Chapter 45
Chapter 45
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: I'm Coming Now
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I'm coming now.
The next morning, the lobby on the first floor of the Miracle Management building was filled with an unexpected commotion.
"It's Lee Jia the Hunter!"
"Lee Jia Hunter! Could we please get an interview?!"
Reporters who had gotten wind of Lee Jia's return from her rental assignment beforehand competed fiercely with one another, not hesitating to shove as they vied for her attention.
A barrage of camera flashes poured down, but she didn't lose her smile for even a moment, as if completely accustomed to it.
She seemed utterly uninterested in interviews and turned toward the building entrance, only to suddenly pivot and offer a greeting.
"Hello. I'm Lee Jia."
She waved brightly with a beaming smile.
Gone was any trace of her formerly timid demeanor—she brimmed with confidence.
Instead of her usual subjugation gear, she wore a stylish office outfit.
A white blouse that accentuated her figure paired with a black H-line skirt exuded a fresh allure.
Her neatly pinned-up hair and light makeup only enhanced her innocent charm.
"Great Star Guild rental—good work out there. Care to share your next destination in advance?"
"I heard you took down an A-rank dungeon boss solo! Was it tough?!"
As the questions rained down, Lee Jia smiled shyly and replied.
"Nah, it wasn't solo. It was all thanks to the Great Star Guild members who helped me out so well."
With that, she excused herself and stepped into the building.
She had to deal with the public's attention, but there was only one person she wanted to talk to right away.
She rode the elevator and straightened her clothes in front of the mirror.
She debated unbuttoning her blouse one more time before finally doing so, her face flushing red.
'This should be... okay, right?'
Her heart pounded.
It had been days since she'd last seen Siwoo.
Just the thought of being alone with him made her racing heart impossible to control.
Arriving at the representative's office door, she knocked with excitement bubbling over.
Knock, knock.
"Come in."
The moment she heard his low, calm voice, the corners of Lee Jia's mouth began to lift involuntarily.
She carefully opened the door and stepped inside.
Siwoo sat behind a wide desk by the sunlit window.
He looked up from his papers to greet her.
As his blue eyes turned toward her, she held her breath.
"You're here, Jia."
"Yes! I'm back."
Lee Jia gave a crisp greeting and sat on the sofa.
Siwoo set aside his work, stood, and took a seat across from her.
"Good work out there. Great Star Guild was extremely satisfied. I felt even prouder because you did such a great job."
"Really? That's a relief. I was worried..."
"No need to worry. You'll excel anywhere you go."
Siwoo smiled softly and poured her some tea.
Lee Jia stared openly at his face as he handed her the steaming cup.
'Something...'
"Drink it before it gets cold."
"Ah, thank you..."
Even as she took the cup, she kept stealing glances at Siwoo.
Aware of her gaze or not, Siwoo leaned back comfortably in his chair and looked her over slowly.
At first, she thought he was just checking her status like always.
But.
His eyes lingered—just for a fleeting moment, truly the briefest instant—on her neckline and collarbone, then dipped lower before coming back up.
It was a split second, but she definitely felt his gaze.
'Huh...? Definitely.'
The instant she became conscious of his look, her heart started pounding like mad.
That glance just now.
That gaze.
It was unmistakably the way a man looks at a woman.
'The rep...!'
As if sensing her swirling thoughts, Siwoo cleared his throat casually, feigning nonchalance, and turned his gaze to the window.
"You look pretty today."
'What?!'
"Th-thank! Thank you..."
In her fluster, she bit her tongue slightly.
Her face was already flushed beet red.
The stoic Han Siwoo—the representative—had complimented her appearance.
And while avoiding her eyes, no less.
'...Something. Something's different.'
She sneaked another glance at him.
She was certain.
'He's conscious of me.'
Unlike before, he was paying attention to her.
And it wasn't the professional concern for a hunter at all.
Even the way his throat moved as he drank water seemed tenser than usual.
Lee Jia clutched her bursting heart and took a sip of tea.
'Too sweet. So sweet it's driving me crazy.'
The sweetness overwhelmed all her senses.
She couldn't tell if it was the tea or the atmosphere.
As a strange tension hung thick between the two, a third pair of eyes watched from afar.
