Taeseong, who was carefully observing Park Ilhwan on the TV, soon realized what it was.
‘A fake.’
He wasn’t sure if it was a doll, an android, or a doppelganger, but one thing was clear—it was an imitation of Park Ilhwan.
How did he know? It was simple.
Because Taeseong couldn’t see the crystal.
Throughout their time together, he had always seen the crystal embedded in Park Ilhwan’s forehead. He had never bothered to touch it, simply because he never needed to consume it.
To Taeseong, Park Ilhwan was nothing more than a worm, not even worth feeling hunger for.
‘Does he think there’s no need to personally expose his son’s death?’
Whether it was to prevent stock prices from crashing or for some other reason, it was undoubtedly a cold-blooded decision.
“Time to go if you’re done eating, oppa.”
“Yeah.”
Finishing his preparations for work, Taeseong stood up and left with Sooah, heading toward the tree.
Various employees from different departments greeted him as they passed through the corridor.
“Good morning, Manager Lee Taeseong.”
“Nice to see you, Manager Lee Taeseong!”
“If you ever have the chance, please visit our Management Team 2 sometime! It would be an honour to work with you!”
In the past, their gazes had been mixed with awe and curiosity, but lately, more and more people were looking at him with genuine respect. Of course, a few held jealousy and envy in their eyes, but none openly expressed it.
Before they knew it, Sooah and Taeseong had arrived at the entrance to Management Team 4’s office. Just as Sooah was about to enter, Taeseong started nagging. From his perspective, she was like a child standing too close to the water’s edge.
“When handling Delta-grade entities, don’t go in alone. Always go in as a group. Stick to the safer ones whenever possible. I know you want to get stronger, but don’t rush it. Your top priority is always safety. Never forget that, Sooah.”
“I got it, I got it. Oh, by the way, Mangtae Harabeom and the Hong Kong Granny told me to say hi to you. And Eight-footed Ghost has been making a fuss about wanting to see you too. You should stop by sometime. After all, she came all the way from Japan just for you… It feels bad that you haven’t even seen her once. Even I feel guilty just watching.”
“…Alright.”
After returning to the Korea branch, Sooah had been working as part of Management Team 4. Everyone—Lee Eunha, Sooah, Taesan, Go Young-hee, and Oh Haeyoung—were doing their best to become stronger. It was all in preparation for joining Management Team 0, which Taeseong was set to lead.
“And you, oppa, take care of yourself! Just because you can regenerate doesn’t mean you should be reckless! Pain still hurts, you know! See you later!”
“Yeah. Take care.”
After seeing Sooah off, Taeseong headed straight for the branch director’s office. By now, walking there felt natural to him.
At the elevator, Secretary Chae Yumin, who worked for Park Woo-man, was waiting. Upon spotting Taeseong, she gave him a silent bow.
“Follow me.”
“Yes.”
Under her guidance, he arrived at the branch director’s office. Park Woo-man, who had been sitting at his desk, stood up and moved to the sofa, handing Taeseong a cup of instant coffee and a cigarette.
The two men lit their cigarettes in silence, sipping coffee as smoke curled between them.
“……”
“……”
It was Park Woo-man who broke the silence first.
“Taeseong.”
He wasn’t addressing him as ‘Manager Lee Taeseong,’ as he usually did. Taeseong replied calmly.
“Yes, Director.”
“I told you to keep things within reason, but you went and caused a massive incident.”
“…Things just turned out that way.”
“Just turned out that way? That’s hard to believe… Killing or crippling South Korea’s high-ranking officials wasn’t enough, so you went ahead and killed the second son of Ilseong Group—and even gifted his head to their chairman?”
Taeseong took a sip of his coffee, his voice low.
“That’s right.”
With a troubled expression, Park Woo-man rubbed his bare forehead.
“And you completely wrecked their research facility? Do you even realize how much that thing was worth?”
“Well… things just turned out that way.”
“You little—”
Sizzle.
The end of Park Woo-man’s cigarette burned away with a faint hiss. He exhaled a long breath of smoke before stubbing it out in the ashtray. Then, he spoke quietly.
“The entity Harin introduced—was that your doing?”
“Yes. I gave her my business card.”
“I’ve never seen an entity walk in on its own before.”
“Well, we would’ve had to capture him eventually anyway. Think of it as one less job to do.”
“You sure talk smooth.”
“What happened to her?”
“For now, she’s in temporary isolation. She seems to be a pretty strong entity, so we’ll process her according to protocol. If she shows promise, we might use her as a manager.”
“I see.”
Park Woo-man wore a troubled expression. Taeseong knew the reason for that—most of his concerns revolved around him.
“The relationship between Ilseong and us is both simple and complicated. In the past, things were different, but now, we can’t afford to take them lightly. At least, that’s the stance of the Korea branch.”
“…I understand.”
Park Woo-man looked into Taeseong’s eyes.
Though his crimson pupils remained as calm as a still lake, Park Woo-man knew that within them, a raging lava flowed beneath the surface.
