The Break-In
“Why the hell aren't these idiots picking up?”
Seo Na-yeon grumbled as she drove, dialing someone on her phone. It had to be either Park Hyun-jun or Kim Hyun-cheol.
She shot me an anxious glance, her irritation plain on her face.
“What's up?”
“Those two...”
My heart sank. I'd been worried about this ever since I couldn't reach Kim Seol-bi. Park Hyun-jun was one thing, but from what little I'd heard about Kim Hyun-cheol, he was a total loose cannon. You couldn't predict what scum like that would do from a normal person's perspective.
Just because Seo Na-yeon had said she'd meet me first, did they really sit around waiting like good boys? Park Hyun-jun might've been cautious after getting burned once, but Kim Hyun-cheol? No way.
S-rank hunters were the most arrogant bastards in the world. Sure, the circumstances were different, but now that I was S-rank myself and had tasted that power and treatment, I could guess their mindset all too well.
“Just drive!”
At my words, Seo Na-yeon's face hardened as she floored the accelerator.
Before long, we pulled up to Kim Seol-bi's house, and my gut twisted with urgency. Sure enough, flashes of light were flickering from inside like crazy. And there were these heavy thuds echoing out—her place was so well soundproofed that this was all we could hear; in a regular house, it'd have been deafening.
I flung the car door open and bolted. Leaping over the wall in one bound, I charged through the shattered front door.
The sudden silence made it even worse. Had someone gotten killed? With the odds at 1 against 2, if anyone was hurt, it was probably Kim Seol-bi.
Kang A-jin was on her way as backup, but things were different from when she'd been watching me 24/7. She'd take at least a few more minutes to get here, which meant Kim Seol-bi was alone in there.
“Seol-bi!”
The trashed living room only ramped up my dread. Then, hearing my voice, three figures appeared from the second floor.
Park Hyun-jun, looking even more wrecked than last time; some young punk I'd never seen; and Kim Seol-bi, slumped unconscious in the punk's arm.
“Heh...”
The guy I figured was Kim Hyun-cheol let out a hollow chuckle.
“What the fuck is that?”
He directed the question at Park Hyun-jun.
“Why are you...”
Park Hyun-jun glared down at me, grinding his teeth. I hadn't personally neutered the guy, but I'd been there. In a way, you could say I was the one who lured him into breaking into Kim Seol-bi's place in the first place.
Seeing me next to her must've set him off. That's where it all started.
“Why? Who the hell is he?”
“That's the bastard. Kang Sung-gi...”
“Huh?”
Kim Hyun-cheol blinked in confusion.
“That's the guy? The nobody? Looks like he's at least A-rank now. What the hell's wrong with your memory, hyung?”
Kim Hyun-cheol smacked Park Hyun-jun upside the head.
“Urk!”
Park Hyun-jun's body buckled. It was surreal watching it. Park Hyun-jun clearly looked older, and they were both S-rank hunters. Plus, they'd plotted this together and stormed in here, so they had to be tight.
So why was Park Hyun-jun taking a hit from this kid without fighting back?
“Where's Na-yeon noona? What the fuck's going on?”
Kim Hyun-cheol was pissed that things weren't going according to his script.
“Whatever. Hyung, deal with that loser first. I'll take Seol-bi noona inside. And don't fucking knock like some pussy. Got it?”
“You...”
It was obvious what Kim Hyun-cheol planned to do with the passed-out Kim Seol-bi. Park Hyun-jun finally scowled at him.
“What? Trying to pull rank now? You liked her first? Bullshit—clean up your own mess, you eunuch fuck!”
“You little shit!”
Sparks flew from their locked glares.
Rage boiled up in me. I was about to charge upstairs when someone else burst into the living room.
“Oppa!”
It was Seo Na-yeon, who'd driven me here.
“Noona?”
Kim Hyun-cheol scowled down at her, and Park Hyun-jun looked baffled too.
“What the hell is this? Why'd you bring him?”