The representative's office door stood slightly ajar—just the width of a finger—and cold purple eyes gleamed through the crack.
About 20 minutes later.
"Then, rest up at home for the time being. Absolutely no overdoing it."
"Yes, see you tomorrow!"
"I said rest."
"..."
Lee Jia left the office with lingering reluctance.
Her steps looked as light as walking on clouds.
As the door closed, Siwoo loosened his tie slightly and let out a sigh.
'Whew. Driving me nuts.'
Only then did the tension start to ease a bit.
The moment he'd seen Lee Jia after so long, he'd tensed up without realizing it.
Was it because of what happened with Chaei recently?
It was getting harder to maintain his composure.
Moreover, today's Lee Jia had dressed even more maturely than usual, making it a real struggle to keep his eyes from wandering downward.
Thinking back on it made his gaze waver again.
'...No stray thoughts. Back to work.'
He shook his head and picked up his pen again.
That was when it happened.
Bang.
The door flew open roughly without a knock, and Siwoo said without looking up.
"Yaeun?"
It was usually Kim Yaeun who barged in so brazenly.
But no reply came.
Puzzled, he looked up—and there was Chaei, wearing a tight knit dress that clung to her body.
"...Chaei, what's this ab—"
"That was Lee Jia just now, right?"
Chaei cut him off and asked point-blank.
Her cheeks puffed out in clear dissatisfaction as she strode forward.
She crossed her arms and shot him a glare.
'...What's with her.'
Siwoo couldn't fathom her intent.
"Yes, she just left."
"Hmm. She's pretty in person, huh."
Chaei suddenly leaned on the desk, bending forward to meet his eye level.
Her purple eyes gleamed as if to devour him.
"......"
"So, what about me?"
She leaned in even closer, her face inches from his—close enough to feel her breath.
"What do you like about me?"
Her bold question made Siwoo's head throb.
He decided to change the subject and turned his head away.
"Enough. This isn't the time."
"...Tch."
Siwoo ignored her pouting, puffed cheeks, and flipped through his papers.
"I'm busy looking for someone."
"Someone? Who?"
Noting the playfulness had vanished from her expression, he hesitated before answering.
It wasn't something to hide anyway—and as a fellow test subject, she might have some clue.
"Choi Minseok's wife. They called her K-21."
"...K-21?"
"Yes. She might've been in one of their facilities, like you. We're turning over every facility in Busan. Ring any bells?"
He asked without much expectation.
Even though Chaei had been a test subject, the chances they'd overlapped with K-21 were slim.
But.
"Huh?"
Chaei's reaction was unexpected.
Instead of shaking her head, she seemed to be rummaging through her memories.
"...I think I've heard it."
"...What?"
Siwoo leaned forward urgently.
"Really? Where?"
"W-wait, Rep. You're scaring me."
"...Sorry. Got a little excited."
"Back then, I overheard the researchers chatting among themselves. When... when I was lying there..."
Chaei tapped her lips with a finger as she dredged up the memory.
It was a painful recollection—but also one of salvation.
"They called it a failure."
"A failure?"
"Yeah. So they said they'd dispose of it. Send it somewhere else..."
Siwoo's heart pounded as he listened.
Disposal. Failure.
Ominous words, but the most solid lead yet.
"Where'd they send it? Do you remember?"
Chaei narrowed her eyes, piecing together the fragments of memory.
Faint researchers' voices.
Blurry recollections from the operating table.
'Where was it... Ah.'
Her eyes suddenly lit up.
"Incheon! Incheon."
"Incheon?"
"Yes. They definitely said Incheon."
"......"
Siwoo clenched his fist without realizing it.
He'd finally found it.
Real information they hadn't meant to leak.
The actual relocation site.
"You're sure?"
"...Yes. I'm sure."
The moment he heard that, Siwoo shot to his feet.
His chair scraped backward with a screech.
"Thank you, Chaei. This helps a ton."
His eyes burned bright.
He snatched his jacket in hasty movements.
"I have to go now."
"Now?"
"Yeah. Might already be too late. No time."
If Kim Yunseo was still alive, she could be dying at this very moment.
Writhing in agony, perhaps.
