KEG 60

***

“It was sooooo good!”

After the concert ended, Lee Jigu excitedly shared his thoughts. Then he turned on his phone and searched social media for reviews and reactions while giggling.

The seriously ill Esper on the rooftop, whom I’d worried might not be able to handle it, wasn’t here.

“I’m exhausted.”

“Good job~”

Baek Yejun massaged my shoulder. I frowned, annoyed for various reasons.

I was annoyed by his behavior, and I was annoyed by ​stolen content​the fact that I was getting used to this kind of discomfort.

“Ah, the rabbit mascot!”

Lee Jigu, who had been checking social media, spotted the rabbit sprawled on the side of the road and walked over.

As if it had been tormented by the crowd throughout the concert, the once-white costume was now filthy and tattered. The person inside was probably no different.

“Today’s show was really fun. Were you listening?”

The rabbit nodded. I could almost sense the hardships of life when I saw it do that with its cute, doll-like face.

“I really didn’t want to live. I wondered what the point of living was. I figured I was going to die anyway.”

Lee Jigu straightened the rabbit’s ears and brushed the dust off them. It was still dirty, but at least it looked a little better.

“But coming here made me realize living isn’t really that big of a deal.”

Lee Jigu smiled.

Afraid to miss even a second of that expression, the rabbit stared only at Lee Jigu.

“Everything felt meaningless. My family, my health, today’s weather, the tasteless hospital food, things like that.”

Along the Han River next to the Jamsil Olympic Stadium, orange ripples shimmered beneath the evening sky. Winter migratory birds, having flown in from places like Siberia to escape the cold, floated above it.

“So, Moon Nagyeol. You should give up too.”

Inside the rabbit costume, Moon Nagyeol could be seen trembling. Even the baggy costume couldn’t hide his agitation.

“I know everything. You’re so in love with me that you don’t know what to do, right?”

Lee Jigu hugged the tattered rabbit mascot.

Lee Jigu, wrapped up in protective suit and a mask.

Moon Nagyeol, wearing the rabbit costume.

The two, armored in thick outer layers, touched.

“How about you just give in and love me now?”

Moon Nagyeol hesitated.

Lee Jigu coughed lightly in the winter chill. Moon Nagyeol reflexively pulled him into a hug. He held him so tightly that he felt as if he might crumble.

It was a sweet moment of respite, where laughter and tears intertwined.

***

One evening.

I checked my phone balance. The 2 billion won from the contract with Baek Yejun had been deposited.

That much was certain.

“At this rate, I’ll end up penniless again.”

But when I checked again a short while later, the balance was less than 2 billion won.

How broken must my body be for money to just leak out even when I’m sitting still? I feel like I’m living on borrowed time.

The doctor was my bank account, and the grace period was the remaining balance…

“What are you going to do if you end up penniless?”

Baek Yejun approached me as I leaned against the headboard.

“If you end up penniless, will you beg me for money?”

I thought that might actually happen.

After all, he was the richest human I knew. Though I wasn’t even sure if he was human.

“How much would you give me if I begged?”

He went, “Hmm,” and thought for a moment. Then he took my hand and placed it on his head.

Does that mean I have to stroke his head to hear the answer?

I stroked it a few times like a fortune-teller stroking a crystal ball.

“I’ll give you a little less than what you need.”

“Ah, here he goes again with his bullshit.”

I smacked him. His hair just ruffled a bit but he didn’t even flinch. It felt like punching a reed.

“What movie were you watching?”

He took the seat next to me and lay down. Then he paused at the pink scene filling my laptop screen.

And he asked.

“Isn’t this a kids’ animated movie?”

A scene was playing where a character with eyes taking up half [stolen content]its face was sprinkling rainbows and stardust from its fingertips.

“It was number one on the charts.”

“Do you watch everything that’s number one?”

“I don’t have any particular preferences.”

“You didn’t start watching it because you like movies?”

I’d started watching it just to kill time. More specifically, it was a habit, and functionally, it was a way to clear my head.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

In short, it was a two-hour sleeping pill.

“Would you like me to help you fall asleep?”

Without warning, his lips swallowed my breath. My glasses were pressed against the face that was hastily thrust in, making me uncomfortable.

A children’s cartoon played on the screen, while the opening scene of a cheap porn movie played out on the bed.

Slurp.

The mouth that had been sucking on my lower lip parted, and a thick tongue pushed my lips up, running along my teeth.

The weight of the snake straddling my body felt heavy. It felt like a python devouring its prey.

