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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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Chapter 23
“What’s with the attitude? Acting like it’s such a big deal?”
Hyun Jooyeon, who had been staring out the window behind a pair of dark sunglasses, visibly frowned in annoyance.
“Aren’t we basically family at this point? Shouldn’t families be able to share information?”
When he pushed the whole “we’re family, so share your intel” line, Jooyeon turned her head and looked directly at the man sitting next to her.
“Isn’t the Black Tiger Guild the one holding the most classified information in the country?”
Her tone made it obvious—wasn’t it more than a little hypocritical for him to be talking about information sharing?
But the man just grinned, unbothered.
“If you were curious, you should’ve just asked. What do you want to know? I’ll tell you everything.”
His nonchalant answer left Jooyeon momentarily speechless.
“Be real with me—just between us. Who told you how to take down the Mekkasian?”
“Like I said, I found out by coincidence. You didn’t doze off during the London briefing, did you?”
Most heroes had serious doubts when they first heard that Mekkasian, a newly emerged monster no one had seen before, could be easily brought down using the essence of red fire ants. The weakness was way too specific—and way too effective—to not raise suspicion.
Jooyeon herself had been wary from the beginning.
She couldn’t just drop Dojun’s name and say he was the one who told her, so she had worked backward—tracking Mekkasian’s movements ever since it had first poured out from the Rift, looking for any connection to red fire ants.
Eventually, she noticed it: Mekkasian actively avoided any territory where red fire ants were present. That was the clue she needed—and she had leaned hard on that point during her tactical briefing.
Naturally, the British Hero Association had also pulled out all the stops trying to figure out Mekkasian’s weakness.
With far more manpower, time, and resources than Jooyeon, they had tried everything. But no amount of desperation could make up for one thing: she already had the answer—the fire ant essence.
That one difference made the gap impossible to close.
So when hundreds of others couldn’t get it done, and Jooyeon pulled it off alone, her reputation soared even higher.
“You really expect me to believe that?”
The man—Kang Yeong-pyo—let out a sharp, mocking laugh.
“If you don’t, that’s your problem.”
Jooyeon said, turning away as if there was nothing more to discuss.
Kang Yeong-pyo glared at her for a moment before chuckling again, this time with a sneer.
“Yeah, well… if you don’t have real power, guess you’d better have good analysis skills.”
Jooyeon clenched her fist resting on her knee.
’Ugh, I hate this guy.’
She wanted nothing more than to wipe that smug look off his face with her fist, but she knew better than anyone how reckless that would be. So she kept her cool.
Meanwhile, Kang Yeong-pyo didn’t miss a single detail of her reaction. The corners of his mouth curled up even more.
’Yeah, that’s all you’ve got, huh? Just sitting there, swallowing it. That’s all you can do.’
Seeing Hyun Jooyeon grit her teeth and stay silent despite his clear provocation, Kang Yeong-pyo shifted gears and brought up something else.
“If you’re gonna be stingy with information, fine. Whatever. But there’s something I need to say ahead of time. Once I’m back in Korea, there’s something I’ve got to take care of. And I don’t want you getting involved.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“You know Seo Dojun, right?”
The moment Dojun’s name came out of Kang Yeong-pyo’s mouth, Hyun Jooyeon felt it—
’Here we go.’
“Don’t pretend you don’t know anything. I already know the two of you are close. You even went as far as to break a prosecutor’s face to get him out before coming here, didn’t you? Anyway, that bastard Seo Dojun is the one who wrecked Cheol-woo. Oh, right—you were there too, weren’t you?”
His eyes gleamed with unmistakable malice as he spoke.
“Cheol-woo was the one who started it.”
Hyun Jooyeon shot back.
“That whole gate hitman job? It failed, didn’t it? And even that day—Cheol-woo was the one who went after Seo Dojun, completely unprovoked.”
“Yeah, he did. That dumbass got blinded by pocket change and did something that got him his ass handed to him—no denying that. But still, that’s between Cheol-woo and Seo Dojun. Me? I’m family. And family handles their own. No matter how much of a bastard he was, family’s still family, right? He’s my cousin. What would people think if I just sat back and did nothing? You feel me?”
’And you think people will see your revenge as justified?’
The words rose to her throat, but Hyun Jooyeon swallowed them. She knew better than to think Kang Yeong-pyo could be reasoned with. His head was already filled with one thing—vengeance.
“You’re right.”
She said coldly.
