Chapter 412: Special (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 412: Special (3)
I walked on.
Passing through the gate for private jet passengers, we arrived on the runway.
As the team members boarded the waiting plane, exclamations of awe erupted.
“Whoa… this is insane…!”
“Wow…”
“It feels like I’ve entered another world. I’ve never written a 5,700-character story before…?”
Every seat was first class.
The interior was a world away from a typical airplane.
Looking at the cabin, which had been customized for a select few, I could understand Elena’s sentiment.
It was so different from the world she had lived in that it felt like she’d been transported to another realm.
I had felt the same way.
The first time I boarded a private jet, I was stunned that such a world even existed.
“Everyone, feel free to sit wherever you like.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Thank you…!”
“Yippee…?!”
The team members scattered.
After carefully inspecting the windows at each seat, they began to settle into the spots they liked.
Where should I sit?
I scanned my surroundings, and one seat caught my eye.
The front-most seat on the left, the one I had used so often it was practically my designated spot back when I was Son Si-woo.
I quietly walked over, crossed my legs, and sat down. Immediately, I felt gazes turning my way.
“……?”
Han Ju-hee, Han Ju-yeon, and Son Seo-yeon.
Coincidentally, the eyes of my entire former family were fixed on me.
Pretending to be unfazed, I asked them, “Was I not supposed to sit here?”
Han Ju-hee snapped back to her senses and shook her head.
“…No, it’s fine.”
Then she turned and walked away.
Now only two remained.
Without a word, Ju-yeon and Seo-yeon hurried over to the seat next to mine.
“Oh…”
“Huh…?”
The two of them stared at each other in surprise, having only just noticed their competitor.
“Seo-yeon, do you want to sit here…?”
“Yeah… you too, Auntie?”
“Well, yes.”
Han Ju-yeon shot me a blatant look, her face on the verge of tears.
Her intentions were painfully obvious.
As an aunt, her personality dictated that she should give the seat to her niece, but she clearly didn't want to.
So she was asking me for help.
Did she want me to tell Seo-yeon to sit somewhere else?
“……”
I thought for a moment, then turned my head, ignoring Ju-yeon’s gaze.
“Ah…!”
I heard Ju-yeon’s sigh of despair from behind me.
You’ll have to understand, Ju-yeon…
Even for me, it felt wrong to tell my own daughter to go sit somewhere else.
I overheard the conversation of the two hesitating over the single seat.
“G-Go ahead and sit, Seo-yeon. I’ll find another spot.”
“Thanks, Auntie.”
It seemed she had decided to yield the seat to her adorable niece after all.
The victor, having claimed the seat next to me, spoke to me tentatively.
“Um…”
“……?”
“Sorry.”
Why the sudden apology?
As I looked at her with a puzzled expression, Seo-yeon’s gaze shifted to Han Ju-hee, who was sitting a short distance away.
“About my mom. I couldn’t stop her from coming.”
“Well, thanks to her, I get to ride a private jet, so it’s all good.”
“I’m glad you think so, but…”
I couldn’t understand why she felt so apologetic.
Han Ju-hee’s stubbornness was something no one could talk her out of, so it was only natural that Seo-yeon couldn’t stop her.
At this point, maybe I was the one who should be sorry.
I should have fixed her bad habits by drawing the line sometimes, instead of just accepting everything she wanted.
I’m sorry, Seo-yeon…
“I was thinking, in the worst-case scenario, you might not have been able to go to China, Sunbae.”
“Really…?”
Only then did she give a small smile.
“You were right, I almost couldn’t go. When I got home, she was furious, just like you said, yelling about how I couldn’t go to a place like that.”
“Hehe, really?”
“Yeah, so you know what I did…?”
The kid began to recount her tale of valor from that day as if she were the hero who had slain the Demon King.
“Hoh…”
It was quite an exciting story.
To think she had subdued her rampaging mother and prevented her ticket to China from being canceled.
It did result in Han Ju-hee being summoned to China as well, but that was like a natural disaster…
As I listened and responded to Seo-yeon, who was chattering away with the excited face of a child, I could feel Han Ju-hee watching us.
