Still Positive (5)
Back when the world teetered on the brink of destruction, Ju Kang-rim had once shared a conversation with Clint.
Clint wasn't the talkative type, nor particularly sociable. But even in that brief exchange, Ju Kang-rim had sensed his utter weariness with life.
"There's this little island called Korva off the Bahamas."
Clint turned to Ju Kang-rim with a stony expression.
"They say it's warm year-round, a great place to live. The people are kind and peaceful."
"What are you..."
"It's the perfect spot to retire. No one asks where you've been or what you've done. No matter how horrific your past life was, just listening to those quiet waves would let you sleep soundly without nightmares."
Clint's face was pale, as if it might shatter like glass at the slightest touch.
From here on, Ju Kang-rim was simply recounting verbatim what the Clint from his previous life had told him. That had been the first and last time they'd spoken at length on personal matters, but it was the first glimpse he'd gotten of the man's exhausted soul.
"I heard some big investor's poured money into that paradise-like island in recent years. It's gotten pretty nice—proper harbor, paved roads, the works. Rumor has it some nameless rich guy bought the whole damn thing and fixed it up."
"How...?"
"You can never have that kind of life under Gerald. You'll just fight until the world ends."
Ju Kang-rim's words cut like a knife, cold and unyielding. Clint wavered for a moment before hardening his face and straightening his posture.
Ju Kang-rim wasn't lying. In his previous life, Clint had indeed served under Gerald without fleeing, right up to the bitter end of the world. His loyalty to Gerald wasn't weak. It was just that his spirit couldn't bear the immortal's endless existence.
In the end, Clint had spent his life yearning for that island without ever choosing a path, meeting his doom just like Ju Kang-rim.
"117 years."
Clint muttered to himself.
"That's how long I've served as a knight and lived as an immortal."
Clint fell silent after that, not speaking for a long while. In that quiet, Ju Kang-rim could feel a storm of emotions and regrets churning within him. No matter how ironclad one's patriotism and loyalty, 117 years was no short time. The shocks and agonies he'd endured over that span couldn't be shallow. Not enough to fully dilute those initial feelings.
After a long silence, Clint finally spoke again as they completed a lap around the park and reached the bunker entrance leading to the underground prison.
"I won't do anything to harm Sir Gerald."
"Good. Let's stick to win-win deals for the time being."
Clint extended his hand to Ju Kang-rim. Ju Kang-rim clasped it firmly.
After the handshake, Clint led Ju Kang-rim somewhere into the underground prison. It was somewhere on the first basement level.
There, a blindfolded person waited with Luca. A flicker of surprise crossed Ju Kang-rim's face.
"Godajok?"
It was Shin Hee-soo.
Ju Kang-rim had deliberately let her go and used her as a messenger to bait Clint. Shin Hee-soo, knowing full well she was being used, had played along to cover her own tracks. In a way, she was the biggest contributor to this operation.
The moment she heard Ju Kang-rim's voice, Shin Hee-soo jerked her head up.
"Ju...!"
"Traitor."
As Clint cut her off, he moved his hand. Crack.
With one hand, Clint snapped Shin Hee-soo's neck in an instant. Her body went limp with a short, muffled sound. Clint practically dropped her to the floor.
Her wide-open pupils showed she hadn't even had time to feel pain.
Clint spoke calmly to Ju Kang-rim.
"Thanks to you, we rooted out an internal traitor. Appreciate it."
Ju Kang-rim understood why Clint had done it. Shin Hee-soo had been used by him, but she'd also overheard Clint's secrets. Killing her ensured she couldn't leak them. At the same time, it confirmed to Jeremiah and Luca that Ju Kang-rim had exposed an internal traitor.
This paved the way—however suspiciously—for the "one seat" Ju Kang-rim had demanded.
Clint clapped Ju Kang-rim on the shoulder and whispered,
"That's win-win, right?"
A U.S. military vehicle pulled up in front of the Samdo Renaissance Hotel.
The doorman at the main entrance tensed briefly, but it was none other than Ju Kang-rim who stepped out.
Ju Kang-rim greeted Jeremiah, who was behind the wheel.
"Thanks for saving my ass. See you around."
Jeremiah flipped him the bird and drove off without a word. He probably never imagined releasing a guy they'd sacrificed so many subordinates to capture—after just one day.
But with Clint declaring Ju Kang-rim one of their own, neither Jeremiah nor Luca could object.
After the car left, Ju Kang-rim checked Biman.
Mission: Reaper's Head (Complete)
Target: Subdue Clint McCallen
Reward: Legendary Grade Ability Enhancement Ticket
'Subduing him verbally counts as completion, huh.'
Missions from Yeomra were more like directives than rigid game quests with checkboxes. Yeomra had watched Ju Kang-rim's performance and now trusted he could take Clint down anytime.
"Grim Reaper Ju Kang-rim!"
