The Shadow's Silent Return
The air hung heavy with an oppressive silence, pressing down on his shoulders like an invisible weight.
Ha Dojin stared at his phone screen with a bewildered look in his eyes.
Even though the display was small, his eyes—those of an awakened being—were sharper than those of any ordinary person.
Yang Taesan's pupils trembled faintly.
His wife was dead. His daughter had been kidnapped.
For years afterward, he had scoured the globe in a desperate search, until his path finally crossed this place.
With no one else he could turn to, he had no choice but to rely on Kang Seungho.
After all, that man possessed the ability to locate Su-ah.
Consequently, he had executed every command without hesitation.
He had slain countless individuals in the shadows, and it had not been enough—leading him to birth the assassins known as the Shadow unit.
Yet two full years had passed, and not a single lead regarding Su-ah had surfaced.
They had only offered empty reassurances that they were still searching.
Now, right before his eyes.
“Su-ah…… is this truly my daughter, Su-ah?”
A feeling he could not name had arisen. Though no proof existed, the moment he laid eyes on the face in the screen, he understood.
That child was his own daughter—Yang Su-ah.
“Su-ah, I’ll be seeing you again soon.”
―Yes, Ahjussi.
Dojin hung up the call and gazed at Taesan.
“Have you finally come to your senses enough to speak?”
“Where is Su-ah now?”
At Taesan’s question,
whoosh!
Dojin tossed a single business card into Taesan’s direction from his pocket.
Taesan caught the card. It bore the name Kim Gyeongtaek.
“Tomorrow afternoon at one o’clock, head there. However, I must warn you…… do not cause any trouble whatsoever. Simply observe from a distance. After all, I have arranged for protection, so you would not be able to create an incident even if you tried.”
Of course, given Taesan’s nature, he would have slaughtered every bodyguard there if necessary to snatch Su-ah away.
That was precisely why Dojin added one more remark.
“Su-ah still does not know that her father is here. Unnecessary commotion could shock her…… simply confirm her safety. Oh, and.”
Dojin tossed something else toward Taesan—a zippered pouch containing two strands of hair.
“Performing a DNA test as well will make it absolutely certain. But remember this: you must not let Kang Seungho know.”
“……”
He had already guessed as much.
He could not trust the man in front of him, but if what he said was true……
‘All this time…… he deliberately refrained from searching?’
His thoughts swirled in confusion.
For now, the priority was to untangle this complex knot step by step.
Taesan asked Dojin, “What is your name?”
“Ha Dojin.”
“…… So it was you.”
“Do you know about me?”
“Although you claim to keep your eyes and ears shut here, I know enough about the information circulating in Korea.”
Taesan’s gaze sharpened.
“Were you the one who dealt with our people recently?”
“That was unfortunate. Park Nam-hee should not have died.”
“You cannot blame someone for dying from lack of skill.”
And that also meant the man before him was capable of eliminating five Shadows in a prepared space.
Even Kang Seungho would have found that no easy task.
Taesan declared, “Return.”
At those words, Dojin turned his body.
For the time being, he would obediently send Taesan away.
But if this was all a ruse——
‘I will chase you until I kill you.’
Dojin knew Taesan’s character better than anyone.
That was why he had turned without the slightest hesitation.
The aftershocks of even this single ripple would be immense.
Until Taesan could meet Su-ah and verify everything for himself.
“I must redirect Kang Seungho’s gaze elsewhere.”
Dojin stepped into his car and pressed the accelerator, vanishing into the distance at high speed.
* * *
Red Circle headquarters lobby.
Normally a bustling place where many came and went, but in recent days the number of visitors had plummeted sharply.
The employee stationed at the desk sighed deeply.
“Damn…… the atmosphere lately has been too unsettling…… Could this lead to the guild collapsing?”
“I’ve been asking around lately as well. Everyone’s saying Red Circle is in big trouble now.”
“Ugh, I don’t know.”
After Park Nam-hee’s press conference, Red Circle’s reputation had plummeted rapidly.
No concrete evidence existed, yet the suspicion had fallen squarely on Kang Seungho for attempting to assassinate the Black Chain Guild Master, Park Nam-hee.
Of course.
Anyone with even half a brain would think the same.
Though a few—mostly outsiders—claimed it was a third party deliberately pushing Red Circle to the brink and framing Kang Seungho.
“If it all comes out, it won’t just end in collapse. Who would risk their life for something like that?”
“……Acknowledged.”
Right now, Red Circle resembled a wounded tiger.
To frame the guild and make trouble in this situation?
“It would simply mean the end of the three great powers. Anyone who knows Master Seungho’s temperament would never do such a thing.”
“True. Really, without a sound they would have…….”
Tick.
At that moment, the employee beside him poked his side.
Kang Seungho was walking toward the lobby.
“O-oh! Master!”
“Good morning!”
The employees bowed deeply in greeting.
Seungho entered the office without even answering.
As he passed, they exhaled and exchanged uneasy glances among themselves.
And……
“Did he order us to investigate?”
