Inside a dark house where the moonlight shone, the man took a rough breath, swearing.
“Damn it, you fucking bastards… who do you think I am…”
Every time the man opened his mouth, there was a foul smell of alcohol. The man, who had been drinking wine one after another in a ruined suit, could not bear his anger and threw the wine glass.
Clink!
The wine glass shattered with a sharp rupture. This time, the man threw the wine bottles piled up in front of him recklessly and also overturned the table. The sound of cracking and collapsing filled the house for a while.
“Haa, haa…”
Kugugugung, Kugung!
Excited in a drunken state, the energy jumped at will. The building shook unsteadily due to uncontrolled ability.
The man closed his eyes tightly. He recalled the contemptuous gaze that was staring at him.
– Stupid jerk. (못난 놈)
– Ah, father!
– Get out now. Don’t come to me until I find you first.
– Wa, wait a minute! Father!
– How could such a useless thing be called a child… haiz, tsk. Can’t you hear me tell you to leave?
This can’t be. No matter what happened until now, his father took care of him as much as he did.
Come to think of it, he heard a rumour that among the youngsters who had just entered the political world, there was a guy whose father was particularly fond of. Are you saying you’re going to give up your child and raise someone else?
“Fuck… fuck!”
Kugugugung!
The ground rumbled once more with profanity. The man thought. Should he just turn everything upside down? If it’s his ability, he can do it right away.
Yeah, what’s the point of looking at those scumbags? If he’s going to destroy it, let’s start with the annoying management headquarters…
“No. It’s not.”
The man’s mad eyes flashed.
Cheon Sa-yeon, that bastard. A dirty orphan who climbed up without knowing the subject. He has to start with that bastard…
“This. The inside of the house looks like a pigsty.”
“……!”
The man, who was giggling and laughing, was startled by the strange voice coming from behind him.
“You, who are you!”
A stranger, dressed neatly in a black suit, slowly walked out of the darkness. Seeing the white, smooth mask on the other person’s face, the man staggered backwards in an unknown fear.
“Whe, where did you come from? What are the guards doing? Right now…”
“It’s noisy.”
The opponent flicked his finger lightly. At the same time as the sound, the man’s mouth was firmly shut. The bewildered man whimpered as he fumbled and touched his mouth, but his lips didn’t even budge.
“Are you Kang Seung-geon, a Korean S-rank talented person?”
The man, Kang Seung-geon, was terrified and fell down with a pale face. The person in front of him was terrifying. Kang Seung-geon struggled and tried to run away in fear he had never felt even against a monster, but he slipped into the wine and just stumbled in vain.
“Haha, that’s funny. Dirty, smelly, stupid… A man who fits perfectly with a pigsty.”
A man wearing a mask came over, roughly kicking the glasses and wine bottles that were rolling on the floor with his feet. Black shoes glistened in the moonlight.
“I don’t want to be in a dirty place like this for too long, so don’t worry too much. As long as you reply that you will cooperate, I will leave immediately.”
“Up… uup!”
“What’s your answer?”
Kang Seung-geon, who was mumbled with his open mouth covered, quickly nodded his head. Seeing this, the other party burst out laughing with satisfaction and took something out of his arms and held it out.
“Up, uup…?”
It was a strangely coloured marble that was placed on a hand in a white glove that was not stained with single dust. An instinct not wanting to touch the marble that fluttered in a dark blue glow surged just by looking at it.
“I heard that the management headquarters will host a party soon.”
“……”
“Can’t you participate too? Blun Guild Master.”
Kang Seung-geon looked up at the other person with trembling eyes at that secret whisper. As he looked at the crescent-shaped smiling mouth carved on the mask, his eyes were distorted as if his brain was crushed.
“Now, you have to listen carefully and do what I say…”
Suddenly, the marble was placed in Kang Seung-geon’s grasp. Kang Seung-geon’s eyes, holding the marble with both hands, lost focus and became blurry.
* * *
[The official announcement of the person who has been the most talked about in the past few days, Kim Woo-jin of the Requiem Guild, is in progress. On the 21st, Kim Woo-jin was officially confirmed as A-rank at the measurement centre, proving that the grade can be raised…]
When I turned on the TV while lying on the sofa, Cheon Sa-yeon and Kim Woo-jin in black suits appeared on the screen.
[Many people have asked this question, but there is no information to tell you about the rank upgrade. I’ve been lucky enough to get this result…]
Kim Woo-jin calmly answered the questions from reporters who were aggressively pouring in.
‘He’s going to get a little more popular, Kim Woo-jin.’
It wasn’t bad before that, but his physique definitely improved as he reached A-rank. Even when he put it on, I felt that his appearance shone brighter.
Looking at Kim Woo-jin happily, I picked up the papers I had put down again. It was the gate data that Kim Woo-jin received before going to the official presentation.
“Um?”
I was in the middle of reading that Jayna Guild’s C-grade gate had raised to B-grade, and I heard a knock on the door. There was no way Kim Woo-jin had already returned. Min Ah-rin also said that she was busy today.
‘Who is it?’
After removing the data, I went out to the door and saw one of Cheon Sa-yeon’s attendants standing and holding a large box.
“The Master told me to give it to you.”
“Ah, thank you.”
