#102
“You… killed someone?”
Startled, I asked, and Shin Haejun stared at me with an expressionless face.
Judging by his reaction, it didn’t seem like he was lying. His face was too serious to brush off as a joke, making my lips tremble involuntarily.
“I wanted to pay back everything you’ve been through. Just killing wasn’t enough. I didn’t want to give you the title of an S-class guide who met a tragic death in a dungeon.”
“What… What exactly did you do?”
It was true that I found Kim Sehyun irritating and tiresome. But I had never once thought he would actually die. Especially not by being directly murdered by someone I cared about.
Though shocked by the sudden news, my next thought was concern for Shin Haejun. Even if he’s a chaebol and an S-class esper, murder wouldn’t be justified. What if he gets life imprisonment or a death sentence? I’ve always believed murderers should be punished, but faced with this situation, I couldn’t bring myself to outright condemn Shin Haejun.
“What if you go to prison? Why did you do it? Huh? Weren’t you caught? What are we going to do now?”
As I scolded him in confusion, tears welled up in my eyes involuntarily. I was afraid of what would happen if Shin Haejun was taken away like this, or if he became a fugitive.
The popularity of S-class espers was so great that they had fans even overseas, but I shuddered at the thought of all that recognition turning into condemnation.
“It’s okay. I said he died by the boss’s hand, remember?”
“But you said you killed him!”
As I cried loudly and beat Shin Haejun’s chest, he grabbed my wrist tightly and whispered. When I got angry at his contradictory words, he looked flustered for a moment before letting out a light sigh.
“It’s true that I drove him to his death. I set traps and directly guided him. But it was the boss mob that directly killed him.”
“…Then, you won’t go to prison or be chased?”
“That’s right. I’m not going anywhere without you, hyung.”
I felt deeply relieved at those words for a moment. However, at the same time, I felt distressed, feeling a burning emotion towards Shin Haejun who was willing to kill someone for my sake. I’d heard him say he liked me several times, but I never thought his feelings were strong enough to commit murder for me.
‘What are you trying to do?’
I felt more sorry than burdened. We had broken up, and he must have clearly felt that I was gradually wavering towards Hyun Dowoon, so why?
Maybe… was it because he felt anxious? Did he commit murder to prove his feelings to me? But I couldn’t voice such thoughts.
“It all started with Kim Sehyun anyway.”
“Of course… I do think it would have been better if Kim Sehyun hadn’t done that to me. But still…!”
“That’s not it. It started with Kim Sehyun’s assault, and if that hadn’t happened in the first place, I might have had to use other methods.”
Come to think of it, the news also reported that Kim Sehyun had caused an assault incident in the dungeon before he died. I wondered who on earth he had beaten up, remembering Kim Sehyun’s frail-looking body. He looked like he’d get beaten up no matter who he tried to hit….
“Shin Serim almost died from being strangled. It was attempted murder rather than just assault.”
“What? Guide Shin Serim?”
He not only assaulted but tried to strangle a woman?
I had assumed he had attacked sturdy espers, so it felt incredibly cowardly that Kim Sehyun had targeted Shin Serim. He must have been angry about something, but would he have been able to do that if the opponent had been a very strong esper? Thinking that he might have done it because she was a seemingly weak woman without special abilities made me despise Kim Sehyun even more.
“If Kim Sehyun wanted to mend his relationship with me, or if he wanted to find my weakness, he would have naturally sought out Shin Serim. She’s the one I’ve worked with the longest among the guide team.”
I remembered Shin Serim skillfully leading the guide team instead of Kim Sehyun in the first dungeon we entered. It seemed she naturally became the leader due to her long working relationship with Shin Haejun.
“I did give Shin Serim equipment that records audio and video, but if Kim Sehyun hadn’t gone to her and gotten caught doing something… useful, like assault or showing anger, I wouldn’t have been able to cause this much trouble.”
“So you wanted to not just kill Kim Sehyun, but also drag his reputation through the mud.”
Hyun Dowoon, who had been listening quietly beside us, muttered softly. Shin Haejun nodded in response.
“Killing him cleanly would have been too easy. If that was the plan, I would have secretly assassinated him.”
“…That’s certainly true.”
Hyun Dowoon agreed with Shin Haejun’s words. He even wore a relaxed smile, seemingly impressed by Shin Haejun’s meticulous actions.
Though surprised by the sudden news, he didn’t seem to have any regrets about Kim Sehyun’s death itself. I felt like I was the only strange one for thinking whether it was okay for a person to die, no matter what.
“I only told Shin Serim one thing. If Kim Sehyun seemed to be digging into my recent activities, to tell him ‘Give back what belongs to Lee Jaeha.'”
