In the office of the Rat Clan head, the self-proclaimed Prankster Seodol.
After returning home from a long business trip abroad, Seodol faced a backlog of work.
He had to finish preparations for the autumn collection before being able to do what he wanted to do as a royal lineage.
His current challenge was to block the “eye” watching over Eungwang District.
‘I know it uses energy waves that are quite similar to telecommunications radio waves but…’
When Kwon Jein returned to Korea and Hwangho first became negligent, Seodol was able to come in and out of Eungwang District.
He noticed an “eye” watching over the district and he began to move to extinguish it.
It wasn’t easy digging up information about the Demon Race and the high-ranking priests of the 7 Demon Gods, but the clues showed up little by little.
‘I’m getting sick of this.’
The biggest hurdle to his investigation of the “eye” was Seodol himself, who easily falls into various fields and easily gets tired of it.
His interests include many fields, especially his favorite human dramatic stories unfolding all over the world.
It was time for him to set aside his research and open his ears to the “night whispers”
(T/N: A Korean proverb that says “Words from the daytime are heard by a bird, words from the night are heard by a rat.)
Woong…!
Seodol got up from his seat.
His ears were filled with intense shock waves.
Energy waves wrapped around his ears to prevent his eardrums from bursting.
Open!
Sensing Seodol’s energy waves, his subordinate hurriedly came into his office.
“What’s going on?”
“The mouse I put on standby has died.”
Seodol answered calmly and took off his hand from his ear.
His palm was stained with blood.
Seodol’s subordinate looked surprised when he saw him bleeding from his left ear.
“The rats listening to night whispers had died?”
“Yes. They’re all wiped out.”
Seodol’s ears were connected to the mice that collected information and listened to the words from the night.
The biggest reason why he went to England was to plant those mice.
‘I worked so hard to hide them all. I can’t believe they’re all discovered.’
Seodol clicked his tongue, cleaning his hands and ears with a silk handkerchief with Neuru’s logo.
His hearing took some time to recover without a recovery item.
He expected this much to happen, but it turns out every rat that he planted to spy on the Oath of the Three Knights was wiped out.
“Not even one is left. They killed every single one at the same time so I wouldn’t notice. If there was one left, it could’ve still spread.”
“Your ear doesn’t seem to be recovered yet, sir. I’ll bring a recovery item card.”
“Bring me a new handkerchief too.”
“Yes sir.”
After his subordinate left, Seodol was lost in thought.
He threw his bloodied handkerchief into the trash can.
All at once his mice were eliminated.
It’s true that the team was among the top in the entire world, but it was still impossible that they found every single one in such a short amount of time.
It must’ve taken a few days at least.
‘I obtained some information lately that’s likely false. But I’m sure my intel before and after planting those mice was reliable.’
Seodol suddenly smiled, reflecting on what he collected so far.
Considering the information he has on hand, he could guess what those people were trying to start with.
Blood was still flowing out of his ears, but Seodol felt very good.
‘Who should I tell first? I think it won’t be too bad to let Hwangho know. But to get a score, it’s better to give it to Jo Euishin.’
Seodol still hasn’t given up on making Jo Euishin an ambassador of Neuru.
He has a designer’s passion to model Jo Euishin and his black energy waves, but the secondary elements were more important to him.
‘Having Jo Euishin as an ambassador means I have reasons to meet him more often and also get involved with Hwangho… That means I’ll get access to more exciting things.’
While Seodol dove deep into his delusions on how to satisfy his thirst for excitement, his subordinate returned to his office with a tray.
Other than the recovery item card and a fresh handkerchief, a disinfectant, and Seodol’s favorite tea was also placed.
“Would you like to go to England? Or would you like to target the team members who are staying in Korea?”
Although Seodol’s subordinate spoke calmly, clear anger smeared his tone.
“No need for that, sir. I know what the target is.”
Seodol said soothingly.
The angry subordinate’s face hardened when he heard Seodol speaking softly with honorifics.
“The Oath of the Three Knights did not move because they are wary of the crow. But recently, that crow seems to be into something. I’ll exploit that gap and move after them.”
“Do you know how they will move?”
“Yes. Ah, Jein seems to be interested in it too, so I think it’s okay to let her know. But I’m mad that my ears are damaged so I’ll do things myself.”
After being treated, Seodol fiddled with his left ear.
His hearing returned to normal, but it seemed impossible to eavesdrop in that condition.
He felt emotional again, but when he imagined what would happen, he managed to stabilize himself.
“…That bunch of bastards would be the most annoyed if they can’t do what they want freely, right?”
“What do you intend to do, sir?”
Seodol put the new handkerchief in his arm and prepared to leave the office.
“From now on, I’ll protect Eungwang High’s Mok Wooram.”
* * *
In the largest cafeteria in Eungwang High located in the central area.
I was semi-forced by Hwang Jiho to come here.
‘I’m not that hungry though.’
Maybe because I stayed up all night or because I still had a lot of things to do, I didn’t really feel hungry.
But when we stepped into the cafeteria, I guess the hunger caught up on me.
It was expected to rain tonight, so I chose a menu that included oyster Korean pancakes as I stood in line.
Clatter!
Someone wearing a mask came out with a hand cart in front of Hwang Jiho and me.
The only thing I can see was his eyes.
To put it kindly, his eyes looked kind and gentle.
To put it harshly, those eyes surely belonged to a pushover.
“Hi, vice president. Everyone was worried because you were absent today. Eat a lot.”
So Mok Wooram is working a part-time job at the cafeteria.
