A Man Like a Blank Page
"Then I'll accept your hospitality. Thank you."
As vice guild master of [Baekya], Yoon Sia could hardly keep her pride from stinging. What on earth is with this guy...? She had disliked him from the very first impression. The sharp gaze, the air of quiet pressure that seemed to overpower everything around him — those certainly befitted the S-Rank number one. He was, after all, a man her own brother Yoon Sihyeon had deemed worthy of respect, so she had taken that much for granted.
But the scene that followed left her simply dumbfounded and furious. It was too rude, too low. All the man had asked for was a vehicle, a driver, and as much cash as they could spare. An S-Rank number one could earn more money than he knew what to do with — did he seriously not own a single car? And wanting a driver was no better. He looked every bit a healthy adult, yet here was the nation's top hunter who couldn't manage even one drive.
She felt pathetic for having been intimidated, even for a moment. He's a bigger nobody than I expected. I got tense over nothing. I feel like I got a raw deal. This was [Baekya] — a guild renowned the world over, South Korea's rank two. A giant capable of going toe-to-toe with [Geobhwa]. She had every confidence they could absorb demands far greater than this. And yet she had caught a glimpse of unmistakable disappointment in that man's eyes.
What could he possibly know...! This, from someone who couldn't even state his own name properly. The more she dwelt on it, the more veins stood out on Yoon Sia's forehead. Elegance and composure as vice guild master — that had always been her personal philosophy. But today, the limit of her patience arrived early.
"Is there really any need to look outside for a driver?"
Even when Yoon Sihyeon shot her a warning glance, Yoon Sia ignored it and stepped forward.
"As vice guild master of [Baekya], I will personally escort you anywhere. Just say the word. We can arrange not merely a vehicle but a private jet. We even own land overseas that we've developed into guild resorts, so how about a delightful trip to commemorate your retirement, Mumyeong-nim?"
At the torrent of words poured out without a single breath, Yoon Sihyeon raised a hand to stop her.
"Vice Guild Master. Please, calm down for a moment—!"
"What is there to be so flustered about, Guild Master? For [Baekya], granting a hundred — no, a thousand times whatever Mumyeong-nim asks for is nothing. We've come this far, so just say the word. We'll do anything at all."
Yoon Sia's runaway tirade showed no sign of stopping, and Yoon Sihyeon could not help but wear a troubled expression. Once the thread of her patience snapped, even her own brother found her difficult to rein in. But this was no time for that. Worried that his sister's behavior might set Mumyeong off, he glanced at the man.
Information on Mumyeong was scarce, but at the very least, this was a man who, if he put his mind to it, could kill him and his sister in this room with ease. Even from the mere fragments of power he had shown, Yoon Sihyeon's instincts as an S-Rank told him as much. That said, facing him in person, he did not seem the type to flare up or throw his strength around lightly.
First, Yoon Sihyeon turned to Mumyeong with an apology.
"I'm sorry. Our vice guild master lost her composure for a moment. I ask for your generous understanding."
"Did I say something wrong? Why are you bowing your head, Guild Master? If anything, you ought to say it proudly and to his fac—"
"...Yoon Sia!"
Startled, Yoon Sia snapped back to her senses at her brother's shout. Her face flushed as reason returned, but convinced she had done nothing wrong, she simply bit her lip and turned away.
"Haah..."
Mumyeong's only reaction was to press a hand to his forehead as though his head ached, and let out a long, deep sigh. Yoon Sihyeon could not help but read his mood. He had wanted, at the very least, to keep the initiative in the negotiation, but Yoon Sia's outburst had ruined it all. Taking pride in one's guild was no bad thing — but this had been a moment that demanded tact. The girl who never made such blunders in ordinary times had failed to endure an unforeseen situation and committed a serious mistake. He would give her a proper scolding later; for now, the conversation with Mumyeong mattered above all else. Things being what they were, he would have to bow first.
"We will prepare everything you've asked for immediately. For something of that scale, you needn't provide any information at all. Building a rapport with you, the S-Rank number one Mumyeong-nim — that alone is a more than modest price."
At his words, Mumyeong's gaze met Yoon Sihyeon's briefly before he spoke.
"As you would know if you watched the broadcast — I am a retired man."
Even at that line-drawing attitude, Yoon Sihyeon nodded and affirmed it.
"I understand. But if building closeness is driven purely by calculations of gain, then a genuine relationship can never form in the end. I only hope to remain on light, friendly terms with you, Mumyeong-nim — so I would like to close today's meeting here."
"I see."
After a moment lost in thought, he nodded his assent.
"Then I'll accept your hospitality. Thank you."
