“Just so you know in advance, stopping the Catastrophe isn’t going to be easy. Even if you stake your life on it, there’s a high chance you’ll fail.”
“I know.”
“Hmm. I doubt you know everything. You don’t have enough information.”
“It’s not like I’m doing this because I want to.”
I muttered in frustration, and the fake tilted his head with a curious expression. And from that, I learned something new.
Wait. Don’t tell me he doesn’t know I have the system?
It seemed the fake didn’t know that the system had forcibly assigned Cha Sahyeon to me and was trying to use the main characters to stop the Catastrophe. He thought I was acting on my own will.
Then I’d better keep this hidden.
If the other party was hiding his cards, it was in my best interest to do the same.
He said we should cooperate, but who knew how things would unfold later? Keeping cards close was safer for the future.
“If you’re not doing it because you want to?”
“Well, like you, I’ve got my own circumstances.”
“Ah.”
The fake chuckled, as if he understood.
“Yeah. If we’re both hiding things, I can’t be the only one asking for full disclosure.”
“Thanks for the consideration.”
“So? Are you going to accept my offer?”
“No. I’m declining.”
After saying that, I paused for a beat before adding,
“...I want to, but for now, I’m putting it on hold.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t trust you, and I don’t like the order of getting the reward after stopping the Catastrophe. If you screw me over at the end, I’ll be the one paying the price.”
“You’re saying you won’t cooperate until you believe I’m someone who’ll actually give you the reward?”
“Exactly. Why would I trust and cooperate with you when I don’t even know who—or what—you are? That’s why I’m saying we start with a trade.”
“Hm?”
“A trade is, fundamentally, an exchange of mutual benefit. That’s where trust is built.”
“I see. So you want to build trust through a deal first?”
“Yeah.”
The fake stroked his lips as if considering something, then nodded.
“Cautious. Not a bad approach.”
“You agree?”
“I don’t mind. If it’s a matter of trust, then you’ll end up cooperating with me eventually anyway.”
He’s confident, huh. But earning my trust won’t be that easy.
“Let me warn you in advance. You’re already in the negatives with me when it comes to trust. If you have any shame, you’ll accept that.”
“Because of the competition deal? Still, didn’t I tell you my goal, and explain my powers well enough? And like I said, as for Song Jiwoon, there’s a right time for that. If you go meet him now, it’ll just hurt our cause.”
“Hurt it?”
“When I say ‘hurt,’ I don’t mean for you personally—it would hurt our shared objective.”
“How the hell am I supposed to know if that’s a lie?”
It all circled back to the trust issue. As I scoffed, the fake looked like he had no choice and said,
“Then I’ll give you a different piece of information—one that you can verify relatively quickly.”
I was about to snap that he was just spouting bullshit again, but I swallowed it. If it was info, it was better to hear it first.
“Hmmm...”
Despite being the one who brought it up, the fake took a while to speak, lost in thought. He seemed to be weighing what info would be suitable.
“First, when you return to the hospital, you’ll run into someone.”
“What?”
“Someone from Yesung Guild. The name was... Kwon Taehyuk, I think? He’s made up his mind to wait for you, so you’ll most likely run into him.”
Kwon Taehyuk? Out of nowhere? It felt random, which somehow made it sound more plausible...
Why would that guy go out of his way for me?
Since I was in my Cover identity, the person Kwon Taehyuk was waiting for probably wasn’t Cha Seohu, but Cover.
Well, I have ignored his invitations to talk and slipped away a few times now...
I scowled at the unpleasant feeling twisting in my gut, and the fake smirked knowingly.
“I recommend you meet with him, even briefly. You might hear something unexpected.”
“I’ll handle it.”
“And one more thing.”
The fake tilted his head again, this time with a strange look like he’d seen something odd.
“This guy’s a bit peculiar. Very sensitive type.”
Who was he talking about?
“How do I put it... Hmm. A spider?”
“...A spider? Don’t tell me—Eun Woojeong?”
“That was the name, I think. But I’m talking about the spider.”
Ah—could it be?
