Yoon-seok lost himself in thought for a moment. At least half of the names were crossed out with red lines, which seemed obvious. He had an inkling as to what she was so busy doing after the return.
‘Did she kill all the people who might be a nuisance at the very start…?’
He understood how she felt. She must be burdened with a sense of mission after experiencing the world almost ending, but she probably didn’t know what to do to kill the queen. So she would have killed her future enemies with the sense it was better than nothing. In a way, it was similar to the old Yoon-seok.
He didn’t live for his goal, but he needed something to do to live. In the end, he was a human who had been broken somewhere along the line.
“You… I mean, we’ll be hanging out together now. Can I call you oppa comfortably?”
“…”
“Anyway, look at this. I thought about it, but if you help me, I think we can discard her easily.”
“…”
“Ah, it’s a benefit for you, too! The duel request, it’s still the same, right? Even if she’s bad at it, her Unique Skills are quite useful… what’s wrong?”
When Yoon-seok looked at her wordlessly, Lee Su-yeon tilted her head. There were many things he wanted to say, but he stopped. It wasn’t like the pot could call the kettle black. He wondered if he was in a position to say anything.
“No, I’m just not used to this.”
That was why he told a white lie. It didn’t mean anything. However, Lee Su-yeon persistently bit down at his words.
“…Is it because of the nickname?”
Her eyes showed her fluctuating emotions to the fullest. Was she someone who expressed her emotions this easily? Suddenly, he had the thought, but so far, there was nothing unusual.
However, Yoon-seok stiffened at her next response.
“It’s just because I think it’d be nice to be close to people with the same goal….”
At first, she was disappointed.
“Oh, but I’m sorry if I offended you. I’ll quit. Alright?”
She apologized in a hurry with a puzzled look and looked at Yoon-seok’s face.
“Are you angry?”
“No, why would I be?”
Yoon-seok shook his head as if he felt it absurd. He meant it. There was no way he would be angry at the nickname. The problem was, Lee Su-yeon didn’t believe him.
“Then what’s wrong? You keep cutting me off. Is it because you don’t need me?”
That wasn’t the case. This list would help in many ways, not to mention the information she had about the future. But how did he not realize this? She looked smart, seeing how she was targeting the Tower perfectly. Did he develop a trauma regarding betrayal from his last mission?
“You said I must have had a hard time alone. It’s not just empty words, but because you sincerely understood me.”
Yoon-seok realized even though she looked okay on the surface, her spirit was already driven to the precipice. Perhaps it was a given; she was barely 20 years old. She was called to the Tower and had her life threatened at every moment, then eventually died after being betrayed by someone she trusted. And when she returned, she had been busy killing her future enemies.
Some of them must not have committed sins yet, and many must-have begged for their lives. Of course, there may be people who’d be fine even if they went through the same thing, but Lee Su-yeon wasn’t so blunt.
“…It’s not because I’m cutting you off or that I don’t need you, but because I feel awkward. Can you calm down now?”
When Yoon-seok rashly put it in words, Lee Su-yeon belatedly regained her senses. Then she apologized for what happened with an awkward look.
“…I’m sorry. I got choked up for a second. I’m not normally like this. I understand too. It’s been a long time since I had a long conversation with someone. It must be awkward.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
Fortunately, she quickly returned to her normal self. At this rate, if he were careful at choosing his words, they could go back to the original topic. When he opened his mouth with that thought-
“Anyway, so oppa… oh, I shouldn’t have called you like that… I’m sorry….”
Lee Su-yeon shrunk again, looking sullen. As the situation had returned to square one, Yoon-seok sighed and lifted the white flag.
“Just speak comfortably…”
“Yes! You should do that too.”
He felt like he was becoming weird.
—Where are you right now?
When he was done organizing the names, Ashton contacted him. Once he heard their location, Yoon-seok asked Lee Su-yeon if she could tell him about the return in advance. She seemed to hate the idea, but when Yoon-seok reiterated that he was trustworthy, she nodded.
‘Except for the weird parts, she’s not that stubborn.’
It was kind of funny. She reacted violently after wrongly accusing him, then nodded after a few words about the issue she thought would be sensitive.
“So you weren’t alone. By the way, this person… it’s Ms. Lee Su-yeon, right? From the assistant support team.”
Upon arriving at the rooftop, Ashton tilted his head when he saw Lee Su-yeon. They already knew each other at work, but his gaze seemed to ask what she was doing here.
“Yes, hello.”
Lee Su-yeon briefly bowed. Ashton looked at Yoon-seok, hoping for an answer, and Yoon-seok slowly explained. It didn’t take too long.
“…So, are you saying that Ms. Lee Su-yeon is the challenger who uses the nickname Grape Jam and a person who returned to the past? And she’s going to help you from now on?”
Ashton calmly organized the situation. Was he well-trained through dealing with Yoon-seok? He accepted the story of regression without a doubt.
