FLIA 113

That faint voice was coming from the monster rooted to the floor, from his brother. It was so quiet that only Yohan could hear it, and his parents showed no reaction. Whether he knew it or not, his brother Yang Yosep kept whispering that he was fine after hearing their voices.

Even if he went back to the past, Yohan thought he would still willingly enter the Abyss to save Lee Hyunmook and the others, and that resolve had not changed. Yet seeing his family in this state because of him filled him with guilt. Holding back his tears, he said,

“I’m sorry, it’s because of me….”

“No. No, it’s such a relief that at least you came back safely.”

He was feeling guilty towards his family, but also hatred for Park Seungmin. If at least he had been honest and said Yohan had disappeared into the Abyss, then his brother would not have forced himself to enter a rift. And the reason for that lie was money, nothing else. As Yohan clenched his fists tight, Kim Yejoo sobbed and asked in a desperate voice,

“I know this might cause trouble for you, but couldn’t you ask Lee Hyunmook-ssi to heal him with that Eternal Stone? Yohan-ah….”

Only now did Yohan realize how overjoyed his parents must have been when Lee Hyunmook announced the existence of the Eternal Stones that could cure corruption. After looking once more at his severely corrupted brother, Yohan said,

“I actually had something to tell you about that….”

Just then, ding-dong! the doorbell rang from outside, and both of them flinched in fright. They hurriedly locked the door that was leaking stench and turned on the newly installed ventilation. Yohan gestured to them and said,

“I’ll go out and stall for time, so finish up and come upstairs. It won’t be anything serious.”

Perhaps in their panic, the two did not even think that Yohan must have carried the same stench on him. Of course, for Yohan, a purifier, smells like that made no difference. Climbing the stairs, he lightly purified his surroundings and checked the intercom, only to see his expression harden.

-Yohan-ah? Yohan-ah, are you home?

On the intercom screen was Park Seungmin’s grinning face. With his sharpened senses, Yohan also detected several other presences with him.

-It’s me, Seungmin…. It’s cold out here. Won’t you let me in? Ma’am? Sir? It’s me, Seungmin!

Taking a deep breath to suppress the rage and disgust boiling inside him, Yohan answered brightly,

“Yeah, I’m home. Wait a minute. I’ll open up soon.”

Yohan quickly told his parents downstairs that Park Seungmin had come. Then, deliberately stalling, he slowly opened the gate, then the front door. Behind Park Seungmin, Special Bureau agents were visible.

“Why’d you take so long to open?”

Park Seungmin complained irritably as he walked straight toward the entrance without hesitation. Blocking him with his body to keep him from stepping right in, Yohan replied,

“I was in the middle of something, so I was late. But… who are those people behind you?”

“Ah… the government assigned me escorts. Quite a lot of them, right? I told them I was just visiting a friend, but they insisted on attaching them. Some bigshot’s orders.”

Park Seungmin lifted his chin proudly as he spoke. Imagining himself smashing that chin with a fist, Yohan pretended to be surprised.

“Government escorts? What’s all this about?”

“That’s exactly why I came! There’s something I absolutely wanted to watch with you!”

When Yohan blocked him again as he tried to swagger inside, Park Seungmin frowned. The blatant displeasure he showed made Yohan wonder how he had ever managed to act so harmless in front of him until now.

“What’s the matter? Just let a friend in.”

“I can let you in, sure. But I can’t let all those people behind you come in too. My parents are home. Our house isn’t dangerous to you or anything, is it?”

Unable to easily argue against Yohan’s words, Park Seungmin hesitated before replying rudely in a curt voice,

“You’ve got your brother here too. How do I know I’m safe?”

“Why would my brother be dangerous to you?”

When Yohan stared at him and asked, Park Seungmin muttered, “Tch.” Had he noticed that Yang Yosep was corrupted? Or had Yosep already sensed Seungmin’s suspicious behavior long ago? Judging by his reaction, it seemed to be the latter. Growing nervous, Park Seungmin checked a flashy wristwatch Yohan had never seen before, then suddenly shoved one of the Special Bureau agents behind him to vent his frustration. Now Yohan noticed even his clothes looked quite expensive.

“Don’t you get it? My friend said not to come in! What’ll you do if we’re late?”

“But escorts are required.”

After some squabbling, Yohan sensed his parents’ presences had come upstairs and their breathing had steadied. Only then did he pretend to negotiate.

“If that’s the case, how about just two of you come in. I don’t know why you’re wary of my brother, but he’s not even home right now.”

Since they had argued for quite a while, Park Seungmin and the Special Bureau reluctantly accepted Yohan’s suggestion. Once inside, Park Seungmin brazenly acted as if it were his own home, greeting Yang Hwapyeong and Kim Yejoo with exaggerated cheer.

