When Uichan tried to stand, Hyde stepped closer first and crouched down before him.Their eyes met at the same height, and Hyde’s face came into full view. His lashes flickered, long and pale, and Uichan found himself thinking that they were almost too long. In the shadowed light, Hyde’s profile looked like a sculpture carved from darkness itself.Though he was merely crouched in front of him, even that posture carried an effortless, magnetic grace. Maybe it was just the night light—but he looked strikingly beautiful.“So, the great Uichan finally called his hyung. Guess the sun’s coming up in the west tomorrow.”“…I didn’t think you’d come.”“Why not?”Hyde crossed his arms over his knees and rested his chin on them. His tone was light, almost teasing. Uichan studied his face carefully, but there was no sign of anger at all. Did he really not know about Mother Ship? Uichan stared into his eyes, the faint constellation of the Big Dipper shining white within them.“You’ve never been this late before.”“Well… I had something to take care of. Just finished it when your call came in. When someone who’s never once called me in his life suddenly does, I’d better show up, don’t you think? Must’ve been something serious to make you reach out.”“……”“So? Tell me. What was so urgent you had to drag me out in the middle of the night?”Unfolding his arms, Hyde reached out a hand. Uichan tensed as the man’s hand approached. He wanted to back away, but there was only a solid wall behind him. Hyde’s large palm brushed lightly against his cheek.“If it’s hard to say, want me to guess?”With the light behind him, Hyde’s face was shadowed, yet his eyes gleamed like polished glass. The colored irises trapped Uichan completely; he could hardly breathe under their weight.So he did know. Thinking Hyde was unaware of Mother Ship’s involvement had been a mistake. Everything concerning In the Hell was like a puzzle spread out in Hyde’s hands—he assembled and rearranged every piece himself. The rest of them were only ants scurrying within his palm, falling into order whenever he moved a finger.They said Hyde had surpassed the human limit, but even Uichan didn’t know what that truly meant. No one knew how many abilities he had, but one of them was Stage Domain — Puppet Dance, a hallucinatory power.He could create any “stage” he desired, trapping people within it and forcing them to experience the emotions he dictated. That was why the Hero Association had declared his power a “mental-type” when they issued his bounty. It wasn’t entirely wrong—Hyde really could manipulate people’s minds.Uichan had no idea how many eyes and ears Hyde had scattered across the city, but it was safe to assume his surveillance rivaled Mother Ship’s. Otherwise, he wouldn’t speak as if he already knew everything.“Did Mother Ship beg you to save her? Or did she throw you away to save her brat?”“Why do you have to say it like that? You know she’s not that kind of person.”“Well, true. She cares about you as much as her own child. No way she’d back out just to avoid punishment.”Hyde’s voice dropped lower than usual, the chill in it barely restrained. He knew everything that had happened at the Bureau. Dozens of heroes had witnessed Mother Ship’s puppet, and Uichan himself had clashed directly with La Épée. Of course Hyde knew.“I was just about to summon Mother Ship myself… but you beat me to it, Uichan. Tell me.”The back of Hyde’s hand brushed past Uichan’s cheek, sliding up to push his hair aside. His tone was gentle, his touch soft, yet the air between them turned heavy, sharp.“You called me even though you knew I’d interrogate her? Thought I’d hang her upside down and peel her alive?”“……”“Strange, isn’t it? I always try to handle things through conversation—whether it’s interrogation or questioning. But when you act like this, how am I supposed to keep balance? I already gave you an exception.”Uichan flinched at that. He clenched his hands, forcing his expression to stay neutral.“…Maybe Podo’s smarter than I thought. The kid always stirs up trouble whenever it knows I won’t lay a hand on you.”“Podo’s… just young. It acted because I wanted that item, not for anything big or calculated. If you think about it, this all started because of me—”“You’re defending it? In front of me?”Hyde let out a small laugh, shoulders shaking. Even his fingers playing idly with Uichan’s ear vibrated faintly. But then his expression vanished, replaced by something unreadable. He opened his arms. Uichan hesitated, then quickly stepped forward and embraced him.