Rustle!
Feeling Moon Tae-young’s gaze, Cha Eui-sung crumpled up the medicine packet and shoved it away. His face twisted in annoyance, and sensing his irritation, Moon Tae-young subtly turned his head.
Only then did Cha Eui-sung sit him at the dining table, grab a beer, and walk over to the sink.
“You can probably guess why I called, right? I’ll be straight with you. Starting yesterday, I noticed someone I don’t recognize snooping around—like they were checking out the house. So I called hyung right away.”
“Seo-ryong’s dad?”
“Yeah. I asked if he could figure out who it was, but he said it’d be hard without knowing what they even looked like.”
“…Would it be possible if we knew some distinguishing features?”
“You’re fishing. You know I run a private investigation agency, right?”
It was even printed on the business card he’d handed over with that handkerchief. Jeong-baek Investigations. They’d had a drunken chat not long ago too—he’d spilled a few things then.
“I don’t know… I thought you mostly tracked down missing pets, not people.”
“Ha! You want me to tell Seo-ryong’s teacher we’re the guys who stalk cheating husbands and forge divorce papers for clients?”
“……”
“Still, we’ve never actually hurt anyone. As you can see, I get in trouble if I use force, and hyung has the body for it but sucks at fighting. We’re both just good at hiding.”
Click. Psssh—
Cha Eui-sung popped the beer open with a flick of his thumb and started rummaging through the cupboard. He figured he might as well use what he brought, but there was no way he’d drink this watery stuff as-is.
When a familiar-looking liquor bottle appeared, Moon Tae-young made a doubtful face.
“Haha… Aren’t you curious what’ll happen if we mix them?”
“Didn’t you say last time would be the last time?”
“Well, after I drank it, it wasn’t bad at all.”
Glug glug glug—The beer in the glass quickly turned a deep amber as he poured the liquor in. Cha Eui-sung plopped down across from Moon Tae-young and pushed the half-assed bomb shot across the table.
“Enough with the nagging… Anyway, I asked him the same thing. Hyung said if he had a few clues, he could at least guess what their purpose is or where they came from.”
“Clues, huh.”
“Yeah. Like their appearance… or anything only you might have noticed.”
Like, for instance, whether you’re doing anything that would ping the Bureau of Regulation’s radar. At the blunt suggestion, Moon Tae-young gave a faint smile and tilted his head slightly, as if asking Is this why you dragged me here?
“I don’t know if I should say this, but… I’ve actually been a bit relieved since earlier. This is the first time someone’s been loitering outside like that since I moved in.”
“So in the end, I’m the target.”
“Exactly. So I’ll be honest again. Moon Tae-young, do you have any guesses? Do you think it might become a problem? If so, I’ll grab Seo-ryong and bolt immediately.”
“I don’t know. I haven’t done anything particularly shady.”
Cha Eui-sung let out a long sigh. He clenched his jaw briefly, as if telling him not to play dumb.
“Our very existence is shady. You know that.”
“……”
“So, do you have any hunches?”
“Hard to say.”
“You don’t have to go into detail. Just give me a simple multiple choice answer. I need to prepare if something’s coming.”
Pressed repeatedly, Moon Tae-young finally wiped the smile from his face. Fortunately, he didn’t seem offended—more like his mind was just busy. And that meant he wasn’t trying to deny anything—a good sign.
Still, the silence that followed was a little uncomfortable. Cha Eui-sung glanced sideways at him.
Behind the thick glasses—features well-shaped and balanced, strangely devoid of any particular emotion. Bold yet delicate contours.
If he had to guess, he’d say Moon Tae-young probably had a classic kind of handsomeness. He wasn’t sure if white hair or red eyes would suit him, but the guy seemed like someone who could pull off just about anything.
If I keep staring, maybe I’ll start to see it.
But Moon Tae-young’s eyes were gradually sharpening under his gaze, and Cha Eui-sung clicked his tongue inwardly and looked away.
At last, he spoke.
“I haven’t done anything attention-grabbing, but if I had to guess, I have a place in mind.”
“Which place?”
“Either the Hunter Association or the Bureau of Regulation.”
So he had done something. Considering Moon Tae-young’s personality, that was pretty much a confession. And how long had it been since he got started? Already attracting attention?
Cha Eui-sung squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again like he was going insane. He chugged the drink in front of him and slammed the glass down. Moon Tae-young watched him calmly.
“…I won’t ask what you’re doing. You probably wouldn’t tell me anyway.”
“It won’t be anything dangerous. And if it really is my fault, I’ll handle it.”
“I’m not blaming anyone. I’m just… a little on edge.”
You know why, right? We share the same weakness. And then there’s Kim Jeong-baek, and probably Seo-ryong, who you’re growing fond of… and…
Cha Eui-sung’s eyes sank deeper into thought. He bit his lip anxiously, then suddenly reached across the table.
“…!”
He grabbed Moon Tae-young’s hand. A rare pause. But for some reason, he didn’t pull away.
Cha Eui-sung casually examined the back of his hand and palm, then let out a faint sigh of relief.
“Doesn’t look like you’ve punched anyone yet.”
