Necromancer Survival

Chapter 218

“Are you perhaps one of those? A Seo Dawon stan… Hah. No, It’s fine.” Snorting, Moon Issak swallowed his words; he looked at me as if he were seeing some obsessive fan. ¹ I wanted to defend myself, but I swallowed my words; there was no way I could explain myself without revealing Seo Dawon’s identity and involvement in this current situation.

“…A-As far as I know, this wasn’t Seo Dawon’s fault. That catastrophe and Seo Dawon’s private life have no connection…!” Still, I felt the investigator’s words were unfair. Conscious of the mage sitting next to me, I argued in Seo Dawon’s defense. But, to my chagrin, Moon Issak didn’t seem to pay much heed to my argument.

“Well, enough of that. Tell me what you’re planning to do in the future. I understand that you wanted to distract Bae Jaemin with me, but…what were you planning to do with the time I’d buy you?”

I had no choice but to answer Moon Issak’s pointed and important question. Although I was annoyed that he interrupted me, I gave a resigned sigh, “…I wanted to find evidence that Bae Jaemin was the culprit that killed Park Hoseok.”

As I spoke, I lowered my eyes and shuttered my expression so that the other would not notice my lie.

Moon Issak acted as though he revealed everything to me, but he was still a celebrated investigator–the lead investigator in charge of Park Hoseok’s murder case. However, the true culprit was Jung Garam, and he was my servant. If I admitted my involvement here, it’d be the same as going to the police to confess all my crimes…

Therefore, I couldn’t be totally honest with Moon Issak. Right now, the investigator seemed to be obsessed with the topic of ‘Bae Jaemin’. Though he may consider me an assistant or a collaborator, I considered him an opponent that needed to be thoroughly exploited.

That’s why I tried to fixate his full attention onto Bae Jaemin, dangling suspicious rumors and the names of the Priest’s collaborators as bait. Either way, my group intended to ruin all of Bae Jaemin’s plans, so we may as well pin everything on the Priest.

Fortunately, Moon Issak didn’t doubt me. Rather, he wasn’t suspicious of what I told him… instead, he cast doubt on my capabilities. “You plan to do that alone?”

“……”

“Wouldn’t it be more efficient to hand me your information source? Our Choi Lee-kyung-ssi has a lot of guts, but… he doesn’t have the ability to back that up. Or do you have something that’s giving you faith in a victory?”

I listened silently to Moon Issak’s sarcasm before mentioning another name that would rattle the investigator. “…Koo Hui-seo-ssi will protect me.”

As expected, though Moon Issak adopted a sly smile, he didn’t refute my words. He must have known to some extent that I’d include Koo Hui-seo. “How did you get to know Koo Hui-seo?”

“I can’t tell you that yet.”

“Ah, so you’re playing that card…Is he, perhaps, your boyfriend?”

“What nonsense…!” The conversation moved beyond my expectations. Brows furrowed, I emphatically denied his accusation, “It’s nothing like that, so please don’t say that again. It makes me uncomfortable.”

“Is it because Koo Hui-seo looks similar to Seo Dawon?”

“What? Is there something wrong with your eyes?”

”I’m joking. Whew…look at your glare…It looks like you’re about to hit me.”

At that moment, Seo Dawon, who had been tapping his finger on the table, paused.

I was most frustrated that this had all happened in front of the mage. Though I recognized that Moon Issak was poking at me for his amusement, I had to have the final word. “They’re completely different. Our relationship is nothing like what you’ve guessed. No matter how hard Koo Hui-seo tries, I…”

“Aha…so, it’s Koo Hui-seo’s one-sided affection.”

“……”

Because of my unnecessary words, I revealed information that Koo Hui-seo had been trying to garner my affections, information that Moon Issak had didn’t need to be told.

Watching me bite my tongue, Moon Issak laughed; his eyes curved into crescent moon shapes. “I guess you’re more popular than I thought? Although, I don’t think Koo Hui-seo is someone you want to string along.”

“I’ve made it clear that our relationship isn’t like that. You can’t claim I’m a liar in the future.”

“Well, I guess that’s something I can find out by observing you two.”

“The personal relationship between me and Koo Hui-seo isn’t important. It has nothing to do with Bae Jaemin either.”

