The Way to Save the Crazy Returnees Chapter 35 - The Mage (1)

 

 

It had been a month since Victory began their promotions. With U Know, they wrapped up their final music show performance.

 

—This week’s Show! Champion Music! The winner is… Victory with U Know! Congratulations!!

 

For the very first time since their debut, Victory had claimed first place.

 

—Th-thank you! Thank you so much!

 

Kang Ye-seong’s eyes filled with tears as he received the trophy and bouquet. The other members weren’t any different. Lee Nak-hwa even broke down in sobs, as though he couldn’t believe this was real.

 

—First of all, we want to sincerely thank all our Nikes who stood by us through the hard and difficult times…

 

As Kang Ye-seong gave his acceptance speech, I rose from my seat. I wanted to stay and watch the encore, but there was something more pressing I needed to take care of.

 

And the moment I stepped outside—

 

“CEO?”

 

“Ah, Chris. Team Leader Hong.”

 

I ran into Chris and Team Leader Hong.

 

“Heading somewhere?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Chris looked surprised.

 

“What about the company dinner? Didn’t we schedule it for tonight?”

 

We had planned to celebrate the end of U Know’s promotions with a team dinner.

 

“Something urgent came up. I’ll deal with it first. You saw Victory take first place, right?”

 

“Yes! I was actually on my way to find you and talk about it!”

 

Chris beamed with pride, as if it were his own achievement.

 

“Please let the Victory members rest and celebrate today.”

 

“But they still have follow-up promotions to prepare for.”

 

“Just let them off for today.”

 

One day off won’t hurt them.

 

I smiled and added, “It’s a day worth celebrating.”

 

At that, Team Leader Hong finally raised the white flag.

 

“Understood.”

 

“Send me the dinner location later by text. I’ll join after I finish up.”

 

“Yes, CEO! We’ll be waiting!”

 

Leaving their greetings behind, I walked away. I had business to take care of.

 

Kim Sang-cheol.

 

It was time to deal with him.

 

***

 

The sight that greeted me in the abandoned factory was grim. Or rather, it was Kim Sang-cheol’s battered state.

 

“You didn’t kill him, right?”

 

“No, sir.”

 

The man in charge of the team I’d sent to capture him shook his head.

 

“His resistance was too strong. We had no choice.”

 

That sounded like Kim Sang-cheol, all right. Not knowing who was dragging him away, of course he wouldn’t just go quietly.

 

“Wake him up.”

 

“Yes, young master.”

 

Cold water splashed over his head.

 

“Ugh!”

 

Startled awake, he jerked his head up, his expression one of shock.

 

“You…! You bastard…!”

 

“Hello, Mr. Kim Sang-cheol.”

 

I greeted him with a faint smile.

 

“You’re rather foolish. If I were you, I would have tried to escape the country as soon as I got out of T.U.”

 

Instead, you just hovered around me like a fool.

 

“Guess you’re not as smart as I thought.”

 

“You son of a bitch! Shut your mouth!”

 

The words had barely left him before one of my men struck him across the face.

 

“Ugh…!”

 

As his head snapped to the side, I gave a thin smile and said,

 

“That’s enough. Leave Mr. Kim Sang-cheol be.”

 

“Yes, young master.”

 

“Young master…?”

 

Kim Sang-cheol grimaced, repeating the words through clenched teeth.

 

“Seems whoever’s been feeding you information skipped the important details.”

 

I laughed in his face and continued.

 

“My name is Kwak Yoon-hoo. I’m the grandson of Chairman Kwak Jin-tae of AMA. His only family.”

 

Kim Sang-cheol’s eyes widened violently.

 

“If you think I’m lying, feel free to check. Not that it matters. No one would believe a word you say anyway. And besides, you’ll be locked up in prison soon enough…”

 

“Prison?”

 

He let out a hollow laugh.

 

“I’ve been in this business for years. Do you think prison scares me?”

 

His face twisted menacingly as his voice sharpened.

 

“The moment I get out, I’ll slit your throat.”

