Chapter 144:
“What did he say? What is this nonsense?! Is Park Hyung-woo claiming that I ordered him to do it?!”
Jang Woo-seok yelled, his voice rising in indignation. Seo Jae-yi observed him closely.
His face flushed crimson, his eyes bloodshot, his heart pounding, his breath coming in ragged gasps.
It might have seemed like the typical reaction of someone caught in a lie, but Seo Jae-yi, with her heightened senses, could tell…
He was genuinely outraged.
Even the most skilled actor couldn’t fool an S-rank Esper’s senses. Jang Woo-seok wasn’t involved in Park Hyung-woo’s actions.
‘Then did Park Jung-soo contact Park Hyung-woo without Jang Woo-seok’s orders?’
That was… problematic. It meant Park Jung-soo had been able to evade Jang Woo-seok’s surveillance.
Seo Jae-yi’s eyes, hidden behind her sunglasses, narrowed.
“No, Park Hyung-woo didn’t say anything.”
“What? Then why did you ask me such a…?”
“Because you’re connected to the unregistered mercenary group who attacked Seo Jae-yi and Baek Joo-won. I was wondering if you were also involved with Park Hyung-woo.”
“…What?”
Jang Woo-seok stared at him blankly. Seo Jae-yi was impressed by Kwon Yi-soo’s tactics.
“What… did you just say?”
Jang Woo-seok, unlike before, was clearly shaken now.
“They were targeting Baek Joo-won, not Seo Jae-yi, which suggests Park Jung-soo’s involvement.”
Seo Jae-yi’s eyes widened slightly at Kwon Yi-soo’s words. That was news to her.
“What are you talking about?! Is that… Park Hyung-woo bastard claiming that I ordered him?!”
Jang Woo-seok yelled, his voice rising in outrage. Seo Jae-yi observed him closely.
His face flushed, his eyes bloodshot, his heart racing, his breath ragged.
It might seem like the typical reaction of someone caught in a lie, but Seo Jae-yi, with her heightened senses, could tell…
He was genuinely outraged.
Even the most skilled liar couldn’t fool an S-rank Esper’s senses. Jang Woo-seok wasn’t involved.
‘Did Park Jung-soo contact Park Hyung-woo without Jang Woo-seok’s knowledge, then?’
That was a serious problem. It meant Park Jung-soo had been able to evade Jang Woo-seok’s surveillance.
Seo Jae-yi’s eyes, hidden behind her sunglasses, narrowed.
“No, Park Hyung-woo didn’t say anything.”
“What?! Then why did you ask…?”
“You’re connected to the unregistered mercenary group that attacked Seo Jae-yi and Baek Joo-won. I was simply wondering if you were also involved with Park Hyung-woo.”
“…What?”
Jang Woo-seok stared at him, dumbfounded. Seo Jae-yi was thoroughly impressed by Kwon Yi-soo’s tactics.
“What are you talking about?”
Jang Woo-seok, unlike before, was clearly rattled.
“They were targeting Baek Joo-won, not Seo Jae-yi. That suggests Park Jung-soo’s involvement.”
Seo Jae-yi was surprised.
“Was Park Jung-soo talking about… transplanting Guide Factors? He must have asked you to obtain Baek Joo-won’s blood for his experiments.”
“…”
Both Seo Jae-yi and Jang Woo-seok froze, their bodies stiffening at his words.
Transplanting Guide Factors… What kind of… insane idea was that?
“I’ve been… thinking about Park Jung-soo’s experiments, especially the one on Gong Ju-hyun. Continuously exposing a Guide to an Esper’s Factor to induce an effect similar to Imprinting… it ultimately failed.”
Gong Ju-hyun.
Even Seo Jae-yi had almost forgotten about him. He was still confined to the Guiding Center’s basement. He would be released after his period of self-reflection, as he hadn’t committed any serious crimes, only participated in an unethical experiment.
Though it was uncertain if he could continue working as a Guide, with his one-sided, ineffective Imprint on Seo Jae-yi.
“So what would be Park Jung-soo’s next experiment? The answer is quite simple. What would happen if he transplanted an S-rank Guide Factor into a lower-ranked Guide?”
Kwon Yi-soo chuckled, his voice laced with disgust.
“He has an inferiority complex towards S-rank Guides. Because he couldn’t become one himself.”
That was news to Seo Jae-yi.
‘Is that why he’s obsessed with me? Because I’m an S-rank?’
Did he derive some sort of… vicarious pleasure from controlling an S-rank Esper, something he himself couldn’t become?
To think he had experimented on a child because of his inferiority complex… He was truly despicable.
“You’re speechless. I assume I’m correct.”
“…”
Jang Woo-seok’s face turned ashen.
He would have denied it if it were just a suspicion, but… he hadn’t expected Kwon Yi-soo to deduce Park Jung-soo’s twisted experiments. This was different from the mercenary attack.
“I wasn’t aware you were hiding him in Chungnam.”
Chu Sung-won, the Chungnam branch head, who had been detained along with Gong Ju-hyun after the latter’s experiment was revealed, had been dismissed from his position. He was still confined to the Center’s basement.
“You’ve gone too far, Prime Minister.”
Kwon Yi-soo leaned back against the sofa, his words hanging in the air.
It was Seo Jae-yi’s turn.
“Indeed, he has. He’s far too greedy.”
“…What?”
Jang Woo-seok, who had been frozen in shock, looked up sharply at her voice.
