Chae-rim’s Perspective
Serin’s prediction that Chae-rim wouldn’t just sit idly by was spot on.
After all, Chae-rim had long since become sincerely invested in Dogun’s safety and well-being above all else.
Restoring a normal daily life for Dogun had become Chae-rim’s recent goal and motivation, so she had been thoroughly focused and active in pursuing that aim lately.
Thus, the prolonged absence of Serin, a person of interest for Chae-rim, was enough to be seen as a serious red flag.
It couldn’t be helped.
The Chae-rim she knew would never back down like this.
That being the case, Chae-rim had recently been concentrating on uncovering the reason for Serin’s unusually long absence, using every available resource she could muster.
Had someone noticed Chae-rim’s efforts?
A piece of news arrived from the headquarters of the Association, where Serin was on a business trip.
That was exactly why she rushed out of the classroom, claiming something had come up concerning Dogun or Bora.
As soon as she left the classroom, she quickly checked the information sent to her by a contact at the headquarters, and honestly, at first, she couldn’t believe it.
To put it more precisely, she couldn’t accept it.
It sounded too absurd.
According to her informant, there was an emergency meeting currently taking place at the Association’s headquarters.
The problem was… the reason why the meeting was convened.
“Did they say the Another Ones and Villains formed an alliance?”
Does that make any sense?
For the Anothers, humans were nothing more than prey, right?
Just as those thoughts struck her, the reason for the alliance flashed before her eyes.
“The Queen of the Another Ones is searching for a person…”
Would it be a mere coincidence that Dogun’s face immediately came to mind?
She hoped it was just her imagination.
However, the clues provided at the end of the transmitted information pointed directly to Dogun.
Black hair, black eyes, and a height around the mid-170s.
Those were undeniably Dogun’s characteristics.
What does that mean?
It meant that others wouldn’t fail to connect the dots like she did, and soon, the Anothers who formed an alliance would be crawling towards Dogun.
To be honest, that part didn’t worry her too much.
If those Villain creeps lacked the slightest awareness of their place and tried to get to Dogun, it would just be a matter of taking them down one by one.
Of course, the Villains’ cunningness was already widely known, and if they were rational, they wouldn’t come anywhere near here, or they might engage in all sorts of tricks just to separate Dogun from her.
“Well, if I don’t fall for their tricks, then that’s that.”
Even if she had to leave Dogun’s side for a while, he wouldn’t be alone.
If such a situation arose, Seolhwa and Yoonseo would stand by Dogun.
“Although they’re both still somewhat inexperienced…”
Just because they were inexperienced didn’t mean they were weak.
Seolhwa, who passed the qualification exam in Seoul, known for its fierce competition, with top scores, is unfathomably powerful, and Yoonseo had a talent that, regardless of everything else, might remind one of the ‘Ice Witch’, who was once dubbed the worst Villain.
But what if those two cling to Dogun to protect him?
It would probably mean that most common creeps would be sorted out before they even got close.
“Come to think of it, Dogun is truly something… remarkable…”
It’s fascinating to think that the one who led those two and trained them was Dogun himself.
In terms of results, he could easily compete with specialized managers who support heroes.
Yet Dogun hadn’t specifically studied for that role at all, so this must be inherent talent.
Moreover, Dogun also possessed the ability to restore the damaged Talent Organ.
Considering that, he might just be the world’s best manager.
As evidence, she…
“Ah, never mind!”
What truly worried her were the movements that might emerge from the Association.
What if the higher-ups discover that the person the “Queen” is looking for is Dogun? How would they react?
Honestly, that concern weighed heavily on her.
She knew all too well how they might act.
The current situation at the Association was far from good.
Without needing to look far, even the Korean branch brought the qualification exam, originally scheduled for the end of the year, forward by several months due to inadequate personnel.
Even considering the Korean branch, which could be described as comparatively stable, things were still pretty dire, and those places known to be worse-off would be suffering even more.
But what if Villains, who no longer had to fear the gaze of the Association, began to rampage due to forming an alliance with the Anothers?
She really didn’t want to imagine this, but in the worst-case scenario, some branches could be threatened with extinction.
If those at the top had their names listed, they would want to use any means necessary to prevent the situation from escalating to that point.
“Yeah, by any means necessary…”
Even if “any means” involved sacrificing someone, those at the Association wouldn’t hesitate to do it.
From their perspective, it would probably seem preferable to take that route rather than let the status of the Association, which they had built up for so long, crumble away.
“Perhaps… right now, within the meeting room where that problematic meeting is occurring, they might be debating what to offer the ‘Queen’ in exchange for Dogun…”
And there would be no consideration for Dogun’s opinion at all.
“The truth is, they probably never even intended to.”
Because for them, Dogun was just a mere individual.
So they might think there’s no need to worry about that at all.
From the perspective of the Association, which had long monopolized all sorts of infrastructures under the guise of “justice”, messing around with the life of a single person wouldn’t feel like a big deal at all.
Once they had pushed Dogun into a corner through all sorts of methods, making him sacrifice himself…?
It would be the Villains who formed an alliance with the Anothers— sworn enemies of humanity— who would start cosplaying as victims, claiming they couldn’t help it back then.
Without a doubt, they would rally all the media, already manipulated by the Association, to proclaim just how noble Dogun’s sacrifice was.
It was clear that no matter what, she wouldn’t even need to see it unfold.
That’s how the Association operated.
It was perhaps also the reason why she pushed herself so hard to climb to the top.
“…Tsk.”
Even so, the one aspect that somewhat reassured her was that if such discussions were actually taking place, the branch head would never simply nod along.
Honestly, if she had to rate their annoyance factor, the branch head and others from the Association were about the same level; still, the branch head was known for holding tightly onto what she regarded as hers.
“Moreover…”
That branch head was also aware of the abilities Dogun possessed.
So, it’s highly likely she wouldn’t easily back down.
Why would she?
From her perspective, just keeping Dogun within the bounds of the Korean branch would yield immense benefits.
Sending Bora, the child she had been managing all along, to be by Dogun’s side could be seen as part of that strategy.
So, she would probably do everything to avoid retreating… but that couldn’t rely solely on hope.
Life can oftentimes be unpredictable, after all.
In a worst-case scenario, the branch head could suddenly flip scripts and demand Dogun’s sacrifice.
So, some degree of preparation was necessary.
For that, she absolutely needed to inform Seolhwa and Yoonseo.
About Dogun’s current situation and also about the abilities he possessed.
Of course, getting Dogun’s consent first would still be the priority.