CH 149

Chapter 149

While rolling on the floor in pain, the man looked at Jung Garam’s heart, where [Gae Bolg] should have penetrated. Rather than the throbbing pain emanating from his foot, the question, ‘How is Jung Garam alive right now?’ bothered him more.

Suddenly, he felt something disharmonious–Jung Garam was too clean even though the spear should have penetrated to his heart. His combat suit was clean; there was only a hole that indicated the attack connected. The Assassin’s mouth or nose was clean and there were no signs of bleeding.

Astonished, the man shouted, “Hnnngh…..W-Who are you!”

“My timing was impeccable. Wasn’t it?” Jung Garam shouted.

“Are you crazy?” his companion said.

However, no one answered the man’s question. He was able to find the answer on his own as soon as Jung Garam slowly plucked [Gae Bolg] out of his heart.

Despite the tremendous injury–the spear penetrated through the body–Jung Garam’s movement wasn’t restricted at all. He pulled the spear out as if he were removing a small thorn attached to his clothes. The tip of the spear had diverged like a tree root, broken into many pieces. Still, there was no blood.

The body, which was supposed to have sustained a terrible wound, instead held a black hole that seemed to suck in all light before slowly disappearing. Less than 10 seconds after removing [Gae Bolg], it became fine.

Unlike the man who was utterly shocked at that sight, Jung Garam and his companion did not pay that much attention, as if they had expected this to happen.

Jung Garam’s companion even shouted fearlessly at that monstrous Assassin, “I knew you’d be safe anyway!”

“What….why do you sound so annoyed? No way, you didn’t think I’d actually get hurt by this toy, did you?”

“Of course I’m worried! Useless–why did you block it like that…!”

“But it didn’t hurt at all? Being undead has its advantages.”

“But you might have been reverse summoned…”

“Hey, that’s only something someone sloppy like Lee-kyung-ie would be worried about.”

“Argh…..Fine.”

The man felt like a distant observer as he watched the two squabble with each other… Undead? Did that mean Jung Garam had been revived? If that’s the case, with what ability?

In addition, his companion wasn’t shaken by Jung Garam’s grotesque appearance. The man trembled, recalling how, until a short while ago, he had thought of calling the others through an emergency call. No matter how many people would rush in, Jung Garam’s body would only suffer these creepy holes that would quickly fade away. However, if his side were stabbed and slashed at…

‘That monster…’

Could they even win?

However, just as he thought that, the man made eye contact with Jung Garam and his smiling pupils. The man shuddered at the Assassin’s terrifying bloodthirst; Jung Garam turned towards his companion and said, “Lee-kyung-ah, you should leave the fenced area.”

“Huh?”

“I’m still not done with him.”

“Ah…” Jung Garam’s companion, as if he had seen something in the air, gave a queer look before eventually nodding and turning around.

The man wanted to avoid being left alone with Jung Garam. So, he wanted to cling to him and turn him around no matter what, but, the moment the man opened his mouth, something painfully squeezed his throat. “Cough, Cough…”

Jung Garam, who suddenly silently approached, stepped on the man’s throat. Looking down at the man, the Assassin stood with his index finger over his lips, shushing him.

* * *

Jung Garam left the fenced area faster than I expected. I knew his resentment ran quite deep, so I had expected him to take his time torturing Park Hoseok…but I was a little surprised to see him come back in less than 10 minutes.

[Your level has risen significantly from soothing a servant’s grudge.]

[A new class skill has been unlocked.]

[For succeeding at revenge far beyond your current capability, the Necromancer’s ability has been greatly increased.]

In addition, the notification of his successful revenge, confirming the deed, was still ringing in my ears.

For now, I decided to check the messages later and removed them all from sight. When all the blurry system messages disappeared, my eyes calmly met Jung Garam’s gaze.

“What?” The Assassin said.

“N-Nothing…”

“Disappointed that I came out so early?”

“……” I was more curious about Jung Garam’s state of mind rather than disappointed. When I first saw Park Hoseok’s face, my heart pounded, cold sweat dampened my back. Considering how little contact Park Hoseok and I had, it was a bit strange how agitated I was–no matter how important this trap was, would I normally feel this way?

