As I shot my eyes up fiercely, the man just shrugged and gave a light “if not, then never mind” kind of response. Mijeong, who was watching the scene, burst into laughter and said, “He’s not exactly wrong, is he?” making me feel even more aggrieved. Night Rat had never not been a criminal guild, but still, we weren’t trash. My kids may not have much in the way of ethics… and their morals… are also lacking, but still.

“…”

The more I thought about it, the weaker my defense became. I scowled, feeling awkward. It was a guild full of so many lunatics that it was embarrassing to even try to defend them.

Even if I didn’t have much of a case, being wronged is being wronged. Though the majority of them were out of their minds, my guild members at least had a flimsy moral code and a line they knew not to cross. How could you compare kids whose madness and craziness were on a cute level to some scorpion that crawled out of the sewer?

It was a thought that, had Jongsik heard it, would have probably prompted him to ask back if a rat wasn’t a closer relative to the sewer than a scorpion.

You have no flexibility, you bastard.

After getting angry at the imaginary Jongsik, I maintained my displeased expression and glared at Mijeong and Geon-joo. Mijeong, deciding she should stop teasing me, suppressed her laughter and patted Geon-joo’s shoulder as if to dust him off.

“It’s not that you’re completely wrong. Night Rat is a criminal guild, that’s true. But Scorpion is different from Night Rat. They’re notorious for being vicious and low-quality.”

“More so than Night Rat?”

“Yes. Night Rat may be more famous now, but it wasn’t always that way. And what do you think the reason for that is? It’s because the Scorpion bastards were strong, vicious, and destroyed all sense of ethics, turning a whole city into ruins. So just because Night Rat has a bad reputation now, it doesn’t mean they’re as low-quality as Scorpion was back then. If they were, do you think I would even acknowledge him?”

Mijeong gestured towards me with her chin. Geon-joo followed her signal and adopted a thoughtful expression.

Those black eyes.

Every time I met those dark, black eyes, I felt the impulse to crack open Han Geon-joo’s head and look inside.

It was a thirst that would only disappear when I knew everything he was thinking, without exception.

As we were just exchanging silent gazes, Mijeong, sensing the strange atmosphere, cut in and separated the two of us.

“Anyway, the quality of Scorpion’s crimes is on a different level. When those bastards were running wild, it was an everyday occurrence for ten people to go missing a day, you know?”

Mijeong said in a somewhat exaggerated tone. Geon-joo’s gaze, which had been nailed to me, slowly turned to the woman.

“Ten people?”

“That’s right. According to rumors, five out of those ten were sold off, and three of the remaining five were used for organ trafficking.”

“What about the last two?”

“Well, them…”

Mijeong trailed off and smiled sweetly. She didn’t add another word, but the smile alone was answer enough. I watched the woman’s eyes curve into vicious crescents and added nonchalantly.

“The remaining two would have become Scorpion’s property and been subjected to all sorts of rough treatment. Every two months, two mutilated corpses would be dumped in front of their guild building. Are you starting to get a picture of what happened now?”

They would have been tortured and exploited. In various ways. The Scorpion bastards didn’t discriminate based on age or gender, so the bodies sprawled in front of their guild were always of various ages and sexes. When the damage was severe, it was hard to even tell if it was human or animal.

Savages.

That would be the best way to describe Scorpion. Weren’t they the ones who didn’t even hesitate to eat human flesh to prove their cruelty?

I watched with interest as Geon-joo’s face grew paler and paler. It seemed he was finally getting a sense of the kind of organization he had almost been dragged into.

Still, it’s a relief.

If the Scorpion bastards had coveted him and dragged him to their guild, it would have been impossible for even me to get him out right away. I had no idea about their current strength, how much their executives had grown, or where their base was. Considering that, being abandoned in this Gate was a stroke of immense luck.

“I was taken by people far more dangerous than I thought.”

“That’s about right. Well, you’re alive, so that’s what matters, right? The problem is that Scorpion has been revived.”

Mijeong pinpointed the most troublesome fact at the present moment. I ran a hand through my hair and sighed.

“This has become a headache.”

The biggest problem was that it was Scorpion, of all people. Most hunters, upon being defeated by me, would recognize an insurmountable wall and their spirit would break. A few of the ones who didn’t would try for a rematch. But Scorpion was different from those ordinary types. They neither broke nor sought a rematch; instead, they would retreat for the time being. In that state, they would not forget their past defeat and would have spent years waiting and preparing for the future. A future where they would take the head of the one who had taken their leader’s head and seize supremacy once again.

Those kinds of bastards are the most troublesome. The ones with a clear goal, no fear, and a persistence filled with madness.

As luck would have it, Scorpion was exactly that type.

My threats and shows of force wouldn’t work on them. Only victory would work. A complete victory, where I cut their throats and snuffed out their lives.

“The beastly bastards are coming back.”

As I was lost in thought, Ho-cheol chimed in. His words perfectly represented my feelings, so I nodded.

“…”

A brief silence fell. Even Lee Han and Mijeong had wiped the smiles from their faces and were now staring at the man named Seok Ji-hwan. The man, sensing the heavy atmosphere, lowered his head, not knowing what to do.

“I, I really didn’t know anything when I joined. I didn’t even know Scorpion was that kind of organization…”

“Then why did you come to this Gate?”

