The coolness of the wind, felt for the first time in a long while, was difficult to describe in words. Only then did Sang-il feel that he had finally emerged from that place which deserved to be cursed.

  Yet, it didn't feel real.

  His body simply trembled. The events that had transpired were a shock in themselves, difficult to express through any language.

  He had never even imagined he would do such things, nor did he ever want to.

  But everything was already a mess. Not to mention his social circle; it was certain that even if he returned to school, he would have to live while being pointed at.

  Still, for now, Sang-il let out a sigh, grateful just to be alive.

  "Let's move to a different spot first and contact your family."

  Jihyeon moved to another location with Sang-il. If they stayed here, it was certain that someone would pick a fight again. Avoiding them was the best course of action.

  Even without that, the sharp glares directed at them were bothersome. Jihyeon moved his feet while checking to see if anyone was following them.

  Fortunately, they didn't go as far as tailing them. Likely, it was because things would get troublesome for them if the police were called and a commotion broke out.

  Just in case, Jihyeon put his hand in his pocket and connected himself with his phone. He filtered out only the necessary information, sent it to the police station, and boarded the subway with Sang-il.

  He felt safe only after they had put some distance between themselves and that place. However, they didn't go toward the university.

  Jihyeon knew exactly why Sang-il had been dragged away in the first place. Instead, after getting off near Sang-il's house, Jihyeon entered a nearby coffee shop.

  "Drink this."

  Jihyeon intentionally ordered a hot coffee and gave it to him. The bitterness and heat of the Americano slowly brought Sang-il back to reality.

  "A friend of yours asked me to come. You should thank the friend who was worried about you."

  Jihyeon spoke quietly. At his words, Sang-il stammered and asked.

  "W-who w-was it?"

  Gratitude and apology were mixed in his trembling voice. However, Jihyeon held back his words, thinking of Min-ah's condition.

  "Find out for yourself later."

  Saying so, Jihyeon looked at Sang-il. He looked extremely anxious for some reason. That was unavoidable.

  In a sense, Sang-il was also a major victim.

  It was a classic case of someone who went because a few friends called, couldn't escape, and almost ruined his life. Jihyeon let out a sigh as he looked through Sang-il's information.

  "It's a very painful thing to be deceived by someone you trusted as a friend."

  Jihyeon said quietly. At his words, Sang-il flinched unconsciously.

  "It happens surprisingly often. Cases where people go because they trust someone, only to be betrayed and dragged down themselves."

  Jihyeon spoke in a calm voice as if it were someone else's business. But his words contained the beginning of tragedies for many people.

  "...Yes. T-that's right. I w-went because I trusted the contact from a f-friend..."

  Sang-il replied with a sigh. At that moment, as if overcome with emotion, Sang-il began to cry.

  "A-as you can s-see, I d-don't have many f-friends. So when they said let's get cl-close now, I tr-trusted them, but this is what I got in return."

  Sang-il spoke while sobbing, sounding despondent. Although Jihyeon had already checked all the information at once, hearing it in words felt different.

  Jihyeon looked at Sang-il with a sympathetic expression.

  "Still, it's a relief you don't have any debt. You didn't use private loans, did you?"

  If there is debt, a person can fall into an abyss in an instant, but Sang-il had none. Instead, he was exposed to violence to that extent, but he had still done the right thing in that regard.

  "Ah, yes... Fortunately, for now..."

  Sang-il said that and let out a sigh. The reason he hadn't borrowed money was simply that despite the pressure to purchase millions of won worth of goods, he only bought items within the range of his available cash.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  If it's within the range of a few hundred thousand won, it's something that can be passed off as a one-time mistake.

  "Call your home for now. It's not too late even now."

  Jihyeon said that while looking at Sang-il. Only then did Sang-il's hands shake as he contacted his home.

  "...Yes. I'm inside a coffee shop right now."

  Sang-il's voice was trembling again. It seemed that various worries were flooding in only now.

  Fortunately, his parents were good people. Jihyeon thought they would surely comfort his wounds well.

  Of course, it was certain the family wouldn't have nice things to say about this incident, but since Sang-il had been deceived and exposed to violence, they couldn't just unconditionally criticize what he had done.

  "Ah... I'll finally get to see my family."

  Sang-il looked exhausted as if he had lost all his energy just from making the call. But on the other hand, a sense of relief that he had survived overflowed through his entire body.

  "Give up on your luggage. If you get greedy and get dragged back, you might die."

  Jihyeon spoke as if drawing a line. Sang-il's expression darkened. His luggage was full of memories, including clothes he had worn for a long time.

  However, the nightmare of violence that came to mind along with the warning that he might die was enough to make him tremble with fear.

  "I don't intend to find your luggage for you, so don't have any useless thoughts."

  Jihyeon warned him in advance. Sang-il let out a sigh as if he had no choice. He seemed to give up, thinking of it as something he could no longer retrieve.

  "Sang-il!"

  The voices of his parents, hurriedly opening the coffee shop door and looking for their son, stopped the conversation between the ?.

