Flight to America (3)
The fault lies with me for being inadequate.
In front of the swarm of reporters, Yi Haewan spoke with such bold confidence. The very man who had poisoned the S-rank hunters of the Haetae Guild and orchestrated this entire farce now squeezed out a few performative tears.
This was the role he had fully immersed himself in: the raid leader lamenting his own weakness.
“Their deaths will be remembered. I will climb the Tower and do my utmost to carry their share as well.”
Yi Haewan bowed deeply toward the countless cameras. He bent slightly past ninety degrees to emphasize his sincerity.
The joint memorial altar would remain open for a full month. The government had decided it was a necessary measure to prevent a nationwide drop in hunter morale.
“Aigoo… Aigoo…!”
“……”
The bereaved families wept uncontrollably before the portraits of the fallen hunters. They could never have imagined that their sons and daughters—some of the strongest humans in all of South Korea—would meet such a hollow end.
Yi Haewan gazed at the grieving families with an expression of profound sorrow. He hoped the cameras would capture the glistening in his eyes, silently praying that his sympathy would come across as genuine. He kept up the act throughout the entire funeral.
…How should I create the next opportunity?
His gaze kept drifting toward Han Sora. He showed interest in no one else.
Ever since he had resolved to bare his desire for her, an impatient urgency had taken root inside him. It felt as if he had left a priceless treasure sitting unguarded by the water’s edge.
Park Seonwoo already tasted that body… Who knows if he’s secretly savoring it again while I remain in the dark…
As fellow S-rank hunters, they had crossed paths often. He believed they were on fairly familiar terms. The fact that he still fell short compared to Park Seonwoo filled him with resentment.
Yi Haewan gathered his courage. During the funeral for his S-rank colleagues, he quietly approached Han Sora as she stood paying her respects and spoke to her.
“…Miss Sora, do you have a moment?”
He had already failed once by trying to force himself on her. It was time to change tactics. Until another angle presented itself, he would approach her amicably.
She’s still so beautiful.
After nearly dying while clearing the 50th floor of the Tower, Han Sora’s condition looked exactly the same as before. If anything, her skin seemed even softer and more radiant. He almost wondered if she had gone off somewhere alone to pamper herself with health supplements. The difference in appearance between her and the other A-rank female hunters was stark.
“A moment?”
Han Sora shot him a withering glance—one so pointed that even the usually oblivious Yi Haewan couldn’t miss it.
She had zero interest in him. Her gaze was cold enough to make that crystal clear.
Yi Haewan clenched his jaw. His inferiority complex toward Park Seonwoo piled up another thick layer.
“There’s something I’d like to say.”
He genuinely wanted to go on a normal date. Not with women who only chased his wealth and fame, but with someone on equal footing—someone like Han Sora. He wanted to take her to the movies, share a meal, have a few drinks. He looked at her with sincere eyes.
Even though he harbored despicable intentions, he felt no guilt. If he didn’t get caught, it wasn’t a crime.
Han Sora, however, was already perfectly satisfied. She had completely released her sexual frustration and stress, reaching a state of enlightenment, even nirvana. Watching this pathetic male still enslaved by his desires, she clicked her tongue inwardly.
“Say it here.”
She had only used Yi Haewan to provoke Park Seonwoo. That was all. She had absolutely no intention of ever letting their bodies touch.
He’s ugly.
The reason was simple. In every way, he failed to match her tastes.
“What I want to say here is…”
Yi Haewan hesitated, fumbling over his words. Eventually he let out a sigh. He had sensed that Han Sora would never agree to meet him privately.
This is all because of that bastard Park Seonwoo…
If not for him, he would have had a chance. Given enough time, he was certain he could have made her his. But Park Seonwoo had stolen his place. Yi Haewan ground his teeth.
I’ll just have to wait and see how this turns out.
He had deployed the Haetae Guild’s 3rd Strike Team. They were B-rank hunters he had personally nurtured—talents who could soon aim for A-rank.
Park Seonwoo was finished. There was no way a mere D-rank hunter could survive against them.
“It doesn’t seem like the right time. If you have some free time later…”
He would clear the goalkeeper and face the goal directly. Yi Haewan gave a vague excuse and ended the conversation.
About ten days passed.
The Tower 20th-floor raid was supposed to take two weeks. Now the Haetae Guild’s 3rd Strike Team was due to return.
As master of the Haetae Guild, Yi Haewan had come out personally to welcome them, both to congratulate their successful conquest of the 20th floor and to make a public appearance. He waited for Seong Jaeyun to emerge.
Wherever Yi Haewan went, reporters followed. Every single one of his movements was gossip fodder for the entire nation.
They were coming out.
The Haetae Guild and Cheongryong Guild teams began emerging from the portal.
…Where is the 3rd Strike Team?
Yi Haewan searched for Seong Jaeyun. No matter where he looked, the man was nowhere to be seen. There was only one possible meaning.
Seong Jaeyun is dead?
A B-rank hunter from the Haetae Guild—dead on the 20th floor of the Tower?
It was absurd.
