Jongsik opened his mouth after such a long time had passed that one might wonder, Was this much deliberation really necessary?

“In my opinion, keeping him would be right.”

After thirty minutes of silence, Jongsik spoke with grave eyes, as if he’d steeled his resolve. Sa-yoon raised his chin, signaling him to continue. Jongsik gripped the paper violently as if recalling an enemy, then sighed and opened his mouth.

“Geon-joo, that bastard… things turned out that way because he didn’t know anything.”

“…”

“Because he couldn’t understand what he didn’t know, he got frustrated and ran away.”

Is that so?

Sa-yoon still couldn’t precisely understand why Han Geon-joo had left his side. The words he’d left behind about needing to become equals and trying to understand remained an unsolved puzzle that continued to torment Sa-yoon’s mind.

Jongsik didn’t waste words when maintaining a serious atmosphere.

So Sa-yoon, deciding there was some merit to his words, nodded.

“And?”

“What I mean is, if Han Geon-joo had known your circumstances, he wouldn’t have disappeared like that. Of course, I understand why you couldn’t explain your situation. After all…”

That bastard existed.

Rrrip. Jongsik finally tore the document he was holding. The S-rank’s aura spread throughout the room as he couldn’t contain his anger and grew agitated. It choked the C-rank’s breath, making Sa-yoon narrow his brows and throw the papers on the desk at Jongsik’s face.

Only after being hit with the stack of papers did the man come to his senses and apologize.

“Anyway, I understand why you couldn’t easily tell Geon-joo, given that betrayal incident. I would have done the same. I already think it’s amazing that you keep us by your side like this.”

“Suddenly buttering me up.”

Sa-yoon chuckled to lighten the mood. It couldn’t be helped since Jongsik had gotten angry enough for both of them.

That betrayal incident.

The incident Jongsik mentioned happened during Night Rats Guild’s early days, before Sa-yoon was consumed by madness.

Back then, Sa-yoon was younger, more naive, and hadn’t yet fully tasted the system’s bitterness.

So he liked people.

He trusted people and was compassionate.

Then he was stabbed in the back.

By an early executive of Night Rats.

Kang Ji-hyuk.

Sa-yoon still remembered those three syllables. How could he forget? The one he had saved, who had saved him in return, with whom he’d shared secrets and become close friends. The one he’d willingly given an executive position to and trusted his back to, only to be backstabbed and betrayed.

How could he forget?

The one whose head he’d crushed with his own hands as the price of betrayal.

Sa-yoon closed his eyes as unwanted memories surfaced.

Kang Ji-hyuk had been Sa-yoon’s colleague, junior, and close friend.

They’d formed their bond when Sa-yoon saved him from a hellscape where monsters poured out during gate saturation, and as Ji-hyuk grew, Sa-yoon trusted him enough to watch his back.

There were countless times when the grown Ji-hyuk had saved Sa-yoon in dangerous moments. Of course, there were just as many times the opposite had happened.

That’s why he’d trusted him. He’d trusted him even more than Jongsik. But Kang Ji-hyuk betrayed Sa-yoon.

When Sa-yoon revealed that he was being controlled by the system, Ji-hyuk tried to exploit that fact and attempted to deliver him to Korea’s third-ranked guild, where he planned to take shelter after extracting Night Rats guild members, calling Sa-yoon a madman.

If he hadn’t been caught, that would have been one thing.

But Sa-yoon discovered his plans. At the time, Sa-yoon was angry, disappointed, and sad.

But the system was cruel.

<The True Evil of Humanity does not spare traitors. Execute all betrayers (b ᵔ▽ᵔ)b>

The system wouldn’t forgive humans who dared betray the True Evil of Humanity it was nurturing. Though Sa-yoon had intended to spare the other guild members at the time, the system wanted everyone dead.

It was a forced execution from the system.

So Sa-yoon killed one hundred guild members with his own hands.

He killed colleagues who had fought together in gates for years.

He killed the first friend he’d come to trust completely and the only person he could trust to watch his back.

That was the end with Ji-hyuk.

Feeling like he might be sick just thinking about it again, Sa-yoon pressed his hand firmly against his mouth, swallowed, and lifted his closed eyelids. He could see Jongsik fidgeting while examining his face. He seemed worried that he’d brought up needless talk and revived trauma.

Sa-yoon chuckled to reassure him and waved his hand.

