Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: The Price for Touching Breasts!
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Clutched in my hand, her breast.
Maybe because she was a leopard beastkin, it had luxurious fur along with a soft, velvety texture.
So this is what a beastkin's breast feels like.
A novel experience.
But that wasn't what she'd guided my hand to.
Beyond it, between her collarbone and breast.
A rough scar under my fingertips.
It wasn't an old wound.
A few days at most?
The bumpy texture felt like touching some kind of dung beetle.
"How is it? See what I mean?"
The leopard flashed a seductive smile.
When I looked shocked, she slyly pulled my hand away.
"My name's Millen. So, what do you say? Shall we grab a room?"
It wasn't a sexual proposition.
She was after something else.
"Ahem, miss. I think there's a misunderstanding."
I withdrew my hand from her breast and tapped the business card on the table.
"Take another look."
"Marriage agency Meracle. President Kim Juseon."
"Yeah, I'm here to ask if you'd like to sign up."
"Ha, I know all about it already. No need to trick me with that."
She wasn't getting it.
Maybe because she was more beast than human?
In the end, I pulled out my phone and showed her the portal site map with my business registration.
Plus a neatly taken photo of me there.
Only then did Millen stammer in confusion.
"Wh-what?"
"See? I'm just the president of a perfectly legitimate marriage agency. If you're interested in getting married, come to Meracle."
I flashed a capitalist smile and stood up.
Then I spun on my heel and headed straight for the main floor, where everyone was dancing.
The farther I got from Millen, the quicker my steps became.
'Fuck! I stepped in something weird!'
I'd played dumb to brush it off, but I'd gotten burned.
Those were needle marks!
And not the ordinary kind, either.
A wound that grotesque meant she was deep into some seriously dirty business.
'What the hell is this crazy club up to?'
For now, I'd slipped away smoothly.
But I couldn't stay here any longer.
I'd get tangled in something nasty.
Finding Kim Yang and Reneah wasn't hard.
The crowd had swarmed toward them. As she'd said, Kim Yang was dancing skillfully like a pro.
Reneah was waving her arms beside her like some kind of ritual dance.
She seemed to be trying her best in her own way, but her face was a mask of misery.
Kim Yang spotted me first.
"Huh? P-President? Wanna dance? Come on, join us!"
"Save me! Help! I wanna run away! What is this place?! It's scary!"
Reneah latched onto me immediately.
She wrapped her arms and legs around my side like a koala.
Perfect timing, actually.
"Kim Yang, let's go. This place is sketchy."
"Huh? What's sketchy? I like it here."
"Come on, out. I'll explain outside."
"...Okay."
Kim Yang nodded right away at my serious expression and followed behind.
As we pushed through the main floor and down the hallway toward the exit—
"There! That's him!"
Millen's voice stabbed into my back.
I turned to see her, along with a horde of burly guys charging toward us.
They screamed "don't get involved" from a mile away.
"Fuck! Run!"
"Huh?"
"What?! What's going on?"
"No time to explain— just run!"
Reneah finally climbed down from me and asked in shock.
"Ar-are we being ambushed? I heard in Seoul you close your eyes and wake up in a hotel bed, but not like this?!"
"Grandma's at it again!"
Just around the next corridor corner was the entrance.
There'd be guards, but with the line outside, they wouldn't dare make a scene.
Almost at the end of the hall.
Before we could even turn the corner, a man appeared first.
Perfectly styled blond hair.
Head to toe in luxury brands, like a walking high-end boutique.
Not a single piece under five million won.
A pistol aimed right at us.
The man smiled leisurely and beckoned us over.
"Kneel."
An overwhelming pressure crushed down on my entire body, forcing me forward onto my knees in an instant.
"Urk?!"
"Eek!"
Gravity manipulation.
He was an awakener.
"Huh?"
But what shocked me wasn't that.
His ability and voice were way too familiar.
The problem was, he recognized me too.
"No way... Kim Juseon?"
He looked down at me, kneeling under his gravity, and called my name.
I could see why Kim Yang had said the rooms were pricey.
Not just the flashy interior, but karaoke machines, fruit platters, top-shelf liquor.
The basic setup screamed expense.
Pop!
The blond luxury king—Geum Tae-min—casually uncorked one of those pricey bottles and poured himself a glass.
Look at him drinking alone.
That show-off streak hadn't faded even after making bank.
He'd herded us into seats and was sipping his liquor leisurely.
Three thugs guarded the room entrance tightly.
