Ma Yu-hyeon's Confidence
Ma Yu-hyeon swept back his hair or casually straightened his clothes as he approached us. He was clearly alone, yet he carried himself with the confidence of someone backed by a heavenly host. I couldn't pinpoint the source of that composure, which put me on edge. Maybe this was just another of Ma Yu-hyeon's strategies to seize the initiative. I can't let myself get drawn in, I thought, straightening our formation.
If it were just Ma Yu-hyeon, we wouldn't even need to form up. But there was no guarantee he was alone—that was the problem. He acted as if he knew exactly when we'd request negotiations and where we'd meet. That meant he might have ambush troops hidden around the negotiation point. Sure, only Ma Yu-hyeon was visible now, but who knew how many enemies lurked nearby. With the exam site being an urban area, there were plenty of spots to hide fighters.
"What's with the atmosphere? You guys are the ones who requested negotiations, right?"
"......Don't come any closer."
Kang Dae-man blocked Ma Yu-hyeon's approach. A subtle tension flowed between Ma Yu-hyeon and me, while silent signals passed between Kang Dae-man and me. He must have sensed the danger on instinct too.
Ma Yu-hyeon raised both hands as if to show he meant no harm.
"What's the big deal? I'm really alone. And we can't fight during negotiations anyway, right?"
"......"
I couldn't tell how much of that was his true thinking. Was relaxing our guard part of his plan, or was making us wary the plan? The situation was too ambiguous to either guard or relax. In that alone, Ma Yu-hyeon had already seized the initiative from us. Everyone except me was overly conscious of him, on high alert.
Ma Yu-hyeon exuded a unique aura different from others. I couldn't tell if it arose naturally or if he cultivated it deliberately.
With his narrow eyes, he scanned the hostages and spoke.
"How'd you snag all these prime catches? Lucky bas—"
"Cut the crap."
Kang Dae-man cut him off.
"Let's negotiate. Isn't that why you're here?"
"......Fine. Loosen up your faces, man."
Ma Yu-hyeon waved it off nonchalantly. Kang Dae-man kept glaring at him suspiciously. I knew they had some personal connection, but Kang Dae-man showed open hostility anyway.
Kang Dae-man was always dead serious. He stuck faithfully to his role, without personal feelings getting in the way. Lucky he was on our side.
Ma Yu-hyeon clicked his tongue, looking annoyed at Kang Dae-man.
"Man, you're way too serious for no reason."
"That's your problem, Ma Yu-hyeon. Don't mock someone else's seriousness."
Kang Dae-man stared him down sternly. Ma Yu-hyeon smirked crookedly with one corner of his mouth and turned to me. He tapped his smartwatch and spoke.
"What I'm saying is...... it's just an exam. Do we really need to take it this seriously? Right?"
"It's an exam, so yeah."
I answered curtly on purpose. Dragging out the conversation felt risky. As always, facing Ma Yu-hyeon left a bad taste. His gaze held clear intent to probe me—that was probably the source of my unease.
Ma Yu-hyeon nodded as if agreeing, then suddenly scowled and snapped accusingly.
"You're bluffing, right? It doesn't matter that much to you."
"......What?"
"Nah, not the point right now. So, how much for Seong Ha-yeon?"
He smoothed his scowl and grinned slyly. His expressions shifted too abruptly, beyond varied. I felt that unease again.
The exam mattered to me. I'd bombed the written test worse than expected, so I needed to ace practicals. Even with recommendation letters from connections, bad scores would bar Central Knight Order entry.
What the hell makes him say that crap about me?
[It really doesn't matter much to you!]
[To you, this is just another means to an end.]
Baron Samedi and Legba traded words. I ignored them. It was disorienting. I yanked the handcuffs.
Seong Ha-yeon let out a short shriek as she was dragged forward. I wanted to wrap this up quick and send Ma Yu-hyeon packing.
"How many tokens you got?"
Ma Yu-hyeon chuckled.
"Tell you that, and I'm screwed."
"Don't wanna say? Fine. Negotiations over."
"Hey...... come on, what's the rush? Take it slow."
He started pulling out tokens one by one, stacking them on the ground. Even at a glance, it was a hefty pile.
"Roughly just over twenty."
He said it casually. Kang Dae-man's eyes widened in shock. The others reacted similarly. No one expected Ma Yu-hyeon to bring that many.
"Twenty? Short."
I tested him. He tapped his watch and shrugged.
"That so? This is all I got."
