Why did it feel so smugly satisfying? The moment Moon Tae-young’s name came up, and everyone’s attention drifted back in his direction, Cha Eui-sung was startled by the strange sense of pride that bubbled up.
I’m close with him. It’s not just a casual friendship, okay? We eat together! Like… together—oh!
“Yeah, they hang out a lot.”
“He seems his age in moments like that.”
But he couldn’t afford to let his guard down. Every comment thrown out like a casual remark had a subtle bite. In certain hierarchies soaked in boomer energy, calling someone “young” wasn’t always a compliment. It was a light backhanded jab, implying that who he spent time with might be a bit… questionable.
As Cha Eui-sung turned his head smoothly, his eyes landed on a few unfamiliar faces. Now that time had passed, locals were trickling in among the crowd of parents. Come to think of it, the first half of the event must be wrapping up soon. From this point forward, any attention directed toward him would likely be laced with suspicion.
He redoubled his efforts at maintaining a neutral, well-behaved expression.
“What do they usually do for fun? Not a lot to do out here, is there?”
“It’s pretty quiet, yeah. But neither of them’s really into drinking or partying, so they usually just watch movies or do their own thing.”
“Work?”
“Yeah, that too. Or just looking at their phones, I guess. Um… Whatever it is, it beats staying home alone. Haha…”
“Really? I heard Mr. Moon doesn’t drink or smoke. Even when we offered, never saw him touch a drop.”
The undertone of disappointment in that voice made him feel smug all over again.
Funny. He used to down my drinks, even snatched the glass from my hand.
Now wasn’t the time for this kind of nonsense, but even trivial things made his tongue itch to spill more. Cha Eui-sung mentally slammed an on-off switch inside his head, scolding himself for losing focus.
Ptui.
His mood immediately sank. The person in his view wasn’t Moon Tae-young anymore, just some random village folks.
“Uh, well… Eui-sung’s also kind of obsessive about self-care,” Kim Jeong-baek chimed in right then. He had probably been distracted by Seo-ryong returning to her seat but quickly turned his attention back this way. “This kid wakes up at the crack of dawn to work, won’t touch anything unhealthy. That face didn’t come from nowhere, you know?”
Technically speaking, it was more that he never slept and barely ate, but it wasn’t exactly a lie either. He did drink sometimes to blow off steam, but barely enough to tickle his liver.
“Must be good at studying, huh?”
“Exactly! This is the time he should be focusing on school, but no, he insists on making money—boy, did we argue about that.”
“He’s not going to college?”
“He makes good money, but still… it’s a bit of a waste. He’s smart, you know?”
“He makes good money?”
Money solves everything. If you’ve got enough, even cheap behavior looks frugal and modest, and obscene luxury gets rebranded as the spending habits of the elite. Once you’ve scored with looks, impressed with manners, and earned a reputation for smarts, slapping money on top was the final critical hit. And just like that, the mood around them began to shift.
“Ah… mm.”
With an embarrassed expression, Cha Eui-sung gave an awkward laugh and glanced around. All eyes were on him now. The twist that Kim Jeong-baek helped add seemed to have completely satisfied the hyena-like curiosity of the crowd.
Perfect bait for a scammer.
Too bad this bait was a real tiger’s maw. There was no way the king of the mountain was going to get hunted. Sure, it might get a little annoying, but for now, this image might actually serve him well. A bitter pill, yes—but it would be more than enough to smother the nasty rumors circling around.
“What kind of work does he—”
BEEEEEEP—!
Just as someone was about to dig into his personal life, a long whistle blew. Cha Eui-sung turned his gaze toward the field, pretending not to have heard the question, and the conversation naturally died off. Perfect timing. He’d handed over just the right amount of bait to spark interest—without crossing any lines.
Next event is… dodgeball, right?
After dodgeball, the event would really morph into a full-blown neighborhood festival for the kids’ enjoyment. He’d signed up willingly, but the atmosphere wasn’t exactly pleasant. As the fake smile slid from his lips, he glanced around—
…!
Moon Tae-young was looking right at him. Just as the kids stepped into their positions on the court, he was standing at a distance, staring directly at Cha Eui-sung.
The distance made it hard to read his expression, but somehow, Eui-sung’s heart gave a sharp jolt.
Does he know I’ve been name-dropping him?
Without realizing it, Cha Eui-sung scratched the back of his head and turned slightly away.
BEEEEEEP—!
Another whistle blew, and Moon Tae-young finally turned his head. Once the dodgeball match began, he didn’t look back even once.
***
“He’s more normal than I thought.”
“Heard he makes good money.”
“Sang-il’s family was going through hell over that joint property issue, and I heard he hooked them up with an expert.”
“Apparently, he’s got some decent connections.”
“He never looked like the kind of guy to be into shady stuff, so I figured he was fine from the start.”
