“Weapon?”

     “Something good for fire-type users. Excluding anything famous because it’s been publicly auctioned before.”

     “If it’s an unreleased weapon, there won’t be many options. Does it have to be an awakened weapon?”

     “It would be nice if it were, but unreleased awakened weapons are hard to come by.”

     “I’ll have to contact some artisans. Is there a particular form you prefer?”

     “A watch or a gun.”

     “Is it a gift for a man?”

     It was a leading question, but Yoon Tae-ha felt her cheeks grow hot. It was fortunate that the city was dark. She didn’t answer, and Chertan, who was quite sly, didn’t press further.

     “And please put in a call to Director Lee Hae-kyung. Ask her to pay close attention to protecting the child Song Jun-tae.”

     Chertan’s voice was unusually kind.

     “I’m used to handling messenger pigeons. You also check the meeting place twice a day. You know where Lev shows up often, right?”

     “Of course.”

     Yoon Tae-ha looked at the watch on Chertan’s wrist and checked the time. It wasn’t good to leave the hotel empty for too long. If her night stroll became too long, her tail would be stepped on.

     Chertan’s firm voice reached the back of Yoon Tae-ha’s head as she stretched lightly, as if she were about to teleport any moment.

     “The hive hunt is in 48 hours.”

     She nodded subtly and disappeared from the rooftop of the building.

     \*

     Having arrived at the balcony of the hotel she was staying in, Yoon Tae-ha quickly changed her shoes to slippers.

     Opening the balcony door silently, she flung her shoes to their original place. As a top-tier psychokinetic user, her belongings landed in their original spots without making a sound.

     Not much time had passed. Even if Cheon Geon-young had woken up, she could just say she wanted to walk around Cocytus alone for the first time in a while. It was an excuse she could only use for today.

     Grabbing her clothes with lightning speed, she tiptoed into the bathroom. Glancing at the bed, Cheon Geon-young was sleeping in the exact same position as when she had left.

     A few hours ago, they had been talking on the bed and had fallen asleep almost simultaneously, and nothing inside the room had changed since then.

     What were they talking about?

     She turned the shower handle, trying to recall the details, but she couldn’t remember clearly. She only remembered it being trivial talk about Cocytus.

     Even that was washed away as the hot water poured over her head. After showering and changing into clean clothes, Yoon Tae-ha rubbed her arm at the sudden rush of pain.

     She hadn’t gone a great distance, but she felt a tingling pain in the soles of her feet. Just then, there was a rustling sound from the bed. Even though she had deliberately made the sound of the hairdryer, her heart beat anxiously.

     Yoon Tae-ha lightly tapped her cheeks and went out to the living room, turning on the television.

     It was then that Cheon Geon-young, who had buried his face in the pillow, lifted his eyelids.

     A noise someone had deliberately created. Listening to it, Cheon Geon-young covered his eyes with his wrist.

     In the seemingly peaceful space, he felt an immense unpleasantness. Undirected anger and resentment heightened the emotional surge.

     An hour ago, returning to the empty room, he had been swept away by emptiness and desolation.

     He had stood blankly for several minutes, searching for traces of the woman who hadn’t returned. But there were none. That meticulous woman could dash out into the world without using the door, leaving no openings.

     The building where Changcheon stayed wasn’t far from the hotel. He had stayed for a short time, and even on his way back, he had considered the probability of Yoon Tae-ha returning first to be low.

     But he had hoped.

     He had hoped she would be waiting for him. He had expected it. He wouldn’t have minded if she had gotten angry, asking whom he had gone to meet in a city where he had no connections.

     If she had grabbed his collar, saying she was sick of his ridiculous contract and demanding that he reveal his true feelings now. Yoon Tae-ha. If you would also act like someone who expects something from me. Instead of deceiving each other as if nothing had happened.

     It was ridiculous. Who was trying to accuse whom of deception? It was he who had been acting like someone sitting at a gambling table, reassessing and weighing the value of an esper.

     Cracks began to form in his flimsy peace.

     \*

     An invitation arrived for Cheon Beom-joon, the vice president of CH. Cheon Beom-joon swirled the invitation with an unclear sender between his fingers and scoffed.

     “Funny bastards.”

     The luxurious black card simply had “Black List” written on it in cursive, with no other special content. A crow familiar to him had brought the card.

     The coffee he personally went down to drink at 4 AM was the most important part of his day. Orca’s crow had flown in, precisely picking the time Cheon Beom-joon cherished, delivered the card, and then disappeared with loud caws, disrupting his peace.

     I’ll kill it. I’ll kill it when this is over. That arrogant red-eyed mongrel.

     Thinking that, he looked around the interior of the massive cruise ship. The bodyguards he had brought only underwent simple physical examinations and were not asked to prove their identities. Looking at the people around him, Cheon Beom-joon understood why.

     Every single invited guest had bodyguards on either side who were clearly not registered with any legitimate organization. Unregistered espers or outsiders. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a scene that would make Arc’s agents go crazy if they found it.