“What else? I brought my oppa here~~ You assholes said you'd wait for me. Why'd you move without me?”
Park Hyun-jun and Kim Hyun-cheol were speechless, staring at her in disbelief.
“Noona, no way... You're not...”
“Not what?”
“You're into that guy too? For real?”
“Don't you 'this guy that guy' me, you punks! That's my brother-in-law!”
Listening to their back-and-forth, I could only sigh.
“All of you, shut the fuck up...”
I directed it at Kim Hyun-cheol.
“Put Seol-bi down. Now.”
“Huh?”
His face twisted.
“You talking to me?”
“Yeah, you little brat. Put Seol-bi down and get your ass over here.”
I couldn't hold back the fury anymore. I'd been through something similar when Park Hyun-jun pulled his stunt before—not just me, but Kim Eun-bi nearly died, and Kim Seol-bi almost got violated.
Thinking back to Jo Dong-geun made it worse. The humiliation Kang A-jin had suffered at his hands. He was dead now, but fresh anger surged anyway.
Things were different this time. No reason to hold back.
“Get down here.”
“Heh...”
While Kim Hyun-cheol gaped in shock, Park Hyun-jun stepped up first.
“You and I need to talk first!”
He leaped down from the second floor. As he charged straight at me, something flashed—and his body snapped back hard.
“Urk!”
Bam!
He crashed down hard. His nose was busted, blood pouring out, and handcuffs clattered nearby.
“This fucker's been mouthing off to my brother-in-law this whole time.”
Seo Na-yeon must've thrown them—I hadn't even seen her move. With my dynamic vision, I should've caught her pulling them from inventory, the throw, the arc through the air. But nothing. No wonder Park Hyun-jun ate it out of nowhere.
Had to be one of her hunter abilities.
“What a clusterfuck.”
Kim Hyun-cheol tsked from upstairs. He set Kim Seol-bi down on the floor, then vaulted gracefully to land below.
His fluid movements and the aura radiating off him screamed top-tier. Different from Jo Dong-geun's raw menace—still a bit green, maybe. But headed for that level eventually. No wonder he was so cocky. Even a depowered Park Hyun-jun couldn't touch him.
“Oppa, run. I'll handle this.”
Seo Na-yeon stepped in front of me, dead serious. I grabbed her shoulder.
“No need.”
My smile made Kim Hyun-cheol's face twitch.
“What the fuck did you just say, you dogshit? Do you even know who I am?”
“Yeah. Some punk-ass kid criminal.”
“Haha...”
His eyes darkened.
“Guys like you piss me off. So goddamn stupid or full of themselves they can't see straight. I wish you all just dropped dead.”
“Quit lecturing like some kid and take your beating.”
Mana flared over Kim Hyun-cheol's shoulders. He was pissed, but my real worry was one thing: if we fought here, the house would be rubble. And it'd turn into a massive scene.
Even if it was S-rank hunters scrapping, rumors would leak. I didn't want Kim Seol-bi dragged through the mud because of these psycho criminals.
“Oppa...”
Seo Na-yeon looked baffled. Why was I facing him down so confidently? She didn't know I was S-rank yet. Her obsession came from sex, nothing to do with hunter ranks.
That's when three more figures burst through the front door. Familiar faces: Kang A-jin, Valentina, and Lisa.
“Sung-gi!”
“Darling!”
“Oppa...”
Now the odds were crystal clear. Kim Hyun-cheol, fuming blindly at me, and Park Hyun-jun clutching his bloody nose in defeat.
“Looks like we made it just in time.”
Valentina smiled, relieved I was okay.
“Darling, need anything?”
“Gonna fight this guy, but no good spot for it.”
Perfect timing—I turned to her.
“Okay. But I'm not prepped, so it won't be as sturdy as last time. Even I need time for that kinda setup. And Lisa's help.”
“That's fine. Won't take long.”
“Hohoho. My darling's extra hot today~~”
Valentina spread her arms wide, and out popped her signature dolls.