The power of ‘that word’ being uttered in a quiet voice was beyond powerful.
‘That word’ alone is overwhelming, but to have ‘hyung’ added to it…
‘…It’s more shocking than that word + hyung!’
It hasn’t been long since I suffered hearing ‘that word’ from Neon, and now it’s taken on an evolutionary form!
I never expected to be attacked by Eunho, out of everyone else, with ‘that word’.
He must remember how shriveled up I was every time the mysterious Phantom Thief shows up in PMH.
He apparently knew how I would react to ‘that word’
“You know how dangerous the place you went to this time, right Red wall Thief hyung? Of course, there’s no way you wouldn’t know. I know how wise and prudent you are, Red Wall Thief hyung.”
Words that I don’t know if they were supposed to be praises were mixed with the most painful thing in existence.
I wasn’t happy at all.
Eunho maintained a gentle face and a soft tone, but I felt dizzy from the constant use of that word.
While I was losing my senses, Eunho suddenly grabbed my wrist.
He held me while I was off guard, feeling my pulse and energy waves.
A player’s energy wave is weakened when their mind is disturbed, so Eunho must’ve deliberately planned for this.
“What did you see there, Red Wall Thief hyung?”
Did he sense my fear of death that lingered deep in my mind just from feeling my pulse?
Eunho seemed convinced that I had seen something.
He saw right through me.
“The Fomorians value their image a lot, so the Devil King himself would’ve come forward to catch Phantom Thief Neon. If something had happened to him, you wouldn’t have stayed put, Red Wall Thief hyung.”
Eunho wasn’t even there, but he accurately guessed what happened.
And even while he reasoned out, he didn’t stop dropping that word + hyung
“But you remain calm whenever something happens to you, Red Wall Thief hyung. No matter how close to danger you are, it’s hard to recognize.”
His finger-shriveling words had a thorn mixed within them.
He’s talking about what happened right before I came to this world.
Hwang Jiho, who had been listening in silence til now, asked.
“It sounds like you’re speaking from personal experience.”
“Yes, I’ve experienced it several times.”
“Jo Euishin…”
Several times?
Hwang Jiho rubbed his temples.
“I’ll ask about the past later. From your words, Eunho, you seem to imply that Jo Euishin got caught up in something in England. Don’t tell me…”
Both Eunho and this old man have sharp senses.
If it weren’t for that word + hyung, I’m sure I would’ve been able to hide it though!
In the end, Eunho revealed the fact that I tried to hide.
“Yes. Red Wall Thief hyung looked into the eyes of Balor.”
“Balor? Jo Euishin, don’t tell me you stood in front of his Eye of Death!”
Hwang Jiho, who had been watching from one step away, shouted in a shocked voice.
The mildness from Eunho’s face was gone too.
“Balor’s Eye shows death itself, and it actualizes it.”
“You stared into it… Jo Euishi, you…”
Hwang Jiho sighed while Eunho looked at me silently.
Eunho speaking about death reminded me of Cheon Sungheon and how I put matters of my death in his hands.
There was a moment of silence between all of us.
I mulled over a compelling excuse for the two tigers.
“I was holding the Tuatha de Dannan treasure, Spear of Lugh. That’s why I was okay even after looking into Balor’s —”
“Are you talking about the bloodthirsty weapon that goes crazy unless you put it to sleep with a pill? You had it in your hands?”
“You held such a legendary weapon in your hand? Even if you have no limit to using objects, but doing such a reckless thing…!”
It seems like it’s a mistake to mention the Spear of Lugh.
Both Eunho and Hwang Jiho’s voices grew louder.
I explained that it was okay because a Celtic god gave me his blessing which allowed me to hold the Spear of Lugh, but the two tigers looked uncomfortable.
I thought the matter was finally over, but Hwang Jiho brought up another thing.
It’s not as much as the Eye of Death, but the topic was difficult to talk about with these two tigers who I’m sure were extremely worried about me.
“You kept avoiding contact, so I couldn’t talk to you about what happened at the broadcasting station, Jo Euishin.”
“I also want to know what happened in detail. Did you hear from Yong Jegun, Hwangho-nim?”
“Yes. I heard the whole story through my alter ego.”
It’s a relief that we’re not talking about Balor and the Spear of Lugh anymore, but another heavy topic was brought up.
‘Yong Jegun told him everything? Just to what extent…?’
Well, Hwang Jiho must’ve asked about everything.
As for Yong Jegun, he’s really good at revealing things that weren’t even asked.
I’m sure he told Hwang Jiho every detail, anticipating how he would react.
“Jo Euishin suggested that he and Yong Jegun switch clothes to deceive the enemy’s eyes. Jo Euishin’s suggestion went through. The problem is, even Yong Jegun was fooled by the suggestion.”
“As expected. And what happened?”
Just as I thought, Yong Jegun delivered vividly every detail of what happened that day.
Yong Jegun is more inclined to be a player than a teacher, but it seems like he explained in great detail just like how a professor would.
Hwang Jiho narrated what happened as if he witnessed everything through his own eyes, and it’s amusing to me how well Yong Jegun explained things to him for Hwang Jiho to be able to do that.
Contrary to my out-of-place admiration, the atmosphere turned darker and darker the more Hwang Jiho’s narration continued.
“So you left the country the day after your back and shoulder were pierced?”
“…”
Eunho and Baekho-gun stared at me silently.
The two don’t technically have the same blood running in their veins, but them sitting side by side like this, it really felt like they were brothers.
White and silver look very alike if you don’t look at them carefully.