 

So he really was a fool. I laughed back at him, just as hollow.

 

“By all means, get out as quickly as you can.”

 

I leaned in close, flashing a wide smile.

 

“Because the instant you do, I’ll either bury you under every charge I can and send you right back in…”

 

Or—

 

“…make sure you don’t even get to taste prison food, so no taxpayer money is wasted on you.”

 

Yes, that sounded better.

 

Just imagining my taxes feeding scum like him made my stomach churn.

 

Kim Sang-cheol hesitated for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter.

 

‘Is he insane?’

 

Smirking, he asked,

 

“Well then, CEO Kwak. Feed me to the fishes or hand me over to the cops, do as you like. But…”

 

His grin widened.

 

“…are your brats going to be okay?”

 

It wasn’t hard to guess who he meant by “brats.”

 

Victory.

 

The ones who had been under King.

 

“You didn’t think it was all over just because I got caught, did you?”

 

His smile deepened.

 

“I don’t know if you’re aware, but I got a lot of investments from all over. My hyung-nims are looking to collect, and they promised to give me a hand.”

 

“So what?”

 

Victory’s members had Seo Do-hwan with them. Their families were being watched over by my people and Lee Yoo-seong. Kim Jeong-hye was no longer a threat.

 

“Oh, our CEO Kwak. I thought you were clever. Guess you don’t really understand the situation.”

 

Kim Sang-cheol chuckled.

 

“Victory. Those kids aren’t glued together twenty-four seven, are they?”

 

My face hardened. Spotting that, Kim Sang-cheol pressed on.

 

“Like when one of them steps out of the waiting room to use the bathroom. Or leaves the dorm to grab something at the convenience store. You’re not going to have guards tailing them every second, right?”

 

I couldn’t respond.

 

Instead, I glared at him, rose from my seat, and made a call.

 

“Hello? Seo Do-hwan, where are you right now?”

 

—I’m with the kids, of course.

 

“I mean, where exactly are you with Victory?”

 

—Kang Ye-seong wanted strawberry milk, so we stopped at a convenience store.

 

“In front of the convenience store?”

 

—No, there wasn’t any parking out front, so we pulled over a little ways off.

 

Goddamn it.

 

—Boss, what’s wrong?

 

“Right now, you need to—!”

 

I wanted to order him to find Kang Ye-seong immediately, but the words stuck in my throat.

 

If Seo Do-hwan left his post, could the other manager protect the rest of Victory? Even if Kang Ye-seong was safe, what if something happened to the others?

 

All the trust I’d built would collapse in an instant.

 

‘What do I do? What should I do?’

 

My thoughts are tangled and scattered.

 

‘Calm down.’

 

What was done was done. Spilled water can’t be scooped back up, but it can be wiped clean.

 

“Seo Do-hwan, listen carefully.”

 

From now on—

 

“Do exactly as I say.”

 

***

 

Kang Ye-seong was puzzled.

 

He had only just left the convenience store with a strawberry milk. He’d finished a cheerful call with his grandmother and younger sister, Kang Yoon-ju, back in his hometown.

 

Yes, that was all. And yet—

 

“Handsome hyung, you still don’t get the situation, do you?”

 

Why was this happening?

 

With a knife pressed to his throat, Kang Ye-seong slowly raised his hands.

 

“Did Kim Sang-cheol send you?”

 

“That’s none of your business.”

 

The masked man tilted his head.

 

“You know your CEO, right? Give him a call.”

 

“CEO Kwak Yoon-hoo, you mean?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

The man smiled with his eyes.

 

“Tell that bastard to transfer the money into the account I give you. I’ll give you the number—just repeat it exactly as I say. Do what you’re told, and you won’t get hurt. Relax.”

 

Kang Ye-seong nodded and picked up his phone. He was about to dial when—

 

“If you call anyone else besides the CEO, your pretty face might get scarred.”

 

The words froze him.

 

“Excuse me, is someone there?”

 

A stranger’s voice cut through.