"Heh, Juseon. What a bizarre twist of fate, huh? Haven't seen you since training camp—five years now?"
"Not a fate I give a shit about."
"This bastard's tongue's still sharp, I see."
Crunch!
His gravity pressed down again, heavier this time.
For the record, using awakener powers on civilians is illegal.
"What? Still think you're above me? Huh? Juseon?"
Geum Tae-min sneered.
Reneah fidgeted beside me, glancing my way.
She'd left her bow at home for clubbing, so she was useless here.
Always said knowing one thing too well leads to this crap.
No choice, then.
"Geum Tae-min, why'd you quit hunting? Skills not good enough?"
"Bullshit. Who hunts magic beasts for cash these days? Why risk it when guarding here rains money?"
"Fits you—dirty work all the way."
"And you're doing the sniveling loser gig that suits you."
No matter what I said, Geum Tae-min parried with ease. Confident he had the upper hand, no doubt.
"Juseon, you've always poked what you shouldn't, ever since back then."
"......"
"Know what this club is? Run by Baekdu Pharmaceuticals."
Baekdu Pharmaceuticals?
A megacorp.
"Baekdu?"
"They source raw materials for drugs for special clients."
Kim Yang looked confused too—she clearly didn't know. But I doubted it involved her.
"Curious? Big bro'll tell ya? Wait, I'm two years older, right?"
"You always act like obvious shit's some big revelation."
"...What?"
For the first time, a crack appeared on Geum Tae-min's face as he furrowed his brow.
But it was predictable.
Kim Yang was a beastkin club regular.
Yet she knew nothing about this.
So beastkin weren't the targets.
"They're buying blood, fur, or body parts from beastkin for cash."
"Ha, you think we're trafficking organs or—"
"Probably, you moron."
"......"
Not beastkin in general.
Why beastkin specifically?
Easy.
"Check the 5th Floor Old Martial World's origins—beastkin are 'incarnates,' offspring of gods who mated with humans."
"......"
"Leopard beastkin especially inherit thick incarnate bloodlines."
"......"
"Obvious, right? Harvest transcendent physical traits from beastkin for drugs, awakeners, narcotics. All of the above."
"This fucker—"
"You said pharmaceutical company yourself."
I grinned, and Geum Tae-min couldn't hold back his rage—he shot to his feet.
The guarding thugs, Kim Yang, and Reneah all stared in surprise.
"P-President. You're sharp."
"But did you have to say it? He looks pissed now."
As Reneah said.
Fuming, Geum Tae-min glared, then forced himself to breathe and act calm.
"That's always been your problem, Juseon."
His lips curled coldly.
"Acting like you know it all—that's why you're scraping by like this."
Geum Tae-min's gaze shifted to Kim Yang and Reneah. He feigned kindness as he asked them,
"Ladies, know why Hunter Training Camp 111th class was called the Golden Generation?"
"111th?"
"I-I shall guess!"
Reneah shouted desperately to stay alive, but Geum Tae-min wasn't after an answer.
"Two of the Seven Apex Hunters came from it. One's Night Yaksha Ryu Seram."
And the other—
"Current Hunter Association Vice Chairman, Yoo Ye-na."
Heavy names.
The real power behind the Hunter Association.
My classmate, along with Geum Tae-min.
"But here's what nobody knows. 111th's top graduate wasn't Ryu Seram or Yoo Ye-na."
Geum Tae-min turned to me like a wound-up toy, his gaze locking on.
"This bastard. 111th's top was always Kim Juseon. That's right—this guy."
"...President?"
"What?!"
The two stared at me in shock.
I smiled and added,
"Geum Tae-min was near the bottom."
"Shut up!"
The gravity intensified.
The guy, who'd barely caught his breath, grinned awkwardly, desperate to crush me.
"You learned nothing, huh? Flashy little shit gets dumped by Yoo Ye-na. Top grad who never even got his hunter license?"
"Better than wiping asses with yours."
"Ha."
The pressure lifted.
My hands and feet free again.
"You still think we're back in training camp five years ago? That you're still top dog?"
Geum Tae-min stepped forward like he was taking the stage and beckoned.
"Come on, Kim Juseon. I'll put you down now. And you're dying here."
Properly triggered, he challenged me one-on-one.
"Gonna shoot me?"
I sneered, and he gnashed his teeth, tossing a dagger onto the table.
Thud!
"Knife fight. Best shot you've got against me, right? Win, and all three of you walk."
Tsk.
I clicked my tongue, yanked the knife free, and stepped forward.
"Talking like you've ever beaten me."