Chapter 79
Chapter 79
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 079
Chapter Title: Kang Haneul's Secret (2)
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Yeon-sim's Cherry Blossoms.
One of the two special privileges granted to me after possessing this world.
I couldn't just tell Su-ho oppa the truth about its nature. There's no way he'd believe me if I suddenly said he was a character in a novel, that this world was a novel, and that I came from the outside world.
It would be great if I could gloss over it without explaining, but they'd gone to the trouble of setting up this private spot, so that wasn't an option.
In other words, I had only one choice.
From now on, I had to lie to oppa.
And not just any lie—a meticulously crafted, believable one that would convince him.
I didn't want to lie to oppa, but I had no choice.
Yeah.
It couldn't be helped.
"That ability—"
I took a deep breath, swallowing the heavy tension rising in my chest, and met oppa's eyes.
As calmly as possible. As naturally as possible.
To deceive him, I began reciting the series of lies I'd prepared in advance.
"...That ability came from a talisman."
"What?"
"I got the talisman the day before the entrance ceremony."
Oppa’s expression gradually filled with shock at my steady words. But I just continued calmly, laying out the fabricated story.
The lie I'd prepared.
It was borrowed from the circumstances of how this world's original protagonist, Ryu Tae-hyun, obtained his talisman.
The details about Ryu Tae-hyun's talisman came up long after I dropped [Age of Superhumans]. But my younger brother, who was still keeping up with the latest chapters unlike me, had casually mentioned it, so I knew the gist.
Ryu Tae-hyun received the talisman from a Dawn Legion traitor the day before the entrance ceremony. To be precise, he was just asked to hold onto it for a day. But the traitor never reappeared, so Ryu Tae-hyun ended up claiming the now-ownerless talisman for himself.
That was the story behind Ryu Tae-hyun's talisman—and the core of the lie I was telling Su-ho oppa right now.
'The chances of Su-ho oppa knowing about Ryu Tae-hyun's talisman are practically zero.'
It was a near-certain guess. Because that's how it was in the original story.
The tale of the talisman remained shrouded in mystery all the way up to around chapter 200, when I quit [Age of Superhumans]. In other words, at this point in time, either no one knew Ryu Tae-hyun's circumstances, or very few did.
And the odds of Su-ho oppa being one of those 'very few' were minuscule.
The Dawn Legion was the deepest shadow organization in all of Korea. There was no way a mere Security Force member like Su-ho oppa would know their inner workings.
'In short, this lie will never be exposed.'
With near-100% certainty, I double-checked the possibilities once more.
In the original, Ryu Tae-hyun never told anyone about the talisman's secret. Even if someone noticed the talisman on him, he kept the acquisition story completely under wraps. So the chance he'd personally told Su-ho oppa was low.
And I couldn't imagine oppa uncovering it through some other means. How would he know about something that happened in the depths of the underworld?
Yeah. No way it'd be found out.
With that thought, I shifted my mind to the next step. I anticipated questions oppa might ask and reviewed my answers.
'For most questions, I can just say I don't know. Ryu Tae-hyun received the talisman without knowing any details either. It's better to stick to ignorance than to clumsily provide info based on original knowledge—'
"Haneul."
At that moment, lost in thought, Su-ho oppa asked softly.
"Is everything you just said true?"
"...Pardon?"
The suspicion flickering in oppa’s eyes made me respond with a flustered look.
"True? What do you mean...?"
Something was wrong. I felt it instinctively.
I could understand questions about the details. But asking if the story was true? That question could only come from someone who already doubted me.
In other words, oppa doubted my words.
'Why?'
Was it just too outlandish? Did he simply not believe it and ask to confirm?
For a split second, I thought that, but the suspicion in oppa’s eyes wasn't that kind. From his gaze, his voice, his demeanor, the aura he gave off—I knew instinctively.
"No way... You think I'm lying...?"
Su-ho oppa was doubting me.
Doubting whether I was lying.
The instinct that flashed up rang an alarm in my mind.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "No way... You think I'm lying...?"