“Well, we’re helping each other, but… simply put, that’s right.”
“I see. That’s great. Staying here isn’t ideal; why don’t you come to my office and talk?”
Yoon-seok decided to follow Ashton’s proposal. He could make sure that the rumors didn’t spread, but Ashton’s presence had already drawn attention from challengers who were resting on the rooftop.
“Okay, let’s go.”
They left the rooftop and arrived at his office, which could be best described as a well-organized mess. Although they were piled up one by one, documents and files were everywhere, no matter where he looked.
“Because I have so much work to do these days…”
Ashton hurriedly removed files from the sofa and made coffee.
“I thought we could start, but honestly, it’s so unexpected, so I don’t know what to ask first. Haha!”
“I heard that mister is like Yoon-seok oppa’s secretary. I want to ask you…”
Looking at Ashton smiling nicely, Lee Su-yeon opened her mouth. However, Ashton suddenly froze.
“What did you just say?”
“Secretary?”
“No, the thing you said before?”
“Mister?”
“More in front…”
Lee Su-yeon, who found out the answer after twenty questions, clapped and answered.
“Ah, Yoon-seok oppa?”
“…”
“What’s wrong with that?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. I was just wondering if I heard you wrong. I guess you two became very close in the meantime.”
Ashton smiled helplessly and stole a glance at Yoon-seok, who unintentionally avoided his gaze. After spitting out a few dry coughs, Ashton moved back to the topic.
“Anyways, what were you going to say?”
“It may be a little rude, but there’s something I want to check.”
“Anything.”
Lee Su-yeon threw the straight-ball innocently.
“This is a question that Yoon-seok asked me. What’s your ultimate goal?”
Come to think of it, Yoon-seok had never asked him such a question openly. At their first meeting, they had their perspectives, but it was refreshing to ask such a question after gradually building trust. Yoon-seok pretended to be uninterested.
The ultimate goal, what she meant was no less than the core of a human.
“Su-yeon, you’re very straightforward.”
“…I’ve wasted too much time.”
“Now that I see it, you two seem very similar in that aspect.”
“…R-really?”
Lee Su-yeon was slightly flustered at Ashton’s words, but she didn’t look particularly offended.
“Well, that’s possible. No, should I say that’s a given?”
Yoon-seok admired him. In the meantime, he grasped her character and used what they had in common, which was Yoon-seok, to send the best compliment.
“Anyway, if I were to answer your question, it’s simple.”
In a more relaxed atmosphere, Ashton spoke plainly as if there was nothing to hide.
“My goal is to save as many people as possible.”
“And you think that the best way to do that is to support Yoon-seok?”
“Yes, exactly.”
Despite Yoon-seok’s presence, Ashton replied without hesitation. Yoon-seok didn’t react. It was his first time hearing it in person, but he already knew. But, Lee Su-yeon didn’t appear to be satisfied with this answer.
“What would you do if your goal conflicted with Yoon-seok’s?”
“I don’t know. I think I would probably follow Yoon-seok’s will first. Because I might be wrong.”
“What if you weren’t wrong?”
Her tone remained the same. But, for some reason, the atmosphere became sharp. Did he feel this? Looking directly into her eyes, Ashton took a deep breath before answering.
“I would convince him. Without giving up.”
He had no clue if that was the right answer. However, Lee Su-yeon exchanged eye contact with Ashton for a long time before giving him a smile and a nod.
“This is fun. Why didn’t I learn about you back then?”
“Did I pass?”
“What? I was just asking.”
As Lee Su-yeon pretended nothing had happened, Ashton shook his head.
“Mister. Ah, can I call you mister?”
“…Sure.”
“As oppa said, I think you’re trustworthy. I look forward to working with you.”
Lee Su-yeon politely bowed. Surprised by the sudden change in attitude and with a smile as if he had shot a bullseye, Ashton stood and bowed in kind.
“I look forward to working with you too, Su-yeon.”
They sat back in their respective seats. However, Yoon-seok’s expectation that the awkward atmosphere would be out of the way was wrong.
“Then shall we start talking?”
“Yes. Based on this point in time, can you please recite the events you remember in chronological order? I’ll listen to even the smallest details.”
Ashton and Lee Su-yeon continued their conversation without a break and had a heated discussion. Perhaps because both of them valued information, they had good synergy.
“Mister, what do you think about this part? Should I kill her now or not?”
“…I think you’d better try to appease first. Many challengers are leaving Earth, but it’s a fact that the opposite rarely happens.”
“But what if appeasement fails?”
“I think it would be right to kill her then. As you say, she seems to be a dangerous person.”
“As expected! I knew you’d say that!”
The hit-list began to approach a finished version quickly with Ashton’s help. Of course, that wasn’t the only change.
“Based on Su-yeon’s memory, I’d like to make a Unique Skill rating for the challengers on the list. Can you help me?”
“Wow, why didn’t I think of that?”
A so-called Predation List was also in the making.
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