     He was in a bad mood. This was because the recent experiments conducted in the Green Sea had faced consecutive failures.

     They had clearly even received advice from Orca. But whether the brains of the newly arrived researchers had reached the end of their lifespan, or if someone was meddling, satisfactory results had not been produced.

     To make matters worse, his son had been accused of strong-arming guild members into buying cheap stimulants, drawing negative attention.

     He had raised him without any lack. But he was a son born lacking.

     ‘If only he had been as persistent as that bastard Cheon Geon-young.’

     Cheon Beom-joon clicked his tongue and folded the invitation in half. He was beyond regret; he was furious.

     Cheon Seo-wan, the second son of Chairman Cheon Seong-beom, lacked talent. That’s how Cheon Beom-joon saw it. Cheon Seo-wan was not suited for an era filled with things to break and destroy. A foolishness in not discarding what should be discarded clung to him.

     ‘I knew it from the moment he brought that flawed woman.’

     When Cheon Seo-wan revealed the identity of the woman who would become his wife, the household was turned upside down. For the first time, Cheon Seong-beom threw a dish at his beloved second son. The third son, Cheon Dong-woo, had just stood there dumbly with his mouth open and his eyes rolling, and only Cheon Beom-joon himself had come to his senses and mocked him.

     The woman brought by Chairman Cheon’s gentle second son was a returnee.

     He had picked up trash that no one knew where it had come from. Her face and body were decent, but no matter how great the shell was, taking a returnee as a wife was insane.

     Because there was no way to distinguish whether what was inside was a human or a monster. They were considered the most dangerous variable.

     It was not long after an incident where elderly parents were killed by their returnee daughter, whom they had taken into their home as a longed-for child, and even their village was burned down. That was when Cheon Seo-wan had brought that woman.

     Chairman Cheon, who had never once been troubled by his second son, was enraged by his radical behavior. He drew a line, saying he couldn’t allow it because the guy who had been holed up in the lab and had never lifted anything heavier than experimental equipment in his life had chosen a woman who was not his station.

     And how dare that sissy talk back. Cheon Beom-joon dismissed the approaching champagne and fell back into thought. Looking around, he saw people gathering on the deck.

     ‘Right. He said she had a child.’

     No sooner had the words left his mouth than a second bowl of soup flew towards him, and Cheon Seo-wan was covered in lukewarm beef bone soup. Perhaps Cheon Dong-woo had stopped him; otherwise, Cheon Seo-wan would have been hit with something worse.

     He still couldn’t forget the scene of the greasy soup dripping down his pale face.

     \<I like you very much. I do.\>

     He thought he must have gone completely mad after meeting the returnee. Could it be that another soul had taken over that bastard’s body? He probably wasn’t the only one who had such thoughts. Even Cheon Dong-woo had frozen after hearing his second brother’s words.

     The second son, who had lived his life regarding his father’s words as law, left the mansion that way. A boil that should have been removed a bit later had fallen off. He felt relieved. How should he get rid of the third son? While Cheon Beom-joon was pondering, Cheon Seo-wan’s son was born. And with a very weak constitution.

     The grandfather, who had thrown beef bone soup at his son’s chest to celebrate the birth of his grandson, rushed into the hospital like a whirlwind as if nothing had happened. Cheon Beom-joon didn’t follow him, so he didn’t know what kind of deal was made at the hospital. He had only heard what Cheon Dong-woo, who had followed their father, had said.

     ‘He said he might not live long because his body is weak.’

     And Cheon Geon-young had been perfectly healthy for 23 years.

     The bastard who should have died long ago was alive and kicking, graduating at the top of his class from the agent academy. He should have at least broken a limb, but he was completely intact without a single injury.

     He had temporarily gone into shock-induced aphasia when his parents died, but he had stubbornly recovered. Even someone of average talent would have attracted followers, but Cheon Geon-young was praised for inheriting only the best traits of his parents.

     Families with money and power, both of which he firmly held, openly coveted him.

     Just having someone like that stand beside you is worth it. Isn’t his quality guaranteed? If he’s dim-witted, he can be used as a bodyguard.

     Cunning old foxes who wouldn’t even glance at inferior stock as a son-in-law for their precious daughters mentioned his name whenever they met.

     Even without doing anything, Cheon Geon-young received marriage proposals on par with those of Cheon Beom-joon’s son. Cheon Beom-joon’s wife had once flown into a rage, smashing vases whenever she heard Cheon Geon-young’s name through her secretary.

     The family’s bane.

     His nephew was such an existence to Cheon Beom-joon. Annoying when present, and he would be more comfortable without him. He had even tried to send him to his parents’ side because he looked lonely. Not often. Occasionally. Whenever he thought of it.

     But every time, it was blocked. The young nephew, who hadn’t even finished growing his bones, had dealt with it himself, and a guard who seemed to be Chairman Cheon’s man had intervened.

     ‘And another one. There’s definitely a force trying to keep that kid alive.’

     He had spent considerable resources chasing after them, but had never found them. They were like ghosts that left no trace. They were so transparent that it was difficult to pinpoint the mastermind.