Yeah. That's exactly what I think.
I barely swallowed the words rising to my throat. Forcing a flustered expression, I observed Kang Haneul's demeanor.
Kang Haneul's new ability.
The mysterious power that unlocked the target's latent potential.
She explained its origin as a talisman. And the circumstances of how she got it were almost identical to how Ryu Tae-hyun obtained his in the original.
There were minor differences—like Ryu Tae-hyun meeting Ji Ye-won by the lake while she met her betrayer in an alley—but the basic framework was the same.
Because it was the same, I couldn't believe her.
Because it was the same, suspicion arose.
'What the hell is going on?'
Whenever something happened that I didn't know about—something off from the original—I usually chalked it up to that bastard Pleasure Heavenly Demon. Either he'd changed it directly, or it was a butterfly effect from his changes.
But even so, wasn't this too much?
He'd shoved the talisman—a core element of the original that should've gone to the protagonist—into my hands. I thought that was it, but turns out Ryu Tae-hyun had an identical one too. And now Kang Haneul claims she got the same thing from a Dawn Legion traitor on the exact same day.
'It's contrived.'
Too contrived to pass as truth.
I couldn't imagine the Pleasure Heavenly Demon plotting the story this sloppily. Sure, he was petty, but he had pride in his narrative. He wouldn't tolerate contrived developments like this... or so I thought, but on the other hand, to screw me over, what wouldn't that guy do?
'Right now, there are two possibilities.'
One: Kang Haneul is telling the truth, and for some reason, she got a talisman just like Ryu Tae-hyun did the day before the entrance ceremony.
Two: Kang Haneul is lying to me for some reason. In that case, she somehow learned how Ryu Tae-hyun got his talisman and borrowed those details for her lie.
I glanced down at my leather gloves, hiding my own talisman. Then at Kang Haneul's hands, neatly folded on her lap. No ring on her fingers, at least.
"A talisman would be some kind of accessory on you, right? Mind showing it?"
"Sure."
At my question, Kang Haneul lifted her left hand and brushed her side-swept hair behind her ear.
-Sparkle.
A small earring glinted faintly within.
She revealed an earring shaped like a tiny disc with a blue gem embedded in the center and said,
"This earring is the talisman."
Seeing that earring plunged me into even greater confusion.
Did she always have that? I don't know. She always covered her ears with her side-swept hair. Was it a way to hide the talisman? Or did she pick an earring because it's something she could wear in a spot usually hidden, for the sake of her lie?
The color is blue, same as Ryu Tae-hyun's. But just because the gem is blue doesn't make it a talisman.
Can I verify it? How? Once a talisman is bound, it's just an ordinary accessory. To confirm it's a talisman, you'd have to kill the original owner to unbind it and then equip it yourself. No way I could do that.
My mind swirled with countless thoughts, rising and sinking repeatedly. The more I thought, the more complicated it got.
"Oppa."
Then, Kang Haneul called out to me.
"If my story is hard to believe, if it feels like a lie, then feel free to think that."
Kang Haneul looked at me anxiously, gauging my reaction. Only then did I realize my brow was furrowed in displeasure. I smoothed my expression late and shook my head.
"No, Haneul. It's not that I can't believe you—"
"So you'll believe me?"
"Well—"
I trailed off, gazing at Kang Haneul's face.
Trembling eyelids. Sullen eyes. Drooping outer corners. Lips fidgeting restlessly.
They could be signs of anxiety over getting caught in a lie, or hurt and sadness over telling the truth but not being believed. Depending on how I interpreted, they shifted—ambiguous cues.
'Ah.'
In that instant, a flash of inspiration hit. I muttered so softly only I could hear,
"...Status window."