While an S-rank dying on the 50th floor was also ridiculous, it still felt more plausible than a B-rank falling on the 20th. The news was that shocking.
…Park Seonwoo!
Yi Haewan instantly understood the reason. The Haetae Guild’s 3rd Strike Team had failed. Park Seonwoo and the Cheongryong Guild had survived.
And now Park Seonwoo stepped forward in front of the reporters as if he had something to say.
“I am filing charges against Yi Haewan of the Haetae Guild.”
Park Seonwoo dropped a bomb. The reporters, who had frozen for a split second, immediately thrust their cameras forward. While everyone else hesitated, unsure how to react, he continued.
“Yi Haewan’s Haetae Guild tried to kill us inside the Tower.”
It was like throwing an egg at a boulder. A powerless D-rank hunter was throwing himself against the Haetae Guild. If things continued this way, he would clearly be crushed under the combined weight of the media and public opinion.
He needed a trump card.
Crazy bastard.
Beneath the relentless barrage of camera flashes, Yi Haewan sneered at Park Seonwoo. In a society where social status formed a rigid hierarchy, a lowly commoner like Park Seonwoo could never defeat a noble like himself.
Yi Haewan couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from twitching upward. He was too busy trying to school his expression so the cameras wouldn’t catch it.
Park Seonwoo shouted.
“The Haetae Guild under Yi Haewan attempted to assassinate us!”
A cry filled with righteous fury. Yet the response was ice-cold.
Public opinion was firmly on Yi Haewan’s side. The overwhelming majority believed there was no way he would do such a thing.
“Are you claiming that Yi Haewan, an S-rank hunter and the master of Korea’s top guild, the Haetae Guild, tried to murder you?”
“Yes.”
One of the reporters asked Park Seonwoo the question.
“What possible reason would Yi Haewan have for wanting to kill you? Could you tell us the reason?”
Laughter leaked into the reporters’ voices. They looked at the insane D-rank hunter provoking the Haetae Guild and muttered about the scoop they were about to get.
Park Seonwoo could not reveal the reason. He couldn’t drag Han Sora’s name into this. He believed it would be wrong to do so to her.
Of course, from Han Sora’s perspective, that wasn’t the case at all.
“W-what did you say?”
Han Sora had also come to greet Park Seonwoo under the pretext of personal acquaintance. Then she received the shocking news that he had nearly been killed.
She was the only person alive who knew that the Masked Man and Park Seonwoo were the same person. That was precisely why she was so furious right now.
Her gaze turned toward Yi Haewan. She looked ready to disbelieve anything he might say. Since he had in fact orchestrated the attempt, even if he had ten mouths he would have nothing to say in his defense.
“Is that true?”
Park Seonwoo had found someone who could challenge Yi Haewan’s social standing in his place. They hadn’t discussed it beforehand, but he knew Han Sora wouldn’t stay silent. So he had gone ahead and done it.
Han Sora confronted Yi Haewan directly. The cameras that had been focused on Park Seonwoo swung toward the two of them.
Caught off guard by the sudden question, Yi Haewan couldn’t hide his panic.
It felt like having Han Sora’s internal ranking of men brutally reconfirmed. The taste was bitter and humiliating. The sense of defeat at being rejected by a female tightened his chest until he could barely breathe.
Yi Haewan ground his teeth.
“I have never tried to kill them. I myself nearly died on the 50th floor of the Tower. You know that, Miss Sora.”
The entire 3rd Strike Team, including Seong Jaeyun, had been wiped out. That meant no one except himself knew about the operation.
All he had to do was play dumb and deny everything. There was no evidence. Against a mere D-rank hunter, what could Park Seonwoo possibly do to him?
Han Sora glared at Yi Haewan, her hands and feet trembling. Inside her heart, Park Seonwoo’s presence had grown far larger than Yi Haewan could imagine.
If Yi Haewan was a handful of sand, Park Seonwoo was an entire beach. If Yi Haewan was a studio apartment, Park Seonwoo was a penthouse in Cheongdam-dong.
From the very beginning, Yi Haewan had never been competition. Why, then, when she had known him far longer, had Han Sora gone to another man?
Yi Haewan steeled himself and shouted with confidence.
“I have done no such thing. If there were casualties due to some unforeseen accident, then I truly feel it is regrettable. But this is genuinely none of my doing.”
First, he would secure the media and public opinion on his side.
“I am the master of this guild. I have a duty to take responsibility for the Haetae Guild. If any hunter belonging to my guild committed such an act… then I will bear the responsibility.”
“……”
“Rather than arguing recklessly like this, we should talk it through… I believe the priority is to first understand the full circumstances of the incident.”
Yi Haewan cut all ties with the 3rd Strike Team. He had severed the tail. Although Seong Jaeyun’s death had already broken the connection, this was the perfect chance to make it definitive.
The reporters understood Yi Haewan’s words and began writing their articles.
Yi Haewan bore no fault whatsoever. The blame had been neatly placed on the murderer Seong Jaeyun, who had infiltrated the Haetae Guild.