Back Alley (1)

“You’re even prettier up close. You’re an Awakener, right?”

“Hmph, you can tell just from my eyes? I am.”

“I can tell you’re pretty just from your eyes. Aren’t you a little bored these days?”

A man with a sleazy attitude struck up a conversation. As I got closer, the blurred perception cleared, revealing a man who might have been considered quite handsome. But every time he opened his mouth, the stench grew worse.

“A little? Why, do I look bored?”

“If you weren’t, you wouldn’t have come to me.”

“Hmm? Sharper than I thought. Suddenly, I’m getting excited.”

“You should be.”

The man fumbled around in his pocket. And then—

“Ta-da!”

Lying on his palm was… a cigarette?

The shape of the cigarette reminded me of something.

Shit… this is a drug.

The same kind that Yoo Yi-jun’s people were selling.

It had the same shape and pattern as the one that asshole Jeong Ji-hoon was smoking. The identical smell was just a bonus.

Though, the color of the pattern seemed a little different…

I thought this stuff was too expensive to make it down to the lower class, that it was only for the elite…

Yi-jun, did you lie to me?

“Tried it before?”

“…Once, a while ago.”

A junkie. A damn junkie.

No wonder his drunken act felt a little off.

My mood was ruined.

Why would I bring a junkie into my fold? What if he spreads drugs to my subordinates?

He’d be a suitable target for draining Essense or Innate Vital Energy, but unfortunately, I didn’t have time for this.

Tsk, and here I thought I’d found a new slave to enthrall.

My interest gone, I turned to leave.

“Wait!”

His voice sounded strangely desperate. The junkie grabbed my shoulder.

“Hey, this is the new stuff. It’s higher purity, so the side effects are way milder and the high is killer. It’s on a whole different level from whatever you’ve tried before, I’m telling you.”

“Yeah, yeah, you enjoy it. I’m leaving.”

“Just… just take one puff.”

“Fuck off.”

*

I wasn’t sure how far I’d walked after shaking off the junkie when a whistle came from an alley beside me.

This time, there were three of them. They called out to me, their bodies twisted as they leaned against the wall.

“If you’re bored, wanna hang out with us?”

“We’ll show you a good time.”

Then they snickered, passing a single cigarette between the three of them. It was the same shape, same pattern, but a different color.

“Hey, asshole, stop bogarting that and give it here.”

“Bullshit, I’ve only taken two hits.”

“Heh, two hits my ass. You’ve been sucking on that thing forever.”

“The only thing that gets sucked on a lot is your mom, khk, keuhk.”

“You… you son of a bitch? Pfft, hahaha.”

These guys were in even worse shape.

The flames of their lust flickered more erratically and dangerously than the last guy’s.

Not even worth my time. I turned to leave—

Grip.

My wrist, this time.

“Where are you going? You’re gonna play with us.”

…I was getting the urge to let nature take its course. Cause of death: ‘Harassing an Awakener far above their league.’ It was a surprisingly common one.

If we were inside any old gate, it’d be a simple hup, natural-causes punch. But unfortunately, this was South Korea, outside a gate.

And there was that message from the head of the Black Market Alliance: ‘Please refrain from murder on these streets, if possible.’

Shaaak—

Without even needing the crackle of lightning element, my captured wrist slipped free.

Thud!

…Is he dead? Nope.

“Shit, did he faint from excitement just from holding your hand? Kehehe.”

“What a fucking virgin. Shit, look at the way he fell.”

Maybe because he’d fallen with his back to them, they couldn’t see his eyes rolling back. Or maybe their own minds and vision were so shaken they couldn’t see their friend twitching as if he were having a seizure.

“He’s a virgin, so he’s clumsy as hell. But us? Khk, we’re damn good. Wanna smoke a bit and have some fun?”

“Fuck, you disloyal bastard. I’ve got a fresh one right here. You know how it is, right? Take a hit, have a round, and you’ll feel fucking amazing.”

“What, you had a new one? You’re the disloyal bastard here. Just die.”

Thwack!

“Ugh! This bastard! Why the fuck… pfft… did you punch me in the gut… puhuhu…”

Smack!

“You motherfucker! Hehe, you’re dead, you piece of shit, heup—”

Crack! Thwack! Crunch!

…?

Suddenly, the two of them were beating the shit out of each other. I mean, it was fine by me—saved me the effort.

Yi-jun, what in the world have you unleashed…?

*

“Hehe, be quiet. If you scream, I’ll—kkk-geugeugeugeuk!”

“Wanna grab a drink? My treat.”

“It’s dangerous for a woman to be alone here. Want me to walk you out?”

“Hihih, heuk, kkeu, gegegegek!”

What the hell? When did this place suddenly become a den of junkies?

Four junkies with pathetic pickup lines, three beasts in heat who couldn’t even recognize the difference in our power levels.

