

“Are you joking with me right now?”

Kwon Yihyeon speaks in a slow tone, much like Park Seongjun once did.

“Don’t you already know, sunbae? Reasons and excuses are things one can simply make up and attach to anything. That’s not what you’re hoping for, is it?”

“Are you deceiving me? Are you mocking me?”

“No. Such feelings do not exist within me. We haven’t known each other long enough to develop a rift that deep. Regrettably.”

“Then what are you trying to do right now?”

“I’ll ask you the opposite. You asked if I could give you a reason why you should look at me for who I am; if I give you a reason, will you actually look at me for who I am?”

“…”

Myo Woon faltered for a moment. No matter what reason he gave, it would not be able to persuade Myo Woon, who had lost her kin.

“I know that whatever I say will be useless. I mean that in the literal sense. It’s neither deception nor mockery.”

“Shut up!”

“Aside from that, I want to ask one thing. Assistant Manager Woon, did you meet me for a personal reason?”

Myo Woon did not understand Kwon Yihyeon’s question. To be precise, she did not want to understand it. But her denial did not last long.

Kwon Yihyeon asked again politely, and Myo Woon ended up answering.

“Please answer me, sunbae.”

“No… it wasn’t.”

“Yes, thank you for answering.”

“…”

Just as Kwon Yihyeon said, Myo Woon and Kwon Yihyeon had not met privately. It was Myo Woon’s mistake to inject personal feelings into the relationship between an assistant manager and an intern who met professionally.

Kwon Yihyeon merely pointed out Myo Woon’s mistake gently; he did not put it on display.

At his sophisticated attitude, Myo Woon felt her cheeks flushing red.

However, Myo Woon simply could not spend her company life with the culprit who caused the death of her kin…

“And I am sorry.”

“…For what? I’m the one who dragged personal feelings into professional work, so what is Mr. Kwon Yihyeon sorry for?”

“For not apologizing sooner.”

Kwon Yihyeon spoke different words, yet his face remained the same as a moment ago.

“It is a horrific thing. When I heard about the incident that befell the fox tribe, the very first thing I should have done was apologize. I am sorry for delaying the apology due to my petty pride. And once more…”

“…”

“I am sorry.”

“…”

Myo Woon did not want to show her face to Kwon Yihyeon. So she looked at the ceiling. For a very brief moment, her shoulders trembled, but Kwon Yihyeon was the kind of person who would turn his gaze away at such a time.

“…I don’t trust you.”

Her voice trembled. Assistant Manager Jeong Yujin had her eyes tightly shut and was even covering her ears, but Manager Kang Taerim was listening to everything.

Even what Kwon Yihyeon replied.

“Do not trust me. Please doubt me.”

“Shedding sweet words like that won’t work on me.”

“It’s not like I can put salt on my words.”

“That’s not even funny.”

“I think I was a bit like that just now. I apologize.”

“…”

Man Juhae narrowed his eyes and looked at Kwon Yihyeon, Lim Muyoung was restless, unable to find a place to even put his gaze, and Gwak Deukcheon, who had been checking the presence in the next room every second, leaned back against his chair almost listlessly with his arms crossed… and thought he was a truly mind-boggling guy.

‘…This troublemaking bastard, Kwon Yihyeon.’

What would have happened to this world if the Jae Angshin’s contractor hadn’t been Kwon Yihyeon?

It was an afternoon where such thoughts felt suddenly distant.

⋆˙⟡

“Good work today, husband.”

On the way home, the sunset was sinking slowly. The two deliberately chose a street with few people and linked arms to their heart’s content. Their shadows were growing thick, tangling and intertwining.

“The one who did the hard work was you.”

“You seem to be in a bad mood for some reason? Did someone bully my bride? I’ll just deal with Great King Yama right now!”

Chacha glanced at the nonsense Kwon Yihyeon was spouting while rolling up his sleeves with narrowed eyes, then couldn’t hold back a pfft of escaping laughter.

Chacha laughed softly, then burrowed into Kwon Yihyeon’s coat, pressing his lips close to his ear and whispering.

“Well… perhaps it’s because I’m angry that I couldn’t kill that fox.”

“…”

Every time he hears words like this, Kwon Yihyeon feels a chill run down his spine.

These are the words of none other than the Jae Angshin. They are Chacha’s words. The words of a being who cut off the legs of hundreds of Reapers with a single gesture.

Someone’s life, and specifically the death of someone he was just talking to—those things were not part of Kwon Yihyeon’s world. Kwon Yihyeon did not want to live in a world like that.

