âCough⊠Um, but why do you think he contacted you?â Unexpectedly, Choi Kyung-sik helped me by slicing through the silent tension with his words. He pushed up his round glasses and looked at me.
âW-Who knowsâŠâ I couldnât give a proper answerâI couldnât even begin to guess at the reason.
Itâs been several years since Iâve lost contact with Han Kiseok; we hadnât talked ever since we graduated from high school. Han Kiseok became a User even before high school graduation.
At that time, public perception of Users was far better than it is now. Han Kiseok hadnât attended school since he became a User. When he appeared at the graduation ceremony, he was surrounded by many people that looked at him with envious eyes.
I remember looking at Han Kiseok from behind, trying to search for something within him, and returning home before we could make eye contact. Since then, Iâve heard about him several times from various high school classmatesâŠAccording to rumors, he had entered some famous guild and his annual salary was worth several billion won.
Afterwards, when I came across Han Kiseokâs social media, it seemed that, surprisingly, the rumors werenât exaggerated. I knew that his family was originally well-off, but I got the sense that he had succeeded in life as a Userâthe stench of wealth dripped from his photos. The view of the Han River 1 from his home; his foreign car⊠His guild, whose name he proudly displayed on his profileâŠ
âHeâs a member of [Trap],â Kim said.
âŠJust as Kim saidâ[Trap] was another well-known large-scale guild.
âHoweverâŠwhy are the servants so casually looking through my account on my phone?!â
It was annoying to see Seo Dawon scrolling through, as if my phone were his own, but I couldnât even stop the others because I was still locked in the Mageâs arms. The other servants picked up my cell phone and began checking through Han Kiseokâs account.
â[Trap]âŠWe werenât at odds with that guild.â
âThe top guilds all know each other anywayâweâve all crossed the same bridge to get to the top.â
âStill, isnât [Trap] clean?â
At the very least, Han Kiseokâs guild wasnât one of our revenge targets. If he were part of [Virtuoso] or [Opera]⊠Han Kiseok might be swept up in the [Red Lotus] guildâs revenge.
Though I had no lingering regrets about Han Kiseok, Iâd loathe to be a direct agent in his death. Though we had a twisted and dark past, I didnât hate him enough to murder himâŠ
âBesides, I was too immature back thenâŠâ
I clung to Han Kiseok whenever I felt lonely.
I could understand how my actions may have been burdensomeâhis coldness and chilly attitude made some sense. We were the same age, but he always seemed more mature; I relied on him a lotâŠ
Therefore, I was uncomfortable and nervous to see the servants look at Han Kiseokâs account with fire in their eyes. I was worried that theyâd try to find any pretext to cause trouble for him; moreover, I had no idea what I would say if they pressed me further on our relationship.
At that moment, Jung Garam, who had been mostly silent, suddenly spoke, âYou know, this guy looks a little like Dawon-hyung.â
âDonât you have eyes?â Woo Ragi rebuked bluntly.
âNo, Iâm not saying that they look exactly the same~ Thatâs not it! Itâs likeâŠI can see a bit of Dawon-hyung in the shape of his eyes?â
âTry to refrain from making far-fetched statements.â Kim Olim said.
""
âHahhh?â
Even the resident Paladin joined in, with her cool-headed tone, to refute Jung Garamâs comparison.
Though it wasnât worth comparing the two, I understood what Garam-ie was saying; I had also thought that Han Kiseok and Seo Dawon were somewhat similar⊠Of course, it wouldnât be a good idea to step forth and confess that I thought Jung Garam was correct, so I kept my mouth firmly shut.
In the end, as the sole supporter of his claim, Garam-ie realized that his words wouldnât get through his two fellow guild members and grumbled, âOlim-noona, Ragi-hyungâŠyou two always pretended to attack Dawon-hyungâŠIn reality, you guys are his fans, huh. You guys want to be the only ones to insult him?â
âIâm just correcting you because your eyesight seems to be lacking. If you actually meant what you said, I recommend you get glasses.â
âYouâre the one who says âHyung, hyung,â all the timeâdonât project. Letâs stick to facts. Besides, except for his face, thereâs a lot to criticize. His personality is twisted, too.â
Choi Kyung-sik, who sat quietly to the side, looked at Han Kiseokâs selfie and glanced at Seo Dawon. âIs he saying that the structure and position of his eyes, nose, and mouth are similarâŠ?â He mumbled.
