“Hey!”
I barked the word like I was yelling at him as I dropped to my knees beside where he’d collapsed.
I quickly pressed a hand to his chest. Thank god—his heart was beating. His face was so pale I’d almost stopped breathing, thinking he was a corpse.
Grinding my teeth, I kept checking Eun Woojeong’s condition.
“Ha.......”
His head and shoulders were fine, but everything below that was a disaster.
His abdomen—his clothes were torn like he’d been slashed and stabbed by a weapon, and blood was still pouring out without stopping. Like he’d gotten hurt again while dodging, there were raw, obvious scrape wounds along his thigh and legs too.
'So the opponent... had to be at least three people.'
Clicking my tongue, I used Divine Power.
White light burst from my body, and Eun Woojeong’s wounds sealed up in an instant. He’d lost a lot of blood, but he was S-rank—this should be enough for him to move normally.
By the time I lifted his clothes to check that the injuries had really been treated properly, all the strength drained out of my body.
'Fuck.'
A rough sigh tore out of me.
I don’t even know what the hell this is anymore. Just two hours ago, I’d been talking normally with Yoon Jeha, and now that felt like some kind of dream.
What, I have to do cleanup like this for the protagonists now, too?
The anxiety and dread that had been climbing until my blood felt dry—once Eun Woojeong’s condition improved, it flipped instantly into anger and irritation.
And the worst part was his smooth face, sleeping like a baby after recovering from everything. That made it even more infuriating.
While I was trying to decide what to do with this bastard, I sensed someone carefully approaching from behind.
“...Ahem, Hunter Cha Seohu.”
“Yes?”
When I turned around, Kwon Taehyuk was awkwardly clearing his throat.
And he couldn’t keep his eyes still—his gaze kept darting around, making it obvious how flustered he was.
Not just Kwon Taehyuk. Yoon Jeha and Kwon Seoyul—who were watching this—also had strange expressions. Cha Sahyeon was expressionless as always.
'What?'
I blinked in confusion, and Kwon Taehyuk let out a short, complicated breath before speaking reluctantly.
“This is the first time I’ve seen this man’s face, but he resembles someone I know very closely. Is he the same person?”
“Ah.”
Shit. I completely forgot.
I blurted out an exclamation that was half horror, half awe, and hurriedly looked back at Eun Woojeong’s face.
He really didn’t have the mask on. I’d been so desperate to keep him from dying that I hadn’t even registered whether he was wearing it or not.
'God damn it.'
I cursed internally and pressed a hand to my forehead. This really was me doing cleanup for him.
'First... cleanup is impossible, so I’ll give up.'
Even if it were possible, why would I have to do it? It wasn’t my secret—it was Eun Woojeong’s.
Whatever. Giving up fast, I shrugged.
“Who knows. Ask him when he wakes up.”
After answering calmly, I immediately grabbed Eun Woojeong’s shoulder and shook him roughly.
“Hey. Wake up.”
There was no way I could let him keep sleeping in this unknown place.
Only Eun Woojeong would know what this place even was, and if I dragged my feet, the bastards who attacked him might come back. We had to move.
Honestly, even aside from all that, I just hated looking at him.
I’d spent a full hour in absolute hell, blood drying up from anxiety, and this asshole was sleeping peacefully? I couldn’t stand it.
Then the status window popped up bam right in front of me.
'This bastard, seriously.'
The “zzZ” on the window felt like it was mocking me.
“Wake up.”
I grabbed him by the collar and shook him harder.
If he still didn’t wake up, I was about to slap him—when Eun Woojeong’s brow tightened slightly and he let out a groan.
'Lucky bastard, as always.'
Clicking my tongue, I let go.
Eun Woojeong slumped back down, then shifted a little. His long eyelashes trembled before slowly lifting.
“......What.”
Muttering in a lower voice than usual, Eun Woojeong braced a hand on the floor and pushed his upper body up.
Leaning back against the wall, he finally looked like his mind was catching up as he slowly closed his eyes once, then opened them.
“Cha Seohu-ssi?”
“If you’re awake, start by explaining the situation.”
I stood up and spoke flatly. Eun Woojeong stared at me for a moment, then narrowed his eyes.
“How did you get here? You don’t even have a warp skill.”
Is he still on that warp skill bullshit?
“I don’t, but I’ve got someone helping me.”
I answered half-heartedly. Surprisingly, Eun Woojeong seemed to understand immediately—his jewel-like eyes went straight to Cha Sahyeon standing behind me.
“Ah-ha.”
Eun Woojeong twisted one corner of his mouth up.
Judging by his reaction, he knew about Cha Sahyeon’s shadow skill too. Like Kwon Taehyuk, did he experience it in the Unidentified Rift?
