S Chapter 29

Shin Jukyeong swiftly approached Yang U-dam, grabbing his wrist like the wind. Both wore looks of utter bewilderment.

‘I thought things were going well for once. Damn it.’

“You, come with me.”

“…Shin Jukyeong?”

“Is there a fight?”

As Jukyeong tried to pull his brother out, a large man stepped in his way. Glancing around, Jukyeong noticed two more men in the corner. They seemed to be guards. It wouldn’t do any good to make a big scene. Jukyeong barely managed to calm his agitated mind. His thoughts raced.

‘How can I get us alone?’

First, reveal he’s his brother? There’s no benefit to being exposed as an illegitimate child of UA Group. Rejected.

Second, subdue them by force? U-dam is watching, so this is also rejected.

Revealing himself as a friend or acquaintance would be meaningless. Given their intense caution, they wouldn’t leave “applicants” alone. The guards would insist on accompanying them no matter what. There was even a bathroom inside the room. They were probably preparing for any unforeseen situations, like a Hunter Association spy.

Calm down. The priority is to safely get his brother out, not to start a fight. Therefore, he needed to create a private moment where no one else could interfere.

“I am, this guy’s, that is…”

Shin Jukyeong ultimately chose the path of insanity.

“…Ahem! I’m his ex-boyfriend. Please, let us… talk and go. He… he… this bastard… cheated!”

Oh, what the hell. Jukyeong squeezed his eyes shut. Once he started lying, the words flowed effortlessly. Yang U-dam instantly became an ‘energetic gay cheater who slept with lovers, friends, siblings, cousins, and distant relatives.’ Worried they might not let them go, Jukyeong even pointed at the guard and put on a show.

“You’re going to try to pick up that man too, aren’t you?! A gorilla-like face is your type!”

At Jukyeong’s outburst, U-dam and the guard exchanged disgusted looks.

“…You may go. You have 10 minutes.”

The guard glared at U-dam as if he were spoiled food. …I’m sorry.

“Wait.”

U-dam, who had been following well, suddenly stopped. He remained stubbornly rooted even when pulled. Jukyeong felt anxious with only 10 minutes.

“Why?”

“I should be asking why. I just became a gay bastard in an instant.”

U-dam forcefully shook off the grabbed wrist and smiled brightly. His smile was very cold.

“Can you explain why I’m your ex-boyfriend and a slut who’s slept with all your in-laws and distant relatives? I’m so curious. Do I have sleepwalking? I don’t remember anything at all.”

He must be angry. Well, it would be unpleasant.

“Don’t you have a mouth? Isn’t that a mouth you’re using?”

With each word, U-dam took a step closer, pressing Jukyeong until his back hit the wall.

“Calm… down.”

“Oh. Don’t worry. I’m calmer than ever.”

Liar. Where does he look calm?

“I’ll explain later. For now, let’s go.”

“Go where? How do you think I got in here?”

That’s the problem!

“Do you even know where this is?”

“Should you be doing this to someone in the same situation? You’re here to get an ability too, aren’t you?”

Jukyeong flinched at U-dam’s words. Yes, it was understandable why he’d misunderstand. From the current situation, how was this any different from a parent, deep in gambling debt, lecturing their child not to gamble? Jukyeong understood. But he felt wronged. He was only guilty of coming to find U-dam.

“Anyway, I don’t want to be mistaken for a gay bastard, and I’m not leaving like this. Ha! It’s still absurd when I think about it. Am I some kind of ‘sex dynamite’? To go around hitting on everyone?”

“It’s ‘sexy,’ not ‘sex.’”

“Whatever. I don’t want to be misunderstood as a man of Guinness-record size.”

“I never said it that far.”

“Whatever.”

The two bickered. Jukyeong and U-dam, each with many unspoken truths, went in circles, their conversation barely scratching the surface. Any proper progress was already out of the window, and as time passed, they merely pointed fingers at each other, saying, “You’re incompetent,” and “I’m amazing.”

“You… really!”

Just as Jukyeong was about to raise his voice, a man screamed and ran towards them from a distance.

“Aargh, get out of the way!”

His face was as pale as if he’d seen a ghost. Jukyeong instinctively hid U-dam behind him. It was a reflex. Yang U-dam, protected unexpectedly, was bewildered. He stared wide-eyed at Jukyeong.

“You, are you two also with them?!”

The man was in a complete panic. The incident happened in an instant.

“…!”

“U-dam!”

The man had used an ability. A flashing light enveloped the two of them. Jukyeong quickly pulled his brother into an embrace.

‘That’s strange. There shouldn’t be any manifested individuals on this floor. Is it one of the operators? No, that’s not important!’

Jukyeong opened his squinted eyes and checked on his brother first.

“Are you okay?”