But doesn’t he have another part-time job around this time?
I was going to greet him and go, but I decided to ask him about it.
“Don’t you work part-time for Professor Tak Geosan too?”
“That’s right, but I decided to work in the central area cafeteria from now. To save up for the picnic.”
Mok Wooram’s voice was a little weak.
“Professor Tak Geosan asked me to leave student Bang Yoonseob for the time being last weekend.”
According to Mok Wooram, Tak Geosan’s patience has reached its limit from watching over Bang Yoonseob over the last week.
By the weekend, Tak Geosan asked Mok Wooram to capture him.
“Then shouldn’t you be working for him again? Why are you working for the cafeteria?”
“…Because I didn’t catch Bang Yoonseob.”
Mok Wooram answered Hwang Jiho’s question with a face of shame.
It was strange to hear that Mok Wooram didn’t catch Bang Yoonseob as well.
Did he get lucky?
Listening further to Mok Wooram, it didn’t seem like luck or coincidence.
“Bang Yoonseob’s skills have increased significantly all of a sudden. I couldn’t handle it. Professor Tak Geosan seems to think that Bang Yoonseob is doing some sort of special training at least…”
Mok Wooram took responsibility and quit that job.
Though Tak Geosan seemed to be waiting for him to return any time.
‘A sudden improvement in Bang Yoonseob’s skills…’
Maybe he’s really reborn after that heartbreak?
That would be nice, but I don’t think Bang Yoonseob’s rotten grit would get fixed that easily.
I felt dubious.
“Don’t eat with that kind of face, Jo Euishin.”
The old man’s nagging made me feel worse.
His nagging continued all throughout the meal.
“You’re going to take your medicine soon, so you should at least enjoy your meal.”
The old man brought some medicine with him!
I hate that Hyangrok gave it to him.
I ended up having to drink the medicine before heading to Eunyeonggwan.
“You didn’t come to school so I was worried that you were affected by the nightmare dust.”
Hwang Jiho said so when we arrived in the lobby where no human ears were around.
I wasn’t affected by the dust, but I guess it’s different for people with true names.
“Well, I wouldn’t have been worried if you didn’t contact Jeokho about the replay function behind my back.”
I didn’t really try to hide it.
I knew Jeokho would report it to Hwang Jiho when I sent him the message.
I just left it to Jeokho’s discretion.
“Alright. Let’s go.”
Hwang Jiho got on the elevator first and pushed the elevator buttons.
We seem to be headed to a different floor seeing that he inputted differently from what Baekho-gun did in the past.
The elevator soon began to move.
First basement level.
Second basement level.
Third basement level.
A dark change.
The elevator went down to unmarked floors and soon stopped.
‘It’s a higher level than the torture site.’
The door opened and Hwang Jiho walked ahead, the corners of his mouth raised a little.
I soon knew the reason why.
“…”
“…”
Hwang Jiho opened the innermost door, revealing Jeokho and Kim Shinrok.
The two looked in different directions, their faces dark.
Baekho-gun was standing in the middle, and although he was expressionless as usual, he seemed somewhat perplexed.
“The two of them fought as father and son for the first time, Jo Euishin. It’s my first time seeing Kim Shinrok confront Jeokho. Hahahaha! It’s something worth living a long time for.”
“The facility here is for me to be the subject of the replay function, not Jeokho-nim. I didn’t know Jeokho-nim would try to use this facility without my knowledge.”
I grasped the situation from Kim Shinrok’s words.
In the room was a single table and a sofa for one person.
On the table was an incense burner, the same one we used on Kim Shinrok last time.
Kim Shinrok must’ve prepared this space, expecting me to use the replay function on him again.
‘And Jeokho was caught trying to use it secretly without Kim Shinrok knowing.”
They really seemed like father and son.
Kim Shinrok was still angry with Jeokho, but the latter had no intention of relieving his son’s feelings.
“I’d rather use this place than you!”
Jeokho said, lying on the sofa in a tough manner.
“Alright, Jo Euishin! I’m ready. Use the replay function on me now.”
Kim Shinrok’s face was dark as he looked at Jeokho lying down on the sofa.
Can I really use the replay function in this kind of situation?
Won’t I be getting in the way of the two’s relationship?
Hwang Jiho settled the situation.
“As much as it’s a pleasure seeing you get along well enough to fight like this, you should stop now.”
Hwang Jiho dragged a stool next to the sofa where Jeokho lay down.
In his hand was the incense burner.
He wants to put Jeokho to sleep with his own sleep incense.
“This kind of situation happens, Jo Euishin. So if you want to use the replay function, you have to tell me in advance.”
It’s too late, but I do regret it a little.
If I knew this would happen, I would’ve told all the tigers.
I decided to apologize to Kim Shinrok first.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright. It’s just that Jeokho-nim didn’t tell me in advance. I also feel the need for the function to be used. The function itself is not the problem.”
“That’s right, Jo Euishin. You don’t need to apologize.”
They seem to agree, but it may take a little time for Jeokho and Kim Shinrok to make up.
Looking at those two, I became increasingly reluctant to use the function.
How can I when I clearly know what Jeokho has been through in PMH?
I opened the exclusive menu, but my fingers didn’t move easily.
And then, Baekho-gun spoke for the first time.
“It’s alright, Jo Euishin.”
Baekho-gun turned his eyes to the tigers.
“I am here, as well as Jeokho’s son and Hwangho. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Hearing that, I felt my fingertips getting warm.
I chose Jeokho’s name from the list and heard a system notification sound.
<Selection complete.>
