The writhing mass, emitting black smoke, suddenly grew larger. Like a drop of water spreading across the floor, it rapidly expanded and lunged towards Seo Won.
Until that moment, Seo Won had been calmly assessing the situation. He realized that the enlarged mass was targeting him, or more precisely, the person holding Song Jae-woo’s photograph.
There was no sense of danger; the intent was purely to capture.
Cha Han-gyeom’s doppelganger moved closer to Seo Won, placing a hand on his back, standing so close that Seo Won could feel the cool breath.
The doppelganger’s actions were a result of Seo Won’s rational command, having read the situation. He judged that if he allowed himself to be captured by this seemingly harmless method, he might meet the person behind this incident. With Cha Han-gyeom’s doppelganger by his side, he could exploit any weaknesses in the enemy’s plan.
Thus, the judgment was sound. Being captured along with the doppelganger was the right move.
However, inexplicably, Seo Won’s hand pushed away Cha Han-gyeom’s doppelganger standing behind him. He did it firmly enough to avoid being engulfed by the slime-like mass but gently enough not to cause harm.
The expressions of both Seo Won and Cha Han-gyeom’s doppelganger flickered with momentary confusion.
‘Why……?’
Reason dictated that he should embrace Cha Han-gyeom’s doppelganger and be captured together, but instinct chose differently.
Even though it was just a doppelganger, a mere imitation crafted from ice, instinct refused to let Cha Han-gyeom be in danger.
Whether it was the doppelganger or the real person, it did not matter. The important thing was to keep ‘Cha Han-gyeom’ safe from harm.
Seo Won scoffed briefly at his instinctive action that overrode his reason. His body was swiftly enveloped by the net-like mass, which had grown as tall as he was.
“Director!”
Lim Du-hyuk cried out in shock.
One of the other bodyguards in the hallway reached out towards the mass that had covered Seo Won. But before his hand could touch it, the mass melted away in an instant. The enormous form shrank rapidly, transforming back into a palm-sized memo pad in the blink of an eye.
It all happened in less than 10 seconds—the time it took for Seo Won to be swallowed by the bizarre ability and disappear.
A sudden silence fell over the scene, shattered moments later by the bellboy who had been pinned under Lim Du-hyuk.
With a short grunt, the bellboy pushed Lim Du-hyuk away and sprang to his feet. Lim Du-hyuk, momentarily off-balance, tried to grab the bellboy again but missed by a fraction of a second.
The bellboy’s face no longer held the smile from before. He clicked his tongue in disappointment and charged towards Cha Han-gyeom’s doppelganger without hesitation.
“Come here!” he shouted.
Clearly, their target was Cha Han-gyeom. The bellboy was determined to capture him at any cost.
Suddenly, someone appeared from the side and grabbed the bellboy’s arm, twisting it sharply.
“Agh!”
The bellboy screamed in pain as his arm was wrenched, feeling like it might break. His face contorted, he threw a punch infused with a dark energy towards his assailant. The punch was so close it seemed impossible to dodge, but in that instant, the person holding his arm vanished.
“Why is it so noisy?” a voice said. It came from the opposite side, where the bellboy’s other arm was still free.
The assailant reappeared and grabbed the bellboy’s uninjured arm, twisting it again. This time, there was a sickening crack as the joint dislocated.
“Aaah!”
The bellboy cried out in agony as his arm bent at an unnatural angle. The pain was overwhelming.
Lim Du-hyuk and another Esper bodyguard rushed forward, quickly subduing the bellboy. Another guard arrived and bound the bellboy’s arms with a dark, energy-infused rope.
Yoon Jeong-ho, who had twisted the bellboy’s arm twice, looked down at him coldly before scanning the area.
‘Looks like there are no other accomplices.’
The corridor was quiet. Only Yoon Jeong-ho and Seo Won’s bodyguards were present. Even if the hotel staff had seen the incident through the CCTV, it would still take them a few minutes to arrive.
‘Was Seo Won the target? Or…’
Yoon Jeong-ho’s gaze shifted to Cha Han-gyeom’s doppelganger. The doppelganger stood expressionless, looking down at the bellboy.
Yoon Jeong-ho’s eyes held little emotion as he regarded the doppelganger. Usually, when he looked at Cha Han-gyeom, there was a mix of interest and various emotions, but now there was only indifference.
Turning away from the doppelganger, Yoon Jeong-ho smirked to himself.
‘Well, Seo Won must have a plan.’
Despite Seo Won’s sudden disappearance, Yoon Jeong-ho didn’t seem worried. In fact, the bodyguards appeared more concerned about Seo Won than he did.
“Alright, everyone, let’s clean up the scene first,” Yoon Jeong-ho ordered.
“But, Mr. Yoon…” Lim Du-hyuk began to speak, but Yoon Jeong-ho cut him off with a cold voice, despite his smiling face.
“Finding Seo Won is my specialty, so just shut up and clean up the mess,” Yoon Jeong-ho said.
“…”
Lim Du-hyuk bit his lip, unable to hide his displeasure at Yoon Jeong-ho’s words. Despite his frustration, he tried to remain calm, reminding himself of his duty to protect Cha Han-gyeom in Seo Won’s absence.
***
Cha Han-gyeom stared at his phone, his expression troubled after the call abruptly ended.
– I’ll call you later.
Seo Won’s words echoed in his mind, leaving him anxious.
‘If he’s going to call later, why did he call in the first place?’
The rare phone call had ended with a promise to talk later, leaving Cha Han-gyeom feeling uneasy. He worried about what might be happening, his anxiety growing with each passing moment.
Cha Han-gyeom looked up to see Jung Ah-young tilting her head, curious about the call.
“What did he say?” she asked.
“He just said he’d call back later,” Cha Han-gyeom replied.
“Why bother calling if he was just going to say that?” Ah-young muttered, annoyed on Cha Han-gyeom’s behalf.
Cha Han-gyeom hesitated before handing the phone back to her. “Ah-young, can I ask you for a favor?”
“Of course, what is it?” she replied with a smile.
“Can I make a quick call?” Cha Han-gyeom asked, pointing to the phone.
“A call? Oh, do you want to ask Seo Won what he was going to say?”
“No.”
Cha Han-gyeom knew that calling Seo Won back so soon wouldn’t yield any new information. He just couldn’t ignore the opportunity to use the phone while it was available.
“I want to try reaching Song Jae-woo,” he explained.
“Oh, but contacting Song Jae-woo requires Seo Won’s permission…” Ah-young looked conflicted, her resolve weakening under Cha Han-gyeom’s gaze.
“Don’t look at me like that! You’re making this hard for me!” she exclaimed, flustered by his silent plea.
“Oh, come on!”
Ah-young blushed and looked away, flustered by Cha Han-gyeom’s gaze. She let out a long sigh and relaxed her shoulders.
“Alright, just this once. But keep it short,” she said.
“Thank you,” Cha Han-gyeom replied with a soft smile, taking the phone. He recalled the new number Song Jae-woo had given him a few days ago and began dialing.
Just as he was about to press the call button, Ah-young suddenly grabbed his wrist.
“Han-gyeom, wait a moment,” she said.
He looked up to see her staring at the door, her face tense. Seeing her expression, Cha Han-gyeom also tensed up, sensing something was wrong.
