Park Yeon’s pupils trembled violently.

His previously clear mind kept growing hazy. He barely managed to hold onto it.

“Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why the hell are you just standing there?”

“What am I supposed to do?”

“You’re supposed to kill me!”

Ever since he met Kadalan.

Park Yeon had been satisfied with the thought that he could finally carry out the will of God. Yet at the same time, another torment crept in.

Can I really kill him?

No… I cannot kill him. Not “I don’t think I can,” but “I cannot kill him.”

The contradiction from those opposing thoughts bred resignation.

As the hero Veltebray, he would carry out God’s will.

But as Park Yeon, he would die.

This was what Park Yeon had wished for.

And yet…

“I said why the hell are you just standing there?!”

Seo-jun said nothing.

After a long pause, he finally opened his mouth.

“Just as you have your faith, I have mine.”

Shhhhaaaaa—

As the heavy rain poured down, Park Yeon sat on the bench, letting the downpour drench him completely.

The sharp, relentless rain jolted his senses, but it couldn’t wash away the daze in his heart.

He fiddled with the rosary in his hand. Touching this rosary had always calmed him during difficult times, but not this time.

It felt like he was alone, imprisoned in a cage called anguish, floating in a space as vast as the universe.

Behind him, Seo-woo tiptoed quietly toward him and then covered his eyes.

“Guess who?”

“Seo-woo.”

“Huh? How did you know?”

Feigning surprise, Seo-woo stood in front of Park Yeon and held an umbrella over him.

“My teacher said this—if you get rained on, you’ll catch a cold. So always use an umbrella when it rains.”

“Is that so?”

Nodding, Seo-woo picked up the soaking wet Yeoksam and placed him on his head.

“Ta-da! Yeoksam umbrella!”

Perhaps used to it by now, Yeoksam looked unimpressed. With Yeoksam on his head, Seo-woo splashed in the puddles.

As he played gleefully, Seo-woo noticed the rosary in Park Yeon’s hand.

“What’s this?”

“A rosary.”

“Rosary? What’s that?”

Park Yeon paused, thinking about how to explain it in a way a child would understand.

“Do you know what a signpost is?”

“Yes! I learned! It’s a sign that helps you find your way!”

“That’s right. This is a signpost.”

“This is?”

“Mhm.”

“But why are you looking at a signpost? My teacher said you use signposts to find your way…”

“I think I took the wrong path.”

Seo-woo looked around. All he could see were the main road and a nearby alleyway.

“Uncle, did you get lost on the way somewhere?”

“Yeah.”

“On your way where?”

“I think I forgot that too.”

Furrowing his brows in cute concentration, Seo-woo answered.

“Then why not go back?”

“Huh?”

“My teacher said this too. If you get lost, you can always go back. Then you can find a new path. What’s important is realizing you went the wrong way.”

Kang kang!

As Yeoksam ran up to Yeon-jun, who had just stepped outside, wagging his tail, Seo-woo chased after him.

Left alone, Park Yeon murmured:

“Realizing you went the wrong way…”

He repeated the words to himself for a long time before standing up with a relieved expression.

A few days later.

Park Yeon suppressed his pounding heartbeat from the nerves and tiptoed stealthily toward his destination.

This required the highest level of concentration.

Peek!

Still alert, Park Yeon checked for signs of activity from the kitchen and Table 8.

Clatter!

Rustle!

Thankfully, still not caught.

Chuckling softly, Park Yeon carefully opened the refrigerator door like he was handling a baby.

Squeak!

The sound of the refrigerator’s rubber gasket rubbing made Park Yeon flinch.

Fortunately, there was no response.

Definitely not caught.

Whew… With a sigh of relief, Park Yeon applied grease to the gasket to prevent another mishap.

Now friction-free, the rubber seal opened smoothly.

Park Yeon stealthily grabbed two cans of cola and gently shut the fridge door to commit the perfect crime.

But then—

“Seo-jun hyung! The hero bastard is stealing again!”

