Unexpected Guest (2)
Kim Myeong-cheol clicked his tongue.
If he went all out, recapturing the guy who'd just fled wouldn't be impossible. But the moment Jeong Hosan acted like that, he gave up on the idea. He'd come here in the first place to win the man's favor, after all.
Sacrificing Jeong Hosan just to catch one guy? That wouldn't balance the scales.
Kim Myeong-cheol waved lightly at Jeong Hosan.
"Forget your friend for now. Let's take care of the people here first. You're curious about what happened too, aren't you?"
Jeong Hosan bowed his head again, looking deeply grateful. His face screamed regret.
"So, who are you all?"
The men said nothing in response to Kim Myeong-cheol's question. Their terrified expressions soured his mood.
"I know you were doing illegal mining here. It's obvious at a glance—no point denying it."
"S-sorry."
"No need to apologize to me."
They'd committed crimes, and of all people, they'd been caught by Kim Myeong-cheol, who couldn't stomach injustice. He knew they were in a tough spot, but he had no intention of intimidating them.
He could guess why they'd resorted to illegal work. Kim Myeong-cheol scanned the men thoroughly.
They looked ragged, but none were injured. Someone had even given them mana stone pouches.
"Just one question. What was that guy doing there?"
For Jeong Hosan's sake—who stood there like a criminal with his head bowed—he hoped his friend wasn't a bad guy. But no satisfying answer came.
The people kept their mouths firmly shut. No amount of coaxing worked.
He didn't feel like roughing up these pale, fragile-looking folks who might drop dead at a touch.
Their lips and fingertips were tinged greenish-blue—clear signs their lives were hanging by a thread.
How long did that suffocating silence last? Then, Secretary Hwang emerged from the gate.
Kim Myeong-cheol's face lit up as he asked, "So, what was inside?"
"Five bodies, fresh kills. They hadn't been dead long."
Jeong Hosan's shoulders trembled at the words.
"Hoo."
It was obvious who had made those corpses. Come to think of it, the guy had reeked of blood.
Kim Myeong-cheol glanced at Jeong Hosan, who'd gone quiet. Was his friend really behind all this?
'Didn't seem like the type capable of murder.'
Five people, no less.
When he'd first tracked the guy's GPS here, he'd pictured a poor awakener caught up in illegal gate work by bad luck. Reality was far different.
The supposed victim had turned out to be the killer.
Secretary Hwang continued over Kim Myeong-cheol's thoughts.
"There were more bodies deeper in."
"That guy's doing too?"
"No. Those looked long dead. No external wounds—probably mana poisoning at its worst."
"Worked 'em to death, huh?"
Even in illegal gate mining, grinding people like this was rare. Folks usually cut each other some slack.
"Sounds like they were going for a big score."
Kim Myeong-cheol narrowed his eyes. Secretary Hwang nodded in agreement.
"The dead ones seem to be the hunter overseers posted here. I grabbed all their IDs for now, but none are from legit guilds."
Letting the miners live while slitting the overseers' throats.
"Vigilante types?"
That would explain not harming the miners. Their silence was cooperation, not fear.
But something still nagged at him.
"If he knew about this place, why not report it? Why step in himself?"
The Awakener Crime Task Force was all over cases like this. What business did a regular citizen have?
"GPS still points here."
Kim Myeong-cheol clicked his tongue again at Secretary Hwang's report. The guy had cut off his recognition tag and bolted—with a haul of illegally mined mana stones to boot.
Intentions might've been noble, but the outcome wasn't.
"What now, Hosan? Your friend... he..."
Seeing Jeong Hosan's crumpling face, Kim Myeong-cheol just smacked his lips. A friend like family turning criminal? What a mess.
"Hosan, I'll let today's escape slide. But no more after this."
He spoke soothingly to reassure him. Covering for the guy in front of outsiders could spell big trouble.
But Jeong Hosan, oblivious to the depth of that kindness, spouted childish nonsense.
"Ishin wouldn't do that."
"Hey, he already killed five people..."
"They must've deserved it."
"No one deserves to die."
Kim Myeong-cheol bellowed firmly. Jeong Hosan's words had crossed the line—by a mile. He scolded him.
