Let me be honest.

Using informal speech was a mistake.

Shit.

The plan was to cut through the suspicion with a direct breakthrough instead of beating around the bush. But that thought went too far, and for a moment, my subconscious took the wheel.

Lee Taebaek bit his lower lip. Meanwhile, the air between them was chilling rapidly.

In truth, the informal speech probably wouldn’t have been that damaging in this situation. The real issue was that it was too premature.

Kang Hyeonseong’s killing intent wrapped around his heart like a noose. It was agonizing, both mentally and physically.

“…Where are you from?”

Kang Hyeonseong growled low. A deep blue, ghostly light rose in his eyes, giving him the look of a goblin—it was as if the earlier friendliness had been a lie.

“Your answer could mean your death today. Choose your words carefully, Lee Taebaek.”

Don’t let his presence shake you. This is what you were aiming for.

The die of fate had been cast. Whether this opening salvo would be the turning point or a dud depended on how he spun it.

“You must have guessed from my name or face. That I’m Korean, just like you, Kang Hyeonseong.”

For a split second, his eyebrow twitched. Lee Taebaek didn’t miss the tiny change in expression.

“In Lake City, a Westerner might not know, but back in Korea, hardly anyone hasn’t heard of Kang Hyeonseong. At least, if they’ve got one foot in the underworld.”

“Hah.”

“Right? One-Man Thousand Kill… or should I call you the Mad Dog Butcher Kang Hyeonseong?”

Bringing up his nickname as the Mad Dog Butcher made his expression shift clearly. Lee Taebaek pressed on.

“Of course, I knew your face because my organization looked into you specifically. A regular person wouldn’t know. Oh, and don’t worry—I burned all the files on you, including everything else, when I left the organization. Maybe the only one who knows who Kang Hyeonseong really is now is rotting in the Gaol. And even that guy’s gone in six days, so unless it’s the Resistance, no one will recognize the One-Man Thousand Kill’s face.”

“…Lee Taebaek, what organization were you with? Don’t misunderstand—this isn’t a question. It’s a threat.”

He couldn’t get dragged in. He had to seize control.

“Kang Hyeonseong, do you know what I was convicted of?”

Lee Taebaek’s pupils were half-hidden beneath his brows.

“Arrested in Seoul for terrorism and national disruption. After escaping Siesta, I cut down ten Seoul City Government regular soldiers. Before that, I was a Siesta Watchdog. You know—a hunting dog.”

At those words, shock flashed in Kang Hyeonseong’s eyes. Escaping Siesta, one of the Megacorps’ pillars?

“Sorry for spitting informal speech at the One-Man Thousand Kill, even if it’s late. As you might guess, Siesta Watchdogs are raised from infancy in the cult, brainwashed with ideology. We never learned polite speech. There’s that saying: Ignorance is a sin, but not knowing is not a sin. I just don’t know honorifics.”

The delayed apology was also part of Lee Taebaek’s calculation. Explaining the situation first, then flipping the terrible first impression. A reversal effect, in other words.

“You speak pretty fluently for someone like that.”

“Loose tongues don’t live long. Guess that’s why I’m on death row in the prime of my youth.”

Once the concept was set, he had to commit fully. Half-assing it would backfire. Lee Taebaek hypnotized himself.

I was a Megacorp hunting dog.

Siesta Group is our god. We owe them everything.

So under the guise of order, control everything and eradicate chaos. Even if it means staining our hands with blood.

Below one, above all. The Watchdog creed of Siesta.

“A Watchdog who escaped Siesta and washed up in Lake City. Quite the script.”

Kang Hyeonseong snorted, arms crossed. He still didn’t fully buy it.

“Shaking me with shared homeland wasn’t a bad strategy. I wrecked Seoul, but my love for Korea hasn’t faded.”

…Did it work?

“But that’s not enough. Bring me something that’ll really hook me.”

Tch. Painfully cautious.

Well, he had to be, in his position. Lee Taebaek hadn’t made him an idiot.

“Let’s say your story checks out. How’d you escape Siesta’s clutches? Brainwashed to hell and back, like you said.”

“I got fed up.”

Lee Taebaek feigned a bitter smile.

“Embarrassing to say it myself, but I was a talented assassin. Promoted to full Watchdog before twenty. Up until that day, I took pride in being one.”

Lee Taebaek bowed his head deeply. Staring at the floor, he let out a strange exclamation.

