Moon’s Labyrinths (Web Novel)

Sungyoon and Chelsea looked up at the man who had intruded on their conversation.

‘Who is he?’

The very first thought that came to Sungyoon’s mind was to question the identity of this man. He had a sour expression on his face, so Sungyoon could surmise that the man didn’t have any good intentions in coming towards them. Who was this man? Why did he look like he wanted to squash both of them? Sungyoon had no answers to these questions.

“Who are you?”

Chelsea spoke up from next to Sungyoon. She didn’t hide her annoyance as she directly asked the man a question. If one looked at how she reacted, one would say that she didn’t know this man either. Nicholas, who was already in a foul mood, felt much worse when he saw her reaction. His pride hit rock bottom.

“You… don’t remember me?”

It wasn't as if she was purposely dismissing him. He could tell by her eyes, expression, and attitude. She didn't show a single iota of interest in Nicholas as she spoke. Nicholas had an understanding. He wasn’t worth anything to her. He didn’t even deserve to be kept in the temporary storage of her memory. He wasn’t even on her radar.

Chelsea snorted at his question.

“You should stop there. You are probably gonna say, ‘Have we met before? I feel like I know you from somewhere?’ I heard that line so many times that I’m sick of it. The answer is always no.”

She was treating him like a third-rate pickup artist. In fact, his past actions indeed made him look like a pickup artist. It had made him look like a good-for-nothing wastrel. Of course, Nicholas didn’t see himself that way. Unfortunately, Nicholas was someone that had a lot of confidence in himself, but not in a good way.

His anger was boiling up, and he was close to blowing up.

Sungyoon observed Nicholas’ face. The sneer on his face was completely gone as he looked down at Chelsea. Now, he looked like the devil that was about to strike down an angel. Moreover, his face was beet red, looking like a volcano about to blow up.

‘This is dangerous.’

At a glance, he could tell this man valued his fists over the law. He was someone that would use violence instead of words. However, Chelsea kept glaring at the man in order to stand up to him.

Did she have big balls, or was she just inexperienced in dealing with people?

He had a powerful hunch. He knew a really big incident might occur here if he did nothing.

“It is about time to leave.”

Sungyoon folded the paper bag containing the potatoes given to him by Chelsea. Nicholas’ eyes were naturally drawn towards Sungyoon.

‘This bastard….’

He was wearing dirty and ragged clothes. He hadn’t shaved, so he had an unruly beard covering his face. He hadn’t washed properly, so a stench emanated from him. If one considered the high prices of commodities in Armstrong city, there was only one group of people that went around the city looking like beggars.

‘He is a beginner Connector!’

All of the humiliation he had suffered in recent days had started in the Beginner’s Labyrinth. It was all thanks to the bottom feeders, who made their living going into the Beginner’s Labyrinth.

‘Oh. So that’s how it is?’

The paper bag in the hands of the bottom feeder sparked a memory in Nicholas. He remembered the scene of that fucking bitch carrying cheap food within the paper bag. From what he had just seen, this pathetic bottom feeder had been eating the potatoes.

‘She turned me down to meet this bottom feeder?’

The failed commission in the Beginner’s Labyrinth had hurt his professional pride. And this revelation hurt his pride as a man.

Nicholas’ mood worsened. Seeing that, Sungyoon inwardly clicked his tongue.

‘It seems we won’t be able to get away scot-free.’

In some ways, this man was more dangerous than the monsters within the labyrinth. Nicholas had many Devices equipped all over his body, and by the look of the Gems slotted in those Devices, one could tell that he was a high-rank Connector. At the very least, he wasn’t someone Sungyoon could defeat. He readied himself to activate the Gold Gem if things went really wrong. He grabbed Chelsea’s hand, and he tried to get out of there with her.

Of course, a hand got in the way. In some ways, it was to be expected.

“Hey, trash. Who said you could go?”

