Chapter 34: A Web of Secrets

– Go On

Hae Eung Eung entered the alley, and Woo Jiwoo was right behind her. But just as he was about to follow, the traffic signal changed, and cars began to move across the road.

It wasn’t the time to be waiting for the light. Woo Jiwoo shot out a strand of web at the signal light and swung himself over the street.

“Wow! A male-faced spider!”

“Ew, it’s real—and kind of ugly.”

Normally, he would have clenched his teeth and scanned the crowd, but this time, his focus was solely on what was happening beyond the alley.

– Hey, pretty girl~ – Oh, yes.

In his mind, cheap, sleazy scenarios—trained from too many late-night videos—began to play out.

‘No, no way! Hae Eung Eung can’t even speak!’

Woo Jiwoo tried to shake off the images filling his head, pushing away those imaginings.

– Hey, pretty girl~ [Please, tease my shameless self…]

In his mind, the scene didn’t change from sleazy talk to notes or written words.

‘No way! I can’t let this happen!’

The thought of the gentle and friendly Hae Eung Eung, who had always been kind to him, yielding shyly in front of some beefy foreigner… he simply couldn’t accept it.

Not just as an Awakened but as a man, he couldn’t bear it.

Crossing the street and running down the alley took him no more than twenty seconds.

And in that world of sleazy videos, twenty seconds was long enough—for someone to unzip their pants or for two people to share a sultry kiss.

‘Please, please, let there be nothing happening, please, please…!’

In reality, twenty seconds was also long enough for something to go down.

“What… the…”

Bodies were scattered everywhere—men covered in blood, some flung into the stairwell, some hanging limply over outdoor units, others with their midsections folded into trash bins, or crawling and moaning on the ground, clutching at their open wounds.

And the towering blond man he’d been following? Woo Jiwoo saw him shoved hard against the wall, his neck cornered by the sharp end of a sword.

Holding that sword was none other than Hae Eung Eung, with her hat pulled low, her usual calm demeanor slightly shifted by the faint look of surprise at seeing him there.

Hae Eung Eung’s strength far exceeded Woo Jiwoo’s expectations.

‘Ah, this is just frustrating. Is now really the time to be impressed when I’m trying to earn some points?’

Woo Jiwoo quickly pulled out his scanner.

“I’ll help clean this up.”

[There’s no need—]

Hae Eung Eung quickly scribbled on her notepad, but the scan results appeared before she could even finish her message.

“Joseph, unregistered in the Association? Wow, looks like he’s a villain. How unfortunate for him to get caught with his gang just like that. Haha.”

“…”

“Let’s see, the other ones—Peter, unregistered. Jake, unregistered. Michael, unregistered. David, Hawk, Eric—all unregistered.”

Woo Jiwoo’s face hardened.

“Ms. Hae Eung Eung? Just who are these people you’ve caught?”

[I don’t know them.]

“Steven. Full-time instructor at the Myungho District 2 Awakened Academy, and a C-class Awakener. Three prior convictions. Dangerous individual. You don’t know this man either?”

“…”

“If you could tell me something, I’d be able to help.”

Woo Jiwoo genuinely wanted to assist her. He hoped to score some points by helping Hae Eung Eung, the kind and beautiful Awakener, with the troublesome cleanup.

But the sight of several unregistered, dangerous Awakeners and a problematic C-class Awakener all subdued on the same day, in the same place, went well beyond a minor skirmish or typical incident.

This was unmistakably a serious crime scene.

“I’ll help with your statement. Just to avoid any issues with excessive force…”

[Please don’t ask too deeply.]

“You can’t just brush it off like that! It’s giving me a bad feeling, you know?”

Woo Jiwoo’s voice quivered. There was no reason for an Awakener who had subdued criminals at a crime scene to be this secretive.

Even the Awakener Association had protocols for situations like this.

– An Awakener who subdues multiple criminals yet refuses to report it to the Association or reveal their identity is one of two things. – Either a government agent operating on a classified mission. – Or an unregistered potential villain, known as an Unknown.

Woo Jiwoo asked again.

“Is this a secret government mission? Are you a government agent avoiding disclosing your identity?”

[I’m sorry.]

“Why are you apologizing? Please, just tell me the truth!”

Was she genuinely unable to share details due to classified mission constraints? Or was it because she was an Unknown who hadn’t registered as an Awakener?

Her vague answer left both possibilities open, and neither seemed far-fetched.

With a face on the verge of tears, Woo Jiwoo held out his scanner.

“Ms. Hae Eung Eung, I know it’s a bit forward, but could you show me your Awakener license?”

Even secret agents had some form of ID. Even if it was a fake Awakener license, it would at least be enough to satisfy the Association’s inspections.

[I’m sorry.]

Her gaze wavered, unable to meet his eyes, her expression hesitant and uneasy. Her hands fidgeted, unable to stay still, as if unsure of where to go.

