When a human accumulates demonic energy in their body, one of the side effects is demonization.

In short, they start turning into a demon.

This process happens without the person even realizing it. In the end, four of the seven emotions that humans can feel disappear.

Joy, sorrow, pleasure, and love.

On the other hand, the three remaining emotions—

That is, anger, hatred, and greed—are amplified.

They become easily enraged over nothing, develop an irrational hatred for others, and covet what belongs to others.

This was why war never ceased in the Demon Realm.

Of course, Lee Seo-jun had long transcended all of this. At first, he briefly lost the four emotions while the three intensified, but it lasted only for a moment.

The problem was the unique nature of the Demon Realm.

There weren’t many things in that place capable of evoking the seven emotions.

There were occasional moments when he felt anger, but even those were rare.

As a result, Seo-jun’s emotions had dulled, separate from the side effects of demonic energy.

In all the thousands of years he spent in the Demon Realm, not once had he ever felt joy.

There was only one time he had felt pleasure.

It was when he descended to the human world and went on an adventure.

There was also only one time he had felt sorrow.

When Orc Kalax, the one who had taken him in, drew his last breath.

Those were the only two emotions he had ever felt in the Demon Realm.

But after returning, things were different.

When he reunited with his younger brother, Lee Yeon-jun, he felt overwhelming joy and pleasure.

Lee Seo-woo was incredibly lovable, and when hardworking people like Ki Seok-tae and Lee Ae-seon suffered, it made him angry.

When he received news of Kang Min-hee’s mother, Lee Jin-soon’s passing, he felt a sudden sadness.

And now.

Seo-jun was feeling an excitement he hadn’t experienced in a long time.

His heart tingled with anticipation.

- So, how many adults in total?

“Four adults and one child.”

- Four adults and one child. I'll send the account details and the amount via text. As stated on the website, if you request a refund at the last minute, you’ll only get 50% back.

“Understood.”

- Then, we’ll see you on the day. Travel safely.

Seo-jun ended the call.

He had looked up accommodations online and made a reservation.

It was a pension he chose based on reviews and ratings left by others.

Anticipation swelled in his chest. He found himself wishing the departure day would arrive quickly.

‘The only problem is the car we’ll use…’

But that, too, seemed like an easy fix.

- …With the disappearance of Meisa, Japanese authorities are on high alert. The Metropolitan Police Department has announced that they will investigate whether Meisa’s disappearance is connected to the previous case of Ichiro’s disappearance...

“It’s too noisy. I can’t talk properly. Turn off the TV.”

At Hwang Tae-su’s words, Go Hyung-geon picked up the remote and switched off the TV.

“Hyung-geon.”

“Yes, boss.”

“Go buy some coffee.”

“All of a sudden?”

“Seriously?!”

“……”

Smack!

“If I tell you to go buy it, just do it. Why all the questions?”

“……What should I get?”

“Iced Americano.”

“But boss, you don’t drink Americanos.”

“Seriously?!”

“……”

Smack!

“I’m going to start drinking it from today. Satisfied? Now go get the coffee.”

Go Hyung-geon pouted but left the office without another word. The moment he stepped out, Hwang Tae-su, who had been lounging with his legs crossed in the seat of honor, hurriedly changed his position.

“So, what brings you here?”

“I’d like to borrow a car.”

“A car? You mean the one with four wheels?”

Seo-jun nodded. At that, Hwang Tae-su reacted with exaggerated surprise.

“If that’s what you needed, you should have just called. I would’ve driven the car over to you myself.”

“I can’t make such demands when I’m the one asking for a favor.”

“Come on… Between us, ‘favor’ is too strong a word.”

A playful mood struck Seo-jun.

His expression suddenly turned stern. Immediately, tension flashed across Hwang Tae-su’s face.

“Between us? What kind of relationship do we have?”

“Huh?”

“You just said, ‘Between us, favor is too strong a word.’ So what exactly is our relationship?”

Gulp!

Hwang Tae-su swallowed dryly.

‘He should’ve just picked up on it immediately… Damn it.’

