Free Web NovelThe pain was worse than when I’d told Joo Seowon or Do Yehyun the world was going to end. Logically it didn’t make sense, but thinking back, the fatigue pounding in my head was brutal.
“Fuck... hurts like a bitch.”
“A-are you in pain?”
“Forget it. Jeonggil. From the first moment I saw you, I knew. That you were the Choi Jeonggil.”
I stressed the words just slightly, then shut my mouth. Jeonggil stared at me with a strange look, swallowed hard, and asked in a careful voice,
“Don’t tell me... it’s true?”
“Yeah.”
“Then even me getting kidnapped... was that for me?”
Even with Agitation working, it wasn’t easy to be this stupid. As he muttered to himself, already convincing himself, I felt genuinely grateful.
He paced mentally for a while, mumbling, then asked the last doubt lingering in his mind.
“But I’m F-rank... can I really be the protagonist?”
“The protagonist always starts at F and climbs to S. That’s the route.”
Total bullshit. The original story was written for S-rank Kwon Taehan. Still, Jeonggil’s face twisted in awe, like my words had struck him deep.
“So I’m Jesus...!”
...The fuck did he just say?
‘If Christians worldwide heard this, they’d riot in the streets.’
I tried not to look at him, doing my best to hide my bewilderment. At least the splitting pain was fading now. Maybe his nonsense performance had helped.
“Huh—! Y-you’re bleeding!”
‘Hm?’
The pain was fading, but another side effect showed up. While I was watching his clown act with detached amusement, a sudden sting came from my nose.
‘Goddamn it.’
Sure enough, warmth trickled down under my nose. Hard to tell if it was from the penalty or from the earlier beating. Either way, it was annoying.
Seeing the blood, Jeonggil panicked, jumped up, started searching for tissues, stumbling around in a frenzy.
‘What a pain in the ass.’
No—wait. ...This might actually be a chance.
‘Na Seokgyung did say he wasn’t planning to kill me right away.’
I quickly slumped down, pretending to be weak, and croaked at Jeonggil with a dying voice.
“Jeonggil, I’ve always had a weak constitution...”
“...What?”
He looked at me like I was talking nonsense. I pressed on stubbornly.
“Being tied up like this all night wrecked my body. Can you untie me?”
“...U-untie you?”
“Yeah.”
Come on, if you’ve got a shred of decency, untie me. After being stuck in the same position all night, my back and legs were screaming.
“T-that’s...”
“You have to untie me so I can help you. Right?”
“I-I don’t think I can.”
‘You little shit.’
I barely stopped myself from snapping again.
“Why not?”
“Seokgyung-hyung said I had to keep you tied—”
“Are you seriously worried about Na Seokgyung right now? I told you I had God’s revelation. I told you you’re the protagonist, didn’t I? Who’s scarier, God or Na Seokgyung?”
“Wh-why are you yelling?”
‘Damn it. I was trying not to.’
My condition was so bad I couldn’t even talk smoothly. And using mana for the skill on top of it all was draining me fast. My mouth was dry, anxiety creeping in.
Jeonggil, who’d been nodding like a puppy just moments ago, was already cowed again after a few sharp words. I forced myself to rein in the irritation.
“No, I’m not yelling. I’m just asking you to untie me. Okay?”
“......”
Even being nice doesn’t work.
In my head, I felt the last fuse snap.
“Goddamn it, Jeonggil! Think! Should I still be tied up right now? Look—your boss said he’ll throw me into a Gate. If I die, you think you’ll live? Idiot.”
“You said you weren’t yelling!”
“I’m not yelling, you dumbass! I’m just telling you—untie me, you fuck!”
“Y-you sound like you’re yelling...”
He really wasn’t listening. Even with Agitation working, he couldn’t follow a simple instruction? Shaking against the ropes, I spat words at him like rapid-fire rap.
“You dumb motherfucker! Can’t you see I’m coughing blood here? If this keeps up, you’ll die too! You want to stay stuck in Infinite Guild? Fine, but when I die, you go report to Na Seokgyung, ‘Seo Jehyun’s dead,’ got it?” freewebnøvel.coɱ
“P-please don’t yell!”
“I told you I’m not yelling! Shit. If you can’t understand, of course my voice gets louder! How’s a protagonist supposed to let people die? Untie me already!”
