SYNO Chapter 40

Ssangryeong froze in the chilling air.

It wasn’t difficult to interpret the meaning of what had just happened.

He couldn’t be entirely sure, but it seemed… the Commander had prosopagnosia¹, or face blindness.

All the soldiers here wore the same uniform and shoes. Ssangryeong was dressed similarly, with a similar hairstyle.

And he had refrained from his usual reckless behavior. He had knocked on the door, saluted, and stood with his hands behind his back, just like everyone else.

Even after seeing his face, the Commander hadn’t been able to distinguish whether he was a subordinate officer or Ssangryeong.

Because he was wearing the same clothes and acting the same way as everyone else. Because any distinguishing features were hidden by the uniform.

Furthermore, after glancing at his rank insignia, he addressed him as “Captain.”

And then, after seeing no reaction, Pienne carefully observing his slender neck, had finally arrived at the conclusion that he was “Ssangryeong.”

In other words, just by looking at his face, the Commander couldn’t tell whether he was Ssangryeong or a subordinate officer.

“…….”

Ssangryeong’s eyes wavered uneasily.

Come to think of it, there had been another incident that could have hinted at Pienne’s face blindness.

When they first met at the drug deal.

Ssangryeong had been wearing a completely different, ordinary face.

Except for a very small number of people like Lucas, no one knew his real face, so Pienne shouldn’t have been able to identify him.

But Pienne’s blue eyes had been fixed on him the entire time. As if he had memorized the physical characteristics of the Class A criminal who was hiding his face.

It was incredibly unexpected that, among so many organization members there, Pienne had singled him out and recognized him as “Ssangryeong.”

There was no reason for him to stand out while wearing an ordinary face.

But what if Pienne had face blindness, and the other person’s face meant nothing to him?

Pienne would have naturally come to the scene after hearing about the criminal’s physical characteristics, not his face. 

His height, slender build, pale skin, behavioral habits, and so on.

‘It didn’t matter what face I was wearing; it made no difference to the Commander.’

He just needed to find the person among the organization members who best matched Ssangryeong’s physical description.

This realization cleared up the vague doubts he had felt at the time.

Ssangryeong lowered his gaze.

‘Then how… has he been interacting with people all this time?’

He couldn’t imagine it. Someone of Pienne’s rank would have interacted with countless officials.

His subordinates wouldn’t be a problem since he could identify them by their rank insignia, but it must have been extremely difficult for him to deal with high-ranking officials in private settings.

He couldn’t have conversations without knowing who he was talking to.

‘Did he memorize all their physical characteristics?’

Ssangryeong swallowed hard. He couldn’t fathom how that was possible.

While it might be possible to memorize them if he put in the effort, having face blindness as a potential presidential candidate posed a significant risk.

‘If this were to become known… wouldn’t he be disqualified from the candidacy?’

He wasn’t entirely sure, but he had heard that presidential candidates couldn’t have any disqualifying conditions.

If this fact were to be revealed, his rivals could use his face blindness against him.

In other words, it was a considerable weakness for Pienne.

‘Ah, this is quite troublesome.’

Ssangryeong broke out in a cold sweat.

He felt like he had stumbled upon a secret of the Commander that he shouldn’t have known.

Pienne had never given him any reason to suspect this before. He had always thought the man was flawless, perfect human being, and he never imagined Pienne would have such a problem.

The man, silent amidst the tense atmosphere, took off his round glasses. He placed them gently on the desk and smoothly ran a hand through his gray hair.

“You’re wearing your uniform. Today.”

“…It’s been a few days. The Vice Commander has been a nuisance.”

Pienne chuckled, seeing Ssangryeong’s unusually docile response.

“And you even observed proper etiquette.”

“…Yeah. That was also because of the Vice Commander’s nagging.”

“Since when did you start listening to Frederick so well?”

The conversation ended there. Ssangryeong avoided eye contact.

‘Wait a minute. I don’t need to be so flustered.’

He knew.

That the other party showing weakness was advantageous to him, and there was no need for him to be uneasy.

He could even use Pienne’s weakness to his advantage and blackmail him. He could easily make nasty threats like, if you don’t meet my demands, I’ll expose your face blindness to the world. He was perfectly capable of such underhanded tactics.