“No reply yet. I’ll contact them again today. And regarding Executive Jang Jun-young……”
“Enough, next one.”
“Yes. I don’t know where they sourced it, but due to changes in the contract with the Hwangryong Guild, our business partners seem to be quietly backing out.”
Suddenly, Seungho’s steps halted.
His expression had turned rigid.
Kang Seungho narrowed his eyes sharply at his secretary.
“Where?”
“M-merely compiling the list and submitting it.”
“Quickly confirm and hand it to the Business Support Team.”
Business Support Team.
Though the name sounded harmless on the surface, it was a department that handled matters with considerable brutality.
Seungho then entered his office.
“They grew too used to my gentlemanly treatment and have forgotten their place.”
Seungho seemed to have forgotten what kind of person he was.
“If you’ve forgotten, I’ll remind you.”
They were trembling at the thought of backing out from a transaction with him?
Seungho sat down and opened his email.
Besides the tasks his staff needed to handle, there were matters he himself must address.
His secretary continued speaking from the front.
“And tonight, there is a dinner with Minister Moon Byeong-gi. The restaurant is the Japanese one you liked, Master. I’ve already reserved it.”
“Hah…… And the rest of the schedule?”
“Nothing else. This is the material that came in from the Information Team this morning.”
The secretary handed over the documents he had been holding.
Seungho waved away the thick folder.
“Leave.”
“Yes.”
Once the secretary departed, Seungho immediately began examining the documents.
Information on the man named Ha Dojin, tied to the recent incident with Jun-young.
Every detail from that day.
Even the stance of SW Technology.
As Seungho read, deep creases formed between his brows.
‘……Damn it.’
Originally, SW Technology was the company he had targeted.
He had planned to grasp Chairman Gu Jin-mo’s ailing grandson in a deal.
‘How did this happen out of nowhere……’
He had nearly found the lead.
He had discovered it was not a mere illness but a curse, and even found a solution.
But by the time he learned the method, the grandson had already awakened.
“Could it be that the man behind all this is still that guy?”
Seungho narrowed his eyes.
But he shook his head.
Ha Dojin was a hunter who had completely transcended common sense.
An awakened being who had entered a level-13,000 Red Gate dungeon just four months after his awakening on January 1st.
If one were to take a typical rookie hunter as an example, reaching fifty levels in a single year would already earn the title of promising prodigy.
That was how swiftly he had grown.
Yet ever since that man appeared, strange changes had begun to ripple through the market.
“Han So-hee……”
One of the products bound by Red Circle.
But now she was growing at an astonishing pace with the backing of SW Technology.
Merely leaping fifty levels in a few short months already pointed to abnormal growth.
Of course, that was only possible because of SW Technology’s support.
“……”
The real problem was that Han So-hee was also connected to Dojin.
She had escaped Burning Red on the day of the incident.
But……
“Impossible.”
Even viewing it through the lens of abnormal circumstances, there was no way for Dojin to cure Chairman Gu Jin-mo’s grandson.
Healers, doctors, and expert curse sorcerers had not even properly understood the matter.
To imagine it otherwise would be unthinkable unless the man had come from the future.
“……Could it be?”
Seungho’s eyes flashed.
It was awakened beings who possessed abilities that defied reason.
Perhaps bringing someone from the future back to the past……
Seungho lowered his head.
“……You seem quite tired lately.”
Worldwide, no one possessed such a power, nor anyone with abilities even remotely similar.
There were those with time-related skills, but even they were so few—countable on one hand.
“First…… I need to keep watching the situation.”
The target had been identified with absolute certainty.
Whether right or wrong, it no longer mattered.
‘Ha Dojin……’
I will kill him first.
However, because so many eyes—media and powers—were currently focused on Red Circle, it was critical to redirect their attention elsewhere first.
Solve the immediate crisis, then after that, I will definitely deal with the man.
With his thoughts in disarray, Seungho closed his eyes.
At the same time.
Yang Taesan stood before SW Technology headquarters.
* * *
“……”
Taesan held the document in his hand.
Paternity probability: 99.999……
He had performed the test using the strands of hair given by the man named Ha Dojin and his own.
And now.
“……Su-ah.”
Taesan gazed across the street at Su-ah.
She was even more beautiful than the photo.
With a single glance, he knew she was his daughter.
Even without the confirmation written on these documents.
Something told him it was the pull of blood.
It had been more than ten years.
During that time he had searched with unbearable desperation……
Imagining her appearance in his mind, Taesan unconsciously clenched his fist.
Grit.
It was a distance reachable in a single leap.
To reach Su-ah, a moment’s blink of an eye would suffice.
But……
“……I’ll come for you later, Su-ah.”
Dojin’s words echoed.
Taking Su-ah from here would not be difficult, but——
―Su-ah still does not know that her father is here. Unnecessary commotion could shock her…… simply confirm her safety.
He knew full well that turning away now was for her sake.
That was why he turned.
Taesan forced his heavy feet to move.
And that evening.
He received a call from Ha Dojin.