"Too bad. What's your max for Seong Ha-yeon?"
"Well...... I'm already at a disadvantage, so offering first is pointless. What's your ask?"
"Fifteen."
"Pfft."
Ma Yu-hyeon snorted, counting the stack.
"Nineteen, twenty...... Looks like exactly twenty-four. Fifteen's too much—ten."
"Ten? Lowball. Sixteen."
"......Normally you'd split between fifteen and ten, like thirteen, right?"
"We're losing time to chit-chat, so we charge for it. Seventeen."
"Bullshit. Fifteen, like I said first."
"Eighteen."
"Ah, you little...... Fine, eighteen."
Ma Yu-hyeon counted out eighteen tokens and shoved them over gruffly. I had a teammate take them, verify the count, then sent Seong Ha-yeon his way. I tossed him the key, but he fumbled it. He picked it up from the dirt and brushed off the mud.
"Pain to catch. Throw better next time."
"Catch better."
"Fair."
Click.
Ma Yu-hyeon unlocked Seong Ha-yeon's cuffs. Once fully off, the chain snapped—probably designed to prevent reuse.
Seong Ha-yeon breathed heavily, looking relieved. Focus returned to her vacant eyes. She glanced at me occasionally but said nothing—maybe no energy, or wrong vibe to butt in.
"Not asking why I came alone?"
Ma Yu-hyeon stared only at me, ignoring her, then asked as if it just occurred.
Why ask that? I showed my irritation.
"Need to?"
"......Nah, forget it."
He tsked disappointedly and tapped his watch.
Tokens gained from negotiations with Ma Yu-hyeon: total 23.
Traded Seong Ha-yeon for 18; Jeong In-ah for 5.
Ma Yu-hyeon hadn't planned to negotiate for Jeong In-ah originally, but after seeing her growl at me, he suddenly offered five tokens. No reason to refuse, so I accepted. No haggling—he took both toward the priest division camp.
Right after, I took Han Su-ryeon and the remaining two hostages toward the holy warrior division camp. Kang Dae-man requested negotiations again; he seemed more used to it, so it didn't take long.
"Do Seon-woo, one question."
On the way, Kang Dae-man spoke up. I nodded for him to continue.
"......We know we can't capture hostages during or right after negotiations, but is that rule really meaningful?"
"Nope."
I answered flatly. He tilted his head.
"Then we could've grabbed Ma Yu-hyeon earlier. Pin him without hostage rules, hold for ten minutes—"
"Possible. But too risky."
"Why? I could take him solo."
If asked who was the most valuable hostage target, it'd be Ma Yu-hyeon, no contest. Capturing him would negate any need for token trades. Just cuff him and neutralize—the priests would be crippled.
But grabbing Ma Yu-hyeon carried massive risks.
"Capture him, and priests know our position instantly."
Teammates share locations via smartwatches. Capture one, others get instant alerts. If I were nabbed, all 'Paladin-D' members would know.
Use that: Order constant sharing, scatter team. Capture alert pinpoints last position. Track enemy movements roughly.
Jeong In-ah wasn't athletic; leaving her solo in enemy turf exploited this.
"......Capturing Ma Yu-hyeon would've brought reinforcements."
He tapped his watch during talks to share position. Came alone hoping we'd try capturing him—then strike our loosened guard.
Letting him go still benefits priests: safe, successful trade with just him.
Speculative, but risks were real.
Kang Dae-man puzzled.
"Still don't get it. But I'll trust you."
"Better to understand and trust. Repeat?"
"Nah, your calls have all been spot-on so far."
He continued earnestly.
"I don't trust your words—I trust you."
"Aw, reassuring. Thanks."
He'd always over-trusted me, but it felt stronger now. Whatever—good thing. Our steps drew nearer the point.
"Welcome, honored guests. Roll out the red carpet!"
Yeo Min-seo's mocking voice hit as we arrived. The area was thick with fog—smoke grenades, probably. Her silhouette lounged on a rock, legs crossed, visible through haze. Behind her, kids held weapons: small grenade launchers like Han Su-ryeon's, muzzles on us. Some with whips too.
"Some welcome......"
I muttered, scanning. High-rise ruins, once residential pre-'Wrath' fight. Blurry shadows flitted between grimy windows—her combat setup.
Unlike Ma Yu-hyeon, Yeo Min-seo was geared for war.
I glanced at Kang Dae-man and the team.
"Formation."
(To be continued)