Chapter 89: Man of Devilish Charm (4)

The secret room wasn’t all that secret. It was just a passageway leading to the fighters’ waiting area.

Lee Taebaek followed silently behind.

‘He’s gonna pop a vein at this rate.’

Chae Hakgyun kept shooting him sidelong glances of clear displeasure every other step.

‘Keeps calling me a gigolo since earlier.’

Even an idiot would pick up on the fact that he was hated. Lee Taebaek had a pretty good idea why.

Sure, Chae Hakgyun grumbled on the surface, but deep down, he seemed to hold Goeun in especially high regard.

And it wasn’t just because they were former comrades. No—if anything, his tone carried a lingering emotional aftertaste.

‘He’s into her.’

Romance between men and women was all the same everywhere. Even as a true no-romance guy, Lee Taebaek had always been a master at sensing suspicious vibes.

Back on Earth, too.

The hidden office romances among team members couldn’t escape Taebaek Ri’s thousand-mile eyes.

– Assistant Manager Kim, you’re dating Assistant Manager Choi, right?

– I’m quitting.

– Suddenly…?

– It hurts my pride that you found out, Team Leader. If you knew, that means everyone in the company does. Too embarrassing to keep working here.

“…”.

Lee Taebaek shook his head to clear away the random thoughts. He turned his gaze back to the back of Chae Hakgyun’s head.

Chae Hakgyun had accepted Goeun’s request without complaint. If he had no intention of helping, he wouldn’t have even let him into the room. Right now, he was torn.

The desire to save Goeun.

Vs.

His blind loyalty to the Heavenly Demon.

Those two thoughts must be clashing inside him, sparks flying. He was caught in anguish. A heart demon was probably staining his dantian black.

‘Eh, not my problem.’

That said, he had no intention of ignoring the homeowner’s well-being. Lee Taebaek would prefer if Goeun didn’t die, if at all possible.

She had aided his growth. She’d helped with his convenience, and whenever she had time, she’d taught him how to wield magic bit by bit.

Plus, the moment she sensed danger, she’d brought Lee Taebaek here—to the arena. It might seem like leading him to an irreverent place at first glance, but Goeun’s goal was to have him claim the first prize.

‘The homeowner knows it too.’

About Chae Hakgyun’s feelings for her.

She’d used that to slip Lee Taebaek into the matches midway, which was why Chae Hakgyun was calling him a gigolo with such contempt.

Still, he was a cool-headed man. Even though he could have schemed something while escorting him to the waiting room, Chae Hakgyun hadn’t.

‘From Chae Hakgyun’s perspective, I’m…’

Just a gigolo preying on the woman he likes. Lee Taebaek suddenly let out a hollow chuckle inwardly.

Déjà vu. It reminded him of his first day at Resistance HQ. Swallow James from the 8th Battalion deputy commander, Yu Dahui, and him—those three roles in that morning soap opera setup.

At least in that moment,

Those three had been responsible for the dopamine rush of the Resistance members.

‘Come to think of it…’

What was that blond pretty boy doing these days?

After that day, news of him had gone silent within the organization.

Lee Taebaek tilted his head in puzzlement but soon lost interest. They’d arrived at the fighters’ waiting room without him realizing.

>> Auto-saving…

>> Applying patch.

Screeech.

The door swung open, and a stench of sweat and blood assaulted his nostrils and eyes. Even with the excellent breathability of his mask.

For a split second, tears nearly welled up. It felt like stepping into a sewer packed with the city’s malice. As Lee Taebaek wrinkled his nose,

the gazes turned his way.

The waiting fighters’ eyebrows furrowed.

Anxiety, unease, tension. Their eyes, filled with stress-fueled malice, weren’t aimed at Lee Taebaek but at Chae Hakgyun. They were fierce.

But lacking the guts to confront him directly, their blind arrows turned toward Lee Taebaek.

Lee Taebaek swept his eyes across the narrow waiting room. Not a hint of intimidation in his demeanor, which filled those pairs of eyes with wary glints.

“Clashing with that guy would be a pain.”

“Looks like a girl just from his eyes.”

“Pretty faces always mean a sturdy lower body.”

“That’s why yours is Vienna sausage-sized.”

They spat vulgarities while sharpening their senses—a routine to shake off tension. On one side, someone quietly wrapped bandages around their hands. Dragon tattoos danced with the flexing muscles, for show.

‘Their eyes are just like wolves.’

They seemed formidable at first glance. Surely not just in it for the money.

The match he’d just seen was mere appetizer. They’d sent out the small fry to warm up the crowd before the ‘real deals’ stepped in. Nothing new, but an effective marketing ploy.

Lee Taebaek crossed his arms and leaned against a cabinet.

Arena manager Chae Hakgyun glanced at him briefly. Then he swept his eyes across the room before finally speaking.

“Rules are simple. Fight only with bare-handed strikes. No grapples—all pure violence to decide the victor. Tournament style. Questions.”

A man with a towel draped over his head like a hood raised his hand. Shadows under the towel gave him a ghostly eeriness.

“What decides win or loss.”

“Submission or life-and-death duel. One or the other.”

Towel Man lowered his hand, satisfied.

“More questions?”

“First prize paid immediately?”

Chae Hakgyun nodded.

“Right on the spot. If you want, I’ll personally stand guard while you ‘consume’ it.”

“No thanks on the male guard. Get me a room with some pretty girls. I’ll gulp it down and blow off steam right there on the bed. Heh heh heh.”

