Bound for America (5)
Yi Haewan ended the call with Park Seonwoo and set his smartphone down.
He tried to hold back the laughter that kept slipping out, drawing in a steady breath.
But he couldn’t contain it.
“Heh.”
The final words Park Seonwoo had spat at him kept echoing in his ears.
“What a fucking lunatic.”
In the span of less than a minute, Yi Haewan had been forced to swallow his laughter over and over. It had all been an act, just in case the call was being recorded.
Was that deliberate? If so, it’s impressive.
Laughing at Park Seonwoo in the current situation would be pure poison. Mocking him openly was the worst possible move.
Yi Haewan stood in an absolute position of power. He could not afford to act arrogant toward someone weaker. The public might sense the distance in his attitude and grow suspicious.
He would approach this with a posture of complete apology. He would keep his head bowed until the situation blew over. By showing a sincere side, he could gather sympathetic public opinion.
At the same time, he would feed strength to the press. He would never stop manipulating the narrative.
The Third Attack Squad had acted on its own. He would maintain that stance while publicly condemning the murderer.
As master of the Haetae Guild, he would take only the minimum responsibility and bring the matter to a close. That was Yi Haewan’s goal.
Park Seonwoo comes after that.
The moment the public lost interest in him, that day would become Park Seonwoo’s funeral.
I’ll finish you properly.
The spark had already been extinguished. Even if Park Seonwoo died, the flame would never have the chance to rise again. Yi Haewan would not tolerate even a single breath meant to revive it.
Just because there was a goalkeeper didn’t mean a goal couldn’t be scored. If you killed the goalkeeper himself and left the net completely empty, even a clumsy striker could put one in.
Yi Haewan intended to devour Han Sora. After killing Park Seonwoo, he would take his time….
“Nuna, we need to kill Yi Haewan.”
After asking about the man’s mother, I immediately hung up. There was nothing left to say.
I had also decided to send Choi Daeun home.
“…All right.”
She seemed to realize she had no place in this and withdrew relatively quietly. It was thanks to me borrowing Han Sora’s name.
I do need Sora’s help, though.
I hadn’t asked for permission yet, but I had no doubt she would give it. I trusted the way she had boldly confronted Yi Haewan even with cameras rolling.
If it was Han Sora, she would help me. No matter how dirty the request.
If she refused, I planned to bring up the debt from saving Han Ara. That was how desperate I was. I wanted to show Yi Haewan what hell looked like.
“Be careful. Don’t get hurt…”
“Don’t worry.”
“Wait, is that the right thing to say? Facing an S-rank hunter… isn’t it weirder if you come back completely fine?”
Choi Daeun patted my shoulder a few times.
“Just don’t die. Please.”
“I won’t die.”
“…This is exactly when that hopeless confidence of yours looks good.”
Choi Daeun’s eyes reddened as she pulled my arm, wrapping herself around my waist and rubbing her face against my chest.
“After you kill Yi Haewan… we have to film a sex video…. You know that, right…?”
Her voice was wet with emotion as she mumbled everything she wanted to say. The Masked Trash had supposedly given me a sex video assignment, but I had no memory of ever giving out such a quest.
“…Did that bastard really order you to film a sex video?”
“…….”
Choi Daeun pressed her lips tightly together, hesitating to answer. She avoided the question by sniffling.
Nuna, you just want to have sex with me, don’t you?
Saying that out loud would probably get my dick torn off. Knowing her, she might kick me straight in the balls, so I decided to let it slide.
“Sora’s coming too. What could possibly go wrong? Instead of worrying about me, trust Sora.”
“…Hunter Han Sora? Of course I trust her. She’s incredibly strong.”
Hope crept into Choi Daeun’s voice. Her admiration for Han Sora was on an enormous scale.
“It won’t take long, Nuna.”
I sent Choi Daeun back home. Then I switched to my Avatar and contacted Han Sora.
The strategy for the 20th floor of the Tower would take two weeks. In other words, Park Seonwoo had returned after exactly two weeks.
Yet they hadn’t even managed a proper conversation.
That son of a bitch Yi Haewan!
