IH Ch 41

Chapter 41

—

The researcher on the screen had touched Dohwa with the chart as soon as he entered. First, the thigh. Then the chest. When Dohwa, who had been sitting still, drew his thighs together and hunched his shoulders, the researcher stepped closer to him. Right after that, Dohwa looked up at the researcher. His face wasn’t clearly visible due to being partially obscured, but he seemed momentarily flustered.

The testimony of another researcher present at the scene supported this assumption.

“I heard that his family fell into hardship when he was young after his parents were swindled, and apparently it was related to that cult. I think he realized the person being examined this time was from that group. He was picking a fight from the beginning. Then he lost his temper and suddenly lunged at him—you know how people can just snap? It looked like that.”

Another testimony followed.

“I heard he broke up with his girlfriend recently. But the company she worked at is rumored to be affiliated with that cult, so… He’s always had delusional tendencies. He’d say really uncomfortable things and complain bitterly.”

“He was hard to work with. He was fine when he was in a good mood, but otherwise, he wasn’t. He also had a bit of a problem with his hands. He’d touch and mess with younger people and then pretend like he hadn’t…”

Still, since he’d worked here for quite a while, they had mostly overlooked it. One testimony mentioned that when he was expected at a company dinner, the male researchers would deliberately sit on either side of each other. The footage resumed after that. He had first struck the victim with a chart, committing physical assault, and when a colleague tried to restrain him, he suddenly lunged again.

After confirming that, they skipped forward in the video.

When Dohwa, who had been lying down, stood up, his mask was gone. His pale face peeked through tousled hair. A slightly reddened cheek. Black eyes. And within seconds of those eyes locking onto the researcher, the latter had lunged.

“…Hmm.”

Confirming that, Mason recalled footage he’d seen previously.

People searching for missing family members related to Lee Myunghwan would often visit the Association. That elderly man had been one of them. The details he gave seemed to match, and the old man himself hadn’t seemed suspicious, so they arranged for him and Dohwa to meet. In the end, nothing was discovered.

The elderly man’s sudden emotional outburst could be interpreted as him being unable to accept that Dohwa wasn’t his grandson. But in Mason’s eyes, the reaction had been excessive. On the surface, it seemed like a matter between the old man and the researcher—but what if it wasn’t?

Mason turned his head. Sitting beside him was Association President Kim Wi. They had reviewed everything together—what conclusion had he drawn? Before asking, Mason wanted to confirm one thing.

“Was he really not an Awakened?”

Without even glancing at Mason, Kim Wi handed him a document. The Awakener test results he reviewed showed all values below 10%.

For there to be even a slight chance of Awakening, at least one of the values should have exceeded 30%. While the earlier examination had been somewhat cursory, the method had an error margin of less than 1%. Even factoring that in, it was reasonable to assume there was almost no chance of Awakening. However, there were times when intuition proved more accurate than the test results in hand.

Mason, now checking another sheet containing Dohwa’s personal information, looked displeased. Aside from basic details like name, age, weight, and vision, they had learned nothing significant. It felt like a waste of time to be doing this over a civilian—but Lee Myunghwan had also, technically, seemed ordinary. The reason he was able to rise to prominence as a cult leader was that there had been people who filled in his shortcomings.

“It seems this time, the mistake was ours.”

“…….”

Mason’s expression hardened at Kim Wi’s words. From the current situation alone, the Association President wasn’t wrong—but accepting and acknowledging it were different matters.

Seeing Mason’s displeasure, the Association President smiled.

“What else can we do? It was our mistake in managing people. For now, we bow our heads and apologize, enter negotiations for compensation, and then…”

“He was found in the last stronghold of Lee Myunghwan’s followers. If we let him out and something happens, it’ll be a problem. We need to send him to prison.”

“…….”

“We should confirm his identity and ensure he’s safe before releasing him into the world.”

There was nothing incorrect in Mason’s words. But whether that man would accept it was uncertain. Kim Wi turned his head to glance toward the Association President’s office.

—

Hwang Jae-i sat with his legs crossed, elbow resting on the armrest of the sofa, supporting his chin. He remained still like that, occasionally turning to glance at the closed door. The solidly shut door showed no sign of opening. Realizing he had been waiting for nearly 30 minutes, Hwang Jae-i figured it was about time to get up. But there was something he had to address first.