The bodyguard standing behind Kwon Yi-soo removed her sunglasses and wig.
Long, black hair cascaded down her shoulders, her eyes sharp and playful, yet intimidating.
“…Seo Jae-yi?”
Jang Woo-seok’s eyes widened in disbelief. He pointed at her and Kwon Yi-soo, his hand trembling.
“H-how… How are you two…? Center Head, what is the meaning of…?”
“Don’t point at me. I might just burn your fingers off.”
“Center Head!”
Jang Woo-seok, finally realizing she was the real Seo Jae-yi, yelled at Kwon Yi-soo.
“You know how dangerous she is! Why would you bring her here?! I thought you also wanted to eliminate her! Are you betraying me?! Betraying the country?!”
It was a dramatic, almost theatrical outburst.
Kwon Yi-soo was a good actor. He had him completely fooled.
“Betrayal? That’s a strange accusation. I’ve never been on your side, Prime Minister.”
Jang Woo-seok flinched at Kwon Yi-soo’s cold words, his eyes, behind his glasses, as hard as ice.
“And you said I wanted to eliminate Seo Jae-yi… Prime Minister, you seem to be completely unaware of why I replaced the previous Center Head and became the new one.”
“C-Center Head…”
“If it weren’t for you, for the government, supporting them, none of those tragedies would have happened. There’s no way I would… protect you. I’ve been waiting for this day.”
His voice, laced with barely suppressed fury, dripped with a venom more potent than any Esper’s.
Jang Woo-seok froze, overwhelmed by his aura.
Even Seo Jae-yi, standing behind him, was surprised; she hadn’t expected him to be this… direct.
“Seo Jae-yi,” Kwon Yi-soo called her name, as if sensing her surprise, and she snapped out of it, remembering her role.
“He’s right. It’s time for you to pay for your crimes, Prime Minister.”
She moved swiftly, appearing before Jang Woo-seok in a flash, and grabbed him by the collar.
“Gah! Y-you! An Esper can’t attack a civilian…!”
“There’s an exception for apprehending a criminal attempting to flee.”
“C-criminal?!”
“It’s almost time, Prime Minister. While we were here, having this… pleasant chat, news about your… activities… has been released to the media. Oh, my phone’s ringing.”
Just as she said, his phone started vibrating, the screen lighting up with incoming calls and messages.
Had it really happened that quickly?
“I’ll show you, if you’re so curious.”
Seo Jae-yi took out her phone and showed him the news articles on the main portal site.
Breaking news about Jang Woo-seok’s corruption, his name plastered all over the headlines.
Jang Woo-seok’s face crumbled.
“And I’ll be filing a lawsuit against you as soon as I leave here. Prime Minister Jang Woo-seok, it’s time for you to fall. To a place even deeper and darker than the white basement where I was imprisoned for seven years.”
“N-no…”
“So, one question.”
Seo Jae-yi, looking down at the trembling Jang Woo-seok, asked the question she had been wanting to ask.
“Where is Park Jung-soo? You’re the one hiding him. He’s proving to be quite elusive.”
“Ugh…”
“I might… overlook some of your crimes if you help me catch him. Or I could even pin everything on him. How about it? It’s a good deal, isn’t it?”
Be solely responsible for everything, or drag Park Jung-soo down with him.
Seo Jae-yi generously offered him a choice.
“You wouldn’t be in this mess if it weren’t for Park Jung-soo and his Guide Factor experiments. Don’t you think it’s unfair for you to take all the blame?”
“Ugh…”
Jang Woo-seok trembled.
He knew it wasn’t a deal for his benefit. But as Seo Jae-yi had said, it was unfair.
He had been ready to give up when Seo Jae-yi survived his attempt to kill her on Mount Taebaek!
Things wouldn’t have escalated this far if he had. If that damned Park Jung-soo hadn’t whispered those tempting words in his ear, he wouldn’t be cornered like this.
But he wouldn’t let Park Jung-soo escape while he was being punished.
His fate was sealed. He might as well drag Park Jung-soo, the one who had started all this, down with him.
“…Jeongseon. He’s in a safe house in Jeongseon.”
Seo Jae-yi grinned.
“A wise choice.”
She released his collar and then snatched the National Assembly badge pinned to his lapel.
The guards at the safe house would let them pass without question if they saw the badge.
“You won’t be needing this anymore, since you’ll be dismissed soon. I’ll take it.”
“…”
Jang Woo-seok trembled with humiliation, but he couldn’t do anything.
“The reporters are gathering outside; it’s getting noisy. Ah, and don’t even think about escaping. You won’t be able to shake off the… person I’ve assigned to monitor you, unless a Spatial Manipulation Esper comes to your rescue.”
That person, the one Seo Jae-yi trusted most in the world.
Seo Won-yeong.
Korea’s strongest Enhancement Esper would be personally monitoring Jang Woo-seok, along with Airok, who had regained his full power.
There was no way Jang Woo-seok could escape them.
Knock, knock.
“People are gathering outside.”
Han Sung-woo, who had been guarding the door with Baek Joo-won, reported.
Seo Jae-yi put on her wig and sunglasses again. Kwon Yi-soo stood up.
“Then we’ll see you in prison, Prime Minister.”
Seo Jae-yi patted Jang Woo-seok’s shoulder and then, humming cheerfully, left the office.
That was very satisfying. 😌👍