Chapter 27
Mujin turned his head to look directly at Baek Sangyeon.
“It’s not my life you’re worried about, but your Huiseon Guild, isn’t it? All that money and status you gained by putting me at the front, the power and strength you want—you’re suffering because you might lose all of that. Did you think I wouldn’t know?”
Though he might not know the size of the inherited power, when it came to ambition alone, Baek Sangyeon would be the best throughout the entire Baek family. As his son, Mujin knew better than anyone where his twisted greed originated.
The Baek family’s power was on a downward trend. For some reason, the Hwanghwa of successive descendants was unimpressive. Baek Sangyeon was especially so.
The power of the first Baek Huiseon, who wielded supreme strength even without weaponized Hwanghwa, hit its lowest point in Baek Sangyeon’s generation. Unlike his predecessors for whom Hwanghwa was a weakness and curse, Baek Sangyeon had reached a level where he had to rely on weaponized Hwanghwa.
Because Yuseong’s items and weapon support compensated for his abilities, Baek Sangyeon worked harder than any previous generation to maintain a close relationship with Yuseong. Among those with cold eyes, he was evaluated as maintaining his position as number one using the wealth and power accumulated over a long time.
Then Baek Mujin was born. At the test results showing he had completely inherited the first Baek Huiseon’s core, Baek Sangyeon was excited. He considered raising Baek Mujin to be the best as his own achievement. At the same time, he felt inferior to his own son.
Thus, his son Baek Mujin was the best product he had created. As his creation, it was right that he belonged to him. Everyone around was merely resources needed for his achievements, and he wouldn’t tolerate anything that got in the way. His ambition reached its peak.
‘Mujin-ah, I also have a lot to study and a lot to do now. You have many things too, right? Training and, well… Uncle worries about you a lot.’
He knew that Eunseong had started distancing himself after the tragedy at Yuseong because of Baek Sangyeon. Since his most precious trophy was about to be ruined, his anxiety would have quickly turned to anger.
He would have constantly brainwashed him, saying his friend Mujin was going to die because of him.
Though Eunseong always defended Baek Sangyeon, his every look and tone would have been pressure and abuse.
It would have been right to step down from the top guild position early and cooperate with other guilds. Not to persecute and drive away the young and fragile Eunseong.
There were only two ways to cut off his father’s desire: either he died, or he himself died.
So the past Mujin had concluded that it was right for him, the root cause, to disappear.
“Eunseong, you tell me. Were you the one who enticed him to leave Huiseon?”
“……”
“I didn’t believe you were Eunseong in the first place, but what can I do when Mujin throws a tantrum? Come on, explain quickly.”
When Baek Sangyeon raised his voice, Eunseong tightly grabbed Mujin’s collar. Every time Baek Sangyeon’s tone rose, he unconsciously burrowed into Mujin’s embrace. Mujin looked down at Eunseong quietly.
I should have protected you more actively back then.
Mujin turned his gaze back to Baek Sangyeon and spoke coldly as if making an announcement.
“Please continue with your methods, Father. Whether it’s items, weapon development, or re-awakening experiments. Isn’t that your specialty? That would be more comfortable than dealing with a crazy son who won’t listen.”
“Is that what you say to your father?”
Having finished what he wanted to say, Mujin turned his head without regret. After walking a few steps, as if suddenly remembering, he added one more thing.
“The obedient son died three years ago. Guild Leader Baek Sangyeon.”
He had said everything he needed to say. Walking with a somewhat relieved expression, Baek Sangyeon shouted from behind.
“There are monsters roaming outside! Are you not going to fulfill even the minimum duty as a hunter? The moment you leave Huiseon, rumors will spread that you’re protecting a monster. Do you think you’re so great? Without Huiseon’s protection, you’re nothing!”
Mujin climbed the stairs while holding Eunseong. In the dim emergency exit, after walking up for a while when the surroundings became quiet, Eunseong took off his eye mask. Looking up, Mujin was walking with cold eyes. He seemed to have a lot on his mind.
It was the moment Eunseong was about to tell him to put him down. Mujin moved his lips first.
“Just go up like this. Don’t say anything.”
When you talk with that expression and that voice, I can’t say anything back. Eunseong decided to just keep his mouth shut. He decided to obediently stay in his arms and give his body over.
