Yoo Ara's Abduction
Yoo Ara had said she was heading back to her family home for about a week. Where was it again?
'Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi Province, I think.'
Fifteen years ago, after the gates opened, countless monsters poured out. Numerous cities burned and vanished under their assault. Even though the Korean military responded quickly at the start, they couldn't prevent the devastation. The bigger the city, the greater the damage.
Excluding Incheon and Seoul, most of Gyeonggi Province's major hubs were wiped out by monsters. Yeah, except for Pyeongtaek, where the U.S. military was stationed.
Thanks to the rapid response from the U.S. forces and support from the Korean military, Pyeongtaek barely held on amid the near-total annihilation of Gyeonggi's cities. All the others burned to the ground.
Countless gate refugees flooded into Pyeongtaek, and once gate subjugations stabilized, the gathered populace brought prosperity. That's how Pyeongtaek became a central city after the gates.
There were still too many unresolved gates and dungeons to rebuild the monster-ravaged cities. Of course, unlike Seoul, there was that preconception that it was full of people without much money.
After the gates appeared, few places in Korea qualified as proper cities among the survivors. Seoul, Incheon, Pyeongtaek, Mokpo, Busan, and Jeju Island. These six became metropolitan cities, with larger and smaller settlements reforming around them.
If everywhere else got cleared, the old prosperous cities might return someday. But that was a distant future tale.
"What could possibly happen in Pyeongtaek?"
There was no reason for her to send such an urgent text. Especially since Pyeongtaek was famous for its good public safety. It had so few villains it was called a boring city.
And Yoo Ara was now a promising talent with real skills. She could smash any ordinary thugs who came at her.
'It's not like a gate broke out in Pyeongtaek...'
If it had, word would have reached my ears. I stared quietly at Yoo Ara's text. The desperation seeping from her message in KakaoTalk. She wasn't the type to make up lies like this just to see me.
If I had to guess... debt. Nothing else came to mind besides the debt she'd taken to enter the academy.
I called her. No answer.
Definite. Something debt-related had blown up.
"Guess I'll go check it out."
She was a key student who could become an important asset for me. I didn't want to lose her to something like this.
I headed straight down to Pyeongtaek that day.
Vrrr!
Rushing down, I didn't even notice the follow-up texts.
"Why no reply...?"
Lee Hye-ri glanced down at her smartphone. She'd just finished training and sent a text to Kim Siu.
Endurance training. It was tougher than expected.
This time, she'd crumbled at 20 sets again. She'd thought she could push further, but her thigh and leg muscles gave out in the end.
She considered lying but couldn't bring herself to. Faking it went against her pride.
"Not even checking."
An hour since she'd sent it, and the '1' hadn't budged.
"Is he messing with me?"
Irritation surged. Her head boiled.
In her 20 years, no one had ever ignored her like this.
"This pisses me off. Really pisses me off."
He was someone she just couldn't warm up to. He'd assigned it himself but wouldn't even check? Totally irresponsible.
"Ughhh!!!"
Lee Hye-ri stomped her feet. It was a side of her the academy never saw—the blunt one always hidden away.
Lee Kang-san would probably love it, calling it a human side to his sister.
Regardless.
"Fine. Let's see who wins."
Lee Hye-ri glared at her smartphone, grinding her teeth.
I took the express train to Pyeongtaek and arrived in an hour. Only after getting there did I check Lee Hye-ri's text. Well, the preview text, precisely.
No need to reply. Punishment could wait till next week anyway. No point checking every time.
"Been a while since I was here."
Back when I was active as Shadow Mask, I came often. Several gates connected to Pyeongtaek.
No gate raids meant no reason to come. Two years already.
"Hasn't changed much."
I pulled out my smartphone and called. No answer again.
"If I had the exact address, it'd help..."
Before I finished muttering, my phone buzzed.
Vrrr!
It was Yoo Ara. I eyed the number on the screen. One, two, three.
Click.
"Hello."
-Bro, you already here?
An unfamiliar voice. A gravelly man's tone.
"Who is this?"
-Who else? The debt collector. Your customer's not paying back what she borrowed.
"So you kidnapped her?"
-Hey, no need for rude words. We just invited her personally for a sincere chat.
"With her academy scholarship, she can cover what she borrowed."
Academy fees plus tutoring shouldn't top 30 million won. And as top priority scholarship recipient, her tuition was fully refunded. No money issues.
-Bro, you got no sense of economics? Don't you know? Borrow money, pay interest.
"How much?"
-Our Ara customer's 15 million principal plus 45 million interest. Add our handling fees of 33.5 million and meal costs of 12 million, totals 105.5 million.
The usual scam. Insane interest rates to torment people under the guise of loans. Ballooning 15 million to over 100 million.
'Fucking bastards.'
