Chapter 165: A Distorted Hero (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 165: A Distorted Hero (6)
After Kkamseul-i overate and passed out flat on the floor, I gently tucked it into my pocket. Then, I gathered the abandoned villains and tied them up together.
I picked out the least injured one, woke him up to find out where the bomb was planted, and then, just in case, I created a thick wall to enclose it.
Next, I explained the situation to the guests trembling inside the barrier I’d erected and strongly urged them not to move carelessly until the rescue team arrived.
“Mmph! Mmmph!”
After untying the manager, who was bound tightly in a corner of his office, we returned to the lobby together.
After finishing the rough cleanup, I sat down to rest and was suddenly struck by how unfair the world is.
“Fuck…”
The bastard who started all this just took off without a care in the world, while the one who got hit has to handle the cleanup without a moment's rest.
How is that fair?
“Phew.”
Just as I’d slumped onto the floor to catch my breath, the distinct magical barrier vanished, and armed police and Hunters stormed in, ready for battle.
“…Talk about showing up late.”
They were way too late.
Normally, when a barrier is activated, a signal is sent directly to the control center.
Upon receiving the signal, the center dispatches the nearest association branch and police units.
They use helicopters, which consume an enormous amount of mana but are incredibly fast, so they should have arrived within thirty minutes, even in the most remote corner of South Korea. What the hell were they doing that they’re only showing up now?
I only got an answer after the rescue of the guests and the disarming of the bomb were underway.
“The barrier’s activation signal never reached the control center?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Apparently, the signal that should have accompanied the barrier’s activation never arrived.
Because of that, they had no idea what was happening until they received a belated emergency call and scrambled to get here.
“…Is that even possible?”
When I asked in disbelief, the investigator shook his head.
“I heard that similar incidents have occurred a few times recently. All I was told is that the center found it suspicious and is currently investigating.”
“……”
His tone was firm, implying not that he didn’t know more, but that he couldn’t say more.
Well, the agents at the control center are all extraordinary people. I’m sure they’ll figure it out.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
After a brief questioning, I got help from the manager and went to a nearby hospital.
Once things had settled down, I’d noticed a mark on Yu-jeong’s neck.
She said she felt a stinging pain there before her body went stiff and she passed out.
When I told the investigator, he recommended she get checked out at a hospital.
The reason being that if some kind of poison was used, there was no telling what effect it might have on her body.
Entering the hospital room, I saw Yu-jeong sleeping as if she were dead.
“She must be exhausted.”
She kept saying she was fine, but she must have been incredibly tired.
It was the first time she’d ever been kidnapped. It must have taken a huge toll on her, not just physically but mentally.
I sat in the chair beside the bed and quietly looked down at her.
“……”
This was something she never should have had to experience.
Once you start living as a Hunter in earnest, all sorts of things happen, so maybe she would have faced something like this eventually, but at least not today.
She went through this ordeal because of me.
To be precise, it was the fault of H.S, those psychopathic bastards, and I’m a victim too, but still. That’s just how it is.
It’s like, logically, I know it’s not my fault, but I still feel a moral obligation to be sorry.
And because of that, I was in a foul mood.
“You’re so dead.”
My anger surged toward the one who made me feel this way again.
The unfamiliarity of his trait, one I’d never seen before, is what saved him.
And even as he was fleeing because things had gone south, he had the audacity to promise a second meeting.
Fine by me.
I, too, will be eagerly awaiting that second meeting, that opportunity.
Because I am certain that day will be the day he dies.
The reason for my certainty?
It’s simple.
I’ve never let the same opponent escape more than once.
They might escape once with some outlandish trick, but a second time is impossible.
“Hoo…”
I took a slow breath to calm my boiling blood.
Click.
Hearing the door open, I turned my head to see Jeong-hee standing there.
“Do-jin, you’re here?”
“Yes.”
“You’ve been through so much, you should have just rested in your room…”
Her worried tone began to bring warmth back to my chilled emotions.
“How could I possibly rest alone?”
My companion is in the hospital, of all places. There’s no way I could relax.
She looked at me as if she was proud, then asked.
“Is Yu-jeong okay?”
“Yes. They said there’s nothing wrong with her and she can be discharged tomorrow.”
“That’s a relief.”
Her answer melted away the last bit of tension that had taken root in a corner of my heart.
I was worried something might be seriously wrong with her, but now I could finally breathe easy.
“Do-jin.”
“Yes.”
“Want to go get some fresh air with me for a bit?”
She gestured outside the room with her thumb. I glanced her up and down.
Judging by her slightly flushed face, it looked like she’d already been out for some air.
“Won’t you be cold?”
“I dressed warmly, so I should be fine.”
“Then… sure.”
Honestly, the suggestion came at the perfect time.
I’d been wanting to breathe in some cold night air anyway.
As we stepped out of the room, she moved a step closer and wrapped her arm around my right one.
“Let’s go.”