I treated the humans like humans and the beasts like beasts. I wonder how many I passed like that.

At least when I emerged onto the club street, filled with its colorful smoke, the stench lessened, and people drunk on alcohol instead of drugs milled about.

The dark back alley I’d been using to avoid the club street and hide my movements had suddenly turned into a drug street.

But I couldn’t keep using this club street to cover my tracks.

This was about protecting the secret of entering as Lee Han-gyeol and emerging as Seo A-gyeol. It was better to erase my trail through places with few people.

While records like CCTV or video footage couldn’t exist here, the effect only went as far as blurring the perception and memories of individuals.

They confidently boasted that ‘nothing is recorded,’ but for ‘nothing is remembered,’ there were a bunch of fine-print-like caveats.

Of course, the fact that it worked on the C-rank and lower Awakeners who made up the majority was impressive enough, but as with all things, there were no absolutes. The effect diminished against higher-ranked individuals.

But did that make it useless? Did I really have to use this street to cover my tracks? If you were to ask that—

I just said it works on the majority, didn’t I…

In any case, it was useful, and in some ways, essential. Which led to my dilemma:

Do I have to accept these endless requests from countless NPCs every time?

Like in some kind of game, these NPCs would approach with exclamation points over their heads the moment we met, with their endless requests.

Hah, if they want to get laid, they should look in the clubs.

They knew their drug habit wasn’t exactly respectable, so they got horny in the back alleys instead.

Haaah… As I sighed, a sudden sense of unease washed over me.

I closed my eyes gently, took a deep breath in and out, and focused my mind.

Soon, my perception cleared.

Every time I felt my perception clear like this, I couldn’t help but think that this body of Seo A-gyeol could probably pass for a government-certified A-rank.

Beyond the colorful smoke that was supposed to add to the dreamlike atmosphere—a cheap trick to hide the perception-blurring effect—a figure slipped past.

I looked to see who it was, and it was the man who’d first hit on me.

Why the sudden unease?

…Aha.

His gait is perfectly normal.

I thought he was high on drugs, but he was walking just fine.

I watched him carefully as he walked with that steady gait, and he entered another back alley.

And then, he started staggering again, his steps like someone under the influence.

…Interesting.

*

If the club street hid its perception-dampening effect with colorful smoke, the back alley hid it with a darkness punctuated by only a few dim lights.

An ignorant Awakener might think, Oh, it was hard to see because of the smoke, or It was hard to see because of the dark. But the Awakeners who knew about the effect could finally relax and enjoy its benefits to the fullest.

Awakeners, who could die without a trace from a single moment of carelessness, tended to avoid even the slightest uncertainty. They’d hold back, thinking, But someone could see through the smoke, or Someone could see through the darkness. But when the head of the Black Market Alliance put his name on the line and declared it a perception-dampening barrier, they could finally relax and unleash their desires on this street.

Spending money in the process was just a bonus.

But ‘peace of mind’ was certainly worth that much—

“Hey, pretty lady over there!”

The man hit on someone again.

A woman approached in response to his call.

A man calling out from a dark alley?

Most women would be repulsed and run away, or at least pretend not to be while still being repulsed.

But then, a woman wandering these back alleys was unlikely to be ‘most women.’ …Just like me.

After all, there had to be a reason for someone to frequent these back alleys instead of the flashy club street.

In the first place, this back alley was created as a sort of consideration for people who thought, Even with the perception-dampening effect, I don’t want to enjoy it in a crowded place.

He muttered something, fumbled in his pocket, and then—ta-da!—opened his palm.

It was the same drug he’d offered me.

And the woman’s reaction?

Hmph! A gesture as firm as a mountain. A resolute refusal.

As she turned away, he shrugged, started staggering again, and then met a man.

Again, ta-da, he offered the drug on his palm. This time, it was a success. The man took the drug and left.

His mission complete, the man started staggering again until he met a group of people.

The man fumbled in his pocket again and—ta-da—pulled out the drugs.

From his movements… it looked like he pulled out more than one, but slightly fewer than the number of people in the group.

Aha. So he’s the source.

After he delivered the drugs, I followed the man as he staggered away.

Just as I was getting close,

“Hey, you.”

“Huh? Oh, you’re that girl from before, right?”

“Yeah. I wandered around, but there’s nothing to do.”

“See? You can’t quit, can you?”

“…Shut up.”

“Don’t be coy. This one has fewer withdrawal symptoms. Want one?”

“…Give me one.”

A single cigarette-shaped drug slipped out of his pocket. …It was like he had a bottomless supply of them.

I took off my hat.

My smooth, glossy black hair cascaded down.

In that instant, the man’s white flames of lust flared.

The moment I took off my mask, the emotion within his flames changed.

BAM!

I grabbed the man by the scruff of his neck and slammed him into the wall.

“So, I was your target, wasn’t I?”

The man’s eyes shot open, and he fainted.