“Please bear with it, I beg you!”

“Hmm.”

I had half forgotten because he only showed me kind and friendly sides. That person is Cheon Shin Woo. The infamous scoundrel, the Cheon Shin Woo of the dog leash incident.

‘When I’m obediently leashed like a dog, he should know his limits.’

On the day when laws regulating hunters became excessively strict, the judiciary arrested Cheon Shin Woo for absurd reasons. Cheon Shin Woo resolved that complex case with an unknown inside story in a very simple way.

He killed everyone involved.

He killed all the judges, prosecutors, witnesses, politicians, etc. who had conspired to bind the existence known as the number one ranker.

Everyone expected him to become a villain, but the system declared him innocent.

Alone and noble under the sky. Or a sky stained red with blood.

People called him Jeokcheon (寂天) as they watched him.

Nevertheless, I couldn’t believe the situation before my eyes.

Cheon Shin Woo finally stepped on and crushed the host’s leg, and Min Yu Shin rubbed his face dry. The staff screamed and ran away.

“Let’s end today’s interview here. Tell them to write the article as they please. They seem to think I’m pushover because I crawled a bit. I’ll have to overhaul things soon.”

“Please, let’s endure it. Just endure it once, okay?”

Cheon Shin Woo looked at Min Yu Shin, who was trying to soothe and placate him, once and made an annoyed expression. I thought he might do something more, but fortunately, whether he had calmed down or not, no further commotion occurred.

The situation was quickly resolved. The director announced the end of filming in a trembling voice, and an ambulance soon arrived to take away the groaning Lee Se Han.

I just blankly watched the series of events with a lost sense of reality.

“Ha Young.”

As I stood there quietly, Cheon Shin Woo, who had left the cleanup to his secretary, approached me. The chilling expression from just moments ago was gone, replaced by a gentle smile.

It gave me goosebumps. The fact that he could smile so casually after mercilessly trampling someone just before.

At the same time, I felt a strange sensation.

He was scary, yet not scary. Before I could even question my emotions, Cheon Shin Woo stroked my head with his large hand as he had done before.

“You seem surprised.”

“Uh, yes…?”

“You look shocked. Are you okay?”

“Yes….”

Why are you doing this to me? Just as the question rose to my throat-

“So there really is something between you two!”

Min Yu Shin, who had barely managed to resolve the situation, came running over shouting. The expression instantly disappeared from Cheon Shin Woo’s face.

“This is really driving me crazy, I thought today would pass without incident…. What on earth did you hear to act like this?”

“…”

“Please, can’t you at least say something? We need to prepare a statement on our side too….”

“Ha Young.”

“Yes?”

“If it’s alright, could we talk for a moment?”

Cheon Shin Woo proposed to me, completely ignoring Min Yu Shin’s words. Honestly, I wanted to refuse, but I couldn’t.

Hiding my true feelings, I nodded, and he smiled.

The place Cheon Shin Woo took us to talk was a private room-style restaurant. It was an expensive restaurant where each menu item was eye-poppingly priced.

“What do you want to eat? Just tell me. I’ll buy you anything you order!”

And of course, Min Yu Shin tagged along.

‘If you’re seen talking alone, there might be bad rumors about Ha Young.’

He added a plausible reason and requested to join, and since I was scared to be alone with Cheon Shin Woo, I quickly shouted okay. Cheon Shin Woo made a sour face but said to do as we pleased.

“Wow, this place is really delicious. We sometimes do business with them too…. Oh, are there any menu items you don’t know? I’ll explain them to you.”

Min Yu Shin, who was excessively friendly, talked about this and that. I let his words go in one ear and out the other.

I chose the menu items as recommended and waited for the food, but Cheon Shin Woo, who had said he wanted to talk to me, kept his mouth shut while only Min Yu Shin chattered excitedly.

“You know, I’m actually this guy’s middle school classmate. When I first saw that face on the news, I was so surprised.”

“He wasn’t this weird in personality back then…. He’s getting more sensitive as days go by.”

“You know what, Ha Young? Most of the Cheonrang Guild members are people who follow the guild master. But even they don’t like going on gate raids with the guild master. They say they’d rather form a party with Kang So Ra.”

“He looks so melancholy and gloomy, but his taste in food is completely that of an elementary schooler. You saw it too, Ha Young, him adding syrup. Ugh, I don’t know how he eats something so sweet.”

Somehow all the chatter was about Cheon Shin Woo. Moreover, it wasn’t something to say in front of the person himself. The more Min Yu Shin opened his mouth, the grimmer Cheon Shin Woo’s expression became.

“Ah, but have we really met somewhere before? I strangely feel like you’re familiar.”

“I know, right? Since I have a narrow social circle, I wouldn’t have forgotten if I had met you before.”

“Haha, if Ha Young was just a little older, I would have accepted. It’s a shame we met like this.”

“…What does that mean?”

Cheon Shin Woo, who hadn’t opened his mouth even while listening to badmouthing right in front of him, spoke with half-rolled eyes. Min Yu Shin, Cheon Shin Woo’s childhood friend and secretary, just smiled brightly, either oblivious or pretending to be.

“Ha Young uses quite a classic technique! Haha, saying ‘Haven’t we met somewhere before?’ Too bad I prefer older women, so I declined…. Hmm? Shin Woo?”

