Who's the Next Target?

Looking at the tears gathering at the corners of her eyes, I felt a strange tightness settle in my chest. I held her gaze as she looked down at me for a long while — the kind of face that would spill over into tears at the slightest touch.

"A-young..."

"...Yes."

Her voice was wet. I let out a faint sigh toward her.

"I think it's about time you... got off me."

"...Ah."

Jo A-young's shoulders gave a sharp jolt. Only then did she realize she was straddling me, practically pinning me to the bed.

"Ah...!"

She startled, her face flushing crimson. She scrambled backward as if retreating, then dropped into the chair beside the bed and hung her head, fidgeting. I watched her keep dodging my eyes and called her name.

"A-young."

"..."

No answer came. She just sat there with her head down, her lips pushed out in a pout. I asked her gently.

"You were... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠quite worried, weren't you."

Her shoulders trembled in small, fine shivers. I reached out slowly and rested my hand on the crown of her head, stroking her hair softly and offering a faint smile. The way you'd soothe a child. Gently.

"......"

Only then did Jo A-young lift her head. Her face was still full of complaint, sulky as ever — but she didn't pull away from my hand. She wiped the tears that had pooled at her eyes with the back of her hand and nodded firmly.

"...Yes."

A short answer. But it felt like it carried far too many emotions. A face that had so much it wanted to say. An expression piled high with things she wanted to demand answers for. But in the end, she didn't ask. Her lips kept parting, then pressed shut again.

Honestly, I had questions of my own. What on earth had she talked about with Kim Hye-in that they'd ended up raising their voices at each other. But I swallowed it down and didn't ask.

The moment I lifted my hand from her hair—

Bang.

The hospital room door flew open with a clatter, and Kim Hye-in appeared.

"Mr. President...!"

The moment she spotted me, she rushed over in a single breath. She came right up to me and started waving her hands through the air, frantically checking my condition.

"Are you all right? Are you conscious? Does anything hurt...!"

The questions poured out, one after another. That alone made it abundantly clear how worried she'd been. And judging by the towel in her hand, it seemed she'd been nursing me this whole time. I nodded through her endless stream of questions, letting that serve as my answer. Then I brought up the most important matter.

"Is your sister all right?"

At those words, Kim Hye-in froze. And then the tears welled up all at once. She clenched both fists and spoke to me in a voice thick with emotion.

"Yes...! Thanks to you, Mr. President...! I truly don't know what to say."

Only after hearing that did I feel the relief settle in, and I offered a faint smile.

"Your sister must be quite confused. Is she holding up all right?"

"Please don't worry. I'll take care of Hye-yoon myself... You need to look after your own body first..."

I cut her off as she tried, by any means, to put my well-being first.

"There's no need to worry about me. A-young will be right here."

I glanced sideways at Jo A-young.

"...!"

Jo A-young flinched for just a moment. Then her face went bright red as she stole a look at my expression. How to put it. She seemed quietly pleased.

"Isn't that right?"

She bit her lip and nodded — as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Watching her make that silent vow, I couldn't help a small laugh. Then I looked back at Kim Hye-in.

"So go take care of your sister. I come after that."

But Kim Hye-in didn't back down easily. If anything, she hesitated, unable to take a step.

"Even so... Mr. President..."

Something clearly weighed on her; she kept trailing off, reluctant. I spoke to her in a slightly teasing tone.

"If you keep standing there fidgeting like that, I'll start worrying, and that won't do my recovery any favors."

I grinned as I said it. Only then did Kim Hye-in smile, as if she had no choice, and nod.

"All right... I understand. I'll just step out for a moment, then."

She started to get up, then paused and looked at Jo A-young. And she spoke to her in a formal, courteous voice.

"While I'm gone... please take good care of the President."

At that tone and those words — as if they were a couple — Jo A-young didn't even glance her way and just snorted.

"Hmph."

Even at that brief, snappish reaction, Kim Hye-in bowed her head as if it didn't bother her in the least.

Click.

The door closed, and the hospital room was ours again. I cleared my throat to break the silence and carefully opened my mouth.

"My throat is a bit..."

Whoosh. Swoosh.

I'd been about to say my throat was dry. But before I could even finish, a gust of wind scattered my hair, and in a residual afterimage that lasted less than a second, something streaked across my vision. And then, somehow, a water glass was already hovering right in front of my lips.

Glug-glug-glug.

I had no idea when she'd even gone, but Jo A-young had already pressed the cup into my hand and was tipping a water bottle to fill it. As if she'd been waiting for me to say those exact words. A truly unreal speed and motion. Such fuss. I couldn't help letting out a puff of air and bursting into a hearty laugh.

"Huh... haha."

But she paid it no mind, her eyes sparkling as she asked.

"Is there... is there anything else you need? Anything at all, just say the word. If you need the restroom, I can help you—"

"No, no. I can manage the restroom on my own..."