Her gaze was sharp, as if she were facing an enemy who had stolen her lover.
It seemed Seo-yeon’s rebellion, from a daughter who had always obeyed her, had hurt more than she expected.
And she probably thought I was the one who instigated it.
I felt a sudden urge to tease her.
“Haa… I’m still not sure if I can do well, but I think I’ve taken the first step.”
Just then, Seo-yeon asked me an important question.
“Hey… what do you think? Did I… do a good job?”
It was a habit of hers.
From time to time, she needed direct confirmation that she was doing well, that she was on the right path.
It was likely a result of living her whole life crushed under the weight of her parents’ names.
Her dad would have given her that validation in a heartbeat, but she had shut her parents out in defiance.
In the midst of that, my appearance must have felt like a welcome rain in a drought.
“Yes. You did very well.”
Seo-yeon’s face instantly brightened.
“Really? If you’re saying that, Do-jin, then I must have done a really good job…”
Her icy expression melted away, replaced by a smile like a single, radiant flower in bloom.
Seeing that smile, which I hadn’t seen since she was a child, made my chest flutter.
That uncontrollable fluttering led to a slip-up.
“You’re cute.”
The thought I’d had internally slipped out of my mouth.
Hearing she was cute out of the blue, the kid’s face turned slightly red.
“C-Cute…? Me…?”
“Uh, well.”
How was I supposed to salvage this?
Then I saw it.
Not far away, Han Ju-hee was glaring at me even more fiercely.
It seemed she had her ears perked, listening to our entire conversation.
“I’m sorry. It’s just the first time I’ve seen you smile like that, Sunbae…”
When I offered an apology with a naive expression, Seo-yeon was even more surprised and quickly waved her hands.
“N-No, no…! I wasn’t trying to blame you, it’s just…”
After her emotions settled somewhat, a bittersweet smile formed on Seo-yeon’s lips.
“It’s just been a long time since I’ve heard someone say that…”
“Ah… is that so?”
“It’s a little embarrassing to hear it now that I’m all grown up… but it feels nice, hehe.”
Seo-yeon let out a light laugh.
In that moment, a strange feeling seeped into my heart.
It was the same soft, warm feeling I’d had when Han Ju-hee, with whom I always fought, showed me a bright, innocent smile for the first time.
It was surely because so much of Han Ju-hee’s face was reflected in Seo-yeon’s.
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After a short flight, we arrived in China.
As we disembarked from the plane, familiar faces were there to greet us.
The one approaching with his arms wide open at the very front was Chen Lao, the Minister of National Defense.
“Haha, welcome, everyone!”
He walked over with a cheerful greeting and stopped right in front of Han Ju-hee.
Well, that was to be expected.
The only reason he was here was for Han Ju-hee.
“It’s been a while, Minister.”
He smiled broadly at her greeting.
“Haha! I was so surprised to hear that the Scarlet Witch would be participating in the operation.”
“I couldn’t just stand by and watch a neighbor in crisis.”
“Mm, a neighbor, you say. I know it well, but it sounds truly wonderful coming from your lips.”
That was Han Ju-hee for you.
In a business setting, she could spew pleasantries with ease.
After they exchanged a few more compliments, the Minister’s gaze finally turned to us.
“And these people with you are…?”
At his question, Han Ju-hee smiled and introduced us.
“You’ve probably heard of him. This is Hunter Kim Do-jin.”
“Ah… Kim Do-jin! The new pride of South Korea!”
Look at this guy.
He had been ignoring me just a moment ago, but as soon as he heard my name, a grin as wide as a basin spread across his face as he approached and offered a handshake.
“A pleasure to meet you! I am Chen Lao, the Minister of National Defense.”
Despite my thoughts, I responded to his greeting with a gentle smile.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Minister. I’m Kim Do-jin.”
“And are these lovely ladies the famous Hunter Kim Do-jin’s team members?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Hoh… even standing next to Hunter Han Ju-hee, their light doesn’t dim. Truly, your reputation is well-deserved.”
Praise flowed for Han Ju-hee and the team members.
Perhaps because he was a veteran politician who had survived for so long in the Chinese government, his flattery skills were considerable.