Yoo Wol-ryeong rushed out of the hotel, wide-eyed. She'd come out in such a hurry she was still in pajamas and room slippers.
She scanned him head to toe, then scolded him angrily.
"Why didn't you tell me beforehand, sir?"
"Uh, let's talk upstairs."
Ju Kang-rim dragged the pajama-clad Yoo Wol-ryeong, who was making a scene in front of the hotel, up to their room.
Unable to hold back, she asked again in the elevator.
"Couldn't you have given me a heads-up at least?"
"Then you would've followed, right?"
"Of course I..."
Yoo Wol-ryeong started to press him but bit her lip instead.
It was a solo op straight into the lion's den. For Ju Kang-rim, it meant putting his life in Clint's hands—obviously risky. But he couldn't have told her in advance.
"Going alone maximized my survival and success odds. That's it."
Yoo Wol-ryeong was stronger than him, no question. He had to convincingly play harmless and fully submissive, but if someone like her showed killing intent or lurked around, it'd blow his cover.
But that logic didn't soothe her anger.
"Do you even realize everything falls apart if you die, Grim Reaper Ju Kang-rim?"
Sure, it was just his body destroyed, but once he fully integrated into the underworld ranks like her, he'd be bound by all those restrictions. For Yeomra, it'd mean losing his ace.
Ju Kang-rim let out a long sigh.
"Of course I know. But."
He patted his arm casually.
"From experience, half-assed risks only yield half-assed gains."
"Still..."
"Time is our most precious resource right now. Time ties directly to lives saved and the world's survival. From the moment Clint spotted us, that ambush was inevitable. If we were gonna get hit anyway, this op was the smartest play."
At least he could predict the when and where.
Han Min-ah was safe under Park Ha-yuri's protection in the Bari Unit. Park Ha-yuri had the intel on Clint that Ju Kang-rim had passed her. She hadn't read it yet, but if anything happened to him, that dirt on Clint going to Gerald wasn't a bluff.
"Compared to the shit I endured carrying out Gerald's orders back then, this was nothing. At least I made it back in a day."
"Does that mean walking into a trap?"
"Mark my words, Reaper Yoo Wol-ryeong—the trap caught Clint, not me."
Ding.
The elevator stopped. Ju Kang-rim entered the room with Yoo Wol-ryeong.
The moment the door opened, eight dogs ambushed him, licking him all over. He let them slobber helplessly before pushing through and saying,
"Honestly, this was beneath you stepping in."
"You saying I didn't need to get involved?"
"Yeah. They think Han Min-ah's my partner."
Ju Kang-rim looked at Yoo Wol-ryeong.
"That's a crucial fact. Because when we snipe Gerald, you could be my trump card."
Yoo Wol-ryeong fell silent for a moment. Even after Ju Kang-rim changed out of his tattered clothes and returned, she stayed quiet.
Wondering what she was thinking, he waved a hand in front of her face.
"Reaper Yoo Wol-ryeong?"
"Fine. I'll accept that explanation."
She finally spoke.
"But next time, consider how I felt nearly losing my junior. My duties are guiding the dead—and protecting and training you."
"Uh, yeah. Got it. I'll keep it in mind. Oh, right—speaking of which."
Ju Kang-rim glanced up at his right shoulder.
"Help this one move on, will ya?"
Yoo Wol-ryeong looked at his shoulder. A vengeful ghost clung there.
She brushed it off like dust.
"You could handle this much yourself, Reaper Ju Kang-rim."
"All I can do is stuff it in my Saingeom. Oh, that's Godajok... no, Shin Hee-soo. She helped with this op."
"Shin Hee-soo. Another woman."
"Seems like it. Guess that's my fate. I used her one-sidedly, but she wasn't immortal, and things went smooth, so I considered sparing her. Sucks Clint killed her. Send her off properly to the afterlife."
"Understood."
Yoo Wol-ryeong gathered Shin Hee-soo's soul into a small lantern in the room. The unlit lamp seemed a tad brighter than before. They collected souls like this and sent them to the underworld later. He knew she slipped away sometimes to make those trips. Shin Hee-soo's passing would probably happen then too.
"So, Clint's subdued—for now. Or postponed, really."
"Gonna milk him till he's useless."
"Next target?"
Ju Kang-rim answered without hesitation. Immortals mattered, but equally vital was preserving the world he remembered as much as possible. And that seemed tied to hunting them down.
"With Clint muzzled, how about we chat with the Vito family?"
Ju Kang-rim pondered the item he'd earned for subduing Clint. His legendary grade abilities were Bi-hyeong's Eyes and Professor Howan's Maw. The ones from the Soul Contract could be enhanced too.
'So, Ttakkachi, Blood Rain, Bi-hyeong's Eyes, and Professor Howan's Maw. Four in total?'
He'd focused on variety so far; now it was time to deepen them. His current kit had handled crises fine, but tougher foes were coming—he could feel it.
'They're all useful, but...'
Ju Kang-rim recalled Yeomra's warning.