And if that lava were to erupt, even he wouldn’t be able to contain it.
“You have no intention of stopping here, do you?”
“If I were going to stop, I wouldn’t have started in the first place.”
Delivering Park Ilhwan’s severed head to Park Ilwang, the chairman of Ilseong Group, had been a declaration of war.
A message:
Prepare yourself.
Next time, I’m coming for your head.
“…Do you really have to go that far? The one responsible for your revenge is already dead.”
“The chairman is just as guilty. Park Ilhwan may have been the one who wielded the sword that killed my parents, but it was the chairman who put that sword in his hands. Besides, even if I stop, they won’t.”
Park Woo-man nodded silently. He agreed.
“I met with Ilseong’s chairman yesterday.”
“What kind of man is he?”
After a moment’s hesitation, Park Wooman finally responded.
“A lunatic with grand ambitions.”
“……”
“But he’s an idiot with that much ability.”
Though he used the word “idiot,” the fact that he acknowledged the man’s abilities meant that even Director Park Woo-man held him in high regard.
“Taeseong.”
“Yes.”
“I know how strong you are. Given some more time, I might not even be able to stand against you.”
“……”
Taeseong didn’t bother with false humility. He thought so himself.
“But Ilseong is not an opponent to be taken lightly. Ranking among the top ten corporations in the world… you know what that means without me spelling it out. The head of such a group has his sights set on you. He’s persistent, and he will press you with every means at his disposal.”
“Yes.”
“I can only help you within ‘Tree.’ Don’t act recklessly, believing in your own strength. You may come out unscathed, but if you want to protect those you care about, you need to be even more cautious.”
His words carried sincerity.
Coming from someone who wielded karma as his power, they felt even heavier.
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
“Good. You can go now.”
Taeseong rose from his seat and exited the director’s office. Park Woo-man let out a deep sigh as he stared at the spot Taeseong had just vacated.
He’d finally found someone he liked, only for that person to rampage around like a mad dog, stirring up trouble everywhere.
Nothing in life ever went smoothly.
“My head’s going to explode.”
As he cautiously ran a hand over his remaining hair, Park Woo-man felt a strong hunch that he would soon be swept into an even bigger storm.
Walking through the corridor after leaving the director’s office, Taeseong spotted a familiar face.
From a distance, Oh Haeyoung saw him and began jumping up and down, waving enthusiastically.
“Taeseong—no, Team Leader Lee Taeseong! Hehe, it’s been a while!”
“What are you doing there, Section Chief Oh Haeyoung?”
She was standing in front of the isolation chamber containing a Gamma-grade entity.
“Well, um…”
Oh Haeyoung had been promoted to Delta-grade in recognition of her contributions during the Japan assignment. But that wasn’t enough. The condition Taeseong had set for her was to reach Gamma-grade. Since her return, a week had already passed, leaving her only three weeks to meet the requirement.
“I was debating whether or not to take on this entity’s assignment.”
Taeseong frowned. It didn’t make sense to hesitate over an entity assignment.
“What entity is it?”
“The Gamma-grade hazardous entity ‘Voice of the Mind.’”
“……Voice of the Mind?”
She had received a dragon’s pearl from the guardian dragon but had yet to fully harness even 10% of its power. As the deadline was nearing, her anxiety grew.
There wasn’t enough time.
So she had come up with this idea.
It was a notoriously dangerous entity among senior managers. Uniquely, it wasn’t a living being.
Though suspected to have a form of self-awareness, ‘Tree’ classified it as a tool-type entity rather than a life-form.
Then why was it considered so dangerous? Because of its unique characteristics.
“Five hundred years?”
“Yes. That’s what the report says. Anyone trapped inside the mental world created by the ‘Voice of the Mind’ must fight against their subconscious, which intermittently manifests for five hundred years.”
That was why it had such a fearsome reputation.
Anyone who entered its domain would be trapped in an artificial world for a staggering five hundred years, battling their own subconscious as it took various forms.
No one knew when or how these manifestations would appear. Some might go five hundred years without encountering anything, while others might be forced to fight nonstop for the entire duration.
And the entity’s most terrifying trait?
Once the assignment was complete, the assigned manager would lose all their memories of the experience.
“What’s the point, then?”
“They may lose their memories, but the experiences they gain there remain imprinted on their body. If they can endure it, they grow drastically stronger. There are senior managers who took on this entity and saw dramatic improvement. Of course… there are also cases where things didn’t go so well.”
No matter how strong-willed a person was, most couldn’t endure five hundred years of psychological torment without their mind shattering.
Even if they couldn’t remember, a broken mind didn’t recover.
However, for those who survived, the rewards could be immense.
They would either come out as an empty husk or immeasurably stronger.
It was truly a double-edged sword.
Understanding the situation, Taeseong gave a slight nod before waling forward and pushing open the isolation chamber door.
“……Team Leader?”
Haeyoung looked at him anxiously, but Taeseong grabbed her arm and pulled her inside.
“Don’t be afraid. I’ll go with you.”
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