Chapter 56: First Trial (1)
YuWon thought while looking at Yeji. At first, when Yuna called her for help, he was confident she was planning something. But it had been over an hour, and nothing happened.
Yeji stood among the group of workers at the wall. Minho must have raided a cement factory before roaming around because they had everything needed to create a second wall around the base. Everyone was working diligently, and there seemed to be no problems.
Except for that guy.
The soldier who brought Yeji there had been hovering around her. Yeji had noticed it too, but said nothing. She figured it wasn't worth the trouble.
Being a campus belle, she was no stranger to creeps and a little attention didn't phase her. Even so, the soldier wasn't like the others she had dealt with before. YuWon guessed something was up and he wasn't about to let his sister get caught in a trap.
Who am I kidding? That's the reason I'm here for.
A sly grin crept onto his face as an idea formed in his mind. Even if Yuna and Minho didn't mean any harm to Yeji, it wasn't like he couldn't lend them a hand.
[Skill: Soul Bind has been activated.]
The soldier blinked and stumbled slightly as the soul took control. YuWon felt some resistance, but he was in control.
Grab her hand.
Suddenly, the soldier stepped closer and grabbed Yeji's hand. She was taken aback and was about to smack the guy when he said something that triggered her.
"YuWon doesn't care about you, you know. He'll never forgive you," he whispered. "You should be with someone who can protect you. Someone who cares for you... like a man."
The fuck?
YuWon frowned. He hadn't told the guy to yap about him in front of Yeji. But then YuWon realized it. The resistance he felt. Could it be someone was already influencing the soldier and [Soul Bind] caused the soldier to go haywire?
Also, the comment the soldier made. They were too personal and too specific. It was like someone knew the deepest desires of Yeji's heart and was weaponizing it against her.
It has to be Yuna. Can she read people's desires? Fuck, I need to be more careful around her then.
YuWon knew her class, but he didn't know what abilities she had. She might have influenced the soldier to say those things to Yeji and trigger her, forcing her to do something terrible and then use it against her.
Meanwhile, the soldier kept talking ill about YuWon. But Yeji didn't respond, lost in her thoughts.
She knew it wouldn't be easy to get YuWon's forgiveness, but hearing it from someone else snapped something inside her.
Before the soldier could react, Yeji snatched the chisel from the ground and aimed it directly at his eye.
Not good!
YuWon dropped the invisibility and jumped behind Yeji, grabbing her hand just as she was about to rip off the soldier's eye.
"Yeji!" YuWon yelled. "Calm down!"
A moment later, she looked dazed, as if she had just woken up from a coma. She dropped the chisel before grabbing her head and wincing in pain.
"Oi, what's wrong?" YuWon asked, kneeling beside her.
"Headache... it'll pass... I think..."
Soon enough, the workers began gathering around. Because of Yeji's kindness before, they were naturally concerned about her. Although it wasn't what YuWon had in mind, the situation was enough for him to act out.
Suddenly, he let go of Yeji and, without a word, grabbed the soldier by the neck and lifted him off the ground. The soldier struggled as if the effect of manipulation had faded away.
No, no, it's too early for you to wake up.
YuWon slammed the guy on the ground with full force. The impact was so hard; it cracked through the guy's armor and might have even cracked a rib or two.
The soldier gasped in pain, but YuWon wasn't done. He raised his foot and stomped on the soldier's arm, the same arm he had grabbed Yeji with.
"How dare you touch my sister!" YuWon yelled.
A sickening crunch followed YuWon's words as the soldier's fingers snapped.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Yuna yelled, rushing towards them.
Yuna's eyes widened as she saw the soldier clutching his hand in pain. But then she saw YuWon staring at her, as he stood shielding Yeji. His eyes filled with hatred and it felt like he was ready to tear apart anyone who came too close to him.
"What... what is going on here?" Yuna asked again, trying to fool everyone.
"What's going on?" he repeated, approaching her. "Why don't you tell me that?"
"I don't—"
"Drop the act," YuWon snarled. "If you or your brother have a problem with me, then take it up with me. Don't go after the people I care about! This is because we gave some people food without asking you first, isn't it?"
"What? No, you've got it all wrong. It must be a misunderstanding—"
"Wrong?" YuWon cut her off again. "Your soldier lured her here and tried to force himself on her. How the hell is that a misunderstanding?"
"That's true. I saw the guy hovering all around Miss Yeji." Someone from the crowd said.
"Me too!" Another one chimed in.
"That guy is a creep!"
Yuna's eyes darted around. Everyone there seemed suspicious of her. But she continued to force a smile and reached out to YuWon, only for him to smack it away.
"YuWon, I swear, I didn't know—"
"I'm not interested in your excuses. Just stay away from us."
Without waiting for a response, YuWon turned his back on Yuna and lifted Yeji in his arms before leaving. Yuna just stood there, stunned. Her smile faltered, and she nervously bit her lip.
This wasn't how things were supposed to go. It was true she had put the guy up to what he did. But he was only supposed to trigger Yeji into doing something.
Since Yuna knew about the relationship between Yeji and YuWon because of her class's ability, she tried to use it to her advantage. But it all backfired on her.
"What are you looking at? Take him away," she ordered the remaining soldiers.
This is just a setback... But I need to fix things with YuWon. I need to have him by my side.
Yuna thought, staring at the prompt before her.
[Quest: By His Side.]
[Task: Tame Kang YuWon.]
[Remaining Time: 2 days 21 hours 45 minutes 12 seconds.]
[Reward: Unknown.]
[Penalty for failure: Sponsored skills will get revoked.]
How do I do this!?
While Yuna was worried about her mission, everyone else got a notification as well.
[Attention! The first trial will take place in 3 hours.]
[All awakeners must prepare themselves for the worst... a painful death.]
[Enjoy your last moments in peace.]