"Haha. Please, it's nothing. I'm the one who's grateful you accepted so readily. There's no need to feel burdened — rest assured."
It had been a brief meeting, and nothing substantial had come of it, but one thing was certain: a thread now connected them to Mumyeong. I was curious what on earth had happened inside the Tower... but there's no helping it. Before long, the raid results would lay the whole story bare. Yoon Sihyeon resolutely decided to write the entire affair off as an investment and moved on.
"You may wait in the VIP room until everything is ready. I'll show you there myself."
"Yes. Thank you."
By rights, this should have been Yoon Sia's task as vice guild master, but she had already made one large mistake, and there was no telling what fresh discourtesy she might commit if she tagged along. Making a good impression came first. And so Yoon Sihyeon headed for the VIP room with Mumyeong — leaving behind Yoon Sia, who watched them go with her lip caught between her teeth.
Seated on the plush sofa of the VIP room to which Yoon Sihyeon had guided me, I sank into thought. He had tried to strike up conversation on the way here, but I had ignored him and kept my silence. Even though I might well have offended him, he had simply worn a good-natured smile and let it pass. He truly was a kinder man than I had imagined. I could begin to understand why, in the original story, Yoon Sia praised her brother to the protagonist until her throat went dry.
Yoon Sia, is it... Closing my eyes, I turned the earlier scene over in my mind. One look had been enough to take their measure, and I had been unable to ask for what I'd originally intended. The proof lay in the fact that they knew not one thing about the protagonist. That meant, ultimately, that not even a thread connected them to the government or the Association — and an organization like that would have kept its distance from [Mugan] as well. In this world, where no one can afford to live clean.
Just how had they grown the guild to this size? Perhaps even that had been Seo Yeram's design. The very fact that South Korea's number two guild had no strings running to either the front of the world or the back left me dumbfounded. It wasn't guesswork — it was settled fact. Yoon Sia's expression alone had told me as much. And Yoon Sihyeon's bearing drove it home.
He was a man like a blank sheet of paper. Practically a lesser edition of the pushover protagonist. No wonder he was erased so easily. Legitimate means, upright methods, an honest face. Beautiful words. But in a world of power plays and the survival of the fittest, a noble heart is nothing more than poison.
As an aside: looking at Yoon Sia's arc in the original story, she ends up projecting her dead brother onto the protagonist as the two of them pursue revenge together. And there was a stretch of that narrative where, as her dependence deepened, her obsession grew uglier with it. Well, no matter. Things had drifted from my original aim, but I had come away with what I wanted at no loss.
Which left, in the end, only one destination: [Mugan], on the outskirts of Seoul. With no government ties and a guild master whose incorruptibility was plain at a glance, illicit help from [Baekya] was never going to happen. Sorry, [Baekya], but I would simply accept whatever goodwill they offered. Beyond that, I had no intention of meddling in [Baekya]'s affairs. From the start, my plan had been to keep them at arm's length — information only, a firm line drawn. If the need ever arose, I could hand them a warning or a piece of intelligence. Anything beyond that, I would refuse outright.
Besides, the original story was already warped from the moment I possessed this body. I had no intention of living through that storyline — the pushover protagonist betrayed, broken, and sealed away in a rift for ten years. I'd transmigrated right at the prologue, so if I had walked into that boss room as the script demanded, terrified that even a sliver of that current would carry me along, slipping away from the scene had been the best I could do. More than anything, I'd been dropped into this body with no preparation whatsoever; there simply hadn't been another choice to make.
If only I could rein in the protagonist's power at will. As things stood, I was nothing short of a calamity for everyone around me. I couldn't even do something as mundane as drive — that said it all. One careless flex of strength behind the wheel and the car would come apart. That, too, was why I'd asked for a driver.
Then again... the government and the Association won't just sit back and watch me roam free like this. Watching my retirement announcement and the path I'd walked since, they had to have sensed, at least in part, that I no longer behaved like the protagonist they knew. Perhaps an emergency meeting had already been convened and they were weighing their response. Maybe no conclusion had been reached — or perhaps they were simply waiting for [Geobhwa]'s raid to end. With so much already off the original rails, even I couldn't guess how or when it would come for me.
At the very least, I hope they stall for time until I can slip out toward the outskirts of Seoul... But that was, in the end, only what I wished for. A person has to plan for the worst if they want to keep their composure when it arrives. If a chase ever erupted in the middle of downtown — that would be the moment the S-Rank number one, the pushover of a protagonist, transformed into a calamity for the people to fear.
I am not the pushover the protagonist was. What came first, above all, was my own safety. Not that I desired destruction. Not that I desired killing. But if it became necessary — then it would be done. Quietly, as though brainwashing myself, I murmured the words again and again.