It was clearly Doo-shik, who had been distracted by the TV.

Yet now he shouted with the bravado of a cop catching a thief, startling Park Yeon enough to return the cola to the fridge.

“Huh… Stealing, you say? I was simply going to get some water. Can’t I even drink water?”

“I saw you taking out cola.”

“Hah. This damn orc’s accusing an innocent man again.”

Park Yeon tried to deny it.

There was no evidence anywhere.

“Innocent? Should I check the CCTV?”

Park Yeon glanced nervously at the blinking light on the ceiling, but he decided to rely on Doo-shik’s ignorance.

“Go ahead. I doubt a dumb orc like you even knows how to check the CCTV.”

“Didn’t know before. So I learned.”

“What?”

“I said I learned how to check the CCTV.”

“How could a fool like you learn something I haven’t even learned…?”

“Are you seriously comparing your brain to mine, you ignorant hero bastard?”

“That’s absurd…”

Unlike the despairing Park Yeon, Doo-shik whistled happily as he headed toward the counter to check the CCTV footage.

There was nothing more embarrassing than having one’s crime replayed on CCTV.

Park Yeon hung his head.

“…Stop.”

“Stop what?”

“…I wasn’t stealing. I was going to borrow it.”

“Oh, so what you’re saying is, you were planning to borrow the cola? The kind that disappears into your stomach once you drink it?”

“Exactly!”

“Do you think that makes any sense?”

Park Yeon nodded confidently.

“I’ll just restock it later, won’t I?”

“Like hell you’d be able to fill it.”

“How dare an orc speak like that!”

“I may be an orc, but I don’t have sticky fingers like someone else.”

“Eeeek! Take that back!”

“I just said ‘someone,’ not you. Feeling guilty, are we?”

Park Yeon, trembling with rage, suddenly smirked as if he remembered something and pulled out a stiff movie ticket from his pocket.

“I still have four tickets left that President Hwang gave me……”

“……!”

The situation was reversed in an instant.

Doo-shik looked flustered.

“Didn’t you say you used them all last time?”

“Ah…… I must not have explained properly then. I meant I used them all showing you. I still have ones to watch.”

“…….”

“Since there are four, I can watch four more. Kukuk.”

As Park Yeon giggled, Doo-shik subtly started flattering him.

“But isn’t watching a movie alone kind of boring?”

“I enjoy it.”

“You get lost easily, you know? You might lose your way like last time.”

“I’ve memorized the route now, so it doesn’t matter.”

“Then… then, uh……”

“Ahem! Do you still think I stole something?”

Doo-shik glanced back and forth between Seo-jun and Park Yeon, who were watching from the kitchen with arms crossed.

“So? Do you still think I stole it?”

“Well, that is, um……”

“Guess I’ll go watch a movie.”

“Let’s just say you borrowed it.”

“Right?”

“Yeah.”

“Kukuku. Follow me.”

Park Yeon took the lead and stepped out of the shop. Doo-shik, who bowed his head toward Seo-jun watching from a distance, mumbled toward Park Yeon’s back.

“……Thief.”

Seo-jun, who had been watching the two’s skit-that-wasn’t-a-skit, let out a chuckle.

Yeah, that’s how Park Yeon should be. A droopy Park Yeon just doesn’t feel right.

Calling Doo-shik over was definitely the right move.

It was a drizzly day that carried the full feeling of autumn rain.

Two people who looked as if they would never mix—like oil and water—entered the shop.

Hwang Tae-su and Lee Myung-seop.

“…….”

Disappointment was evident on Hwang Tae-su’s face as he stepped inside.

He’d started feeling uneasy as they neared One Drink. But he thought, surely not.

That morning, Lee Myung-seop had contacted him out of the blue. He said he wanted to treat him to a drink.

Building rapport with the director of the Bureau wasn’t a bad idea, so Hwang Tae-su had canceled his other plans and readily agreed.

But the place turned out to be nowhere fancy—just One Drink.

