A New Dawn in the Hunter World
Whoosh… The warm, steamy water cascaded over my skin, erasing every trace of the nightmare I had just survived.
Sua and Fatima had spent the night here, in the hotel where the information had been verified.
Of course, I had stayed in a different room.
Chairman Gu Jinmo had promised to send his private jet once he learned of my whereabouts.
The flight had been anything but smooth. A detour through Libya had been his quiet gesture of mercy.
That was why I had been forced to spend the night here.
After the shower, I stepped out and looked around at the spotless hotel room.
The air still carried a faint warmth, like the lingering scent of lavender.
A neatly made bed waited against the wall, beside a flat-screen TV.
On the small desk sat a set of premium lotion and body oil—far too luxurious for a mere hotel.
Tap… Tap…
Someone knocked.
It was Fatima.
“Dojin-ssi?”
“Can… can I sleep with you…?”
She looked as bewildered as I felt.
I gave a slow nod.
“Yeah. But… wait a second.”
Too much had happened in too little time.
My mind was still spinning, and this strange new reality refused to settle.
Still, I needed to check.
I left Fatima behind and headed toward the room where I knew I would find myself.
Tap… Tap…
The door opened almost immediately.
Dojin stood there, calm as ever, staring down at me.
“Is there something you wanted to ask?”
“Come in.”
The words left my lips in English—yet somehow I understood them perfectly.
He stepped aside, reached into the mini-fridge, and pulled out a single can of juice.
“What is it?”
English again.
I sat across from him, bowed my head with proper respect, and spoke with quiet sincerity.
“Thank you for saving me. I apologize for not saying this sooner… I am truly grateful.”
The words came from the heart.
Dojin simply watched me in silence.
A polite, well-mannered child.
She possessed clear thoughts and values of her own.
She had come to me now for a reason.
I lifted my gaze to meet his.
“Was that Korean earlier?”
“Yes.”
“How did you find me? Did it have something to do with my family…?”
My voice trembled despite my efforts to stay steady.
I forced calm, tried to sound serene.
Yet my clenched fists beneath the desk and the way my lips quivered betrayed everything I felt.
Dojin nodded once.
“That’s right.”
A single word.
But it struck me like a storm of complicated emotions.
Tears began to fall silently from my lowered eyes.
The word “family” shattered something deep inside me—the heart of a woman who had spent her entire life as an outsider in a distant land.
I sobbed without making a sound, shoulders shaking.
Dojin watched me without a word.
After a long while, she wiped her tears and asked, voice still unsteady.
“Are… are my parents still alive?”
“No. Only your father.”
The man I had lost.
Haunted by guilt and grief, living in hell every single day.
He had searched for me at any cost.
That was why he had been bound so tightly to Kang Seungho, the devil—used and discarded for so long.
After that, she asked more questions.
What kind of person was my father?
How had Dojin found her?
He answered everything he could.
But there was one condition.
“Even if I bring him back, it won’t happen right away. I’ll need to bring your father with me as well.”
“What does that mean…?”
“I’ll make you one promise.”
I didn’t need to hear every detail.
I didn’t want to.
The only promise I could offer her was this:
“I will make sure you meet your father completely intact.”
That was all.
She nodded firmly.
“I believe you.”
The man who had pulled me from hell.
Whether it was a job or a request—
anyone who could perform such a great feat deserved trust.
The next day.
Whoosh—!
Thanks to Chairman Gu Jinmo’s generosity, we boarded his private jet and flew back to Korea, taking me and Fatima with us.
***
“He’s not responding to calls?”
“Yes. He simply vanished without a trace.”
Lee Hyejin, Guild Master of the Firebird Guild, frowned deeply at the news.
Only yesterday, we had been tracking his location.
Now he was gone?
Park Seonggwang shook his head.
“All traces have disappeared. We can’t even guess where he went.”
“SW must have intervened.”
I had known Dojin maintained close ties with SW Technology.
And the dagger he used—Arkal’s Wrath—had been crafted with the chairman’s help.
But giving up the dragon’s fangs like that…
It showed just how much faith Chairman Gu Jinmo placed in Ha Dojin.
That was why he had erased every trace so cleanly and moved him somewhere else.
“Still, he’ll be back in Korea soon. As soon as we identify him, contact me immediately and prepare a place.”
