The Mightiest Metal, Adamantium (4)
I immediately took out my phone and dialed Han Yejin.
I wanted to get her father treated right away and find out the belt’s location.
But…
When I thought about it quietly, even if I found the belt’s location, it wouldn’t mean I owned the adamantium.
No matter how much I cured her family a little, there was no way Han Yejin would hand over over twelve billion won in that liquid metal so easily.
Right then, a call came in.
Who else but Han Yejin.
Hello?
- Oppaa, sorry, but do you have time today?
Plenty of it.
Why?
- I… I want to buy you a drink. Please meet me.
Where to?
* * *
I stepped into a neighborhood fusion Chinese restaurant. On the second floor balcony, Han Yejin sat alone holding a glass of Gaoliang liquor.
She looked already tipsy.
Her usually perfect composure was gone, like something major had happened.
I walked up the elegant curved staircase, sat beside her, and asked.
Yejin-ah, what’s wrong?
The moment she saw me, Han Yejin burst into tears.
The people in the restaurant all turned their eyes our way.
A moment later, her true self spoke in a quiet voice.
…Today I got a call from Go Jutae… If we don’t pay the overdue medical bills by tomorrow, they’ll forcibly transfer our family… to the national-designated hospital on Seohaeryonghwa Island…
…
When our family enters that island… visits will be allowed only once a year… plus, there’s a rumor there that they treat Rot patients like animals…
I felt bad for her, but I thought maybe things were turning out better than she feared.
The deeper she sank into this swamp, the greater the debt I would clear when I saved her.
Am I trash?
Well, I hadn’t been the one to put her in this predicament.
I answered seriously.
Yejin-ah, I have a solution…
But she cut me off, consumed by despair.
No. This isn’t a problem for Oppaa to handle. The only thing we can do to stop our family from going to Seohaeryonghwa Island is one single thing.
What is it?
What Go Jutae wants is two things, right? If I do only one of them… he’ll let our family stay in my father’s hospital forever. Uwoh.
My chest dropped right then.
…Did you find my father’s belt?
No. If I did, why would I be like this?
Then…
Han Yejin’s eyes looked empty as she tried to say something.
I didn’t want to hear what she was about to say.
Nor did I want to see her humiliate herself.
I cut her off loudly.
But let’s just ask one more thing.
What… question?
How much overdue hospital fees are there at that hospital?
She shook her head.
You don’t need to hear it. Sorry, but even one hundred million won from Oppaa isn’t enough.
So how much then?
I raised my voice a bit and she answered.
…Two hundred and eighty million.
I almost laughed inside. Compared to what I earned recently, it was laughable.
But I quickly composed myself.
Hwang Geumpa, since when have you gotten this arrogant?
No matter how successful, keep being humble and low-key, okay?
Then she continued.
And… even if Oppaa is rich and pays all the bills, what about later? Every month there will be huge bills… Before long it’ll be like this again. So…
Han Yejin’s gaze at me shifted strangely and another word spilled out.
J-Jutae oppa, how did you know I was here?
I turned.
The guy over 190 centimeters tall stomped down the curved wooden staircase and walked straight toward our table.
It was definitely that guy I saw before.
Go Jutae approached and suddenly grabbed my collar, lifting me up.
You… you’re the one from before, right? I was planning to catch you anyway today! Get out!
I didn’t even turn and punched him lightly in the nose with my fist behind my back.
Lightly, but…
A punch with 273 strength.
Tuk-
As soon as he took the blow on his nose, his eyes went white and he sprayed blood.
Then three seconds later he fell backward like a statue, slammed into the railing, and tumbled down the curved staircase.
And…
Kung-deok kung-deok-
He rolled down the stairs with a loud noise.
If he had rolled to the side it might have been better, but somehow he tumbled forward, his head and shoulders hitting hard.
Wazig-eun, kwak-
In the end he smashed the wooden handrail at the bottom and lay flat on his back on the first floor.
Woong-seong woong-seong-
All eyes in the restaurant turned toward us.
The most shocked was Han Yejin.
An F-class hunter had easily knocked down an E-class like swatting a fly…
Of course I had played with him before.
But that time he was unconscious and drunk, so it was different.
I looked at her seriously.
