The Soul-Harvesting Puppeteer - Chapter 19

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 19
Han Eol was soothing his stomach with fresh vegetables and mushroom soup when one of his colleagues from orientation pulled out the chair across from him and sat down.
‘?’
Han Eol looked at him with one cheek puffed out, still chewing.
His colleague lifted the corners of his mouth in a slight smile.
“Han Eol, right?”
“…….”
Han Eol simply nodded without speaking.
As he did, Han Eol examined the man’s soul first.
‘No hostility toward me, barely any jealousy. Just a hint of goodwill.’
Indeed, the colleague’s soul bore only the faintest trace of pastel color as Han Eol observed it.
“You know Jeong Min-jun?”
Han Eol nodded once.
Among the new hires who’d made it to permanent positions, Jeong Min-jun stood out unmistakably. He possessed both the leadership to guide his peers and an undeniable charisma.
Above all, his Swordsmanship was exceptional—he’d earned praise from instructors even during his internship.
Though Han Eol’s selection as top intern had somewhat dimmed Jeong Min-jun’s luster, unlike Han Eol, who spent his time among peers like an outcast, Jeong Min-jun was always surrounded by people.
After the internship ended and they became permanent employees, Han Eol and Jeong Min-jun had both been assigned to Division 1.
‘Still, I’ve never exchanged a single word with him.’
Han Eol found the situation slightly uncomfortable.
His colleague tilted his chin up slightly and spoke in a commanding tone.
“Min-jun said we Division 1 people should get together tonight. He’s thinking of going to a club, and you’re coming too.”
“A club?”
Han Eol blinked once.
His colleague let out a snicker.
“You don’t know what a club is? There’s supposedly a great spot right at the Gangnam Intersection.”
Just thinking about it excited him so much he swayed his shoulders back and forth.
Han Eol laughed softly.
‘Refusing would just make things awkward later.’
Since his orphanage days, Han Eol had encountered situations like this often enough.
Jeong Min-jun = the ringleader.
Colleague = the lackey following the ringleader.
Han Eol made this connection in his head.
What happens if the ringleader tells his lackey “Go fetch Han Eol,” and Han Eol doesn’t show up?
First, the lackey develops a grudge against Han Eol.
Then, after the lackey grumbles to the ringleader, the ringleader starts viewing Han Eol unfavorably too.
Han Eol had seen this storyline play out many times before.
‘Sigh. Just go along with it this once.’
Han Eol masked his internal exhale and gave a positive answer.
“Got it. What time and where should I meet you?”
“Great. After dinner, come down to the lobby by nine. We’re all meeting there and heading out together.”
Having achieved his goal, the colleague vanished to another part of the room without even waiting for Han Eol’s acknowledgment.
“Huh.”
Han Eol scratched the side of his head lightly with his index fingernail.
Chapter 4
A long line of people waited outside the club at Gangnam Intersection.
Young women in provocative clothing and men swaying their hips to the beat looked eager to get inside.
This place was certainly different from Old Earth. While Old Earth felt dreary and dangerous, this was bright, energetic, and alluring.
Just then, a group of Shinseong Group Division 1 recruits came streaming in.
Jeong Min-jun, with his tall, striking frame, stood at the center of the newcomers.
The other recruits followed him with casual, unbothered expressions.
They bypassed the nearly hundred-meter line entirely and entered the club directly.
In Midland Seoul, Ability Users were immediate sources of power and celebrity status.
Traditional sports like soccer, baseball, and basketball had long since faded away.
Gaming, too, had lost its appeal.
Footage of Ability Users performing in Highland proved far more thrilling than any sport or game could be.
That was why an Ability User appearing at a place like this meant bypassing the line and entering immediately.
As Jeong Min-jun descended the red-carpeted staircase, music blasted out loud enough to split eardrums.
‘It’s far too loud.’
Han Eol, positioned toward the rear of the group, furrowed his brow slightly.
