As the seemingly unbreakable knot began to unravel, thoughts naturally followed in its wake.

‘That brat the old man always kept by his side.’

Though Ju-eon had deliberately refrained from mentioning him, Han-ol immediately thought of Kang Yun-jae.

He had seen Yun-jae on the news a few times, boasting about his significant contributions to the development of the Weathering Syndrome cure. Coincidentally, Yun-jae had once been by Myung-hwon’s side but later appeared at official events with the old man, Yeo Ji-woong, which was why Han-ol had already looked into him.

When Kang Yun-jae was first reassigned to the provinces, Han-ol had thought he had been cast aside by Yeo Ji-woong. Later, he assumed Yun-jae had solidified his position and returned to Yeo Ji-woong’s favor.

Han-ol had always thought Yun-jae was a detestable b*stard—betraying Myung-hwon and attributing his achievements to the old man. But to think there was even more scheming behind it all.

‘I expected him to be used, but it turns out he was the one doing the using.’

In the end, even that old man had been deceived. While Han-ol had believed Yun-jae was firmly in Yeo Ji-woong’s grasp, Yun-jae had secretly been protecting Woo Ju-eon under his authority. Yeo Ji-woong was not the type to give second chances. Knowing his ruthless nature, where anyone who defied him even slightly would be thoroughly crushed, it shocked Han-ol that Yun-jae had dared to deceive him.

“You. What’s your relationship with Kang Yun-jae?”

“…What do you mean…”

Ju-eon noticeably stiffened when Han-ol precisely named the person he had avoided mentioning. Seeing Ju-eon’s honest reaction, Han-ol’s vague suspicions solidified into certainty.

“He’s the one who saved you, isn’t he?”

“That wasn’t just for me; he was developing the cure…”

Before Ju-eon could finish his excuse, Han-ol cut him off. He wasn’t interested in discussing the cure.

“No, I’m not talking about the cure. I’m talking about how he hid you.”

Not just from Yeo Ji-woong but also from Myung-hwon. Why had Kang Yun-jae gone to such lengths? He could have told Myung-hwon, couldn’t he?

If he had, things wouldn’t have gotten this complicated. The fact that he hadn’t just kept quiet but had deliberately deceived them narrowed down the possible reasons. Han-ol understood well that emotional reasons could sometimes dictate life-altering decisions.

Just as he had stormed out of his house to become a terrorist, and Myung-hwon had chosen to live as an esper for Ju-eon’s sake within the agency.

“…That’s because everyone who participated in the trial couldn’t return to their original identities.”

“Sure. But that only applies to those who survived the trial. They don’t change their identities from the start.”

Ju-eon had forgotten about this detail in the chaos of regaining his memories.

“That was just a convenience he granted me…”

“So why did he risk everything to grant you that convenience?”

Having gone through multiple trials himself to artificially raise his rank, Han-ol knew the research lab’s system well.

“…Does that answer really matter?”

“Did you ditch Myung-hwon and shack up with that b*stard?”

“……”

“So you betrayed Myung-hwon for something as trivial as that?”

Even Han-ol hadn’t imagined that someone close to him would betray him. The realization hit him like a fresh shock. Though he called it trivial, wars have often sparked by seemingly insignificant things.

“Haha…”

If he had looked into it a bit more, he could have figured it out sooner. But he had been so convinced that Yeo Ji-woong wouldn’t tolerate a traitor by his side that he hadn’t bothered to dig deeper. People are truly fickle. Things that could have been seen with a bit of flexibility were obscured by rigid thinking.

Han-ol scrunched his nose like a mischievous boy and chuckled to himself. But Ju-eon wasn’t naive enough to miss the cold glint in his eyes.

“What’s so funny?”

Han-ol continued to observe Ju-eon, still suspecting that he might be pretending not to know in an attempt to escape the situation. However, the defiance in Ju-eon’s genuinely confused eyes suggested otherwise. Unlike Han-ol, who had already pieced things together, Ju-eon still reeled from the new information.

Ju-eon wriggled his bound hands, trying to loosen the ropes, but instead of creating any slack, the friction only made his wrists sting. Biting his lip, he struggled to make sense of the situation. Everything Han-ol said seemed incomprehensible. Han-ol appeared to believe that Ju-eon was alive and that Myung-hwon, who had allied with him, had ulterior motives.

‘Myung-hwon secretly working with AGT behind the agency’s back…’

What had Myung-hwon been thinking after Ju-eon disappeared? Ju-eon couldn’t completely trust everything Han-ol said. But dismissing it all as lies didn’t explain why this situation had occurred. There had to be a reason for this planned abduction, and since Ju-eon had no idea what that reason was, he couldn’t help but be swayed by Han-ol’s words.