Nicholas grabbed Sungyoon’s shoulder. Sungyoon frowned. Nicholas’ gesture wasn’t friendly at all. A lot of strength had been used to squeeze Sungyoon’s shoulder.

“Wait a moment! What the hell are you trying to do right now! Do you really think you’ll get away with this!”

“What? Do you plan on threatening me again by saying you’ll call the police?”

‘Again?’

Chelsea, who had shouted sharp words towards him, shut her mouth. According to his words, this man really knew her. Chelsea looked at the man in front of her once again. She paid extra attention to his appearance, and her eyes widened.

“You are the annoying pickup artist that hit on me last time!”

Finally, Chelsea remembered him. However, Nicholas wasn’t happy. It only served as further proof that Chelsea had really forgotten about him. Moreover, she had labeled him as the annoying pickup artist. It made him mad.

“I was wondering why you were so busy to get away. You were on the way to meet this trash?”

Nicholas looked over Sungyoon’s clothes in an exaggerated manner. Then he gestured towards Sungyoon as he made an invidious remark.

Chelsea’s mood worsened. In the beginning, she had started to meet Sungyoon to check up on his moral character. However, she had become fond of him recently as they continued to meet. Of course, she didn’t like someone talking bad about him.

“You should watch your mouth.”

“Ah ah. I see. I used the wrong term. He’s lower than trash. He is a maggot that eats discarded food. That’s a more accurate description.”

Of course, Nicholas didn’t stop there. He glared more fiercely towards Chelsea.

Tahk!

Sungyoon slapped away the hand grabbing his shoulder. The grip had been fierce, but Sungyoon was also a Connector. And since both of them weren’t using Gems, Sungyoon was able to break the man’s grip.

“Let’s go.”

He once again grabbed Chelsea’s hand, and he tried to get out of there.

“Hey, maggot! I told you to stay!”

Once again, Nicholas used his hand roughly to keep Sungyoon in place. Sungyoon looked at Nicholas.

“What do you want?”

“Huh? What? There isn’t anything a bottom-feeding maggot like you can do for me. Do you really think that’s possible?”

“No, it is impossible. Then we have nothing to talk about here.”

Sungyoon once again tried to leave.

“You bastard!”

As expected, Nicholas stopped him once again.

“Did you not understand what I said! You are a maggot! You continue to live by eating rotten meat. The only future you have is to become a fly. Your life is a joke! You are a bastard destined for nothing!”

“I guess so.”

“You were born as a male, yet you can’t even deny it even once! You are better off having a sex change! Why don’t you just become a girl! Ah. You are a maggot with no money! You can’t even afford to do that!”

“I guess so.”

“You son of a bitch!”

It was an odd situation. Nicholas was saying all kinds of insults, yet the one that was getting angrier was Nicholas.

Nicholas was a violent bully. He picked fights at the drop of a hat, but he had never faced someone that reacted to his insults like Sungyoon.

When Nicholas normally provoked others, they reacted in either two ways. Their veins bulged, and they shouted back. The rest lowered their eyes. They swallowed their anger and ran away.

However, Sungyoon did neither. If he had to nitpick, Sungyoon’s reaction was closer to the latter choice. However, one could tell from Sungyoon’s demeanor that he wasn’t holding back his anger. Chelsea, who was next to Sungyoon, was the one shouting louder instead of him.

‘What the hell is up with this bastard!’

There was no anger or rage. Sungyoon’s eyes were like glass marbles, and that really bothered Nicholas. It was as if Sungyoon didn’t feel the need to dignify a response to Nicholas. He was being treated like a dog barking in the distance. If that was not the case, how could he be so calm after being insulted like that? It was like throwing his anger into the abyss. It made him feel like an idiot.

However, Sungyoon didn’t really think that way. He didn’t pay much attention to the insults, as his self-esteem was extremely low. Unlike Nicholas’ imagined scenario, Sungyoon wasn’t looking down on Nicholas.