Feeling the distinct, soft pressure against my arm, I walked with her along the path that circled the hospital.
“The night air is pretty chilly.”
“This is Gangwon Province, after all.”
“Right, I forgot.”
I had momentarily forgotten.
That this was Gangwon Province, our vacation spot.
“It’s been a while since we had a trip, and it got completely ruined.”
As I said it with a hint of disappointment, Jeong-hee looked up at me with a smile and shook her head.
“I thought it was quite alright, actually.”
I tilted my head, unable to understand her positive response.
“You thought it was alright…?”
She nodded without a hint of hesitation.
“It wasn’t all bad, was it? We got to ski all we wanted during the day.”
“Ah…”
She was right.
Today hadn’t been entirely filled with bad things.
“The end was a little scary… but you took care of everything, didn’t you, Do-jin?”
“Uh… I guess so.”
When she put it like that, it didn’t seem so bad after all…
She was strangely persuasive.
A trace of disappointment appeared on her smiling face.
“It’s a bit sad we can’t all watch the sunrise together, but what can you do.”
“Ah.”
Come to think of it, the time…
I took out my smartphone to check. It was already well past midnight.
Which meant.
“Happy New Year, Do-jin.”
“…Happy New Year to you too, Jeong-hee.”
The year had just slipped away so unceremoniously.
Ever since I’d turned forty, the end of the year had been nothing more or less than a time to reflect.
But for some reason, today felt especially regretful.
What if, as Jeong-hee said, we had all gathered in a warm hotel room to welcome the new year?
And what if we had spent all night drinking and talking, then went up the ski slope to watch the sunrise as it appeared?
And…
“It’s okay.”
Had she somehow read my expression in this deep darkness?
She offered me words of comfort.
“We’ll be able to welcome many more new years together. Don’t you think?”
Ah, this felt good.
The thought that we would continue to be together warmed my heart.
“Will you stay by my side forever?”
“Yes.”
Her immediate reply made my smile widen.
She then gave an awkward laugh and asked back.
“Is it a burden to hear me say that?”
I answered just as quickly.
“Not at all.”
“That’s a relief, then.”
We walked side-by-side again before sitting on a bench behind the hospital, holding each other tightly.
A desire sparked within me.
“Should we stay like this until morning?”
Leaning her head on my shoulder, Jeong-hee looked up at me with wide eyes.
“Won’t it be cold…?”
“I can make it warm.”
Snap!
I snapped my thumb and forefinger, disrupting the mana in the air.
The air, once filled with a biting chill, slowly began to warm.
Forcing out heat in the middle of a cold winter consumed a considerable amount of mana, but it was manageable.
“Oh my, it suddenly got warm.”
“So, we can stay until morning now, right?”
She gave a small nod and pressed herself even closer against me.
As if she were even colder now, despite the warm air making it unnecessary.
“I wish we could see the sunrise from here.”
“Well… we might see it once it’s high up, but I don’t think we’ll be able to see the actual sunrise, will we?”
“I suppose not…?”
Even though she said it was okay, she still seemed disappointed about not being able to see the sun come up.
I wondered if there was a way, and a good idea suddenly flashed through my mind.
If we went higher than where we are now, couldn’t we watch the sun as it rises?
“What are you thinking about?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
It wasn’t time yet.
The sun wouldn’t be up for another couple of hours, so I decided to keep it as a happy little secret.
We passed the time chatting quietly and sometimes just looking at each other in silence.
In that time, the darkness gradually began to fade.
A bluish dawn arrived, and just as the sun was about to rise…
I helped her up—she was hugging my arm tightly, starting to doze off—and lifted her into my arms.
“D-Do-jin…?”
“Let’s go see the sunrise.”
“Huh…? Where?”
I pointed a finger to the sky and answered.
“To the sky.”
And then I shot upward.
“Kyaaaaah!”
* * *
“……”
In the dim light of dawn, before the sun had fully risen.
Waking up in the unfamiliar bed, Shin Yu-jeong groggily scanned her surroundings.
‘Right, the hospital…’
She clumsily got up, went to the bathroom, and returned to find Jeong-hee gone.
“Where’d she go?”
She came to the hospital with me, so she has to be around here somewhere.
“…Did she go for a walk?”
It’s so cold out, she should have just stayed in the room.
With that thought, she pulled a thick padded jacket on over her patient gown and left the room.
The hospital’s distinct antiseptic smell was starting to feel suffocating.
As she slowly walked along the path, she spotted two familiar figures on a bench in the distance.
Kim Do-jin and her mom, Seo Jeong-hee.
“What the, when did he get here?”
She was about to approach them, happy to see them, when something utterly absurd happened right before her eyes.
“Kyaaaaah!”
Kim Do-jin, who had been sitting on the bench, suddenly swept her mom into his arms and shot high into the sky.
As Shin Yu-jeong stared blankly at the scene, her face became a whirlwind of complex emotions.
“…What in the world is going on?”