Just like a malicious rumor, the freshly painted narrative began to spread—quietly but steadily. In just a matter of hours, Cha Eui-sung’s reputation shifted from “some shady guy who ran away to the countryside after pulling weird stunts” to “a socially awkward guy who simply doesn’t like dealing with people.” Of course, the rumors had been around so long and the resentment had piled up so thick that, at best, most people had just moved into a neutral stance. But still. For a single day’s effort, it was a damn good result.
“Would’ve been even better if you’d just had a bowl of lunch with them.”
“You running for president or something? That’d be overkill.”
Still, he never touched the food. It wasn’t like someone had poisoned it, and even if they had, he’d just digest it and move on. But the strange, gut-level revulsion was so strong, he couldn’t even bring himself to swallow a bite. Cha Eui-sung stood stiffly, holding the food offered by the hawk-nosed man for what felt like forever, until Kim Jeong-baek finally came and took it away. It made him look kind of pathetic. So much so that he had to deliberately turn his head away, refusing to let his gaze drift toward Moon Tae-young.
“You’re joining the next event, right?”
The light jab in Kim Jeong-baek’s voice made him frown a little, but honestly, it was better to go along. Ever since the adults started participating in the Sports Day, the mood had gotten even livelier. The kids were absolutely thrilled to see their parents doing the same stuff they did, and the adults—those shameless creatures—were cracking up and goofing around like it was a carnival. There weren’t many students to begin with, so opportunities to get loud were rare. With more people joining in, the place had grown downright rowdy.
“You got it, Eui-sung?”
“……”
Goddammit. Cha Eui-sung let out a long sigh through a perfectly calm expression. Normally, he’d be the type to jump in unprompted, seizing the chance to mess around a bit, but today… it just didn’t click. He let himself get gently pushed toward the field, where the relay race had just started.
Kids were dashing forward, opening slips of paper, then scattering in all directions to drag people onto the track. The best-looking person, someone who looked like they could sing, someone with a loud voice… Everyone who got pulled in, regardless of age or gender, couldn’t stop laughing. Whatever it was, they were having a blast.
Though Seo-ryong’s turn ended up being especially funny. After reading her paper, she suddenly grabbed another runner and bolted straight for the finish line.
[Someone you think could help you win if you bring them]
Seo-ryong won the second heat of the mission race. It was nothing if not sharp and logical thinking.
With the kids done, it was time for the adults.
“What, even Cha-cha-cha’s going in?”
As he stepped toward the center, composing his face, someone called out to him with the world’s most cringeworthy nickname. He was about to dismiss it as juvenile nonsense but then remembered he’d been called that back during his days at the Association, and all the tension drained from him. Must be a mental age issue. Why are there so many people in this world whose thinking doesn’t match their face value?
Trying to suppress his disgust, he put on his go-to business smile—only to once again lock eyes with Moon Tae-young. …What must he be thinking, seeing all this? No idea. From the outside, Moon Tae-young was still just that polished, respectable teacher from their first meeting.
He’s really like some AI.
Android Moon Tae-young: Demon King VER, Teacher VER, Lover VER, etc. Is this just how he lives, switching roles like firmware updates? Cha Eui-sung had never planned to sit on the sidelines and watch the guy’s hellish work life unfold. And yet… here he was, drawn in by it all.
“Please run carefully and remember—fair play.”
Like an NPC, Moon Tae-young offered the same stock line to everyone. Cha Eui-sung gave a half-hearted nod and took his place at the starting line. No time for distractions now.
BANG—!
The starter pistol went off, and his scattered focus snapped back together. He took off with the rest, deliberately letting his legs go limp to keep a slow pace.
Still… fast, huh.
Pretending to run at his best while actually going slow—why was that so damn hard? He tried syncing with the pace of those around him, but his overly tuned physique kept kicking in, accelerating without permission. With so much extra stamina, he even had time to glance over at Moon Tae-young, who was watching him with a gentle, mask-like smile. If he walked up to him now and looked closely, there’d probably be a trace of worry in those eyes. Worried that this S-rank, who’d never exerted himself before, might suddenly snap and reveal his true power during something this trivial.
As if.
Even Lee Sang-jo had been fooled by his act. No way he’d screw up and do something so stupid that even civilians would catch on.
This time, he stiffened his legs, deliberately planting his feet awkwardly. The misstep cut his speed even more. Breathing heavily, face still dry and sweatless, Cha Eui-sung finally reached the corner.
Not like there’s anyone I wanna bring along anyway.
On a table by the track sat a stack of classic slip-shaped notes. In this whole village, the only person he could possibly drag by the arm was Kim Jeong-baek. Whether it was “pick someone kind,” or “someone tall,” or “someone who looks fast,” the guy would have to fit the bill by default.
So Cha Eui-sung braced himself to grab Jeong-baek no matter what, and opened the slip—
[Someone you like]
…You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.
The hand holding the paper turned to stone in an instant.