Park Seonwoo, having survived the Tower, had dropped a bomb. The bomb that the Haetae Guild had tried to assassinate them.
Han Sora’s eyes flipped with rage. The moment she learned Park Seonwoo had nearly died, she charged at Yi Haewan without thinking.
Reporters were snapping photos of Han Sora and Yi Haewan. They were practically being preserved for posterity. Even so, Han Sora didn’t care.
When the dating scandal between her and Yi Haewan had broken, her reaction had been close to a seizure.
…Hunter Seonwoo would never lie.
The odds of D-rank hunter Park Seonwoo defeating S-rank hunter Yi Haewan were zero. It was overwhelmingly unfavorable for him. He didn’t seem like the type to deliberately provoke a fight he was guaranteed to lose.
Which means the situation left him no choice.
Yi Haewan had tried to assassinate Park Seonwoo. She didn’t know the reason.
The man who saved my only sister—Hunter Seonwoo—by that bastard Yi Haewan.
Han Sora was genuinely furious. She could not forgive Yi Haewan.
She had joined the Haetae Guild only to obtain a skill that could see through the Masked Man’s identity. Now that she had accidentally learned the Masked Man and Park Seonwoo were the same person, there was no longer any reason to stay in the Haetae Guild.
I won’t be clearing the Tower anymore, either.
Han Sora had realized the truth of the Tower. She would prepare for the reality Earth would soon face—the invasion of the Empress of Planet Pandora.
She was heading to America. Before she left, she intended to settle things with Yi Haewan. So that Park Seonwoo could be safe.
She didn’t particularly hold any personal feelings about it. If the opportunity arose, it seemed entirely possible. She simply needed to find a way to end it while minimizing the damage.
That was when the call came. It was Park Seonwoo.
“Hunter Seonwoo, are you all right?”
She asked about his well-being the moment she picked up. She had wanted to ask back at the Gate, but the situation hadn’t allowed it.
— I’m fine.
Park Seonwoo answered in a flat voice. He had just finished his call with Yi Haewan and had no patience for long preambles. He got straight to the point.
— Sora, are you free right now?
“…Free?”
She wanted to ask the opposite question. She had so many things she wanted to know about what had happened with Yi Haewan.
— Yes. I need you, Sora. As you’ve probably guessed, it’s because of Yi Haewan.
“…Yi Haewan?”
— I’m going to show him hell. For that, I need your help.
Even she, an S-rank hunter, was still pondering how to kill Yi Haewan. How on earth could a D-rank hunter like Park Seonwoo show him hell? Han Sora couldn’t understand what he was saying.
“Hunter Seonwoo, did Yi Haewan really try to assassinate you?”
— Yes. I have proof. The Lute-Shaped Bronze Dagger that the Haetae Guild was keeping—the captain of the Third Attack Squad had it. Why would he bring a weapon that doesn’t even work on monsters to the 20th floor?
“…….”
The Lute-Shaped Bronze Dagger was a weapon that only affected humans born and raised on the Korean peninsula. There had been no reason to bring it into the Tower. Not unless the goal was to kill a Korean hunter in the same party.
Yi Haewan…!
Park Seonwoo showed absolutely no fear toward the S-rank hunter Yi Haewan. His voice radiated confidence. He spoke more calmly than Han Sora, who was furious over something that wasn’t even her own business.
“You need my help?”
— Yes. If you help me… we can fuck him over completely.
Han Sora had assumed it would involve combat.
“I’ll help. If it can be of use to you, Hunter Seonwoo, I’ll do anything.”
— Anything?
“…….”
There was a strange undertone in Park Seonwoo’s words. The moment she heard that sly tone, a deep throb pulsed in her lower belly. Even though she knew this wasn’t the situation for it, her body began to anticipate on its own.
Why… why am I like this?
Han Sora answered in a slightly hoarse voice.
“Yes, Hunter Seonwoo. I’ll do anything.”
— Good. Then let’s meet first.
“Meet? Right now?”
Han Sora was the one who became flustered. They had only just come out of the Tower—how could he want to meet her already?
“Wouldn’t it be better to rest?”