“Even if he’s a bastard who deserves to get beaten to death, family is family. If you’re gonna deal with this because he's YOUR family, then there’s no reason for me to step in. Do what you want. I don’t plan on getting involved.”
The way she emphasized “bastard” rubbed Kang Yeong-pyo the wrong way, but her unexpectedly easy retreat caught him off guard.
’Huh. Maybe there wasn’t as much between them as I thought.’
After all, she’d gone so far as to destroy a prosecutor’s career just to clear Dojun’s name. Kang Yeong-pyo had been sure there was something going on between the two. But now? He was thrown off.
’Or is she backing off because she’s scared of me?’
He shook his head.
That couldn’t be it. Hyun Jooyeon wasn’t the type to retreat because she was scared of a fight—especially not one with him.
Still unable to pin down what was going on, Kang Yeong-pyo heard her murmur softly, almost to herself:
“There’s no need for me to get involved anyway.”
It was practically a whisper, but of course he heard it. And Hyun Jooyeon hadn’t meant for him NOT to hear it either.
“…No need to get involved?”
He asked, eyes narrowing.
She brushed him off.
“Just talking to myself.”
She said, turning back to the window.
’What the hell does that mean? Why wouldn’t she need to get involved? Is there something I don’t know about Seo Dojun?’
For the first time, Kang Yeong-pyo’s confident expression wavered. His mind began to spin, tangled with doubt and unease.
Seeing his reflection twisted with confusion in the window, Hyun Jooyeon allowed herself a small, satisfied smile for the first time.
That smile stayed on her lips all the way back to Korea.
She could still feel Kang Yeong-pyo’s eyes on her, watching her from time to time—but unlike before, he didn’t approach. He didn’t say another word.
＊ ＊ ＊
“This is for you.”
Dojun looked down at the shopping bags placed in front of him.
His eyes seemed to ask—What is this?—prompting Hyun Jooyeon to quickly explain.
“A gift.”
“A gift?”
“It’s tea I tried while at the British royal palace. It was pretty good. And these are presents for Eunyeong and your grandmother. This one’s yours, Mr. Seo Dojun. I just looked at the sizes, so I’m not sure they’ll fit perfectly, but they shouldn’t be unwearable.”
Jooyeon handed over several large shopping bags with the BUR… logo clearly printed on them—bags from a well-known British luxury brand, popular even in Korea.
Dojun immediately started checking the contents of the bags.
“You should open it at home. No need to go through it all here…”
Jooyeon looked a bit flustered, clearly not expecting him to tear into the bags right then and there—but Dojun didn’t care and began inspecting the contents.
There were plenty of clothes suitable for Eunyeong—dresses, skirts, jackets, sweaters, leggings, pants, even a trench coat. All in that iconic brown checkered pattern anyone would recognize.
The gifts for his grandmother were also diverse and, true to the brand’s reputation, visibly expensive.
His own gift, by contrast, was noticeably smaller in quantity.
But in terms of quality, it clearly stood out.
The main piece was a black lambskin trench coat—an item that, even at a glance, had to be worth several million won, maybe more. Along with it were two shirts and a pair of pants, also looking pricey and well-made.
Despite receiving such lavish gifts, Dojun casually set the shopping bags aside.
“…Thanks.”
He said the words, but it was Jooyeon who smiled.
“I’ve received help from you too.”
Dojun responded indifferently as he took a sip of coffee.
“There’s no comparison to the help I got. That’s why I wanted to give you a proper gift. Should I buy you a car?”
What Jooyeon considered a REAL gift was a car.
“I’ll let you know if I ever need one.”
He didn’t feel any particular need at the moment, so the idea didn’t interest him much.
“If you ever do, just say the word. Pick the model while you’re at it. As long as it’s not a limited edition, I can get anything.”
As Dojun simply nodded without much reaction, Jooyeon took a moment to study him. finally asked the question she’d been dying to ask.
“You’re not going to tell me how you knew the Mekkassian’s weakness… are you?”
“Why would I?”
Just as she expected. Jooyeon gave a small, resigned nod.
She wanted to know—more than anything—but if Dojun didn’t want to talk, she wasn’t going to get it out of him now. Still, one thing hadn’t changed—She would uncover his secret eventually. No matter what.
“So… what are your plans moving forward?”
Jooyeon, better than anyone, understood just how powerful Dojun truly was. Naturally, she wondered what someone like him intended to do with that kind of strength.