When Kwon Yihyeon’s expression stiffened, Chacha laughed a moment later.

“It’s a joke.”

Both Kwon Yihyeon and Chacha knew that it wasn’t a joke.

However, the conversation soon leaped in a different direction.

The sunset dyed the atmosphere with a lethargic hue, and Kwon Yihyeon, who had left the company earlier than the usual clock-out time because it was his first day, was not in a bad mood. In fact, he felt good. He had succeeded in appropriately deflecting Assistant Manager Myo Woon’s anger, and he had gained his own share of prior knowledge about the Underworld Company. And the people Chacha had cut… he said they would be able to receive treatment without permanent disability.

Not that he thought the psychological trauma of having one’s legs cut off would be nothing, but…

‘This is as far as I can go.’

Kwon Yihyeon had a line as well. Kwon Yihyeon wasn’t trying to be kind to just anyone simply because he wanted to look good. Kwon Yihyeon wanted to be kind within the limit of not crossing the line.

Kwon Yihyeon was kind only within the range where he wouldn’t exhaust himself.

He had no intention of falling over from exhaustion. To be kind for a long, long time, he had to take care of himself first.

From a very young age, Kwon Yihyeon thought that no one could be kind to their family when they were truly exhausted and struggling. At the same time, he desperately thought that he didn’t want to get angry at his family.

So Kwon Yihyeon closed his heart to the outside world and opened it only to his family.

Through selection and focus, he allocated his mental energy and gained the courage to be gentle to his family.

This situation was no different.

‘If I cry and wail saying it’s my fault, what would change?’

It would be faster for Chacha to cut the necks of the guys whose legs were cut, saying he’ll make it so there’s no need to cry. Tears don’t change much and are instead the main culprit in worsening a situation. That is why Kwon Yihyeon hopes to be happy, if only for a short time. At this moment, instead of ruining reality with a guilt that cannot be undone or fixed, he wants to inflate and enjoy a bit of pleasure. In order to jump into the battlefield once again tomorrow.

‘What should I wear when I go to work tomorrow…’

If he were a virtuous man, he would be feeling guilt until now. But Kwon Yihyeon is not a virtuous man. He is closer to a hypocrite who pretends to be nice because he wants to live. But what’s wrong with hypocrisy? He doesn’t want to think about complicated things anymore. Kwon Yihyeon will be a loathsome hypocrite. That will be enough. Today, it is truly a day where that is enough. Anyway, I did well, didn’t I? No one died, and the clock-out time was moved up.

It’s a day sufficient for a small-time citizen to feel happiness. Let’s smile. Smile.

“Hahat.”

The young man, flushed by the sunset, laughed brightly. It was a smile brighter than a full moon. The yohwi licked his red lips. And he swallowed the gaps between his teeth where a cotton-candy-like breath leaked out.

As you know, a kiss followed.

“We’re on the street…”

“There’s no one here.”

Chacha’s words were, strictly speaking, an incorrect expression. To be precise, he should have said he sent the people who were nearby just a moment ago to the main road next to this. But the main road is brighter and safer than a narrow alleyway, so wouldn’t it be okay? There is no suitable destination around here anyway. Kwon Yihyeon is afraid someone might see because it’s a grassy path connected to the park, but he doesn’t want to reject Chacha, who was always leisurely yet is now embracing him so proactively. At the entrance of an alley similar to a stone-walled path between a building and the edge of the park…

“Mmm…”

Lips and lips collide. Tongues entwine. Membranes are softly wrapped around. Chacha, who was aware that he was becoming strangely excited, soon feels a chill on the back of his neck. Kwon Yihyeon was hugging his shoulders and rubbing somewhere between his neck and collarbone with his fingertips, as if scratching. At some point, Kwon Yihyeon had put effort into clipping his nails cleanly. He maintained them by grinding them so that there were no sharp parts or angled surfaces. For such fingernails to tap, tap against his Adam’s apple…

“What does this mean…?”

Kwon Yihyeon didn’t answer and pulled his lips away slightly. And when Chacha couldn’t wait and tried to kiss him again, he controlled him by hooking his finger under his Adam’s apple and grabbing it.

His breath was caught for a moment and then returned.

“…I asked what this means, Kwon Yihyeon.”

The voice, which had become low and rough as if hoarse, was similar to the growl of a wild beast.

However, Kwon Yihyeon only faintly lifted the corners of his lips without answering. Even that made Chacha feel a chill.