Korea's Strongest: Kang Sung-gi (13)
I spent the night at Kang A-jin's house. I couldn't just leave Park Hye-na behind.
Valentina and Luiza tried sneaking into my room all night long, but I easily sensed their presence each time.
"I'm tired, so don't bother me."
"Tch, it's been a while since we've seen you, and you're acting like this?"
Valentina grumbled, but in truth, it hadn't been that long since our last time together. If anyone felt left out, it should have been the other women. Valentina and Luiza knew how hard I'd worked to heal Park Hye-na, so they didn't push for sex too aggressively.
The next day, I stepped out and spotted Park Hye-na sitting at the dining table. She had a dazed look on her face as she chatted with Kim Seol-bi and Kang A-jin. Lisa sat beside them, cradling a mug with both hands and sipping what might have been coffee or hot cocoa. Valentina and Luiza were nowhere in sight.
"Sung-gi."
Kim Seol-bi called out to me. Her expression showed she'd completely shaken off what happened while I was treating Park Hye-na yesterday. Not that it was the first time or anything. No matter how hard something was to accept, it became familiar with repetition. I was grateful for that.
Above all, I felt it had helped that I'd gone upstairs first and gotten permission before deciding to heal her with sex. If I hadn't, the atmosphere would have been much harder to manage. Even if we'd brushed it off somehow, my conscience wouldn't have been clear.
Park Hye-na flinched at the sound of Kim Seol-bi calling me. She turned slowly to look, then quickly faced forward again. She had her cute side like this.
I pulled out a chair at the table and sat down.
"How's your body feeling?"
"Yes......"
Park Hye-na couldn't lift her head in front of me.
"No more cravings for that drug, right?"
"Huh?"
She startled at my question, then seemed to realize something and lifted her arm. Seeing the inverted cross tattoo that should have been there was gone, she let out an "Ah......" with a sigh.
"Yeah. My body's unbelievably light now."
She exhaled deeply and continued.
"Ever since I got hooked on that drug, my body felt heavy all the time. All I could think about day and night was the drug, and I clung to Baek Seonghun so desperately. Thinking back on it now is so embarrassing and humiliating......"
Kim Seol-bi took her hand as she bit her lip.
"Thank you. And I'm sorry for doubting you yesterday. Sung-gi, you've basically given me a new life. Honestly, I had no idea how to go on. I never imagined an S-rank hunter like me would face those kinds of worries. Really, I don't know how to repay this favor......"
I could feel Park Hye-na's earnest gratitude. Smiling at her, I said,
"If you want to repay the favor, just vote right tomorrow."
"Huh?"
Park Hye-na stared blankly at me, then broke into a soft smile.
"Sorry. I'll definitely vote for you tomorrow."
But the conversation wasn't that simple. When I first met her, I never expected things to turn out like this, but Park Hye-na was now part of our group. She needed to know what my ability was and that there were more than a couple of women who'd gathered this way.
Park Hye-na's mouth hung open the whole time I explained. Even after I finished, she kept opening and closing her lips like she hadn't fully grasped it.
"S-So......"
Her gaze shifted to Kim Seol-bi, then to Kang A-jin. Cautiously, she glanced at Lisa, who was still sipping her warm drink from the mug. Lisa looked like a girl who hadn't even reached adulthood.
"Ah, um, haaaaa......"
Park Hye-na mumbled to herself in confusion.
Finally, she asked the key question.
"So Seo Na-yeon too......?"
She must have recalled how Seo Na-yeon acted toward me at the S-rank hunter meeting. Despite the shock, it seemed she'd understood what I told her.
"Yeah, it wasn't what I wanted, but that's how it turned out."
"Haaaa......"
While Park Hye-na sorted through it all in her head, Kang A-jin asked her,
"Who did you get the drug from initially?"
"The drug......"
Park Hye-na's eyes narrowed.
"It was at the club I always went to. The drugs came with the drinks as usual. But that day, the staff whispered to me discreetly."
Recalling the memory, she said,
"Looking back now, it was someone I'd never seen before. It was a club I frequented, and the staff who served VIPs were always the same, so it was odd. But I didn't pay much attention. I didn't notice at the time, but he had a tattoo on his neck. A scorpion and a snake...... Yeah, the same tattoos Baek Seonghun had on his head."
"Was he a foreigner?"
"Yeah, I think so. He spoke Korean, but awkwardly. His hair was brown too. I don't know why I didn't notice those things then......"
Park Hye-na spoke with regret, and I could see why she'd taken drugs from a stranger so easily. Who would dare mess with an S-rank hunter? Being so high up made her guard down. With few people bold enough to approach, a natural one wouldn't raise suspicion. Plus, it was her regular club, and she'd gone there to have fun, so her defenses were even lower.
"You took what that guy gave you."
"Yeah, it was the usual way, so no reason to suspect. I remember the pill had a cross on it. It was kinda pretty, so I swallowed it with my drink without thinking."
"What happened after?"
"I barely remember that day. Or rather, I can't tell if what happened was a dream or reality. I felt like I was floating on clouds, a happiness I'd never experienced before. I hung out with the friends I went with. And...... I did things I wouldn't normally do. Embarrassing now, but it all felt like a dream, so nothing seemed off. And then......"
Park Hye-na bowed her head and covered her face with her hands.
"When I woke up after sleeping soundly, it was the complete opposite. Endless depression. I felt like I'd die if I didn't do something. That's when I saw the business card. It had a cross and just one phone number. I called, and they asked if I needed more like they'd been waiting. When I said yes, some guy brought a case with about twenty pills. No need to say it—it was the same drug from the night before."
Park Hye-na ground her teeth.
"The guys giving the drugs didn't even take money. They didn't ask much about me either. I didn't think it was weird. Plenty of people offer S-rank hunters stuff without asking. I figured it must be something special. When I was high on it, I felt like the strongest person in the world. And the next day, without fail, deep despair hit. I met Baek Seonghun when I got the third batch. The guy handing it over said Baek Seonghun was waiting for my call. From then on, contact him for more."
"Didn't that seem suspicious?"
"It did. But by then, I was more anxious about not getting the drug than suspicious. I was glad Baek Seonghun could supply it. He was an S-rank hunter too, so I thought he could get as much as needed from the source. Since he was the only route, I talked to him a lot. And when high, I'd hear all sorts of things."
"Remember what he said?"
I asked eagerly, sensing this was it.
Park Hye-na furrowed her brow.
"It was ridiculous. He had dreams. Korea would be his. He had S-rank friends in Japan and China. Said they'd rule their countries and indulge in every pleasure. He didn't say it outright since he was the supplier, but I laughed inside. No matter what, Korea's top hunter was Jo Dong-geun, and with him around, it was all nonsense. I thought he already had all the luxuries— what more could he want? Baek Seonghun said when the time came, help him. Not blackmail exactly, but what choice did I have? He was the only source. I vaguely knew my body was breaking down, but I ignored it. Now I see how foolish I was......"