“Ma’am, Sir! How have you been?”

“Well, Seungmin-ah. Have you been well?”

“Of course! I’ve been doing absolutely great! I’ll show you just how great very soon!”

Yang Hwapyeong’s expression grew strained. He had quickly noticed Seungmin’s behavior had changed to a rudeness unlike before.

Kim Yejoo, seeing the two Special Bureau agents who followed Seungmin in, drew a long breath through her nose and then calmly sat on the sofa as if nothing was wrong. Yang Hwapyeong, who was especially bad at acting, did not even look at the agents. Park Seungmin strode into the living room, turned on the TV, and plopped himself onto the sofa. Grinning, he beckoned Yohan.

“We almost missed the broadcast. Come on, sit with me. You two, come sit here too and watch with me.”

“What kind of broadcast is it that you’re making such a fuss?”

Finding his behavior laughable, Yohan sat beside him. At that, Park Seungmin’s smirk faded slightly, and he asked in a dubious voice,

“What’s so funny?”

“A good friend came to visit, of course I’d be smiling. Isn’t that right?”

Then, acting friendly, he slung his arm over Yohan’s shoulder, who pulled away in open discomfort.

“Ah, uh. Just focus on the broadcast.”

“What kind of broadcast is it anyway?”

Even when Kim Yejoo asked, Park Seungmin only smirked unpleasantly and gave no answer. A moment later, though it was not news time, a sudden emergency report began.

-Good evening, we bring you breaking news. Tonight at exactly 11 o’clock, the government announced they had secured a high-level awakener capable of cleansing corruption. This awakener has been officially designated as a Purifier. With so many citizens suffering from corruption, this is a rare piece of good news….

When the anchor went on to announce the identity of the high-rank awakened, Park Seungmin shouted in excitement.

“That’s me! That’s me! Do you see?!”

Yohan watched as Park Seungmin was introduced to the world as a high-level awakener. He could clearly picture everyone’s surprise, joy, and admiration at the news. Even his own family, right there beside him, reacted the same way. Seeing their response, Park Seungmin’s face flushed red with exhilaration as he shouted.

“Haha! Now you know how amazing I’ve become!”

“Wow, that’s really great. You’ve become a Purifier. Now you can do good work.”

Yohan did not even have to pretend, he had been smiling naturally from earlier, so his congratulations sounded convincing. Glancing sideways at his parents, who looked restless and as if they wanted to say something to Seungmin, Yohan quickly spoke first.

“Seungmin-ah, we’re friends, right? Then could you do me a favor?”

When he said it, Yohan saw Park Seungmin’s face fill with joy. He also saw the inferiority that had driven him to come all the way here just to play that broadcast. Park Seungmin had always longed to see the more successful Yang Yohan humbled before him. Yohan could even faintly hear Park Seungmin’s heart pounding hard enough to burst.

“A favor? What kind of favor? Tell me.”

Tearing his eyes away from the broadcast that was introducing him, Park Seungmin asked in an arrogant voice. Yohan met his parents’ eyes, then deliberately looked at the Special Bureau agents standing behind. Catching his gaze, Yang Hwapyeong and Kim Yejoo barely managed to compose themselves. They were desperate to ask Seungmin to cleanse Yosep right away, yet also knew they could not, or he would expose them and Yosep would be dragged away.

“I know someone who’s badly corrupted. Could you treat him?”

At once Park Seungmin burst into laughter. He slapped the sofa as if he could not hold back how funny it was, then replied,

“Corruption treatment? Of course I can do it.”

He lifted his hand, showing a glimmering light over his palm. Seeing that, Yang Hwapyeong’s expression changed and his lips trembled as if he was about to speak, but Kim Yejoo pinched his thigh to stop him. Watching their reaction, Park Seungmin smirked.

‘Aha? So that bastard Yang Yosep got corrupted? That’s why the three of you are acting like this. Wow, fuck.’

To see the three people who had always lorded over him acting this way thrilled Park Seungmin to the point of goosebumps. In truth, they had never lorded over him, they had always treated him kindly. But his inferiority complex twisted it into arrogance on their part, and he alone built up hostility.

It was also delightful to think that Yang Yosep, who had once suspected him and threatened him when he fabricated the story about Yohan’s disappearance, had ended up at least a severe corruption case. But the desperation of Yohan and his family seemed oddly lacking. Putting on an air of condescension, Park Seungmin replied,

“But I can’t just do it for free. I’ve got a contract with the government, so I can’t treat just anyone.”

“How much? What do you want in return?”

“One billion won.”

One billion? To cure such severe corruption, if it cost one billion won… Yohan’s parents had indeed spent a great deal of money searching for him, but Yang Hwapyeong and Kim Yejoo still thought they could manage that much. But then his next words froze their faces.

“One billion per treatment.”