It was then that I remembered Cheon Sa-yeon’s words that he would send a present. The box handed from the attendant was heavier than expected.
When I returned to my room, there was no table for me to put on, so I put it down on the bed. The box was too luxurious to just throw it on the floor.
“…what is this?”
What was inside was a suit set. From white shirts to shoes, cufflinks, and watches. It was the first time I’d seen a suit put in a box like this, so I was a bit embarrassed.
He said it was a present, but he seemed to have sent me a costume to wear to the party. I pulled out a black jacket with a slight blue tint and looked at it.
It was a design that emphasized formality in a double-breasted style but was not too heavy. It must have been a suit that was quite expensive as it didn’t feel rough in the hand.
I shook my head as I looked at the clothes according to my previous habit.
Very clever. Checking even the cufflinks splendidly decorated with red jewels, I pointed at my forehead.
I haven’t tried it on yet, but it was clear that it would fit perfectly on my body without any discomfort. Cheon Sa-yeon would already know the size of Han Yi-gyeol’s body, so it must have been customized.
‘It would have taken at least a month to make it properly… Since when did you start preparing it?’
The thought of what happened again did not leave my mind. I had already made a deal, but I couldn’t cancel it.
Anyway, it was true that I needed clothes to wear, so I decided to keep the suit.
The date of the party, as informed by Cheon Sa-yeon, is next Saturday. As all guild masters from all over the country gathered, even if Cheon Sa-yeon was by my side, I would have to be alert to avoid getting caught.
‘The Jayna Guild will of course come, and Roheon… Ha Tae-heon will be there.’
Now that he had become a deputy master, he would not be able not to come. Jayna also had a second deputy master, so she would bring her as a partner.
If I think about it, among the guilds in Seoul, only Requiem’s deputy master was still vacant. Cheon Sa-yeon is so good at his job, he didn’t really need it. Still, if there was a deputy master, I wouldn’t have to step in.
It was nice to be able to go to such an important place and got the information, but the thought of hanging out with Cheon Sa-yeon all day was already a pain in my head.
‘Please, only accidents I can handle…’
I let out a deep sigh of concern.
* * *
“Are you coming right after it’s over?”
On the day of attending the party, Kim Woo-jin, who had been by my side the whole time wearing a suit, asked with a sullen voice.
“I will.”
“I can’t go?”
“That’s true too.”
I didn’t tell Kim Woo-jin about the transaction I had with Cheon Sa-yeon. This decision was made in the hope that Kim Woo-jin would no longer feel guilty or indebted to me.
Above all, if he found out that he had lived through the deal, he would overdo it more than he is now. He was still exhausted and wore out every time he went to the training room, which I couldn’t let him be whipped any further.
“Okay…”
Realizing that there was nothing he could do about my resolute answer, Kim Woo-jin nodded while regretting it.
I fastened a tie the same colour as my jacket and put cufflinks on the sleeves of my shirt. As expected, the suit wrapped around Han Yi-gyeol’s body.
I moved the A-rank bracelet I was wearing on my left hand to my right hand and put the watch on my empty wrist. After wearing all the accessories, I checked the condition with a full-body mirror. It wasn’t bad.
“…What, why are you so good at this?”
Kim Woo-jin, who was watching the series of processes from behind, blushed and grumbled. I was a little irritable, but pretended not to know and responded calmly.
“It’s the same when you get dressed.”
As I walked to the door, Kim Woo-jin followed me. The dog that came out to meet the owner passed by my mind.
“I’ll be back.”
“Uung.”
Leaving Kim Woo-jin behind, I left the room and went straight down to the underground parking lot. As I was informed in advance, when I got off the fourth basement floor, I saw Cheon Sa-yeon standing with the attendants.
“Hmm.”
As I got closer, Cheon Sa-yeon looked at me carefully from head to toe with a deep smile. I asked with a look that could not be ignored.
“…what is it?”
“It suits you better than I thought.”
“……”
Frowning, I looked at Cheon Sa-yeon’s suit. A dark beige jacket with a black shirt and grey colour caught my eye. With the same double-breasted suit and black coat draped over his shoulders, it gave off a moderately heavy yet neat atmosphere.
Cheon Sa-yeon, who showed his forehead by turning half of his bangs to fit the party, beckoned me to come closer to him, who was standing in the distance.
“Ugh…!”
After a few steps, he grabbed my tie and pulled me lightly. The waist slightly bent backwards, and the sense of distance from Cheon Sa-yeon became closer and closer.
“You know how to wear a necktie.”
“Yeah, of course…”
“I thought you would come with a necktie. You know how to wear a suit. Had I known this would happen, I would have sent you a garter belt as well.”
Come to think of it, he said that if there was anything I didn’t know, I would come to him anytime after receiving it. I frowned and raised the corners of my mouth to smile.
“You have a big dream, too. Even if I don’t know how to wear a necktie, I won’t have to go to the Master.”
“Why? I’m confident that I’ll teach you well.”
I shook off the hand of Cheon Sa-yeon, who was constantly pulling the tie, and tightened the messy tie.
“It would be inconvenient. Let’s go.” (어련하시겠습니까, not sure how to translate it)
“Right.”
Cheon Sa-yeon opened his car door with a smile on his face. Why do you look so happy? The better Cheon Sa-yeon felt, the more anxious I felt, having experienced side effects.
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