He turned to the side. Sitting there was Dohwa, now dressed in casual clothes again. The clothes didn’t fit him properly, so he had rolled the sleeves and cuffs multiple times. On top of that, his hair had been tied up in a knot by Hwang Jae-i himself, and a hat was pulled low over it. He didn’t look much different from how he had in the afternoon—except now, his lips were visibly chapped, even from here.

“…….”

The Association had hurriedly handed over a quality potion. A gesture meant to encourage them to treat his injuries first. But both Jae-i and Dohwa had simply left it sitting on the table.

He didn’t want to care, but his eyes kept drifting over. Perhaps it was because of the air of gloom that lingered around Dohwa, even with the hat pulled low. Hwang Jae-i looked at Dohwa’s small hands, folded neatly. He’d been fidgeting with his fingertips all this time. Noticing the gaze, Dohwa glanced at him, revealing a cheek that had been hidden.

“……Sh—”

Swallowing back the curse, Hwang Jae-i grabbed Dohwa’s chin and turned his face toward him. Dohwa winced and let out a soft groan. Hesitating for a moment, Jae-i grimaced but didn’t let go.

“Endure it. I need to know the extent of the injury.”

Though he spoke bluntly, his grip on Dohwa’s chin was gentle.

Pulling Dohwa’s face a little closer, Jae-i saw the deep bruise that reached under his eye and muttered, “That bastard.” He’d only pulled the guy off and thrown him aside, but now he regretted not punching him a few more times. As long as the bastard was breathing, he could have been kept alive here anyway.

If only he’d gone down as soon as he sensed something was off.

“…….”

Originally, he had planned to drop Dohwa off at the Association and wash his hands of him entirely.

But suddenly, he had started dwelling on the strange behaviors he’d witnessed during their time together. What if Dohwa spoke up about them? That could become a weakness for him. He didn’t want anyone else knowing about it. So, his plan was that if Dohwa turned out to be a non-Awakener again, he would use that as an excuse to bring him to his own guild. The Jae-i Guild also had a temporary holding cell. He figured he could say he was keeping Dohwa there under surveillance.

The Association President would likely press him, asking why, but he could say, “I want to see whether you properly deal with the Pungjin matter.” That should shut him up. He’d keep Dohwa as a sort of hostage until the Association President fulfilled his promise.

He was going to keep Dohwa close a little longer—both to warn him and to threaten him into silence about what had happened between them. That was why he’d tried to take him back. But he hadn’t expected to see something like that. As the scene replayed in his mind, Jae-i scowled—then flinched at the soft moan that escaped. Blinking, he found himself staring at the small face in his hand.

The boy who had stayed silent all this time had finally begun to frown, unable to bear it anymore. But the moment he met Jae-i’s gaze, the crease between his brows vanished. Looking away awkwardly, Dohwa’s cheek was still deeply bruised.

“…….”

Jae-i regretted not breaking that researcher’s neck. He suppressed his boiling rage, let go of Dohwa’s face, and reached for the table.

“What kind of crap did they give us?”

Even so, the B-grade potion could heal most bruises and fractures instantly. Still dissatisfied that it wasn’t an A-grade, Hwang Jae-i clicked his tongue and handed it to Dohwa.

“Drink it.”

“…….”

Dohwa simply looked at what was offered, making no move to take it.

“I said drink it.”

Frustrated, his voice naturally grew sharper. Then Dohwa spoke in a barely audible whisper.

“…I’m not going to.”

“…….”

Hwang Jae-i wondered—was this boy really not an Awakened?

He recalled that first night, when he’d shoved the boy off the moment he realized he was holding him. Dohwa had stood up right away. Was that really possible for a non-Awakener?

He gripped the potion in his hand.

“You—”

Just as he was about to speak, a vibration came from his pocket. Jae-i, intent on ignoring it, scowled as it continued buzzing. “Ugh, what now,” he muttered, pulling out his phone. He sighed after checking the caller ID. Glancing briefly at Dohwa, he took the call and stood as he answered bluntly, “What is it?” He walked toward the window.

Left staring after him in a daze, Dohwa touched his swollen cheek with the back of his hand.

It throbbed. Normally, this wouldn’t have been enough to bruise so badly—but he had been properly struck. Thanks to that, he had managed to escape that vile situation quickly…

Dohwa looked at Hwang Jae-i, standing with one hand on his waist. That hand held the potion. Maybe he should’ve at least pretended to drink it.