“If I did, would there be a mark?”
“…Ah. Right. There wouldn’t. Not for us.”
His face turned sheepish, like he’d only just realized it. A rare glimpse of unfiltered emotion.
When Cha Eui-sung let go of his hand, Moon Tae-young picked up his glass. After a couple sips to wet his throat, he spoke calmly.
“Short black hair. Male. Between 180 and 185 centimeters tall.”
“What?”
“Nothing especially distinct in appearance, but he seems highly skilled at applying pressure. His tracking method looks standardized.”
“Ah.”
Maybe he felt a sense of kinship in the word we. At long last, Moon Tae-young was cooperating. As Cha Eui-sung scribbled furiously, Moon Tae-young continued.
“For some reason, he seems to be independently targeting Unregistered Awakened. He could be tied to a criminal organization, but I think it’s more likely he’s from the Bureau.”
“…I’ll look into it.”
“Can you?”
“Yeah, one way or another.”
Because I already know. I’m the one who called him.
Having achieved his purpose, Moon Tae-young raised his glass again. He might’ve looked calm, but he was clearly parched. That’s probably why he accepted the drink and answered the questions too.
The deep amber liquid touched his lips. Watching his prominent Adam’s apple move, Cha Eui-sung found himself unconsciously twitching at the corners of his mouth.
Yeah, drink it all. One way or another, this is a good thing for you too. Someone like me wants to be your friend. Isn’t that a good thing in a lonely life?
No matter the reason or how it happened.
***
Lee Sang-jo disappeared from Cheongseri before Monday had even come to an end. But if Cha Eui-sung had to guess, Moon Tae-young’s nerves probably hit their peak after that day.
It was because of a surveillance cam found near his house—one he’d never seen before.
That bastard really slapped this on just to be seen, huh.
He peeled it off when no one was around and handed it over to Kim Jeong-baek.
—This thing’s not connected to anything, wired or wireless. The cam works, but there’s no separate storage device.
“Seems like a fake, just for show. Which means the real one’s out there somewhere.”
—You’re not seriously asking me to find it, are you?
“I like that you’re quick on the uptake, Mr. Kim.”
They’d never stalked an actual cheating husband, but a PI agency was still a PI agency. Kim Jeong-baek ended up locating two more cams, not counting the dismantled one.
One was where expected—near Cha Eui-sung’s house. But the other, oddly enough, was dangling from a tree branch in the empty lot where Cha Eui-sung had once carried the Gigas Armor and faced Moon Tae-young.
Does that guy go there often?
That was new information. Guess even dogshit had its uses—Lee Sang-jo had sniffed out something worthwhile.
A week passed like that. Friday afternoon came again, and just as expected, Lee Sang-jo reappeared. He was still camped out in the city but strolled lazily into Cheongseri, casually avoiding CCTV like he had the layout memorized. The route he took was definitely suspicious.
Cha Eui-sung ran into him after a long week of waiting—right as he was aimlessly wandering around the neighborhood and heading back home.
“Uwah! Oh…?”
“Whoa there, hello!”
“O-oh, hello…”
The guy startled him from behind, and Cha Eui-sung blurted a greeting before he could even think. Lee Sang-jo beamed brightly, standing straighter than before, eyes narrowing as he smiled.
“Back again to scout out the neighborhood?”
“Ah, yeah. Haha. That’s right, but… do you have a moment?”
“Hm? Oh… huh?!”
His tone was different now—and then he pulled a leather case from his coat. When he opened it wide, a crisp emblem was etched clearly inside. The insignia of the Bureau of Regulation.
As Cha Eui-sung muttered “The Bureau…” and slowly lifted his eyes, Lee Sang-jo was already gazing at him with a dangerous gleam.
“Sorry for the deception, but I need your cooperation on an investigation.”
“I-in…vestigation?”
“Let me properly introduce myself. I’m Lee Sang-jo from the Hunter Bureau of Regulation. We’ve received a tip about an Unregistered Awakened hiding in Cheongseri.”
Hunter Bureau of Regulation. Unregistered Awakened.
The moment those two words were uttered, the color drained from Cha Eui-sung’s face—something Lee Sang-jo clearly enjoyed watching, savoring every second of his reaction.
“Wait, here? In a place like this? Why?”
“Well, we don’t know yet. But whatever the reason for hiding here, the situation is dangerous.”
“That’s… that’s serious. Do you have any suspects?”
“Of course. We’re conducting thorough surveillance.”
Pretending the Bureau had dispatched a whole team, he played up the situation. But for all the seriousness he tried to project, Lee Sang-jo’s cheek kept twitching.
Apparently, he was getting a kick out of seeing Cha Eui-sung—who had always brushed him off—finally looking uneasy.
“We’re trying to keep things discreet for now, since it’s a covert operation and we don’t want to alarm the locals… but we’ve reached a point where we need some help from those nearby.”
“Help… You mean me, don’t you?”
Lee Sang-jo said nothing, just gave a single nod. At the same time, his expression turned grim, and the air between them grew heavy in an instant.
Damn. Gotta admit—this bastard knows how to set the mood.
