Uichan flinched in surprise. He blinked slowly, trying to calm himself. The man in front of him was enormous—someone who could easily overpower him in a heartbeat. Blacktan. He was crouched down, eye level with Uichan.“…Mr. Yeo Taehwon, how did you….”But of all things—He was holding Uichan’s injured thigh, as if he might strip the pants off at any moment to check the wound. The injury from La Épée’s rope burn was still there, raw and visible.Uichan tensed, locking eyes with Yeo Taehwon. There was nothing unusual in his expression. When Uichan’s leg twitched, the hand on his thigh finally withdrew.“I was evacuating civilians nearby when I felt your presence, Uichan. So I came.”“Evacuating civilians…? Does that mean a villain reached this area?”As Uichan glanced around nervously, Yeo Taehwon gave a silent nod.“I confirmed you were at home before the mission. Why are you out here?”“How do you even know where I live…? Wait, do you actually know where my house is?”“Yes.”The answer was so confident that Uichan was left speechless. He didn’t know whether to question how the man knew his home address without being told or to scold him for saying it so bluntly.He worried that this man might even follow him home—but right now, it didn’t matter. His mind was too scrambled to think clearly. All he wanted was to send him away and get home.The faint smell of gunpowder clung to Blacktan’s black combat uniform—proof he’d just come from a battlefield.Uichan quickly checked for his bag. Turning his head, he spotted it resting quietly nearby, the box still inside. No one had touched it. He sighed in relief.He rubbed his eyes, exhausted, only for his glasses to get in the way. Yeo Taehwon reached over and removed them. Only then did Uichan press his feverish eyes with his palms.“Thank you….”“There are many villains nearby. It’s dangerous here. Let’s move to a safer place.”“I can just… go home.”Having just encountered La Épée, Uichan didn’t find Blacktan any safer. Sure, he was officially a hero under Non-Hero’s subcontract, but that didn’t mean he could relax. If his true identity was exposed, he’d be dragged away immediately. Blacktan and Noatis claimed they were looking for Under Doom to protect him, but Uichan didn’t believe that for a second.A hero protecting a villain? Even a passing dog would laugh at that.“Please don’t worry about me. You can continue your mission. My home’s nearby, I’ll get there in no time.”Uichan tried to stand, gripping the armrest of the bench—unaware that it was half-broken. His hand slipped. Yeo Taehwon caught him by the shoulders before he could fall. Their faces drew so close that Uichan’s shallow breath brushed against his nose. Yeo Taehwon clenched his jaw.“Ah… I’m sorry.”“…It’s fine.”Still gripping the back of the bench, Yeo Taehwon replaced Uichan’s glasses. His movements were hurried, his brows pinched tight, as though restraining an impulse. Once Uichan awkwardly sat back down, Yeo Taehwon’s expression eased slightly—but the tension in him was palpable, stretched tight enough to snap at the slightest spark.“How did you even know I was here?”Yeo Taehwon wordlessly gestured behind him. Over his shoulder stood a black beast. The creature met Uichan’s eyes, its golden gaze glinting before letting out a long growl. It was Nell—Blacktan’s subordinate.“…So it was you.”Uichan smiled faintly at the panther lowering its head. It made sense. The beast had a sharp nose, and having caught Uichan’s scent before, it wouldn’t have been difficult to track him. A reasonable explanation—until something dawned on him. His scent. That meant—…It might have caught Under Doom’s scent.Uichan had been at the site just moments ago. Blacktan and Noatis had also been dispatched there. If Nell had picked up the scent of Under Doom and followed it here only to find him—his spine turned cold, his heart plummeting.“I should… get going. A friend’s coming over, and I forgot.”He tried to rise quickly, desperate to get away before the man could notice anything. But in his haste, his hand caught Yeo Taehwon’s forearm gripping the bench. The brief contact sent a burning jolt through him, and he jerked his hand back.A strange flicker passed over Yeo Taehwon’s face. He looked down at the vein throbbing under his own skin, at the spot Uichan had just touched.“I’m sorry. Could you please… move a bit? I can’t stand otherwise.”But Yeo Taehwon didn’t step aside, and the bench left no space to pass. When Uichan tried to edge sideways, the black panther blocked his path. He felt trapped—like a small animal cornered.He couldn’t just stand there staring, though. As he gathered his resolve to push past, his breath brushed Yeo Taehwon’s ear. Uichan didn’t even realize how hot it was.