“There we go. No matter what’s going on, you should still say hello. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”Uichan almost spoke again to explain further but decided against it—it would only make things worse. All he wanted now was to calm him down. And perhaps, just a little, Hyde’s voice softened.“I told you before—the rules exist to protect you and your brothers. Remember Jekyll Jack? Remember what happened when he broke them?”“……”“Of course, it doesn’t make me happy to punish Mother Ship and Podo.”As soon as Uichan raised his head, Hyde extended a pale hand toward him, waiting. For a moment, Uichan hesitated. One of his hands was covered with a glove to hide the burn scars, so he offered the other instead. Hyde’s fingers toyed gently with his, tracing the soft skin.“Still so smooth. You haven’t changed at all.”His next words came too softly for Uichan to hear. Hyde’s fingers lingered, caressing, before he spoke again, relaxed and almost nostalgic.“How long has it been since we met? Four years now?”“Since I was eighteen… yes.”“You’ve grown a lot. An adult now.”He’d said it like a simple fact, but there was something weightier beneath it. Uichan had known Hyde for years, yet he could never claim to truly know him. Hyde was unpredictable, always hiding his true thoughts behind a composed mask.Still…Tonight, Uichan had to get him to spare Mother Ship and Podo. If he didn’t, before dawn they’d both be hanging upside down, skin stripped and raw. Hyde never made exceptions for anyone—not even children.“…Hyde, about today…”“You want to save Mother Ship?”His fingers stopped moving. Uichan’s pulse quickened.“In a way, it’s my fault. Everyone knew I was after Aengak, so Podo probably acted because of that. Punishing it right away feels too cruel.”“And what about Mother Ship?”Uichan fell silent, then shook his head quickly. His hands had balled into fists without realizing it, and Hyde gently pried them open.“I could overlook it. But I need a reason.”“A reason…?”“Simple. Erase their memories. Make them forget they ever broke a rule. Erase it so completely that even if the others question them, they’ll have no idea what they did wrong.”At that, Uichan’s gaze dropped instantly. Before, he would’ve agreed without hesitation. But now—He couldn’t use Regression.The babies kept shrinking whenever he did.When he didn’t answer, Hyde leaned his elbow on his knee, resting his chin in his palm.“You don’t like that idea either?”“I’ll make sure they stay quiet. I’ll talk to Mother Ship myself and make sure it never happens again… but erasing their memories—”“You dislike this, you dislike that… Then what do you want me to do, Uichan? Go on, tell me.”Regression might have seemed like an omnipotent power, but tampering with memory was extremely difficult. It required peering into the subject’s brain in microscopic detail; a single mistake could leave them an idiot—or erase ten years of their life.Hyde didn’t know that, of course. From his perspective, Uichan’s hesitation could easily look like defiance.“…I’ll ask for forgiveness in front of everyone. Mother Ship and I both will.”“Jekyll Jack hung upside down for a month just because he skipped one meeting without notice. Don’t you think he found that unfair?”It was, in the end, a matter of equality. Exceptions caused cracks, and cracks destroyed even the strongest unity. When Uichan failed to respond, Hyde smiled faintly and tugged him by the wrist. Muttering that his clothes were sloppy, he rolled up Uichan’s sleeve to tidy it.It happened to be the gloved hand—but Hyde said nothing.“Well… if that’s the case, you can take the punishment in another form. Pay the price yourself, in place of Mother Ship and Podo. For example…” His voice dropped lower. “…we create a secret between us.”“How is that a punishment?”Uichan didn’t understand how sharing a secret with Hyde could possibly count as paying a price.“Why not? You’re hiding something from me already.”“……”His heart started pounding hard. Could Hyde have seen his maternity booklet? Or had someone followed him to the hospital with Park Rion? But Hyde had forbidden anyone in In the Hell from surveilling Uichan.“…What would I be hiding?”“La Épée.”The hand that had adjusted one sleeve now moved to the other. Hyde spoke casually as he smoothed the fabric into place. The brush of his skin against Uichan’s wrist felt strange—hot, almost ticklish.“What about La Épée?”

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.