Cats' Verdict and a Reporter's Plunge
Dungeons were a kind of extraterritorial zone.
Strictly speaking, no laws applied inside them. Only one rule existed there.
The law of the jungle.
If the monsters were stronger, they devoured the Raiders.
If the Raiders were stronger, they killed the monsters and secured the cores.
And... even if a strong Raider killed a weak Raider or a carrier, even if it became known, they might face condemnation, but the current legal system couldn't punish it. There were no relevant laws at all.
"That carrier Kim Jun got his life ruined because of Skyla. He sent one person packing just to chase a scoop."
"He'll have to quit being a carrier, right?"
"If I were the master, I'd kick him out right away. Keeping him around would just cause bigger problems for me."
The reporters' opinions were remarkably sharp and accurate. In cases like this, nine times out of ten, the master stepped up first to eliminate the source of the trouble.
Skyla couldn't lift her head. She couldn't make excuses about her editor.
'It's because of me.'
At that moment, the door opened, and one person stepped out of the guildhouse into the parking lot. It was Master Go Cheolmin.
"Hey, Kang reporter, cut me some slack. What are you doing here? I'll give you a good story later. Just go today."
"Give me a break too. I want to leave if I can, but the desk is going crazy right now. Everyone gathered here got soaked as a group. Only that woman Skyla got off scot-free. If I don't get an interview, I'm dead."
The other reporters joined in.
Go Cheolmin sighed and retreated inside.
There had never been a scoop as humiliating and regrettable as this one. Skyla turned and walked toward the road.
Then, a red Ferrari whizzed past.
Skyla's eyes widened as she read the license plate. She pulled out her laptop from her bag and checked. She had a collection of famous Raiders' car plates, and there it was.
'Yoo Min-jeong! Why'd she just pass by? Even if it's inconvenient, she could park and walk over. She's used to reporters' competition because of her dad. Ah! I get it! It's Kim Jun! She must've picked him up from his apartment. So she was heading here but passed because of the reporters swarming. She can't come to the guildhouse with them blocking the way. Where'd she go?'
After thinking it through, Skyla realized there was only one place. Her heart racing, she started running, kicked off her cumbersome heels, and sprinted barefoot.
Vroom.
In her suit, Skyla rode a Harley-Davidson down the road.
* * *
Between the neat walls typical of a hanok, there was a garage door. Yoo Min-jeong pressed a button, and it slowly opened. The Ferrari slid smoothly into the garage.
Kim Jun got out first.
Shelves and a metal table held various tools and parts. Hanging in the air was a detailed model airplane that looked like a bomber from World War II.
At the back of the spacious garage stood a Rolls-Royce.
Yoo Min-jeong turned off the engine, passed Kim Jun, and entered the passage from the garage to the living room.
Kim Jun followed.
The dark brown wooden floor was very solid but not as slippery as marble. Doors lined the passage, suggesting many rooms. If it weren't for the current situation, he might have peeked into each one.
The dim passage ended, opening into a sunlit living room.
"Sit there."
Yoo Min-jeong pointed to the leather sofa.
As Kim Jun sat, cats slipped through the gap in the large window separating the living room from the tree-shaded garden.
Yoo Min-jeong, pouring water from the fridge into a glass, noticed the cats approaching Kim Jun.
'These guys hate guests.'
The Russian Blue Kate sniffed Kim Jun's shoe first. Ryo-ko and Hyun-joo watched from about three meters away.
Yoo Min-jeong smiled faintly.
'They're gonna make a fuss. Kate's usually quiet, but she has her temper.'
The princess-like Kate with green eyes circled Kim Jun. Suddenly, she stepped onto his knee, then nestled into his arms like a long-awaited owner.
Kim Jun, caught off guard, hugged Kate and grinned, stroking her head and back.
"The cats are so tame."
"...Really?"
Yoo Min-jeong felt oddly betrayed. But she still had the haughty Ryo-ko and the temperamental demon king Hyun-joo.
Next was Ryo-ko's turn.
With sparkling blue eyes, Ryo-ko approached without needing reconnaissance. She let out a sharp meow, climbed his knee, burrowed into the spot Kate had claimed, and lay down in an even more seductive pose.
