A Little Late

"How's the brush?"

"Writes beautifully. Much smoother than the old one."

"Haaaaah."

Lee Se-ah let out a sigh deep enough to sink the earth.

"I bought mine with a heavy heart, too… It was a luxury brush from a department store. Who charges five hundred thousand won for a single brush?"

Anyone could see that the brush Yoon Tae-jung had given him looked far more expensive.

"Enough with the grandstanding."

Kang Hyun set the brush down and flicked his fingers.

"Let's finish what we were looking at earlier. You wanted me to handle a mission for you, didn't you?"

"Ah, right!"

Lee Se-ah's face brightened at once.

She brought the tablet back over, and they were flipping through the screen together when—

"Hm?"

Kang Hyun's finger stopped on a particular entry.

Taejung Mulsan?

"Oh!"

Lee Se-ah was startled as well.

"Taejung Mulsan is on the list? Don't tell me…"

Lee Se-ah's expression turned serious in an instant.

"Could this be connected to the poisoning attempt you mentioned earlier, Kang Hyun?"

"It reeks of it."

"It reeks a lot."

An S-rank hunter of foreign nationality slipping into the country illegally was an event on par with a national emergency. When living strategic weapons entered the country by stealth, bypassing every official channel, nine times out of ten it meant they had taken a dirty contract.

"Usually it's the assassination of a key political or business figure. That's where the real money is."

"Is that so."

It had been the same in the Murim. If a Peak Realm master of the unorthodox sects snuck into orthodox territory, it almost always meant someone's head was about to roll. Kang Hyun himself, if he felt like it, could erase someone without leaving a single scrap of evidence.

"That's why the government goes into full panic mode the moment illegal entry like this is detected. Emergency orders go out to the Management Bureau and the National Intelligence Service, and the situation is sensitive enough that summary execution is authorized on discovery—not capture."

"So why is this guy after Yoon Tae-jung?"

"No idea. And it's only a projected target, after all."

"Hmm."

He was almost certainly the target. The internal poisoning attempt alone made it clear that someone was nursing a grudge.

"This one."

He decided on the spot. Their conversation earlier had been brief, but Yoon Tae-jung had left a good impression—a decent man who knew how to bow his head to his son's benefactor, and a capable businessman on top of that. Letting someone like that die for nothing felt like a waste. More than anything, he was Yoon Hyun-jong's father. Creating a proper environment for his students' education was a professor's duty, after all.

"Understood. I'll report to the Director immediately and request operational coordination with the Special Division!"

"No."

Tap.

Kang Hyun closed the tablet.

"No need to report."

When he handled a job, he preferred to move alone. He trusted the authorities least of all.

"Just one question."

"What is it?"

"About the hunter who snuck in."

"Yes?"

"Should I bring him in alive? Or kill him?"

Hup…!

Lee Se-ah sucked in a breath. Right—the man in front of her was Code Name Black. They were talking calmly enough now, but only a few weeks ago she had been trembling in his presence. Operations that Bureau agents would risk their lives to carry out, this man discussed as if success were a given—and he had the skill to back it up.

"If possible, I'd prefer you bring him in alive."

"That so? Fine."

That night.

The president's office at Taejung Mulsan.

Yoon Tae-jung had not gone home. He sat staring at his monitor.

Too clean.

He had traced every external contact Park Dong-cheol had made recently, every flow of funds—and nothing had turned up. Under normal circumstances he would have let it go. But the complete absence of dust only made him more suspicious. It looked as if someone had scrubbed the trail clean.

He pulled up the company's internal organizational chart.

From the head of HR to the finance director—more than half the key positions had been replaced with people from Park Dong-cheol's line.

"Hah."

A sigh escaped him. It wasn't as if he had never seen this coming. Park Dong-cheol had always been a greedy man, and Yoon Tae-jung had known that greed might one day cross a line.

…I'm softer than I thought.

Out of gratitude for the years they had spent grinding together from the bottom up, he had given the man an executive director's seat and tried to keep him close while carefully limiting his authority. That meager consideration had become poison, closing around his heart.

Is that really it, Park Dong-cheol?

Were you truly planning to kill me and swallow this company whole?

At the same hour.

A private salon overlooking downtown Seoul.

"Director."

A man approached through the darkness and bowed his head.

"It appears the president has caught wind of something. This afternoon he activated a private intelligence team and reverse-traced three years of company fund flows and your external meeting logs."

"Is that so?"

Park Dong-cheol stopped swirling his glass.

How did he find out?

Haaaah, my friend. You could have gone quietly of a sudden illness. Why dig into it?

In the end, no choice?

His best plan had been to kill Yoon Tae-jung, then manipulate the inexperienced Yoon Hyun-jong until the right moment to absorb the shares completely. But if Yoon Tae-jung had already figured it out? He would have to fall back on the middle plan. The man was a friend, but he was no ordinary opponent. While he remained ignorant he could be taken, but the moment he knew, he would thoroughly cut Park Dong-cheol out.

That's why I took out insurance.

When he had casually made contact with a foreign contractor he had happened to learn of, it had felt like overkill. But now the blade was drawn—and it would cut whatever stood in its way.

The next morning.

"Mr. President, you have an inspection of the Incheon Port logistics center at ten a.m., and a luncheon with the board executives in the afternoon."

"Right. Let's go."

Yoon Tae-jung nodded and lifted the teacup from his desk. The fragrant tea he drank every morning out of habit. As the familiar scent brushed his nose, his eyes went cold.

So this is what held the poison meant to kill me.

The moment his secretary turned to organize some papers—

Glug, glug.

Yoon Tae-jung pretended to wet his lips, then poured the entire contents of the cup into the orchid pot by the window.

"We're leaving."

"Yes, sir."

