“Yeonsu!”
At that mont, soone caught .
“Geonwoo hyung...”
“Yeonsu, are you okay?”
Park Geonwoo said he was going to the Inspection Division. He probably had many connections {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} at the Center, and above all, since this matter involved him, he might know sothing about it.
“Hyung, they’re saying Seunghyuk is under suspicion for attempted murder...”
“That’s right. That guy orchestrated my car accident.”
So it was about that after all.
“No. There’s no way Seunghyuk would...”
“Yeonsu, calm down and let’s get out of here for now.”
“But Seunghyuk...”
He’d been arrested. Even though he was more than capable of taking on the Inspection Division Espers, he let himself be captured because he was worried about —because he knew I didn’t want to see him fight.
“Yeonsu, this is the Hyeonmu Center. It’s a secure facility, so outsiders can’t stay here long.”
Despite Joo Seunghyuk’s sudden arrest, Park Geonwoo was extrely composed. Even though the two of them had no friendship and were practically enemies, the fact that soone he had arrived with was suddenly arrested didn’t seem to surprise him at all.
“Hyung... did you know Seunghyuk was going to be arrested today?”
“Let’s just go.”
“So you did know.”
“Yeonsu, let’s go.”
He avoided answering.
“Hyung!”
Just then, soone opened the waiting room door—it was the Hyeonmu Center staff mber who had guided us earlier. She looked at with an awkward expression, as if she couldn’t bring herself to say we had to leave because I didn’t look well.
“Yeonsu.”
Park Geonwoo kept urging to go.
“...Okay.”
Either way, with the staff here, I had to leave. But before I could even take a step, my legs gave out again and I sank down.
“Yeonsu, get on my back.”
Park Geonwoo offered his back, but I refused.
“I’m fine.”
I didn’t want to be carried by anyone other than Joo Seunghyuk. I pushed against the floor and tried to get up. I tried to walk sohow, but my body wouldn’t cooperate.
When I stumbled again, Park Geonwoo supported . I didn’t like even that, but I had no choice.
Park Geonwoo and I rode in a car to the Inspection Division building.
“This way.”
“Yes.”
He led into an empty conference room. He seed very familiar with the layout of the Inspection Division.
“Sit here. I’ll bring you a drink. Is there anything you want?”
“I’m fine.”
“You should have sothing anyway.”
“I’m not in the mood...”
Until just a short while ago, I’d been thinking I was hungry. Wondering what to eat with Joo Seunghyuk, even happily imagining cooking sothing for him myself.
But the mont he was taken away by the Inspection Division, my appetite vanished. I didn’t want to eat anything. I didn’t even want to drink.
“Hyung, more importantly, Seunghyuk—!”
“Just wait a mont.”
He stepped out, then returned with a cup of coffee and a cup of tea. Park Geonwoo drank the coffee himself and handed the tea.
But whether coffee or tea, I had no intention of drinking.
“Hyung, sothing’s wrong. There’s no way Seunghyuk arranged your car accident!”
I finally managed to get out the words I’d been holding back.
“Calm down and drink.”
“I’m fine. And you know it too—Seunghyuk might be a bit blunt and a little rough, but...”
“Yeonsu, it’s more than a bit or a little.”
“Well... yes, but... Anyway, if he really intended to hurt you, he’d have handled it directly. He would never have ordered sothing like a car accident!”
Joo Seunghyuk hadn’t orchestrated Park Geonwoo’s accident. When I’d told him about it, he’d reacted indifferently, saying he’d never use such a stupid thod.
And he was right. If Joo Seunghyuk truly ant to kill Park Geonwoo, he wouldn’t have chosen such a clumsy approach.
If he really had arranged the accident, he would’ve kept going after Park Geonwoo even after it failed, doing whatever it took to achieve his goal.
If Joo Seunghyuk decided on sothing, there’s no way Park Geonwoo would still be alive. And he’d never leave things sloppy enough to get caught.
But I couldn’t say that out loud. While I was wondering how to convince him, Park Geonwoo spoke.
“You’re right. If Joo Seunghyuk wanted dead, he wouldn’t use that thod. He could’ve attacked while we were raiding a Gate, making it look like an accident—there are countless ways. Why bother with sothing so troubleso?”
“Yes, exactly.”
“But you know, he could have used that reasoning against you. Since no one would suspect him of using such a ans, he used it to catch you off guard.”
