Just Moments Ago, Near the Scrapyard
A little while ago, near the scrapyard. — Inside a black limousine parked in the darkness.
"Ugh... this is so embarrassing..."
I couldn't even sit properly on the leather seat, squirming awkwardly. It was all because of my outfit. They called it a Hunter Tactical Suit Type B, but this was just full-body latex tights.
"Hng...!" Every breath made the glossy black material cling to my skin. The swells of my breasts, my cinched waist, the round curve of my hips... It was so revealing it bordered on lewd.
"Kkiruk? Kkwi!"
Of course, Kkkomul, poking out through the hole in the suit, was thrilled. No chafing, no restrictions—it was perfect for him. Oblivious to my feelings, he wagged his tail and tapped my thigh playfully.
"Stay still, Kkkomul..."
"Hehe, you look splendid."
Abhos, sitting with her legs crossed in the next seat, smiled contentedly. She had a thick fur coat draped over her shoulders for her winter ensemble, and her elegant poise only made my skintight(...) getup feel even more humiliating by comparison.
"Why hide such a beautiful body? There's no need."
She reached out, tracing the line of my waist. A shiver ran up my spine.
"St-still... a guy wearing something like this is kinda..."
"A guy, you say..."
Abhos grasped my chin and turned my face toward her. In the dim car, her golden eyes curved playfully.
"Does such a trivial distinction still matter to you? You're mine, plain and simple. If you're pretty in my eyes, that's all that counts."
"Ah..."
Her lips met mine. A soft smack. Sweet, warm, and utterly possessive.
"A-Abhos..."
My embarrassment melted away in an instant. My chest tickled with delight. She thought I was pretty. She loved me. That alone made me forget I was a man, forget the shame of the full-body tights—everything.
I grinned dopily, leaning my head on her shoulder. That's when it happened.
Bang—!
A sharp crack shattered the silence. A massive gunshot, followed by a burst of automatic fire.
Bang-bang-bang-bang—!
"Eek!?"
I flinched in shock. Gunfire. And very close by.
"Wh-what do we do? Is Manager Jang okay?"
"Hm."
Abhos didn't budge. She stared out into the darkness and murmured indifferently.
"It's begun. The rats have caught the scent."
She elegantly opened the car door. Cold night air rushed in.
"Abhos! I'm coming with you!"
As I tried to follow, she raised a hand to stop me.
"Wait here."
"Huh? B-but it's dangerous!"
"Min-woo."
She leaned down, meeting my eyes. Firm, yet tender.
"I said my side is safe, but I don't want to show you the filth. Stay here obediently, like a good girl."
"Ugh..."
"Kkkomul. Guard your mama well."
"Kkiruluk!"
Kkkomul saluted(?) solemnly, as if to say he'd got it. Traitor.
She stroked my cheek once, then strode into the darkness, her coat billowing.
As she left, the first-floor staff who'd been guarding the car surrounded it protectively. I could only press my face to the window and stamp my feet anxiously.
A strange unease gnawed at my heart. I was scared Abhos might get hurt, but... more than that, I was terrified of being left alone.
Waiting like this just feels wrong...!
Thud, thud. A figure emerged from the shadows. A massive man in a fedora, resembling Kim Doo-han—that Abhos sponsor—was carrying Jang Hyun-soo like a sack of trash, covered in dirt.
Thump.
"Haa... haa..."
Dumped on the ground, Jang Hyun-soo gasped raggedly, his face pale. He'd watched the vice president get riddled with bullets right in front of him and nearly died himself. If the Abhos sponsor hadn't shielded him with his body, he'd be in the same state now.
"The intel?"
A cold voice rang out above his head as he panted on the ground. Looking up, Abhos stood there impassively, as if she couldn't care less about his condition.
"H-here it is..."
