# 20
Even with the man beckoning him with a flick of his fingers like one would call a dog or cat, Jin-ha couldn’t think of it as rude or unpleasant. Even in places where others might feel powerless, the man exuded a transcendent atmosphere, like some kind of deity. It was similar to the intimidating presence unique to someone who had lived only as a superior in a society with a class system.
Jin-ha approached and greeted him politely.
“Hello.”
“Why are you so late? I was waiting. How’s your body?”
“…My mana has increased.”
“I did it because I wanted to, so no compensation is necessary.”
As the man sat up and stretched out his hand, the wine glass held by Legas suddenly moved to him. It was an exquisite spell. Teleportation? Or had the glass flown to the man’s hand at a speed invisible to the eye? Either way, it was a high-dimensional technique that Jin-ha could barely comprehend.
“Well, I didn’t leave empty-handed either.”
The man tapped his lips and smiled mischievously. The moment Jin-ha saw that smile, the fantastic sense of wonder he had felt watching the amazing sights and his cautious feelings toward the man vanished as if doused with cold water.
The man wore an expression that suggested familiarity, just like before. Yes, it was like the expression of the fairy sickness patient Jin-ha had imagined as a child about waist-high when they first met.
But it was also reminiscent of the unpleasant man who had forcibly bound Jin-ha and kissed him.
“Haha! Your expression is worth seeing.”
Jin-ha, who had failed to hide his expression, belatedly tried to conceal his thoughts and adopted a respectful demeanor. He wasn’t here for fun.
“Have you thought about what fun things you’ll teach me?”
“I’ve prepared some music for now.”
“Music…”
The man tilted his head at Jin-ha’s polite attitude, then gestured with his chin for him to continue. Jin-ha took out a phonograph artifact from the box.
It was an artifact designed to play sound using mana stones instead of electricity—an expensive luxury normally used only by high-ranking Hunters or wealthy families.
They said it sounded different from electric players, but honestly, Jin-ha wondered if it was different enough to justify consuming expensive mana stones. If he hadn’t needed to play music in a place without electricity, he would never have bought such an item.
“Will Hunter Lee Jin-ha perform for me?”
“No. This is a device that plays music.”
Holding something he thought he’d never touch in his lifetime, Jin-ha felt his head growing strangely cool.
He was here on business. And becoming emotionally involved in his work was something he hadn’t done even as a rookie.
Before joining the World Gate Information Association, when he worked as a guide Hunter, hadn’t he treated Cha Ki-young like any other civilian seeking assistance, even when Ki-young came specifically to tease him?
Recalling that incident, his mind calmed, and his usual demeanor emerged—the demeanor people described as boringly polite.
“What kind of music do you usually prefer?”
“Well. Actually, I don’t particularly like music.”
“I see. I’ve brought various LP records. May I play them for you in sequence?”
“I said I don’t like it, didn’t I?”
“I thought perhaps you hadn’t discovered your taste yet… But if it makes you uncomfortable, we can skip the music.”
Jin-ha answered with a polite and gentle manner.
When going to disorganized sites, he often encountered difficult complainants. People who would demand why Jin-ha, who had come to gather information about the gate before an assault, wasn’t attacking the gate quickly, or whether he would take responsibility if property values fell.
Compared to such people, the man’s arrogant attitude was nothing.
“Then I’ll leave for today and return next time with something else that might interest you…”
At that moment, the man extended his hand. Jin-ha felt the friction beneath his feet disappear and something like wind pushing against his back. By the time he swelled his chest in surprise, he was already standing right in front of the man.
Before he could react, the box he had been holding was in the man’s hands. The man took out the magical phonograph from the box, twirled it around, and made a face of disgust.
“Crude.”
After dropping it on the bed, the man pulled Jin-ha’s wrist. Resting his cheek against Jin-ha’s palm, the man let out a satisfied moan.
“Mmm…”
Hot breath and hazy gaze. A strange gaze, as if wandering in a dream, stared at Jin-ha with longing.
Jin-ha knew he should pull his hand away, but strangely, he couldn’t move, captivated by that gaze. When the hot breath brushed his fingers, Jin-ha finally startled and pulled his arm.