He couldn't waste a second.
"Rep."
"Yes."
"...Please, save her too."
"...Yes."
Siwoo pulled out his smartphone and dialed Choi Minseok as he headed for the door.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ On the outskirts of Busan, in an abandoned factory district.
The place, once filled with the clamor of machinery, had become a slaughterhouse.
Boom-!
A massive explosion shattered the silence.
The factory's iron gate crumpled like paper and flew into the air.
Choi Minseok emerged from the thick cloud of dust.
His full plate armor, enveloping his entire body, was smeared with soot and bloodstains, its original color unrecognizable.
Rough breaths rasped from beneath his helmet like grinding metal.
"Huff... huff..."
He staggered and collapsed onto the rubble of a ruined building.
The massive shield in his hand fell limply to the ground.
Thud.
The sound of the shield hitting the ground echoed like the despair resounding in his heart.
Around him, subdued villains groaned and writhed.
How many were there?
Some had foamed at the mouth and passed out; others had pissed themselves in terror.
Arms twisted at unnatural angles, legs mangled into bizarre poses.
It was an overwhelming scene befitting the S-rank moniker.
Yet the eyes of Choi Minseok, who had wrought it all, seemed utterly vacant.
'Gone. Nothing here.'
The first factory, the second warehouse, the third warehouse.
And now this last remaining spot.
Not a single thing he sought existed.
Not even the faintest trace of his wife—no clue at all.
If only that madwoman Im Seyeon had been here.
"U-ugh... mercy... please..."
A villain at his feet writhed, begging for his life.
Choi Minseok looked down at him with impassive eyes.
Not even anger stirred; his chest was filled only with cold emptiness.
"Then talk."
His voice was parched and dry.
"Talk. K-21, Im Seyeon. Anything."
"W-we just guarded the place... we don't know details..."
The villain crawled on the ground, nearly sobbing.
In truth, Choi Minseok knew he was telling the truth.
He'd searched the site himself, turning over every stone.
This place held only villains.
As if it had been a bluff from the start.
He looked up at the sky.
A hazy moon floated through the pall of smoke.
'Where are you.'
Her voice seemed to echo in his ears.
A voice that had grown nearly faint.
A face that seemed to blur more with each passing moment.
It squeezed him like a curse becoming reality.
When he'd first heard she might be alive, he'd been overjoyed, harboring immense hopes.
I can see her.
Finally.
She's alive.
But.
As the saying goes, the greater the hope, the deeper the despair.
The reality crashing down felt like his heart was being shredded.
"Yunseo..."
He removed his helmet and set it on the ground.
Sweat-matted hair clung to his forehead, and thick tears streamed down his cheeks, carving paths through the dust.
"You're alive, right? Aren't you?"
What good was S-rank power?
What good was strength to best anyone?
If he couldn't find the one person who mattered.
"Yeah? Please, just stay alive. I'm begging you."
He dropped to his knees and sobbed.
In the ruined factory district, only one man's anguished cries echoed hollowly.
Ring-
That was when it happened.
His phone rang as if on cue.
He checked the caller—Han Siwoo—and steadied his voice before answering.
[Minseok. It's me.]
"...Yes, Rep."
Choi Minseok's voice was hoarse and cracked.
Still, he tried his best not to let it show.
"You were say—"
[We found her.]
?
Time seemed to stop.
Did I hear that right?
What did I just hear?
"...Pardon? What?"
[Incheon. Yunseo's there.]
Thump. Thump.
[Sending the address now. Head there. We'll cover the other sites.]
Thump. Thump.
[Minseok?]
...Ah. Ah.
"Rea... really? Truly...? Really...?"
Choi Minseok's voice trembled uncontrollably.
It didn't feel real.
[Minseok! Get it together and run—now!]
His sharp command made Choi Minseok's heart skip a beat.
Right—there's still time.
Not too late yet.
"Yes. I'm heading out."
[Me too. Don't be late.]
"...Yes, Rep."
Grit.
He clenched his teeth.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
He broke into a mad sprint.
Smashing through every obstacle in a straight line.
With every step, the asphalt cratered beneath his feet.
"Wait. I'm coming now."
Before long, an Association helicopter came into view.