“You mean the leader of Spiderweb is going to contact me?”
“Yeah. But you’d be better off ignoring that call.”
In any case, even if someone from Spiderweb contacted me, I had no choice but to ignore it for now. I was getting discharged tomorrow and would be returning to the office with Cha Sahyeon.
To meet with Spiderweb, I’d have to move at night as Cover, but leaving the kid alone made me uneasy.
Still, even if my plans didn’t change, hearing someone else tell me not to go only made me more curious.
“Why?”
“You’ll end up meeting them soon anyway. No need to force it now.”
“Spiderweb?”
“Yeah. It’s better if you don’t meet them until later. For the sake of what’s coming.”
He didn’t seem to be lying. Well, from the beginning until now, I hadn’t once gotten the feeling that he was lying.
“I’ll decide that for myself. But I’ll keep it in mind.”
As if to say “naturally,” the fake gave a small, relieved sigh and smiled slightly.
“Let’s end it here for today. We’ve gone on for quite a while.”
“...Huh?”
Gone on for a while? Did I hear that right?
“Alright, time to send you back.”
“Wait, hold on! What did you just—”
Piiing!
Before I could finish speaking, a wave of intense dizziness hit me.
The Milky Way that floated high above poured down toward me. As the disorienting sensation took over, I clenched my teeth and shut my eyes.
What the hell do you mean ‘a lot of time passed,’ you son of a bitch—!
“Urgh...”
My head spun. I groaned and opened my eyes to find the fake—no, the man wearing Song Jiwoon’s face—sitting casually across from me on the sofa.
“Don’t ever do that shit again. It feels disgusting.”
“I was as gentle as I could be, you know. Strange.”
My body had been laid flat on the sofa. It was clear now—my body had stayed here, while my consciousness had been sent to that space that looked like a universe.
I still had no idea how such a thing was possible. But one thing was certain: that fake possessed something beyond skills—something transcendent.
“Shut it... you goddamn psycho!”
I was mumbling curses when I happened to check the time, and I shot up from the sofa like a spring.
Ten o’clock? It’s ten PM?!
Thinking I misread it, I rubbed my eyes—but the clock still pointed to 10:23 PM.
I had left the hospital as soon as it got dark, and I took a taxi, so travel time hadn’t been long. Even after arriving at Circle Guild, I only had a brief conversation with Ryu Sunghyun. So even accounting for everything, it should’ve been around 9 PM at the latest.
I’m screwed.
The thought of Cha Sahyeon waiting alone in the hospital room for over four hours made cold sweat pour down my back.
They say when someone’s late for too long, it’s not anger—it’s that their mind goes blank.
While I stood there blankly, staring at the clock, the fake finally seemed to realize what was going on and gave me a sheepish look.
“Oh, did I forget to mention? Time moves a little faster in that consciousness space.”
“......”
I seriously want to kill him.
“...Pay up.”
“Ahem. I’ll owe you one.”
As much as I wanted to pin him down and squeeze out at least one more useful piece of information, right now, getting back to the hospital took priority.
I was about to bolt out of the executive office when I realized something.
No, wait.
If I went out now, I’d run into the other guild members still in the building. Judging by the aura I sensed, there were three or four still on the first floor.
If I bumped into them, I’d have to exchange greetings, which would waste more time. Not to mention I still sensed Ryu Sunghyun’s presence on the second floor.
No way... Is hyung waiting for me?
No, that couldn’t be. I already talked with Ryu Sunghyun earlier—why would he wait for me at this hour?
Shoving aside the pointless assumption, I turned around.
“I’m using the window.”
Better to sneak out than run into guild members.
I opened a window just big enough for a person to squeeze through and stepped up onto the frame. Before I left, I gave the fake one last warning.
“Hey. I’ll be back after I check whether the info you gave me checks out. Don’t contact me until then. If you drag me into that goddamn space again, deal or no deal—I’ll drop everything.”
“You’re seriously rude and hilarious. Got it.”
The fake grinned and agreed obediently.
I gave him one final middle finger... and without hesitation, threw myself out the window.

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