— With Yi Haewan still breathing down my neck, rest isn’t really rest. I’ve got an S-rank hunter trying to assassinate me. You think a worthless D-rank like me can just stretch out and sleep soundly?
“Ah…”
She understood. From Park Seonwoo’s perspective, sleeping next to a live bomb would be less terrifying than knowing an S-rank hunter named Yi Haewan was still alive.
“All right.”
Han Sora agreed to meet Park Seonwoo. The location was the café directly across from the Haetae Guild office.
Han Sora had arrived first and was waiting for Park Seonwoo when Yi Haewan appeared before her. In that instant, she realized why Park Seonwoo had chosen this exact meeting place.
He had deliberately orchestrated it. Her encounter with Yi Haewan.
“Sora?”
Yi Haewan spotted her and greeted her warmly, acting as if they had run into each other by chance at the café. In reality, he had practically tailed her.
“What brings you to a café?”
“…….”
Han Sora stared straight at him. She had decided to play along with whatever the Masked Man—Park Seonwoo—wanted.
“I just felt like drinking coffee. And I’m meeting someone while I’m at it.”
“The person you’re meeting isn’t Park Seonwoo, is it?”
“Park Seonwoo… Ha.”
Yi Haewan had completely dropped all honorifics. At least in front of Han Sora, he had no desire to show Park Seonwoo any respect.
Han Sora smirked and shot back.
“I’m meeting Hunter Seonwoo. Why?”
For roughly one second—no, even less than a second—an instant—Yi Haewan froze.
Han Sora took a sip of her coffee and swallowed. Then the bastard came back to himself.
“Huk, huk…! Fuck, who the hell—!”
It had begun. The skill even an S-rank hunter could do nothing against—the Room—where Park Seonwoo’s counterattack started.
Han Sora’s role was to keep Yi Haewan pinned down….
…Or so I thought?
When she opened her eyes, she had been summoned into the Room. Inside it, some man’s ass was embedded in the wall.
What on earth was going on?
From behind Han Sora, someone spoke.
It was the Masked Man. Park Seonwoo.
“Sora.”
“…Seonwoo… No, Masked Man?”
“Put this on.”
Wearing the Mask of Perception Impairment, Park Seonwoo held out an ordinary mask to Han Sora. It was completely different from the one he wore—nothing more than a plain mask with no special effects.
You’re not even trying to hide your identity anymore?
Han Sora let out a small laugh and put on the mask. While waiting to see what excuse he would give, she spread her mana out and confirmed the identity of the man stuck in the wall.
…Yi Haewan?
Park Seonwoo spoke.
“Sora has been getting far too cocky lately. I don’t like how she keeps threatening me and trying to force herself on me. So I’m going to punish her.”
“Pardon?”
Park Seonwoo licked his lips with a flick of his tongue, wetting them with saliva before continuing.
“I will ravish Sora right in front of that bastard who spread the dating scandal about her. This will show him that Sora is my female.”
“Ah, so that’s the angle?”
She understood. Yi Haewan was in love with her. Therefore, he would receive more damage than anyone else.
…Since he can’t kill him physically, he’s going to kill him mentally.
Only now did she realize what kind of “help” Park Seonwoo had meant. It wasn’t help to kill Yi Haewan—it was help to fuck her in front of him.
It was absurd.
“Follow me, Sora.”
Park Seonwoo led the masked Han Sora toward a smaller room.
She could have resisted if she wanted. There was still a chance.
Voluntarily showing herself to Yi Haewan and being semi-forced to do so by the mask were two entirely different things. The moment she performed in front of Yi Haewan, her deviation would stop being a mere deviation.
Han Sora hesitated. Was it right to cross this line? Was it okay to blur the boundary between her deviation and her real life?
Ah, whatever.
Even after learning the Masked Man’s true identity, she had never rebuked him. His cock had already dug itself deep into her life. She couldn’t even imagine a life without that swinging dick.
Han Sora did not let herself be dragged. She walked proudly beside the Masked Man.
Between Yi Haewan and Park Seonwoo, the choice was obvious.
Since the man was going to die anyway, she might as well show him what hell truly was. The sight of the woman he loved writhing beneath another man….
A hell of carnal debauchery.