Sayunâs life and death were decided by the system. Time would turn back, his wounds would be healed, and he would be revived anyway. So, if he hit himself in the head with the pliers he was holding and died, wouldnât he be able to reset this situation?
After contemplating for a moment on whether or not to execute his idea, Sayun immediately gave up on that thought.
Time never turned back outside of the âcompulsory executionâ. Besides, the system would be a mess if it turned back time every time Sayun died.
It was a perfect idea if he wanted to be portrayed as a lunatic by Han Geonjoo, who was flailing around like a newborn fawn.
Think about it. If the person who kidnapped you smashed their head open with a pair of pliers, wouldnât you think âWell, that person is into suicideâ? They would just look insane.
In addition, if the system forcefully healed Sayun and resurrected him, Geonjoo would watch the person who died right in front of his eyes come back to life. Sayun didnât know what kind of person Han Geonjoo was, or if he watched horror movies, but he was confident that the scene would look more realistic than any horror movie he had ever seen.
The problem was that Sayun shouldnât do that.
The more he thought about it, the worse the outcome was. It was enough that Geonjoo was so alert, and their relationship didnât seem to improve, so there were no useful ideas that came to mind after he dropped that one.
As Sayun shook his head violently, Geonjoo narrowed his eyes. He looked suspicious, but also hostile. Before he catalogued Sayun as a kidnapper, he thought that he should say something, so he opened his mouth.
âPretty one.â
ââŠ?â
Geonjoo raised his eyebrows because of the sudden pet name. Sayun thought that he could see a question mark raised above Geonjooâs black hair, and only then did he realise the problem with the pet name.
This time, his mouth was the problem.
Since Sayun had been calling him âpretty oneâ for the past three months, the words came out without him realising it. Fortunately, after a long time of calling him âbastardâ or âson of a bitchâ, calling him âpretty oneâ was a better choice.
âArenât Han Geonjooâs eyes harbouring a feeling that I havenât seen before? They look perverted.â
Sayun examined Geonjooâs face, contemplating whether he shouldâve explained the pet name or not. Geonjooâs face, which he couldnât analyse properly since he was so focused on his alignments, caught Sayunâs eyes.
Looking at him, the pet name âprettyâ didnât seem so wrong. Sayun didnât even need to see him from up close to tell that he had pretty features.
Even though his eyes looked vigilant, the ends of his long eyelashes were raised, giving off a subtle friendly feeling.
Maybe it was because of his wet hair or Jongsikâs rough handling, but his forehead could clearly be seen through his bangs, giving him an innocent look. His sharp jawline, however, made him look more handsome than innocent. Because he was kidnapped, he had an air of a nervous beauty.
Sayun decided that âprettyâ seriously matched him because of his clean face. And so, Geonjooâs nickname became âprettyâ.
The nickname was set without the consent of the other person.
Sayun thought it was better than calling him by his name in the first place. If he were to suddenly call him âGeonjooâ, he would suspect Sayun of looking at his personal information. It wasnât pleasant to be a mistaken for a thief, kidnapper or murderer. Sayun would rather wear the image of a perverted man calling another man âprettyâ.
How did he end up in this situation?
It was a funny sight, seeing himself anxious because of just one label, so he chose his next words carefully. It was good that he managed to shift Geonjooâs attention, but what was he supposed to do in case he was branded as a pervert instead?
As he pondered for a while, since anything he would do would come off as strange, Geonjooâs eyes began to harbour faint distrust once more.
âLooks like someoneâs patience didnât even last 10 minutes.â
Furthermore, villains would wait until a heroâs transformation was over, but Geonjoo didnât even give him enough time to think.
Sayun wasnât in a hurry.
He muttered to himself, saying how he was just a simple, modern man, and moved the pliers he was holding in his hand. It was a normal action he did when he was engrossed in something.
Seeing it as a threat while he was tied to a chair, Geonjoo flinched. Sayun, who had better dynamic vision than others, couldnât miss his reaction.
That mustâve been a mistake.
If they were playing a game of favorability or something similar, that reaction certainly would have cost him -10 favorability. Due to such an ominous premonition, Sayun made the quest window appear with a flick of his hand.
âCurrent Relationship: Hostile and Vigilantâ
Unsurprisingly, one more boundary was attached to the line indicating Sayunâs relationship with the guy.
At that rate, more negative words such as suspicion and fear were bound to be added.
How the hell was Sayun supposed to get closer to him?
What Sayun was used to was forcing and subduing through intimidation, not soothing, conciliating, and building a relationship.
Sayun ruffled his own hair, wondering what was so difficult, and then patted it down in a gentle manner.
The prerequisite was to face each other in the torture house, but no matter what he said now, it didnt seem like it would make the situation any better.
There was no such thing as an instruction manual anyway, so he could just do as he liked.