She didn’t expect some grandiose answer like “bringing peace to the world” or “helping those in need.” Dojun had never struck her as a righteous idealist or a would-be hero.
“First, I should probably buy a house.”
“…A house?”
Jooyeon’s expression twisted at the totally mundane answer—one that didn’t match a man with enough power to shock the entire world.
“…Don’t tell me the place you’re living in right now is a Jeonse?”
[TL/N: Jeonse refers to a Korean rental system where tenants pay a large lump-sum deposit in lieu of monthly rent.]
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It hurts.
So much, it feels like my heart’s on fire. I can’t take it.
“…You… Why…?”
Blood runs down my hand, gripped tight around the sword.
Black.
Poisoned, too.
But physical pain was nothing… Nothing compared to the pain tearing through my mind.
“Because there’s no hope.”
That’s what he said—the one who drove the dagger straight at my heart.
He was one of the friends I trusted most. We’d fought through hardship side by side. That’s what made it so unbelievable.
“…Vytel… Did you… defect?”
“I’ve just decided to face reality. Kasel, come on—let’s be honest. There’s no hope for us. Is there?”
Yeah. There’s no hope.
But that doesn’t mean you can just be born human and decide to live as a monster.
“I just want to live. Whether as a human or whatever else… I just don’t want to die meaninglessly.”
“…You really think… (Cough)… life’s worth that much?”
“If it means I get to live—yes.”
When I looked into Vytel’s eyes, emptied of emotion, I knew he meant it.
“Kasel, I just need you out of the way. Once you're gone… the others will have no choice but to accept that there’s no more hope left.”
I felt the pressure on the dagger intensify. I could tell it was slicing deep into my fingers—but I couldn’t let go.
I knew if that dagger shifted even slightly, it’d pierce my heart.
“…Kh…”
“I won’t say sorry.”
Yeah. That would just be a coward’s excuse. A hypocrite’s lie.
In a way, I preferred that Vytel didn’t feel ashamed. That he stood by his betrayal.
“Good. That’ll make it easier on me too.”
For the first time, Vytel’s expression faltered.
A transparent barrier formed around him—but in the next instant, a bolt of light came crashing down on his crown and shattered it like glass.
CRACK!
The barrier exploded, and Vytel barely managed to roll away from the attack. His face was smeared in blood.
It was from the slash that had grazed him—from his forehead down to his lips.
“…Cough! Cough!”
Dark, bloody spit flew from his mouth with each cough. But there was no time to worry about that.
I yanked the dagger out from the floor, and by then, Vytel had already retreated a fair distance.
Around him, dozens of fireballs floated threateningly in the air.
“You don’t actually think… that just because I’m injured, you can beat me, do you?”
It wasn’t arrogance or overconfidence.
Vytel knew my strength better than anyone else. He gave a small nod.
“Of course not. That’s why I came prepared.”
Before he even finished speaking, the space around us warped—and dozens of portals opened all at once.
KWAHHHHHHH!
GRRRRRRRRRRR!
SKREEEEEEEEE!
Through the portals, monsters with overwhelming power began pouring out—one after another.
Even a quick glance told me the number easily surpassed thousands.
“Kasel, no matter how strong you are, there’s no way you can handle me and all these monsters in your condition.”
It was his call to surrender. To accept death.
I laughed.
“Let’s find out. Whether it’s me who dies… or you.”
＊ ＊ ＊
“......”
Dojun stared up at the full moon glowing in the night sky.
Even in this world, ruined and fallen, that same big, round moon still hung above.
The environment was completely different—but the moon hadn’t changed.
“…Oppa?”
Rubbing her eyes, Eunyeong stepped out of her room. She spotted Dojun standing on the veranda and stumbled toward him, still half-asleep.
“Why’d you wake up?”
“Pee.”
Dojun reached out and gently ruffled her hair at the sleepy reply.
“Why are you awake, oppa?”
“I had a dream.”
“A dream? What kind of dream?”
He almost said it was a nightmare—but gave a different answer instead.
“A sad one.”
“A sad dream?”
“Yeah. One I never want to have again.”
“Was it about Mom?”
Sometimes, Eunyeong dreamed of their mom—whom she only knew from photos—and cried in her sleep.
Dojun nodded, saying it was something like that, then took her hand and led her to the bathroom.
At that moment, the full moon overhead briefly turned blood red… before returning to normal.
The light had been so intense that it couldn’t have been a trick of the eye—but it was over in a blink.
Almost no one even registered what had happened.
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HELIO SCANS
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
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