After telling Seojin about the dangerous situation, the male lead reassured Valentin that everything would be fine. He had experience with dealing with assassins. He was also confident that if they were going to fight, his strength would give him an advantage.
"Hyung, I'll be fine. Besides, the assassins you hired will protect me in the dark," Seojin said.
As Seojin left the house, Valentin ordered Kaito to protect Seojin and come back to report to him if anything was wrong.
"Good morning, Seojin. How are you? It's been a while since I last saw you," Nikolai greeted as he put his arm around Seojin's shoulder.
Seojin avoided his friendly arm and clicked his tongue in annoyance. He didn't expect Nikolai to be his bodyguard. Why couldn't it be someone else? Didn't the judge know that they were like water and fire?
"Come on, don't be like that. We used to hang out at school," Nikolai teased.
"Don't act so friendly. Don't forget that you played a part in my parents' deaths," Seojin snapped. How dare he act like that in front of him? Innocent people died because of his greed.
"Look, I'm sorry for what happened to your parents. I won't ask you to forgive me, but at least, we should cooperate until we catch the man who wants to kill you," Nikolai said. He also felt guilty for indirectly killing innocent people. At that time, he hated the world. He didn't care about anything else. The lives of others didn't matter to him. He was only alive to take revenge on the village that ruined him.
Seojin walked faster, trying to get some distance between them. His fists clenched until his nails sank into his skin. The pain kept him from wanting to kill Nikolai. He had to hold his frustration in, just like Valentin told him to. He didn't want his actions to impact the young Seojin's future. Maybe he should let go of the past now. All the things that happened in his past life were scripted. There was nothing that he could change.
The man in black robes snickered as he met up with the assassins he had hired. They were famous in Japan for being the most ruthless assassins. Since they were the closest ones from Korea, they were the perfect choice. The other assassins in other countries, like America and Europe, weren't interested in the task. They found the prize money to be cheap because of the different currency. The man didn't want to waste any time. He wanted to get rid of Seojin as fast as possible.
The classes were the same as usual. The students were all preparing for the CSAT, the exam that would determine their eligibility and placement for Korean universities. Seojin had to study hard before the test started in mid-November. He only had a few days left to study, but he felt confident in his capabilities because it was the second time that he would take the test.
After the morning classes, Seojin headed to the cafeteria to eat with Ji-a.
"Where have you been? It's been a long time since I last saw you," Ji-a asked Nikolai. She thought that he wouldn't be coming to school anymore since he had been missing for a few months. It was also weird how the teachers weren't worried about him.
"I had some personal issues," Nikolai explained.
Seojin was a bit annoyed that he had to spend his break with Nikolai, but restrained himself from being rude. It was all for his security. After they catch the suspect, he won't be seeing the assassin for a while.
Nikolai kept his senses alert. The rest of his members were spread out in the school. It was surprising that their enemies hadn't struck yet. It was weirdly calm; they hadn't seen anyone suspicious entering the school yet.
When they returned to the classroom, Seojin picked up his water bottle to drink. He had forgotten to bring it with him to the cafeteria. As the bottle touched Seojin's lips, Nikolai stopped him from drinking. He had a hunch that the water had been poisoned.
"Wait, don't drink it. If you left it in the classroom when everyone else is gone, there's a high chance that someone might have tampered with your water," Nikolai said.
Realizing that Nikolai might be right, Seojin quickly put down his bottle
"Didn't you say that no one strange has entered the school?" Seojin whispered.
Nikolai was lost deep in thought. His intuition told him that there was something wrong with the water, and his intuition has never been wrong. It even grew more accurate after the battle with Dr. Milo. It was weird that they hadn't found anyone suspicious. There was only one answer. The assassins also had superpowers like them. He thought that with Dr. Milo gone, there wouldn't be any villages left. But the world was vast; who said that there couldn't be anything similar to the villages in other countries?
'Shit,' one of the Japanese assassins thought. They were only millimetres away from finishing their mission. One of their abilities granted them invisibility. They were hidden in a corner of the classroom, and they had been waiting patiently for the students to leave the classroom.
They had put a high amount of digitalis, a drug that can mimic a heart attack if used in high doses. It would simulate a natural death, and it wouldn't leave any traces. No one would suspect them of poisoning their target.
The two assassins glared at the boy with pink hair who messed with their plans. They will get back at him after they finish dealing with Seojin. He shouldn't have acted all smart.
The assassins proceeded with their plan B. They didn't want things to get bloody, but it seemed like it was their only option left.
Nikolai walked Seojin home. They haven't encountered any ambush on their way home. The assassins were quietly following behind them; they were not dumb enough to act in broad daylight. Since the neighbourhood was wealthy, there have been more cameras installed because of the high number of kidnapping cases happening. The assassins decided to act at night, when everyone would let their guard down.
Valentin waited in front of the apartment building. He was too impatient to wait for Seojin at home. He wanted to see the kid safely arrive home. Seeing their figures, Valentin waved towards them.
Then, he spotted two strange people behind them. They were muscular and had striking, large scars on their arms. They didn't look like normal citizens. Valentin had never seen them before in the neighbourhood. Did Seojin and Nikolai bring back someone with them?
As they approached closer, Valentin asked, "Wait, who's that behind you?"