When I moved the conversation to more serious matters, Moon Issak finally reigned in his mean-spirited jeers and folded his arms across his chest. “You probably want me to make things bothersome for Bae Jaemin and buy you some time.”

“That’s right.”

“How much time do you need?”

“How long can you drag him around?”

“You said it’d be a month before my throat is slashed.” Moon Issak smiled, revealing his pearly white teeth. “I can definitely drag him around for a month. When the underlings are stretched thin, the boss’ duties become busy and complicated.”

“Then…”

“But, if I drag him around for you, are you’ll be able to prepare a trap–a noose around his neck?”

“……”

“I’m disappointed to see that you can’t offer me an immediate answer. I’m risking my life right now.”

I hesitated, uncertain as to how far I could shake and destabilize Bae Jaemin within a month. Then, Seo Dawon whispered to me, “Tell him that one month is more than enough.”

“…A month is more than enough.” Though I spoke falteringly, I followed Seo Dawon’s advice.

However, Moon Issak didn’t look satisfied. “Oh… That expression doesn’t inspire an ounce of confidence.”

Seo Dawon spoke calmly, as if he were directly speaking to the investigator, “Tell him that within a month, Bae Jaemin will be too busy to be interested in plucking his life.”

I summarized and conveyed the mage’s words, “…In about a month’s time, Bae Jaemin-ssi will be concerned with some other trouble. He won’t have the time to pay attention to us.”

“Then, should I expect you’ll be responsible for everything that’ll happen up until that point?” Moon Issak’s tone was light and casual, but his eyes glaring from behind his spectacles had an unusually chilling gleam.

Of course I wanted to avoid his eyes–I was planning to place Bae Jaemin in trouble. Who would be so daring to tell the police of their plans to commit a crime?

However, I couldn’t afford to back down now, so I forced the corners of my lips to curl up into a smile. “Bae Jaemin’s past is quite colorful. He’s like a mine–there’s so much to dig up…”

“Really? I’ll look forward to that.” With that said, Moon Issak finally rose from his seat. He then took out a flask that resembled a spray bottle filled with some unknown potion from his inventory and sprayed it over himself a few times. The subtle smell of tobacco that clung to his body disappeared; instead the refreshing scent of greenery wafted from him. The scent itched my nose, so I held my breath as I stood up.

“From now on, I’d like you to respond to my messages immediately. Now that you’ve told me such entertaining stories, if I’m unable to contact you… I’ll be so worried.” He neatly swept back his hair with his hand and looked at me with a friendly expression. As soon as I heard his rude yet formal speech, I was relieved; we safely passed through this conversation.

“I’ll respond… I won’t let a day pass.”

“A day is too long, please respond within an hour,” Moon Issak said overbearingly as he started putting on his shoes in front of the door.

I had no intent to consistently respond to him within an hour, but I wanted to push this man out of my house immediately. I smiled politely, “I’ll try.”

“That’s not a definite answer…” However, Moon Issak did not leave and blatantly stared at me with a piercing look, accompanied by a shallow smile. Then, as if he were talking to himself, he mumbled, “Doesn’t Koo Hui-seo get impatient with this?”

“What did you say?”

“I don’t like it when you play hard to get.”

“How many times do I have to tell you that I’m not in that sort of relationship with Koo Hui-seo!” Eventually, the smile I spent so much effort on maintaining became distorted.

Honestly, what was he imagining between me and Koo Hui-seo? Regardless of my unimpressed face, Moon Issak teased me until the end, pushing my half-broken front door open with his toes. “By the way, you haven’t told me my salary for helping you with this job.”

“What?”

“I’ll have to hear Bae Jaemin’s whines for a month… You weren’t expecting me to do this for free, were you?”

“W-What do you want…”

“How much do you get from Koo Hui-seo? Your allowance.”

“……”

“You said he wasn’t your boyfriend.” The way Moon Issak looked at me, from head to toe, was so nauseating. I bit my lips, contemptful, and glared at him.

Moon Issak looked satisfied, as if he had sipped some finest, highest-grade wine. How should I put this… he looked like he enjoyed being hated and despised by others.

“Don’t make such an intense expression–it makes me want to stay.”

“……”

“Think about it carefully until we meet again.”

TL: Seo Dawon stan is a good descriptor for Lee-kyung tbh.