I’m the Bad Guy, Can I Leave?

From the moment he handed over the earrings to Geum Myeong-yeol, Han Cha-soo knew he would come back to him. He wondered why he had decided to stay in the Heavenly Spirit Guild when he had been so adamant about leaving. It was all because of Geum Myeong-yeol.

Jung Yiheon wouldn’t be unaware of that, so he’d probably bring something to redeem himself somehow. Han Cha-soo could easily predict his behavior.

So, when he was told that Jung Yiheon would be visiting in the morning. Han Cha-soo prepared himself.

‘I’m scared of life contracts.’

So, as soon as he saw the contract, he felt like he was going to be really traumatized. It was energy-sapping.

‘If I fainted every time he said it, he wouldn’t be able to help me anymore.’

With that, Han Cha-soo is poised to use the constraints to defeat Jung Yiheon.

But what he didn’t expect was….

“Did you sleep well last night, Han Chasoo-ssi?”

Jung Yiheon didn’t bring it. He came to Han Cha-soo without a bag, let alone papers.

“I hear you’ve been eating well, and that’s why you look better than last time.”

Light-colored trousers and a white shirt. The lightly dressed man held a yellow bouquet of flowers in his hand.

He looked like he was about to go on a date and Han Cha-soo’s eyes were filled with confusion, because this was not the scenario he had predicted.

“Here, take this.”

Jung Yiheon walked over and handed him the bouquet. Han Cha-soo took the flowers, creaking like a broken machine.

“The center staff will bring you a vase later and you can put it in there. I chose a not-so-strong scent, so it shouldn’t bother you during your stay.”

As he spoke in a soothing voice, Jung Yiheon never took his eyes off him. His red eyes shone with innocence and Han Cha-soo was speechless.

But then, with a grave expression on his face, he bowed his head. It was a gesture of gratitude.

‘So this is the answer.’

Jung Yiheon breathed a sigh of relief.

‘I’m glad you didn’t bring the contract.’

He knew. With the shackles of Geum Myeong-yeol gone, Han Cha-soo could leave at any time.

But why not ask him for a lifetime contract like he used to….

‘I can’t put him under more stress here when he’s already mentally vulnerable.’

Jung Yiheon wanted him to stay with the guild in good health. A Han Cha-soo with an untwisted mind and body. That’s the kind of Han Cha-soo he wanted.

That was why he chose to approach him cautiously instead of forcing a contract.

“Oh, by the way, I got some good news on the way here.”

The grey eyes that had been studying the flowers stared back at him. Jung Yiheon locked eyes with him and said.

“Your name was among the winners of the guild’s free auction held two months ago.”

Looking at the wide-open eyes, Jung Yiheon laughed silently.

“Now, here.”

The real gift he had in store was this.

A greyish crystal, slightly smaller than his fist.

“It’s a spirit stone that dropped in the West Coast Dungeon. It’s not very big, unfortunately, but it’ll be better for you to carry around.”

Spirit Stones or Demon Stones, drop from dungeons and gates at very low rates. As their name implies, they are crystals that contain spirits or demons, and unlike Beast Eggs, they do not require a tamer.

Instead, it’s relatively easy to hatch and the abilities it brings with it are unchanged. A healing that could only heal a paper cut or a poison that was less bitter than carbonation?

But for the current Han Cha-soo, there was no more appropriate gift. No, it was a necessary gift.

He can’t break down the walls of his heart with effort, but he can melt them with gentle warmth.

‘And it will stabilize you mentally in many ways.’

Being small, vulnerable, and needing to be protected makes you incredibly strong. The countless parents who stood up to monsters to protect their children in the early days of the Cataclysm, without any ability to do so, are a testament to that.

So Baek-dam is wrong. Han Cha-soo doesn’t need to rebound in such a violent way.

Jung Yiheon gently placed the crystal in Han Cha-soo’s hand.

“It is now Han Chasoo-ssi’s.”

Hopefully he will recover in time.

“Here’s the vase. Oh! What are you doing, Han Chasoo-ssi?”

“…….”

“Heuk, isn’t this a crystal? Wow, there’s really some kind of light moving inside, and it’ll come out in a bit, right?”

“…….”

“Uh, Hunter Han Cha-soo? Han Chasoo-ssi?”

“Ah.”

The call of the medics brought him back to his senses. Shaking his head vigorously, he let out a breath that sounded like a sigh.

The warmth in his hand felt too heavy. Just as heavy as Jung Yiheon’s heart.

He clicked his tongue and called out to the staff.

