Bound for America (4)
After clearing the 20th floor of the Tower, I stepped back out into the world.
My skill Unicorn's Protection had made the hunt far smoother than expected. I even managed to kill the boss monster. Thirteen people seemed like it should have been impossible, but by using Unicorn's Protection to its fullest, I somehow pulled it off. Every time the boss started pushing us back, I simply put Yun Jeonghui in front and everything became effortless.
By the end, no one could deny that Unicorn's Protection was real. The difference in power had been that obvious. Even Yi Cheongryong—who still resented me for the accident involving his daughter—had no choice but to accept the skill’s existence.
It’s going exactly as planned.
I had already worked out every detail while still inside the Tower. I’d brainstormed countermeasures against the Haetae Guild together with the Cheongryong Guild members, heads bent in strategy sessions.
The most critical factor was our safety. Yi Haewan had drawn first blood. If we stayed passive, we could vanish without a trace. So I struck first, exposing the truth before he could act.
The Haetae Guild had tried to kill us. I made sure the entire world knew it.
Now Yi Haewan couldn’t touch us. If anything happened to me or the Cheongryong Guild at this point, it would look far too suspicious.
Besides, I had Han Sora.
The moment she heard I had nearly died, she flew into a rage. Claiming I was the savior who rescued her little sister Han Ara, she tore into Yi Haewan on my behalf.
Public opinion was split right down the middle, but the media remained firmly on Yi Haewan’s side.
A lone D-rank hunter’s voice carried no weight. An S-rank hunter’s voice, however, was an entirely different story.
This was no longer a fight between Yi Haewan and Park Seonwoo. It had become a fight between Yi Haewan and Han Sora. She hadn’t asked for it, but I had deliberately placed her on the battlefield.
People only believe what they want to believe. Those who trusted Han Sora believed her expression and actions. Those who trusted Yi Haewan believed his words and past achievements.
Yi Haewan was still considered a hero by much of the Korean public. Plenty of people continued to trust him.
The media buried the truth while public opinion looked the other way.
Whatever. I wasn’t shouting to make them believe me anyway. Doesn’t matter.
I hadn’t begged anyone to believe me. This was a declaration of war aimed directly at Yi Haewan. If he had any sense, he would have understood exactly what my words meant.
There’s no turning back now.
Yi Haewan had drawn his blade first. I had accidentally given him the first move, but I had no intention of showing mercy anymore.
I now knew his intentions. To survive, I had to respond in kind.
I tossed my smartphone aside and headed into the bathroom. After rotting away for so long on the 20th floor, the stench clinging to me was unbearable.
The shower poured down in a steady roar.
Emptying my mind completely, I finished washing up. I only bothered to towel off the worst of the moisture before walking around my studio apartment completely naked. I picked up the blunt Lute-Shaped Bronze Dagger that had been shoved into a corner and examined it once more.
◈ A bronze sword once wielded by an unknown soldier.
◈ Seals 99% of all stats for any hunter who grew up on the Korean peninsula.
◈ Owner recognition complete (Owner: Yi Haewan)
◈ Cannot be used without the owner’s permission.
It had definitely worked on Seong Jaeyun. I had used the Lute-Shaped Bronze Dagger to seal his stats completely.
No matter how many times I looked at it, it didn’t make sense. The weapon was supposed to be unusable unless the owner permitted it. So why had it worked for me?
It was bizarre that a fully owner-bound weapon would open up for me like a cheap whore.
The real question is whether it’ll work on Yi Haewan.
To execute the plan I had prepared, one prerequisite was essential: I needed to completely overpower Yi Haewan.
I had several methods in mind, but the Lute-Shaped Bronze Dagger offered the cleanest solution. I had been secretly hoping it would work.
Tap-tap. Tap-tap.
My smartphone kept vibrating. There was only one person whose message alerts I kept on—Choi Daeun.
Hey, if you got out you should’ve messaged me first.
Why do I always have to be the one reaching out? You wanna die? lol
She had messaged the exact moment I finished showering. The timing was so perfect I almost wondered if she was watching my apartment.
I replied to Choi Daeun. Told her I had just stepped out of the shower, that I couldn’t contact her right away, that I had been busy dealing with my parents…
Parents come first, I get it. Valid.
Her replies paused for a moment. Then my phone rang.
“Is it true? That you almost died in the Tower?”
Her voice was urgent, laced with worry. The combination felt strangely out of character for her. Yet the emotion behind the question was clear.
It warmed my heart.
“Yeah, well… But you don’t need to worry. I ended up killing them instead.”
“…….”
“Nuna?”
Choi Daeun had gone silent. Right as I called out to her again, the doorbell rang. Someone was pressing the button outside.
…Yi Haewan?
Had he sent an assassin? I quickly pulled on some underwear, grabbed my Moonstone Shield, and moved toward the door.
A voice came from my smartphone.
“It’s me. Open the door.”
Thankfully, it wasn’t an assassin. I opened the door.
“Why… why did you come so suddenly?”
“What do you mean why? I was worried, so I came to check on you.”
Choi Daeun stood there in a sleek modern suit, looking like she had come straight from work. She strode into my tiny studio as if she owned the place.
“Yi Haewan, that fucking bastard.”
While glancing around my cramped apartment, Choi Daeun finally spotted the evidence lying on the floor—the Lute-Shaped Bronze Dagger, the symbol of the Haetae Guild.
“I knew it.”
The moment she saw the dagger, she instantly recognized Yi Haewan’s handiwork.
“It’s not like this is the first time I’ve been caught up in those bastards’ dirty schemes.”
