Seo Hayun's Trap
This quest is definitely connected to that man—or someone among those people.
The quest appeared the moment they showed up.
But a story difficulty increase?
If the white and black ones felt like sub-quests, this blue one has the weight of a main quest.
Which means failing it would raise the difficulty of every story from here on out?
That's going to be a real pain.
"Hey, Nail."
"Y-yes..?"
"Who's that guy?"
"Ah.. Kim Hyeonsu.. He's Seo Hamin's boyfriend... Though they both insist they're not.."
If he's the boyfriend, there are two possibilities.
Kim Hyeonsu's betrayal—or his death—would hit several times harder than anyone else's.
Betrayal carries more weight, but if I end up killing Kim Hyeonsu and that causes Seo Hamin to darken, I need to be careful.
"So you're saying Yebin was the one who planned it?"
"Yes."
As Kim Hyeonsu listened to the explanation of what had happened to Seo Hamin, his gaze shifted to Nail, who was crouching beside me.
"N-no! It's really not true!! I'm being framed, Hyeonsu oppa!!"
"What's there to be framed about?"
"I mean...! I had no choice! They told me to lure Seo Hayun outside without Seo Hamin knowing, so I had to do it! They threatened to rape me if I didn't listen!!"
Wow.. this woman is something else.
I'm standing right next to her, having heard every word she said, and Seo Hayun herself is standing right in front of her—yet she's putting on the world's most wronged face and spouting complete nonsense.
"You're seriously shameless! I heard everything—how can you tell such ridiculous lies?!"
"Seo Hayun!! You're the one lying! Hyeonsu oppa knows! Everyone knows! That those guys and I never got along! They're framing me!!"
"Why would I frame you?!"
"Then why are you only saying this now? We gave you plenty of chances to explain yourself."
"I kept saying it wasn't me!! And how was I supposed to tell the truth with the people who threatened to rape me standing right there?!"
Seo Hayun and Seo Hamin might be stronger, but Nail's way with words was far superior.
"Those people already confessed. That kind of excuse won't work anymore."
"Yeah, they confessed! That they did it because they wanted to screw Seo Hayun! But does that prove I planned it?! Literally those crazy pervert bastards planned it because they wanted to screw Seo Hayun!!!! I just did what I was told!! Hic... sob.. Why does nobody believe me... Why...! Hic... sob sob..."
I almost clapped for a second.
How is her acting this good?
"You killed them all.. sob.. Now there's no way to check if what I'm saying is true or fake because you killed them all.. hic..! And then you pin everything on me saying I did it.. sob.. What am I supposed to do...!!! Hic.. sob sob.."
I wasn't the only one impressed by Nail's acting reaching its peak.
"W-well, that is true..."
"If Yebin really was being threatened..."
"This time Hamin-ssi went a bit too far.."
"Too far?"
"O-of course I understand how she feels! Her little sister almost went through that—of course she'd be furious! But even so, killing people...."
"Right! So from now on, are we just going to kill anyone who does something wrong?!"
People's voices started rising.
But this wasn't simply because Nail's acting was that good.
Even when Seo Hamin first killed one of the three, people had shouted that this wasn't right, that she couldn't do this.
Killing someone just because they did something wrong wasn't something the people here would accept.
"Everyone, stop! That's enough."
"Hyeonsu oppa.. sob.. I'm really being framed... sob.. Don't just take Hamin's side—please consider my position too.. sob.."
"Alright, I got it."
"Hyeonsu-ssi!!"
"Hamin-ssi, no matter how serious the wrongdoing, killing people isn't okay. Let's not go that far."
"......"
"Three people are already dead. That's enough. Of course what happened to Hayun will leave a lifelong scar, but I think stopping here is the right thing to do."
"......"
"Hamin-ssi."
"....Yes, I understand.."
Wow. She actually survived.
Nail's pretty impressive, huh?
"Hayun, are you hurt anywhere?"
"No, oppa.. I'm fine... Nothing happened.."
"......"
"Oppa..?"
"It's nothing. I'm just glad you're safe. From now on, I'll make sure nothing like this ever happens again. I'll make it so. So let's forgive Yebin just this once."
"....Okay..."
After persuading Seo Hamin and then Seo Hayun in turn, Kim Hyeonsu turned his head to look at me, then walked over with deliberate steps.
"I'm Kim Hyeonsu."
"Kang Juhan."
We didn't shake hands.
Instead, an interrogating tone came through.
"Thank you for helping Hayun. But why did you take her with you?"
"It was mealtime."
"Excuse me?"
"In a situation where we can't even contact each other, if I didn't go back, my companions would obviously worry—so I took her with me for the time being. For me, reassuring my companions takes priority over bringing Seo Hayun back here."
"I see. Understood. Once again, thank you for helping Hayun. We'll handle the rest ourselves."
Get lost already.
He was wrapping that message up very politely.
But I didn't have any justification to stay and ignore Kim Hyeonsu's dismissal.
If I simply said I didn't want to leave, it would create friction with Kim Hyeonsu, and if things escalated into a physical confrontation, Seo Hamin might darken from seeing the person she likes get hurt by me.
Of course she wouldn't darken over something that minor—but there was no law saying an unreasonable situation couldn't unfold.
That was when it happened.
"W-wait!!"
Seo Hayun cried out urgently and came running over, throwing her arms around me.
