“Then let’s do it after we get out of here. Somewhere no one can see us. That would work, right?”Uichan put Ji Woojae’s arm over his shoulder and lifted him up. Behind them, Litan’s mercenaries pursued.“Don’t let them escape! Blacktan is removed from the mission as of this moment! I’ll take over field command.”The mercenaries followed Im Daeun’s order with perfect discipline. To them, Blacktan was no longer Litan’s leader. Like arrows, they closed in on Uichan.Before them, Nel and the black barrier rose to block the way again.“Blacktan, if this continues, headquarters will hear of it. You’re going to be in serious trouble! Stop this!”Cursing erupted from behind the Litan mercenaries. They were blocked by Nel and Blacktan’s abilities and thrown backward every time they tried to approach.Taking advantage of the opening, Uichan supported Ji Woojae and tried to escape Hyde’s stage. But suddenly he froze, realizing a massive shadow had appeared before him.Crack— craaack.A strange, chilling noise sounded. The shadow stretched long to the side. Uichan turned his head along its length. Then he saw the staggering figure standing there.It was the goblin, Chiryeong. His body, stabbed and slashed, was ragged and torn. Yet the wounds rapidly closed and boiled as his body reattached itself.The cracking sound leaked from him. From beneath the lowered head with the long hair hanging forward.“Aengak gave me… strength once. I, haha… forgot about it.”He was chewing something in his mouth. A bad feeling crawled up Uichan’s spine. Ji Woojae must have felt it too, because his large hand came up and °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° wrapped firmly around Uichan’s shoulder.Uichan looked carefully at what Chiryeong was chewing. It was a dried, shriveled black hand. And that was——To break a binding spell, nothing works better than a duokshini’s hand. It even has Aengak’s bloodstain on it… something like this is nothing.It was also the hand of the monster that had torn its way through the window at Hyde’s mansion. Sounds around them began to disappear one by one. People across the battlefield stared at the goblin with disbelief. Uichan was no exception.“…….”Dead monster bodies began crawling toward Chiryeong, gathering with a sickening squelch. They clung to the goblin as though swallowing him whole, sticking to him in thick, wet lumps. Wrapped in the corpses, Chiryeong’s body swelled like cotton soaking up water.It was grotesque to an impossible degree, yet painfully vivid to the eyes. Silence fell around the battlefield as everyone stared at the monstrous abomination. But when that creature raised an arm as thick as reinforced steel—Uichan heard people’s shrill screams.“Get back!!”The monster moved too fast for the eye to follow. But Uichan instinctively knew that its fist was plummeting toward his head. His body lurched backward as if yanked by a powerful wind.He felt hands grabbing him tightly from behind. One second stretched into a full minute. Only after he had been pulled back one step could he understand what was happening.“Woojae-hyung…!”In Uichan’s vision were two men who had wrapped their arms around his shoulders and waist—and Ji Woojae standing against the monster’s attack. The ones holding him were Blacktan and Hyde.But then why—Why was no one helping Ji Woojae.“Woojae-hyung. We have to save him too, if he gets hurt—”Uichan reached out toward Ji Woojae. But his hand grasped nothing, swiping helplessly through the air. Boom, a thunderous crash shook the world.Ji Woojae, muscles swollen, was blocking the monster’s arm. His feet dug into the ground, dragging backward in long grooves. Yet he struggled and fought to hold it back. The veins in his neck stood out so sharply it looked like they would burst at any moment.The more strength Ji Woojae poured out, the more blood gushed from his body. Behind him, Uichan’s voice called out.Uichan was always like that. He worried over him, comforted him, and cared for him—when no one else ever had.‘…Even a pathetic hyung like me, he still treats me like his hyung….’Ji Woojae’s life had been one of mockery and deceit. Happiness had always been far from him. At ten years old, holding his father’s hand and stepping into a gambling den, Ji Woojae lived a life exposed to verbal abuse and violence.There, he became a young errand boy who carried ashtrays. People called him “Kkongji.” His father worked to lure people into the illegal gambling den and raise their debts.But at sixteen, when Ji Woojae tried to stop a coworker from assaulting his father, he grabbed the man’s neck—and unintentionally broke it. He died instantly. That day, Ji Woojae became a murderer.For two weeks, Ji Woojae was locked in a warehouse, burned with fire and beaten like an animal. When he limped out at last, the only one waiting for him was his father.