Fortunately, Sayun knew what to say in a situation like this.
The words that he would always utter whenever he found someone useful in the torture house.
âI want you to work under me.â
ââŠâ
âIf you donât like it, you can die.â
âB-brother!â
Jongsik was even more embarrassed by his relentless remarks. Sayun raised his eyes, waiting for Geonjooâs reaction.
Half of the Night Rats Guildâs members were recruited like that. After all, if it was kidnapping then it was kidnapping, and if it was confinement then it was confinement.
It was better to show the most natural appearance he had than to be suspected. If everything was already ruined, shouldnât he take the initiative?
Blackmail and intimidation.
Those two were enough. Originally, when faced with multiple difficulties, people usually did what they do best to overcome such situations.
That wasnât it.
Didnât they usually come up with new things?
Sayun couldnât figure out how ordinary people thought and lived, because he never had a normal life to begin with. As he was waiting for Geonjooâs answer, thinking of what it mightâve been, he realised that his mouth was covered, so he couldnât give an answer in the first place.
âUngag him.â
ââŠYes.â
Jongsik, who was watching Sayun with questionable eyes, removed the tape that had covered Geonjooâs mouth. When he pulled it off, Geonjoo took a deep breath.
âHaâŠâ
A wet and musty basement. In the quiet chamber, only Geonjooâs breath could be heard. Sayun moved the pliers in his hand once more. This time, it was intentional.
More as a demand.
Geonjoo didnât seem like he had enough patience, so it was better to warn him before he made a move.
Of course, Sayun wasnât going to harm him, but it would be easier to talk if he gave a warning like that.
Whether he was naive or sensitive, Geonjoo turned his eyes towards the pliers.
The confrontation continued briefly while they faced each other. Geonjooâs silence didnât last very long.
ââŠPlease, untie these first.â
His voice was calmer than Sayun had expected. What would be appropriate for someone of Geonjooâs age was to curse a little and ask who their captor was, but the words that came out of his lips were unexpectedly gentle. It was nice to hear as well, due to his unshaking voice.
âHeâs strong.â
Well, that was better than being stupid. Sayun, deeply satisfied, shook his head towards Jongsik. With a deep sigh, Jongsik walked towards Geonjoo and then looked back at Sayun.
âBrother, are you sure this is okay?â
âI donât know, you bastard.â
They exchanged words through their eyes, and he swallowed his anxiety while trying to maintain a calm appearance.
He was pretending to be calm and cold, but he was actually rather impatient. He could hear the annoying ding at any point, saying âFailed to win the favour of the alignment holder. Resistance will be permanently disabledâ. He was worried that the blue window would appear.
Of course, this wasnât his last chance. There were two people who possessed the alignments he needed.
If this one failed, he just had to find the other one.
Had it not taken him three months to find the alignment holder, he wouldâve taken the situation a little lighter.
It had been three months since he left the guild business behind and searched for this guy until he fainted. After spending nearly 92 days looking for the alignment holder, Sayun finally found him, and looking for the other one would be too risky.
Jongsik shouldnât have brought him to the villa.
Even if he had put the piece in the wrong place, he only put it wrong. But right now, he had actually put it in the last place.
An arrow of resentment shot straight at Jongsik. His hands quickened as soon as Sayun gave him a signal to hurry up with removing the rope and tape that bound Geonjoo to the chair.
Han Geonjoo was able to get out of the ropes that had tied his wrists and ankles to the chair only after another minute. It was tied so tightly that marks were left behind.
Would that also deduce some points?
All of a sudden, the favorability game popped into Sayunâs mind.
This time, it would be around -7 points.
As he was grading his actions, Geonjoo, who was rubbing his wrists, let out a low groan. The pained sound brought Sayun back and broke the silence.
âSince I let you go, you should answer me, pretty one.â
As he spoke with his own type of kindness, his black eyes locked on the man. Geonjoo, who looked around the chamber as if he was looking for a way to escape, finally landed on Sayun. His eyes seemed to be searching for something, and he soon narrowed them.
At the same time, the letters in the quest window changed.
âCurrent Relationship: Hostile and Interestedâ
ââŠInterested?â
Sayun tilted his head.
All that changed from when it was âhostile and vigilantâ was that he had asked him threateningly if he wanted to talk after releasing him. It wouldâve been more normal for ordinary people to feel fear or suspicion.
Interest, howeverâŠ
Letâs think back to what he mightâve done. As Sayun was contemplating several things, a possibility suddenly crossed his mind.
Among the Night Rats Guildâs members, there was one madman who used to get aroused whenever he would hear a curse word. Some said it was okay if they were to be hit, and some even moaned when insulted. Since it was a gathering of crazy people, those with such sexual preferences had also come in.
His eyes narrowed because of some reasonable doubts based on the experience he had accumulated, having the guild members as reference.