Mutual Recognition - 11
Kim Chaeyun simply couldn't accept the situation unfolding before her eyes.
"What is going on here?"
First off, they had captured him. They hadn't failed their objective. But setting that result aside, Shin Yeonhyeon and her group were in a state far beyond anything Kim Chaeyun had anticipated.
I thought they'd be worn down at least a little...
She had assumed they could at least cull Yeonhyeon's forces somewhat. With the plan in ruins, Chaeyun felt a thick wave of displeasure.
"As per your orders, we've captured Kim Sunwoo."
"I know. I can see that much with my own eyes. But could you explain why that man is wearing that kind of expression?"
Kim Sunwoo greeted her with a bright, innocent smile, waving hello with his eyes.
"Is there a problem?"
"A problem? You really think that's something to ask right now? He's grinning like he's on a damn pleasure cruise!"
"Was that the issue?"
Yeonhyeon glanced at Sunwoo.
"If it's not too much trouble, could you make your expression a bit stiffer?"
"Of course."
In an instant, Sunwoo's face shifted. It turned hard-boiled and dry, cold enough to bury a few bodies without a second thought. But expressions always carry context. No matter how grave his face appeared, the intent behind it was ridicule, not rage or humiliation.
"Explain. What the hell happened out there?"
"Kim Sunwoo surrendered. He promised to come quietly in exchange for letting his companions—Seohee and her old subordinates, plus the merchant—go free."
Sunwoo flashed a grin and nodded along.
"So you're saying you just let them go?"
"Seohee and her crew aren't weaklings."
Everyone knew it. Seohee's subordinates weren't pushovers, and her own combat prowess was nothing to scoff at.
"I figured there was a risk of losing the primary target, Kim Sunwoo, in a fight—or taking casualties we couldn't afford."
Chaeyun bit her lip hard. Yeonhyeon's excuse was infuriatingly reasonable, even if she didn't want to admit it.
"...They're not scheming anything weird, are they? Is he properly subdued?"
"His hands are tied tight, and we've dosed him with a level suppressant. He's no threat."
"Hmph..."
Chaeyun nodded reluctantly.
"Toss him in the prison for now. Come dawn, we'll figure out how to make use of him."
"Understood. Sunwoo-ssi, this way."
Yeonhyeon took hold of the rope binding Sunwoo and led him deeper into the base. Sunwoo followed obediently into the heart of the Seven Seed stronghold.
Ha...
Chaeyun watched him go with uneasy eyes. Things were veering off in a direction she hadn't intended.
Seohee and her subordinates—along with the merchant—trudged wearily along the road.
"What... do we do."
Blood still tainted her mouth, and her limbs trembled, but Seohee's subordinate felt none of the pain. He was warm. Not just because he was a man worth liking, but because she'd never experienced that kind of warmth before—it was inevitable.
He understood their circumstances. He didn't take their ugly crimes, their sins, lightly, but even so, he tried to empathize. He believed their word that they hadn't killed anyone. And beyond that, he'd shown mercy, understanding, even affection to the real culprit, the merchant, instead of judgment.
All of it, gone in a flash.
"Boss. We're not really ones to say this, but..."
"What?"
"That guy... is it right to just leave him behind?"
Her subordinates looked up at Seohee through pain-glazed eyes.
"He's one of us. Your master, right? So we can't just abandon him... right?"
Seohee snorted.
"We didn't abandon our master. He declared, 'I can't do shit with worthless fucks like you dragging me down, so get lost.'"
"What?"
"I'm the one who's pissed. I finally had a shot at smashing some Seven Seed skulls with my bat, and he cockblocked it."
"No way..."
"Master's strong. Way stronger than a punk like me. You lot? Might as well be ants yelling, 'We'll fight too!'—same difference."
Her subordinates recalled a forgotten past. The Seohee they'd thought would smash heads or at least put up a real fight—crushed in an instant, fucked like a dog.