“I’m sorry.”

“Can you speak now?!”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Okay, I’ll get the team leader, just give me a minute, and I’ll leave the vase here so you can put it in, and oh, I’ve got water!”

“…….”

Han Cha-soo looked back and forth between the empty hospital room and the spirit stone with a despondent face.

“I can’t.”

It was my fault for losing my phone in the chaos. Han Cha-soo sighed and buried himself in bed.

The glittering spirit stone on his bedside bothered him terribly, but there was nothing he could do about it now.

A few minutes passed before he heard the sound of people running down the hall.

“Hunter Han Cha-soo!”

“Han Chasoo-ssi, you called for us!”

“You can call me Park Sung-jin!”

“Will you all shut up? The check-up comes first, you idiots!”

After a while, Han Cha-soo was able to borrow a laptop from the medical centre.

He was faced with a shocking search result.

“It takes three years for the child to develop the intellect of an adult?”

Until then, the spirit was said to be like a five-year-old child. He complained that he didn’t want to eat, and suddenly jumped toward the heart of his owner who was sleeping well….

“I have to sing it a lullaby to say goodnight?”

Isn’t this really about raising a child. Han Cha-soo felt dizzy before his eyes were wide open. Even having intelligence is said to vary from person to person.

After reading a post lamenting that they had been raising demons for ten years and it still hadn’t acquired intelligence, Han Cha-soo made a decision.

‘I shouldn’t hatch it.’

The most important thing to hatch a spirit stone is physical contact. In other words, if you don’t get close to it, it won’t hatch.

“You’re out of luck, coming from a villain.”

Han Cha-soo looked at the spirit stone with complicated eyes. Looking at the little crystal with its warmth, he couldn’t help but be reminded of Jung Yiheon.

Such an unnecessarily sweet guy.

Swallowing a sigh, Han Cha-soo carefully placed the spirit stone on his pillow.

“When I leave, I’ll find you a good owner.”

Until then, let’s keep a reasonable distance. Just like the protagonist and me.

The corners of his mouth curled into a wry smile.

The head of the Crisis Management Office at the Awakening Management Bureau’s First Headquarters was a busy position. He had to work so hard that he didn’t even have time to eat if he wanted to find time to be by Han Cha-soo’s side.

Ki Tae-yeon quickly flicked through the papers and asked.

“Where’s the patrol report for District 12?”

“Jung-min should bring it soon. He’s in the records room right now.”

“A power struggle between Icarus and the Red Winds.”

“That’s an update from the interrogation of the Icarus Guild Master, I’m sorting that out right now! I’ll report back in an hour.”

“Next up… the development room. How long do these bastards plan on dragging their feet with the training system?”

Even if he didn’t, Baek-dam had been calling since the morning, asking when he could torture the criminals.

“Han Ji-kwon, tell me what exactly they said in the development room.”

The employee stammered under Ki Tae-yeon’s gaze.

“Well, they said there was an error in the system and we’d have to wait a few months. Like you said, I tried to print out the weakest monsters, but something went wrong and only dragons came out.”

“Error?”

Ki Tae-yeon laughed as if he was full of energy. His eyes shone coldly as he swept his hand through his hair.

“An error. A system that has passed 21 beta tests and is just about to be tested in-house suddenly fails, is that it?”

“…Yes.”

“You’re going to eat it.”

He held the crystal in his hand and there was something very tangible, wasn’t there?

It was obvious. The training system was already completed, so it was thrown away. By now, he must be drooling and shining his eyes on what experiment he would do with the crystal.

“Okay.”

Griping on the desk with both hands, Ki Tae-yeon stood up and called out.

“Is there anyone here who hasn’t been to the development room before? We probably won’t see it for the next half a year or so, so today is your last chance to see it.”

In short, he was going to tear it apart so badly that it would take half a year to recover.

The people in the crisis management office understood their boss’s words instantly.

“Heck, those bastards, they said they’d fix my scooter, but they planted tentacles in the engine!”

“Me, too!”

There were victims everywhere in the development room. Having recruited enough volunteers, Ki Tae-yeon strode briskly towards the research wing.

“I thought the training systems lab was in Building B.”

“Yes! Virtual reality-related research is only done in Building B, so it doesn’t matter if Building A burns down!”

The employee who seemed to have the deepest grudge exclaimed cheerfully. Ki Tae-yeon nodded in silence.

he would finish today and spend the rest of his time by Han Cha-soo’s side.

As he stared at the research building, a blue flame lit up in his eyes.