Cold sweat trickled down his back, but he didn’t dare wipe it away. A single slip of the tongue, and he’d be erased without a trace by Monster #1.

‘Think, think, Hwang Tae-su!’

They say that when humans are pushed to their limits, they can unleash superhuman abilities.

Right now, that was exactly what was happening to Hwang Tae-su. His mind was working at lightning speed.

“Maybe… like a prison guard and a prisoner?”

“A prison guard and a prisoner?”

“Thanks to you, boss, I’ve reformed and am living a good life, so if not that, then what else could it be? Hahaha.”

Seo-jun smirked.

It was an unexpectedly amusing response.

Just then—

Knock, knock—

There was a knock at the door, and Hwang Tae-su quickly glanced at Seo-jun for permission. When Seo-jun gave a slight shrug, Hwang Tae-su swiftly moved back to the seat of honor.

He even remembered to casually cross one leg over the other.

“Come in.”

“I brought the coffee, sir.”

“Good job. Now go back to work.”

“Yes, sir.”

As soon as Hyung-geon left, Hwang Tae-su once again vacated the seat of honor, as if nothing had happened. Then, he offered Seo-jun a coffee.

“By the way, when do you plan to borrow the car?”

“I was thinking from next Sunday to Wednesday.”

Hwang Tae-su swallowed dryly.

‘Was thinking?’

“I haven’t driven in a long time. I’d like to take it early to get some practice.”

“Ah…! That makes perfect sense, a hundred, no, a thousand times over. A license that just sits in a drawer is dangerous.”

Flustered, Hwang Tae-su hurriedly took out a car key.

“The car is in the parking lot. You can take it whenever you like.”

Seo-jun nodded and opened a subspace.

‘This is dizzying.’

Faced with the endless darkness unfolding before him, Hwang Tae-su felt a wave of dizziness. That dizziness quickly turned into pity.

“……”

Cha Sang-hyun, inside the subspace.

He no longer begged to be saved or let out. His dull, unfocused eyes merely glanced at Monster #1.

‘What a cruel bastard…’

Just then—

“This should be enough.”

“Huh?”

“For the rental fee.”

Snapping out of his thoughts, Hwang Tae-su looked down at the table and saw magic stones placed there.

“You don’t have to pay…”

“Take it. I don’t like owing people.”

Glancing at Cha Sang-hyun, Hwang Tae-su discreetly slid the magic stones into his inner pocket.

“Thank you.”

“I’ll be off, then.”

“Already leaving?”

“Thought I’d practice parking.”

“Ah… Got it!”

As Seo-jun left, Hwang Tae-su felt his legs nearly give out.

He must have been overly tense.

“Phew…”

Even now, the image of Cha Sang-hyun trapped inside the subspace lingered in his mind.

‘Just what kind of crime did he commit?’

Even if he had sold out his own country, would he deserve such a punishment?

Trapped in a space where fatigue, hunger, cold, heat, and even the sense of time and space didn’t exist—left completely alone.

As he shuddered at the thought, he made a firm vow to himself: ‘I can never, ever end up in there.’

At that moment, Hyung-geon walked in.

“Boss, it’s one o’clock.”

“One o’clock? So what?”

“Don’t you have a lunch appointment with Boss Baek?”

“Ah, right.”

Getting up from his seat, Hwang Tae-su took the elevator down to the parking lot with Go Hyung-geon. Then, he suddenly froze.

‘Ah.’

The car—

He had just lent it to Monster #1.

There were other subordinates’ cars available, but what excuse could he use to borrow one?

Say his car broke down?

Say his car disappeared?

Those wouldn’t work.

“Ahem. Hyung-geon.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s walk.”

“All the way to the restaurant?”

The meeting spot was at least 3 km away.

For a normal person, it might not seem like much, but for Hwang Tae-su, who always took a car after just three steps, it was equivalent to 30 km.

That was why Hyung-geon questioned him—he knew that for Hwang Tae-su, 3 km was practically a marathon.

“……Yeah.”

“That’s too far, boss.”