Fool others by fooling yourself first. This improvised concept was such method acting that even he was getting confused.

Mental buff is insanely strong.

In Raken’s, Mental was a unique stat affecting both speaker and listener. The speaker stayed steady, but the listener wavered.

Even so, this felt too real.

Or maybe this possessed body really was a former Siesta Watchdog? That’d be creepy as hell.

“On a mission. Like always, I went to eliminate the target, and he begged for his life. But Watchdogs don’t have choices. One stroke, head off.”

Lee Taebaek murmured with his head down, groaning as if unearthing painful memories.

“Then I noticed his desk. A photo of him with his young daughter, barely past her first birthday. That’s when it hit me like a brick. The first time I seriously questioned killing.”

“What made him a target?”

“Tried to blow the whistle on Siesta’s corruption.”

“Killing over something so trivial. Classic Megacorp.”

Kang Hyeonseong clicked his tongue. He seemed immersed in Lee Taebaek’s divine bullshit. Good, almost there.

He leaned back against the stone wall, feeling its chill. Eyes closed, Lee Taebaek elevated his imagination into a vivid blueprint, manifesting it.

“That everything I devoted my life to, Siesta, was evil. That ‘order’ was just a shiny word tainting my existence. Megacorps just want control through fear, and we Watchdogs were spare parts. That’s when I realized.”

Lee Taebaek looked at his palm. The greasy stickiness of blood still clung to it.

“Escaping Siesta, fine. But why kill the regular army?”

The narrative was set. Now it was time to prove his value to Kang Hyeonseong.

“Just because.”

“Just… because?”

Madman strategy.

Declaring yourself insane to deter provocation is a diplomatic tactic. Like a Chihuahua baring teeth and growling at everyone. Easy to grasp.

“They came to catch me after I escaped Siesta, so I slaughtered them. I was born and raised as an assassin. Never learned polite speech, so I talk casual even to strangers like you. And they point guns at someone who only communicates with blades? Had to kill them.”

“All of them?”

“Yeah.”

“Even if they take Seoul city paychecks, regular soldiers are someone’s precious sons. No guilt in taking their lives? You think that story holds together?”

“Not something I should hear from the One-Man Thousand Kill. And Kang Hyeonseong, one warning…”

I narrowed my eyes coldly. Pure bluff, of course.

“Don’t preach to me. Hearing it from a traitor who uses a Japanese name like Yamamoto as an alias pisses me off more. No shame?”

Kang Hyeonseong’s lips curled into a smirk. A sign of approval. He likes it even when insulted.

One of two things: it stroked his national pride, or he’s a crazy bastard. Or both.

“Not content with that, hiding your name and crimes in the Gaol. No idea what your game’s about—‘none at all’—but probably something trivial. Anyway, no more time for your entertainment. Don’t interrupt; go face the wall and jerk off. Kang Hyeonseong—no, ‘Mr. Yamamoto’.”

“Kuhahaha!”

Kang Hyeonseong burst into wild laughter. It was a chilling laugh. He was using the madman strategy too.

“You’re nuts. Too good to rot in Siesta! Like the soup from their chow line.”

Jackpot—the madman ploy landed!

“Thanks for noticing, even if late.”

“Doesn’t change a thing. You’re a dead man walking in a few days. As thanks for the chat, one question. If, hypothetically, you got out of here, what first? Let’s hear a convict’s ambition.”

Kang Hyeonseong propped his cheek on a heavy fist.

“Out of the Gaol? Bullshit.”

Lee Taebaek scowled. Just a bit more. Hold those twitching lips steady.

“Lions leave hides, men leave words. Think of it as your last.”

“First, crumble Siesta Group. That’s why I’m in Lake City, their HQ.”

Align his dying words with the Resistance’s goal.

“And all the other Megacorps too.”

“Ha! Most ridiculous thing I’ve heard this year! Why the others?”

Last line—yes.

The finishing touch on the madman strategy.

“No reason. They’re just assholes.”

“…?”

“That’s it.”

“…”

Stalemate.

Kang Hyeonseong looked speechless. At the same time, the guards’ footsteps approached from afar.

Thud, thud.

Lee Taebaek fidgeted. He waited desperately for the answer. Did the gamble pay off?

Soon, Kang Hyeonseong spoke again. A grin split his stubbled lips wide.

“Lee Taebaek, your execution is at 15:00.”

Finally.

“We’ll finish the chat then.”

Success.