Su-ho handed a small orb to the trembling Park Gyu-min.

“Swallow it.”

“W-What is this?”

“A bomb.”

“W-What?!”

“It’s an item bomb that only responds to my commands. Once you swallow it, it will be absorbed into your body and remain undetectable by any search skill. It’s expensive, so hurry up and eat it.”

“B-But why would I…”

“Otherwise? How do you expect me to trust you?”

“...”

Park Gyu-min was at a loss for words.

Truthfully, he had been plotting ways to stab Su-ho in the back the moment he escaped from here. But to think Su-ho would resort to such a barbaric method.

With shaking hands, Park Gyu-min reluctantly took the orb. After glancing nervously at Su-ho, he swallowed it. The thought of an explosion later seemed less immediate than the threat of a beating now.

“Ugh!”

The bomb tasted bitter.

The moment it touched his tongue, it melted and disappeared. As Su-ho had said, it was absorbed into his body, leaving him with a strange sensation, as if something about his physical state had changed.

Su-ho watched the trembling man clutching his stomach and thought to himself.

‘What a load of crap.’

An item bomb undetectable by search skills?

There was no such thing.

It was just a bitter-tasting pill.

But such measures were necessary to ensure Park Gyu-min didn’t try to betray him.

Su-ho spoke again, his tone sharp.

“Listen carefully. From now on, you’re going to clean up the messes you’ve made, one by one.”

“Messes…?”

“Yes, messes. You want to survive, don’t you? Then you need to make sure Pi Seong-yeol can’t come after you. And the first step is cleaning up the wrongs you’ve done so far.”

“Clean up…”

Park Gyu-min muttered under his breath, his voice trembling.

Su-ho’s expression remained cold as he continued.

“You’ll need to take care of this quietly. Pinning it on someone else shady is fine, but if you harm an innocent person just to save your own skin… you know what’ll happen, right?”

“Of course! I would never do that.”

“Good. Don’t worry, I won’t just sit back and watch, either. So don’t waste time fretting. Just answer my questions honestly and do as you’re told.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Then, as soon as we return to the Association, let’s start with resolving this military draft-dodging scandal.”

“How should I handle it?”

At Park Gyu-min’s question, Su-ho glanced at the corruption report he had submitted.

“Looks like the ones involved in this scheme are you, the Awakening Division Chief, and the Non-Awakening Affairs Deputy Chief.”

“Yes, I secured the deals, and the Chief and Deputy Chief handled the on-site execution.”

“How was the money divided?”

“...I took 70%, and the rest was split between them, 2:1.”

Su-ho shot Park Gyu-min a disgusted look.

So this bastard pocketed most of it after subcontracting the dirty work to others? Shameless.

With a furrowed brow, Su-ho asked, “You still have the list of people you arranged deals with and the money you took, right?”

“I have it, but I’m not sure about the others below me.”

“Then get it back from them or fill in the gaps yourself. First, return all the money and shut those people up. Only then can we quietly deal with the Chief and the Deputy Chief.”

“R-Return all of it?”

“Of course. If you don’t, they’ll raise hell, and who’s going to deal with the fallout?”

“Ugh… Fine. What should I do about the ones below me?”

“Blame everything on them before the media gets wind of it and have them dismissed. Remember, dismissed—not terminated. If they’re terminated, it’ll affect their pensions, and they won’t sit still. You need to leave them a way out so they won’t retaliate.”

“...Understood.”

“Handle this first, and then we’ll proceed. Oh, and once we’re back, push through my Awakening Division evaluation immediately. The field assessment and theory test are done, so why am I still waiting? Do I look like I have time to waste?”

“...I’m sorry.”

“Close your eyes.”

“Pardon?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

“Ah! S-Sorry!”

The moment Park Gyu-min closed his eyes, Su-ho struck him on the head, knocking him out cold.

This was the subspace house.

No one could know how people entered or exited this place.

***

"What exactly are they doing in there?"

"Beats me."

In the outskirts of Seoul, by a rural highway, stood a lone container.

Inside the container, Su-ho had entered with Park Gyu-min, leaving the Banshees to stand guard outside. He gave strict orders not to let anyone approach, which only fueled their curiosity.

After all, no sound was coming from inside.

Time dragged on.

Eventually, the container door swung open.

“They’re out,” one of the Banshees muttered.

Su-ho emerged, carrying the unconscious Park Gyu-min over his shoulder. It didn’t take a second glance to see that Park Gyu-min’s condition was far from good.

Goo Yeon-hwa, eyeing the limp figure, asked bluntly, “Did you beat him?”

“Only beat him?” Su-ho scoffed. “If I was doing it properly, you wouldn’t have heard a thing.”

“...”

“Enough talk. Put him in the car.”

After handing over Park Gyu-min, Su-ho began briefing the Banshees on what had transpired in the container, showing them the corruption notebook and explaining the steps they’d take moving forward.

Looking over the notes, Goo Yeon-hwa frowned. “You’re really planning to erase all this? It’s a lot to cover.”

“We don’t need to erase everything. All we need to know is how much Pi Seong-yeol is aware of regarding Gyu-min’s corruption.”

“And how do we figure that out?”

“Gi-won will dig into it. Besides, even if Pi knows about everything here, it’s fine. We’ll just use Park Gyu-min and toss him aside when he’s no longer useful. Speaking of which, if anyone here has a personal grudge against him, now’s the time to let me know. We can adjust his ‘disposal’ plan accordingly.”

At Su-ho’s words, the Banshees exchanged glances, excluding Seo Gi-won. However, none of them spoke up.

“No issues here. We don’t have any unfinished business with him.”

“Good.”

The reason Su-ho had asked wasn’t surprising.

