The Academy's Savior
I turned the key in the ignition of the beat-up car I'd bought from a broker for 1.5 million won.
The car shuddered like a patient racked with fever.
"Tsk."
I really didn't like this car. If I'd had my way, I would have stolen one of those foreign models parked on the shoulder and driven off in that instead—but as a fugitive, I had to be careful. If the cops started tailing us, our quiet life would be finished.
I pulled onto the highway. Being a weekday, the road was nearly empty. All I hoped was that the car wouldn't die on me halfway across.
"Ugh, why is this car so loud? Oppa, once we make some money, let's get a new one first. I hear foreign cars are really nice."
Seong Ha-ri spoke from the passenger seat. Makina was sprawled out asleep in the back.
"You haven't forgotten there's a bounty on our heads, right?"
"We can just use a broker."
"Brokers take a huge cut."
"What's a little commission?"
"It's not about the commission. I just don't like how brokers who barely do anything still take their cut. We can steal a car if we want."
"...No. That's not right."
A truck was rolling ahead of me. Even though it was doing over a hundred kilometers an hour, I felt impatient. I yanked the stiff steering wheel hard and overtook it, not forgetting to flip the driver off as I passed.
"Oppa. Are you really a Devil Hunter?"
"...Why?"
"You haven't done a single thing related to demons this whole week. Just meeting brokers and running little errands."
"Finding traces of demons isn't easy. Those bastards are good at hiding. Bored already? You can go back to the Academy if you want."
"I'm not bored—I was just curious. And I'm wanted too, so how am I supposed to go back? If I return to the Academy, it's straight to prison. You're all I have, Oppa. You know that, right?"
I started to argue, then stopped.
At the Academy, they would welcome Seong Ha-ri back with open arms. There was no one of her caliber. On top of that, her family was one of the most prominent in South Korea. If she wanted, she could return to ordinary life anytime.
"Do you know how dangerous this job is that you took on?"
I asked her. She nodded, gazing out the window.
"I know. Three criminal organizations are tangled up in it. But all we have to do is focus on the escort. Nothing else."
"A hundred million a day. They wouldn't put up that kind of money for nothing. We'll probably have to kill people."
Killing monsters and killing people were clearly different things. And as far as I knew, Seong Ha-ri had never killed a single person.
"...Even if you don't say it... I've already steeled myself."
"...I won't interfere anymore."
Whether she could adapt to this work remained to be seen.
We arrived at the meeting place.
Seong Ha-ri and I got out of the car and casually scanned our surroundings. It was an abandoned factory with no sign of life.
In the movies, secret deals always go down in places like this.
The client didn't seem to have arrived yet.
Seong Ha-ri and I leaned against the car, taking in the night air. After half a day of nothing but driving, it felt fresh and clean.
"Oppa, how old are you really?"
"Curious about my age?"
"Just looking at your face, you seem about my age... but you looked exactly the same a few years ago. So how old are you really? You're not over forty, are you?"
"Forty's way off."
I was about to tell Seong Ha-ri my age, then closed my mouth and smiled faintly. Seeing her eyes sparkle with curiosity made me feel mischievous.
"......"
When I answered with silence, her lips pouted in dissatisfaction.
"You're really not going to tell me? That's mean."
"They're here."
"Huh?"
Seong Ha-ri turned around. Three black cars were filing into the abandoned factory one after another from a short distance away.
"They're a little late for the appointment... should I make a fuss about it?"
Seong Ha-ri waved her hands at my muttering.
"They're only five minutes late! Just put up with it! We're the ones who need the money!"
Truthfully, we weren't that desperate for money. We had enough. It was just that Seong Ha-ri's sense of finances was a little different from most people's.
The three black cars that had come in from outside stopped simultaneously. Doors opened, and men in black suits poured out.
I quietly observed them.
Trained bodies. Refined presence.
These were no ordinary gangsters.
Finally, one man stepped out of a car. A middle-aged man with a sturdy build. He wore a black coat, a lit cigar clenched between his teeth. His angular face was covered in scars. He walked slowly toward us. His gaze was like a well-honed blade.
So this is Yu Il-seong, boss of the Taeseong Faction. Not ordinary. He's at least A-Class hero level.
I glanced at Seong Ha-ri's condition.
As expected, she had stiffened. It wasn't fear. Someone skilled enough to beat Academy instructors wouldn't be scared of mere gangsters. She was simply overwhelmed by the atmosphere.
Separate from her skill, Seong Ha-ri has no experience.
She would just have to get used to it.
"Young."
Yu Il-seong spoke, exhaling a stream of cigar smoke. His low voice was as heavy as a lump of steel.
"Excessively so."
An overt attempt to seize the initiative. I snorted a laugh and brushed off the pressing atmosphere.
"So you're not going to hire us? We came all the way out here, and the thought of having to turn around after hearing that kind of crap is pissing me off a little."
Yu Il-seong stared at me intently.
"Not bluffing, are you. You one of us?"