When Yoon Tae-jung came down to the lobby, a scene unlike any ordinary morning awaited him. Three large black sedans sat in a row, and around them men radiating a rough, dangerous presence had formed a perimeter—the company's dedicated ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠security team, plus A-rank mercenary hunters hired at great expense on short notice. Security this tight would never appear for a routine inspection. He was uneasy, and that was enough.

Settling into the back seat, Yoon Tae-jung watched the car door seal shut and declared inwardly:

From this moment on, Park Dong-cheol, you are my enemy.

There was no telling what he might try next. Yoon Tae-jung ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠would prepare thoroughly.

The convoy left the city and turned onto the outer road toward Incheon Port. They had reached a quiet stretch lined with dense trees on both sides, almost empty of people, when—

Thwip!

"Gahk!"

A bone-chilling whistle of air, and dark red blood erupted from the driver's chest like a fountain. An arrow from somewhere had punched through the windshield and driven straight through his heart.

Screeeeeech!

The sedan, out of control, skidded with a grinding roar.

"Ambush!"

The bodyguard riding shotgun urgently drew up his energy and shielded Yoon Tae-jung.

Crash!

The vehicle slammed into a roadside utility pole, unable to shed its speed—but Yoon Tae-jung was not badly hurt.

"Get outside!"

"Combat ready!"

A mercenary shouted into his radio. Gasping, Yoon Tae-jung peered through the shattered window and felt a deep jolt of shock.

Park Dong-cheol.

He had prepared for this, but he had never expected the man to move so quickly, so aggressively. Hadn't the whole point of the poison been to avoid getting blood on his own hands?

What made you this desperate?

Enduring the heavy pain crushing his body, he climbed out of the car. Sparse traffic, no CCTV—a perfect blind spot.

They marked this place as a hunting ground from the start.

Screech, screech!

The two escort vehicles behind them slammed to a halt. Doors flew open, and armed security personnel and A-rank mercenaries poured out, surrounding Yoon Tae-jung.

But they were given no chance to counterattack.

Thwip!

Thwip-thwip-thwip-thwip!

Sharp sounds of wind being cut rang out in rapid succession from somewhere unseen.

"Kraaaagh!"

"Gahk!"

A nightmare unfolded before Yoon Tae-jung's eyes. The barriers of A-rank hunters who had drawn their weapons and wrapped themselves in energy were punched through as if they were nothing. Arrows flying at speeds the eye could not follow buried themselves precisely in foreheads and hearts. Not a single shot missed. One strike, one kill.

"…!"

Yoon Tae-jung's lips trembled. These were A-rank hunters. Even in a surprise attack, for a single arrow to pierce their barriers and drop them like autumn leaves? That was impossible—unless the attacker stood on a level far above them.

S-rank?

Who? Which guild, which insane S-rank hunter would commit a massacre of this scale in the middle of South Korea? Even on an outer road without cameras, slaughter this large would leave a trail. Had they really entered the country illegally from overseas?

In the blink of an eye, dozens of escorts lay sprawled across the asphalt. The stench of blood hung thick in the air. The only one left alive was Yoon Tae-jung—alone.

When the world around him had fallen deathly still—

Rustle.

The dense roadside brush parted, and someone stepped into view.

"Haa, Tae-jung. Why'd you have to do that? You could've just gone quietly."

The man he had treated for decades like a brother, sometimes like his own right hand.

Park Dong-cheol.

And beside him, a blond foreigner holding a massive black bow smiled faintly in their direction. The moment made it clear beyond doubt—an overseas S-rank hunter.

Yoon Tae-jung's anger flared.

"Park Dong-cheol! No matter how badly you wanted the company, was this necessary? Taking these people's lives too?"

"Come on, why act like you didn't see it coming? You knew, which is why you prepared like this, right?"

With his true face bared, Park Dong-cheol was no longer the friend Yoon Tae-jung had known.

"And greed? You're the one who got greedy."

"What?"

"I was the one who got blood on my hands and cleaned up the shit from the bottom. Shouldn't I have gotten half the shares? Why are you the president and I'm just the executive director?"

It was absurd, but Yoon Tae-jung forced himself to stay clear-headed. If he died a dog's death here, he would never see his wife or Hyun-jong again.

"If you wanted half the shares, you should have said so. I would have given them to you."

"Like hell you would."

Park Dong-cheol snorted.

"Would a man like that dump his tea into a flowerpot and hire mercenaries?"

Damn.

Yoon Tae-jung cursed inwardly. That meant the secretary who had briefed him on this morning's schedule was Park Dong-cheol's person as well.

"So that's why you took this extreme step."

"Exactly. Once you caught on, it was either ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠today or my neck first. Don't feel too wronged. When you're gone, I'll take good care of Hyun-jong. The kid still doesn't know how the world works—I'll raise him into a fine figurehead president. And ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the company? I'll enjoy that myself."

"You piece of trash!"

As Yoon Tae-jung's fury erupted, Park Dong-cheol jerked his chin. The gesture said: finish him.

Creeeak.

The blond man drew the massive black bow taut. Yoon Tae-jung knew, in that instant.

It's over.

He did not even consider begging for his life by offering every share he owned. The moment Park Dong-cheol had butchered dozens of people in broad daylight on the outskirts of the city, he had crossed a river with no return. What they had done was far too bold to leave a witness alive.

Yoon Tae-jung slowly closed his eyes.

My love. And Hyun-jong. I'm sorry.

The faces of his family flashed past like a lantern show—and then a languid voice brushed his ear.

"Sorry about that."

Yoon Tae-jung flinched and snapped his eyes open. A broad back had already stepped in front of him, blocking his view.

"I meant to get here as fast as I could. I'm a little late."

It was Kang Hyun.