Hero’s Child C28

Chapter 28

Uichan flinched, blinking hard to steady himself. The man before him was enormous—someone who could easily overpower him with a single hand. Blacktan knelt down, leveling his gaze with Uichan’s.

“…Yeo Taehwon-ssi, what are you doing here…?”

But of all things—
he was holding Uichan’s injured thigh. His large hand rested right where La Épée’s restraint had burned his skin, as if he were about to strip back his trousers to check the wound.

The injury was still raw.

Uichan’s whole body tensed as he looked up at Yeo Taehwon’s expression. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. When Uichan flinched, the hand on his leg quietly withdrew.

“I sensed your presence while evacuating civilians nearby,” Taehwon said calmly. “So I came to check.”

“Evacuating civilians…? Then that means the villains have spread even this far?”

When Uichan looked around and asked, Taehwon nodded silently.

“I confirmed you were home before the mission,” he continued. “Why are you out here?”

“…How did you know I was home? You know where I live?”

“Yes.”

The reply was so confident that Uichan was momentarily speechless. Should he question how this man knew his address, or point out how disturbingly bold that answer was?

For now, it didn’t matter. He was too exhausted to argue—he just wanted to get home and away from him.

The faint smell of gunpowder clung to Blacktan’s black combat suit. That meant he’d come straight from the battlefield. Uichan’s hand went instinctively to his bag. Turning slightly, he saw it lying beside the bench, the box inside untouched. Relief flooded him.

He lifted a shaky hand to rub his eyes but was stopped by his glasses. Taehwon reached over and removed them for him. Only then did Uichan press his palm against his fevered eyelids.

“…Thank you.”

“There are still many villains in the area. It’s unsafe here. You should move somewhere secure.”

“I’ll just… go home.”

After the encounter with La Épée, even Blacktan didn’t feel safe to be around. He might be affiliated with Nonhier, but Uichan knew how thin the line between ally and enemy could be. Blacktan and Noatis claimed they were looking for Under Doom to protect him—but who could believe that?

Heroes protecting a villain? Even a stray dog would laugh.

“Don’t mind me,” Uichan muttered. “Please, continue your mission. My house is close. I’ll be fine.”

He pushed himself up, unaware that the bench armrest was half broken. His hand slipped, body lurching forward—straight into Blacktan’s hold. The man caught him firmly, Uichan’s shallow breath brushing across the bridge of his nose.

“I—I’m sorry.”

“…It’s fine.”

Taehwon’s grip tightened on the bench’s backrest. He carefully slid the glasses back onto Uichan’s face. His movements were rougher than before, almost impatient. The way his nose creased—it looked like he was restraining something. Once Uichan sat down again, his expression eased slightly, though his tension didn’t fade.

He was wound tight as a bowstring. One more touch, and it might snap.

“How… did you find me here, exactly?”

Taehwon motioned with his chin. Over his shoulder, a black beast stood—golden eyes glinting in the dark. When it noticed Uichan’s gaze, it lifted its head and gave a long, low cry. It was Nel, Blacktan’s tracking companion.

“…So it was you.”

Uichan smiled faintly at the creature. Its sense of smell was exceptional—if it had caught Uichan’s scent before, it would have been easy to track him down. The thought made sense—until it didn’t. His breath caught.

His scent.

That meant—
Nel might have caught Under Doom’s scent.

Uichan had just come from the Cheongsa site, where both Blacktan and Noatis had been deployed. If Nel had followed that same scent trail here and mistaken him for Under Doom…

A chill ran down his spine. His heart dropped like a stone.

“I should… get going. I forgot—I’m expecting a friend at home.”

He tried to stand, desperate to leave before Taehwon could put the pieces together. But in his rush, his hand landed on Taehwon’s arm—the one braced against the bench. His skin was burning hot. Uichan recoiled instantly.

Taehwon’s eyes flicked to the spot where he’d been touched, veins pulsing faintly beneath his skin.

“S-sorry. Could you step aside a bit? I can’t get up otherwise…”

But Taehwon didn’t move. The space in front of him was blocked—and when Uichan tried to slide sideways, Nel stepped in, blocking his path. He felt trapped, cornered like prey.

