It seemed his words weren’t reaching him. There was no answer, even though he had clearly called his name. This was similar to when he watched the scenes in the fragments. Either that or the man’s name wasn’t Han Geon-joo.

Come to think of it, aside from his facial features, everything about him felt alien. The long, flowing hair he could never get used to, the blond color that didn’t suit a face that was gloomy to the point of occasional depression, the annoyingly ostentatious white robes.

If the current Han Geon-joo possessed a melancholy hidden within a polished splendor, the Han Geon-joo before him was simply splendid.

The long-haired man walked slowly through the garden. He would close his eyes and take a deep breath, then start humming. His expression was so full of joy it felt exaggerated. Just then, a small boy came running toward him. The boy slammed into the man’s firm knee and fell backward.

“Oops.”

The long-haired man exclaimed in surprise and bent down. The boy, who had landed on his bottom, looked up.

Sa-yoon held his breath again.

What’s with that face?

The boy’s face was a mirror image of his own, identical to the one in the picture frame that had hung in his childhood home. The only difference was that, like the long-haired man, he was also wearing white robes.

Ah, and one more thing was different. His eyes were blue.

Come to think of it, this Han Geon-joo had golden eyes.

「Are you alright?」the man asked, helping the fallen boy to his feet.

The boy, as if bewitched by the man’s magnificent face, stared at him with his mouth agape. The man smiled. The boy’s face turned red.

「I’m fine!」

It was a spirited reply. The man brushed the dirt from the boy’s clothes, a benevolent smile on his face.

「I haven’t seen you around before.」

「Ah, I’m a newly selected trainee angel.」

The man’s eyebrows shot up.

「The one they said was the most virtuous?」

「Pardon?」

「…It’s nothing. You’re quite famous, so I’ve only heard of your reputation. You’re a descendant of the Chief God, are you not?」

「Ah…」

A slightly shy smile touched the boy’s lips. Sa-yoon felt his mood sour.

Who gave you the right to make that expression with my face?

Though they shared the same face, unlike him, who had lived like a dog, this boy looked so meek he probably couldn’t get angry even at a villain. He looked like such a pushover that if the Han Geon-joo before him so much as batted an eyelash, he would fall for it completely and give up his liver and gallbladder. And to top it off, he was constantly making a face that invited people to look down on him.

If he were a member of Night Rat, Sa-yoon would have smacked him on the back of the head and told him to scowl and look more intimidating. But the one making that face was wearing his own, which made him feel strange.

The long-haired man patted the boy’s head.

「Still a trainee, are you? You’ll have to work hard.」

「Yes…! Um, My Lord, are you not preparing?」

「For what? Promotion?」

「Yes… The Chief God told me that you might receive a constellation soon…」

“Hahaha!”

The man burst out laughing. It was a cheerful laugh, but it was anything but positive. Sa-yoon noticed the viscous emotion hidden beneath the fabricated smile.

He’s pissed.

The boy before them seemed to lack the experience to see it, but Sa-yoon was different. This long-haired Han Geon-joo was a twisted individual. That was why his laugh, which should have been transparent, was slippery, opaque, and obsessive like a snake’s skin—a desperate attempt to hide the darkness that lay beneath.

Having faked similar smiles countless times himself, he knew.

「I’ve been looked down on as a snake for a thousand years, and now they say I might receive a constellation…」he muttered under his breath.

The boy, who didn’t seem to have heard him properly, tilted his head. The man just patted his head again, telling him it was nothing. His movements were rougher than before. The boy frowned slightly at the force in his touch.

「It would be nice if I could receive a constellation as you say, but I have no intention of preparing for a promotion for it.」

「Why not?」

「Because even if I were promoted, no one would acknowledge it. They act all clean and noble, but they’re just a bunch of filthy old men who value nothing but one’s origin.」

The boy gasped at the scathing words. He hadn’t understood the meaning of the smile, but he seemed to understand this. He quickly looked around, then placed a finger to his lips and raised his eyebrows.

「If you say things like that, the Chief God will come for you!」

「Let him…」

The threat only made him more defiant. The boy was dumbstruck, at a loss for words. Pleased by his dazed expression, the long-haired man smiled once more, a languid curve on his lips, and hummed a tune.

