“I heard you got K from Jaeyeon.”
“I suppose I truly have no privacy.”
I said indifferently, without surprise.
“I haven’t played it yet.”
“Then why ask if you already know?”
Come to think of it, back at the game center I’d run into those illegal transplant subjects he’d released as a joke.
Remembering that unpleasant encounter, I narrowed my eyes.
“But do you actually enjoy that kind of game?”
Erich looked at me with a puzzled expression.
I sighed lightly and brought up that incident.
The neatly dressed pervert immediately understood what I meant.
“Ah, I was planning to talk about that myself.”
“I’d like to hear your explanation.”
“Explanation? I don’t think there’s any worth giving... I simply let them go, didn’t I?”
The Elder swung his ankle and rolled his eyes upward.
I leaned my upper body against the hospital wall and listened to his words, sensing the presence of Shashinsky and the blond subordinate standing in the hallway.
“Sometimes I get impulsive like that. I just give them a little salvation.”
“You could save them in a more proper way, couldn’t you?”
“Well, I just felt like doing it that way then.”
Erich said that and laughed long and softly.
“Sometimes I toss a fork to those left behind in the cage. I’d say that’s a more merciful act than usual, wouldn’t you agree?”
“Pardon?”
I couldn’t understand what he meant.
Erich laughed quietly, seeing my raised eyebrows.
“Better than leaving them in a cell with nothing to defend themselves.”
“...You’re saying you handed them a fork as a weapon?”
“I handed them hope.”
The man spoke pleasantly and twirled his eyes again.
“But that’s not what’s important.”
I was too dumbfounded to reply.
I simply looked at him and let out a hollow laugh. Anyway, he was impossible to understand through a normal person’s logic, so I might as well hear him out.
Erich then asked if I remembered the game shop where that ‘From E’ game was.
I nodded silently. The Elder slipped his hand into his suit pocket.
Then he held out a phone. On the screen appeared the person from the shop’s CCTV footage — the one with the hood up, shoulders hunched forward.
I had completely forgotten that I’d seen this footage before.
As I blinked several times, Erich smiled faintly and pocketed the phone again.
“Find this person.”
I stared for a long while at the figure sitting in the chair.
Then I asked slowly,
“Who is that?”
“You’ll know once you find him.”
What?
“What... how does finding some stranger have anything to do with recovering my past?”
“You already know the shop owner put an enormous premium on ‘FROM A’, don’t you?”
“Yes. Said to be more than ten times the price.”
“He could’ve charged even more.”
Erich swung his ankle and spoke in a cheerful tone.
“Because there’s only one copy of FROM A left — mine.”
“What?”
“That man destroyed all the others.”
Huh?
My jaw dropped.
It was such an unexpected answer that I lost my words.
Wait.
Why...
Who even is he?
“He bought up every copy released on the market and destroyed them one by one.”
“That man did?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
The man narrowed his eyes and smiled.
“I’ll let you find him and ask for the answer yourself.”
Then that means that one might have been destroyed too?
The Elder quickly answered my silent worry. He said the last remaining piece hadn’t been destroyed. Somehow, he’d confirmed that it was kept in a vault at a bank famous for its security.
A bank vault?
This story was starting to sound more and more absurd.
“Well, if you want, I could fetch the game instead of the man.”
Erich said something terrifying in the calmest tone.
“Wouldn’t it be more fun to bring the man?”
And that was where the conversation ended.
He’d promised to locate the suspicious figure I’d forgotten and never cared to find, without resorting to coercion, threats, or violence.
Honestly, I wanted to ask him to steal the game from the vault instead, but I couldn’t bring myself to say something that would sound like asking him to commit armed robbery.
So I just settled for requesting that he identify that person’s background.
...Well, since he brought it up himself, I figured he’d handle it properly.
Erich gave a graceful smile and left.
***
I was discharged five days later.
Permission came around 9 p.m. I quietly got ready to leave. Since it was late, I decided to give my farewells the next day.
It was embarrassing enough being hospitalized every time I came back from a mission.
I also wanted more time to get my head straight. I had steeled myself, but the heavy guilt still hadn’t faded.
Anyway, I should return to the cabin....
Maybe because night had fallen, the hallway was unusually quiet.
Moving slowly through the milky-white corridor, I suddenly froze at the wave of killing intent washing over me.
“Ah.”
A familiar face.
I didn’t know his name — someone I’d seen once at the Choi estate and never again.
Back then, he’d stood beside Erich Erhart, smiling benignly as he warned me.
Now he was glaring at me, eyes full of hatred.
Why?
As I widened my eyes, Shashinsky, standing beside the man radiating hostility, sighed deeply.
Erich Erhart’s subordinates.
The red-haired man, pale as a vampire, apologized to me.
“My apologies.”
He still looked exhausted.
“I’ll make sure he stays under control.”
“...Good evening. You came earlier than I expected.”
I’d thought he wouldn’t show up for a while.
Didn’t expect him back this soon.
After a brief nod /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ to Shashinsky, I turned to their master. Erich was once again dressed in a bright suit. The navy coat draped over it suited him perfectly.
