Chapter 6
“N-no, I, back then… I-I didn’t know he would die… h-he was still breathing then.”
Watching Seungmin stammer out excuses like a madman, Yeonsu knew she had hit her mark. She could never win against him in a physical fight, but if she could shatter his composure, she might create an opening to escape. With that in mind, Yeonsu desperately focused her ability, reading the man’s memories. In that instant, she saw Hwang Seungmin at a loss, caught in a hit-and-run incident unknown to the public. Reading the guilt on his face in the memory, Yeonsu instinctively brought it up. Provoking a man with nothing to lose was a gamble for her, too.
Please, please let this work.
Yeonsu swallowed hard and spoke in a scathing tone, though the end of her words trembled faintly.
“Leaving him there on a night like that… isn’t that the same as leaving him to die? Later, when you heard he was dead… how did you feel? Relieved, right? Because the only witness and victim was gone.”
As Yeonsu provoked him, she slowly turned the handle. The cold touch of the metal sent a shiver down her spine.
Seungmin mumbled an excuse. “N-no! I was going to report it! But I was… so…”
The man, his judgment clouded by alcohol, looked just as lost as he had standing in the middle of that accident scene.
“You were drunk, weren’t you?” Yeonsu cut him off.
His eyes darting about nervously, he lowered his head and continued his excuses. “Uh, ah… really, just a little, it was just a little…”
Just then, as if snapping back to his senses, Seungmin whipped his head around and glared at Yeonsu. Her eyes had turned gold. Even without knowing how her ability was activated, Seungmin knew what it was, and he finally realized she had been toying with him using his own memories.
“Y-you fucking bitch! You read my mind again! I’m gonna fucking kill you!”
Seungmin pulled a pocket knife and pointed it at her. The tip aimed at her throat trembled with rage. At the same time, Yeonsu threw her weight against the door. Click. It flew open, and she practically tumbled out into the hall.
“Stop right there!”
Seungmin burst out after her, stumbling for a moment on the hallway carpet before charging. Though slowed by alcohol, the physically superior Seungmin quickly closed the distance.
“Haa, haa, hh…”
Yeonsu’s breathing came in ragged gasps, blurring her vision. She could hear Seungmin’s curses right behind her. Biting the inside of her cheek hard to swallow a sob, she ran, and the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth.
“You filthy mutant bitch, how dare you!”
The man swung his arm, trying to grab her long hair as it billowed just out of his reach.
“You fucking bitch, I said stop!”
The enraged voice was right behind her. At this rate, she would be caught any second. Just then, her eyes caught sight of a hotel room door that was slightly ajar. Without a second thought, she dove inside. Almost simultaneously with the sound of the lock engaging, fists began pounding on the door, accompanied by Seungmin’s shouts.
“Fuck, come out!”
“Haa, haa, hah…”
Leaning against the door to catch her breath, Yeonsu’s sweat-soaked face turned pale with the terror seeping in from the other side. The violent vibrations slammed against her back. Tears she had been holding back finally welled up in her shimmering golden eyes. She wiped them away roughly with her sleeve.
“Haa, haah… hic.”
It felt as if Seungmin would break down the door at any moment and charge straight for her. As she continuously wiped away the tears and backed away from the door, a voice spoke.
“Well, now.”
The leisurely voice, completely at odds with the commotion outside, came from behind her. Her retreating back bumped into something solid.
“I don’t recall calling for a woman.”
The rough sobs bursting from Yeonsu’s lips stopped abruptly. A shiver ran through her entire body.
“I believe you have the wrong room.”
Yeonsu slowly turned her head to face the man behind her. He looked down at her, his expression one of mild surprise.
“…Or maybe not.”
The man’s eyes shone from behind his gold-rimmed glasses as he smiled meaningfully. His hand reached out and tucked a strand of her disheveled hair behind her ear. A tear that had pooled in her vivid golden eyes trickled down her cheek. Startled by the stranger’s touch, Yeonsu reflexively took a step back. The man raised his arms, palms open, as if to show he meant no harm.
With his cool features, he exuded a mysterious aura. She had fled into this place in a hurry, but she had a feeling she had stumbled into somewhere even more dangerous.