 

Startled, Kang Ye-seong glanced toward the mouth of the alley. The man with the knife did the same, narrowing his eyes and calling out,

 

“Just chatting with a friend here. Nothing to worry about—why don’t you keep walking?”

 

Kang Ye-seong frowned.

 

For a thug, not bad… he thought bitterly. Smooth talker.

 

‘What should I do?’

 

Should he shout for help? But what if the man panicked and attacked? Worse, what if the stranger tried to intervene and got hurt too?

 

‘If only I were as strong as Seo Do-hwan or Lee Yoo-seong!’

 

If he were, this thug would be nothing.

 

“Hey. Didn’t you hear me? I told you to get lost.”

 

The sharp tone jolted Kang Ye-seong out of his spiraling thoughts.

 

The man at the alley entrance stood still. With his light brown hair tied back, he pulled an earbud from his ear, surprise flickering across his face.

 

“Muse?” he said.

 

At that, Kang Ye-seong shouted before he could stop himself.

 

“Please help me!!”

 

“You little—!”

 

The thug grimaced and slashed his knife at Kang Ye-seong. The blade came dangerously close, and Kang Ye-seong squeezed his eyes shut in fear.

 

“Ahhh!”

 

Then, with a scream, the man vanished.

 

Kang Ye-seong slowly opened his eyes. The thug who had just swung at him had vanished without a trace.

 

‘What…what just happened?’

 

He didn’t even have time to process it.

 

“Uh… a-are you okay…?”

 

“Ah!”

 

Kang Ye-seong quickly turned to the man peeking around the corner of the alley.

 

“Thank you so much.”

 

He wasn’t sure if the stranger had actually dealt with the thug, but one thing was certain—he had been saved.

 

“Could I have your contact information? I’d really like to repay you for helping me.”

 

“No! That’s fine!!”

 

“But still—”

 

“It’s really fine!!”

 

Those were the man’s last words.

 

“Hello?”

 

Kang Ye-seong tilted his head and walked over to where the man had been standing. But there was no one there.

 

Maybe he had already stepped out onto the main road? Yet when Kang Ye-seong looked, the man was nowhere in sight—as if he had never existed in the first place.

 

“Hey! Kang Ye-seong!!”

 

Perfect timing—Seo Do-hwan came running up.

 

“Mr. Seo Do-hwan, your hair…!”

 

It was black. To be exact, he was wearing a black wig. And instead of his usual Hawaiian shirt, he was dressed in casual clothes.

 

“Forget how I look right now! Are you okay?! You’re not hurt, right? No, judging by you standing here, something definitely happened.”

 

Kang Ye-seong just blinked, still dazed.

 

“Hey, why are you spacing out like that? Did you get hurt?”

 

“What? Oh, no.”

 

Scratching his cheek awkwardly, Kang Ye-seong asked,

 

“Mr. Seo Do-hwan, can you teleport?”

 

“No?”

 

“Then what about Lee Yoo-seong?”

 

“He can’t do that either.”

 

“Then… have you ever seen a normal person teleport?”

 

Seo Do-hwan gave him a baffled look.

 

“Did you hit your head or something?”

 

Kang Ye-seong could only pout in frustration.

 

Meanwhile, at that moment.

 

“Hyung, you’re back?”

 

“Oppa, you’re home?”

 

The man with light brown hair tied back collapsed at the front door.

 

“What about the ice cream?”

 

“I forgot…!”

 

“You forgot the ice cream?”

 

“No! The autograph!!”

 

He sat there as if the world had ended.

 

“I should’ve gotten an autograph! At the very least I should’ve asked for a picture!!”

 

“A picture with you, oppa?”

 

“No! A picture with Muse! Why would anyone want a picture of me?! Aaaah! Idiot! You idiot!!”

 

He clutched his head in despair, tearing at his hair. His younger siblings exchanged confused looks.

 

“What’s wrong with him?”

 

“I have no idea.”

 

No matter what they said, twenty-seven-year-old Lee Man-deuk, known among fans as [HonoraryNike], wailed in regret.