Despite her visible discomfort, she ultimately didn’t produce any Awakener license.

‘This is driving me nuts.’

Her repeated apologies stirred up a storm of thoughts. Ninety percent of unregistered Awakeners were criminals, and the likelihood of someone capable of overpowering a dozen Awakeners on her own not being a villain was almost too low to even calculate.

Even with his eyes tightly shut, Woo Jiwoo could feel the tension coursing through him.

Even though he knew the answer, Woo Jiwoo’s mind struggled to accept it. The gap between theory and reality weighed on him, as if he was facing the greatest crisis of his life.

“Go.”

After a brief but intense moment of contemplation, Woo Jiwoo made his decision.

“You mustn’t tell anyone about what happened here. Not even your sister.”

Hae Eung Eung looked at him in surprise. For the first time, he noticed her beautiful, amethyst-colored eyes.

“Don’t ask anything, just go.”

[Thank you.]

Woo Jiwoo had resolved himself. If he couldn’t cover for the faults of the woman he liked, how could he ever hope to win her over?

‘Pathetic fool.’

Steven silently swore to himself. Though he was lying low like a rat, keeping quiet and observing, he fully intended to expose everything the moment he got out of here. He would reveal that Hae Eung Eung was an unregistered Unknown and that a C-class Awakener, Spider-Man, had tried to cover it up.

“I’m sorry, guys. If only you hadn’t caught my attention, things wouldn’t have escalated like this.”

Woo Jiwoo turned toward Steven and the thugs. The kind, eager junior with a naïve look from just moments ago had transformed into someone with a cold, ruthless air, as if he were a different person entirely.

‘This bastard, he wouldn’t—!’

Steven tried to leap up in panic, but the web that had quietly wrapped around his body and mouth completely prevented any attempt at escape or a call for help.

“If Ms. Hae Eung Eung’s identity is to remain hidden from the Association, we need to ensure there’s no evidence left behind.”

“Mm! Mm! Mmph!”

“That’s why I can’t let any witnesses go. To remove any loose ends, I’ll have to kill you all.”

Though Woo Jiwoo was blinded by love, he was no fool. Nor did he have any qualms about getting his hands dirty. After all, registered Awakeners were granted licenses to kill.

Woo Jiwoo systematically confirmed the deaths of each Awakener Hae Eung Eung had dealt with, ensuring no one would survive. He tampered with the evidence at the scene, adjusted the battle traces, and erased all suspicious records from nearby CCTV footage. Only when he felt confident that there would be no further issues did he finally report the incident to the Association.

“Wait—you took down eleven D-class Unknowns and a C-class danger known as Steven, all on your own?”

“Haha, well, even for me, twelve was a bit risky. I didn’t have any leeway to let a single one survive.”

“Oh, really now?”

The bald man scrutinized Woo Jiwoo with a suspicious look. If he were an ordinary bald guy, Woo Jiwoo wouldn’t have cared, but this man was none other than Kwak Hoon, head of the Surveillance Department within the Awakener Association. He was responsible for reviewing all Awakeners’ activity reports.

Even the most arrogant Awakener wouldn’t dare cross him—and certainly wouldn’t want to.

“Alright, you can go.”

“Pardon?”

“Why, should I give you a hard time?”

“No, sir.”

“Relax. I’m not so mean that I’d pick on a guy who did something commendable on his own. Besides, these guys all had dirty pasts, didn’t they?”

“They sure did.”

Woo Jiwoo felt a wave of relief, glad he’d avoided suspicion, and turned to leave. But as he walked away, Kwak Hoon watched him with narrowed eyes, flipping open his screen phone to make a call.

“There’s an Awakener who hangs around Woo Jiwoo, right? Pick the one with the most debt and toughest financial situation.”

Moments later, a profile appeared before Kwak Hoon of an Awakener who often accompanied Woo Jiwoo.

“Assign that guy a special task. It’ll be a surveillance mission—we need to see what Woo Jiwoo’s up to behind the Association’s back.”

Thanks to Woo Jiwoo’s quick thinking, Hae Eung Eung managed to avoid the worst-case scenario of getting caught by the Association’s investigation network. However, the impressive results Woo Jiwoo achieved exceeded his usual capabilities, which only drew suspicion from the higher-ups.

“There’s definitely something off. Either he’s using banned substances, or he had a falling out with a criminal organization he once collaborated with.”

The voice on the other end of the line asked, What if we can’t uncover anything?

“Then Woo Jiwoo will remain on Level 2 Surveillance until we get answers. No exceptions.”

Special assignments and surveillance orders—even fellow members of the Association weren’t exempt from such measures. This was precisely why Association Awakeners were often regarded with unease, even more so than guild Awakeners. While they could act as temporary allies, the Association’s internal mistrust prevented them from ever fully uniting into a powerful force capable of standing against the guilds.