Despite the Banshees’ loyalty, they had yet to fully reveal why they formed the group in the first place or the vengeance they sought. Su-ho never pressed them for answers.

Not because he wasn’t curious.

But because he already knew.

“Being a regressor has its perks.”

They say curiosity is the hardest thing to resist. But Su-ho, already knowing their stories, chose to quietly wait, earning their trust in the process.

It was then that Seo Gi-won spoke up.

“By the way, hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“You don’t think Park Gyu-min might snap and try to blow himself up, do you?”

He was, of course, referring to the fake bomb Su-ho had fed the man earlier.

Su-ho shrugged casually. “Who knows?”

“That doesn’t worry you?”

“Why would it?”

“Huh?”

“Guys like Park Gyu-min, who have a lot to lose, are also the most afraid of dying. And even if he does decide to go kamikaze, if he finds out the bomb’s fake, we’ll just deal with him another way. Simple.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Anyway, Gi-won, what about the numbers I gave you last time?”

“Well… I’ve been digging, but there’s still nothing substantial coming up on either Pi Seong-yeol or Park Gyu-min.”

“What about the others? Division Chief Lee Wan-ik or Deputy Manager Lee Moon-ho?”

“Same deal with them. Nothing noteworthy.”

“Hmm… What about deleted texts or messages? Can those be recovered?”

“No, for that, we’d need access to the servers of the messaging app companies. My skills only go as far as peeking into active data.”

“Alright. Then what about any numbers in Lee Wan-ik’s contact records that aren’t saved but show regular communication?”

“Oh… There were a few, but they looked like spam, so I didn’t pay much attention. Should I check again?”

“Yeah, focus on those. See if any of those numbers appear in Lee Moon-ho’s contact records as well.”

“Got it. I’ll check.”

“How long will it take?”

“If I work with Hyun-min, we should have it done quickly. It’s not like there are many numbers to go through.”

“Alright, let me know as soon as you find something.”

“Yes, sir.”

With that, everything was in place.

The only thing left was to begin trimming Park Gyu-min’s branches, starting the very next day.

After the meeting, Su-ho and Seo Gi-won returned home, the next phase of their operation ready to unfold.

***

A Few Hours Later

Su-ho was reclining in the massage chair on the first floor, enjoying a rare moment of rest, when Seo Gi-won came stomping up to him like a storm.

“Hyung!”

“At this rate, you’ll bring the house down. What’s the rush?”

“I found it! Pi Seong-yeol’s alternate number!”

Hearing that, Su-ho sat up straight.

“Seriously?”

“Yes! Just like you said, I focused on the unfamiliar numbers in Lee Wan-ik’s contact records that showed regular communication. There was only one. So, I traced it, and lo and behold, it also had records of contact with Lee Moon-ho, the Awakening Division Deputy Chief.”

“What about texts or messages?”

“There weren’t any. Just call logs. It looks like all the texts have been wiped. No photos or other contacts, either. Judging by how clean it is, I’d bet it’s a burner phone he uses exclusively to communicate with the Awakening Division people.”

“Thorough.”

“Very.”

“Well done. It would’ve been nice if there were recorded calls, though.”

“Yeah, no luck there. He deliberately uses a phone that doesn’t allow call recording.”

“Thorough.”

“Very.”

“Still, finding the number is the important part. We’ll probably need to pay him a visit soon, so when I give the order, track his location right away.”

“Understood.”

“Good work. By the way, have you eaten yet? If not, take a shower and get some food.”

“I was actually planning to eat with Hyun-min when he gets here. Hyung, you want to join us?”

“Hyun-min? Oh, right. He’s coming back today?”

“Yeah, he said he’s on his way home now.”

“Ah, good. Let’s wait for him and eat together. You’re ordering delivery, right? Handle it.”

“Got it!”

The residents of the Cheongdam house included Su-ho, Seo Gi-won, and Nam Hae-won—three in total. The house was spacious enough to accommodate them, and both Gi-won and Hae-won were close allies Su-ho wanted to keep nearby.

Nam Hae-won, however, had recently completed a long and grueling process of overcoming a drug addiction and had gone on a solo trip—a dream of his for years. Today marked the day of his return.

As Su-ho settled back into the massage chair, he thought to himself:

“Just in time. I was starting to need Hae-won’s help.”

Nam Hae-won possessed a synthesis trait far superior to the makeshift combination recipes Su-ho had temporarily learned.

The reason for its superiority?

Simple. Unlike the fragile recipes that risked total failure if even one step was off, Hae-won’s synthesis ensured the main material always survived.

Given enough time and resources, success was guaranteed with his trait.

Anticipating Hae-won’s arrival, Su-ho began placing orders with the support staff stationed outside.

The staff, however, raised an eyebrow as they reviewed the order list.

“Uh… Are you sure you want to order all of this?”

“Yes, absolutely. If it’s not enough, we’ll order more, so bring everything you can.”

“Understood.”

Still puzzled, the staff decided it wasn’t their place to question further and left to fulfill the request.

Not long after, just as the delivery food Seo Gi-won had ordered arrived, Nam Hae-won showed up in casual attire.

“Hey, everyone!” Hae-won greeted, his voice bright.

“Oh, you’re back?”

“Hae-won hyung!”

With a spring in his step, Nam Hae-won looked noticeably healthier than before, his solo trip clearly having done wonders for him.

But something felt off.

Su-ho gave him a once-over before asking, “Hae-won, where’s your bag?”

“Bag? What bag?”

“You know, your luggage? Didn’t you take one for the trip?”

“Nope, didn’t take one.”

“Huh? Why not?”

“Because I had this.”

Hae-won pulled out a check card with a grin.