“Still, let’s walk. Today… I just feel like walking…”

“Boss, there’s a heat wave warning today.”

This damn brat!

“Seriously?!”

“……”

Smack!

“In this heat wave, you actually wanted to walk, you bastard?!”

“Huff, huff……”

“Are you alright?”

“Huff, huff, huff!”

With one hand pressed against the elevator wall, Hwang Tae-su could only nod. He wanted to say he was fine, but the words wouldn’t come out.

His entire body was already drenched in sweat.

‘I should’ve just accepted when Boss Baek offered me a ride…’

The heat wave warning was in effect, but the walk there had been bearable.

However, maybe it was his age, or maybe his weight gain—

The round trip had been too much. It felt like every drop of moisture had been drained from his body.

Still, he was almost there. He had already contacted Si-hyun in advance, so the office’s air conditioning would be blasting.

With that thought, Hwang Tae-su pressed the button for the fifth floor.

Ding!

The elevator arrived at the fifth floor.

Hwang Tae-su couldn’t believe his eyes.

“……”

Was he seeing things?

Or was this a dream?

Unfortunately, it was neither a hallucination nor a dream.

“Yo! Boss Hwang.”

“……”

Just as Monster #1 had left, Monster #2 had arrived.

“Huff, huff!”

“Are you alright?”

“Huff, huff, huff!”

With a hand braced against the wall, Hwang Tae-su panted heavily.

“I’m fi… I’m… I’m fine… No, I’m not… I’m not fine… Huff, huff!”

“You’re about to collapse. Seems like you’ve been neglecting exercise.”

Is this bastard mocking me?!

This is all your fault!

Hwang Tae-su shot Monster #2 a glare filled with resentment.

Did he notice?

“Would you like me to cool you down?”

Hwang Tae-su nodded. In response, Park Yeon placed a hand on his body.

“……!”

Hwang Tae-su flinched in shock.

Something like a shimmering light radiated from Monster #2’s hand, and a chilling sensation spread through his body.

It felt as if an air conditioner had been turned on inside him. In the blink of an eye, his sweat dried up completely.

“If you had just asked earlier, I would have taken care of it sooner.”

“……Seriously?!”

“Hm?”

“Ah, that just slipped out.”

“Anyway, what would you like to watch?”

Park Yeon pointed at the screen. Displayed on it were posters of movies currently showing.

At that moment, Hwang Tae-su wished he could turn back time a few days.

- In dramas, it’s usually a man and a woman who go to the movies together.

- That’s just in dramas. In reality, guys go together all the time.

That was when he should have shut things down for good.

He should have made it clear—movies are not for two men!

Movies are meant to be watched by a man and a woman!

But Monster #2, wanting to repay him for showing him movies in the past, had come to take him to one.

He had refused over and over, but refusals didn’t work on Monster #2. And so, Hwang Tae-su had no choice but to walk all the way to the theater.

A one-way distance of 7.5 km…

And that 7.5 km walk led Hwang Tae-su to make a firm resolution.

‘…No matter what happens in the future, I will establish a taxi company in District 12. No matter what!’

Public transportation didn’t operate in places like Districts 12 and 13.

There had been some in the beginning, but with at least one armed robbery or assault happening every day, the transportation companies had pulled out.

Since he had always used a private car, he hadn’t realized how difficult life was for District 12’s residents.

He would make it happen. Even if it killed him, he would establish a taxi company in District 12… No! At the very least, he would create a bus company!

Even if the company operated at a loss!

Even if money bled from his pockets!

He would make it happen!

Just as he was caught up in his thoughts, Monster #2 spoke.

“Your expression looks rather serious.”

“Huh?”

“You look like a knight heading into battle. That’s why I mentioned it.”

“Ah… I was just lost in thought.”

“Anyway, what would you like to watch?”

Monster #2 pointed at the screen again. Hwang Tae-su followed his gaze.

Alright, since I’m watching a movie anyway, I might as well go for an action or a thriller.

With those genres, people might at least mistake us for an uncle and his nephew.

…That was what Hwang Tae-su had thought.

He was completely mistaken.

“…Shit.”