Probably, the vengeful ghost memory I had witnessed when I contracted with Jung Garam was influencing me. If so…then if my emotions fluctuate so much from indirect memory, Garam, the party directly involved, would be…

‘…There’s no way he’d feel fine even if you put up a casual front.’

Even if Park Hoseok became a ruined mess, I wouldn’t feel sorry for him. In fact, if I were a bit more daring, I would’ve wanted to watch instead of leaving the fenced area.

However, it felt as if Jung Garam had finished his grand revenge very blandly, as if he hadn’t fought Park Hoseok a few more times and just gave it up easily.

“Choi Lee-kyung, give me your hand.”

“Huh? Uh…”

However, Jung Garam suddenly asked me for my hand without saying anything else, as if that all didn’t matter. I reached out my hand without thinking too hard, and a soft, white hand grasped mine.

The feel of his [summoned] state definitely felt different. The soul felt cold and smooth, right now he was just like a living being–warm. It felt like touching skin.

“How does it feel to hold hands with such a handsome boy?” Garam asked.

“It’s nice…?”

“What?”

I said yes without giving it much thought, and Jung Garam, the proclaimed handsome boy, opened his eyes wide and looked up at me. It was probably because I accepted his teases so docilely.

“….Tch.” Jung Garam stared at me for a while, inflated his cheeks with air, and clicked his tongue as if he were dissatisfied. As expected, he had lost a lot of his steam because I wasn’t flustered. “Holding my hand doesn’t seem to make you nervous.”

“What’s there to be nervous about…”

“You would’ve been jumping up and down for joy if it were hyung.”

As it turned out, he wasn’t acting that way because his teases weren’t working–there was another reason. Furthermore, his assumptions were correct.

Why now, of all times, were Kim Olim and Seo Dawon not here to be a barrier; while listening to Jung Garam, I looked around reflexively. Then, just in case, I closed my mouth.

Jung Garam continued to mumble to himself even without a response from me, “I knew it. I should have died after I grew a bit taller.”

“…Don’t say such weird things.”

“I want to grow taller.”

“Mmm… Would you have grown much more?”

“Of course I would! Is that even a debate? Choi Lee-kyung, I would’ve grown much taller than you.” Jung Garam shouted, angrily. But, when I saw his chubby cheeks, I felt somehow amused and laughed. Usually, Jung Garam would beat me in a battle of words every day–this elated feeling must be why people tease others.

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However, who knows: if Jung Garam were still alive, he may have grown taller… That thought made me feel bitter for no reason. I spoke sincerely, in order to soothe the sulky Jung Garam, “Height doesn’t mean much. Appearance isn’t the only thing that matters after all…”

Of course I hesitated a bit afterwards, recalling Jung Garam’s personality…

Jung Garam, though, listened to my words and asked, as if he were curious, “Then, what’s important to you?”

“Huh?”

“What kind of person do you like?”

He looked so serious; I felt that I shouldn’t answer jokingly, so I fell into contemplation. However, I was a little annoyed that I had no good answer, because the name that came immediately to mind was Seo Dawon.

“I like warm-hearted people.”

So, as if I were making a pledge to myself, I answered with a characteristic that was the farthest from Seo Dawon. After hearing my answer, Jung Garam opened his mouth as if he had something to say, but Kim Olim and Seo Dawon had returned so he couldn’t continue.

“Did you really leave the corpse out in the open for all others to see?” Kim Olim brought up matters concerning Park Hoseok, so the atmosphere had definitely cooled down between us. I looked carefully down and awkwardly wriggled the hand Jung Garam was still holding.

Jung Garam replied shamelessly, nodding his head, “Because I heard something funny.”

“What’s that?”

“He said that when he sent a signal, all those involved in the [Red Lotus] incident would gather.”

“Did you learn what the signalling method was?”

“Yep. So I thought we could use it.”

When I heard them, I wondered what condition Park Hoseok’s body could currently be in, but I tried to suppress my curiosity. Seo Dawon and Kim Olim exchanged looks and nodded.

“It’s a bit early, but that’s not so bad.”

“It won’t be so simple to pass this off as a simple disappearance…this would be a good way to draw attention.”

TL: RIP Jung Garam, it’s okay. I like short and cute boys too–we don’t all have to be 180/190 cm giants. Park Hoseok was definitely in over his head–his death really was setting up something else…a ‘foothold’ to the rest of the members.