With trembling hands, Jang Hyun-soo handed over a bloodstained binder and USB drive. Abhos took them and scanned the contents under the scrapyard's faint light. Factory blueprints, bribery ledgers fed to the provincial office, experimental subject lists. Her red lips curved in satisfaction.
Good thing...
Jang Hyun-soo let out a sigh of relief. At least the mission was complete. He hadn't disappointed her.
Then, click, click. Heels echoed from the shadows beyond the streetlight.
"Abhos..."
A figure in a skintight black tactical suit, curves blatantly on display in that embarrassing outfit.
Director Kang?
Jang Hyun-soo's eyes widened at the unexpected sight of her—no, him.
Abhos prioritized Executive Director Kang Min-woo's safety above all. And there might still be assassins lurking. A delicate, gentle soul like the young master couldn't handle a place like this.
Whoosh—thud!
As if his worries had come true, something dropped from the sky. Dust billowed with a light tremor.
"Eek!?"
Kang Min-woo, approaching cautiously, froze in surprise. As the dust settled, the being that landed beside Abhos revealed itself.
"Chirruruk..."
A monstrous aberration. Reverse-jointed legs, insectile carapace skin, massive scythe-like blades on its wrists. Blood dripped from the blades, and it held two corpses by the hands.
Abhos sponsor—hunter type.
Jang Hyun-soo instinctively tensed. He should be used to it by now, but that bloodthirsty horror still sent chills down his spine every time. His gaze darted urgently to Min-woo.
He worried about Min-woo's reaction. The delicate executive who couldn't kill a bug. Sure, he'd boldly talked revenge last time, but seeing that gruesome monster and corpses might make him scream or faint.
If he freaked out and rejected Abhos or caused a scene? It'd displease her, and the fallout would be uncontrollable.
"Min-woo."
As expected, Abhos's voice dropped low.
"Didn't I tell you to wait in the car?"
"Ah..."
Min-woo flinched. But contrary to Jang Hyun-soo's fears, it wasn't the monster that scared him. He looked sulky, like a puppy eyeing its owner, afraid of scolding.
"I-I just... I was worried. I wanted to be with you, Abhos..."
Min-woo fidgeted with his fingers, looking up pleadingly. Abhos's icy expression softened at the pitiful, adorable sight.
"Sigh, fine. Come here. You're getting more seductive by the day."
At her beckon, Min-woo beamed and trotted over, slipping into her arm like it was nothing. Jang Hyun-soo finally relaxed.
Good. He didn't get too scared...
But what followed shattered Jang Hyun-soo's common sense.
Snuggled in Abhos's embrace, Min-woo turned to the monster beside them. Bloodied blades, inhuman anatomy, grotesque compound eyes. An object of terror to anyone—yet Min-woo blinked at it.
And then.
"Um... hello?"
He bowed politely.
"Y-you're one of Abhos's new subordinates, right? Good work out there."
So casual, so natural—like greeting a new hire from another department.
"Kirik...?"
Even the hunter sponsor tilted its head in confusion.
"Kkkomul, say hi. He's a friend."
"Kkiruk! Kkwi!"
Kkkomul slithered from Min-woo's waist and tapped the hunter's hand with a tentacle, mimicking a high-five.
"..."
Jang Hyun-soo stared blankly at the bizarre peace: a beauty (man) in full-body tights cheerfully greeting a gore-covered monster.
"Such a cute one."
Abhos stroked Min-woo's head fondly, as if proud. Min-woo wagged his tail, basking in it, ignoring the headless corpse in the hunter's grip.
"Now then."
With Min-woo still in her arms, Abhos eyed the sniper's corpse.
"Shall we see who sent these rats?"
Shrieeek!
Black tentacles erupted from her back. They coiled around the sniper's body in an instant, crushing and devouring it. The gruesome crunch of flesh and bone. Jang Hyun-soo looked away, but Min-woo watched the feast with curious eyes.
Moments later,
"Tch."
Abhos retracted her tentacles with a click of her tongue.