“……I understand.”
Well, since I’m already being carried, it would be more comfortable than climbing stairs to the top with my own feet. When he thought about it, it was bearable. Mujin’s breathing was steady, and there was no one in the emergency stairwell to see this unseemly sight.
Fortunately, there were no witnesses until they reached the top floor, except for one person who opened the emergency exit door, was startled, and sat down in shock.
* * *
When they returned to the room he had escaped from, Eunseong was a little surprised.
‘I definitely only melted the locking mechanism, didn’t I?’
The door was split in half as if it had been struck by something, and the iron bars were cut and broken off. What about the marble floor? It was cracked and gouged, looking like a construction site.
“I really didn’t do this. I definitely……”
‘Did you do this?’
Rolling his eyes upward, Curry pecked at Eunseong’s crown as if feeling wronged.
Holding the eye mask in his hand and looking up at Mujin, he too shamelessly showed no change in expression. He just casually moved his feet to push aside the fragments and headed to the bed.
Then, still holding Eunseong, he bent down and turned off the audio. The music had still been playing.
“Please put me down now.”
Eunseong said quietly upon seeing the bed, but Mujin turned around and headed to another room.
He kicked the door open somewhat roughly, then strode in with that momentum and threw Eunseong onto the bed. Then he pulled off his shirt with a swift motion.
Eunseong, who had fallen backward, hurriedly put on his eye mask as soon as he got up. Why he was in such a hurry was unclear.
“Come here.”
Before he could collect himself, Mujin grabbed his forearm.
“Huh? Why? Why?”
Being dragged along, Eunseong couldn’t hide his bewilderment. Having just witnessed the completely destroyed room, he was suddenly scared by his cold demeanor. Was he planning to drag him somewhere and beat him? While having all sorts of thoughts, what touched his soles was the sensation of cold tiles.
Eunseong, who had awkwardly sat in a chair as Mujin led him, couldn’t contain his curiosity and pulled up his eye mask again. His blue eyes widened like lanterns.
“What, what are you doing?”
Squawk! His voice cracked from being flustered.
He was sitting in the bathroom, and Mujin was completely naked, preparing for a shower. The first thing that filled his vision was the huge penis hanging between his legs. When he turned his body to open the shower booth door, this time his firm buttocks greeted Eunseong. Not knowing where Eunseong’s gaze was scanning, he replied curtly.
“What else? If I’m going to keep you where I can see you.”
Is this how he’s getting revenge? Eunseong, having turned into a bright red tomato, just gaped his mouth in bewilderment. Eventually, having no choice, he put the eye mask back on. His hands were somewhat hurried because he felt like Mujin might approach him if he kept watching.
“Even if you hate it, there’s nothing you can do. You brought this on yourself.”
“I, I don’t hate it or anything. It doesn’t bother me at all.”
Right, I don’t know why I’m flustered. Eunseong not only wore the eye mask but covered it with both hands. He also turned his body in the opposite direction.
He thought he heard Mujin chuckling from behind, but soon the sound of pouring water made his mind go blank.
Though he couldn’t see anything, the sound of water seemed as if he could see everything—Eunseong found it so strange.
He had lived with his eyes closed for three years. Some sounds acted like vision for Eunseong. The sound of water hitting his body and bouncing off faithfully drew outlines in his head. Thinking he didn’t want to see was a blatant lie, and he was unconsciously concentrating fiercely. Eunseong clenched his tingling fists tightly.
After a long, heated time passed, Mujin approached Eunseong who was crouched in tension.
“Let’s wash your feet.”
He deliberately made noise so Eunseong wouldn’t be startled and spoke in a low voice.
There was no time to ask what he meant. Mujin turned Eunseong’s body, which had been sitting with his back turned, back toward him and pushed a basin filled with warm water in front of his feet.
Mujin grabbed without hesitation the feet that had turned black from walking around barefoot. Then he put them straight into the water. The strength in his fingertips was considerable, so Eunseong couldn’t even think of refusing and had to give him his feet.
“……”
“……”
Though a few words might have been exchanged, both quietly focused only on the act of washing feet. Since Eunseong, who could have protested that it tickled or that he would do it himself, silently received the care, Mujin also kept his mouth shut.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