“Understood.”
Many hunters in the world were fixated on Dojin.
They wanted to contact him, drag him away.
Yet the Firebird Guild and SW Technology stood like an unyielding shield, preventing any direct moves.
Hyejin looked at Seonggwang and said,
“When you send someone, I’d prefer if Yoo Seonghyun goes.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
“Ha Dojin seems to have opened his heart to Seonghyun a little.”
“Yes. I’ll prepare that. Once we locate him, we’ll move quickly.”
Hyejin nodded.
Seonggwang turned to leave—
then paused.
“Ah… and Guild Master.”
“…?”
Hyejin turned back.
“The information is still unconfirmed, but…”
Seonggwang hesitated.
Why was he so hesitant?
“What is it?”
“We’ve detected strange movements within the Red Circle Guild. No concrete evidence yet, but…”
His eyes turned sharp.
“They seem to be targeting Ha Dojin.”
“What…?”
Hyejin’s expression grew even more serious.
***
The moment I returned to Korea, I headed straight for SW Technology’s headquarters.
I needed to speak with Chairman Gu Jinmo.
“Was everything resolved?”
“Yes. Thanks to your support, we finished cleanly. I’m truly grateful.”
I bowed my head slightly.
Erasing my traces in Korea and traveling to Libya—everything had been possible because of him.
Gu Jinmo chuckled, then said,
“The two who came with you… I assume you’d like us to protect them?”
“Yes. For now, keep their identities hidden.”
“Of course.”
He answered shortly.
I never asked what I had done, or who these people were.
He trusted me completely and simply helped me accomplish what I needed.
And I was always grateful to him.
“Thank you… every time.”
“Heh heh heh, do I really have to tell that old man story again?”
Repaying the debt of saving his grandson.
Even though I had said it many times before.
“Whenever you’re ready.”
He waved his hand.
“My throat hurts from all that. But speaking of it—did you bring someone from the research team? Kwak Hansu, wasn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“He caused quite the stir. Eight months of no progress in the final stage of new material development… but he turned it all around this time.”
He had completed the fusion of new materials perfectly.
“This will bring revolutionary change to the hunter world. Stronger, tougher items for everyone.”
And SW Technology’s standing would only grow stronger.
I smiled faintly.
“It’s good that it helped.”
“Haha, where did you even find such talent? Anyway, I heard you went through hell. Rest well. We’ll talk again later.”
“Yes.”
My meeting with the chairman ended there.
Soon after, Seongtaek and I moved to where Sua and Fatima were waiting.
During the ride, Seongtaek spoke.
“Chairman was deeply worried. He knew exactly what happened in Libya.”
“You worry too much. Just give me orders and leave the rest to me.”
“That’s my job. Besides, helping Ha Dojin isn’t as difficult as you think.”
“Even saying that is a relief.”
He waved his hand.
“And… the Firebird Guild has been calling constantly. They asked us to contact you as soon as Ha Dojin arrived. They’re convinced of our connection.”
“Of course. Too much information has leaked already.”
Thanks to that, far too many strings had been pulled.
If not for a giant like SW Technology, we would have faced trouble long ago.
Seongtaek smiled faintly.
“No need to worry. We’ve handled everything appropriately.”
It was reassuring.
Perhaps the greatest fortune I had gained so far was bringing these two into our circle.
But then his expression grew serious.
“However, there have been strange movements in the Red Circle Guild lately.”
“That’s no surprise.”
Red Circle had already lost far too much.
Especially after losing their Shadows and failing to assassinate Park Namhee.
Park Namhee’s press conference had turned every media outlet against them.
Kang Seungho had nowhere left to retreat.
He’ll make his next move soon.
That was why—
I must block the greatest power he possesses.
More than a mere blockade…
If I can steal it away from him…
There was nothing else Kang Seungho could do.
Then—
Dojin recalled his plan and organized his thoughts.
But at that moment—
Uuuung!
Seongtaek’s smartphone rang.
He answered, then said,
“Huh? Okay. I understand. Just wait.”
…?
A call from the company.
He ended the call and turned to me.
“Ha Dojin. Guild Master Lee Hyejin of the Firebird Guild has arrived at the company to see you.”
She had come specifically to meet me.
I tilted my head.
Why suddenly?
But Seongtaek’s next words made my expression harden.