“…”

Sparks flew from the chopsticks. That day, I realized for the first time that even chopsticks could be excellent weapons for S-rank hunters.

“Why, why are you like this? Don’t tell me you two are really dating? Gasp, I’ll keep this a secret. Really? Where did you meet? Did you meet behind my back?”

“…”

Now that I look at him, that person had an outstanding talent for inviting beatings with his words.

I silently ate the food that came out. It’s delicious.

“Ack, Shin Woo! An age gap of about 7 years isn’t a crimeee!”

What’s this? It seems like a seafood dish. When I get my salary, should I come to a place like this once? Once I become a full-time employee, a bit of luxury should be fine, right?

The same situation repeated for quite a while after that. When he mercilessly trampled the host earlier, Cheon Shin Woo was so scary, but somehow watching him beat Min Yu Shin felt familiar.

As I was dipping sashimi in soy sauce and putting it in my mouth, I suddenly asked about something that came to mind.

“By the way, why did you do that earlier?”

“Earlier?”

“That, during the interview. There was suddenly a crushing sound…”

“Ah.”

Although I asked without expecting an answer, an unexpected reply came back.

“He asked questions that crossed the line.”

“What? Questions that crossed the line?”

“Just, personal stories and things about this irregular gate. I let it slide when he was lightly scratching the surface, but then he started spouting nonsense.”

No matter how much he needs to make the show entertaining, he shouldn’t cross the line. I wonder what kind of story he heard to get so angry. It left a bad taste in my mouth. Whatever his circumstances, from tonight, no, starting this evening, numerous news outlets will criticize Cheon Shin Woo.

Whatever the circumstances, the fact that it’s a major incident doesn’t change. It will surely have a big impact.

“Well, this isn’t the first or second time this has happened, so there’s no need to worry too much. It will be resolved somehow.”

As I was making a worried expression, Min Yu Shin smiled and smoothed over the atmosphere. He even ordered a few more bottles of alcohol. It was high-end alcohol with an unbelievable number of zeros per bottle.

Min Yu Shin poured me a drink. Cheon Shin Woo took that drink. I watched them, or more precisely, Min Yu Shin, who was chattering well by himself even without answers, in the quickly loosened atmosphere.

“What did you want to tell me?”

“It doesn’t seem like the right day today. I’ll tell you later.”

After taking a few sips of alcohol that had slipped out, I asked out of curiosity that had leaked out, and Cheon Shin Woo answered with a smile. Every time he showed such an expression, Min Yu Shin jumped as if he had seen a goblin. He looked every bit like a drunk person.

That day, I ended up not hearing anything from Cheon Shin Woo. The day’s work that started as a daily helper concluded with a dinner with the guild master of Cheonrang and the guild master’s secretary.

On my way home, I thought. Now tomorrow, new articles will come out. With provocative titles like ‘Dog Leash Cheon Shin Woo, Can’t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks.’ or something like that.

However, the articles that actually came out were different from my expectations. And because of those articles, I ended up experiencing something I could never have imagined.

As if someone was ringing a bell inside my head, a Jong- sound reverberated. A faint smell of metal mixed with the pungent odor of filth. Dizziness and nausea came over me.

Before I could even grasp the situation, my arms and legs started to ache. Limited senses. My arms and legs seemed to be tied up.

Even though I had clearly opened my eyes, my vision remained dark.

“…!”

The sound coming out of my mouth couldn’t form its shape. Even when I tried to scream, it was as if something was blocking it, and only a wind-like sound escaped.

Yes, I’ve been kidnapped now. Damn it, I don’t know what benefit they could gain by kidnapping someone like me, but still.

To explain this situation, we need to go back in time a little.

“Good morning!”

“Good morning. You seem particularly energetic today.”

Despite Cheon Shin Woo’s assault on the host the day before, nothing seemed particularly different.

People came to work as usual, drinking their potion-like Americanos.

“If we just get through today, it’s the weekend, so let’s work hard not to fall behind. Fighting!”

The team leader, who seemed to be in a strangely good mood, encouraged the team members, and everyone went to their seats and started working.

It really seemed like a scene no different from usual.

‘Did they not see the articles?’

Is that why they’re so calm? Honestly, it was better for me if they hadn’t seen them, so I was relieved.

Tick tock, the sound of the clock’s second hand moving. Along with a strange silence, the sound of the printer working, keys being pressed on keyboards, phone rings, and people leaving their seats to answer work calls.

It was familiar yet strangely alien.

“Yes, regarding that matter, discussions are currently taking place within the guild, so…”

Surprisingly, there was only one line of news about Cheon Shin Woo slowly trampling the famous comedian who was the interview host. Even that was an article insisting that they would sue Cheon Shin Woo and make him taste the bitterness of the law.

Honestly, it was laughable. Suing and the bitterness of the law against that Cheon Shin Woo? It’s impossible. There was a strong will not to settle, but it would have been better to settle and extract a large sum of money.

Cheon Shin Woo’s personality had been famous since long ago, so it wasn’t like it would suddenly impact him.

“Yes, what? The person the guild master is meeting? I’m sorry, I can’t tell you about private matters. Please refrain from contacting us about non-work-related issues.”