Free Web NovelThat voice was coming from the monster rooted into the floor—his brother. It was so faint that only Yohan could hear it; his parents showed no reaction at all. Whether Yosep knew or not, he kept whispering in that dying voice that he was fine after hearing the others speak.
Even if he could go back to the past, Yohan thought, he would still have chosen to enter the Abyss to save Lee Hyunmook and the others. That conviction had not changed. And yet, seeing his family end up like this because of him filled him with crushing guilt. Swallowing his tears, he said,
“I am sorry. Because of me....”
“No. Do not say that. You came back alive—your mother cannot tell you how thankful she is.”
Along with guilt toward his family, hatred for Park Seungmin burned inside him. If only that bastard had honestly said Yohan had gone missing in the Abyss, his brother would never have recklessly entered a rift. And the reason for the lie was nothing but money. As Yohan clenched his fists, Kim Yeju asked through sobs, her voice filled with desperate hope,
“I know this may cause trouble for you, but... could you not ask Mr. Lee Hyunmook to use that Eternal Stone to heal him? Yohan...”
Only now did Yohan realize how overjoyed his parents must have been when Hyunmook announced the existence of the Eternal Stone, capable of curing contamination. Looking once more at his gravely afflicted brother, Yohan said,
“I was going to tell you about that....”
At that very moment, ding-dong—! The doorbell rang, startling both parents. In a flurry, they locked the door leaking stench and turned on the new ventilator. Yohan gestured to them and said,
“I will go out and stall for time. Clean up and come upstairs. It is nothing serious.”
They were too distracted to even realize that Yohan carried the same stench with him. But as a purifier, such odors meant nothing to him. Climbing the stairs, Yohan casually cleansed the air around him, then checked the intercom—and his face hardened.
-Yohan? Yohan, are you home?
On the screen, Park Seungmin’s grinning face appeared. Yohan could also sense several other presences behind him.
-It is me, Seungmin.... It is cold out here. Won’t you let me in? Auntie? Uncle? It is Seungmin!
Taking a deep breath to smother the fury and disgust boiling inside him, Yohan answered brightly,
“Yes, I am home. Just wait a moment. I will open it soon.”
He quickly told his parents downstairs that Park Seungmin had come. Then he deliberately took his time, slowly unlocking the gate, then the front door. Behind Park Seungmin stood Special Suppression Division officers.
“What took you so long?”
Snapping irritably, Seungmin strode right up to the entrance. Yohan blocked him with his body and answered, freёwebnovel.com
“I was busy with something. But... who are those people behind you?”
“Ah... the government gave me escorts. Quite a lot, huh? Even though I told them I was just visiting a friend, some bigwig insisted.”
Seungmin raised his chin proudly. Yohan, imagining smashing that chin with his fist, feigned surprise.
“Escorts from the government? What is this about?”
“That is exactly why I came! There is something I really wanted to show you!”
When Seungmin tried to push his way in, Yohan blocked him again. This time Seungmin openly scowled, dropping the fake friendliness he had always worn around Yohan.
“What is the problem? Just let a friend inside.”
“I can let you in, sure. But not all of them. My parents are here. Our house is not so dangerous that you need to bring all of them inside, is it?”
Unable to easily counter Yohan’s words, Seungmin hesitated, then answered rudely,
“Your brother is here too. How do I know it is not dangerous?”
“And why would my brother be dangerous to you?”
Staring him down, Yohan asked. Seungmin muttered under his breath, annoyed. From his reaction, Yohan guessed: either Seungmin had realized Yosep was contaminated, or Yosep had noticed something suspicious about Seungmin earlier. Judging by the look on his face, it was the latter. Seungmin, nervous, checked a flashy wristwatch Yohan had never seen before, then shoved a Special Suppression officer behind him in frustration. His clothes, too, looked expensive.
“Hey, can you not take a hint? My friend said not to come in! If we are late, what then?!”
“But escorts are mandatory.”
After a struggle, Yohan noticed his parents’ presences had stabilized upstairs. Only then did he pretend to negotiate.
“All right then. How about just the two of you come in? I do not know why you are wary of my brother, but he is not even home.”
Having dragged out the standoff long enough, Seungmin and the officers reluctantly agreed. Seungmin swaggered in like he owned the place, cheerfully greeting Yohan’s parents.
“Auntie, Uncle! Have you been well?”