U-dam nodded with a dazed expression. He didn’t seem to be hurt. Thank goodness.

“…But.”

“Why? Is something wrong?”

“No, here. Ha…”

“Oh.”

Only then did Jukyeong see their surroundings. A white, square room in all directions. There was no door.

Was he a manipulation-type ability user? At least it wasn’t an attack-type ability, but how were they supposed to escape this? If he were alone, he would have already smashed it with his fists. Damn it, it’s one mountain after another. Oh, my head. …His temples wouldn’t be left alone.

“Should Eve smash it? It’s easy.”

‘No. U-dam is here.’

“Pewwwww~ Fool.”

‘Eve.’

“Stupid.”

‘Eve.’

“It’s not a bad word. Everyone says it.”

‘You shouldn’t say it to me. Family doesn’t say such things.’

“Phew… Damn it?”

Jukyeong realized again that one shouldn’t even drink cold water carelessly in front of a child.

‘I need to be careful.’

“Hyung, come here.”

While Jukyeong was bickering with Eve, U-dam, who had been looking around the room, beckoned.

“Look there.”

Following his long finger, Jukyeong’s gaze shifted to… a sign? It specifically read [How to exit ▽ Press button]. What kind of ability was this? An ability perfectly optimized for screwing with people. Jukyeong was a little tempted.

“Ugh, don’t learn that. Eve’s coolness will drop, and I hate it.”

‘Where did you learn such words? Don’t use them.’

“If not coolness, then what do I say?”

‘Flair.’

“KIN~”

Three skull bombs exploded on Jukyeong’s face. That, that, that disrespectful thing!

“Hmph.”

Sigh, it’s so hard to drag these disobedient ones around. I’m getting old, I’m getting old. Jukyeong sighed and looked at U-dam.

‘Especially him.’

“What? Your gaze is unpleasant.”

“…No. Shall we try pressing it for now?”

“It feels like a trap, but we have no choice, do we?”

U-dam shrugged. He didn’t seem to have any tension.

“Hyung will press it. Step back, it might be dangerous.”

After getting U-dam’s agreement, Jukyeong pressed the button. The sign then began to spin rapidly.

~ [ / / / / ] ~

Hmm… Isn’t that a pachinko machine?

“Haha, this is bullshit.”

U-dam muttered beside him. Jukyeong instinctively nodded in agreement. Just then, a ‘ding!’ sound rang out, and words slowly appeared.

[Two people]

“Two people…?”

[Mutually]

“Mutually…?”

[A room you cannot leave unless you confess to each other]

What? This was completely unexpected. Well, perhaps he should be grateful it wasn’t a death match like ‘now kill each other.’ Confess? What kind of confession? Was it to confess a mistake or a secret?

“Hmm.”

He was wondering if they should try something, when a ‘beep’ sounded, and a red timer appeared. 3, 2, 1—after a short countdown, numbers showed up.

‘Are you kidding me?’

[10 : 00]

[09 : 59]

Simultaneously, the room vibrated. A bad feeling came over them as the walls began to move. Jukyeong and U-dam swayed violently. …He swore he had never once wanted this kind of content.

‘I’m going crazy.’

Was this a reality show suddenly? On those shows, if you fail, you just get flour thrown at you or a chair flies away, but this is different. Real lives are at stake.

Ah, damn it. No choice.

‘Brain-full-power-on!’

…Hmm. He’d always wanted to shout that at least once.

“Ahem, first… shall we try?”

Now that his bucket list was achieved, he should focus on survival.

“Try what?”

“Confessing. …Uh, I’ll go first.”

Jukyeong took a deep breath.

【Confession: Noun】

1. To truthfully and openly state what one is thinking or what one has kept hidden.

2. To frankly admit one’s sins to a confessor priest to receive forgiveness through confession.

Synonyms include ‘admission’ and ‘telling the truth.’

‘Phew… Calm down. Think.’

To truthfully state what one has kept hidden. Is this the correct answer?

‘Then I’d have to reveal that I returned 11 years to the past, but that’s too long.’

If he summarized it, it would be ‘you’re about to become a Transparent Dragon-level criminal. But I’ll slice you up.’ …Isn’t that beyond nonsense, a curse? How is that different from straight-up attacking with a confession? That would be a confession attack. Even if U-dam believed it… seeing his brother’s mischievous streak, Jukyeong had a strong feeling he shouldn’t tell him.

‘Somehow, that guy seems like he’d find it interesting.’

An expected response would be, ‘Anyway, you did succeed in one field?’ Then, a ‘Shin Jukyeong high blood pressure party’ would follow as a free gift. Ah, there’s also the related item ‘stress-related illness.’

‘…This won’t do.’

He didn’t want to die prematurely from a grand collaboration of high blood pressure and stress-related illness, so he’d skip that. What remained was forgiving sins through confession, right?