"What the—why?!"
"No..!"
"......"
"Hayun!!"
Jaeyeol and Baek Sihyeon's voices, thick with despair. Kim Hyeonsu's face crumpling for a moment. And Seo Hamin's startled voice on top of that.
Having startled so many people, Seo Hayun spoke so everyone could hear.
"Thank you for saving me."
But that wasn't what Seo Hayun really wanted to say.
The words she whispered so quietly no one else could hear—those were what she truly wanted to tell me.
(1 a.m.)
With that simple, cut-to-the-chase message, I left the villa with Jaeyeol and Baek Sihyeon.
By the way, what are those two doing?
"Hey, hurry up! What are you whispering about?"
"......"
"......"
Instead of catching up, Jaeyeol and Baek Sihyeon lagged a little behind, muttering to each other, then stared straight at me before throwing their arms around each other's shoulders.
Seriously—in the webtoon these guys were itching to kill each other, and now they're arm-in-arm?
There's only one reason they're doing this.
Jaeyeol had his ten-year crush Nari stolen by me, and Baek Sihyeon witnessed me having sex with Yu Eunseol, whom he'd been crushing on for months.
They bonded over having their women taken by me.
But something's weird.
Why is it so quiet?
The white quest might not stack since this blue one is a righteous quest, but I figured if it were a black quest, it'd throw something perverted at me—like ordering a sister double-feature with Seo Hamin and Seo Hayun.
Anyway, what do I do from here.
To stop Seo Hamin from darkening, I need to stick close to her.
But if I just show up out of nowhere asking to stay together, they probably won't take me in—and if I stay separate, I won't be able to stop her from darkening no matter when something happens.
Ah, and that [???'s Darkening] I got as a penalty from the white quest—who the hell is that even referring to?
Seo Hayun, Seo Hamin, Kim Hyeonsu—they all looked completely fine.
Could there be more people connected to Seo Hamin's darkening who never appeared in the webtoon, the way Seo Hayun and Kim Hyeonsu hadn't?
Late past midnight, I carefully slipped out of the house to keep the 1 a.m. Seo Hayun had mentioned.
1 a.m.
She hadn't specified a place to come to, and it wasn't even clear whether she meant we should meet at that time.
Still, the reason I left the house at this hour was because it might be connected to the quest.
"Does Seo Hayun know something?"
Kim Hyeonsu could be the villain, and Seo Hayun might have called me because she knows his true nature.
Even after killing three people, Seo Hamin had enough faith and trust in Kim Hyeonsu's words to spare Nail.
So even if Seo Hayun said Kim Hyeonsu was a bad guy, Hamin might not believe her—which could be why she called me.
To show me Kim Hyeonsu's true face and ask me to kill him.
Of course, it might not be that.
This is just my speculation.
So to find out what 1 a.m. means, I first need to meet Seo Hayun.
But this is really not easy.
Crunch!!
I lured zombies with the sound of crushing a skull, then quickly ducked behind a dark building and slipped out the other side.
As stealthily as possible, making as much noise as I could far from the villa, I climbed over a high wall.
"Hoo..."
I let out a small, ragged breath and checked the time on a wristwatch I'd taken from a zombie.
12:50.
A distance that should've taken a little over ten minutes even while dealing with zombies had taken me over thirty.
But this isn't the place, is it?
Maybe she meant to meet at the building where we first met... no.
An artificial light flickered in a dark window, sending a signal.
I could tell which floor—but was she telling me to come inside?
Unsure, I waited a moment. Then the flickering light in the window vanished, and a few minutes later the closed villa entrance door cracked open slightly.
It was Seo Hayun.
Flick flick—
Seo Hayun wiggled her wrist, gesturing for me to hurry over, and I quickly approached the entrance.
"Why'd you call me here?"
(Shh..!)
"......"
(Come inside first.)
This might be a trap.
A trap to kill me for taking her virginity.
If everyone in this villa is waiting, determined to kill me.... I could rack up a lot of points, couldn't I?
Let's go in for now.
Even if Kim Hyeonsu and the men who arrived late are all stronger than Seo Hamin, I should at least be able to run away.
Step— step— step—
Step— step— step—
Without a word, we skipped the elevator and went up the emergency stairs.
A short while later, when we reached the floor where the light had flickered in the window, Seo Hayun carefully opened the slightly ajar front door and went inside.
When I didn't follow, she poked her head through the open crack and urged me on.
(Hurry.)
(What are you trying to do right now?)
(Come in and you'll find out.)
(......)
(If you're scared, just leave. Coward.)
(......)
She's baiting me again.
Fine. I've come this far—no reason not to go in.
Let's go in and find out why the hell she called me at this hour.
Grab—
I caught the door just before it closed, yanked it open, and stepped inside.
(Put your shoes in the shoe cabinet.)
(......)
She really has a lot of demands.
I put my shoes in the cabinet as told and followed Seo Hayun, who had already gone into the living room.
Then she raised her arm and pointed with her index finger in one direction.
(My sister's sleeping over there.)
(So?)
(So....)
Trailing off, Seo Hayun pressed her lips shut, lowered her head, and let me stare at the top of her head for a long while before lifting her face again.
And then.
"W-what are you doing here..! Mmph!!!"
(What are you doing..!!!)
"Mmmphhhhh!!!!!"
So it really was a trap?!