Hero’s Child C40

Chapter 40

Uichan spoke with an expression steeped in distrust. His hand fumbled against the wall behind him, as though searching for an escape route that didn’t exist. His posture made it clear—he was convinced Blacktan meant to take him away and hand him over to the Hero Association.

Watching him bristle like a frightened cat, Blacktan slowly shook his head.

“…That’s not it. I’m not here to arrest you, Uichan.”

“Then that day—why did you do that?”

Blacktan fell silent.

From the way he stood there, towering yet strangely lost, Uichan could read a faint trace of helplessness on his face. It didn’t make sense.

The Litan branch of Blacktan’s office had only been stationed in Korea for a few years, but their actions were known nationwide thanks to extensive coverage. The world knew that they showed no mercy to villains—or even to citizens who colluded with them. They believed in sacrificing the few for the many, judged good and evil strictly by law, and prioritized justice over humanity.

So for a man like him not to take Uichan into custody—it was impossible to believe.

Uichan brushed away Nell, who was rubbing insistently against his leg, and muttered defensively,

“Even if I went that day, I wasn’t going to admit anything easily.”

“…What are you talking about?”

“I mean Under Doom. Even if I went to the Association, I’d deny everything. There’s no evidence anyway.”

The muscle in Blacktan’s jaw twitched visibly. Why did his face look like that? His black hair and golden eyes, the shadowed brows and weighty presence—all of it screamed of a man of stone. He looked like the type who’d drag Under Doom to the Association without hesitation.

And yet, when he heard those words, the gleam vanished from his eyes. They grew cold, even faintly troubled.

“…You speak as if I’d forcefully arrest you and hand you over.”

“There’s no other reason for you to approach me.”

He had once said he’d protect Under Doom—but that could’ve just been a lie to win trust before capture. Even now, everything he did might have been part of a strategy.

Maybe he had prioritized saving Uichan over catching Hyde not out of concern, but because restraining Uichan was easier than subduing Hyde.

Suddenly, Blacktan lowered his arm and stepped back. Uichan flinched, eyes widening, then looked up to find him staring downward, deep in thought.

But when Uichan tried to slip past him, Blacktan raised his arm again, blocking his path.

He didn’t move, didn’t speak—just stood there in heavy silence. Then, in a voice quieter and steadier than before, he said,

“…I understand now. That’s why you were trembling. Why you were so guarded.”

His gloved hand brushed against Uichan’s cheek, startling him. Uichan hadn’t even realized he’d been shaking until that moment. Lowering his gaze, he saw his own clenched hands trembling faintly. Nell’s warm tongue flicked over his knuckles, and Uichan, embarrassed, quickly hid his hands behind his back.

“It’s just… from hitting the ground too hard earlier. It’s not because of you, Yeo Taehwon.”

“…I see. Then are you hurt anywhere?”

The unexpected gentleness in his tone softened something in Uichan. He could feel the man’s gaze sweep over him, assessing quietly, but he quickly shook his head.

“No. I’m fine.”

No sooner had he said it than a large hand ruffled his hair. Uichan blinked, caught off guard. His hair? The gesture felt less like checking for injuries and more like someone praising a child.

Before he could say anything, Yeo Taehwon turned away, stripped off one bloodstained glove, and tossed it into a nearby trash bin. Uichan watched him and suddenly remembered something—

A realization clicked into place.

He’d always wondered about that habit—how Blacktan would discard contaminated gloves on-site. If so, then when he’d been searching through trash bins before… perhaps it hadn’t been random. Perhaps he had been tracking blood.

Maybe he’d believed that if Under Doom were wounded, the bloodied bandages or cloth would be thrown away—and he could trace the scent back to him.

If that was the case, then yes… it made perfect sense.

“Uichan, if you wish to keep your identity hidden, then do so.”

His tone had returned to its usual calm.

“But if you ever want to leave In the Hell, come to me. You’d have to reveal who you are, but I have more than enough means to protect you.”

“…What are you talking about?”