Yejin-ah, I heard that Jeguk Medipharm is conducting a new Rot Virus mitigator clinical trial. If Yejin agrees, Jang Hancheol and I have already finalized the details.
Han Yejin’s eyes widened in surprise.
R-Really? Then I don’t have to go to Seohaeryonghwa Island?
Of course. Just sign the digital consent form now and your family will be moved to a special ward in the top facility at Jeguk Medipharm Research Institute. You’ll receive treatment and even case-study fees while fully recovered.
Aigoo! Really? Is this… real?
At that moment Go Jutae on the first floor groaned and woke up.
Uuuu~
Even he seemed to have some physical resistance since he was an E-class hunter.
He managed to stand, wiped the blood from his nose, and suddenly pulled out a gaudy-looking war axe from his inventory.
Looking at the second floor he shouted.
You filthy bastard! Today you’re not leaving alive!
He finished speaking and rushed up the stairs like a madman.
I called out loudly to the cafe owner.
Hey, boss! Sorry, but please call 119. A person just rolled down the stairs twice…
The moment he reached the second floor, he swung his razor-sharp steel axe.
It looked ridiculously fast, like some skill had been activated.
Instantly I stretched my fist.
My late-starting punch stretched longer than his war axe and hit the target first.
Puk-
He took another blow right by the mouth.
This time he must have felt several teeth shatter.
Aaaak!
He immediately went white-eyed again, blood pouring from his mouth.
Then, just like before, he fell backward three seconds later, slammed into the railing, and tumbled down the curved staircase.
It was almost resurrection-level damage.
And…
Kung-deok kung-deok-
He rolled down again with a loud crash.
But this time his posture was different.
Unlike the forward tumble from before, he rolled backward.
And he smashed right through the broken handrail he had destroyed earlier…
Uddang-tang-tang, wajang-chang-
And smashed through one of the empty tables on the first floor before finally stopping.
The people in the restaurant all whispered.
Oppaa, are those guys hunters?
Did you see it? His arms suddenly got longer? Did I missee?
Yeah, I saw it too.
I thought to myself.
Double Eight Spirit’s power…
Pretty useful, huh?
I approached the restaurant owner, bowed politely, and said.
First, I’ll transfer two million won to your account. If that’s not enough to repair the shop, call this number.
Ah? Yes…
I completed the transfer, took Han Yejin’s hand, and left the Chinese restaurant.
* * *
We walked in silence for a long time.
After about ten minutes Han Yejin spoke.
What you said earlier… was it a joke?
Do I look like the kind of person who would joke about Yejin-ah’s family?
I stopped walking and faced her.
Her eyes showed a mix of emotions.
Embarrassment about the shameful things she had said while complaining about her family today…
Relief that the family problem was solved…
Guilt and gratitude toward me…
And maybe something more…
Puk-
Then she hit my shoulder with her palm, again and again.
It didn’t hurt much, but her unexpected action made me jump.
A! A! A! What are you doing?
Why didn’t you say it earlier! Why! Why! Why! You should have told me the moment we met! Sigh, sigh!
I was going to, but Yejin-ah kept interrupting me?
Uwhuhk, what do I do now. I’m so embarrassed! Ehuu~
She stood there for a while, then grabbed my shoulder and asked.
But… why is Jang Hancheol-ssi treating our family so well? Is it because of that incident?
I took her hand and placed something in it.
She opened her palm. Inside was a small ampoule with yellow liquid.
What is this?
Rot Virus mitigator, Gini-1.
There’s a medicine that can mitigate the Rot Virus? I’ve never heard of it before.
Of course not. I developed the world’s first version a few days ago.
R-Really? …How did you even develop something like this?
It was your hint that helped a lot, Yejin-ah. You gave me the hint about centipede venom. So I named the medicine after you… Gini-1.
I had enough basic knowledge about the Rot Virus to develop a mitigator without the hint.
But finding the unique hemolymph protein in the centipede venom would have taken more days.
Once the medicine passes clinical trials, Jang Hancheol and I will sign a contract to mass-produce it. I’ll provide the raw material and Jeguk Medipharm will handle outsourced production… plus you can put in the condition that your family gets special ward care until fully cured.
O-Oppaa… really, I… how… thank you… huuhuk.
===