Chapter 61
Chapter 61
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 61
Chapter Title: Unlicensed Doctor Park Min-jun
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Chapter 61
Unlicensed doctor Park Min-jun, commonly called Teacher Park, wore a troubled expression as he looked at the man lying in bed.
"I've seen all sorts of people since I started this line of work, but this one really takes the cake..."
From Teacher Park's perspective, the sight of Titan's guild master showing up at an illegal clinic like this and ending up as a patient was an indescribable situation.
"You're really sure there's no blowback coming my way from this?"
Worried he might have gotten dragged into something pointless, Teacher Park checked on his own safety first.
"You watch too many movies, Teacher. What kind of trouble could come from saving a life?"
"If nothing's wrong, then why do you keep peeking out the window?"
"Uh..."
"I'm not kicking you out, so just be straight with me."
Hearing Teacher Park's words, Kang Jin-hyuk gave an awkward smile and scratched the back of his head.
"I can't go into details, but just know I'm on the run."
"You son of a bitch! I knew it!"
Titan's guild master couldn't even go to a proper hospital.
That alone made it clear this was no minor incident.
One wrong move, and his life—and maybe the whole building—could go up in smoke.
But as he'd said at first, Teacher Park had no intention of throwing out Seo Sang-ho and his group.
The most important rule for living as an unlicensed doctor was treating every patient equally, no matter who they were.
If he took some and turned away others, he had no grounds to complain if someone he'd refused came back with a knife.
'Damn it, but sending away a patient who's come this far isn't human either.'
It had been seven years since he lost his license, but Teacher Park still thought of himself as a doctor.
He let out a quiet sigh that no one else could hear and regained his composure.
"For now, the worst of it's under control. He'll wake up in about two weeks."
"T-Two weeks? You mean he'll be in a coma that whole time?"
"No choice. A regular hunter might be different, but an S-rank hunter hit with this poison..."
A basilisk wasn't much of a threat to ordinary people, really.
Its venom was only a bit stronger than a wasp sting to non-hunters.
The basilisk's poison was designed like a natural predator, targeting hunters exclusively.
The higher a hunter's stats, the exponentially more dangerous the poison became.
For an S-rank hunter like Seo Sang-ho, even a tiny amount could teeter him between life and death.
If he'd taken just one more sip of that poisoned drink, treatment would've been impossible.
At best, he'd have been paralyzed from the waist down.
"Sleeping for two weeks straight would be a miracle."
"He has to survive that long first."
Kang Jin-hyuk clutched his head and slumped into a nearby chair.
"What a mess."
He hadn't expected Seo Sang-ho to jump right back into action after treatment.
But two weeks?
Kang Jin-hyuk didn't have the confidence to fend off Titan's pursuit alone for that long.
No matter how tight-lipped everyone was, daytime whispers reached birds, and nighttime ones reached rats.
Given Titan's capabilities, they'd pinpoint their location in less than three days.
Teacher Park could guess what Kang Jin-hyuk was worried about, but he had no advice to offer.
'Tsk tsk, they don't look like bad people, but what a shame.'
While watching sympathetically, Teacher Park heard the doorbell and headed to the front door.
After checking the visitor's face on the intercom, he returned to Kang Jin-hyuk.
"You might want to wrap up the worrying."
Only then did Kang Jin-hyuk, who had been hanging his head, notice someone was outside.
"No way, already...?"
Thinking Titan hunters had arrived, Kang Jin-hyuk pulled a baseball bat from his inventory.
Teacher Park shook his head and stopped him.
"Not the kind of people you're thinking of, so let's hear them out first."
"Who is it?"
"Well, he says it's someone you know well."
Kang Jin-hyuk tilted his head and approached the still-lit intercom screen.
"Huh?"
Through the screen, Kang Jin-hyuk spotted an unexpected face.
"Why are those guys here?"
After a brief hesitation, Kang Jin-hyuk opened the door.
They must have a good reason to come all this way, so as Teacher Park advised, he'd at least hear them out.
* * *
Sitting across from Kang Jin-hyuk with a table between them were Lee Jun-cheol and Jo Hyeong-il.
They placed an item on the table first.
A pouch big enough for a camera—almost certainly from an inventory.
"We've brought the potions you ordered."
"You're not here just to deliver these, right?"
Lee Jun-cheol wouldn't handle delivery duties himself.
Especially not tracking them to a place like this unless there was more to it.
"As you suspected. The potions are just an excuse."
"Then what's the real purpose?"
"We want in on this."
"..."
Such a blunt offer straight out of nowhere left Kang Jin-hyuk puzzled before he could even judge it.
"Why?"
It wasn't suspicion-tinged, just pure curiosity.
They weren't hunters, and definitely not staff from a major guild.
To put it bluntly, they were just scraps-pickers.
"You know what this is about, right?"
Kang Jin-hyuk's question drew a nod from Lee Jun-cheol.
"I don't know the full story, but I know Titan's guild master is caught up in something serious."
Kang Jin-hyuk shot a glare at Teacher Park.
No one else in this place could've tipped off Lee Jun-cheol about Seo Sang-ho's whereabouts.
