That was a barbed remark if there ever was one—and clearly meant to be heard.
Cha Eui-sung didn’t bat an eye. He simply reached into the shopping bag and pulled out the box of handkerchiefs with a broad grin.
“Aww, now I feel bad. I should give you something else too.”
“It’s fine. Just take it.”
“How about a meal, then? Let me treat you.”
“No need.”
Moon Tae-young’s response was as indifferent as ever. But if he really had zero interest, the gauge wouldn’t be filling up like this.
No matter what kind of reaction he tried to hide, if the gauge was rising, it meant he was on the right track.
“Even for two people, the total won’t go over fifty thousand won, so don’t worry. It’s not like there are any fancy restaurants around here anyway, right? Unless you drive out pretty far.”
“Just consider the handkerchief a gift and forget about it.”
“What about chicken? I saw a place in town that still sells old-school fried chicken. Haven’t had that in ages.”
His gaze was clear—like he was trying to peer straight through to Cha Eui-sung’s intentions. Judging from the reactions so far, even if he didn’t spell it out, he’d probably get the general idea.
Instead of waiting in silence, Cha Eui-sung spoke up again. No point dragging things out when they both knew what this was. Drawing it out would only deepen the wariness between them.
“Alright, let’s cut to the chase. You’re curious about a few things too, aren’t you, Mr. Moon?”
Pushing forward with blunt honesty earned him a look—like Moon Tae-young was trying to figure out what the hell kind of move this was.
“Hard to say.”
“Well, I’m curious. Like why someone like you is playing teacher out here. What’s your real goal?”
Moon Tae-young didn’t reply.
“And look, I swear I didn’t come here knowing you were around. But once I moved in and realized someone like me was also living in this village, of course I took an interest.”
Then, with a touch of shamelessness, he raised one corner of his mouth in a sly smile.
“I was a bit startled at first, sure—but you don’t seem like a dangerous or shady guy, Mr. Moon.”
In other words: stop dancing around and keeping your guard up. Let’s at least take one step forward.
Cha Eui-sung didn’t know how that fake honesty landed with him, but Moon Tae-young stared hard at him for a long moment—then slowly closed his eyes.
A pause.
“…Alright.”
At last, permission. Something had finally gotten through.
“Great. Saturday at six. Come to my place. The address is—”
“Do I have to go to your house?”
“Come on, two people with so many secrets—how are we supposed to talk freely in public? Or do you want me to come to your place? I’m fine with whatever.”
As he flashed a wide smile, Moon Tae-young’s expression turned vaguely sour. Cha Eui-sung gave the handkerchief box a little shake in front of him, then opened it right there, pulled one out, folded it neatly, and slipped it into his chest pocket.
“Thanks for the gift. I actually needed one.”
“I’d rather not accept that kind of line.”
“Then just think of it as me making up an excuse to buy something I needed anyway. Ha-ha.”
Moon Tae-young’s look said, Don’t waste your time, but hey—it was better than radio silence.
Cha Eui-sung gave a little wave of his phone and said he’d count on him to look after Seo-ryong, then turned around.
The sound of the door closing never came, even as Cha Eui-sung walked down the hall and passed through the front entrance.
***
“You’re heading to Seoul?”
“Yes, I’ve got something to take care of. How’s your niece doing at school?”
“She said it was normal. Just thought it was weird how there were so few kids. Said the teacher didn’t say anything strange, either.”
“Tell her not to worry about anything—just keep it low-key and focus on adjusting.”
Early in the afternoon, Cha Eui-sung slung the bag he’d taken to the dungeon over his shoulder and started up his car. Now that he’d nabbed the Gigas Armor, it was time to head up to Seoul—not just for business, but for a long-overdue breather. He could finally sort out the DPS Overwhelm he’d been targeting.
The moment he sped out of the village, he felt like he could breathe again. The soft classical music trickling from the speakers soothed his nerves, frayed from everything lately.
So much had changed during his second life. Most notably, his tastes. And Cha Eui-sung didn’t mind. In fact, he’d become almost obsessively attached to the new things he’d gained.
La Campanella flowed through the car. The delicate notes, like little bells being flicked from the inside, gradually surged into a passionate climax. And with it, everything he’d left behind in Cheongseri faded from his mind—one thing at a time.
Kim Jeong-baek clinging to him like a shadow… The creaky old house… The chirping insects and the damp scent of soil…
And yet, for some reason, thoughts of the Demon King wouldn’t leave him.
The man who pretended to be all kindness, all while plotting the end of the world. His presence clung to the edge of Cha Eui-sung’s mind like a piece of gum stuck in his hair—impossible to shake off.
Is that really it? Just max out the Savior Gauge while carrying some ridiculous title like ‘Hero’ or whatever?
Why had the system assigned this whole gauge-filling task in the first place? If Moon Tae-young was truly trying to destroy the world, then why?