Meanwhile, Jeong Min-jun led his colleagues toward the first-floor private rooms.
While a few club-goers who had experience with such places ordered drinks, Jeong Min-jun gave Han Eol a subtle nod.
“Me?”
“Yeah. You. Come with me for a second.”
Over the past year, Han Eol had grown to 173 centimeters—barely at the average mark—while Jeong Min-jun towered over him by a full sixteen centimeters more.
When Jeong Min-jun looked down and spoke from that height, an unmistakable pressure descended on Han Eol.
“Where to?”
Han Eol countered with a question while probing the other man’s soul.
Like the new hire he’d met at the buffet restaurant that morning, Jeong Min-jun had not yet condensed a Mental Image within his soul.
‘A soul so hollow as that—I could unravel it with just a flick of my finger from within my own Mental Image.’
Han Eol suppressed the unsettling thought.
Jeong Min-jun, oblivious to how close he’d come to annihilation, continued gesturing arrogantly with his chin.
“Let’s head up to a private room on the second floor.”
“The second floor?”
“Yeah. Kim Hyu-in, our senior from Division 1, is throwing a birthday party up there today. We should go pay our respects.”
Kim Hyu-in.
Han Eol had heard the name before.
Kim Hyu-in was a full-time employee of Division 1 who had awakened a Flame-type Ability and was currently building quite impressive results in the pioneering settlements of Highland’s Eighth Continent.
The moment Jeong Min-jun announced he was taking only Han Eol to greet Kim Hyu-in, a shift rippled through the souls of the other new hires. Not all of them, but several souls took on a thin, violet hue.
Violet meant envy.
‘Sigh.’
Han Eol swallowed his frustration and matched Jeong Min-jun’s pace.
The second floor of the club was far quieter than the deafening chaos below, and the interior design was noticeably more luxurious.
Jeong Min-jun straightened his collar in front of the largest private room.
‘How cute.’
Watching Jeong Min-jun’s tensed frame, Han Eol felt a smile creep across his face.
Soon after, Jeong Min-jun and Han Eol knocked and entered the room.
Inside, young men and women mingled in a scene that was far from pleasant to behold. On one side of the room, several people lay sprawled in a stupor, while across the way a drunk man pressed himself against a heavily made-up woman and was making unwanted advances.
Jeong Min-jun approached a red-haired youth sitting cross-legged in the center and offered a ninety-degree bow.
“Esteemed senior Kim Hyu-in, I am Jeong Min-jun, a lowly new recruit. I have brought my colleague Han Eol, of whom you spoke.”
‘Huh?’
Han Eol’s eyes widened slightly.
‘Wait. So that’s why he brought me to the club? Because Kim Hyu-in ordered him to bring me?’
As Han Eol blinked, the red-haired Kim Hyu-in uncrossed his legs, stood, and extended his hand to Han Eol.
“Ah, so you’re Han Eol. I’ve heard our division head and vice-division head singing your praises. It’s good to finally see your face in person.”
In that instant, Jeong Min-jun’s gaze snapped toward Han Eol.
‘Damn.’
Han Eol caught sight of Jeong Min-jun’s soul burning violet and tasted bitterness on his tongue.
Then Han Eol examined Kim Hyu-in’s soul as well.
‘I knew it. Of course.’
Kim Hyu-in’s soul revealed a blend of pale curiosity mixed with nine and a half parts of jealousy’s violet—a cocktail of envy.
‘This is becoming more trouble than it’s worth.’
Han Eol found the situation uncomfortable, but with practiced ease he masked his true feelings, bent at a right angle, and extended both hands forward to clasp Kim Hyu-in’s in a respectful greeting.
“Senior, I’m honored. Han Eol, new recruit of Division 1.”
From Han Eol’s mouth came the carefully measured voice of a nervous new employee.
“Haha. Why so tense? Just relax. Relax.”
Kim Hyu-in feigned generosity.
