The Shadow in District Five

Even though it was the same city, District 5 had an entirely different atmosphere.

The streets were quiet overall, and the few pedestrians walking around all looked exhausted.

On top of that, there was a tense air, as if something could happen at any moment.

Just changing districts made the quality of life drop drastically.

Even in those conditions, Lee Jaehun moved diligently.

Since the team leader had gone to another team, Jaehun was the one who took over the tracking.

He moved swiftly, never stopping.

But he didn’t get far.

“The trail disappears around here.”

“Could it be a teleporter?”

A small-framed woman standing behind him asked.

“Possibly.”

“Then I guess it’s my turn.”

The woman removed the gloves on her hands and touched the ground.

“It’s definitely teleportation.”

“What’s the expected awakening grade?”

“Judging by the wave pattern, it’s not high. They shouldn’t have gone far.”

“Then we’ll have to search the entire area.”

“I’ll call in more people.”

After saying that, the woman immediately disappeared.

The remaining members scattered in different directions as well.

Jaehun paused for a moment to check the time.

It was almost time for the other side to move.

Kang Yujun was faithfully carrying out his assigned role.

He was using Bae Hyunseong to divert the terrorist’s attention.

They must have had someone planted near City Hall too, because not long after rescuing Bae Hyunseong, they received another message.

This time, the demands also came in a letter.

[If you want the hostage to stay alive, bring Bae Hyunseong to the location we specify.]

That was all it said.

The place written in the letter was a park on the boundary between District 5 and District 4.

At night, it turned into quite a dangerous area, so it wasn’t crowded.

‘How do they expect to take Hyunseong from there?’

Yujun pondered.

If they wanted to stay hidden, they would’ve chosen a more crowded location.

But they didn’t.

Which meant they were confident in their skills — or they had a teleporter.

‘I’ll just do what they want for now.’

They knew his location, but he didn’t know theirs.

So he couldn’t respond with a counter-message.

Overall, it was a difficult situation, but he had to buy time somehow.

‘Because Lee Jaehun told me to.’

For that, Yujun desperately wracked his brain.

Clink, clink.

Out of boredom, the man was juggling a dagger in his hand.

Then, as if something occurred to him, he turned to Garam and asked,

“There’s something I’m curious about. Why does Lee Jaehun keep carrying that flowerpot around?”

“It’s his mother’s keepsake.”

“He didn’t seem like the sentimental type.”

True.

Even to Garam, Jaehun didn’t seem like that kind of person.

He was just spouting whatever came to mind.

Still, he followed the rules — only speaking within the limits of what couldn’t be fact-checked by that bastard.

If he slipped and said something wrong, the man would realize their relationship was fake — and then Garam’s life would be in danger.

He tried his best to stay calm.

This was a tiger’s den.

One wrong move, and he could get torn apart.

‘I don’t want to die like this.’

He had survived this long — he couldn’t die now.

“Well, everyone has something pathetic they want to hide. Next question.”

The man grinned.

“How far have you two gone?”

“…What?”

Garam hadn’t expected that question at all.

He stuttered without meaning to.

“What, embarrassed?”

Fortunately, the man seemed to mistake it for shyness.

“Come on, tell me. It’s not like anyone else is listening.”

Which made Garam even less willing to talk.

He took a deep breath.

If he stayed silent and the man got annoyed, things could get ugly.

The bear-like man had warned him not to touch Garam, but that didn’t mean this guy would actually obey.

That was why Garam kept going along with his questions.

He forced himself to think clearly.

What was normal relationship progress for a couple dating less than a month?

‘How the hell would I know?!’

He’d never dated before!

He had held Jaehun’s hand once, but he had no idea if that was normal.

“Haaands…”

He tried to test the waters, but the man immediately froze mid-juggle and caught the dagger with a deadly look.

“You weren’t about to say ‘we only held hands’, were you?”

What does it matter to you?!

“Of course not. We’ve kissed too.”

“Was he good at it?”

“…Yes.”

How would he know? He’d never kissed anyone!

Still, Garam answered firmly.

“You actually kissed that crazy bastard? Wow. Your tastes are weird. And he’s not even that good-looking.”

Sorry I’m not hot enough for you, asshole.

“Or does he have something impressive going on?”

The man stood up from the couch and crouched right in front of Garam.

Then he said,

“I said not to touch you, but as long as I don’t leave any marks, it’s fine, right?”

Garam panicked and pressed his back against the wall.

Just as the man leaned forward, Garam lifted the flowerpot and blocked his face.

The man ended up kissing the pot instead.

‘Sorry, flowerpot.’

Garam apologized sincerely.

“You little brat, trying to be cute?”

The man glared at him in irritation.

“What should I do with you?”

At that moment, a familiar voice saved him — the bear-like man.

“Nothing. I was just curious. I didn’t touch him.”

The man raised both hands to show innocence.

“Good. Anyway, we have a visitor.”

“Who?”

“The patron.”

“Oh, that guy from last time? His smooth face pisses me off.”

“Shut it. Cover his eyes.”

“Why bother? He already saw our faces.”

“But he’s never seen the patron’s face.”

“Wow, some faces are precious and some aren’t, huh.”

Despite complaining, the man did as he was told.

He grabbed a long black cloth from somewhere and blindfolded Garam.

Not being able to see doubled his fear.

Now, even if the man tried to harm him, he wouldn’t notice in time.

Garam let out a shaky breath.

“He’s scared.”

A giggle, followed by calm footsteps, echoed closer.

The shoes… probably dress shoes.

Nothing else would make that sound.

Something touched Garam’s cheek — fingers.

They brushed down his cheek, lifted his chin, then withdrew.

The icy sensation made him shiver.

“What, you like him?”

Another man’s voice this time.

“If you want him, I can give him to you.”

“Weren’t you planning to return him?”

“Return him? Don’t be ridiculous. I suffered because of Lee Jaehun — why would I return anything?”

“Then why not let us touch him?”

“We need Bae Hyunseong back first. If they don’t see the hostage alive, they won’t let him go.”

Garam tried to count the voices.

‘One, two, three.’

But there could have been more in the room.

‘Counting doesn’t matter.’

He couldn’t escape anyway.

Feeling helpless, Garam hugged the flowerpot tightly.

At that moment, it was the only thing he trusted.

Seo Tae-ju followed the endlessly chattering man down a dark, long corridor.

The neglected hallway was messy, smelling of dust and damp mold.

‘Filthy.’

Maybe he shouldn’t have come.

He regretted it — but turning back without seeing him would be even worse.

“This way.”

The man opened a heavy iron door and stepped inside.

Two awakened individuals — probably his subordinates — were there.

They all stared at Seo Tae-ju, but he didn’t care at all.

The only one who did was Rahee, the bodyguard protecting him.

He had rescued her from an illegal fighting arena after recognizing her abilities, and she had worshipped him like a god ever since.

Tae-ju stopped Rahee from stepping in, then walked toward the trembling young man in the corner.

The slightly curly brown hair looked familiar.

‘You’ve grown.’

The boy who used to be endlessly fragile had become a young man.

The realization made Tae-ju’s chest tighten.

‘Were you suffering all this time?’

Or did someone else save you and give you an easy life?

He wondered.

Tae-ju stepped closer and brushed Garam’s cheek with his fingers.

His skin was still soft and glutinous like rice cake.

And the way he trembled in fear reminded Tae-ju of the boy he used to be — still like a frightened puppy.

‘Disgusting…? No.’

At some point, Tae-ju had developed a form of mysophobia.

He hated anything dirty.

He wanted everything around him clean and sanitary.

But in front of Garam, that obsession didn’t surface at all.