Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Lee Ji-ah (9)
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"Ji-ah, are you okay?"
Lee Ji-ah, who had been lying sprawled out with a dazed expression, answered.
"It feels like my soul took a massive hit..."
It was no wonder. She'd gone through hell practicing her ability for a whole week.
It had taken quite a few attempts to fully control the on/off switch for Peace of Mind.
Naturally, it had put a huge strain on her mind. But now that she'd turned the ability back on, she was back to her normal self.
"Now, can you take off these restraints?"
Lee Ji-ah turned her back to me. I helped her out of the restraint suit, soothing her as I did.
"You'll get used to it with more practice."
"Get used to it?"
Lee Ji-ah rolled her eyes toward me and spoke.
"This feeling? I'll never get used to it. Probably not in my lifetime."
A lifetime was a problem.
In ten years, I'd be done with all this anyway.
That was when Lee Ji-ah, now free of the suit, wiped the sweat from the nape of her neck with a towel.
Ring ring.
Suddenly, a call came in from the Association President. Lee Ji-ah picked up.
—About that information disclosure request you made before...
"Has it come through now?"
—Yeah, I sent it to your email. Did you get the paperwork?
"The hearing's in two weeks. I've got the date."
—Looks like we're wrapping things up, then. The embargo lifts after today. Articles about the hearing will start popping up right away.
Click.
Lee Ji-ah's and my eyes met in the air.
"Let's go, quick."
"Right."
We rushed to her room and logged into her email on her computer.
[wldk123]
I asked, utterly baffled.
"Your official account email is ji-ah123?"
"I made it back in elementary school..."
Lee Ji-ah awkwardly smiled, slicking back her sweat-dampened hair.
"Oh, the video's downloaded. Hyun-woo."
"Play it."
With a tense look, Lee Ji-ah clicked the video.
Click!
What the hell is this?
I was dumbfounded after watching the entire video.
"This shi..."
Lee Ji-ah's eyes widened in shock as she stared at me. I barely swallowed the curse. Rubbing my forehead, I held out my hand to her.
"...?"
"Give me your phone."
Lee Ji-ah obediently handed it over. I immediately called the Association President.
"Hyun-woo?!"
I stopped her frantic attempt to intervene with a raised hand.
She fidgeted anxiously while the ringtone droned on, but she couldn't bring herself to stop me.
I must have looked that pissed.
—Ji-ah?
The Association President's calm voice.
His tone suggested he'd been expecting the call.
"Hello, Association President. This is Kim Hyun-woo, Lee Ji-ah's exclusive manager."
—Manager?
The president sounded puzzled.
—I thought Ji-ah left her guild?
"Freelancers still need managers. As long as the client pays, we do anything."
—Is that so? Bold of you.
Bold?
You raccoon bastard.
Who the hell are you calling bold?
"I watched the video you sent."
I licked my dry lips and asked.
"Where's the original?"
An uncomfortable silence fell. From the other end, the president incredulously echoed.
—What original?
"The original video."
—I have no idea what you're talking about.
Playing innocent, huh.
Of course. If he was going to confess, he wouldn't have pulled this crap in the first place.
"That video was key evidence in downgrading Ji-ah's rank, right?"
—...
"So why were all the scenes of Ji-ah actually fighting so cleverly edited out?"
The video showed intense battles.
But in the transitions, not a single frame showed Lee Ji-ah's face.
"Did you intentionally edit and tamper with the evidence?"
—Ha... tamper?
The president snapped back angrily.
—I don't know what you're implying, but you should start realizing who you're talking to.
The Abyss raid party included S-rank hunter Lee Ji-ah and was Korea's elite strike team.
Made up of at least A-rankers, it was Korea's dream team, pulled from aces across different guilds.
Because the Abyss Dungeon's difficulty was that insane.
That's why I'd had slight doubts. Maybe Ji-ah had messed up, and that's why only her rank got downgraded.
If so, I'd planned to convince her to accept it gracefully.
Paying for mistakes is just natural.
I had neither the confidence nor the power to work miracles.
But seeing that blatantly doctored video changed my mind.
There are limits to screwing around.
It was so obvious that it actually made Ji-ah look innocent.
"Did the guild masters collude and pin it all on Ji-ah alone?"
—...
The president said nothing.
Either way, the Abyss Dungeon raid had failed.
The public was hungry for someone to blame.
And it was obvious where their eyes would turn.
The Association President and the guild masters.
Those at the top bear the heaviest responsibility.
My excited mind spun wildly.
Unfiltered words poured out.
"You tried dumping the blame for the raid failure on one person. And you picked the most famous one in the party as bait?"
Lee Ji-ah wasn't the proactive type, not even as empty flattery.
That's why they singled her out and tossed her away.
They knew she wouldn't fight back.
An easy target.
A fresh 26-year-old just stepping into society. Timid personality, signs of paranoia, a mental case.