“If bail is needed, I’ll arrange it. Under Doom’s crimes are relatively minor compared to his bounty. With the right advocate from the Association, we could negotiate for probation. And if that fails, I can act as your remission guarantor—take on your sentence and erase your record under my name. Hero law allows redemption through substitution.”

Uichan stared, struck speechless. Even family rarely offered to bear another’s punishment, yet this man was offering it freely.

Did Uichan really mean that much to him?

Discarding the other glove, Yeo Taehwon stepped closer again and extended his bare hand. Uichan eyed it warily—those scarred fingers, cleaned hastily with a damp tissue.

“Let’s go home, Uichan.”

His voice was quiet but firm. Uichan hesitated only a moment before reaching out. The warmth that enclosed his fingers felt like a wordless promise—I won’t ask anything more.

Together, they walked.

The hospital had been his original destination, but now there was no injury left to treat. The burns, the bruises—gone without a trace. Whatever had healed him, he didn’t dare dwell on it. Fear lingered in his chest.

When they finally reached his apartment, Uichan stopped. Yeo Taehwon halted beside him.

“If I decided,” Uichan said suddenly, staring at the building’s front entrance, “that I wanted to keep my identity hidden forever… what would you do then?”

Blacktan looked up at the apartment windows, answering as though it were nothing.

“If that’s what you want, then do it. It’ll be fine. As I told you before, I’m still searching for my own reason.”

Right—he’d said before that he had something to confirm with Under Doom. Meaning, he still hadn’t found the answer.

“I… I hope you find it.”

At that, Yeo Taehwon seemed to smile faintly, though the expression disappeared before Uichan could see it.

“Of course. I don’t think it will take long.”

He released Uichan’s hand and met his eyes, a silent signal to go inside. His hand no longer trembled.

Uichan studied him for a moment, then nodded. He couldn’t bring himself to ask what Blacktan was searching for. Some questions, once spoken, could never be taken back.

He had begun to realize something, though—the Blacktan seen on television was very different from the Yeo Taehwon he knew.

Perhaps he was the one who’d been wearing tinted glasses all along.

He didn’t swing his fists blindly. He didn’t look at people with cold, distant eyes. Even Nell, who had seemed terrifying at first, only blinked gently in greeting when he saw Uichan.

I pushed him pretty hard earlier… sorry about that, Uichan thought, blinking back at the panther. Its tail swayed lazily from side to side.

“I’ll get going, then.”

He bowed politely and turned away.

For now, as long as Uichan didn’t publicly reveal himself as Under Doom, it seemed Yeo Taehwon had no intention of turning him in. It was… a rare reprieve.

Blacktan watched him until he entered the apartment building and disappeared into the elevator. Only then did he move. His steps echoed softly as his jaw tightened audibly, the muscle flexing like steel beneath his skin. Nell padded beside him, keeping distance.

“…You were scared?”

When he’d seen Uichan trembling in his hands, darkness had swallowed his vision. A feeling he had never known—helplessness—had crawled beneath his skin.

Before he could even walk, he had been handed blades instead of thread. Like most children raised in Litan, he had grown up stripped of rights, trained as a weapon. When the red alarm rang, he went to war—and each time, he came back barely breathing.

He had seen countless people tremble before him. That had never been something he could change. But when he saw Uichan’s fear—his fear—something inside him broke open.

It felt as if every part of his past had been branded as wrong.

That couldn’t be allowed. He had to correct it.

“I’ve learned something I never knew before,” he murmured, voice low, resolute. “And I won’t lose it.”

Emotion is poison for a mercenary. The ones without selves are the sharpest blades. Why do you think the great ones are called great? A man should value ambition, not waste himself on sentiment.

That was what Litan’s leader had always said—and until only a few months ago, Yeo Taehwon had believed it.

But now, he knew the truth. You could still achieve greatness with emotion. His ambitions had simply changed direction.

His eyes glimmered with something close to yearning. The chaos inside him quieted as he envisioned it: reaching out, brushing Uichan’s cheek with the back of his hand, cupping his nape softly, soothing him.

It was only a thought—yet it burned brighter than any fire.