Either way, that wasn’t what mattered right now.
“What were you doing that you ended up like this less than half a day after leaving the district?”
“That’s actually what I want to ask you.”
Eun Woojeong’s voice went a bit stiff.
“Even if your amazing younger brother found my location, there’s no way you could’ve known I was dying.”
For someone who’d been brought back from the edge of death less than five minutes ago, that was a pretty sharp question.
Of course, I wasn’t in a position to answer nicely.
“Is that really what you say to me the second you open your eyes?”
I crossed my arms and tilted my head.
“I spent over an hour digging through everywhere to finally find you, then I came running and saved you. And the first thing you do the moment you wake up is—suspect me?”
“.......”
“Life’s real easy for you, huh? Whenever you’re about to die, I show up and save you, and you sit there stuffing your face and still asking whatever you want? Do you even remember how many times this has been?”
I’d meant to end it with a few barbed lines, but the more I spoke, the hotter I got.
No, seriously—the more I thought about it, the more absurd it was.
'This is the third time I’ve saved you, you bastard.'
Hadn’t I used that precious “time-stasis potion” item and the “healing herb” item—all to save Eun Woojeong?
Even today, I’d been in the middle of trying to learn about J, someone who might lead me to important information about the cult bastards, and I stopped everything to come running and save this asshole.
A strange emotion surged up—something I couldn’t explain as simple anger, choking my throat with heat.
I save him and all I get is suspicion, so why the hell should I keep sprinting over here to save him?
Next time, should I just ignore the protagonist and the quest and everything—
That was the moment—
“...I’m sorry.”
“What?”
Before my brain even processed what I’d heard, the word flew out of my mouth.
Whether I was shocked or not, Eun Woojeong continued, looking like a kid who’d been scolded.
“I wasn’t suspecting you. I asked because I was curious. You have multiple skills, so I thought maybe... And the way I spoke—I didn’t realize. I wasn’t trying to interrogate you.”
“.......”
“What do you want to know? Why I got hurt? Or what this place is? I’ll tell you everything.”
I couldn’t even answer. I just stared at Eun Woojeong.
“What’s wrong with him?”
A sudden shift in attitude didn’t make me happy—it made me nervous.
“Ahem.”
While I sat there blinking like an idiot, Kwon Taehyuk cleared his throat quietly beside me.
That sound snapped me back to myself.
“Let’s hear the explanation first.”
Eun Woojeong was handing me the initiative with his own hands. If I didn’t take it, I’d be the one losing.
Forcing my voice to stay steady, I said,
“Get up. First, we move somewhere else. Then I’ll hear your explanation—”
“No.”
Cutting me off, Eun Woojeong stood and shook his head.
“Moving is meaningless.”
“Meaningless?”
Eun Woojeong’s gloved hand pointed somewhere.
His index finger aimed at the corner of the ceiling. Even in the darkness, I could clearly see a tiny red light and a camera.
“Everyone’s faces here have already been captured. There’s more than enough time for the analysis to finish, and even if we move, Spiderweb Hunters will keep coming for us.”
Until now, Kwon Taehyuk had stayed quiet and out of the conversation, but he raised an eyebrow.
“Then all the more reason to leave. Wouldn’t that be at least slightly safer?”
Now that he knew the truth behind Eun Woojeong—who he’d once believed was a civilian actor—Kwon Taehyuk continued with an icy gaze.
“This indoor space is dangerous. We don’t even know where we are, or what the interior layout is like.”
Eun Woojeong let out a soft snort of laughter.
“Is it? Then let me ask to confirm. Guildmaster of Yesung—can you kill someone in front of witnesses?”
“...What do you mean by that?”
“The Hunters belonging to Spiderweb obey whatever orders they’re given. They’re ‘designed’ that way.”
Eun Woojeong continued while peeling off a glove soaked with blood.
“Spiderweb has already confirmed we failed to kill me, and they’ve identified the people helping me. So they’ll send Spiderweb members to kill us. Until they succeed.”
“.......”
“Guildmaster of Yesung. Whether you’re giving an interview in front of cameras or doing a briefing in a conference room, you’ll be attacked. You could be walking down a normal street and get hit by some skill flying in from somewhere, turning the area into chaos. And then you’ll have to choose—watch bystanders get hurt because of you, or kill the Spiderweb member charging at you. One or the other.”
Kwon Taehyuk’s eyes tightened.
“So my plan is: since you’re already here anyway, it’d be better to just kill them all before we leave. Because—”
Having already changed into a fresh pair of gloves, Eun Woojeong smiled brightly.
“This is Spiderweb’s core!”

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