Empty cans rattle loudest. The rat-faced man smirking like that looked the most X-meal-like.

As if to prove it, he was leaking presence profusely. His presence concealment was pathetically amateur.

“No more questions? Let’s start.”

The discussion wrapped up swiftly.

A world of males where a hundred words were settled with one punch. Two sentences sufficed for rules, and the fighters wanted to move before their muscles cooled.

Snap!

Chae Hakgyun snapped his fingers, and all the cabinets flew open. His magic was telekinesis.

Common ability on its own.

But handling it with precision was among the trickiest magics. That constraint made telekinesis versatile.

Everyone rose and stepped into their cabinets. Chae Hakgyun’s telekinesis would missile them to the octagon.

This was a proper business, after all. Supplying spectacle the crowd would love, like this.

“…Suddenly dragged into a brawl.”

He grumbled bitterly, but no real complaints. He understood Goeun’s intentions well, and Lee Taebaek had been hoping for exactly this timing anyway.

‘If anything, lucky.’

Lee Taebaek was about to step in when,

a prickling gaze hit him. Glancing with just his eyes, he saw Towel Man staring. From the shadows under the towel, his eyes gleamed with a long, trailing intensity.

“Ooooh!”

Jasbi thrust her upper body forward. She teetered on the edge of the railing, about to topple over. Goeun sighed and grabbed her collar.

“Genius Mage Goeun-nim.”

Jasbi whipped her head around.

“This is my first time seeing people splash blood while fighting up close!”

“…Coming from you, an AI, that sounds dangerously weird. Don’t say that anywhere else.”

“Huh? Does it? I don’t think I said anything like ‘the end of the human world is nigh’.”

“The moment you do, Lee Taebaek will scatter you to the five winds. Especially if you’re gonna live with him—watch your mouth extra.”

“Ah! Got it!”

“Your response is spirited, at least…”

Jasbi fidgeted excitedly. Seeing it reminded Goeun of a few days ago.

The first day Lee Taebaek brought Jasbi. She’d been so flabbergasted she’d been speechless.

‘Thought he brought some hidden kid.’

Overthinking it.

Lee Taebaek introduced Jasbi as an android loaded with AI. Made in Siesta, he’d added.

Goeun was a proper mage, clueless about worldly tech. She’d nearly said, “What’s that, you otaku?”

– Suspicion should be dispelled promptly—that’s common sense!

– …What?

Jasbi immediately proved she wasn’t human. Her eyes glowed golden, and the lights in Eunko Bar flicked off all at once.

Timing too perfect for a blackout. But Jasbi’s show didn’t end there.

Darkened Eunko Bar.

Bzzz.

The new TV lit up on its own. Its wide screen filled with Jasbi’s face.

– Ah, mic test one-two.

– What the—

Impossible to deny after that. This pint-sized AI thrilled by the octagon was proof humanity had created a new race…

So when Lee Taebaek boldly declared, “She’s living with us too,” Goeun just nodded dumbly in bewilderment. Who was the homeowner here?

Thus, the three of them ended up living together in Eunko Bar in a thoroughly haphazard way.

Well,

The process of him becoming a tenant there had been the same. Somehow, they ended up under one roof, and she even cooked for him.

‘Life, huh.’

Who knew what to expect.

A truth realized in one’s later years.

“Gigolo’s up first.”

Then Chae Hakgyun sat beside her. Her slender shoulder touched his burly arm. Jasbi was engrossed beyond the cage.

“Not very mage-like to say this, but thanks, Chae Hakgyun. Helping a cult traitor—especially one sentenced to death—must be burdensome.”

“It’s just discipline either way. Better than execution.”

They conversed without looking at each other. Speakers in every corner boomed a voice hyping the arena.

“Goeun, you…”

Chae Hakgyun’s lips moved.

“What part of that gigolo made you stake your future on him? Just his face? That doesn’t sound like the Goeun I know.”

“Don’t jump to conclusions. I notice faces too, you know?”

“…!!”

“But it’s not like that. We’re just housemates. That’s it.”

Reassuring.

“Just watch.”

Goeun smirked and jerked her chin toward the octagon. The cage floor split open, and two men rose up.

Lee Taebaek and the rat-faced man. The crowd, hyped to the scalp, cooled instantly. The fighters’ builds were scrawny.

“Eh, what? That’s Nguyen, right?”

“Yeah! Squeaky Nguyen!!”

Some recognized the rat-faced man and cheered. He was a seasoned brawler known for his ruthlessness.

His opponents always left on stretchers, half-crippled at best. He fed the spectators’ sadism well, making him popular.

But Goeun’s eyes were fixed opposite him. Watching the utterly underestimated Lee Taebaek, she boldly declared to Chae Hakgyun.

“You’ll see in five seconds.”

“…What…?”

“This is an arena—wanna bet?”

“What bullshit—”

A beep cut Chae Hakgyun off.

Beep!

Rat-Face exploded forward.

Lee Taebaek stood rooted. He didn’t retreat. Dodging was off the table from the start…

Krunch!

Flesh-tearing sound.

Not a noise from hitting a person. Chae Hakgyun’s gaze shifted to the cage. One hexagonal wall was dented.

There, Nguyen folded like a shrimp, crumpled. And Lee Taebaek looking down at his own fist. Steam rose from it.

The arena went dead silent, like ice water doused. Spectators blinked slowly, too stunned for cheers. What just happened?

“Ah, damn. Missed it.”

Only Goeun slapped her knee in regret.

“Should’ve said one second.”