Bits of his tragic past came to mind—stories of awakened criminals left unpunished, vengeance left undone. Had he failed to deal with his enemy, and decided to burn the world instead? Wouldn’t that be the ultimate version of “burning down the house to kill a spider”?
Well, if grief can drive a person mad, who’s to say they wouldn’t do something that drastic?
Whatever the morality behind it, one thing was clear: Cha Eui-sung had to give him a reason to let the world keep existing. Maybe he’d have to help him fulfill his mission… or offer up something—a trigger—that would reignite his will to survive.
Whichever it was, personal feelings didn’t matter. He had to get closer to him.
Meaning…
In the end, it’s all about the gauge.
The gauge that rose every time Moon Tae-young showed even the slightest interest in him—what if it was directly tied to his feelings?
As that thought echoed in his mind, the next track on the playlist soared into its climax. Now on the highway, Cha Eui-sung pressed down on the accelerator and focused on the endless stretch of road ahead.
Revenge. Affection. And from them, the desire to live.
If someone could bring all those emotions to the surface in Moon Tae-young, how would that change the course of this round?
The scattered plans he’d laid like pieces in a network began to converge. If the gauge was a mirror of emotion—and if that upward trend was showing signs of slowing—then it was time to inject a little booster.
“Heh…”
His tightly pressed lips curled into a beautiful, crimson smile.
***
When dungeons first appeared, people predicted that real estate values would be redefined from that moment on. Areas with few or no dungeon gates would become prime real estate.
And that guess turned out to be half-right. New towns once notorious for sky-high housing prices turned into ghost towns overnight because of a single dungeon. Meanwhile, quiet neighborhoods on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province became coveted commuter towns for the wealthy.
But most regions maintained a similar market value relative to the cost of living, even decades later. It made perfect sense—places with high foot traffic attracted more Hunters, and the government concentrated its management efforts in those areas.
The Han River zone. A blessed land where not a single dungeon overflow had ever occurred, and where Hunters stood on-call 24/7 for any sudden dungeon manifestations.
As he sat in a scenic bar, sipping his drink, Cha Eui-sung felt a surge of pure bliss.
Elegant music, air so cool and crisp there wasn’t a whiff of mustiness, a modern, minimalist yet luxurious interior, and the scent of fine liquor…
God, he’d missed this life.
A shiver ran down the back of his neck. He loosened a couple buttons of his shirt and took a slow sip of expensive whiskey—savoring the experience like he was wearing a perfectly tailored suit. It was exquisite.
And to think he had to leave all this behind and hole up in that dingy little house again.
He felt an unexpected wave of resentment. Sure, he was doing it to survive, but it was enough to make him feel like he deserved to be compensated with the world’s collective spare change in exchange for saving the damn planet.
[Friday 01:53]
The time showed it was already well past midnight. Still, he didn’t mind the stillness of the early morning. With all his tasks wrapped up, he could finally relax.
After hours of driving and navigating through two or three layers of Kim Jeong-baek’s connections, he finally met with an Assemblyman—one who, fortunately, had a firm grip on reality and was willing to move just as expected.
“So, you’re Cha Eui-sung, right? This proposal of yours is interesting, but the real question is—what exactly do you want?”
“Hmm. No, Assemblyman. The real question is: if you want to win a third term, don’t you need to ditch the internal party connections that turned their backs on you and grab hold of a new lifeline? I’m the only one holding that out to you. Isn’t that why you agreed to meet at this hour?”
“Hrmm…”
“It’s not like I’m asking you to lead an urban reform campaign. But if this goes well, running for mayor in the next ten years might not be off the table.”
The flicker of desire in those hesitant eyes. The way the wrinkled fingers slowly reached for the pen—nodding, as if to say he understood everything.
The moment he saw that look, Cha Eui-sung knew there was no need for further persuasion.
A signature slid across the top of a black market-exclusive, high-value special contract. The hefty Gigas Armor passed into someone else’s hands.
Good. He catches on fast.
Cha Eui-sung murmured to himself and turned to the panoramic window. The glittering city lights pierced his vision, dazzling and beautiful.
He used to see views like this often when he worked at the Hunter Association. The main office was located right in the heart of Seoul, and back then, he barely left work before sunrise.
But never once did he think the nightscape was beautiful. Now that his life had a bit more room to breathe, he could finally look at something that had once symbolized soul-crushing overtime… and see it as just an ordinary view. It was absurd, really.
Come to think of it, I should start digging into what the Hunter Association’s been up to.
The more Cha Eui-sung got involved behind the scenes, the more likely it was that the Association’s actions would start to slow—or shift from what he remembered.
Luckily, he knew that organization inside and out, from the ground up. Even a fragment of intel was enough to give him a pretty clear picture of what was going on inside.
As he tapped his empty glass and hummed under his breath, a few familiar faces flitted through his mind. Ah, right—there was that idiot from another division. Held a decent title, but his brain was mush. Cha Eui-sung remembered coaxing intel out of him with minimal effort. Guy was hilariously easy to bait.
“Hmmm…”
