Chapter 47
Chapter 47
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 47
Chapter Title: Geon-ju (2)
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If I'd known this was coming, I should've smoked cigarettes at some point, pulled all-nighters more often, and trashed my lungs and eyes in the process. So that even if someone tried to sell my organs on the black market, they'd mutter, "Nah, this guy's no good."
My current body was perfect for illicit dealings. I'd taken such good care of it for my own benefit, and now it was doing someone else a favor.
Blink. Blink.
Right after snapping back to consciousness, amid a wave of regrets, my vision flickered. Just like a dying lightbulb sputtering out.
I tried to focus my hazy sight, steady my mind, and move, but my hands and feet clattered awkwardly. Checking, I saw they were tightly bound to a chair. My mouth felt stuffy too—probably taped shut—making me grimace. It was an undeniable kidnapping and confinement scene.
At any rate, I'd been snatched up like this, so I figured I'd wake up on some shrimp boat, helpless at sea. Fortunately, no waves crashed in my ears.
Instead, a stranger sat before me.
A man holding pliers stained dark with blood.
A chill raced across my skin in an instant.
In that split second, dozens of crime thrillers I'd watched flashed through my mind. A scene from one of those movies I'd viewed without much feeling was unfolding right in front of me.
I tore my gaze from the bone-chilling tool and faced forward. Finally, with my attention no longer on the pliers, Geon-ju's eyes locked onto the man's face clearly.
'...'
If this weren't a kidnapping and he weren't the culprit, I might've let out a short gasp.
His hood pressed it down a bit, but it couldn't hide that face. Cat-like upturned eyes, skin pale as if it had never seen sunlight, subtly bluish-black irises, and even a beauty mark beneath one eye.
The delicate, slender lines made him strikingly beautiful. We clearly had the same basic features—eyes, nose, mouth—yet his unique aura gave an oddly alien impression.
Forgetting he was my kidnapper, I stared, and a familiar feeling stirred. The energy emanating from him felt all too recognizable. It wasn't something I'd forget easily, so I realized who he was in a heartbeat.
It was that man.
The one from the center, face armed with a mask and sunglasses.
I hadn't seen his bare face before, so I hadn't matched it right away, but his aura confirmed it.
So that eye contact back then wasn't my imagination.
What rotten luck.
I should've bolted from the center and gone straight home instead of letting my guard down.
I berated myself for brushing it off as a mistake and sticking around to finish my business. My gut feelings had always been eerily accurate, so this blunder felt idiotic.
I'd been curious about the face under the mask, but not like this. Unwanted reunion in tow, Geon-ju with wide eyes pulled himself together. His mind was a mess, but he had no time to wallow in confusion. He needed to figure out why he'd been kidnapped before the torment began.
I had no ties to crime, so whatever the reason, the fact he hadn't killed me outright meant he had business with me.
I didn't particularly crave a long life, but I didn't want to die at the fresh age of twenty-two either. If I hadn't finished my military service just six months ago—or awakened and filed for a leave of absence a few days back to finally make some real money—it might've stung less.
I didn't believe in ghosts, but dying like this would leave me too resentful to ascend peacefully.
Play my cards right, and he might let me go once his business was done.
They say you can survive a tiger's den if you keep your wits. Bracing myself with "come at me," I waited for the kidnapper's words. But the dangerous aura radiating from him led to an unexpected remark.
"Pretty boy."
My resolve crumbled in an instant. First shock hit, then the follow-up floored me again.
"Wanna come under me?"
Or die, if not.
After kidnapping me, he said it so casually. He even wiggled the pliers lightly, as if signaling, "If I wanted, I could end you anytime."
And that was true.
What resistance could I muster, bound hand and foot?
I'd awakened as a B-rank hunter, stronger than most, but only against lower-rank awakeners or civilians.
The man before me was clearly high-rank.
And very accustomed to killing.
His voice echoed briefly in my ear—"Join or die"—making my bound hands twitch behind the chair. I tested the ropes, but they were tied so tight that a slight twist left my wrists raw and aching.
No escaping. Realizing that, I mulled his words. "Come under me" suggested he ran some organization.
A gang?
The burly guy nearby called him "hyungnim," so maybe organized crime. Or a drug cartel. Whatever it was, it wasn't legit.
He seemed far too comfortable with kidnapping and killing for that.
Essentially, he was recruiting me into crime. No way out, so I eyed him warily. Noticing my taped mouth late, he told the guy beside him to free me.
Rough hands ripped off the tape. It'd been on a while—my lips stung fiercely.
Only then did I realize how air-starved I'd been. My breaths came heavy, chest heaving as I gulped air and slowly exhaled. He fixed me with a persistent stare, as if demanding an answer now.
Twitch.
The tool in his hand moved again. It screamed, "Wrong answer, and your head's done."
Showing fear would be like offering myself up to be devoured, so I calmed my pounding heart. Our silent standoff stretched, and his eyes narrowed.
Delaying further seemed risky, so without rushing, I paused briefly and asked to have my other limbs freed too. He obliged readily, as if daring me to struggle.
Too easy—my fight drained away. His leisurely tone asked if I was ready to answer now; I swallowed a hollow laugh.
What was the point of waiting for my reply?
Refuse, and I'd die by pliers right here.
The answer was obvious. Demanding it anyway felt like a cruel game. Then—
A flicker of impatience crossed his face. So brief I'd miss it if I blinked, but I caught it.
Impatient?
Why?
My thoughts, which had raced even after a heavy blow to the head, accelerated again. Recalling the kidnappers' attitudes since I woke, Geon-ju arrived at a hypothesis after much deliberation and bit his lip hard.
To stifle laughter.
Not from joy or amusement, but absurd, baffling incredulity.
Why?
A massive question mark etched into my brain. Staring at him incomprehensibly, he—who'd awaited my answer—suddenly narrowed his eyes, as if weighing something.
"What's your goal?"
Harboring my hypothesis, I asked. He replied with the laughable excuse of "talent scouting."
Instinct told me.
That wasn't the goal—it was a means to one.
I needed his true purpose. So I pressed, trading words back and forth. When I said I'd join the guild, I saw faint relief in him. It fueled my suspicions.
And this was just about recruitment?
I knew I was exceptional. The awakening center manager praised me endlessly, and friends noted my rapid growth. But compared to other newbies only.
Who'd believe a massive guild leader personally recruited someone awakened just seven days ago?
Night Rat, no less.
The brutal crime guild constantly on everyone's lips.
Recruitment couldn't be the sole aim.
Something more crucial.
Something making even the Night Rat leader anxious.
That unknown sparked primal curiosity.
Two certainties:
He needed me.
Thus, he wouldn't kill me.
That was enough. My gut vouched for it, soothing my rattled nerves from the sudden abduction. No death threat meant clearer thinking, regained composure, and facing him calmly.
Kwon Sa-yoon.
The Night Rat leader's name, unknown to the world.
Learning it thrilled me, like I'd gained an edge. I wondered how it'd feel uncovering why he truly needed me—the secret he hid.
If that's what drives you so desperately, could knowing it put me on equal footing?
Power never interested me much, but now it tempted. A once-in-a-lifetime chance in hand—I had to seize it.
To see the Night Rat leader's reaction when I exposed his secret.
And the rewards that followed.
First, uncover the purpose he concealed from me.