“Yes, Seungmin. Have you?”
“Of course! I have been doing incredibly well! So well, in fact, I am about to show you!”
Yang Hwapyeong’s expression darkened slightly—he had instantly noticed the /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ rudeness and arrogance in Seungmin’s changed demeanor.
As the two officers entered, Kim Yeju breathed in deeply, then sat calmly on the sofa as though nothing had happened. Yang Hwapyeong, less skilled at acting, avoided even looking at them. Seungmin went straight to the living room, turned on the TV, and dropped onto the sofa. Gesturing at Yohan, he said with a grin,
“We almost missed the broadcast. Come, watch with me. You two as well, sit down and join us.”
“What broadcast is this?”
The sight of him was almost comical, and Yohan sat beside him with a laugh. Seungmin’s smile wavered, suspicious.
“What is so funny?”
“Of course I am smiling. A dear friend has come to visit. Right?”
Throwing an arm over his shoulder, Yohan acted friendly. Seungmin jerked away uncomfortably.
“Ah, right. Just pay attention to the broadcast.”
“What kind of broadcast is it, anyway?”
Even when Kim Yeju asked, Seungmin only smirked without answering. A moment later, despite not being news hour, an emergency report broke in.
-Good evening. We bring you breaking news. At 11:00 p.m. tonight, the government announced the securing of a high-tier Awakener capable of purifying contamination. This Awakener’s official title is Purifier. With so many citizens suffering from contamination, this long-awaited good news has arrived....
When the anchor revealed the Awakener’s identity, Seungmin nearly leapt from his seat, shouting,
“That is me! That is me! Do you see?!”
Yohan watched as Park Seungmin was announced to the world as a high-tier Awakener. He could imagine the shock, joy, and awe spreading everywhere—starting with his very own family beside him. Seeing their reactions, Seungmin’s face flushed with ecstatic triumph.
“Haha! Now you see how great I have become!”
“Wow, that is wonderful. You became a Purifier. Now you can do good work.”
Even without acting, Yohan had been smiling since earlier, so his congratulations came out convincingly. Glancing at his anxious parents, who looked ready to beg Seungmin to heal Yosep, Yohan cut them off by speaking first.
“Seungmin, we are friends. So could I ask you for a favor?”
When he said that, he saw the surge of delight spreading across Seungmin’s face. He also saw the inferiority complex burning behind it—the very reason Seungmin had come here to flaunt this broadcast. Seungmin had always craved to see the once-superior Yang Yohan humbled before him. Yohan could even hear his heart thundering with anticipation.
“A favor? What kind of favor? Go on, tell me.”
Turning away from the broadcast about himself, Seungmin’s voice brimmed with arrogance. Yohan glanced at his parents, then deliberately at the officers standing behind them. Sensing his look, Yang Hwapyeong and Kim Yeju barely held themselves together, restraining the urge to beg outright. They knew if they revealed too much, Yosep might be dragged away by the Special Suppression Division.
“I know someone who has become severely contaminated. Could you heal them?”
At once, Seungmin burst out laughing, slapping the sofa. freēwēbηovel.c૦m
“Heal contamination? Of course I can.”
He lifted his hand, light shimmering faintly above it. Seeing that, Yang Hwapyeong’s expression shifted, lips parting to speak—but Kim Yeju pinched his thigh sharply to stop him. Seungmin noticed their reaction and smirked.
‘Aha. So that bastard Yang Yosep is contaminated? That is why the three of them are acting like this? Wow, fuck.’
The sight of these three, who had always seemed above him, now desperate, thrilled Seungmin so much his skin prickled. In truth, they had never lorded anything over him—they had always treated him kindly. But Seungmin’s warped inferiority complex had twisted it, building his own hostility.
When Yohan vanished into the Abyss, Yosep had suspected him immediately and threatened him. Knowing Yosep was now a mid-stage contamination case filled Seungmin with perverse joy. Yet strangely, the desperation of Yohan and his family felt lacking. Pretending generosity, Seungmin said,
“But I cannot just do it for nothing. I have a contract with the government. I cannot heal just anyone.”
“How much, then? What do you want?”
“1 billion won.”
1 billion? For curing contamination that severe, if it cost that much.... Though they had already spent heavily searching for Yohan, Kim Yeju and Yang Hwapyeong thought they could manage it. But then Seungmin continued, and their faces hardened.
“1 billion won for each treatment.”