“Give back… what belongs to me…”
“The subject wasn’t specified, but Kim Sehyun probably thought the same as you, hyung. It was just a guess based on circumstantial evidence, but Kim Sehyun stupidly fell for it. And then he tried to eliminate Shin Serim by strangling her while in a state of panic. We caught that scene with all the team members.”
“Uh…”
To strangle someone because you’re in a state of panic. I frowned and shook my head. Kim Sehyun felt even more like trash now.
“The timing was good.”
He was smiling mysteriously as if there had been some definite method, but I didn’t want to probe further. I just assumed he had installed something extra on the equipment he gave to Shin Serim.
“Attempted murder in a dungeon, he would have faced the death penalty under the Special Dungeon Crime Act even if he had made it out alive.”
“I don’t know what he was thinking… but it was fortunate. However, if he had hired a lawyer and got it reduced from attempted murder to assault, he wouldn’t have faced the death penalty, so I had to make sure it was over for good.”
Although attempted murder is a heinous crime, it seemed harsh to face the death penalty when no one actually died. From Hyun Dowoon’s mention of the special law, it seemed that incidents occurring inside dungeons were treated as especially serious crimes. I could understand the harsher punishment, given that it happened between teammates who were supposed to have each other’s backs.
“Besides, he voluntarily kept his distance while being mindful of others… Well. I just made him move towards where the boss’s power could be felt, threatened him to run towards the boss… I pretended I couldn’t save him when I tried. Conveniently, other espers witnessed that scene.”
Shin Haejun grinned. It seemed like a lot of details were omitted in his summary, but I could understand what he meant.
‘So that’s why he said he induced him to die.’
I wonder how viciously he threatened Kim Sehyun to make him run away on his own? Since he’s dead, I can’t ask him, but I also don’t understand why he made such a stupid decision to try to kill someone in the first place….
Anyway, hearing that Kim Sehyun had tried to commit murder first made me feel a bit better. After all, killing another criminal is somewhat better than killing an innocent citizen.
“Now that I know the circumstances, I should head to the center.”
“Take care.”
I said goodbye to Hyun Dowoon as he stood up. Then, a sudden thought made my eyes widen.
“Come to think of it…”
“Hmm?”
“If he’s dead… does that mean my power has returned?”
I couldn’t feel any significant changes in my body. As I tilted my head in confusion, Hyun Dowoon sat down again like a breeze and held out his hand. Shin Haejun also grabbed my hand and asked with a serious face.
“Try Guiding. We’ll see if anything’s changed.”
Come to think of it, I could check right away. I nodded and started Guiding.
*View Mercenary Status*
*Enhance Mercenary* – Consumes Gold/Love Coins.
*Mercenary Rest* – Currently partially sealed (15% efficiency)
*Hire Mercenary* – (2/2)
*Dismiss Mercenary*
Nothing has changed…
Just as I thought that, suddenly, as if a fuse had blown, my consciousness flew away.
***
[Active skill ‘Path of Truth’ is being used.]
Suddenly, Lee Jaeha collapsed into my arms. As Shin Haejun was shaking him in panic to wake him up, he suddenly felt the energy being drained from his body. The same was true for Hyun Dowoon. The source of the drain was from Lee Jaeha’s pocket, specifically around his pants pocket.
[The caster’s energy is insufficient. Automatically canceling.]
However, soon the energy was completely depleted, and nothing happened. It felt similar to when a skill is used and then canceled.
Shin Haejun and Hyun Dowoon looked at each other’s faces, and suddenly remembered the strange skill they both possessed.
“…You said it needed to pour out all the total energy, right?”
“Right after returning from the dungeon… It seems like it was used at a moment when it was needed.”
Shin Haejun muttered in a regretful voice after hearing Hyun Dowoon’s words. Lee Jaeha’s sudden collapse and the skill that was about to activate suddenly. He was certain that it must have been something important.
For now, the important thing was Lee Jaeha, who had collapsed suddenly while trying to Guide. Shin Haejun shook Lee Jaeha’s body with a worried face. However, his body, completely drained of strength, just hung limp, with only his arms flapping like paper. What was strange was that he absolutely wouldn’t let go of the hand he was using for Guiding.
“Wasn’t the flow of power a bit… strange?”
Hyun Dowoon asked, his face sharpened as he glared at Lee Jaeha’s pants pocket. As he was wearing soft cotton shorts, the rectangular object in his pocket was noticeable.
Shin Haejun, who had been trying to wake Lee Jaeha, nodded, acknowledging that the thought kept lingering in his mind as well.
“I think it’s definitely related to Lee Jaeha-ssi’s collapse.”
Having said that, Hyun Dowoon reached into Lee Jaeha’s pocket and pulled out the phone that was inside.
The phone seemed to be fully charged with something, its screen flickering. The usual lock screen was completely unlocked.
Can you hear my voice?
And as something like an emoticon flickered on it, Lee Jaeha’s voice was heard.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