“It’s ridiculous how much I’m still haunted by that old man’s presence.”

“……”

Even without a name, Ju-eon easily guessed who Han-ol referred to. He laughed for a while longer before abruptly stopping, resembling a toy running out of batteries.

“When I think about it, it just makes me feel filthy.”

The raw emotion in his lowered voice made Ju-eon instinctively hold his breath.

When the laughter abruptly ceased, silence filled the room. Ju-eon cautiously studied Han-ol’s demeanor. Though he had a friendly exterior, his expressionless face now seemed razor-sharp, appearing capable of cutting with the slightest touch. In the chaos of the sudden situation, Ju-eon hadn’t noticed before, but Han-ol was strikingly handsome. His delicate features gave him an air of sensitivity, which only added to his enigmatic aura.

‘And he resembles him.’

Though they weren’t biologically related, having been adopted, their shared environment had shaped their expressions and gestures, making Han-ol eerily reminiscent of Myung-hwon.

When Han-ol, who had just barely suppressed his boiling emotions, looked at Ju-eon, the latter flinched, caught staring.

“…So?”

“What?”

“You were grateful he saved your life, so you dated him, got bored, and went back to Myung-hwon, right?”

The vulgar bluntness of his words made Ju-eon’s face turn pale.

Though offended, Ju-eon furrowed his brow but couldn’t think of anything to say. He hadn’t done anything of the sort, nor did he intend to, but he could see how someone unaware of his memory loss might interpret the situation that way.

“Judging by your silence, it must be true. Acting all high and mighty, but in the end, you’re pathetic. Poor Myung-hwon.”

Ju-eon knew Han-ol deliberately exaggerated to provoke him. He also knew that the best response was to stay calm and not react.

“It’s not like that.”

But Han-ol had hit on something Ju-eon couldn’t let slide. Ju-eon responded in a low, fierce voice, and Han-ol raised an eyebrow at the suppressed anger in his tone.

“Not like that? So you’re asking me to believe that Kang Yun-jae risked his life to rescue you and even treated you, all without any special relationship?”

Ju-eon took a deep breath. This was clearly a provocation. Reacting would only make him look foolish.

“Why would Kang Yun-jae risk his life for a clinical trial?”

Even if he had granted Ju-eon a convenience, risking his life seemed like an exaggeration.

Ju-eon’s genuinely clueless response made Han-ol pause. Heat rose to the back of his neck. The idea that Ju-eon, coddled and shielded from reality, could remain so ignorant irritated Han-ol. For someone like this, Myung-hwon…

“After Myung-hwon’s mother passed away, the only leverage Yeo Ji-woong had left over him was you.”

“What?”

“At first, Yeo Ji-woong must have underestimated it, thinking Myung-hwon would grow bored of you, just like he does with everything else.”

“……”

“But then something happened that made Yeo Ji-woong take notice of you. It was when you decided to stay with the agency. That was when Myung-hwon’s hatred for Yeo Ji-woong was at its peak. Everyone thought Myung-hwon would leave for overseas, but he stayed at the agency for you.”

“I’ve never heard anything like that.”

Suddenly, Ju-eon remembered Myung-hwon talking about a scouting offer from overseas during their training days. Back then, Ju-eon had assumed joining the agency was the natural course and hadn’t given it much thought. He had been too focused on standing as Myung-hwon’s equal at the time.

What kind of expression had Myung-hwon worn when he decided to stay at the agency? Ju-eon couldn’t remember. He must have bitten the inside of his cheek too hard because his mouth tasted faintly of blood.

“When Yeo Ji-woong became certain you were Myung-hwon’s weakness and tried to use you, you disappeared.”

There was no way Kang Yun-jae hadn’t known this. Even Ju-eon understood that much. It was too late to ask now, and even if he did, it wouldn’t change anything. It would only bring more pain.

“Myung-hwon stayed with the agency he hated so much, probably waiting for the right moment to screw over Yeo Ji-woong by working with me.”

While there might have been some exaggeration, Han-ol’s story contained too many details to dismiss entirely.

The chain of events that had led to this moment might all have been Ju-eon’s fault.

‘If it weren’t for me…’

Both Myung-hwon and Yun-jae had shown regret over losing him, but without him, they might have lived freely in their own ways. Now that the situations he had been too overwhelmed to notice were being explained, emotions he had ignored and dismissed began to creep up from his feet.