"Don't you know my face? I should be pretty famous."
He furrowed his brow. The man beside him whispered something in Yu Il-seong's ear—probably blabbing information about me.
Yu Il-seong's already vicious face grew even more vicious.
"Never thought a terrorist would show up. That Park bastard must be out of his mind too. They said your skills were solid, so I came out myself, but..."
"My skills are solid. Way more than you think."
"Skills aren't the problem. The problem is I can't trust you. Who in the world trusts a terrorist?"
"So. You not hiring us?"
I wasn't the one in a hurry—Yu Il-seong was. That was why he'd sought out escort personnel through a broker. If trust were really the issue, he wouldn't have used a broker at all.
"...You're awfully confident. That sure of your skills?"
"Wouldn't have come if I wasn't."
"Mind if I check once? If you exceed my standards... then I'll hire you on the spot."
"An employer's right to check an employee's specs is only natural... What do we need to do?"
Yu Il-seong looked to the side and gave a nod. A two-meter giant of a man strode forward. He radiated an unusual presence. His sunken eyes were those of a warrior who had been through hell and back.
"My boys don't understand why we'd call in outsiders. Prove your necessity yourselves."
"Hye-ji."
A beat late, Seong Ha-ri reacted.
Hye-ji was Seong Ha-ri's alias. Even if you didn't hide your face and operated out in the open, it was better to hide your name. There was a big difference between using your real name and using an alias.
She pulled a spear from the back seat of the car and stepped forward. The man's eyebrows twitched.
"...Not both of you at once, but just the woman alone against me? Pathetic. Give it your all while I'm still being nice about it."
"They say a lion gives its all even when catching a rabbit. But we're not lions."
"Ha, fine. I'll deal with this woman first, then pulverize you too."
Presence erupted from the man.
Before Seong Ha-ri could even take a combat stance, the man moved first in a surprise attack. Clenching a massive, scar-covered fist, he closed in on her. He was aiming for her abdomen. Blue energy gathered around his fist, as if he meant to end it in one blow.
Seong Ha-ri's legs moved as if sliding. The man's fist only grazed her afterimage.
Startled, the man whirled around to chase her movement. Too late. The moment he lost track of her, the match was decided. The tip of Seong Ha-ri's spear was aimed precisely at his Adam's apple.
The man stared at Seong Ha-ri with the same shocked presence. He had realized the cause of his defeat wasn't technique or anything else—it was pure physical difference.
"...I lose."
Seong Ha-ri lowered her spear and approached my side with composure. I looked at Yu Il-seong.
"Interview over? What time do we clock in tomorrow?"
"...I'll acknowledge the woman's skill."
"For reference, I'm stronger than Hye-ji."
"I don't trust others' words easily."
"Need to see it yourself to believe it? You're a pretty exhausting type."
I stepped forward. The man who had lost to Seong Ha-ri clenched both fists, watching me carefully as if determined not to let his guard down.
Crack.
A sound of static electricity. Only Seong Ha-ri tilted her head slightly; the rest didn't notice the precursor. Belatedly, Yu Il-seong raised his gaze upward.
A blue bolt of lightning struck the man on the crown of his head.
The unconscious man toppled face-first.
Startled gangsters surrounded us in an instant. Sensing the threat, Seong Ha-ri gripped her spear with both hands.
"I didn't kill him. Just knocked him out."
Yu Il-seong raised a hand. The hair-trigger atmosphere eased. They checked on the unconscious man.
"...Magic. No, a trait? A trait that drops lightning... Impressive."
"You hiring us?"
"Of course. If some half-assed bastard had shown up... I'd have buried him right here. But you lot are the real deal."
He gestured. His subordinates cleaned up the area and prepared to leave. The man who had been at Yu Il-seong's side handed me a piece of paper. An address and contact number were written on it.
"Come to that address by nine a.m. tomorrow. Ah, and I'd prefer you wear suits."
They left.
Seong Ha-ri watched the departing cars with complicated eyes.
"Was what he said earlier true?"
"About burying us here?"
Seong Ha-ri nodded faintly.
"Probably. That's why he chose a place like this. You scared?"
"Who's scared?!"
Seong Ha-ri flared up. But I could tell she had felt fear—the instinctive terror that comes from realizing a world of blood and violence is right nearby.
No need to take it too seriously. Someone like Seong Ha-ri would adapt without much trouble.
Seong Ha-ri and I picked out suits at a nearby tailor shop and headed for the Taeseong Faction.
With her good figure, the suit looked great on Seong Ha-ri. The black suit pants fit snugly, making her thighs look sexy, and her upper body looked almost lewd thanks to her ample chest.
Seong Ha-ri herself, though, seemed awkward in the suit and kept checking a hand mirror from the passenger seat.
We arrived at the Taeseong Faction.
It was a five-story building set well apart from the city center.
I felt eyes on us. They were watching from various hiding spots. Security was tight.
Guided by a man who came out of the building, we went inside.