“No. Seunghyuk would never.”
“Yeonsu, do you trust Joo Seunghyuk?”
“Yes.”
The answer ca out before I had ti to think. At that, Park Geonwoo’s gaze cooled.
“Even if Joo Seunghyuk manipulated your matching rate?”
“...What do you an?”
Instead of answering, he showed a photo.
The place in the picture was filled with the remains of long-ruined buildings, overgrown weeds, and a profusion of bright red flowers. Beyond that stood an opulent mansion completely out of place in the desolate scenery.
I knew it the mont I saw it.
It was a photo of Abite Island, where Joo Seunghyuk had spent his childhood and where we’d stayed together all sumr break.
After the Gate Break, the island had beco covered in Red Lotus Fla, and Joo Seunghyuk had gone to great lengths to hide that fact. But how had Park Geonwoo gotten this picture...?
“This is Joo Seunghyuk’s island. And those flowers are Red Lotus Fla.”
Park Geonwoo pointed at the photo as he explained.
He not only knew the island belonged to Joo Seunghyuk but also exactly what those flowers were.
“Yes.”
“You’re not surprised there’s Red Lotus Fla on the surface. Did you already know?”
“Seunghyuk told .”
“That bastard’s shaless.”
His tone was uncharacteristically cynical for soone like Park Geonwoo, who usually presented an upright image.
“What’s that supposed to an?”
“Yeonsu, then do you know this as well?”
He showed another photo instead of answering. This one depicted a rather stark gray building, with nothing particularly distinctive about it.
“What’s this?”
“I guess you don’t know. Well, even Joo Seunghyuk probably wouldn’t have told you this.”
“What is it?”
“It’s Seonghan’s Red Lotus Fla research facility.”
“...Red Lotus Fla research?”
“Yes. They’ve started developing new drugs using a special Red Lotus Fla that grows on the surface. Even though Seonghan Pharmaceutical already has research facilities, it seems Joo Seunghyuk set up a secret one. From what I’ve heard, they conducted all sorts of unethical experints there for the sake of drug developnt. In particular, they focused on research to raise matching rates—and it seems they finally got results this year. You know what that ans, don’t you?”
“...You’re saying Seunghyuk fed a drug to raise our matching rate?”
This year, the only Guide whose matching rate with Joo Seunghyuk had risen dramatically was .
Hearing my answer, Park Geonwoo nodded in affirmation.
“That’s right. In fact, from the mont I heard your matching rate with Joo Seunghyuk had suddenly jumped, I suspected Red Lotus Fla might be involved. People talk about Africa being in bad shape, but around the Akar Gate, it was practically a war zone.”
He suddenly brought up the Akar Gate raid.
“Even when the matching rate was poor, you still had to guide to survive. So Espers and Guides would even pick Red Lotus Fla from the Gate and eat it to raise the matching rate, even if only temporarily. The side effects were so severe that it was a last resort—risking your life—but back then, we were desperate. So when I heard your matching rate with Joo Seunghyuk had improved after Akar was conquered, I imdiately thought of Red Lotus Fla. That’s why I rushed back to Korea.”
That was why Park Geonwoo had returned earlier than in the original storyline.
“And then I found out Joo Seunghyuk had special Red Lotus Fla. That’s when my suspicion turned into certainty.”
“So what you were going to tell last sester was...?”
“I was going to warn you that Joo Seunghyuk might have manipulated your matching rate.”
“But that alone isn’t proof he actually did it...”
When Park Geonwoo had co looking for in the lecture hall saying he had sothing to tell , Joo Seunghyuk had roughly silenced him with mana. I could still picture it vividly, yet different words ca out of my mouth.
“That’s not all. While he was dating you, Joo Seunghyuk was also pursuing a political marriage with the only daughter of the president of Lexington Pharmaceuticals.”
“...”
“You’re not surprised. Did you know about that too?”
“Yes.”
“And you still kept dating him?”
“Yes.”
“Lexington is the world’s number one company in Red Lotus Fla research. He betrayed you for the sake of new drug developnt!”
Park Geonwoo raised his voice as if frustrated. But my view of Joo Seunghyuk didn’t change.
“I heard that political marriage was arranged without Seunghyuk’s consent.”
“And you believe that?”
“Yes. I do. It didn’t end up happening anyway.”
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