LATEST UPDATES

Published at 17th of August 2022 06:01:15 AM


Chapter 9

If audio player doesn't work, press Stop then Play button again




Ha Hyun Seo tried to hug me, but shrank at the voice from behind him. Ha Hyun Seo’s sparkling eyes lost their light, turning sullen.

“Noona…”

“You can’t do that. Apologies, Master.”

Ha Eun Seo, Ha Hyun Seo’s older sister, shuddered and held Ha Hyun Seo in her arms. She was timid and weak, but she was courageous, too.

What do I do?

Ha Eun Seo was desperate to protect Ha Hyun Seo from me. She was trembling with fear, avoiding my eyes.

“It’s nothing. You didn’t do anything wrong, so you don’t need to ask for forgiveness.”

“…”

“See you later, Hyun Seo.”

“…Yes, Hyung.”

Ha Hyun Seo gazed at his sister until he finally answered. As I passed the two of them and went outside, I saw a tidy garden.

This mansion is really big.

One floor alone seemed to be about 500 pyeong1. It’s a four-story building… It was too big to live in alone. Ki Yoon Jae had lived with his father, who was currently abroad… but it was still too big.

Only his father? What about his mother?

Come to think of it, does Ki Yoon Jae have any other family? At the thought of it, I searched my memory, but nothing came to mind. Strangely, the more I tried to think of it, the dizzier I became.

“Ah…”

My body wobbled and I tried to support myself on the nearby railing. I was floundering my arms, but my hands missed their target. I closed my eyes tightly, thinking that I would get hurt badly while my body collapsed toward the railing… Then, someone hugged me tightly.

“Are you all right?”

“Uh?”

When I opened my eyes to the smell of a deep oak, I could see a broad, strong chest. As I raised my head and looked up, I was met with a handsome man with a sharp jawline.

“Kwon Jae Hyuk…”

“You won’t even call me ‘Hyung’ anymore?”

Kwon Jae Hyuk lifted me up with a chuckle. Then, he easily put me down on a bench in the shade.

“…Thank you.”

“So, are you feeling okay? You said you were sick… it must have been true. You almost collapsed.”

Kwon Jae Hyuk reached out and stroked my head. I tried to avoid it, but my body didn’t move. Ki Yoon Jae and Kwon Jae Hyuk’s relationship seemed more intimate than I thought.

I knew that he cared enough to try convincing Ki Yoon Jae until the very end.

But… ‘Hyung’?

He called him, ‘Hyung’? Ki Yoon Jae? Ki Yoon Jae was a wildcat to everyone. I think he behaved politely to the people in his family, but… It didn’t fit his pointed personality to call an orphan his ‘Hyung.’  Ki Yoon Jae wasn’t even Kwon Jae Hyuk’s relative.

‘…It seems like my memories aren’t one-to-one here.’

There was a big difference between the Kwon Jae Hyuk in Ki Yoon Jae’s memory, that is, the man -I- know, and the Kwon Jae Hyuk that Ki Yoon Jae -actually- knows. Besides, memories of his mother seemed to have been erased too. Just by looking at these two facts, I could see that Ki Yoon Jae’s memory, which I assumed was perfect, was missing big pieces.

I don’t have any false memories… But there are memories that have been erased or hidden.

It was God who connected his memory to mine, and he would not have mixed false memories that would end up hurting me. It would have been easier to let me die when I tried revealing my identity to Ha Hyun Seo.

“Yoon Jae?”

“Huh? Oh… I’m a little dizzy…”

Kwon Jae Hyuk’s voice calling for me brought me out of my deep thoughts. I didn’t say why exactly I felt dizzy, I just cited it as the reason.

With that said, Kwon Jae Hyuk sat down next to me, covered my cheeks with his big hands, and wiped my face with his thumb.

“Don’t. Get. Sick.”

“…”

“Take care of yourself and your health. I’m always on your side. You know that, right?”

I clenched my teeth at his voice full of concern. -Could- he be on my side? Even if he was on Ki Yoon Jae’s side, he won’t be on mine.

I have to be careful with Kwon Jae Hyuk.

I tried to be careful before too, but the two are closer than I realized. Although my heart was shaken by his sincere concerns, I must not be deceived by his kindness.

Because his kindness was not towards me.

* * *

After that meeting, I went around diligently and met with Ki Yoon Jae’s gifted people.