“If... if I’m the protagonist, then you’re the supporting character. But why’s your personality like this?”
‘Should I just kill him?’
Anger boiled hot inside. Time was wasting, and any second the others could come back. I’d picked him because I thought an idiot would believe me more easily, but now his idiocy was backfiring.
“You’re not gonna untie me?”
Grinding my teeth, I glared at him. Finally, after fidgeting, Jeonggil seemed to make up his mind and gave a shaky nod.
“O-okay, I’ll untie you. But I really am the protagonist, right?”
“You’ve lived your whole life getting conned?”
“Uh... maybe? Kind of?”
...Too pathetic to even insult.
***
Thanks to Jeonggil finally cooperating, the ropes came loose. God, it felt so much better. Not that I could make a run for it just yet...
‘First, I need to check if Do Yehyun’s still alive.’
My wrists ached from the rope marks, and my whole body was stiff like I’d been beaten to death. Stretching my joints, I asked,
“Where’s the bathroom?”
“Why the bathroom?”
“What do you mean, why? Why do you go to the bathroom?”
“Oh...”
Leaving the idiot behind, I headed for it. Luckily, it was just a single stall. When Jeonggil tried to insist on coming in to “watch,” I called him a pervert and shoved him back outside.
I turned on the sink and shut myself in the stall.
“Hoo...”
My fingers were blue from the lack of circulation. I clenched and opened my fists to get blood flowing again, then fiddled with my watch to connect with Do Yehyun.
“Yehyun.”
The line was silent. Don’t tell me he was actually dead?
A dizzy wave hit me, and I leaned against the wall, slumping down.
“Yehyun, answer me.”
-......
“Do Yehyun, can’t you hear me?”
Damn... I raised my hand to punch the wall but stopped myself. No use wasting energy. With no sleep, my vision kept going black.
“Do Yehyun. Answer.”
-......
“Yehyun. You there?” freewēbnoveℓ.com
...Seriously? If it was going to be like this, might as well have reset from the start. I bit back the rising frustration and opened my mouth to call his name one more time when—finally—a reply came.
-...hear you.
...There we go.
‘He’s alive.’
I let out a short laugh and exhaled. My thoughts came in scattered bursts; I was running on fumes.
-Hyungnim, where are you? You didn’t come back last night...
“You’re not hurt?”
-Hurt? No, I’m fine.
“Good. That’s a relief.”
So these bastards really had kidnapped me as the target. The absurdity left me speechless. As I stayed silent, Do Yehyun asked again in a cracked voice.
-...Where are you?
“No idea.”
-What do you mean...?
“I’m not hiding anything. I really don’t know. Got dragged into some kidnapping mess, but I’m okay. Don’t worry. Where are you right now?”
-A kidnapping mess? What do you mean, who—? Wait, are you hurt?
“Don’t make me say it twice. Where are you?”
-At home. I went to SH building, but I came back quick in case you returned. But what you just said—
I almost clapped for him. So damn commendable. But there was no time for sentiment.
“Good job. Listen, things are urgent, so answer me straight. Where’s Joo Seowon?”
-He’s probably in his room.
“Alright. I’ll talk to him. Stay sharp.”
-Hyungnim, wait—
I cut the line and switched over to Seowon.
“Seowon.”
-......
“Answer me.”
-...Damn, this feels sketchy. I was lying down on my bed, man!
What the hell is he talking about? Ignoring his whining, I got straight to the point.
“Go to my room.”
-Why? And where the hell were you last night?
“I was kidnapped. Still am. Trying to get out. Just shut /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ up and go to my room.”
-What? Kidnapped? What kind of bullshit—
“Not repeating myself. It’s urgent. Go now, please.”
-Ah, shit... what the hell happened—no, this isn’t the time. Fine. Hold on, I’m on my way.
And sure enough, in just a moment he arrived, probably sprinting. Unlike Do Yehyun, he knew how to adapt. He swallowed his questions and focused.
That’s what made him a hunter targeted by both Damyeon and Cape Prime.
-I’m here. In your room now. What do you want me to do?
“Turn on my tablet.”
-It’s on. But there’s a password.
“Four zeroes.”
-Zero, zero, zero, zero... You’re gonna get hacked with that, you know.
“Shut it and open Contacts.”
-Done.
I didn’t have a concrete plan yet, but I had the outline of one.
‘Fight illegal with legal.’