However, there was no way Nicholas knew this. This was why Sungyoon’s attitude continued to feed his anger.

“You should stop now! I’ll really call the cops!”

Chelsea took out the crime prevention buzzer. She treated it like a legendary weapon that would solve any problems. She had only focused on her studies during her school days, and when she became an adult, she had practically lived at her research facility. She didn’t have too much real-world experience.

However, the world wasn’t rational. Things didn’t always turn out as one expected.

“Call them. I dare you.”

Nicholas was overflowing with anger. It was as if his anger bled into his growl. Chelsea was small but solid. However, she had never been threatened with violence by someone like this tall man. Moreover, this person could eat normal humans like snacks. His main occupation was to hunt monsters.

“Ah…!”

Chelsea became scared when she saw his murderous eyes. She finally realized it. Her opponent wasn’t like the stupid pickup artists she had faced until now. His rage consumed the logical part of his brain. He was an unpredictable and irrational monster.

“Kyaa!”

Someone pulled the frightened Chelsea. She let out a sharp scream as she stumbled backward.

Someone moved in front of her.

“M... Mr. Woo?”

It was Sungyoon. He was like a parent protecting his child. He was like a knight guarding his princess. Sungyoon protected Chelsea from Nicholas’ sinister gaze.

Sungyoon had always looked like he lacked confidence. His shoulders were usually hunched, and he always stooped forward to eat the potatoes. This was why Chelsea subconsciously thought of Sungyoon as being slight of build. However, she had to completely change her opinion when she saw his broad and tall back. He had stepped forward to protect her, and his back had the effect of calming her heart. Until that moment, she had been shaking in fear.

“Are you trying to play Prince Charming now?”

Nicholas’ nose twitched. Things were becoming more and more interesting. This asshole and bitch, who made him extremely angry, were copying a scene out of a fairytale. If they planned on doing that, he was willing to take on the role of the bad guy. Of course, he wouldn’t be a normal villain. He would be the Devil King that would crush both the prince and princess.

“I don’t know what we did to offend you. At this point, could you just forgive us?”

“Forgive?”

Nicholas snorted at Sungyoon’s question.

“You charged in like a prince riding a white horse. Are you suddenly scared now? Only if I can beat you to a pulp, and that bitch can open up her legs for me, then I’ll think about sparing both of you.”

Nicholas let out an evil laugh. Chelsea felt her anger surge, but she couldn’t yell at him like before.

‘As expected, he’s taking that route.’

Sungyoon inwardly let out a sigh.

If Nicholas wanted it, Sungyoon would get on his knees. He would have even kowtowed and begged for their lives. However, the man in front of Sungyoon wouldn’t be satisfied with that.

‘We can’t run away.’

If he had been alone, he wouldn’t have cared if it was possible or not. He would have attempted to run away. However, Sungyoon wasn’t alone right now. He turned his gaze slightly backward to look at Chelsea. Unlike her energetic and bold self, her face was pale. She was holding tightly to his shirt.

If it was anyone else, he wouldn’t have cared. However, Chelsea was Jimin’s friend, and she had done him small favors. Sungyoon was indifferent when it came to others, but even he couldn’t leave Chelsea behind.

Sungyoon looked towards Nicholas once again. He still had an evil smile and murder in his eyes.

‘I don’t think he’ll stop even if he hits me a couple of times.’

Sungyoon firmed his resolve.

‘If it comes to it, I’ll use the Gold Gem.’

Jimin would be understanding if the Gem was destroyed in saving Chelsea.

“What are you going to do, Prince Charming?”

Sungyoon was firm. He shook his head from side to side.

“I’ll decline that offer.”

“Ah. Is that so?”

Nicholas grinned. He raised his arm, and the bracelets on his arm shook. Sungyoon was also ready to activate his Gems at any moment.

“Then di…!”

“Stop right there!”

Someone interrupted them.