I wanted to smash that sneering face.
"Interest piled up high."
-Of course. She signed the contract agreeing to high rates for urgency.
These types. Choking people with absurd contracts. The kind I hated most.
Why? Daesung pulled exactly that shit. Crippling rookies with unfair deals, then discarding them like trash.
My most despised breed. No matter how harsh the world, you don't treat people like that.
"Fine. Let's meet and talk."
-No money, no deal.
"I'll bring it. Just give the address."
-Why should I trust you?
"Don't want the cash?"
-I could just sell this girl to some back-alley guild for plenty anyway. Top academy cadet? Billions incoming.
Worse than expected. All too familiar scum. Parasites infesting the hunter world, ruining it.
"Dumbass. That's all you can think of? Explains why you're stuck as a loan shark."
-What?
"I'd sell to a legit guild, not back-alley."
-You little...
"Contract with the guild. Claim some rights to the cadet you sold, take a cut of earnings instead of full upfront. No big lump sum, but steady income from her raids."
-What game you playing...
"Think it's a joke? How much you think an A-rank hauls from a gate or dungeon? 50 mil? 100 mil? Nah, minimum 200 mil. One clear won't kill her, and snagging a share blows your 100 mil out of the water."
-...
"Plus, you get ties to a legit guild. Back-alley sharks like you wouldn't get it, but guilds aren't always righteous."
Ties to a legit guild. Irresistible bait for a lowlife loan shark.
Why tell him? Simple—they couldn't pull it off even knowing. Daesung did it, but through pros, not street scum. Their methods were covert, precise.
-You know guilds well.
"Obviously."
-But why tell me? You're her tutor, right?
"I am."
-Then why?
"You know why I'm her tutor?"
-...Ah.
A sleazy chuckle, like realization dawned.
-Talks sense for a bro.
"Address. Now. Don't damage my goods."
-Hm... But we got claims on her too.
"I'll pay plenty. And..."
-And?
"Time for you to link up with a legit guild, no?"
-...I get the angle. But why trust you?
"Give location, I'll give guild contact."
-Customer service line?
"Direct."
-Direct?
"Yeah. Guild master's number. Call from mine, connects straight."
Silence. Breathing heavy on the line. Gulping audible even here. Greedy bastard panting with lust.
"Five seconds. Or deal's off..."
-Fine! You're in a hurry, bro.
"Got no time."
-Contact first...
"Send address, I send number. I'm not leisurely enough to chit-chat with scum like you."
-Got it. Sending address.
"Waiting."
I hung up first. Ten seconds later, address arrived.
"Bastard. Fake."
Not real, obviously. But I'd send real contact.
Hwanghon. Guild I briefly joined once. Solid mid-tier. And its master, Geom-seong, had that distinctive gravelly, metallic voice—recognizable instantly.
Tempting enough for loan sharks. I forwarded Geom-seong's number.
Sorry, old man Geom-seong. Owes you one.
Five minutes later?
Sorry. Doubted you. Real deal.
I moved fast to rescue Yoo Ara.
-Who the hell?
Loan shark Gu Jeong-mu froze at the voice on the line. The sheer power and mana radiating through. A monster of skill.
"S-sorry. Wrong number."
He hung up quick. Heart pounding from that brief call.
He'd called to verify the tutor's words. Real.
"Hoo, hoo... That crazy fuck. For real?"
Almost died to Geom-seong.
As Gu Jeong-mu shuddered, a subordinate asked.
"Boss, legit?"
"Yeah. Geom-seong of Hwanghon. Voice alone tells."
"Th-then real? Selling the girl..."
"Probably. Thought Geom-seong was righteous, but human trafficking? Same as us."
Just fronting justice. Like him.
"Chance. Graduate Pyeongtaek, move to Seoul."
"Boss, we really...?"
"Grab it. Treat him right. Oh, resend address. Apologize."
"Got it."
Gu Jeong-mu steadied his shakes and eyed Yoo Ara.
"Heard? Even your precious tutor ain't different. No one's saving you now. Heh, play nice for us. Hahaha."
"Mmmph!!!"
Yoo Ara writhed, arms and legs bound, mouth taped. Tears welled in glaring amber eyes—delicious.
"Calm down. Can't damage prime goods. You want top dollar too, right?"
Saliva gathered. The fortune Yoo Ara would bring.
Thought she was a repeater, but A-rank potential. Everyone saw the live second exam. Top among first-years!
Her value? Sky-high.
Using her loan as excuse to snag her. Meant he could handle her however.
"Lucky year, huh?"
Gu Jeong-mu rubbed hands, recalling his fortune-telling.
Screech, thud!
Door opened.
"Hey, bro! You made it!"
His sturdy new business partner. Gu Jeong-mu welcomed Kim Siu with open arms.