The Unbelievers Chapter 39

It was quite a late hour when he arrived in Seoul. Having been seen off by Manager Nam and entering the house, Yoo Siun looked around the living room anew. He recalled the “House” element Master Manpo had mentioned. The house he lived in was built by thoroughly examining the space so that good energy could permeate it, with the direction and dimensions carefully considered. Perhaps that was why Yoo Siun felt his mind settle into a peaceful calm whenever he returned home. All his defenses lowered the moment he entered the house.

Tugging down the necktie that was constricting his throat, he headed toward his room. He opened the door and went straight into the bathroom to undress. He stripped off everything, not leaving so much as a single thread of underwear on. He placed every bit of the discarded clothing into a trash bag and sealed it.

He peeled off the dressing band he applied almost every morning to hide the tattoos on his exposed parts. The image of the wolf that had been hidden on his thick neck revealed its face. The wolf rode over one of his shoulders and covered his entire left arm and left chest. The tattoos, which he had etched one by one since he was young to ensure he never forgot what he had done, had increased until they eventually covered him in the form of a wolf.

He turned on the hot water and showered. The dirty dust that had clung to his body was washed away cleanly by the water and soap suds. After finishing his shower, he came out and roughly slapped all-in-one lotion onto his face and neck.

Yoo Siun’s dress room was filled with suits and shirts in similar achromatic tones. The comfortable indoor wear he wore only at home was the same. Black shirts and black slacks—while gray or white were mixed in occasionally, they were generally all black.

He didn’t wear only deep achromatic clothing for no reason. Black clothes were the only ones that showed almost no trace if something got on them. He occasionally had to do work that involved getting blood on him. It was usually the blood of others.

Another reason was the fact that Yoo Siun had no taste in clothes. The fact that he was so busy he sometimes felt it was a waste of time to even choose clothes also played a part.

In order, he took out and put on black underwear followed by black slacks, and for a top, he pulled a black shirt over his head. Recalling Eunseong’s words about him being like a crow, he let out a faint smile.

His hands, which were rubbing his wet hair vigorously with a towel, paused. Light was leaking through the gap of the slightly open study door. He walked toward the study. He opened the door and peered inside.

Eunseong was lying on the recliner where he usually slept more often than in his bed. As if he had been in the middle of looking at a book, a closed volume was cradled in his arms, and a black zip-up jumper belonging to Yoo Siun covered his lower body.

Yoo Siun stared blankly at the sleeping Eunseong.

“…”

The only existence who can untie his Jahyeongsal.

Is Seo Eunseong truly that key?

The only means to overturn Yoo Siun’s rank—which is at the very bottom—in one fell swoop.

Yoo Siun was confused; he couldn’t believe it, he didn’t want to believe it, and he felt a sense of loathing toward those who intended to use Eunseong.

He was someone who had hated the nonsensical things the Seongha Group committed. He had even lost a few subordinates who followed him. When participating in those nonsensical rituals, his esophagus would sting from holding back the reflux of wanting to vomit.

He had to send Eunseong away quickly. Whether he let him live separately or sent him overseas, he had to clear him away to a place where he wouldn’t be seen. While claiming he would do so with his words, Yoo Siun was putting off the plan day after day. It wasn’t as if there was a particular reason.

He was afraid. He wondered if the reason he was hesitating like this was because—while loathing it on the surface—he was subconsciously calculating the things he would gain if it were actually possible, if Eunseong truly was that existence, and if he ended up possessing Eunseong as a result; he wondered if that was his secret, inner truth.

What on earth was the reason he was drawn to and concerned about the existence of Seo Eunseong himself, rather than a pitiful object of prophecy who might be used by his family without knowing anything?

“…Mmm.”

While he was merely staring at the sleeping boy with a troubled heart, Eunseong let out a groan and turned his body over. He rolled onto his side and crawled toward the top of the recliner; then, he took Yoo Siun’s jumper that had been covering his legs, hugged it tightly, and breathed rhythmically like a baby tracking its mother’s scent.

“…”

His hand reached out into the air. The hand that had instinctively tried to touch Eunseong’s cheek flinched and quickly withdrew.

His subconscious had tried to touch Eunseong again. Shocked by that fact, Yoo Siun turned around hurriedly and left the study as if fleeing.

Closing the study door where Eunseong was sleeping, he headed to the kitchen. There was bound to be salt somewhere in the kitchen. He opened the sliding storage cabinet containing seasoning ingredients. Having found the salt by opening the containers one by one, he poured all the white salt grains into a large bowl and washed his hands with the salt as if washing them with water.