"Nothing special. Just hired hounds."
She petted Min-woo as she spoke.
"Keter's thorough. No client info in their memories—just orders to eliminate the target."
Indeed. Keter's tail-cutting was flawless. The assassins were so compartmentalized they didn't even know their employer.
"So... a failure?"
Jang Hyun-soo asked cautiously. The plan was to squeeze more from Vice President Jo Sang-hun and leak it to the press for a big splash.
"Not quite the end. We got the keys, at least."
Abhos smirked, waving the binder. Min-woo took it from her and skimmed the contents.
"Factory blueprints...? Like a game map. And this..."
His eyes widened at the back pages.
"Bribery ledger?"
"That worm left something useful after all. No need to climb walls now."
Abhos smiled at Jang Hyun-soo, Min-woo, and the sponsors.
"Back to the office first. We'll need prep to tear into Keter's flesh."
— Three days later. JH Consulting office.
The office looked worlds different from days ago—like a movie war room. Desks overflowed with forged Special Judicial Police badges and official docs like Facility Safety Inspection Orders.
"Briefing time."
Manager Jang stood before the map with a baton, brimming with confidence.
"As you know, Plant 2 is a restricted zone. Private security, even military backup in emergencies—a fortress. Force our way in, and we're terrorists turned into Swiss cheese."
I nodded, and he grinned, pointing to the desk papers.
"But we have that trash VP's gift: the Provincial Governor Bribery Ledger."
"Exactly, exactly! That hit the spot!"
I wholeheartedly agreed with the staffer using Gyeongsang dialect, recalling the past few days.
Back at the office, Abhos had quick-serviced a ledger copy and short letter to the governor's chief secretary.
I demand a safety inspection of Plant 2. Refuse, and this ledger goes to prosecutors and the press.
The response was immediate. The next day, a governor-stamped Special Safety Inspection Permit arrived. The inspection team list? Blank delegation.
"Thanks to that, we're legit officials now."
Manager Jang tapped his inspector badge.
"We're special investigators under the governor's orders—marching right through the front gate. Cops, military—they can't stop us. Hell, they have to escort us."
"Ooooh...!"
The staff cheered. Tattooed bros traded black suits for crisp official jackets, briefcases in hand (packed with cyber team's hacking gear, of course).
"Perfect... absolutely perfect!"
I clenched my fist, my assistant inspector badge around my neck. It felt like filming a spy movie. Power piercing power. Abhos's scheme was genius!
"Good. I'm pleased."
Abhos nodded from her cross-legged seat at the head.
"Legal cover secured, entry route locked. Hit them at 4 p.m. when they're slacking—rip out their weaknesses."
"Yes, ma'am!"
The mood was electric. All set. We'd pose as officials and raid the evil lair (shady Japanese corp!) with impunity!
"Alright, time to move..."
As Abhos rose to order departure—
The urgent anchor's voice blared from the corner TV.
"...Huh?"
I froze, briefcase in hand. Paju...? Pharma plant?
The screen showed the plant engulfed in crimson flames, live. Black smoke choked the sky, outer walls crumbling in real time—the very building on our wall map turning to ash.
"Wha... what...?"
Manager Jang dropped his baton. Our forged badges and permits became worthless paper in seconds.
Silence. Suffocating silence blanketed the war room.
"Heh..."
Manager Jang let out a hollow laugh. We'd blackmailed the governor, forged IDs, planned routes—and the target house vanished.
"They... beat us to the punch."
I muttered blankly. Keter. Before we could draw our sword, they flipped the board entirely. Evidence, equipment, horrors inside—all incinerated.
"...Ha."
Abhos laughed incredulously, brushing back her hair.
"Amusing..."
Her eyes chilled—not rage, but faint admiration for their swift ruthlessness, laced with deep displeasure.
Our ambitious, perfectly legal factory takeover? Ended in pathetic, fiery futility by one breaking news bulletin.