As Han Eol dutifully humbled himself, the jealousy that had been directed at him from Kim Hyu-in softened considerably.
Han Eol confirmed this by watching the color shift in his senior’s soul.
Chapter 5
Splash, splash, splash.
Kim Hyu-in seated Han Eol beside him and poured Western Liquor until the glass overflowed.
To Han Eol, who knew little about alcohol, it appeared to be very expensive liquor.
Han Eol accepted the neat glass with both hands and downed it in one go.
“Ugh—.”
A bitter rush floods his throat.
His esophagus burns as if he’d swallowed hot coals.
‘Why do people willingly drink this poison?’
Han Eol could not fathom why anyone drank alcohol at all.
“The rookie drinks well. This time, take my glass too.”
Another senior sitting beside Kim Hyu-in poured Han Eol another drink.
“Yes, senior.”
Han Eol felt like death warmed over, but he swallowed hard and accepted the drink.
Thanks to his Vitality hitting 24, he could manage one shot after another of strong liquor and still stay upright—but before he’d awakened his Ability, he would have long since lost consciousness. The alcohol would have laid him flat.
Even so, Han Eol kept a careful eye on the room around him.
Kim Hyu-in’s jealousy toward Han Eol had faded considerably.
The other seniors either ignored Han Eol or showed only passing curiosity.
But Jeong Min-jun’s Soul had shifted to a deep violet.
‘At that shade, it’ll be hard to smooth over with words…’
Han Eol felt a flash of irritation.
From his experience, that deep a violet was soon to darken to crimson.
A crimson Soul meant the person harbored hostile intent toward Han Eol.
‘Should I look for a chance to remove him?’
Han Eol was a strict adherent to the Self-Preservation Principle. If anyone threatened his body or tried to put him in danger, he would never simply let it slide.
Back at the orphanage, the kids who’d shown him hostility had been beaten bloody by the neighborhood thugs he’d whispered a word to.
But now the situation was different—now Han Eol himself held power.
As the seniors kept pouring him fresh drinks, Han Eol downed them one after another without once taking his eyes off Jeong Min-jun.
That was when it happened.
The door to the room burst open with a bang.
“Who the hell—?”
A senior who’d been drinking by the door shot to his feet.
But he crumpled back down even faster.
A snow-white hand had seized his face and shoved him down.
Remarkably, the owner of that hand was a Tall Woman standing over 180 centimeters.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Look at this mess. You people really know how to trash a place, don’t you? I’m giving you five minutes. Clean this room and get out—now.”
The Tall Woman surveyed the chaotic state of the room with a scowl, then jerked her chin imperiously.
Then Jeong Min-jun, who’d been crouching in the corner, shot to his feet and shouted.
“What the hell? Who do you think you are, telling people to clear out? Do you have any idea who you’re dealing with? This room was reserved for the birthday party of Kim Hyu-in, the promising talent of Division 1 of the Shinseong Group.”
Jeong Min-jun clearly saw this as his chance to make an impression on Kim Hyu-in.
“Who? Ha.”
The Tall Woman let out a contemptuous laugh.
Before the laugh had even ended, she vanished from her spot and appeared directly in front of Jeong Min-jun, seizing his throat with one hand and lifting him clean off the ground.
The speed was so blinding that no one in the room could follow her movement properly.
Her strength was so overwhelming that Jeong Min-jun’s 189-centimeter frame shot upward like straw, his head smashing into the ceiling.
The Puppet Master Who Harvests Souls
Author |
Jyunon
Publisher |
(주) Samyang C&C
Editor-in-Chief |
Editorial Department
Published by |
(주) Samyang C&C – Dream Books
Address |
7F Gwangseong Building, 28 Bongeunsa-ro 114-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
UCI |
G720:N+A063-20260703071
Blog |
blog.naver.com/dreambookss
Twitter(X) |
@dreambookss
Submissions |
[email protected]
No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without the written permission of (주) Samyang C&C – Dream Books.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————