—…Never do that again. Understand?After the day Ji Woojae killed a man, his father changed. He became cruel. He stepped into things he shouldn’t, deceiving and scamming people, living off fraud and gambling. Every time, Ji Woojae took the beatings from the debt collectors in his father’s place and begged and paid the money back.Ji Woojae clung to his father in tears, begging him to stop. Every time, his father struck him, screaming like a demon that Ji Woojae knew nothing.When Ji Woojae turned twenty-five, his father killed someone while trying to steal the gambling den’s money.—D-Dad… what are you doing.—What do you think, damn it…! Grab the money! I used my charm to reel them in, and they tried to scam me? Trash like this all deserve to die! It serves them right!Seeing his father emptying the safe, Ji Woojae grabbed him and fled the gambling den. For several days, they ran through snowy slopes. But they were caught in no time.Men in black surrounded them. Ji Woojae curled up in a corner with his father in his arms and endured the beating. His father, held tight in Ji Woojae’s large arms, kept his head down and said nothing.—We fed you and gave you a place to sleep, and this is how you repay us? People say kids these days have no manners. Guess they meant you two?—Shut your mouths, you bastards! You stole my money first! You messed with my money! Why are you throwing a fit over my money, you sons of bitches!—So you killed Youngcheol and stole the cash? We only kept you because your pretty face could charm people…. Let’s just strip him clean and find another one.His father’s face turned deathly pale as he trembled. That day, Ji Woojae hugged his father tightly and stood between him and the attackers. Until the grown men collapsed from exhaustion, Ji Woojae never budged, bleeding rivers where he stood. Near dawn, half-mad, he smashed a vehicle and escaped with his father in his arms.The two wandered aimlessly. The trail behind them was marked with Ji Woojae’s blood. After many days, they reached a ruined city. They stayed overnight in a house that looked somewhat intact.But when they woke, his father had fallen sick from the harsh journey. With a pale face, Ji Woojae searched the house for medicine. That was when he met Uichan.Creak—A young man pushed open the rusted door and blinked at Ji Woojae, who was tearing through the house.—…Who are you? This is my house.—Uh… well… I, uh…Later Ji Woojae learned this was Seolhyang Village, destroyed by a Dongti disaster, but at the time he didn’t know. He assumed no one would be living in such a ruined place. Panicking, he tried to leave with his father in his arms. But seeing his father wheezing with fever, he immediately dropped to his knees in front of the house’s owner.—Please, give us medicine. I’ll repay you, I swear. My father… he c-caught a cold, he needs medicine!Uichan watched the bowing Ji Woojae for a long time, then slowly walked closer. Seeing the pale man on the brink of death, he lifted Ji Woojae up.—There’s a bed upstairs. Take him there. There’s no medicine… but I can heal him.Uichan used Regression to treat the father and son with gentle care. Ji Woojae cried as he watched the small, young man bring them water and food. He realized he truly had lived his life wrongly.There were people in the world who gave kindness without expecting anything in return. Even someone smaller and much younger than him.—Th… thank you. Thank you for saving my father.—It’s nothing. He was just injured…. Ah, but I have to go back to Seoul tomorrow. If you’re staying longer, I’ll show you the food storage.Uichan showed him the storage where he had gathered food from around the village. The two huddled together through a light drizzle and spent the night. But the next morning, when Ji Woojae woke up… he was alone in the room.Only much later did he realize his father had taken Uichan to sell him.—Dad! No, Dad!His father had the ability to charm others. If someone looked into his eyes and answered him three times, he could control their body and mind.Ji Woojae ran across the snow without resting. And he arrived at the abandoned factory where a black van was parked.

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