  "Go on."

  Jihyeon looked on with a smile. At those words, Sang-il finally managed to stand up and walk toward his parents.

  Jihyeon watched the family reunion, thinking that one matter had been resolved.

  The team leader felt as if a storm had passed. Even though Sang-il was a fool, there were many things to rip off from him.

  Nothing had gone as he wanted, but it wasn't as if there was nothing to use.

  Originally, he intended to continue applying mental pressure using the lack of results as an excuse. Then, he planned to make him take out a private loan and suck him dry to the bone while taking the money.

  All the team members were already struggling with debt in the same way. And now, adding one more would have been a great help to the team leader.

  However, a guy he had never seen before appeared and took him away in an instant. It was simply amazing that there wasn't even an opening to stop him.

  No, he didn't understand why he had acted that way. But that guy had actually helped the team leader by speaking with surprisingly persuasive words.

  Specifically, the moment he looked into that guy's eyes, he couldn't raise any counterargument. It felt as if he had to listen to his words unconditionally.

  Still, thanks to that, he didn't know how much help he had received. The team leader felt grateful to the intruder for that fact.

  But that is separate from taking him away.

  Whatever the case, the team leader now had to take responsibility for it. His superior would likely nag the team leader quite a bit.

  The team leader thought it had become a bothersome matter. If he got caught up in this, he might end up being humiliated in front of the team members if he was unlucky.

  "Ah, Team Leader. You said Sang-il left? Why didn't you catch him?"

  The owner of the voice he always hated to hear appeared exactly when he wanted to avoid him. The team leader let out a sigh unconsciously as he looked at the person calling him.

  The team leader's superior, Park Cheol-min, approached him with a very arrogant expression. Despite his young age, he was a man who had already risen above the team leader because of how vicious he was.

  Of course, that wasn't all. Cheol-min was a guy who had met the right parents. He was the son of the 'Big Boss.' He knew the power his parents held very well.

  The team leader could only click his tongue, thinking that while he was trash, Cheol-min was even worse. Even if he was the Big Boss's son, this was far beyond the limit.

  But what could he do? For now, even if it was dirty, he had to bow down. The team leader bowed his head and opened his mouth.

  "Ah, well, that is..."

  The team leader tried to make an excuse. But at that moment, what flew at him was none other than a slap.

  "I don't need excuses. Do you understand or not?"

  Cheol-min said that, and this time, he knocked the team leader down and immediately kicked him in the face.

  "Urgh!"

  The team leader felt his head spinning for a moment. Whether he was hit wrong or not, the dizziness felt a bit dangerous.

  However, the violence was not over yet. Cheol-min grabbed the fallen team leader's hair and pulled him up. To the team leader, who was forced to lift his head in pain, Cheol-min said:

  "You brat, you should do your job properly. It's not like the police came, yet you lost the kid? You useless piece of trash."

  Cheol-min slammed the team leader's head onto the ground again. And with that, the team leader lost consciousness.

  "Tch, weakling. Clean this up somewhere."

  Cheol-min said that and turned around. The team members moved the team leader in fear.

  "That guy... Yeah, we'll see."

  Cheol-min said that, turned around, and walked outside.

  "As you know, this kind of thing has come out this time, so why don't you try using it?"

  An office. A woman was recommending something to the owner of this room. The owner of the room was looking at the item she recommended with great interest.

  "So, you're saying this is good for fighting?"

  The owner of this room, the man called 'Big Boss' by his subordinates, asked as he inspected the item here and there.

  "Yes. With this, you'll be able to have quite a bit of fun. Think about it. You'll be able to do things that ordinary people can never do. In exchange..."

  The woman held out a paper with conditions written on it.

  "Let's see. Hmm, not bad. Since it's a test period, you'll supply it at a low price, but in return, I have to do what you ask?"

  The Big Boss looked at the woman as he spoke. A woman with a ponytail, wearing a suit and glasses, looking like an ordinary door-to-door salesperson.

  If asked if her face was particularly beautiful, one couldn't easily say yes. Yet, she didn't have an ugly face either.

  However, selling products isn't just about looks. There aren't many people who can sell excellent products at reasonable prices while performing persuasive marketing.

  Thinking the salesperson was quite a skilled professional, the Big Boss waited for her answer.

  "Yes. If you could just do that, we would be grateful. Of course, we will also provide the best products. I am certain that through this contract, it will be a transaction that benefits both parties."

  The salesperson said that and smiled. There was an indefinable sense of reliability in her expression.

  "Alright. I'll sign it. We have many friends who can perform the so-called tests you want."

  The Big Boss said that, took out a pen, and signed the contract. Watching that, the salesperson wore a satisfied expression.

  "Then we are now partners. I look forward to working with you."

  The salesperson said that and held out her hand.

  "Indeed. I look forward to it as well."

  The Big Boss held out his hand and shook hers, confirming that the contract had been established. Believing that from now on they would grow even larger, he wore a cruel smile.

  And from that day on, his organization began to change.