The Villain’s Recipe - Chapter 14.1
“This number is not in service.”
A mechanical voice announced it.
It had not even been that long, yet the means of contacting Min-ha had already disappeared. Kim Mi-young swallowed a sigh and persuaded Elderly Man Jang to leave. Now, the only people left in Min-ha’s empty house were Kang Sa-hyeok and Kim Mi-young.
“He agreed to hand the phone over to me. It’s the only thing that could have left behind any kind of trace. We can just buy him a new phone.”
Kim Mi-young lightly patted Kang Sa-hyeok on the shoulder.
“Get a hold of yourself. A Gate is going to open somewhere around here soon. We need to go back now.”
As she said that, she held out her hand to Kang Sa-hyeok.
“Give me the phone. I’ll hand it over to the Management Bureau.”
“No.”
“Kang Sa-hyeok?”
“He might call again.”
“Exactly! That’s why we need to give it to a professional who can track him if that happens. There’s nothing we can do even if he calls again. You know that. And think about what’s about to happen right now. Are you really going to sacrifice more lives just to save a friend whose whereabouts you don’t even know?”
At Kim Mi-young’s sharp words, Kang Sa-hyeok clenched his teeth.
She was not wrong. There was nothing Kang Sa-hyeok could do to save Min-ha right now, so closing the Gate had to come first.
“Even if this is a rural area, there are still hundreds of people living within the range affected by the Gate. I know it’s heartbreaking. But we have to maintain our priorities.”
Only after a long while did Kang Sa-hyeok speak again.
“Yes.”
Kang Sa-hyeok handed the phone over to Kim Mi-young and retraced the path he had taken with her.
By the time they reached the welfare center, people dispatched from the nearest Guild and the Management Bureau had already arrived.
“Mr. Sa-hyeok!”
Among them was Yoo Yeon-seo, who was currently assigned as Kang Sa-hyeok’s Guide.
Although he was an A-rank Guide, his wavelength did not match particularly well with Kang Sa-hyeok’s. If the Management Bureau looked for one, there would probably be a Guide who matched him a little better. But Yoo Yeon-seo was the one assigned to Kang Sa-hyeok.
Knowing the reason, Kim Mi-young unconsciously pressed down the corner of her mouth with her finger when it threatened to twitch upward.
‘Yoo Yeon-seo is the Director’s youngest son.’
Apparently, the Director was especially fond of him because he was the son born to his second wife.
Yoo Yeon-seo naturally approached Kang Sa-hyeok and took his hand.
The way he tilted his head and smiled was rather cute, but that was all there was to it.
Kim Mi-young knew his true nature, so she raised a hand toward Kang Sa-hyeok and slowly backed away.
“Then wait here for a moment.”
Kim Mi-young was not part of the combat unit, but due to the nature of her ability, she was in charge of Team 1.
She was highly capable of handling incidents and conducting Gate operations. That was why, before entering the Gate, she intended to entrust the phone to another person from the Management Bureau and explain everything about the kidnapping that had occurred.
“Yes.”
Unlike his usual self, Kang Sa-hyeok answered dryly and looked at Yoo Yeon-seo standing in front of him.
“Your wavelengths are about the same as always.”
Yoo Yeon-seo looked dejected as he gently rubbed the knuckles of Kang Sa-hyeok’s hand.
Then he looked at the yellow thread bracelet that was always wrapped around Kang Sa-hyeok’s arm.
It had always bothered him, but for some reason, it irritated him even more today.
Kang Sa-hyeok had already told him that the thread bracelet had been given to him by a friend who had lived in the same facility as him when they were children.
He had also said that he had not been able to meet that friend since then.
“But what’s that you’re holding in your other hand?”
Kang Sa-hyeok was holding an old-looking metal cookie tin.
“Ah.”
Only then did Kang Sa-hyeok realize that he had brought the cookie tin containing the paper cranes with him.
Should he put it back?
He turned around for a moment, but he soon came to a conclusion.
‘Let’s keep it.’
And later, when he met Min-ha again, he would show him the thread bracelet and tell him about the paper cranes, too.
The stiffness that had remained on Kang Sa-hyeok’s face finally relaxed for a moment.
Yoo Yeon-seo quickly noticed it.
“Is it important?”
“Yes. It’s important.”
“Hm. For something like that, it looks pretty shabby. Did some other elderly person give it to you?”
Yoo Yeon-seo had already heard that there were very few young people in this area.