He rubbed it hard against his skin, clenching and opening his hands repeatedly to rub the coarse surface against them. He continued until his hands were stinging and sore; then, he frowned at this absurd thing he had done, rebuked himself for doing something so irrational, and dumped the bowl of salt into the sink.

Whoosh…

He turned on the water so all the salt was swept away into the drain. He washed his hands cleanly with hand sanitizer, as rational people do.

He had tried to touch that child with these dirty hands.

Did he want to do something to that boy that was no different from what those people did, even though he had despised, cursed, and loathed his family? If so, what made him any different from those monster-like bastards?

Yoo Siun recalled the events of six months ago. It wasn’t even someone with clear traces of the mark. Coincidentally, a male student suspected of being the “Great Rift” had simply been discovered at the location Master Manpo had pointed out. He was captured and violated by Yoo Seong-il, and eventually murdered for the reason that he was not the object of prophecy. The disposal of the body had been Yoo Siun’s job.

Facing the body that had been torn to shreds like a rag, Yoo Siun had felt a powerless rage at himself for having no choice but to stand by and watch such people. The face of the butchered boy overlapped with the face of the sleeping Eunseong, making him shudder.

“…Why are you so late?”

Startled by the presence felt behind him, Yoo Siun turned off the faucet and looked back.

Eunseong was standing there. The boy, believing the man disliked him coming close, was keeping a wide distance between them. In his sleep-induced state of unawareness, his hand clutched Yoo Siun’s jumper and rubbed the soft fabric against his cheek and lips. While occasionally catching the scent, he looked at Yoo Siun with half-open, sleepy eyes.

“Did you wake up because of me?”

Yoo Siun’s words came out strangely only in front of Eunseong. He didn’t know what kind of tone to use or what to say, and it was merely awkward because he had never dealt with a child of that age.

“…Pardon? Yes… yes. What time is it now?”

With that, he rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, frowned deeply, and looked around at various spots on the walls. Even after discovering where the clock was hung, he squinted in the dim light to check the time. The clock hands were racing toward four in the morning.

Eunseong let out a wide yawn. Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes, giving them a glistening sheen that sparkled even in the dark.

Yoo Siun moved his gaze away from the still-drowsy Eunseong and spoke.

“You said you heard a strange noise earlier, right? I’ll go out and check on it.”

“That… that, I checked it.”

“Did you?”

“It was a bird. It was the sound a bird makes when it lands on a tree and then flies away.”

Eunseong used a bird as an excuse again. Both Eunseong himself and Yoo Siun knew Eunseong was lying, but neither of them brought it up. If Eunseong said he heard it, then a strange noise had occurred outside; if Eunseong said it was a bird, then the cause of that strange noise was a bird.

“Go back inside and sleep now.”

“Can I go to an academy during the vacation?”

“I’ll call a tutor for you. Don’t go outside as much as possible.”

“Because it’s dangerous?”

He nodded that it was so.

“But, you said those people over there are looking for me because I’m the heir.”

“…”

“Then it’s not like I necessarily have to be only with you, Mister, is it? The Seongha Group has dozens of affiliates. Your company is just one of those affiliates.”

While he seemed like just a child at times, Eunseong threw out sharp and keen questions from moment to moment. They were questions that gave the implication that he knew the full story behind all of this, enough to make Yoo Siun momentarily flustered.

“Why do I have to be only with you, Mister? Is there some law saying I have to?”

A law saying he has to… there is no such law.

“They won’t protect you.”

He thought his answer was meager.

“…What does it mean, that they won’t protect me? Then, do they exploit me?”

“…”

Strictly speaking, it was an act that fell within the scope of exploitation. Yoo Siun merely nodded instead of answering.

His mouth said he would protect him, but he wondered if a secret desire to exploit Eunseong was what was holding Eunseong here and preventing him from leaving. Yoo Siun felt nauseated by his own potentially ugly inner truth.

One thing was clear: as someone who loathed all the family’s behaviors, Yoo Siun had absolutely no intention of following them. It would be a lie to say he had no greed to take over the group, but he did not want to possess it by following in the footsteps of what the family did.

That heart was sincere, without a speck of falsehood.

The promise he made to Seo Jeonggi when bringing Eunseong—that he would watch over and protect him—was not a lie. He would rather just kill every single person involved and take it than occupy anything by using Eunseong.

But why…