The Damned - Chapter 49
“Yes, he’s dead.”
Yeo-Woon lied. Or rather, he couldn’t tell if it was a lie.
But he didn’t feel like explaining the full story—that he didn’t even know if his brother was dead or alive. Besides, Cheon Gwang-Nyeon had always been either an enemy or just Gwang-Nyeon to Yeo-Woon, disguised in a mask of kindness.
“How long has he been dead?”
“… I don’t know. I was too young; it’s been over ten years. I stopped counting after that.”
“So, it’s been quite a while. Did I ever mention that I used to be a cop? Just a neighborhood patrolman back then. Probably before you were even born.”
As Yeo-Woon listened, he recalled a detail about Cheon Gwang-Nyeon’s past from the information he had read on Doo-Sik.
He wondered if Gwang-Nyeon knew anything about the incident that had happened at the orphanage back then. If she could help him find those records. The thought made Yeo-Woon’s lips twitch.
Meanwhile, Gwang-Nyeon continued talking.
“When the gates first opened, I was unawakened. Monsters started pouring out, and people were dying. Calls kept flooding in. Damn…”
Gwang-Nyeon emptied the glass of alcohol in front of her in one gulp.
“I thought, ‘This is it. I’m going to die here.’ One day, I went to the scene with my team, and that day, I really thought it was the end. It was an elementary school in a neighborhood, and dozens of giant beetle-like creatures appeared.”
Yeo-Woon brought his glass to his lips as well. The scent of alcohol, which he hadn’t experienced in a while, didn’t seem so bad this time.
“We evacuated the kids and tried to run, but we were completely trapped. All eight of us on the team. I blacked out, and when I woke up, I was in the hospital. Everyone else was dead, except me.”
I awakened that day.
For some reason, Yeo-Woon sensed a trace of sadness in Gwang-Nyeon’s voice.
She was someone who wielded great power and influence, so why did he feel this way, as if he was pitying her?
“Lucky or unlucky, who knows.”
As she muttered to herself, Yeo-Woon asked, “Then, could you answer my question now? I answered yours.”
“Ah… right. Yeah, your brother’s dead. Sorry, what was your question again?”
“I asked if you were close to President Moon.”
“Would you call it close? I’ve known him a long time, back when Moon Beom was unawakened.”
Yeo-Woon was so shocked that he forgot to breathe. To think they’d known each other that long. Seeing Yeo-Woon’s changed expression, Gwang-Nyeon chuckled in amusement.
“You seem really curious about Moon Beom, huh?”
“If I have a lot of questions, will you answer them all?”
“Well, I’m a pretty strict give-and-take type. If I tell you everything, what will you give me?”
In a way, she resembled Beom. Yeo-Woon’s face unconsciously showed a hint of disappointment.
Seeing that expression, Gwang-Nyeon laughed as if she found it cute.
“Heh. Alright, I’ll answer just one, because you’re cute. But only one, and only as much as I know.”
What should he ask?
Yeo-Woon thought long and hard about it. After nervously mouthing his lips several times, he downed his drink and finally spoke.
“Do you… happen to know who Choi Shin-Woo is?”
Huh. Gwang-Nyeon snorted, letting out a deflated chuckle. Out of all the questions, he chose that one.
“…Of course I know.”
Cheon Gwang-Nyeon might have known Choi Shin-Woo better than she knew Moon Beom.
Filling her glass to the brim, she gulped it down and looked intently into Yeo-Woon’s innocent eyes, eyes that reminded her a bit of him.
* * *
Cheon Gwang-Nyeon let the alcohol stir up memories from a long time ago.
“His name is Choi Shin-Woo?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
The newly recruited Hunter, still fresh-faced, was on high alert.
Position: healer, rank: A-Class. His stats were decent, but in the early Break era, when offensive types were in overwhelming demand, he was a bit of an awkward fit.
“Of all the teams, why’d you apply for the undercover squad? You need money?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“…My younger sibling is still little.”
“What about your parents?”
“They’ve passed away. No other relatives.”
Back then, Gwang-Nyeon herself had only been awakened for a few years.
The awakened and the unawakened were in chaotic disarray, and the government was desperate, fearing that criminals would gain extraordinary powers, unleashing a wave of terror across the nation.
Criminals gaining abilities was a national catastrophe in itself.
If they committed heinous crimes, there were neither prisons to contain them nor detectives capable of arresting them. The only course left was coercive suppression, which merely fueled their rebellion.