He couldn’t just sit there and wait. He started to rise, intending to push past—but his breath escaped too close, brushing Taehwon’s ear.

He had no idea how warm it felt when it hit.

“…Ha.”

The sound slipped from Taehwon’s lips. In the same instant, he gripped Uichan’s arm and pulled him sharply downward, forcing him back onto the bench. Startled, Uichan’s head snapped up—and froze.

Those eyes. The same eyes that had stared at him in the pit that night—burning, fevered.

“Why are you—”

“Did you ask how Nel found you?”

His voice cut through, low and cold. The faint yellow gleam in his eyes wavered with emotion. His hand was already at Uichan’s waist, fingers so large they nearly circled half his torso. His palm pressed down, grazing the lower curve of his abdomen.

Uichan went rigid. If Taehwon pressed any harder—

“Nel followed my scent,” Taehwon said evenly. “Because it’s still on you.”

“…That’s impossible. It should’ve been erased. I haven’t even touched a gun since that day.”

“It’s different.”

That day in the pit—they hadn’t met again since. Yet the man was saying there was still a trace. Uichan’s breath faltered as the hand on his stomach shifted higher, the thumb pressing firmly just below his navel.

“That day,” Taehwon murmured.

“……”

“It went this deep, didn’t it?”

Uichan’s lungs locked. His vision dimmed at the edges. His eyes widened, frozen in place. But Taehwon didn’t relent. His brow furrowed as he added,

“And not just once. Several times. The trace lasts quite a while.”

His thumb pressed harder, sliding upward, as if marking the memory into Uichan’s skin. Uichan’s heart pounded violently in his chest.

For several long seconds, silence filled the air. Then Uichan pried his hand away and stumbled back, breath unsteady, bumping into the bench’s backrest.

“I don’t… understand what you’re saying. Why are you—talking like that…”

“You don’t know my ability?” Taehwon asked quietly, glancing down at his hand before gripping the bench behind Uichan again. The wood groaned under his strength.

“When a Litan mercenary marks prey, they never forget the scent.”

Uichan should’ve denied it, should’ve said something—but his mouth wouldn’t move. Taehwon’s lips curled faintly.

“Litan mercenaries are trained to remember any scent they mark. I caught yours that night, in the pit.”

The faint smile vanished. His expression hardened, cold and mechanical—like a weapon given human form. His gaze fixed on Uichan’s throat, on the pulse beating under thin skin.

Then his hand shot forward, gripping Uichan’s thigh. Uichan clenched his eyes shut, suppressing a sound of pain.

“But the scent has changed,” Taehwon said slowly.

He remembered every sensation from that night—every touch, every breath, every sound. When he’d met Uichan again in the park restroom, covering his nose and mouth, the feel of those lips had been identical to the one he’d held in darkness.

Yet the scent—was different. Slightly, subtly, but undeniably changed.

Even for someone trained to remember for life, hormonal shifts could alter a person’s scent. It unsettled him enough to keep watching, to stay close until he understood why.

When Uichan tried to draw his leg back, Taehwon caught it by the knee and pulled him closer. Uichan steadied himself on the man’s shoulder, breath catching. Blood seeped faintly through the fabric of his pants.

Taehwon hadn’t caused it—Uichan’s sudden movement had reopened the wound.

“But the smell of your blood,” Taehwon murmured, “hasn’t changed, Under Doom.”

The way he said it—it was as if he’d been waiting for Uichan to bleed. His eyes softened as he smiled, the hard lines of his face melting briefly. His hand lifted, tracing along Uichan’s neck, then pressing gently against his lips.

“You were injured by La Épée, weren’t you? Did he find out too?”

“No—no, he didn’t,” Uichan stammered.

“The injury’s inevitable, then. I’ll have to treat it myself.”

Before Uichan could react, his thumb began to press harder against his lips—ready to force its way past them.

That broke him. Uichan shoved Taehwon back with all his strength. The massive man barely resisted, letting himself be pushed away.

Snatching up his bag, Uichan turned and ran. He didn’t even feel the pain in his leg anymore.

Taehwon stayed kneeling on the ground, watching silently as Uichan’s retreating figure disappeared beyond the park’s edge.