Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Hero
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Sunlight began to shine on the dusty downtown commercial district.
Officer Kim Hana blankly gazed up at the sky.
Today's sunrise felt exceptionally bright. Maybe it was because she'd brushed the doorstep of hell and come back.
“……Amazing.”
Even with communications restored, not a single soul in the Major Crimes Squad thought to report back to headquarters.
Forget reporting—they were all just standing there, mouths agape.
It couldn't be helped.
“Squad leader. I'm not seeing things, right?”
“…….”
Squad Leader Park Cheol-su dropped the cigarette dangling from his lips onto the ground.
An A-Rank Gate.
Normally, a situation like this would call for a massive subjugation force, S-Rank Hunters included.
All the police could do was seal off a 10km radius, evacuate civilians, and pray nothing went wrong.
But.
Blue Vest had waltzed into the gate alone and smashed the core in under a minute before strolling back out.
He'd even wrapped a mana stone up in his coat like a souvenir.
“This is insane, for real! Squad leader, even S-Rank Hunters don't solo A-Rank gates, do they?”
“Nope... One injury and it's a national loss. No guild's crazy enough to send someone alone.”
“But Blue Vest was out in less than a minute. Less. Than. One. Minute.”
Did that even make sense?
He'd cleared the catastrophe before the water for a cup of ramen could boil.
And he'd chased down Sama Jin's sedan on foot, all to deliver the guy as a present.
“Amaaaazing!”
Amazing was all there was to say.
Kim Hana yelled it for the umpteenth time, only to get a light flick on the forehead from the squad leader.
“Ow...!”
“I don't even know if this is worth celebrating.”
The squad leader lit a fresh cigarette and exhaled a long plume of smoke.
“Why not? The case is solved—that's good, right?”
“In the end, we didn't do jack.”
That was true.
They'd mobilized full of spirit, but he'd taken out the thugs, cleared the gate.
He'd even snagged evidence before the building collapsed and handed it straight to the squad leader.
Even the squad leader—who'd claimed zero interest in Blue Vest—muttered that he might just become a fan.
“Come on, Squad Leader, why so serious? Case closed is a win.”
“Try getting serious for once, would ya? Not embarrassed wearing that uniform?”
Vroooooom!!!
That was when it happened.
An engine screamed like it was about to explode from afar.
It was the black sedan Sama Jin had fled in.
Except its condition was... off.
Screeeeech!!
The car screeched to a halt in front of the detectives.
The stench of burning tires hung thick in the air.
Steam billowed from the chassis, and the tires were so flat they looked ready to give out any second.
How brutally had he driven in that short time to trash a perfectly fine car like this?
Click.
The passenger door swung open, and a masked man stepped out slowly.
“Everyone okay? Dropping off one more perp for delivery.”
His voice was serene, like he'd just returned from a casual stroll.
“You rode shotgun? Then who was driving...”
As the squad leader asked, the driver's door flew open—and a ragged, mummy-like man tumbled out, crawling on the ground.
“Urgh... Blergh!!”
It was Sama Jin.
Viper Guild's leader, the worst terrorist of the year who'd tried to turn a whole neighborhood to rubble for profit.
'What the...?'
He was clearly out of it.
His face was a mess of tears and snot, ashen as dirt, legs wobbling like a newborn fawn's.
He looked a decade older in just an hour.
“P-please... spare me... Please... Lock me up...!”
“……?”
Kim Hana couldn't believe her ears.
This was the guy who'd tried to sacrifice his own men to a swamp of poison just to dodge jail—and now he was begging for handcuffs, bawling his eyes out.
“I'll confess everything! Real estate scams, money laundering, the gate generator—everything I know! Just please get that guy away from me!!”
Sama Jin jabbed a finger toward Blue Vest, who stood there with his hands in his pockets.
“What the hell did you do to him?”
“Aw, nothing. Just sat in the back seat and chatted a bit. Suddenly he changes his mind, says he's turning himself in.”
Blue Vest crouched down and placed a hand on Sama Jin's shoulder.
“Right, boss?”
Tap. Tap.
At the light taps, Sama Jin went white as a sheet and nodded like a maniac.
“Y-y-y-yes! D-during the drive, s-suddenly... I wanted to live right! Can't keep sinning!”
“Ah... Sure...”
The squad leader wore an utterly baffled expression.
Just a chat? Then why was the guy drenched in sweat and piss?
Why was the car in this state?
Kim Hana couldn't hold back her curiosity.
“How far did you drive, exactly?”
“Spotted a nice scenic spot nearby. Boss got all hyped, floored it right to the cliff edge. Took some effort to rein him in.”