「It might not be a bad idea to start something.」

「Start something?」

「Yes. A promotion that’s been dragging on for a thousand years needs a catalyst… If they won’t acknowledge me, I’ll have to get them to acknowledge me in a different way, won’t I?」

It was a suspicious thing to say. As Sa-yoon saw it, the boy seemed to have provoked the long-haired Han Geon-joo, but the boy himself was oblivious. The man suddenly put on a mischievous smile.

「Do you like me?」

「H-How did you know?」

「How could I not, when you’re so obvious about it. Why, if you become the Chief God, do you want to place me at your side?」

「…!」

It must have been a direct hit. The boy, who was terrible at hiding his expressions, covered his mouth, his eyes wide with surprise. The man threw his head back and laughed. Sa-yoon could feel the vicious inferiority complex suppressed within that laugh. Finally, the man bent over at the waist, spewing out his emotions, before wiping the tears from his eyes and speaking in a voice thick with laughter.

「So even if I earned the right a thousand years earlier, I’m destined to be beneath your feet.」

A chill ran down his spine. The garden, which had been so warm and sunny just moments before, began to feel cold.

「In that case, should I just flip the whole board?」he asked the boy.

The boy, not understanding what he meant, just fidgeted with his hands. Pleased that the little tyke was so wary of him, the man laughed heartily, then cast a self-deprecating glance before tilting his head back to face the sun, his neck exposed.

「You said you liked me…」

「Yes.」

「Then no matter what happens, will you take my side?」

The voice was cunning, but from a third-person perspective, it was a plea for a lifeline. He was showing that he wanted to lean on something, to cling to someone. The boy, as if sensing this instinctively, nodded. The man smiled.

Brightly.

His eyes crinkling as much as they possibly could.

…Why the hell am I reacting like this?

His heart suddenly seemed to be beating faster. Sa-yoon watched the scene, feeling an unfamiliar discomfort.

「Then let’s make a promise. If you take my side, I’ll enter your service someday, too.」

Bewitched by the words delivered with a smiling-eyed charm, the boy said he would. The man’s smile deepened.

The scene changed. As if to show the rapid passage of time, everything blurred past as if on fast-forward. Sa-yoon’s kinetic vision was able to capture a few of the scenes clearly.

Most were of the young boy playing with the long-haired man. Then, one day, the man was gone. The boy visited the garden to find him, but came up empty every time. Someone placed a hand on the dejected boy’s shoulder and said, “A god has fallen! They say he killed a hundred thousand humans!” It was an unprecedented state of emergency.

The divine beings were in an uproar, running about busily. The boy, watching cautiously, used his small frame to squeeze through the crowd of gods. After being pushed around, he finally managed to peek through and see the trial in progress. A single god, surrounded by seven others, had his head bowed, laughing like a madman. One of the seven gods struck the floor with a spear-like staff and bellowed.

「Why did you do it?」

At the solemn voice, the one who had been looking down raised his head.

「Because it’s unfair.」

A fire-like rage burned in his eyes.

「For hundreds of years, I thought. Why not me? Why am I the only one treated this way, and why, when we ascended to godhood at the same time, am I the only one who has remained a lower-class god for a thousand years? Someone lucky becomes the Chief God’s successor in just one year, so why not me?」

His laugh was laced with madness.

「I kept thinking about it, and then I knew. It’s because I’m a snake, because you looked down on me for being a humble creature who ascended to godhood. You all think I’m vulgar. So!」

It was the voice of someone venting a long-held resentment. His eyes bloodshot, he shouted at the Chief Gods. Sa-yoon felt there was something desperate in his appearance. The boy must have felt the same. Unlike the other gods who clicked their tongues, cursed, and mocked the trial, the boy’s face was twisted with pity.

「So if you won’t raise me up, I’ll have to prove my thousand years of hard work myself. If you, the goddamn Chief Gods, will not permit me, then I will become an evil god and stand on equal footing with you.」

The man declared, one corner of his mouth twisted up in a sneer. His splendid blond hair was no longer beautiful. It was shabby and pathetic. The hair that had lost its brilliant light slowly turned black. As did his golden eyes, which had seemed to hold the sunlight.

A bitter cold, enough to freeze the very bones, enveloped the man, as if he had lost all warmth. The gods began to murmur. As the murmuring grew and anxiety spread, the Chief God struck his staff on the floor again with a thump!, putting a stop to the commotion.

「You have fallen.」

The voice that announced his sin was heavy. The man neither confirmed nor denied it, showing only his rage.