Having been thoroughly trained by the Masked Trash, Choi Daeun could smell the rot on Yi Haewan. That distinct, nasty stench that only people with something to hide gave off.
I looked at her and grinned.
“You’re pretty sharp, Daeun-zzang.”
“…It’s gross, so stop calling me zzang.”
“Daeun-zzang, you really hate it? I think it feels more familiar, so I like it even more.”
It was like pouring milk into an overwhelmingly spicy sauce. The more aggressively Choi Daeun treated me, the more this ridiculous nickname seemed to shine.
It was honestly just hot.
Choi Daeun fidgeted, hesitating over her words. She couldn’t quite bring herself to reject it outright.
“Nuna, let me throw some clothes on first.”
“…Uh, yeah…”
By freely mixing honorifics and casual speech, I had successfully distracted her. I grabbed some clothes, got dressed, and turned my phone back on.
That was close. I almost got my balls ripped off.
I opened the Trainer App and switched my Avatar. I loaded the body of short-dick Park Seonwoo.
If I had been spacing out and let her pull my underwear off, it would have been game over. Thank god Choi Daeun wasn’t a sex-crazed woman like Han Sora.
“So, um, I’ve been thinking,” Choi Daeun said, awkwardly scratching her head.
“Calling you zzang… I guess it’s not that bad. If we say it’s a pet name just between the two of us, it actually feels kind of nice…”
Her face was slightly flushed. It must have taken a massive amount of courage for Choi Daeun to say something so close to permission.
“Got it, Nuna.”
“…I said you could, but now you’re not using it?”
“I’m a contrarian by nature. The way you look when you tell me not to do something is so cute that I end up wanting to do it even more because of that.”
Choi Daeun thought for about two seconds before speaking.
“…Then don’t.”
“I won’t.”
“Hey! You just said you do it more when I tell you not to!”
“Did I say that?”
Choi Daeun glared at me, her hands trembling with frustration.
“By the way, Nuna, how did you know Yi Haewan was lying?”
I smoothly changed the subject. Choi Daeun flipped the Lute-Shaped Bronze Dagger over in her hands as she answered.
“We ran into each other during your skill test last time, remember?”
“Last time?”
“Yeah, at the Haetae Guild training ground.”
Choi Daeun’s eyes grew distant as she recalled the memory.
“I saw the look in Yi Haewan’s eyes back then. I knew something big was going to explode.”
“Really?”
“It’s a woman’s intuition. A well-trained one. I could feel it—this guy likes me, this guy’s about to confess, that sort of thing.”
Choi Daeun set the dagger down.
“Yi Haewan has feelings for Hunter Han Sora. He thinks you’re getting in the way and interfering.”
“I never interfered.”
“Maybe not from your perspective. But that bastard Yi Haewan is an idiot who doesn’t realize he’s the problem.”
Choi Daeun had accurately identified the root cause of the incident. She was only slightly off the mark.
“After you saved Ara, you and Hunter Han Sora grew especially close. Yi Haewan hated that. So he decided to get rid of you while you were inside the Tower.”
“Sounds familiar.”
“It’s exactly like what Hwang Deok-su did back when we were in the Eunhasu Guild.”
Remembering the old days, Choi Daeun ground her teeth.
“Seriously, why the hell do all these dick-swinging bastards act like this? Are they dying from some disease that kills them if they don’t get laid?”
Choi Daeun had suffered because of men who thought with nothing but their dicks. That was why her reaction was so intense.
“…Yeah, I guess so.”
I gave an awkward laugh. I worked hard to hide the fact that one of those men was me—the Masked Trash.
“Anyway, how have you been, Nuna? Did that guy say anything else to you?”
I deliberately brought up the Masked Trash. Choi Daeun frowned as she answered.
“…First of all! Let’s put off the homework he gave me for later. We can do it once you’re feeling better…”
“Wouldn’t it be better to get it over with quickly? We don’t know when he might call us again.”
“Are you sure you’re okay? This time it’s a bit…”
I already knew what homework the Masked Trash had given Choi Daeun.
Because the Masked Trash was me, it was homework I had assigned.
‘Film a comparison scene.’
I had gifted her a dildo that matched the length and thickness of the Masked Trash’s cock. I had ordered her to film a video comparing it with Park Seonwoo’s dick.
It was to teach Choi Daeun the difference in masculinity between the Masked Trash and Park Seonwoo.
“What exactly did he tell you to bring?”
When I asked, Choi Daeun hesitated for a moment. She licked her lips and spoke carefully.
“He told me to film a video of me… having sex with you.”
“?”
Who? Me?
“What the hell is that bullsh—”
I was so dumbfounded that I accidentally slipped into the Masked Trash’s tone. It was a good thing the phone rang right then. Otherwise, I would have been in serious trouble.
“…Nuna, hold on a second.”
I subtly showed her the phone screen. Choi Daeun’s eyes widened.
“Yes, hello?”
“Hunter Park Seonwoo, do you have time?”
“Time? I’ve got plenty.”
The S-rank hunter of South Korea. The Master of the Haetae Guild.
“Thanks to someone, I thought I was going to die. Luckily I survived. Every moment I’m alive now feels like bonus time granted to me. I have more time than I know what to do with.”
“……”
“You fucking son of a bitch.”
“Can you handle it?”
“Handle it? That’s what your dick should be worrying about, you bastard.”
“I simply want to clear up this misunderstanding through conversation.”
“Yeah, eat shit.”
I had made up my mind.
I would show Yi Haewan exactly what hell looked like.