After exchanging brief greetings with each team member, he finally pointed outside the airport.
“Let’s head out for now. I have cars waiting outside.”
Before we headed out, the magic emanating from an object held by one of the men who came with the Minister enveloped all of us.
“It’s perception-hindering magic. A top-grade artifact, so no one should be able to see through it. Though I can’t say for sure when it comes to someone of Hunter Han Ju-hee’s caliber.”
“Hehe… even I would have some trouble with it.”
“Is that so? I must be sure to tell the artisan who made the artifact!”
Watching their sickeningly sweet exchanges at every opportunity, I felt an impulse to rip the perception-hindering magic to shreds.
“Hoo…”
Patience, patience.
The vehicles prepared outside the airport were all ordinary-looking cars.
“It’s best not to attract attention, so I prepared normal cars. I hope you’ll understand if it’s a bit uncomfortable.”
The team members got into the cars one by one.
But the seating arrangement turned out to be quite coincidental.
The person who got into the back seat with me was Han Ju-hee.
It seemed they had arranged it this way because she and I were the most important figures…
For me, it was just troublesome.
I tried my best not to talk to her, staring blankly out the window on the way to the hotel.
“Let me tell you something.”
Han Ju-hee spoke to me.
“A Chinese organization has joined hands with Lu Bu.”
“Ah, yes.”
No, wait a minute.
“…What did you just say?”
“I said Lu Bu has decided to side with them.”
“……!”
“Our interests aligned.”
Right.
The interests of Hexagram, which was consolidating its power in the Chinese Black Market, and Lu Bu were more or less aligned.
The organization needed to overcome the government that was bearing down on them, and Lu Bu wanted the current government to fail miserably.
There couldn’t be a better condition for a temporary alliance.
But this was unexpected.
“I didn’t think Lu Bu would join hands with the Black Market…”
Lu Bu despised the government and the Black Market in almost equal measure.
He considered the Black Market a cancerous tumor eating away at China, and the government a bunch of idiots who cultivated and nurtured those cancer cells in their own body.
Even if the current government succeeded in pushing out the Black Market, it wouldn’t be a huge loss for Lu Bu.
The government’s reputation might rise for a while, but it would be impossible for them to surpass Lu Bu.
Whether they succeeded or failed, a change in government was a foregone conclusion, as long as Lu Bu himself didn’t step in and screw things up…
“You remember the spell formula you and I created, don’t you?”
“…The one that identifies Rage-13?”
“That’s right. After we developed that formula, Lu Bu was forced to postpone his plan to secure military funds with that drug.”
Battles and wars aren’t fought with military power alone.
They must be accompanied by various supplies to fully preserve that power.
In a single word, that’s money.
With money, you can get everything you need.
“Improving the drug whose sales have been blocked. That was the condition the organization offered Lu Bu.”
“Ah……”
So that was it.
Improving the drug was an offer that even Lu Bu would find tempting.
The amount of money he could make by distributing it worldwide would be beyond imagination.
Right.
I understood that their interests aligned and that they formed an alliance because of a tempting offer.
“…Why are you telling me this information?”
The problem was why this woman was telling me about the organization’s internal affairs.
“The operation will fail. There’s no one on our side who can handle Lu Bu.”
She was right.
Even if a fully healthy Son Si-woo and Han Ju-hee attacked him at the same time, victory would be far from certain.
No, they might hold out for a while, but they would lose nine times out of ten.
Someone might ask: does it make sense for an operation uniting Korea, China, Japan, and the Vatican to fail because of one person?
If that one person is Lu Bu, then yes, it makes sense.
A warrior worth a thousand.
Lu Bu possessed the strength and stamina to face a thousand Hunters and emerge victorious.
I asked her, “So?”
I get that you expect the operation to fail, but why are you telling me?
“Stay by my side with your team members until the operation is over.”
Aha.
“If you do, you at least won’t die.”
So that was the reason.
It wouldn’t be because she cared about my life or the lives of my other team members.
She was just afraid that her one and only daughter would die while running around with some reckless fool.
I understood her intentions.
But what could I do?
“That won’t be necessary.”
Because I don’t want to.