“L-let me go.”
“What I want, Hunter Lee Jin-ha.”
The man opened his mouth and bit Jin-ha’s thumb. Surrounded by moist mucous membrane, his finger felt hot and tingling, causing Jin-ha to cry out.
“What are you doing!”
He tried to pull his hand away but couldn’t. The man’s hand didn’t budge, as if made of iron.
The man, ignoring Jin-ha’s resistance, smiled with crinkled eyes. No, he seemed to be enjoying Jin-ha’s resistance. Closing his eyes languidly, the man rubbed his cheek deeper into Jin-ha’s palm.
“Yes, that’s it. Never act like that in front of me again.”
What?
Jin-ha was speechless, watching the man purring like a cat and enjoying his palm.
Of course he was. He had displayed the most polite attitude possible, only to be told not to act “like that” again. Wasn’t that something you’d say to someone being insolent?
“Wait, I don’t understand. Are you telling me not to act politely?”
“Yes.”
“Then what do you want me to—”
The man suddenly pulled the hand he was holding, causing Jin-ha to almost fall face-first onto the bed. Jin-ha barely managed to support himself by placing his knee on the bed and grabbing the man’s shoulder, while the man rested his head on Jin-ha’s shoulder.
“Stop this and speak properly—”
The man’s clingy behavior was no different from before, but now the situation and circumstances were different. Just as a flustered Jin-ha was about to push the man away:
The breeze that had been flowing lazily and the canopy swaying with it seemed to freeze. The air stiffened, and a sharp silence fell, as if something enormous had seized the space.
Jin-ha reflexively looked down at the man who had caused this change, only to freeze in shock at his cold expression.
The face of the man who had been drowsily smiling had transformed into someone completely different. Eyes filled with killing intent glared at Jin-ha. Jin-ha felt trapped by that gaze, unable to move.
“You… are an Omega?”
Omega? What’s that?
As Jin-ha struggled to ask the man, he managed to twitch his finger, but then his entire body went limp and he collapsed. His body fell onto the bed and slid to the floor.
He couldn’t understand what was happening—the situation, the aura surrounding them, the man’s sudden change.
Just as Jin-ha, gasping on the floor, raised his head to demand an explanation, something brushed past his cheek.
Only after hearing the sound of glass shattering behind him did Jin-ha realize it was a wine glass.
“I kissed an Omega?”
The man, speaking in a growling, angry tone, reached out toward Jin-ha. Jin-ha’s neck was grabbed as if being sucked in.
The man buried his nose in Jin-ha’s neck as Jin-ha knelt half-stiffly on the floor.
“Damn it, there’s a smell!”
After muttering roughly, the man looked down coldly at Jin-ha, then threw him away as if disgusted by touching something dirty.
“Damn it. Revolting.”
Jin-ha rolled across the floor several times before he could stop.
He had no choice but to come here because the man had made it impossible not to, only to be played with, sniffed at the neck, and thrown to the floor?
While he hadn’t had special expectations for this man, wasn’t this too much? Jin-ha caught his breath for a moment, then raised his head as soon as his vision stabilized.
“What is an Omega?”
“…You don’t know what an Omega is?”
“You seem to be forgetting that you opened a portal to a different world.”
Jin-ha stood up sarcastically, dusting off his clothes. Not wanting to appear weak before the man, he forced strength into his trembling legs to stand firmly.
“That portal… I didn’t open it. I received help from fairies…”
Jin-ha’s eye twitched at the unexpected words. Though it was unexpected information, that wasn’t important right now.
Jin-ha suppressed his surging emotions and reminded himself of what he already knew. The man before him was not a waist-high fairy sickness patient, but the master of this tower. Korean laws and rules didn’t apply here, and he possessed powerful strength that couldn’t be trifled with. Perhaps it was better to think of him as equivalent to a foreign royal or prime minister.
He would avoid this place if possible, but it was impossible given that information about his father was being held hostage to bring him here.
“I would appreciate if you could explain what an Omega is and what bothered you.”
Jin-ha’s tone became polite again, but this time the man couldn’t complain. He stared at Jin-ha with confused eyes, slowly tilting his head before wrinkling his nose.
“There’s a smell.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
