Chapter 2
There was no time to explain.
I quickly grabbed Bokgil, who had been walking ahead, shoved him into the man’s arms, and ran toward the kittens.
They were about to be swallowed by the forming barrier.
“Come here!”
Even though it wasn’t far, I was out of breath.
Still, maybe because I had faithfully brought them food all this time, the kittens weakly meowed and staggered toward my outstretched hands.
Good!
Some trash they had been playing with rolled toward the crack in space and got sucked through the forming door. I finally caught my breath—
“Waeong!”
Bokgil, still in the man’s arms, was swiping the air as if trying to reach his kittens.
“Ah, sorry if I startled you. I think there was a snake. I must’ve been mistaken.”
“…A snake? In a city park? More importantly, isn’t that the entrance of a forming dungeon behind you?”
“Oh~ You’re right. Anyway, please step back, sir.”
I pushed him back again while finishing a dungeon formation report on my phone.
It didn’t look dangerous. Probably an F-rank dungeon. It would be handled within a few hours.
Still, people often walk around staring at their phones. We’d need to set up a few barricades.
“How did you know?”
“Excuse me?”
“How did you know a dungeon would form there? You ran before it opened.”
“I didn’t know. I ran after I saw the door forming.”
When in doubt, deny everything. If I say I didn’t know, what can he prove?
“Don’t lie. The door hadn’t opened yet when you started running.”
“If I hadn’t seen it, how would I have known to move the kittens?”
Ordinary people can’t see mana flow with their eyes.
Just like I suspect something about Lee Eunhyun’s Awakening rank but have no proof…
Wait. Could I use this?
I quietly slipped my hand into my pocket and turned on my phone’s recording function. Good thing I set it as a quick button.
“Why do you keep doing this? Just because you’re lying doesn’t mean everyone else is.”
“…What do you mean?”
“You know.”
“…”
I muttered loudly enough for him to hear. His expression immediately changed, and he fell silent.
Maybe I was being too obvious. But he was suspicious of me too, so maybe he’d let his guard down.
“Then aren’t we both lying?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Your Awakening value. You’re an Awakened too, aren’t you? That’s why you sensed something unusual and ran.”
Got you.
The moment he cautiously suggested we reveal secrets to each other, I pulled out my phone. Perfect. The recording was saved.
“Working at the Awakening Assessment Center doesn’t mean I’m awakened. I’m just a normal civilian. But it sounds like you lied about your Awakening level? I recorded that.”
“No, just now you—”
“I never lied. Confessing to falsifying your Awakening level in front of a civil servant? That’s bold. It won’t reduce your fine.”
He reached toward me in disbelief. Bokgil slipped out of his arms, but this time he didn’t try to hold the cat back.
“Were you hiding an item inside your body during the test? I should report this—”
“Wait. Please wait.”
“Hey, don’t touch me. Do you want to add assaulting a public official to your charges?”
“I didn’t even touch you.”
“Just approaching is threatening enough.”
“I can’t shrink my body. And I truly didn’t lie.”
I played the recording for him. The evidence was right there.
“Ha.”
“I’ll help you. Just give up and turn yourself in.”
Watching him lower his head and sigh made me wonder if I had pushed too hard. If I corner him too much, he might run.
My job is to ensure accurate Awakening registration.
People say this position is easy, just pushing buttons on a machine.
But I take it seriously.
Incorrect rankings can get people killed.
“Actually…”
“Yes?”
I hesitated, wondering if I should turn the recorder on again.
He suddenly locked eyes with me.
His hair was jet black, but his eyes were warm brown. The way they drooped at the corners made him look like a large, gentle dog.
Like a malamute.
“Actually, I regressed.”
“…What?”
Earlier I said leaving work on time mattered more than admiring handsome men.
But standing this close, his face glowing in the sunset, it was hard to ignore.
For a second, I thought I had misheard because of his face.
“I regressed from a ruined future. I’m protecting the world.”
“What?”
“Will you cooperate?”
“What are you talking about?”
I was too stunned to even turn on the recorder.
“This time I’m not lying. In the future, there are more dungeon breaks and crimes. Major disasters. To prevent them, I judged it would be better to hide my real rank and move quietly.”
“He must be crazy.”
“I have no bad intentions. I just want to save the world and its people. If you care about stray cats, surely you’ll understand?”
It would make more sense to believe Bokgil was a human transformed into a cat.
What is there to understand?
Handsome men are a rare species that should be protected. But what do you do if the rare species is insane? Should I report him or take him to a hospital?
For now, I decided to go along with his delusion.
“I… see. But couldn’t you reveal your rank and still save the world? Acting openly would reduce stress.”
“No. This is my seventh regression. I tried that in previous timelines. Hiding my Awakening value works better.”
The delusion was detailed. Seventh regression?
“I still don’t understand. Registering as a low rank gives you more restrictions.”
“Not necessarily. My true rank is S-rank. Revealing it created more restrictions.”
“…”
“Will you help me, Assistant Manager Kim Yeoul?”
“…”
S-rank, he says.
There aren’t even any in our country. Fewer than nine worldwide.
“I’ll cooperate. But first, can I get your phone number?”
I can’t handle this lunatic alone. I need to secure his identity at least.
“Very well. Let’s introduce ourselves properly. I’m Lee Eunhyun.”
Seeing that I seemed to believe him, he smiled in relief and typed his number into my phone.
My head throbbed.
In this job, we often deal with people who were ordinary civilians just days ago.
When someone suddenly gains power they’ve never had before, of course they become confused and excited.
Still, Lee Eunhyun was by far the craziest person I’d ever met.
“Yes. As you know, I’m Kim Yeoul from the Awakening Registration Branch. I apologize if you felt mistreated at the center.”
“Oh? Are you really sorry to me?”
While I rubbed my eyes and wondered if I should contact another branch, he suddenly leaned down and brought his face close.
Startled, I froze.
“Do you really believe what I said? That I regressed seven times from a ruined world?”
“Yes. That must’ve been very hard for you. We’ll help you now.”
Even flustered, my work-mode response came out automatically. When unsure, just show empathy.
But why does he keep leaning so close?
Is he weaponizing his face because he knows he’s handsome?
It’s way too close.
“Then tell me what you saw earlier.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Didn’t you see something where the kittens were?”
“Sir. No, Mr. Lee. I only went after seeing the dungeon fully form. You’re a bit excited right now.”
The sunset had completely faded, and the sky turned purple.
He was so close I couldn’t see his whole face at once.
The gentle brown eyes that once looked like a treat-loving malamute sharpened, making my skin crawl.
My instincts were warning me.
“Liar. You saw it.”