“…Why are you just staying still?”

He asked as he flicked his tongue like a reptile. I took off my glasses and pressed my hand against my nose.

“I wanted to see how far you’d go.”

I was starting to feel sleepy. I was so damn tired I just wanted to turn off the light and lie down. My patience for today was completely exhausted.

I wriggled my body free from beneath him.

“How far am I allowed to go?”

As I got out of bed, he grabbed the hem of my shirt. He was wearing that fake expression he puts on when he’s trying to look pitiful.

I was the one who was molested, yet he was pretending to be the victim.

“If you die in the middle of it, I’ll just assume that was your limit.”

“Death by sex?”

We’re not on the same page.

No, we’re on the same page, but we’re not communicating.

It was a one-sided dismissal; he had no intention of talking.

“If you don’t want it, push me away. You act so ambiguous that Yejun thinks it’s permission.”

I was livid.

It didn’t take much for him to drive someone insane.

He’s clearly sick. Sick as a dog.

“But Seongho has been kicking, hitting, and cursing you all this time.”

As if my words were hilarious, he laughed while rubbing himself against the bed. It also pissed me off [unauthorized copy]that he kept crawling into my bed even though I bought a separate winter comforter for him. Those white hairs I saw every time I made the bed really got under my skin.

“I won’t do anything, so come here.”

Baek Yejun propped his head up with one arm, lay on his side, and patted the empty spot next to him.

I just couldn’t trust him. He was serious when fighting, but when it was just the two of us, he became so frivolous.

“I have something to talk about. Okay?”

“Talk over there.”

I crossed my arms and leaned against the doorframe.

I’d secured an escape route. If things got dicey, I’d head outside.

It was embarrassing to run away from my own home, but if I stayed put, I would get devoured. Read on I really needed to get my hands on a homemade rifle soon.

“Kill one Esper for me.”

My arms, folded across my chest, trembled slightly.

“I’ll pay you.”

The atmosphere changed.

No, maybe it was just my body reacting.

My senses heightened, and my field of vision narrowed.

“How much are you offering?”

“How about 2 billion?”

The same amount as last time.

I needed the money. However, if the sum was too large, it became problematic.

It made it harder for the funds to be deposited directly into my account.

To survive, I needed a reasonable amount and regular deposits.

“Is payment in installments possible?”

“I’ll check with the law firm.”

So it was possible.

“4 billion.”

In that case, what if I raised the price?

It was true that I could use 2 billion right now. But freezing the price would be foolish.

I had no reason to back down.

“The price keeps going up?”

Was that a simple question, or an expression of dissatisfaction?

I couldn’t tell what he was thinking. He didn’t seem like the type who couldn’t afford the amount I proposed.

“Are you saying you won’t take the job?”

Baek Yejun made the first move.

A remark meant to solidify his position of superiority.

Should I back down a step, or should I push back as well?

“Yes, I won’t.”

I pushed back.

“You’re far more skilled than I am, why go through the trouble of hiring someone when you could just kill them yourself?”

He was a high-class Hunter.

He even had some kind of connections, he had disposed of that corpse from the first commission without a trace.

If that was the case, he could have handled it himself. Why was he ordering me to do it?

“I’m not allowed to kill people.”

“Why not?”

“Noble heroes don’t commit murder.”

So as long as it doesn’t get on his hands, it’s fine? What a shallow notion of nobility.

A hypocritical hero with twisted moral standards.

“So it’s fine if I do it?”

Baek Yejun sat up. Then he propped his chin on one knee and looked up at me.

“You’re good at it.”

In the dark room, the orange light from the lamp illuminated only the left side of Baek Yejun’s face. The shadow on his right cheek, left in the dark, was as desolate as a quiet island in the night sea.

His pupils shone as white as the moon.

“Why did it have to be you?”

The full moon hanging over the island folded into a crescent.

“Why did you have to catch my eye?”

I was unlucky.

My life was a mess from the start. Baek Yejun was just another variable thrown into the mix.

What difference would it make if one more piece of trash were added to the bin?

“4 billion won.”

“You don’t want to change your mind?”

“Don’t you need me?”

I didn’t care if the reason he gave was true, or why he couldn’t kill someone. Even speculating was a hassle.

My survival and the amount I would be paid were my only concerns.

As I heightened my senses to read the situation at the negotiation table, Baek Yejun suddenly reached out his hand.

“Yes, Hyung. I need you. Come here.”

His eyes, which had been folded like a crescent moon, curved into a sliver.

I didn’t like that.