"Hahaha, look at these guys."
Kim Jun's laughter filled the quiet living room.
Yoo Min-jeong sighed, but remembered Hyun-joo was left.
The stylishly striped Bengal cat Hyun-joo wouldn't let anyone but Yoo Min-jeong near. Even her father got a wrinkled nose and bared fangs.
As expected, Hyun-joo held her head high, completely ignoring Kim Jun.
'Yes, that's it.'
Yoo Min-jeong rejoiced inwardly but scolded herself.
How could she focus on this in the current situation? Still, seeing Hyun-joo maintain her dignified air in front of Kim Jun was satisfying.
Kim Jun was just a stranger to Hyun-joo.
Then, Kim Jun set Kate and Ryo-ko on the sofa and approached Hyun-joo.
Yoo Min-jeong didn't want to miss this.
"You're the boss, right?"
Kim Jun said, stopping about a meter away.
The cat arched her back, bristled her fur, and extended her claws, glaring at him.
As Yoo Min-jeong moved to intervene, a strange sound came from Kim Jun's mouth. Like waves crashing on rocks, or an unidentified bird in the forest... a sound no human should make.
Hyun-joo relaxed her attack stance. She slowly approached, rubbing her forehead and cheek against Kim Jun's outstretched hand, then her body against him.
"...How'd you do that?"
A startled Yoo Min-jeong asked.
"She's a good girl too."
Kim Jun picked up Hyun-joo, went to the sofa, and the three cats sat beside him as if he were their true owner, grooming themselves.
Yoo Min-jeong suddenly felt like the guest. It was because of this bizarre guy who wasn't tense even in someone else's home.
As she picked up the glass she'd set down and drank, Kim Jun's stomach growled.
Yoo Min-jeong burst out laughing at the sound breaking the silence. If she hadn't held back, she might have rolled on the floor.
"Really hungry?"
"I barely ate breakfast. Reporters swarmed me."
"Toast okay?"
"Of course."
As Yoo Min-jeong headed to the kitchen, Kim Jun, playing with the cats, noticed the framed photos on the wall and walked over.
There was Korea's strongest Raider. Solo shots and group photos with colleagues.
Kim Jun thought that expression looked good. Stubborn yet relaxed, not particularly handsome, but overflowing with charisma that overwhelmed those around him.
Just looking at the photo... made his chest heat up. If he pursued one goal his whole life, he might end up with a face and expression like that.
'Can I have a face like that someday?'
"My dad's handsome, right?"
"He seems cool."
"He really is."
Yoo Min-jeong felt good, as if she'd been praised herself.
While the bread toasted, she fried eggs and washed lettuce for inside. Glancing at Kim Jun, he still couldn't tear his eyes from her father's photo. That gaze was one of genuine respect.
'What a shame. If only he'd awakened, Dad would've loved him.'
At that moment, Yoo Min-jeong recalled Kim Jun leaping between apartments.
How was that possible?
Could a normal person gain that jumping power through training?
"Let's go to the garden."
With toast and milk ready, Yoo Min-jeong headed to the gazebo deeper in the garden.
Kim Jun followed with the three cats. Hyun-joo, true to her boss status, claimed the spot right next to him.
"Try it."
"Thanks, I'll dig in."
Kim Jun devoured one sandwich—bread with fried egg, lettuce, and more—in seconds. He gave a thumbs-up. Swallowing the rest of his toast and milk, he finished another just as fast.
Only one remained in the dish.
Kim Jun eyed it cautiously.
Yoo Min-jeong smiled.
"Eat it. I'm not hungry."
"Thanks."
Kim Jun polished off the last one the same way.
"You really pack it away."
"I hear that sometimes."
"Earlier, when leaving the apartment, I saw you."
Her tone changed.
"Saw what?"
Kim Jun sensed it too.
"Jumping from the rooftop to the other building. And climbing down the wall."
"...Yeah?"
"No matter how I think about it, that's not normal. Don't take it the wrong way, it's just fact. A regular person couldn't do that. There are limits even training can't overcome. What happened? I'm asking as your team leader."