“Stop looking at me like a drowned puppy and keep talking.”

“…Are you alright?”

“That was ages ago.”

Of course, Sa-yoon still remembered every moment clearly. He could write twenty pages worth if asked to record it all in detail.

But he didn’t mention that fact.

Jongsik was already prone to excessive worry. He didn’t want to plant additional unnecessary concerns.

“What I mean is, while I understand why you couldn’t explain your circumstances, Geon-joo’s escape was partly because he didn’t even know there were circumstances you couldn’t explain.”

“Fair point. And?”

“But Lee Jae-hee’s starting conditions are different, aren’t they? He already knows about you and understands the situation with the system. And Lee Jae-hee is good by nature. So there’s nothing bad about keeping him.”

“You think?”

“No, we must keep him.”

Jongsik’s opinion seemed incredibly firm. Almost excessively so.

Sa-yoon blinked, wondering if this really warranted such a grave tone and forceful insistence. Noticing Sa-yoon’s doubt, the man let out a heavy sigh.

It carried slight guilt and a touch of sympathy.

“Boss, right now, you have very few people who understand you.”

“What do you mean?”

“Sure, I know your secret, but I’m not by your side every day. And I can’t help you break free from the system.”

Jongsik clenched his fist as if frustrated by this fact.

“So Lee Jae-hee, who knows your secret and can help you, will surely have a positive influence. Actually, you think you need him too, don’t you?”

“…”

You’re unnecessarily sharp only at times like this.

Though Jongsik was usually bear-like, he occasionally became keen like this. This was why he was treated as Night Rats’s executive and vice guild master.

Because he had such ability and experience, other guild members and executives didn’t object at all.

Well, his contributions to the guild from the beginning were extraordinary. After all, he was an early member who had experienced the Kang Ji-hyuk incident together.

Sa-yoon raised the corner of his mouth at the one who had seen through him like only someone who had been by his side the longest could, then nodded.

He needed Lee Jae-hee and wanted to keep him close.

However, it was different from Han Geon-joo.

Though he wasn’t sure exactly where and how things had gone wrong, he knew he would fail again if he used the same approach as then.

And if he gave affection the same way as then, he knew he would feel loss again.

He understood now.

So he couldn’t repeat the same mistakes. As Jongsik said, since the preconditions were different, he shouldn’t use the same approach.

While sighing at how complicated it was, Jongsik pulled out a guild membership contract.

“Will you take him in as a guild member? Lee Jae-hee is currently unaffiliated since he retired as a hunter.”

“No.”

“I thought as much… What? What did you just say?”

“I said I won’t.”

“…”

“Why that expression?”

“For you to refuse talent you could exploit… I wonder if you’re really sick somewhere. Are you alright?”

“…”

Though he did feel like making the other quite sick.

Sa-yoon’s eyebrow twitched as he clenched his fist at the one asking for a beating, then gave up remembering his current C-rank status. It was unfortunate since fists were the medicine for Jongsik’s unnecessary comments. Though not quite a substitute, he put his foot up on the table where the documents lay, making Jongsik’s expression slightly crumple.

“Boss…”

“What.”

Jongsik made a pitiful face at the curt response. While wiggling his toes pointedly, Sa-yoon thought of Lee Jae-hee who should be lying in his bed by now, and Han Geon-joo whose whereabouts were unknown.

The man who had finally fallen into an unknown light after letting go of the hand that held him.

‘I think we need to become more equal.’

He wasn’t sure why those words came to mind now.

Equal.

While pondering to understand what Han Geon-joo meant by that, Sa-yoon finished his thoughts and stood up.

“Treat Lee Jae-hee as a collaborator, not a guild member.”

“What?”

“Simply put, he’s someone we’ve formed an alliance with. So treat him as my equal.”

For Sa-yoon to know exactly about his destiny, and for Lee Jae-hee to know about the Heaven’s secrets he wanted to understand even at the cost of his lifespan.

For that, they needed to be in a collaborative relationship.

Yes, this time they would start from here.

Having decided to button the first button differently, Sa-yoon ordered Jongsik to announce it through guild notices and headed out.

To his room where Lee Jae-hee would be sleeping.

And when he entered the room, Sa-yoon unexpectedly found Lee Jae-hee awake and recovered.

“You’re here.”

Lee Jae-hee welcomed him without any sign of confusion despite being in an unfamiliar space.