Eventually, they rolled out a makeshift solution: the undercover unit. The goal was to recruit a few awakened detectives and infiltrate criminal organizations to preempt crime.
The impact was minimal, but it was the kind of idea that someone in a high position would come up with, so Cheon Gwang-Nyeon was forced to reluctantly take on the role of team leader for the undercover unit.
“Do you even know where you’re going this time?”
“I understand it’s the Taesan faction.”
“You know that, huh… It won’t be easy. They’re the kind that even the most seasoned ability users find intimidating. Even if you somehow manage to infiltrate, you won’t make it out alive if you get caught. If you end up dying a pointless death, what about your little brother?”
“At this rate, my brother and I will either get killed by monsters or starve to death in the unprotected zone anyway. They say I’m A-Class, but there’s no one to support us healers. Besides, if I die, Team Leader, you can take care of my brother, right? I heard nobody else has volunteered for Taesan anyway.”
“How old is he, your brother?”
“He’s seven now. His name’s Choi Yeon-Woo. He’s super cute. Want to see a picture?”
“Forget it, kid. Come back alive and take care of him yourself. I can’t stand kids.”
“Yes, sir!”
But neither Cheon Gwang-Nyeon nor Choi Shin-Woo could keep that promise.
By the time Gwang-Nyeon went looking for Shin-Woo’s little brother, the orphanage had been reduced to ruins, and all the children there had been brutally killed.
Seeing the devastation, Gwang-Nyeon felt relief that Shin-Woo was unconscious. If he’d witnessed this scene, he would surely have betrayed the organization.
***
“He was a talented healer. If he were still around, he’d probably have the whole country in his grip by now.”
“Where is he now?”
“Missing.”
“…Missing?”
Without flinching, Gwang-Nyeon lied.
It was obvious why Yeo-Woon was asking about Choi Shin-Woo. The intense feelings in her eyes were painfully clear to Gwang-Nyeon.
She didn’t know how she’d ended up harboring feelings for Beom, but ever since Moon Beom had brought Yeo-Woon to the ER, Gwang-Nyeon had kept a close eye on him.
‘I didn’t realize he’d be so useful.’
If he had, he wouldn’t have assigned someone as lightweight as Oh Jin-Woo to him. He didn’t suit a cautious, timid boy like Yeo-Woon.
“How… powerful was he?”
“He was A-Class. The disposal team said he was like a monster. No matter how many battles they fought, they’d be healed by the next day.”
“Is that all?”
“What more would you need? Isn’t that enough to be curious as a healer?”
Feigning ignorance of her true intentions, Gwang-Nyeon cut off the conversation.
“Um… what about him and the President…?”
“Oh, so that’s what you’re curious about.”
Perhaps from drinking too much or for some other reason, Yeo-Woon’s face was flushed.
“They were lovers. Couldn’t live without each other. I heard he was by Moon Beom’s side ever since Beom wiped out his own people.”
Although he’d been the one to send him there, Gwang-Nyeon acted as if he were recounting someone else’s story.
Realizing there was no room for him in Beom’s heart, a shadow of despair quickly clouded Yeo-Woon’s face.
‘So transparent with his feelings.’
Gwang-Nyeon was starting to lose interest.
What was Moon Beom’s real reason for placing a B-Class healer with the disposal team?
He’d known for a while that Beom had planted a spy in the association’s medical center. What he couldn’t figure out was the purpose behind it.
The cleanup team’s operations were always cunning, anticipating his moves, and from time to time, Gwang-Nyeon found himself blindsided.
The recent Cho Tae-Sook incident was no different. Even though it was Beom who left Tae-Sook’s body irretrievable, the aftermath was entirely Gwang-Nyeon’s responsibility.
Official reports, incident logs, explanations—just thinking about all the paperwork he had to handle because of this incident made her blood boil.
Now, looking at Yeo-Woon, whose eyes were glazing over from intoxication, Gwang-Nyeon thought it might be fun to mess with Moon Beom a little.
“Yeo-Woon, I’d love to take you home, but I’m afraid I’ve got work. Do you mind if I call President Moon?”
“Huh? I can go by myself…”
“Oh, come on, it’s late at night. I can’t let you go alone.”
With those words, Gwang-Nyeon smiled, lifting the corners of his mouth.
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Madoqua
I really hoped yeowoon would’ve gone for someone else. I ship the brother and beom way more… Just imagining falling in love with my brothers bf feels really off…