“…Ha.”The sound slipped from Yeo Taehwon’s lips. In the next instant, his hand seized Uichan’s arm and yanked him downward. Uichan dropped helplessly back onto the bench and stared up, startled—then froze.Those eyes. The same feverish eyes he had met in the pit that night.“Why are you suddenly—”“…Did you ask how Nell found you?”Suppressing a bitter laugh, Yeo Taehwon spoke with icy calm. A gleam flared in his golden eyes. His hand had slid around Uichan’s waist, so large it covered half his midsection, pressing against his lower abdomen. Uichan went rigid, afraid that any wrong move would make him press harder—against where he couldn’t afford to.“Nell followed my trace to you. Because part of me is still on you.”“…That trace should’ve been gone. I haven’t even touched a gun since that night.”“It’s not that kind of trace.”They hadn’t met again since that night. But now he was saying there was still a mark left? Uichan tried to act calm but flinched when that large hand moved over his stomach, fingers trembling.Yeo Taehwon leaned in closer. His palm followed the curve of Uichan’s abdomen upward. His thumb pressed firmly against one spot. Uichan’s gaze dropped to where it touched.“That night.”“……”“I mean the part that went in this far.”Uichan forgot to breathe. His vision went black. His wide eyes froze, as though time had stopped. Yeo Taehwon didn’t relent. His brows knit as he drove the words in deeper.“Not just once—several times. The trace lingers a long while. That’s what I meant.”His thumb pressed upward over Uichan’s navel, almost crushing. Uichan’s heart thudded violently as his mind reeled.After several seconds of silence, he tore the hand away and stumbled back, breath shattered—only to bump into the bench’s backrest.“I… I don’t know what you’re talking about. Why would you say something like—”“Uichan, don’t you know my ability?”Yeo Taehwon stared at his own hand hanging in the air and spoke dryly. He then gripped the backrest behind Uichan again; the wood creaked and splintered beneath his fingers.“Do you know what it means when Litan marks its prey?”Uichan wanted to deny everything, but his lips refused to move. A faint smile ghosted ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) over Yeo Taehwon’s mouth.“Litan mercenaries are trained never to forget a scent once they’ve caught it. I memorized yours the moment we fell into that pit.”Then the smile vanished. His face became the blank mask of a human weapon. He could’ve easily snapped Uichan’s neck right then. His gaze fixed on the pulse beating at Uichan’s throat.Instead, his hand moved—gripping Uichan’s thigh in one palm. Uichan clenched his eyes shut, suppressing a gasp.“Yet somehow, your scent has changed.”He remembered every moment from that night in vivid detail—the darkness, the heat, the taste. When he’d first met Uichan again in that park restroom and covered his mouth and nose, the feel of those lips had been identical to Under Doom’s.But the scent was different. For someone like him, who never forgot a smell once memorized, that small difference gnawed at him. So he chose to observe Uichan closely, to confirm it for himself.When Uichan tried to fold his leg away, Yeo Taehwon caught his knee and pulled it toward him. Dragged forward, Uichan braced his hand on Yeo Taehwon’s shoulder. Blood seeped faintly through the fabric of his pants.It wasn’t from Yeo Taehwon’s grip—Uichan’s sudden movement had reopened the wound.“Though the scent of blood hasn’t changed, has it, Under Doom.”It sounded almost as if he had been waiting for Uichan to bleed. Yeo Taehwon smiled as he looked at the stain spreading on his thigh. The sharp eyes softened, and his hand rose to brush Uichan’s throat, then up to press his lips closed.“You must’ve been injured by La Épée. So he knows, too, doesn’t he?”“No… no, he doesn’t.”“In any case, a wound is a wound. I’ll have to treat it myself.”Just before his thick thumb could slip into Uichan’s mouth, Uichan shoved him away with all his strength. The massive man yielded easily. Grabbing his bag, Uichan bolted from the bench.He didn’t even feel the pain in his leg as he ran.By the time he escaped the park, Yeo Taehwon was still kneeling on the ground, watching Uichan’s retreating figure without moving an inch.

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