"Ahem."
Caught red-handed, Teacher Park coughed awkwardly and deliberately avoided Kang Jin-hyuk's gaze.
"Isn't patient confidentiality the rule here?"
"No, that's not..."
"What, you gonna deny it?"
Kang Jin-hyuk reached for the baseball bat he'd set out earlier.
Letting someone uninvolved leak secrets could lead to them spilling to Titan later.
Seo Sang-ho's treatment was done anyway.
For safety, Kang Jin-hyuk figured it was wiser to silence Teacher Park.
Seeing the seriousness in Kang Jin-hyuk's eyes, Teacher Park paled in fear.
One wrong word, and that bat might smash his skull.
"O-Okay, my bad. I'll refund all the treatment fees, so please calm down."
He offered to cough up fees several times what a normal hospital would charge, but that didn't satisfy Kang Jin-hyuk.
"You think I'll let it slide for a bit of cash when you might tip off our pursuers later?"
Better to smash the pot now and live easy.
That was Kang Jin-hyuk's stance.
Teacher Park racked his brain for a counterargument.
"Don't bother thinking. Do what I say if you want to live."
"Do what you say? What exactly are you gonna make me do?"
"Hand over your phone first."
Teacher Park meekly pulled out his phone and placed it in Kang Jin-hyuk's outstretched hand.
Kang Jin-hyuk crushed it in his grip, then held out his hand again.
"Give me the others."
"Others? Who has more than one phone...?"
"Tch."
Dealing with Lee Jun-cheol's black market group had taught Kang Jin-hyuk plenty about their world.
Obvious lies like "People in this business only have one contact line" wouldn't fly with him.
"Want me to search and bash you once per phone I find?"
"Urk."
Swallowing his pride, Teacher Park pulled out every phone he had.
"Please, I've given them all up. Don't smash them. I need to make a living too."
Losing all his contacts would make working here hell, so Teacher Park begged desperately.
Kang Jin-hyuk knew that much.
Reluctantly, he handed all the confiscated phones to Lee Hye-na.
"No matter what he says, don't give them back until this is over."
"Of course."
Even after cutting off all outside contact, Teacher Park's punishment wasn't done.
His face drained of color as Kang Jin-hyuk approached.
"What now?"
"What else? I've got a proposal."
Draping an arm around Teacher Park's shoulders like an old friend, Kang Jin-hyuk pointed at Seo Sang-ho in the bed.
"You're gonna stick with us and look after that guy until he wakes up."
"W-What if I refuse?"
"You need me to spell it out?"
Grinning, Kang Jin-hyuk spun the baseball bat like a pen.
Teacher Park gulped involuntarily and accepted the offer to save his skin.
It was unreasonable, but he'd created the mess himself.
He'd broken the rules, so he couldn't complain anywhere.
Word of broken trust in this business meant no more gigs.
"Problem solved?"
As Lee Jun-cheol, who'd been watching, asked, Kang Jin-hyuk sat back across from him.
"The problems are just starting. Honestly, I can't wrap my head around your angle."
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it. What do you gain jumping into this mess?"
No upside—just pure risk.
Sure, if it worked out, the rewards would be huge.
But the odds were slim to none.
Kang Jin-hyuk had a debt to Seo Sang-ho and couldn't abandon them, but Lee Jun-cheol had no such loyalty.
He dealt with Lee Jun-cheol, but trusted him? Hardly.
If anything, he didn't.
How much pull could loyalty or sentiment have with guys building black markets for cash?
In this world, a few bucks flipped allies to enemies.
Working in that scene, Lee Jun-cheol understood Kang Jin-hyuk's suspicions better than anyone.
Even he thought his pitch sounded fishy.
To earn trust, he'd have to lay his cards on the table.
That was Lee Jun-cheol's plan.
"You think we want to spend our lives cleaning up after hunters?"
"...What're you getting at?"
"We want a legit business this time."
"Wait, how?"
At Kang Jin-hyuk's question, Lee Jun-cheol's gaze turned to Seo Sang-ho.
"My guess is Titan's got some serious internal fractures."
"..."
"Hard to go back to the old Titan now. Why not split off entirely?"
Only then did Kang Jin-hyuk grasp Lee Jun-cheol's intent.
"So, bottom line, form a new guild?"
"Exactly. With an S-rank hunter on your side, what's not to like?"
"Are you insane?!"
Lee Hye-na exploded.
Having chased after Seo Sang-ho since Titan's founding, she couldn't stomach ditching it for a new guild.
"You're saying abandon Titan?!"
"Yes."
"What?!"
"Frankly, with the guild master in this state, it's no exaggeration to say Titan's not on Seo Sang-ho's side anymore."
If it was, where were his supporters around here? Lee Jun-cheol challenged her.
But she had no comeback.
As Lee Jun-cheol said, Titan had more foes than friends for Seo Sang-ho.
They resented his policies and chased bigger profits.
"You can't fix a rotten organization. Better to build a new one. History proves it."
"But isn't now the wrong time for this talk?"
"That's exactly why it's perfect timing."
This moment was ideal, Lee Jun-cheol believed with conviction.