Does this man always go around dressed like this?
Suddenly I felt tired.
“You look like you just got tired all of a sudden.”
“Sharp of you.”
If you realize that, you could leave.
“So, what brings you here this time? You didn’t drag me out here by force... and, did I do something wrong?”
That last question was directed at the blond subordinate.
The moment I asked, Shashinsky sighed, and Erich burst into laughter.
“No need to worry. My recent hobby just happens to be you.”
“What?”
“That’s how deep my affection runs.”
The way he answered made it sound like he’d replied to such questions many times before.
“Affection is always a heavy thing, isn’t it?”
I really hated this.
Was I his new object of jealousy now?
These Elders and their lackeys had relationships anything but normal. I’d thought Colton and Jaeyeon’s back-and-forth of love and hatred was the most twisted of all — Colton never letting go, Jaeyeon’s emotions swinging wildly.
But apparently this bunch wasn’t any more stable.
I briefly lost control of my expression, then barely managed to steady myself and turn away.
Hopefully he didn’t plan to keep visiting like this.
“What is it you came for?”
“I heard you were being discharged. Thought I’d hand you a bouquet.”
“Oh, that’s unnecessary.”
I refused instinctively.
“Your visit alone is more than enough.”
“Haha. That face clearly says you hate this.”
Feigning ignorance, the man waved his hand.
Then Shashinsky, who looked desperate to go home, pulled out a small bouquet, while the blond one presented a neatly wrapped box.
You’ve got to be kidding me....
“What is this?”
I accepted the box reluctantly — the blond looked like he’d cut my throat if I refused.
Erich smiled and slipped his hands into his pockets.
“Open it when you get back.”
“...Yes. Thank you. Then, as you said, I’ll just—”
“Mr. Erhart.”
A familiar voice interrupted.
Heads turned. I widened my eyes as I saw who was approaching from behind Erich Erhart.
Three people were walking down the hallway.
My mentor and Ami weren’t surprising.
But what was the Personnel Director doing here?
“Did you have business with my subordinate?”
And he was furious.
It was the first time I’d ever seen the Personnel Director angry, and it stunned me into silence. Smiling thinly, Kang Ju approached Erich — but that smile was steeped in disgust and irritation.
Even more surprising was that Erich, upon recognizing him, frowned.
Men who always seemed to smile now glared at each other with clear loathing.
“Hilde must be exhausted. I’d appreciate it if you refrained from visiting him.”
“You’re as dull as ever.”
Erich’s voice carried annoyance.
“When was your last brain scan? I bet the results would be more interesting than that man standing next to you.”
“Why am I getting insulted out of nowhere,” Yun muttered indifferently, giving the Elder and his subordinates a blank look.
“So, what business does the cult leader have with my successor?”
“Cult leader? I’m merely the head of a foundation — and I’m not even religious.”
“I’m well aware you’ve got people praying to your portrait.”
Erich smiled faintly at Yun.
He seemed to return to his usual self then. He didn’t appear to like Yun much, but apparently didn’t despise him as much as he did the Personnel Director.
“To think you’d visit your junior’s room all alone just because he’s being discharged. You must care quite a lot for your assistant.”
“I came with my little sister.”
“Little sister?”
Erich’s eyes went wide.
The Elder’s gray eyes filled with surprise as he repeated,
“You have a little sister?”
...She’s standing right there.
But apparently the perverted Elder couldn’t see Ami.
And it didn’t seem to be the first time this had happened. Ami didn’t even flinch; she just stared at the floor with an irritated face.
Yun looked like he’d given the same answer too many times to count.
“Yes.”
“Remarkable. You really don’t seem like someone who’d have siblings.”
“How does a man that stupid manage to run a foundation?”
Ami muttered bluntly.
“What an idiot.”
God, that was funny.
Ami, being so far removed from misfortune, was invisible to Erich’s eyes. Ju and Yun seemed bored for similar reasons. Or maybe Ami was simply too short to reach his line of sight.
I leaned against the wall and tried to hold back laughter.
I felt bad for Ami, but the situation was hilarious.
And I was relieved that she, Ju, and Yun weren’t within Erich’s field of interest.
Now I understood why Yehyeon had looked so pleased back at the banquet hall.
Erich and Ju traded sharp, venomous remarks for a while, until Shashinsky — like a shadow — cut in politely, “It’s time to go, sir.”
Erich nodded, then looked back at me.
“Well then, see you again.”
“Take care.”
I didn’t respond to the “see you again.”
The platinum-blond middle-aged man smiled and left, saying to contact him anytime.
Shashinsky gave a silent bow and followed his master.
The blond subordinate lingered a little longer, staring at me.
“His attention will soon move elsewhere.”
I muttered, annoyed. The youthful, handsome blond raised one eyebrow, then smiled faintly as he looked at me standing sullenly.
“I’m not so sure about that.”
You’d better hope so.
The perverted Elder’s entourage vanished like shadows.
Once they were gone from sight, I turned around.
“By the way, Personnel Director, what brings you here?”
“Ah, I came to counsel you.”
Ju smiled and shot straight.
“Your atmosphere’s been off lately.”