“Why do you keep thinking about something else, Red Wall Thief hyung? On the other hand, we don’t have anything else to think about aside from being worried about your health.”
My attempt at escaping reality quickly failed.
As if he saw right through me, Eunho quickly noticed that I was distracted.
I thought hard about what to do with this dark atmosphere, but I eventually had to apologize.
“Sorry for making you worry.”
“You don’t have to apologize for that. It’s up to us to feel worried for you.”
Then what am I supposed to say?
I felt thirsty.
Eunho suddenly held out a teacup in front of me.
It contained orange juice.
“Hwangho-nim and I aren’t doing this for an apology.”
Hearing that, I realized what the tigers were waiting for.
They want to hear me say that I’d refrain from doing something like this again.
I figured out the words they want to hear, and all I have to do is say them.
But it wasn’t easy at all.
Because I would have to lie to them.
“I’ll try to find a safer route from now on.”
I offered a compromise, to which the tigers looked displeased.
“You won’t say that you won’t do it again…”
A silence fell upon us again.
The only sound that filled the room was of teacups being lifted and put down.
Eunho was the first to break the silence.
“I know that you can’t lie, Euishin hyung. I knew you’d say something like that. It’s just frustrating to hear it in person.”
For the first time, Eunho went back to calling me Euishin hyung.
His face and voice regained their gentleness.
It tasted bitter though.
“I think the preparations for your birthday celebration are done. Let’s go.”
At Baeho-gun’s words, everyone got up from their seats and headed to the dining room in the annex.
* * *
In front of Eungwang High.
After the birthday party at the private jet, Maeng Hyodon went back to training.
‘I should train.’
Maeng Hyodon had to skip all his weekend training for Jo Euishin’s birthday party.
After all, Jo Euishin is the savior who rescued Maeng Hyodon from hell and brought him to school.
That’s why he decided to work hard on training during the week to be able to spend all weekend for Jo Euishin’s birthday.
However, his mind changed a little upon hearing what Jo Euishin had done while he was away from school.
Jo Euishin had retrieved the first painting of their classmate Min Geurin.
‘He wouldn’t have just simply found it. Vice pres must’ve done something suspicious again.’
He doesn’t know much about the painting, but Maeng Hyodon has seen the news about its theft several times on TV.
He couldn’t build a concrete image in his head, but he guessed that Jo Euishin must’ve suffered in some way.
Using his head to think wasn’t his specialty anyway, so Maeng Hyodon decided to focus on training his body.
He finished training at around dinner time when…
Maeng Hyodon ran into Joo Soohyuk in the central area.
“Hi, Hyodon.”
“Hey. It’s a Sunday, what are you doing here?”
“I had some work with the student council. Dongha hyung seems busy these days, so I’m helping around. Is Euishin back in the dorms?”
“I don’t think so. Why?”
Joo Soohyuk was holding a paper bag that seemed to contain a gift.
“It’s Euishin’s birthday today. I was going to give him a present since I was already in school for student council stuff.”
“Vice pres said he had plans for the evening though.”
According to what Hwang Jiho said, it seemed like Jo Euishin is somewhat connected to his family.
So he heard that there will be another birthday party at Hwang Jiho’s house.
It seemed to be a one-sided plan from Hwang Jiho, but that was that.
Joo Soohyuk looked regretful at Maeng Hyodon’s words.
“I should’ve called in advance. I didn’t tell him so I could surprise him.”
“Oh, I see… Ah.”
As the conversation between them continued, Maeng Hyodon remembered something he had forgotten.
There was one place where Maeng Hyodon, who was isolated from both his home and school, had a human-like exchange.
The gym where the youth sports competition was held.
He met Joo Soohyuk there often, and though he initially saw him as a rival, he eventually got close to him
‘Right. Aside from Joo Soohyuk, there were some other kids I could talk to.’
Ever since middle school, Joo Soohyuk had been popular and had many friends, as well as fans.
Unlike Maeng Hyodon, Joo Soohyuk had a lot of students coming to cheer for him, both male and female.
There was a female student who cheered for Joo Soohyuk from the front row every time.
‘Was it the day we had a long match?;
Joo Soohyuk asked a female student if he could share the snack she gave with Maeng Hyodon.
The girl willingly agreed and told Maeng Hyodon to eat well.
And that girl…
“Ahp.”
Maeng Hyodon and Joo Soohyuk ran into a boy and a girl who had just come out of the central library.
It was the female student from that time, together with Bang Yoonseob.
Finally recognizing her, Maeng Hyodon greeted the girl happily.
“…Oh, hey, thanks for that time.”
“What the. Do you two know each other?”
Bang Yoonseob looked wary.
On the other hand, Joo Soohyuk looked very pleased.
“You remember her, Hyodon!”
“Oh, I should’ve recognized you right away. Sorry, I forgot.”
The girl looked somewhat puzzled.
With his facial muscles twitching, Bang Yoonseob asked.
“I asked when you two met!”
Maeng Hyodon didn’t see through Bang Yoonseob’s nervousness.
He just interpreted it as the usual tone and attitude that Bang Yoonseob gives him.
“I saw her often back in middle school, at the gym where the sports competitions were held. She comes to cheer on Joo Soohyuk.”
The female student watched and cheered for the sports competitions often enough for Maeng Hyodon to remember her.
She applied to Eungwang High, and people speculate that it would’ve been unlikely that she’d be admitted without fraud.
Bang Yoonseob tried to piece things together in his head.
He realized, this girl wanted to meet Joo Soohyuk.
As soon as he understood that fact, Bang Yoonseob felt emotions that even he couldn’t describe.
He looked at Joo Soohyuk, his face distorted.