「You have murdered one hundred thousand and ascended to the seat of an evil god, but that is a fall. We shall strip you of your godhood and your true name and cast you down from the heavens. There is no constellation for a fallen god.」

It must have been an exceptional event, as the gods’ murmuring grew louder. The man burst out laughing.

「You and I are on the same level. How do you intend to cast me down?」

「It is not impossible, if a price is offered. Is that not why you are captured here?」the Chief Gods laughed mockingly.

The man bit his lip hard and glared at them, then turned his head as if giving up. In that moment, his eyes met the boy’s. The man looked surprised, and the boy showed his despair. Seeing him, the man let out a small laugh.

「I couldn’t keep my promise, but you’re taking my side…」

The boy, hearing the small whisper, stiffened. Sa-yoon felt the boy’s heart lurch.

The scene began to fast-forward again. This time, no matter how hard he focused his eyes, he couldn’t analyze the situation. Finally, the frantically changing screen slowly came to focus on a new space.

A cold, dark, underground prison. The fallen god was chained there. The small boy approached the sturdy iron bars. It was the boy who looked like Sa-yoon.

The man, who had listlessly raised his head at the presence, let out a small sigh.

「Well, look at you. How’d you get in here? Did your senior let you in?」

Perhaps it was the influence of becoming an evil god, or perhaps his true nature was revealed after casting off his mask of virtue, but the man’s way of speaking felt cruder than when they first met. The boy hesitated in front of the bars, looking at the man. Their eyes met, and he fidgeted. The man watched the boy with amusement.

He shifted from one foot to the other.

After a long time of anxiously shifting back and forth, the boy suddenly slammed his hands on the bars with a CLANG! “Whoa, you scared me.” The surprised man moved back slightly. The boy’s eyes darted around before he spoke.

「…Should I help you?」

「…What?」

「…Because I promised. That I’d take your side. And you have to keep your promise, too…」

He mumbled, but his intention was firm. His unwavering eyes were proof of his resolve.

The man stared at the boy with black eyes that betrayed no thought. A complex gaze met his and then disappeared.

「You’re going to help me?」

He nodded. The man looked troubled.

「Hm. Do you know? If you help me, you’ll have to bear my fate instead. That’s why everyone is too scared to even talk to the prisoners. Who would want to take on a fate that isn’t even theirs?」

The man spoke self-deprecatingly and glanced around the prison. “See? There’s no one around. They stay away because it’s bad luck.” With every word he spoke, the boy’s expression grew more resolute. The man let out a hollow breath.

「Are you still okay with that?」

「…It was wrong for you to kill people, but I know you had a reason. And I also know that I am part of the reason you acted that way. So it’s fine. I’ll take all the responsibility.」

A moment of silence passed. The one who had been biting his lip burst out laughing and leaned his head against the wall.

「You really are the purest form of good, aren’t you? I guarantee you, your senior was a fool. If it were me, I would never have let you in here. Unstained good is always the most frightening kind. Alright, let’s do this.」

Having made his decision, the man leaned forward, his hands still bound.

「If you save me this time, I’ll save you next time. Whatever it takes. I have to repay my debts, after all.」

「Save me?」

「Yeah. If you save me, you’ll have to shoulder too many sins. You’ll be cast down, of course, and you’ll have to repeat a thousand births and deaths as a humble creature to pay for your karma. Even when you’re finally reborn as a human and can build up achievements, you’ll suffer. The Chief Gods are nasty bastards, you know? They’ll be determined to kill you for your betrayal. So if you really want to help me, I’ll help you, too. Right, let’s do it like we promised before. I’ll enter your service. It’s not in my nature to be under anyone, but for you, I’ll do it once.」

He spoke of entering another’s service nonchalantly, as if it didn’t hurt his pride at all. The boy thought for a moment, then nodded. He was going to save him whether he agreed or not. The man laughed as if in disbelief. The deal made, the boy reached out to the bars and muttered something. The solid iron melted away.

With that, the scene ended. Before he could even react, Sa-yoon was instantly returned to reality. He stood blankly in the darkness, mulling over the story he had just seen.

So, to summarize, the reason I’m in this mess is because of Han Geon-joo?

He scowled, then covered his mouth with his hand.

This—I have to keep this an absolute secret from Han Geon-joo.

Shit, that bastard was older than me.

His pride was wounded.