“A cliff!?”
“Yeah. Guy's got a heavy foot.”
Blue Vest cracked a grin.
Sama Jin promptly lost it and shrieked.
“Y-yes!! I was driving! Check the black box—it'll show! I was in the driver's seat! Ha... Hahaha... Blergh!”
The more they heard, the more mysteries piled up.
Turning an A-Rank Hunter—a mob boss who bathed in human lives—into a raving lunatic in an hour flat.
What kind of sorcery was this?
Kim Hana toyed with imagining it for a second, then dropped the idea.
'He handled it his way.'
She gazed at Blue Vest with eyes full of reverence.
Not just brute strength—he knew how to handle people, too.
Man, the squad would've been golden with a leader like him.
While Kim Hana indulged in that cheeky daydream, the current squad leader was receiving a black gemstone from Blue Vest.
“They say this is the gate generator thing. Keep it safe for me, Squad Leader.”
“Huh? Gate gene... Yes?”
The squad leader, stunned, handed the item back with trembling hands.
“No way. We can't take this.”
He shook his head firmly.
“Why? Was gonna give it as a gift.”
“Can't do it. No way we're stashing something this dangerous in a precinct evidence locker. If word leaks... We couldn't handle the fallout.”
“That so?”
“You should deliver it to the Hunter Association yourself. You're probably the safest person in the country to hold it.”
The squad leader was already treating Blue Vest not as some random hunter, but as a hero.
Truth be told, everyone there felt the same.
“Tch... Fine, if you insist, I'll drop it off.”
Blue Vest pocketed the gem with the air of someone stuck with a chore.
'So cool. Stands tall after a massive feat, zero interest in the glory!'
The casual way he stuffed it into his jacket's inner pocket looked just like grabbing smokes from the corner store.
With the situation wrapped up and backup arriving, the detectives hustled to process the scene and haul in the perps.
Sama Jin thrashed so hard even handcuffs weren't enough, so they bound his legs too for good measure.
That got him giggling about how he couldn't floor the accelerator like this.
'Not the time to deal with morons.'
Seizing a brief lull, Kim Hana bolted toward Blue Vest.
Luckily, he was still there.
“Blue Vest!”
It felt like now or never for a lifetime shot, so she mustered her courage.
She tried to tamp down her fan-girl heart, but skipping an autograph here would've haunted her whole career.
She thrust out her diary and pen.
“I know you're busy, but... could I get an autograph!?”
Blue Vest's eyes widened behind the mask.
He chuckled and took the diary.
“First time signing for a cop. I'm honored.”
“The honor's all mine! Whoa!”
Scribble scribble.
He signed without hesitation.
[B.B]
Handsome script.
Kim Hana clutched the autograph, beaming—then tilted her head.
“Huh? Isn't it B.V?”
Oh no—too rude?
No way he'd mix up simple initials.
Blue Vest capped the pen and met her eyes directly.
“Hana. Who do you think is the top hunter?”
Kim Hana answered without a second's pause.
“Blue Vest, obviously! Ah-ha!”
She clapped a hand over her mouth as the meaning hit her.
Right.
He wasn't defined by some blue vest—he was just the best hunter, period.
He hadn't even worn the vest today.
“I'm the best, so B.B. Vest's got nothing to do with it.”
His eyes were dead serious.
Kim Hana hugged the diary to her chest and grinned ear to ear.
“But like, how many autographs is this? Feels super rare!”
“You're number four, Hana.”
“Four? Huh, more than I thought... Who else got one?”
“Got chummy with some kids during hunter training. Gave 'em to those.”
“Boys?”
“Yeah.”
“Then among girls...”
“You're the first.”
Kim Hana's heart plummeted.
First.
The first Blue Vest autograph that not even S-Ranks like Yoo Na-yeon or Han Yoo-jung had snagged—she'd claimed it.
“S-Squad Leader! You hear that?!”
After Blue Vest vanished.
Kim Hana latched onto the squad leader, bouncing like mad.
“Look at this! I'm the first! The first! Even the Saintess hasn't gotten one! Does that mean I'm closer to Blue Vest than the Saintess!?”
She rubbed the diary against her chest, oblivious to wrinkling her uniform.
“Who knows? Maybe we'll star in a movie together someday... Eek!”
“Snap out of it, you dope.”
The squad leader tsked in pity.
“Cut the nonsense and prep to head back. Special training starts today.”
“Whaaat?!”
“Whaaat my ass, kid! Everyone slacking like this. How we gonna catch crooks?”
Kim Hana grumbled but checked her diary one more time.
She thought—maybe becoming a cop was the right call after all—for the first time in ages.