"It's the contamination phenomenon."
Kim Jun gave the answer he'd prepared for this moment. Thanks to Master Go Cheolmin's hint.
"Contamination?"
"Master knows too. Last year, in that dungeon where Nuclataurus exploded, I contacted a Lipo-saurus and got infected then."
"...Really?"
"Because of it, my senses sharpened a lot, and my body's changed."
"Ah, so that's how you jumped like that."
"I got checked. No major issues, but since little's known about contamination... they said aftereffects could come anytime."
"...So you were at a hospital all that time? While I was training in Ecuador?"
Yoo Min-jeong's eyes widened, her voice rising. She couldn't forgive herself for not knowing her team member's pain.
"Not a hospital. Um, like... a sanatorium."
Kim Jun felt a pang of conscience. Calling hellish Yeongun Island a sanatorium? Then the grim reaper-like elder became the sanatorium director?
Imagining Nam Eung-ryeol in a nurse outfit, Kim Jun nearly laughed.
"Sorry. I didn't know."
Tears fell from her big eyes.
"...No. I'm fine."
Flustered, Kim Jun grabbed a napkin by the milk glass and handed it to her.
Sensing their owner's sadness, the cats moved to her side, onto her lap.
Yoo Min-jeong slowly regained composure, her eyes still moist.
"If you feel anything wrong... tell me right away. I'm the team leader."
"Got it. I will."
Silence followed. Cicadas chirped nearby, but couldn't break it.
Then, a sharp alarm blared.
"Master must be here."
"No, intruder."
Regaining calm, Yoo Min-jeong checked her phone app. The breach was... right behind the gazebo wall.
Turning, she saw someone who'd just climbed the wall, locking eyes with her, then tumbling down in panic.
Yoo Min-jeong recognized her instantly.
'Tormenting someone already suffering from contamination? I won't let you.'
She vaulted the gazebo railing into the garden bushes, toward the wall. Kim Jun and the three cats followed.
Skyla, getting up, took a kick to the face and fell back. Desperate to escape, she rose each time, only to get hit or tripped.
Yoo Min-jeong herded Skyla toward the pond. Spotting it, Skyla got palm-thrust to the chest and flew back.
Splash.
Skyla flailed in the pond.
"Oh, a reporter? You scared me. Thought you were a thief stealing in broad daylight. And that pond's shallow. You won't drown."
Only after the sarcasm did Skyla stand—water to her chest. Pushing wet hair back, she spotted Kim Jun.
Skyla had rehearsed in her head, heart, even aloud on the way, but her throat tightened. No words came.
Still, she had to.
"...Sorry."
"What? Can't hear you."
Yoo Min-jeong.
"I'm really, really sorry!"
Skyla shouted.
"Oh, sorry? How does that sound after nearly killing someone?"
Yoo Min-jeong didn't stop sneering.
Kim Jun extended a hand to Skyla at the pond's edge.
Skyla took it cautiously. Even if he dropped her midway for payback, she'd accept. But Kim Jun easily pulled her out.
Skyla was shocked by his expression.
Not a smile, obviously.
Worry or pity? No.
Glee for revenge? No.
As a reporter, she'd met many for stories. Faces often revealed life stories.
'Never seen this expression.'
"Go wash up first. I'll hear the apology after."
Kim Jun said.
Yoo Min-jeong, exasperated and about to yell, fell silent as he turned. His expression stunned her too.
Under Yoo Min-jeong's grumbling guidance, Skyla washed and changed. In the garden, Kim Jun played with the cats.
The waiting Yoo Min-jeong said,
"You made the mistake of a lifetime."
"...I know."
Skyla acknowledged it bone-deep.
That sincerity silenced Yoo Min-jeong.
Her curly hair swayed at her shoulders. Skyla stood looking at Kim Jun; Yoo Min-jeong sat beside him.
"I'm truly sorry. My fault. No matter the process, it's my fault."
"One question, answer it, and I might accept the apology."
"Ask anything."
Kim Jun's calm demeanor gave Skyla hope.
Maybe this guy could live properly despite the disaster.
There were plenty of jobs beyond carrier.