To the still-tense Yeonsu, the man asked gently, “Are you being chased?”
“…Pardon?”
“Him, outside.” The man gestured with his head toward the still-noisy door.
She answered hesitantly, “W-well, that’s…”
“Hmm. It’s too loud to talk. Shall I get rid of him for you?”
Before Yeonsu could find an answer, the man walked past her. Seeing him grasp the doorknob, she cautiously spoke up.
“Ah, excuse me…”
The man looked back, waiting for her to continue. His casual demeanor somehow eased her fear. It felt as though this man could really handle Hwang Seungmin, a man she had been helpless against. She didn’t have many memories of receiving kindness from others. She should have been suspicious, but instead she felt relieved and believed she could trust him. Or maybe she was just desperate to trust anyone right now.
Yeonsu whispered, “That man… he has a knife.”
“Aha.”
“P-please… be careful…”
The man’s eyes held the same inexplicable kindness as before. “Thank you for telling me.”
He gave her a playful nod and a slight smile. It was a smile filled with favor, not the disgust and contempt she had received from Seungmin.
“Hide. This will only take a moment.”
Yeonsu gave a small nod and hid herself deeper inside the room. As the man opened the door, Hwang Seungmin stood before him, his eyes glittering with rage and madness.
“Who the hell are you?!”
As Seungmin tried to enter the room to find Yeonsu, the man blocked his path. “This is my room.”
Yeonsu’s fingertips trembled at the sound of Seungmin’s voice, and she clasped her hands tightly. The raw killing intent emanating from him felt like it could pierce her at any moment.
“And that’s my line, isn’t it? What are you doing in someone else’s room, holding a weapon?”
“What?”
It was Seungmin who was flustered, seeing the man speak so calmly, completely unintimidated by the knife.
“D-don’t you see this? Cut the crap, I saw that mutant bitch run in here, so stop bullshitting! Where’d you hide her?!”
Mutant was a common slur for ability users. Hearing it, the man’s eyes turned cold for an instant. His smile vanished, his face becoming ruthless.
“Your trespassing might be written off as a mishap, but that comment crosses a line.”
“Wh-what?”
The man’s sudden chilling atmosphere overwhelmed Seungmin. He slowly took off his glasses as he spoke, his eyes glowing red.
“Because I’m a mutant, too.”
“What the hell, another ability user? You’re with her?”
Seungmin took a few steps back, swinging the knife haphazardly. But swept up in the man’s aura, his momentum was broken, and he was no longer as threatening as before.
“I-it’s a felony for an ability user to use their powers on a normal person. My life’s already fucked, so you can go down with—!”
Seungmin was on high alert. To run into two rare ability users of all people, even in his drunken state, he sensed the danger and, keeping the knife pointed at the man, fumbled in his clothes for his phone. He was dialing 112. Or rather, he was trying to.
“Stop.”
He was too stunned to speak.
As the word fell, Seungmin’s movements ceased abruptly. His eyes contorted in disbelief. When he tried to force his body to move, it only trembled as if bound by an invisible force.
“Calling the police?”
With a leisurely gait, the man closed the distance Seungmin had created. Seungmin watched the approaching man with terrified eyes. He wanted to run, but his body, bound by something unknown, wouldn’t obey his will. As the man drew closer, the emotions that had filled Seungmin’s eyes slowly drained away. Soon, with an unfocused gaze, he stood helplessly, his arms hanging limp at his sides.
“Go ahead. Call them.”
The man, now standing right in front of the docile Seungmin, whispered something in his ear. “All right?”
At the man’s words, Seungmin nodded blankly.
“Then you can go now.”
After watching Seungmin stumble down the hallway, the man closed the hotel room door. The commotion from moments ago vanished as if it had never happened.
“You can come out.”
Yeonsu cautiously stepped out from behind a pillar. The words she had just heard were weighing on her mind. She wondered if he was really an ability user like her. It was hard to believe; he was so different in appearance and personality from any she had ever encountered.
“How on earth…”
“Trade secret.” The man smiled playfully and put his glasses back on. Through the lenses, his eyes were still glowing red.