He had made countless petty threats throughout his life, so it wouldn’t be difficult. But strangely, he didn’t feel like doing it.

Perhaps it was because the other party was Pienne le Laviste.

Because he was the strange man who wanted to reform the Home Nation.

Because he was the man with the strange conviction to only sleep with one person, even if that person was a criminal, if necessary.

No, it was just… he didn’t want to exploit the man’s weakness and manipulate him. Perhaps the “destined partner” bond, whatever it was, was having a strange effect on him.

“So, what do you need? Ssangryeong.”

Ssangryeong frowned, looking at the man who was leaning his chin on his hand and asking leisurely.

‘Why is he so calm? He must have noticed that I figured it out.’

The suffocating silence from just a moment ago was proof of that. They had both realized the same thing

The existence of a weakness.

And Ssangryeong, who had discovered it.

“I just came because I was bored out of my mind. Go back to what you were doing.”

Ssangryeong retorted out of habit and waved his hand dismissively. It didn’t seem like a good idea to start a confrontation by exploiting his weakness now.

He didn’t want to deal with a headache-inducing conversation with Pienne.

‘I’ll go back to looking at the sky and think about it.’

Just as Ssangryeong turned to leave and reached for the doorknob, he heard the sound of a chair scraping against the floor behind him. Ssangryeong froze, alerted by the sound.

The Commander, who would normally have said or done something by now, was silent. s Ssangryeong was about to turn his head to see what was going on, sensing a strange atmosphere, a large hand suddenly grasped his chin.

At the same time, his eyes met the Commander’s blue eyes, now right in front of him.

The man, who had been smiling leisurely just a moment ago, was now staring at him with a cold, expressionless face.

His low voice pierced his ears.

“You’re hard to understand.”

“…….”

“One minute you’re an irredeemable piece of trash, the next you’re a soft-hearted fool.”

Ssangryeong’s eyes wavered slightly at the softly spoken words. It sounded like he was trying to understand who Ssangryeong truly was.

Ssangryeong met Pienne’s gaze directly with his calm, amber eyes.

So what?

So what if he was an irredeemable piece of trash or a soft-hearted fool?

‘What does it matter to you what kind of person I am?’

The clear roles of criminal and Commander wouldn’t change. Therefore, it was a question that didn’t require an answer.

As his gripped chin started to ache, Ssangryeong tried to shake off the man’s hand. But Pienne didn’t let him.

He wrapped his thick arm around Ssangryeong’s waist and pulled him closer. Their bodies pressed together naturally. Ssangryeong’s eyes widened momentarily.

This bastard… he’s hard.

There was nothing remotely sexual about the atmosphere, so he couldn’t understand why Pienne was aroused.

Even though Pienne must have felt their lower bodies touching, his expression remained unchanged.

“Answer me, Ssangryeong.”

“…….”

“The former or the latter. Which kind of person do you want to be?”

His question always left Ssangryeong in turmoil. He wasn’t asking what kind of person he was, but what kind of person he wanted to be.

He was asking about the future, not the past.

As if offering him a chance at redemption.

The seemingly charitable question irritated Ssangryeong. He closed his eyes for a long moment, then opened them.

‘What the fuck is the point of that?’

He couldn’t understand. What did it matter to Pienne what kind of person he wanted to be?

Knowing that there was no answer to be found by himself, Ssangryeong asked sarcastically,

“Why are you asking me that? Why do you keep asking useless questions? It’s giving me a headache.”

Annoyed at having his face held, Ssangryeong grabbed Pienne’s shirt by the collar.

He was even considering using the self-defense techniques he’d briefly learned if things escalated.

Just then, Pienne said something that infuriated him even further.

“Let me tell you the correct answer.”

“…What?”

“The answer I want is the latter.”

“Ha…”

Become someone capable of redemption?

Ssangryeong felt his rebelliousness acting up. Hearing this, he felt compelled to choose the former.

Just as he was about to answer, out of spite, that he would become an irredeemable piece of trash, Ssangryeong shut his mouth at Pienne’s gentle next words.

“You’d better choose wisely. I intend to treat you very differently depending on your answer.”

The man’s lips curled into a slight smile.

Ssangryeong narrowed his eyes and stared at his face.

‘Differently than now?’

He couldn’t imagine how.