Garam-ie expressed his dissatisfaction by placing Choi Kyung-sikâthe easiest opponentâin a headlock.
Then, Seo Dawon, the object of this conversationâs praise and derision, smiled arrogantly at me as soon as our eyes met.
âWhatâs with your expressionâŠâ I grumbled.
âI just thought that Lee-kyung-ie really succeeded.â
âWhat?â
âTheyâre all saying Iâm far better than your ex-boyfriend.â
ââŠA-Are you crazy?!â My blood pressure rose sharply. This was the man that stayed silent when it came to the topic of dating or romantic affectionâhow could he so shamelessly say that? I really wanted to hit him, but my arm was still tingling. It had yet to recover from my attempts to forcefully retrieve my phone. So, I could only spout curses at him, âYou really need to be humbled! Youâre so despicable!â
âHumbleness combined with the likes of my face? Life would be too exhausting.â
âUghâŠ.â I wanted to sneer at the Mage, but it seemed like nothing could break Seo Dawonâs armor of narcissism. He probably wouldnât even be affected if I were to say Han Kiseok was more handsome. Rather, heâd probably be sarcastic and say I needed to wear glassesâŠ
âWhy did this bastard contact you though?â Woo Ragi re-directed our focus back onto the topic of Han Kiseokâs DM. I had been contemplating whether or not to pinch the Mage; that comment returned me to my senses. Seo Dawonâs arrogant self-love wasnât the biggest issue.
As if she had been waiting for this change in topic, Kim Olim immediately replied, âThereâs nothing that particularly stands out in his social media posts. Thereâs nothing strange in his message to Choi Lee-kyung either.â
âChoi Lee-kyung wouldnât suit this insider-type guy anywayâtheyâre polar opposites.â Jung Garam sure was talented in infuriating others. Whose side was he on anyway? What was more upsetting was that unlike when they defended Seo Dawonâs appearance, no one stood up for me.
My cheeks flushed red. Trembling, I protested, âI justâŠdonât go on social media that often. Iâm too lazy to post picturesâŠ!â
âThen, you should just ask him why he contacted you.â
âHmm, maybe itâs one of those typical greetings caused by an ex-boyfriendâs lingering emotion.â
âIsnât it 2 am now?â
Of course, no one bought my excuses. As if my words became background noise, they began exchanging their own opinions; naturally, my temper rose.
I looked around to see if there was anything I could throw at them; my eyes met Seo Dawonâs interested eyes. âItâs your choice, Lee-kyung-ah.â
âWhat?â
âWhether to respond or not. I think heâs contacted you about something personal.â Seo Dawon saidâit was the most logical course of actionâand removed his arm that had been wrapped around my waist.
After being released from his embrace, I snatched my cell phone away from the Servantsâ grasps. âFrom now on! Donât! Look at my Social media! As you please! Got it?â
ââŠâŠâ
ââŠâŠâ
No one spokeâas if they had coordinated. Feeling furious once more, I retreated safely into my room. Lackey, who usually loathed to exit the room if all the servants were gathered, excitedly hung onto my back as soon as I entered.
[Clack Clack!]
âClick.
After locking the door, I took a deep breath and collapsed onto the bed, still holding my phone. As I lost my balance and fell back onto the sheets, Lackey was still attached to my back. The skeleton began to squirm, hitting my neck and my shoulders; it felt like a massageâwhat a filial child.
âI really only have you, LackeyâŠâ
[Clack Clack?]
âHaah⊠Damn⊠Those punks all do as they please⊠Honestly, did their common sense die with them? Why go scroll through someone elseâs accountâŠâ
[Clack clack clack�]
I continued to mumble before I remembered that the servantsâ ears were incredibly sensitive; I forced myself to clamp my lips shut. Then, I felt incredibly unfairâI couldnât curse freely.
Lackey tapped me on my shoulder; I thought the skeleton was hitting me thoughtlessly, but suddenly my phone pinged me again.
[Han Kiseok: Ah, I didnât message you for a particular reasonâŠ]
[Han Kiseok: I ran into your mother last week; I heard you also became a User.]
[Han Kiseok: I contacted you because I was curious. Iâm sorry if I made you uncomfortable.]
Unexpectedly, Han Kiseokâs messages revealed his motivations.