"Yeah."
"Master can win on his own. Don't worry."
"You saying he did it for us? Surrendered on purpose?"
"Obviously."
Seohee knew Sunwoo well. That's why she took his choice for granted. But her subordinates couldn't accept it.
"Why the fuck... go that far for us?"
"That's just how he is. Get over it."
"What about you, boss? You almost died because of us. I don't get how you ended up his slave, but..."
"Huh?"
Seohee stopped in her tracks, as if the thought hadn't crossed her mind.
"Well... yeah, I'm pissed too. Wanted to kill the bastard. Couldn't even make the call at the end."
She smacked her bat against the ground.
"But y'know... when you get down to it, I'm no different."
No matter how vicious or evil someone was, compared to what she had tried to do to her master, it was child's play.
"But my master? He just let it slide. And that wasn't even the half of it."
Seohee's expression grew distant.
"When I was chained up like a worthless bitch, limbs half-crushed... my master carried me on his back. I begged him to kill me, but he told me to live."
"Romantic..."
"Then he hauled my useless ass through a zombie horde. Before Anseongu was safe, at night. Fuckers everywhere, and he sliced through 'em like a badass."
One of the biggest regrets in Seohee's life was not seeing what an epic face he must've made. One of her fondest memories was rubbing her face against his sturdy, powerful back and feeling it.
"Fucking cool, right? That's why... I know it's bullshit, but I wanna be like that guy."
Seohee knew it too. Mimicking him without his overwhelming power or heart was just a clumsy fake, hypocrisy at best. Still, she didn't want to give up. She wanted to resemble him, even a little.
"I wanna be like my master. Feel what he felt when he did that... experience it myself."
Even if it was all a lie, she didn't care. She just wanted to share that mindset, laugh and rejoice alongside him.
"That's it."
Seohee flashed a relieved smile. But her twisted subordinates were too warped to bask in its beauty.
"Boss, hate to say it, but..."
Realizing the situation wasn't dire, their playful sides emerged.
"What?"
"This feels kinda like an NTR cliché, y'know?"
"The fuck you talking about."
"We thought the guy's OP level meant he'd never lose! Then bam, hostage drama or poison, and he's nabbed..."
"You fucking psycho?"
"Nah, I know it's bullshit! Just in case—"
Seohee gave a dumbfounded, hollow smile.
"You fucking bitch."
"Why?"
To them, "you fucking bitch" was just a greeting. So they missed her rage entirely.
"I said I wanna feel what my master's going through, right?"
"Yeah."
"And look, perfect material's right in front of me. Whaddya think?"
"Huh?"
Seohee hefted her bat high.
"Wanna know what carrying a crippled-legged fuck feels like."
"W-wait! Calm down! I-I won't use my legs. Promise—"
"No sincerity, you piece of shit!"
She swung. Her subordinate, who moments ago was fine, crumpled limply to the ground.
"Ow, fuck! Hit bone. This shit hurts!"
"That's the point!"
"Keep this up, I really won't walk again!"
"We got a top-notch doc! Don't sweat it—we'll fix ya!"
"Aaaargh!!!"
A brief commotion ensued. Seohee hoisted the man onto her back and headed back to base. Warm, heartfelt smiles played on everyone's lips—except the one slung over her shoulder.
Yeonhyeon paced anxiously around the prison.
She'd succeeded in bringing him in. She'd even safely sent off the rest, just as he'd wanted.
Still, she couldn't help feeling down.
With a heavy sigh, she unlocked the cell door.
"...Ah, is it pill time already?"
He greeted her with that same bright smile, oblivious to the grim fate awaiting him. He'd be violated over and over, treated like the faction's public sex slave—or simply killed. The base he'd built would crumble. All because of Seven Seed's desires.
"I'm sorry..."
It was an order. For the good of Seven Seed.
But her actions had inflicted too much harm on this man. His radiant smile kept stabbing at Yeonhyeon's conscience.