"Then are you hungry? I can call a hotel chef here this instant—"

"Why would you summon a hotel chef here...?"

I finally couldn't hold it in against her boundless overprotectiveness, and laughter burst out of me again.

"Pfft—haha!"

What on earth had her so worked up. I didn't know what she was so impatient about. But watching her fuss and fret over me was so adorable and so funny. Honestly, it was just cute.

At my sudden laughter, Jo A-young looked briefly stunned. Then she flushed and puffed out her cheeks.

"Why are you laughing...!"

Her accusing voice was thick with embarrassment. But I just kept laughing. How to put it. It ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠felt like something that had been sitting heavy inside me was being washed away, thanks to her.

"Hmph."

When I just kept laughing, she whipped her head away as if she were sulking. I grinned again at her reddened ears and leaned back against the headboard. A muttering voice drifted from beside me, but I made a point of ignoring it and murmured inwardly.

Status window.

The familiar system panel rose before my eyes. I immediately took a closer look at the skill I'd newly acquired.

Regeneration, huh.

Honestly, acquiring this skill had been something close to a stroke of divine luck. And the difference it made was genuinely enormous. I'd been wracked with so much pain, and now I felt light as a feather. Not the slightest discomfort. If anything, I was far more vigorous than before, as if I'd been given a brand-new body — a clean, refreshing feeling.

With this, even if I collapsed, I wouldn't have to worry about recovering.

...No. First I should plan on not collapsing at all. What am I thinking.

To treat collapsing as a given...

The next day.

Despite Jo A-young and Kim Hye-in's desperate attempts to stop me, I went ahead and checked myself out of the hospital.

"Let's just watch your condition for one more day! How can you be discharged after only a single day!"

The entire time I was processing the discharge paperwork, Jo A-young trailed after me, grumbling and muttering over and over about whatever it was that so displeased her. Kim Hye-in was no different. I'd told her to stay by her sister's side — and yet she'd shown up at the hospital room as if reporting for work, insisting she was coming back to the office immediately.

"If you're being discharged, then I'm coming back right now!! Absolutely not!"

But I drew a firm line in a decisive tone.

"At least a week. Spend a week taking care of your sister. This isn't a suggestion. It's an order."

"Why!"

"...What do you mean, why."

You need to look after your sister, don't you.

"It's because of me that you ended up like this...! How am I supposed to sit comfortably in a hospital! I absolutely won't!"

She even had tears welling up. In the end, I had to put it more strongly.

"This is an order from the Association President. Come back in a week."

The moment I invoked the Association President, Kim Hye-in bit down hard on her lower lip and nodded. Still making no effort to hide how unfair she found it.

"Exactly one week! I will not rest a single day longer!"

Watching her speak in such a resolute voice, I couldn't help shaking my head. This was... how was this any different from begging to be allowed to work.

According to what the doctor had told me, Kim Hyeyoon was adapting far faster than expected. She wasn't confused by her suddenly younger body; if anything, she was even more positive and bright. Thinking of how Kim Hye-in had been excitedly insisting she'd formally introduce Hye-yoon to me, I felt a quiet satisfaction.

And now I sat in the Association President's office, looking at the reports that Attorney Kim Jinwook had stacked up with almost excessive diligence while I was away.

"...He really is far too diligent."

He'd piled these up so I'd have to read them all the moment I was discharged, no doubt. That was probably it. Knowing his personality, almost certainly.

"Let's see..."

The first report.

"Belgriff Guild is... effectively dissolved."

Belgriff Guild, the backbone of the Belves Alliance and the ringleader of the human experiments, had for all practical purposes been blown apart. The guild members had immediately wanted out, claiming they had nothing to do with the leadership's decisions. To prove it, they'd gone so far as to expose everything they'd heard inside the guild.

Guild Master Kim Younghoon had put up a bit of resistance at first. But he'd soon seemed to resign himself, and without much further comment he'd been locked in the Special Detention Cell beneath the Association.

...There's something a little too easy about how he let himself be caught.

Honestly, I'd expected him to put up more of a fight. But what could I do. Once his mana had been restricted, there wasn't much he could try.

Once Belgriff collapsed, the Belves Alliance that had coalesced around them followed suit, sliding into dissolution. And one step ahead of the other guilds, Big Stone Guild, as if they'd been waiting for this exact moment, released an official statement.

Kang Chanyong's swift response had the press — and the online communities — running quite hot.

The reactions pouring in were nothing but praise for me. Just how far ahead did the Association President plan this.Just how far is he taking the hunter world back toward something functional.Isn't this getting a little too competent.

The portal site front pages were no different.

"...Hmmm."

Honestly, I rather liked it. And then, at the very bottom of the screen, the last headline.

I repeated the headline under my breath, as if tasting the words.

"The next one is obvious enough."

I picked up my phone and sent Jo A-young a message.