Of all places!

“So this is where you wanted to come……”

“Yes. Haha. I hope you’re not disappointed?”

“Surely not. I come here from time to time myself.”

“Oh, really? I come here fairly often too. It makes me feel oddly at ease.”

“Can’t imagine why……”

“Pardon?”

“Ah, just talking to myself.”

Just then, Seo-jun came out from the kitchen.

“Hello, Director.”

“Ah, yes. Hello. Haha.”

“What brings you two here together?”

“Ah, well, it just turned out that way. I hear President Hwang comes here often too?”

“Yes, he comes by now and then and boosts our sales.”

“But the young boss and Park Yeon aren’t around?”

“Rainy days don’t bring many customers. So I sent Yeon-jun home early and asked Park Yeon to run an errand.”

“No wonder…… It did seem unusually quiet.”

“Strangely enough, on rainy days, customers stop coming entirely.”

“It’s probably because of umbrellas.”

“Umbrellas?”

“When it rains, people use umbrellas, right?”

“Of course.”

“Umbrellas block your line of sight, you know. So it creates blind spots. That makes it easier for people to become targets of crime.”

“So that’s why.”

In truth, Seo-jun hadn’t known this either. But now that he thought about it, it made sense. District 12 likely did see a rise in crime rates when it rained.

“What can I get you for drinks and food?”

“Makgeolli’s perfect for a rainy day…… What do you think, President Hwang?”

“Makgeolli on a rainy day sounds great.”

“Then with makgeolli…… What kind of side dish would be good?”

Seo-jun answered in their place.

“If you don’t mind, how about some jeon?”

“Jeon?”

“We made some earlier since it was raining.”

“Hooh…… Sounds great. What do you think, President Hwang?”

“Would it happen to be mugwort jeon?”

“Yes.”

A smile bloomed on Hwang Tae-su’s face. He recalled the crispy-outside, moist-inside texture of the mugwort jeon he had eaten a few months ago.

“Sounds good to me.”

“Then I’ll bring makgeolli and the jeon for you.”

“Yes, please.”

Seo-jun brought out the makgeolli and the basic side dishes first, then went back into the kitchen.

Lee Myung-seop poured the makgeolli into a cup and handed it to Hwang Tae-su. Without hesitation, Hwang Tae-su took it and drank it in one go.

“Khh, that bitter edge is nice. Director, have a drink too.”

This time, Lee Myung-seop received a cup. After a few rounds, steaming mugwort jeon was brought out.

As he tore off a piece of jeon with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth, Lee Myung-seop let out an admiring sound.

“Delicious.”

“Right?”

“Yes. Especially the mugwort aroma—it’s exquisite.”

“Here, have another drink.”

The drinks went around again.

“President Hwang, may I ask you something?”

“Of course. Go ahead.”

“What was the reason?”

“Reason?”

“I asked you before too. Why did you decide to donate? What made you do it?”

“I told you, didn’t I? I donate to go to heaven.”

“Is that really all there is to it?”

Hwang Tae-su glanced at Seo-jun in the kitchen. Seo-jun shrugged, a gesture telling him to answer however he liked.

Having mastered the art of reading the room, Hwang Tae-su immediately understood Seo-jun’s intent.

“Ahem.”

With a cough, Hwang Tae-su crossed his legs flamboyantly.

“Director, have you heard this saying?”

“Which one?”

“When a tiger dies, it leaves its skin. When a person dies, they leave their name.”

Thump thump!

“The man, Hwang Tae-su. Born a man—shouldn’t I leave behind a bold name before I die?”

“I see.”

Nodding, Lee Myung-seop suddenly noticed a contradiction in Hwang Tae-su’s words.

“But then why did you donate anonymously?”

“Huh?”

“If your goal is to leave your name behind, wouldn’t donating under your real name be better than anonymously?”

Hwang Tae-su, who lived and died by pride, had not thought that far, caught up as he was in the grandeur of it all.