I was a little worried because we would betray each other in the future, but in reality, we didn’t seem to have a bad relationship yet.

If I could be a little more likable here… Would they betray me later? 

I had a thought.

But how do I find those incomplete memories?

I couldn’t tell if the incomplete memory was God’s mistake or if it was deleted because He didn’t want me to know. It may be the latter, but I felt I had to find out, somehow.

There might be some important information there.

The relationship with Kwon Jae Hyuk that I hadn’t seen in the book… little things like that.

But I had a problem: getting around.

Ki Hyun Joo…

Ki Hyun Joo held a position similar to my personal secretary, so she was watching my every move. Unlike other gifted people who have contract constraints, Ki Hyun Joo had not signed said contract.

Although, it was because it was a ‘blood relationship’, but blood ties were not very reliable restrictions for me, who knew the future.

So, I didn’t want to give her a flimsy excuse. Personally, I could’ve had my entourage do their work without her, but I wasn’t sure if they’d keep the secret.

I need a separate pair of hands and feet.

I needed someone who would listen to me and follow my orders.

What kind of person would be good? …If I were to make them do this and that for me, someone who works in the dark would be better than someone who works in the light…

But no one came to mind. Even with my own outside knowledge of the original plot and Ki Yoon Jae’s memories, I couldn’t think of anyone.

Nevertheless, I did not intend to use an Errand Center or Private Agency. I couldn’t trust them, plus the person I was looking for must be gifted in order to work among gifted people.

But most gifted people… Are in my guild.

The remuneration offered by the guild was considerable. I had to assume that no one would want to, or be able to, abandon those conditions and work in a private agency. Even if there was, they may not have voluntarily avoided joining the guild, but were instead filtered out for their weak strength.

This is frustrating.

Ki Yoon Jae’s life outside the book was a free one. That’s the original reason why I thought he was being such an ass before…

In the original story, he refused to accept Ki Hyun Joo as his ally, so Ki Yoon Jae’s life lost it’s freedom.

Everything seems to be monitored… So uncomfortable and frustrating.

Everything is done through Ki Hyun Joo. Every single thing I did was reported back to her. It was uncomfortable and reluctant to realize, but I could not control Ki Hyun Joo.

She was not hired by me, but sent by my grandfather, Ki Jae Mu.

What Ki Hyun Joo did was helpful to Ki Yoon Jae, but it didn’t help me at all.

I need some air.

I wanted to leave this house. No. Actually, I wanted to run away. If I ran away instead of living the life of Ki Yoon Jae, I wouldn’t have to worry like this.

But that would be difficult, and I wanted to get out of this house for a while.

So, I got up and left the room. I walked down the hallway to the first floor, opened the front door, and went outside. As I crossed the garden and went to the front door, I had a troubled face.

Where’s the exit?

I tried to leave, but I couldn’t figure out how. How do you call a car?

…It’s because Ki Hyun Joo would always do this.

I didn’t know who to ask other than her because Ki Hyun Joo would do it before I even told her to.

What can I do here without her?

It seemed impossible no matter how much I thought about it. Someone behind me called out to me while I was staring at the gate foolishly.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

I turned around, and it was Jung Yi Joon. He stood there with his arms crossed, and looking me up and down as if he was wondering what I was doing here.

…Does he know how to leave? I opened my mouth with a little anticipation.

“Uh, I want to go out…”

“What?”

Jung Yi Joon stood there, stupefied. As soon as he understood what I meant though, he frowned.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“But…”

“It’s been less than a month since you were attacked.”

Jung Yi Joon suddenly approached me and grabbed my head tightly with both hands.

“Are you thinking straight? Huh?”

“Ugh!”

I had no choice but to shake my head along with his clenched hands. Jung Yi Joon had big hands, which only allowed him to have a strong, stable grip on my head. I couldn’t get away from him.

“Sto, stop…”

“Why don’t you just stick out your nose and ask me to kill you? Since you’re so fearless!”

“Stop it!”

I stretched my arms out and hugged Jung Yi Joon tightly.

It was hard to calm him down while his body kept shaking, so I hugged Jung Yi Joon’s body, which was closest to me.

Jung Yi Joon, who had been shaking me, stopped. The pressure from both his hands pressing into my head was relieved, and I held him tighter.

However, I could hear Jung Yi Joon’s thumping heart. His heart beat so hard that I could feel its thumping on my cheek that touched his chest.




Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!


COMMENTS