"You think we're gods? We're just humans with too much power! Humans! If they sinned, let the law judge them."
Jeong Hosan exhaled at Kim Myeong-cheol's words. He'd joined the Red Dog Guild because of the man's character—hating injustice as much as he did, wary of awakeners' power.
"Sorry. I spoke out of turn."
Realizing his mistake, Jeong Hosan apologized at once. Kim Myeong-cheol tsked, dissatisfied, though he understood the fierce loyalty to a friend. Still, firmness was needed now.
"We'll issue a warrant. Whatever they did, wrong is wrong."
Ditching the recognition tag alone warranted it—killing five more sealed it. Even if the dead were criminals, even if it was Jeong Hosan's friend, he couldn't overlook it.
"No, I'll handle it myself..."
"How? You're physical enhancement. Great for fighting, useless for tracking."
Docile till now, Jeong Hosan pushed back here.
"There must be circumstances."
But even he didn't know what they were.
The man there had been Kang Ishin, but not the one Jeong Hosan knew. What had happened in that short time?
Kim Myeong-cheol relayed what he'd learned from Secretary Hwang.
"That Im Hyun-su guy said your friend was drowning in debt."
"Debt?"
Ishin didn't borrow—he earned enough, never lived beyond his means.
"Something must've happened."
"He would've told me if it was bad."
"Sometimes it's precisely because you're friends that they hide it."
"...Please, capture him alive."
"Yeah, yeah."
Kim Myeong-cheol soothed him.
"Hosan, call Team 1. We need to escort these folks out."
Sending Jeong Hosan aside, he turned to Secretary Hwang.
"What'd you think?"
Unlike some with zero tact, Secretary Hwang nailed the answer with that short prompt.
"Not his first rodeo."
"Mm."
Jeong Hosan might trust Kang Ishin, but Kim Myeong-cheol didn't. Maybe before seeing the bodies—but not after.
"No hesitation. First and third: finished off after subduing. Second was pure ambush. Planned murders."
In a world with awakeners, killing was still a grave crime—especially among them.
"Didn't peg him as a killer."
"Either he fooled you from the start, something changed him en route, or... your eye for people stinks."
He'd heard that last one plenty; no retort came. Secretary Hwang quickly added, eyeing his sour expression.
"Jeong Hosan's reaction backs it—he's not normally like that."
Kim Myeong-cheol groaned.
"If we knew what went down in that damn gate..."
The gate vanished thirty minutes after Secretary Hwang exited. Should've ordered footage—now all evidence was gone.
The survivors clammed up too.
"Ugh, what a mess. Started with good intentions."
Kim Myeong-cheol stared ahead, face conflicted.
That day, Kim Myeong-cheol handled everything himself. Reporting the illegal gate to the Awakener Crime Task Force, transporting the rescued victims—he oversaw it all.
Couldn't treat mana poisoning, but he got them to hospitals.
He tried talking to the victims repeatedly.
To track Kang Ishin, who'd vanished from the scene. But they stayed tight-lipped.
No use coaxing that he wouldn't return.
With days left to live, even Kim Myeong-cheol was powerless against their resolve.
What could he say to those begging for time with family?
"Anyone but Han Jo-hee might know something."
"Han Jo-hee."
"Details, details."
"Names aren't details."
Kim Myeong-cheol rolled his eyes at the nitpicky secretary and pressed on.
"She worked with Kang Ishin, right?"
"Yes. But she says they weren't close publicly."
"Not close enough to risk that? There's more. What about Im Hyun-su?"
The illegal gate broker had been on his radar ages ago.
"Task force is investigating associates."
"Relay any intel. Red Dog Guild will cooperate."
He added to Secretary Hwang.
"Oh, and tell the miners we'll buy their mana stones at top price. Maximum leniency. Sorry to say it, but they're dying soon—might soften 'em up. Let's try."
Secretary Hwang nodded.
"Fastest way to the truth? Find Kang Ishin."
Kim Myeong-cheol wrinkled his nose.
"For Hosan's sake, we have to catch that guy."
And at the same time, elsewhere.
Someone else said the exact same thing.
"We have to catch this one."