You Shouldn't Go That Way

Two ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠weeks had passed since Goat-jjang's battle with Baek Shin-hoo. Hunters had scoured every inch of the field and still hadn't turned up a single trace of her, which meant that today's bait on the Hunter Gallery was, once again, the question of where she'd gone.

Ever since Goat-jjang had vanished, the Gallery's bait had been more or less the same. Goat-jjang's whereabouts. Blitz Guild, now public enemy number one. The downfall of Baek Shin-hoo.

By now the bait had been sucked down to the marrow — a bone with nothing left to gnaw. With no new events to speak of, the Gallery lapsed into a brief lull. Hunters already inured to the Tower's dangers found themselves craving a fresh hit of dopamine.

Capital University Hospital.

"Mr. Baek Shin-hoo. I understand you're a hunter, but potions are not verified medicine."

"Yes."

"If you keep using them indiscriminately every time you come in injured, even this hospital can't guarantee a full recovery."

"Yes…"

"You're cleared for discharge. Billing will assist you with payment at the administration desk on the first floor."

"Understood...."

Baek Shin-hoo settled the bill and slipped quietly out through the hospital doors. Once upon a time he would have blown up, dumping a dual-barrel of curses on anyone within earshot. Now all he wanted was for nobody to recognize him at all.

Too many people had come looking. Every time he stepped outside they circled, like hyenas closing on weakened prey. He had never imagined that so many people could hate him this much.

If I'd just gotten my power back, none of this would've happened…

Old memories surfaced. When he'd first become a hunter, it had felt like the whole world was in his hands — until he met her. Yoo Se-ah of the Nebula Guild. No: back then she had been just another hunter, the same as anyone else. They had debuted around the same time, and she had stolen every spotlight the public had to give. Because she was a rare mage? More precisely, because she was a mage overflowing with talent. Her brilliance had been so blinding that he had been shoved thoroughly into the extras, and in the quiet of Baek Shin-hoo's chest a slow, seething jealousy had begun to take root. He had wanted to beat her. He had wanted to be the best.

One day, in front of everyone, he challenged her to a practice match.

A burst of pale light exploded across the training ground.

"Ah, fuck!"

It was a massacre. Every time he got close enough to strike, his legs froze solid. He'd shatter the ice and lunge again, only for her to dance out of reach. The instant he closed the gap, she'd lock his legs and unload a storm of magic. He never landed a single hit. He was toyed with, thoroughly and without mercy, and every hunter watching laughed in his face. That day's humiliation drove itself into his skull like a nail.

A fucking awful feeling. No — a feeling so shameful he could have died of it.

From that day on, Baek Shin-hoo scraped together money like a man possessed and poured every last coin into skills. So that nobody could run. So that nobody could ever toy with him again. Rank by rank he climbed, and before long he had stepped into the S-rank tier. Now he had the power to thoroughly crush the ones who had laughed. He put that power to work, and they hung the moniker Mad Dog on him for it, but he didn't care. He erased the laughing faces from his memory and filled the space with wretched ones, and it felt good. He liked the atmosphere of people being careful even to breathe in front of him.

He had liked it.

And then that power had vanished.

Worst-case scenario. The wretched faces in his memory were transforming, one by one, into faces filled with murderous intent. He had to get his power back. Whatever it took.

I have to get my power back. No matter what it takes.

Baek Shin-hoo pulled his cap down low and stepped carefully out of the hospital, already primed to bolt back through the doors the moment anyone came near.

That was when a loud voice rose up behind him.

"Aigoo, thank you so much for always looking out for us. Thanks to you, that difficult customer situation wrapped up perfectly."

Baek Shin-hoo flinched.

Fuck, that scared the shit out of me!

Who talks that loud on the street without a shred of manners?

"Yes, yes, I understand completely. I'm actually on my way to a client who needs our help right now."

Damn it. In the old days he would have grabbed the guy by the collar and given him a piece of his mind on the spot. Hell, he wouldn't even have needed to — one look at his face and the man would have dropped to his knees on his own.

"Yes! I'll let you go, then. Please take care of yourself, as always."

The call ended, at least. The anger that had been climbing his throat slowly receded. He scanned his surroundings again and picked up his pace.

Then a voice spoke from directly behind him.

"You are Baek Shin-hoo, correct?"

"Gah—!"

The voice at his back startled him so badly he stumbled a step in reverse. He turned, and it was the same man who had just been bellowing into his phone. The moment Baek Shin-hoo's wariness peaked, the man beamed a bright, easy smile, as if to put him at ease.

"I'm sorry if I startled you. I'm Yoon Chang-min, with the Trust & Connection Foundation. In Korea they call it the Shinyeon Foundation — have you heard of us?"

The Shinyeon Foundation? He had. That was the TC Foundation, wasn't it? A multinational so sprawling it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they operated in every country on earth. Refugee relief, volunteer work in the slums — they did a lot of that. Even high-ranking hunters were known to write them donation checks for the sake of their public image.