Strip away the S-rank hunter title and glamour, and all that's left is prey ripe for old monsters to devour.
In fact, their plan had worked pretty well.
If it weren't for me.
"Sending us this bullshit video to brush it off... Do we look like idiots on thin ice to you, Mr. President?"
—...You sure have a filthy mouth.
"It's all I know."
—Won't back down even an inch.
"Why should I?"
If Lee Ji-ah hadn't met me.
She would've fallen for the president and guild masters' scheme, crumbled under the hate comments, and killed herself.
Not a hypothesis—a fact.
Up until moments ago, she'd been contemplating suicide.
That "what if" made me stick my neck out against a big shot like the president.
"Hearing in two weeks, right?"
—...
"Wonder what the public will say when they see this crap. Is this all you've got?"
—The testimonies from the raid members at the time...
"Ha!"
I scoffed mockingly.
"Go ahead and yap all you want at the hearing. Argue why a regular member should take the fall instead of the raid leader. But... can you prove it with that garbage video?"
No way in hell.
"Good luck, Mr. President."
—You little sh...
I hung up without hearing the end.
That'll piss you off more, you bastard.
What was the point of listening to obvious bullshit?
Time you got pissed off too.
As I panted, cooling my heated head, Lee Ji-ah tapped my shoulder.
"Hyun-woo. Hyun-woo."
I turned, and she was struggling to hold back a grin.
Her smug expression irked me, making my tone snappish.
"...What?"
"Nothing, just."
After a pause, Lee Ji-ah asked.
"Why are you angrier than me?"
"Of course I'm pissed. Aren't you, Ji-ah? It's about you."
Just watching from the sidelines had me boiling inside.
Lee Ji-ah kept smiling like it wasn't her problem.
"Yeah, weird. Is it your ability?"
Embarrassed, I averted my eyes and stood.
I stopped her as she rose too.
"I'll talk to the lawyer."
"Lawyer?"
"Video's here. We know who's behind it. Time to prepare properly and hit back."
Han Yoo-jung plunged a knife into the man's heart.
"Gah!"
The man spewed blood and collapsed. The murderous glint in Han Yoo-jung's eyes slowly faded, returning to normal.
"Ah... ahh...!"
Han Yoo-jung trembled with guilt, staring at her blood-soaked hands.
Han Yoo-jung.
S-rank Awakener.
But not registered with the Association.
Just an unofficial rank.
It was the first day she awakened.
At the Association for testing, the guide's face filled with shock.
'Gasp!'
'What?'
'P-please wait a moment!'
The guide frantically called somewhere.
Then hunters surrounded her.
Han Yoo-jung was bound in an instant. The president approached and explained.
'Do you know what ability you awakened?'
'P-please spare me!'
'Heavenly Killing Star.'
She had no idea what that meant then. He extended his hand to her.
'You won't live a normal life anymore. Murderous urges will boil up, making you want to slaughter those around you. When that happens, come find me. I'll tell you how to handle it.'
The president released her without issue. She went home relieved. And it took only a week before she returned to him.
'You said you'd help, right?'
'Yes.'
'How?'
'I'll pick targets you can kill without issue. All irredeemable criminals.'
Heavenly Killing Star.
Awakeners with this ability all had extraordinary potential.
And without exception, they became the worst criminals, committing massacres.
They couldn't suppress the surging bloodlust. To quell it, they killed humans—over and over. Right up to their dying breath.
And Han Yoo-jung was no different.
Powerful urges hit every week. If she endured, her mind blanked, and she'd find herself bloodied.
She accepted the president's offer.
Ring ring.
Han Yoo-jung stared hollow-eyed at her phone.
[Bastard]
She answered.
—Yoo-jung.
The president's voice.
Han Yoo-jung replied curtly.
"Job's done."
—I know. Whose work do you think it is?
"Then why call?"
The president said casually.
—Thinking of giving you the next mission...
"This week's quota's filled."
Han Yoo-jung shot back sharply. She was acting as an assassin under the pretext of taking out ability-abusing hunters, but she didn't enjoy killing.
—I know you hate this, Yoo-jung.
"Then why bring it up?"
—I've helped you a lot. Just this once.
Under his pressure, Han Yoo-jung bit her lip. Reluctantly, she asked.
"...Target?"
—Name's... ah, right. Kim Hyun-woo. Info via the usual method.
"Got it."
After hanging up, Han Yoo-jung slumped to the floor.
"I hate it..."
Tears streamed down her cheeks to the floor. She clutched her shoulders, sobbing.
"I hate it now..."
She didn't need an ability like this.
Even though it was beyond her control, she bitterly resented her past self.
She had to kill periodically. Suppressed urges exploded indiscriminately if held back too long.
Only one way to stop it.
Death, for peace.
For a 17-year-old girl, it was a brutal choice in every way.