Immediately, Kang Haneul's status window appeared in my vision.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ Kang Haneul ⚡ Strength: D 💨 Agility: C ✨ Magic Power: B 💪 Stamina: D 🍀 Luck: D 🛡️ Endurance: C Gender: Female
Height/Weight/Age: 161cm / 47.3kg / 20 years old
Occupation: Academy Student
Affiliation: Greenhouse Hunter Department, Year 1 Class 1
Superpowers: Avatar (C)
Skills:
• Slow Starter (Unique. S)
• Cherry Blossoms of Deep Affection (Legendary. S)
"Ah."
In that moment, I knew whether her words were true or not.
My gaze locked on the bottom of the status window. Possessed Skills. Cherry Blossoms of Deep Affection. That must be the ability she used on me that day. The cherry blossom pattern on her chest, and the Superpower slot only listed Avatar anyway.
Yes. That was the decisive proof.
I slid Kang Haneul's status window aside and summoned my own in the empty space.
⚔ STATUS ⚔ Ahn Su-ho ⚡ Strength: D+* 💨 Agility: C+* ✨ Magic Power: C 💪 Stamina: D 🍀 Luck: B 🛡️ Endurance: C Gender: Male
Height/Weight/Age: 182.3cm / 76.5kg / 24 years old
Occupation: Academy Guard
Affiliation: Greenhouse Security Force, Special Countermeasures Division
Superpowers: Black Smoke (D), Mana Absorption (A)
1. Strength and Agility receive plus modifiers from the wearer effect of [Breath of the Morning Star].
Skills:
• Academy Guard (Unique. D)
• Contract of the Frost Spirit (Unique. E)
The ability I gained from my talisman, 'Mana Absorption,' was listed under 'Superpowers.' Ryu Tae-hyun's status window, which I'd seen once, was the same.
In other words, abilities from talismans appear in the Superpower slot.
Kang Haneul's Superpower slot had only Avatar.
Meaning, the ability she used on me wasn't a superpower like 'Black Smoke' or 'Mana Absorption.'
Meaning, Kang Haneul didn't use a talisman.
Meaning, Kang Haneul is lying to me.
Her earring isn't a talisman. Nor is the origin of that 'Cherry Blossoms of Deep Affection' ability. But that wasn't the important part right now.
The key was that she knew the exact circumstances of how Ryu Tae-hyun got his talisman and used them in her lie.
'How does she know that? No, more importantly, how much does she know?'
It's impossible to grasp those details just from accidentally witnessing Kim Min-ah handing the talisman to Ryu Tae-hyun.
Ryu Tae-hyun said he told no one about that day except the Security Force. So she didn't hear it directly from him. If she had, she'd know I was involved too.
Thus, Kang Haneul learned about Ryu Tae-hyun's talisman through some independent channel and assumed I wouldn't know, so she borrowed it for her lie. That was the only explanation.
'Independent channel.'
Only two came to mind.
Security Force. Or Dawn Legion.
Assuming Ryu Tae-hyun didn't tell her himself, those were the only ways for her to learn about it.
And Greenhouse Security Force never leaks case info to outsiders.
'No way.'
Does Kang Haneul have some connection to the Dawn Legion?
Impossible. I thought that, but at the same time, if not, how else would she know about Ryu Tae-hyun's talisman?
As unease crept up and cold sweat beaded, Kang Haneul pressed again.
"You really won't believe me...?"
She wore a sorrowful expression. But now, even that face's sincerity was hard to gauge.
Should I just ask her straight up?
Isn't that story exactly how Ryu Tae-hyun got his talisman? What's going on? Why lie to me? Where did you get that info?
But even if I confronted her, she'd never answer. If she was going to, she wouldn't have lied in the first place.
'In that case, what I can do now is...'
After a brief deliberation, I looked at Kang Haneul and gave a gentle smile.
"No, I'll believe you. I trust you, Haneul."
I smiled and affirmed that I believed her lie.
For now, this was the best move. To avoid arousing her suspicion needlessly, to make her think I'd fallen for her deception—this was the optimal response.
That way, I'd buy time to investigate her.
"...Thank you for believing me."
At my words, Kang Haneul smiled—joyful yet strangely tinged with melancholy.
Even that smile, I could no longer tell if it was genuine.