So why were they coming to him? Was this a shakedown for a donation? For a multinational, they were awfully slow on the news. There couldn't be a person left in Korea who didn't know what he'd become.

The urge to unload a string of curses rose in his throat. Reason caught it and held it down. The other party was a multinational corporation, and this man was one of theirs. With no power left, making an enemy of someone that size would be a mess he couldn't possibly clean up.

Baek Shin-hoo packed the anger down tight and put on his manners.

"I take it you haven't heard. I've lost my abilities and I'm going through a rather difficult stretch. As for donations, once my power comes back…"

He declined politely and turned his back. A warm, good-natured voice followed him.

"Hahaha — our foundation isn't so hard up that we have to go around soliciting donations."

"I'm sorry? Then what is this about…"

"We heard that you'd lost your abilities, Mr. Baek, and we came running."

"What?"

Confusion stacked up behind Baek Shin-hoo's eyes. They knew he'd lost his power, and they'd come looking anyway? To do what? Was this one another hyena?

"For an S-rank hunter who devoted himself to peace to end up like this is a loss for all of humanity."

"Ah…. That's very kind of you to say. Thank you."

A single compliment, and the wariness that had climbed so high began to settle.

"Which is why our foundation has been seeking out people who've suffered that kind of misfortune, hoping we might be of some small help."

"Help?"

At the look of half-belief on Baek Shin-hoo's face, Yoon Chang-min held out his smartphone.

"Why don't you watch this first, and then we can continue?"

The video opened on something that looked like a vast laboratory. Inside it, a man stood atop a sword and soared through the air.

And that wasn't all. The man formed a strange series of hand gestures, and a fireball bloomed above his palm. The fireball left his hand, flew to the target, and burned it away without leaving a trace.

Baek Shin-hoo's breath caught in his throat. Set aside those odd hand gestures before the magic, and it was almost exactly the way that fucking NPC fought.

"What the hell is this?"

The man still hadn't lost his smile. He spoke with unhurried calm.

"This gentleman was in the same position you are, Mr. Baek. He took a critical injury in combat with a monster and was declared disabled."

"Then…"

"He received treatment from our foundation and successfully completed rehabilitation."

"Rehabilitation? You're saying his abilities came back?"

"It isn't simply that his abilities were restored. Originally, he was an assassin-type hunter — the same as you."

"Hhk!!!"

"Your surprise ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is only natural. An assassin hunter, using magic like this."

Get the treatment and an assassin starts casting magic? What kind of nonsense was that? If the man in front of him hadn't been from the TC Foundation, Baek Shin-hoo would have called him a con artist and dumped a load of curses on his head.

Then maybe…

"Has your foundation ever treated someone short and cu— I mean, a small-framed kid. Black hair, long and straight. Have you treated anyone like that?"

"Well. We run volunteer operations in every country in the world, so I couldn't possibly know every person we've treated."

A flicker of disappointment crossed Baek Shin-hoo's face, and Yoon Chang-min added quickly:

"What I can say for certain is that the Korean branch, at least, has never treated anyone matching that description."

So that NPC bitch wasn't with the Foundation, then? No. That wasn't what mattered right now. A lifeline had just dropped in front of him — a golden one. A massive charitable organization was offering to fund his treatment. The choice was already made.

He asked the one question that actually counted.

"If I take that treatment, can I become like the man in the video?"

"How far any given person's abilities will rise is a matter of individual capacity, so I can't give you a definitive answer."

"Then…"

"What I can say for certain is this. Your abilities will come back. No question. And you will become incomparably stronger than you ever were."

Unconditionally stronger than before. That single sentence snapped the last remaining thread of his reason. Suddenly it was Baek Shin-hoo who was the one with no leverage, clinging to Yoon Chang-min.

"The treatment…. No! I want the treatment right ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠now."

"Haha. Easy now. You've made an excellent decision."

"What do I need to do?"

"Since you've made up your mind — strike while the iron's hot, yes? Shall we leave right now?"

"Yes.... Yes!"

"Then follow me. The company car is parked just around that corner. We'll take you straight to our hospital."

"Ah…. Really. I mean it! Thank you so much for helping me."

"Don't mention it! Helping someone like you, Mr. Baek, is a reward in itself for us."

Baek Shin-hoo kept bowing as he thanked him, and Yoon Chang-min answered with a bright, generous smile. As they started walking, he tossed out a light little joke.

"Ah — how are you with herbal medicine, by the way?"

"Herbal medicine?"

"Yes. The special rehabilitation project we're running hasn't received formal FDA approval yet. It's a treatment that fuses Western and Eastern medicine, so you may end up taking something rather like herbal medicine."

"I don't care. Herbal medicine, death-poison — I'll swallow anything if it makes me better."

At Baek Shin-hoo's answer, a peculiar smile crossed Yoon Chang-min's face.

"Now that is a wonderful will you've got there."