“Well, the higher-ups ordered me to enter the Gate, so I just came. They said they’d attach two S-rank hunters, so I thought we’d be able to clear it… and besides, wasn’t it too much money to refuse? They said they’d give me a billion won if I cleared it and came back…”

At the excuse Ji-hwan stammered out, I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. It reminded me of something I once thought while talking with Jongsik.

What did I tell you, Jongsik? I told you the world is crawling with lunatics who would try to jump off a roof if you just offer them enough money.

Unless they were as uninterested in the hunter world as Geon-joo, any hunter would have heard the rumors about Adelia’s Tomb. Yet to come here, blinded by money, was nothing short of a new suicide attempt. Why was he begging to be saved? He might as well have come here to die. I curled my lips into a sneer. Perhaps feeling ashamed, Ji-hwan averted his gaze.

“I knew this Gate was dangerous. But with two S-ranks, I thought we could clear it.”

“And you think they were normal S-ranks?”

Unable to watch any longer, I spoke up. Ji-hwan looked up and blinked, as if to ask what I meant. I sneered.

“They were either hopelessly addicted to drugs, or crippled somewhere. Or maybe they were sent to dispose of disobedient bastards. Whatever the case, your higher-ups gave the order with the intention of killing everyone who came here, including you. How about you stop escaping reality and try to face the problem for once?”

“Ah…”

“…Did you not hear anything else besides the order to clear this place?”

As Ji-hwan’s expression was becoming stained with despair, Lee Han quickly cut in. It was a move to extract information by any means necessary before his opponent went into shock and couldn’t speak.

See? I told you it was hypocrisy.

I looked at Ji-hwan’s blank face and turned my head away. From beside me, the man with the unfocused gaze faintly explained that he hadn’t heard anything, that he only found out that person had been kidnapped after arriving here. As expected, he was a low-level grunt who knew nothing.

“Do you have to say it like that?”

Geon-joo came closer and chided me in a small voice. I shrugged.

“…Still, I held on thanks to him. When everyone else was trying to kill me, that man said he had something to tell me and pulled me aside for a moment. In that time, the monster that lives here came out and devoured everyone.”

“So.”

“I’m not saying he’s blameless, but I was just saying not to push him too hard.”

The whispered mumbling grated on my nerves. There’s a limit to how naive a person can be. Was he trying to extend his goodwill even to the person who tried to kill him?

“Stop with the foolish thoughts and get your head on straight, Han Geon-joo. You were lucky this time and just got abandoned in a Gate, but next time, you could be dragged to Scorpion’s headquarters.”

“Why would those people drag me away again?”

“Because you’re—”

“…?”

I stopped mid-sentence and flinched. Geon-joo tilted his head.

“What’s wrong? Is it because of that earring again? I told you to take it off, why do you keep wearing it…”

The focus in my eyes wavered for a moment, and Geon-joo, alarmed, checked my condition.

“Is it really because of the earring? A Siren, you said. Don’t listen to its song, try to focus on my voice. Ah, why won’t this come off?”

I watched, mesmerized, as the man struggled to take off my earring. Then, finding the situation absurd, I let out a hollow laugh.

The Scorpion bastards didn’t know about my relationship with Geon-joo. That’s why they had abandoned him in this Gate.

But once information about this incident spread, the fact that I had immediately jumped in a car and rushed to save him would spread like wildfire and reach their ears. If that happened, they would target him again. Because it would be easier to get to him than to me.

Then, it was obvious they would take him to their guild and use him to threaten me. That trick wouldn’t work if they kidnapped someone else, but they would do it with the conviction that it might work with Geon-joo.

Because he…

“Fuck.”

I recalled the conversation I had with Mijeong in the car before coming here. Her question, “What kind of relationship do you have to go this far for him?” and my answer echoed in my ears.

‘He can’t survive without me.’

A fact I hadn’t been aware of washed over me like a wave, soaking my mind. It felt like foam was rising, turning my head completely white. As I stood there, unable to say anything, Geon-joo’s hand finally cupped my cheek. He made me meet his gaze.

“Are you really okay?”

At his worried voice, his brow furrowed, I felt like I was being swept away.

Can’t survive without me? What a load of crap.

Only now, with him right in front of me, did I understand. Countless pieces of evidence and proof that I hadn’t thought about deeply until now flashed through my mind.

The one who couldn’t endure without the other wasn’t him, but me. That’s why I would use any means necessary to find him when he was out of my sight, and that’s why I would get so angry.

Anger was just a way of expressing anxiety.

“…Am I okay?”

I swatted Geon-joo’s hand away and scrunched up my face.

My heart was beating fast. My vision blurred, as if the System was about to pop up a new forced execution quest at any moment. I took a step back, swore, and looked at Geon-joo.

“Han Geon-joo.”

“…I’m listening.”

“Do I look okay to you?”

I rarely wanted to give anyone a place by my side. I only kept people I could bear to lose, even if they were precious. If Jongsik died, if Gyeongjin died, if Chan-hee died, if Yan died, I would grieve for a few years and then stop. Their deaths were endurable.

But Han Geon-joo was different.

He had become my weakness.

The realization of what I hadn’t been aware of hit me, and my eyes darted back and forth. Forgotten emotions surged through me. Fear, anxiety, tension.

It was a fucking awful feeling, one I hadn’t experienced in years.

And then.

Ding.

The sound of a system notification was heard.