Nubyeok (2)
“Long time no see, Yeon.”
Cha Jae-hyeok greeted Choi Yeon and set his book down. He lifted a steaming cup of coffee and breathed in its fragrance.
Tock.
The moment Choi Yeon sat across from him, Jae-hyeok set the cup back down. A faint smile curved his lips.
“How long has it been since we last met?”
“Why’d you call me?”
“Last time was three or four months ago, wasn’t it?”
“So what’s this supposedly important business?”
Question piled on question. With no one answering, the conversation went nowhere. Jae-hyeok looked at Yeon; Yeon looked right back, his face so blank it bordered on shameless.
What, you just wanted to catch up?
That was the message Yeon’s expression seemed to send. Jae-hyeok soon shrugged, conceding so the conversation could move forward.
“I called you because there’s something you need to know.”
“If it’s important enough that we had to meet face-to-face, you could’ve come to the Dongdae.”
“It wasn’t the kind of thing that required me to go find you.”
“…You just didn’t want to leave, did you.”
“Hm?”
“You’re always holed up in here and never come out.”
Yeon tossed the remark out and then replayed Jae-hyeok’s words in his head.
Something I need to know, but not something he needs to come find me for…
He quickly realized there were words left unspoken before the subject—words like Dongdae Hunter and vigilante group. Something that would be received differently depending on which side you stood on… which only made it more confusing.
“So what is it? This thing I need to know.”
Yeon’s pondering didn’t last long. The one who called him would explain. Otherwise he wouldn’t have called at all.
“Something strange.”
“Strange?”
“For instance… people who use skills without ever having awakened any.”
“What…?”
Yeon’s brow furrowed. That doesn’t even make sense. He was about to argue when a face rose in his mind and stopped him. Last weekend there had been a young man who lit a flame and claimed nothing came to mind. Yeon had assumed the guy simply couldn’t recognize it through the confusion, but—
“…That was real?”
“So you’ve met one too.”
“Yeah. One of them. I didn’t believe a word of it.”
“You should. He really never awakened a skill.”
“Then how is he using one?”
“Who knows?”
“You don’t know either?”
“That’s also a who knows.”
With that, Jae-hyeok lifted his cup again. He didn’t drink; he simply savored the aroma the way he had before.
He knows. This bastard.
Watching that cagey act, Yeon was certain of it. And just as certain that Jae-hyeok had no intention of telling him freely.
“Where are those people now?”
He’d have to look into it himself. Yeon held out an open palm.
Hand it over.
“You already dug up their personal info, right?”
“I did, but I’m not sharing it with you.”
“What? Why?”
“They joined Nubyeok. I can’t just hand over a member’s information for free, can I? I can ask them if it’s all right to tell you, though. Want to wait?”
“…You know if you keep this under wraps and those people cause an incident, the whole thing blows up, right?”
“Oh, I know.”
Jae-hyeok smiled. It was a warm, sunlit smile… and Yeon knew a snake lay coiled inside it. Did he trust that they wouldn’t cause trouble? Or was he confident he could keep them completely under control even if they did?
Yeon let out a long breath and stood.
Either way, all he could hope was that the situation didn’t get bigger.
“Oh my?”
Park Jeong-a, the owner of Byeokondang, came up to the second floor with a tray of freshly baked bread of every variety. She looked disappointed.
“Yeon, you’re leaving already?”
“Yes. Your boyfriend didn’t leave me any free time.”
“Hmm? What did Jae-hyeok do?”
She turned to look at him. When their eyes met, Jae-hyeok merely shrugged as if to say he was completely blameless.
Shameless to the bone.
Yeon decided to play the model student reporting a problem child. He felt not the slightest hesitation.
“That guy knows everything and still won’t tell me.”
“Ah, again…?”
“Yes. Again. Thanks to him I have to go dig it up myself. And of course he waits until Friday afternoon to tell me—he’s just trying to mess with me, right?”
“Ahaha, no way. We only happened to meet today. Even if you’d come on a weekday, Jae-hyeok would’ve said the exact same thing.”
“…….”
Yeon shut his mouth. He had only just realized that the disaster was one he had brought on himself. He could have come any day this week—so why today of all days? Because he had used meeting Nubyeok as an excuse to clock out early.
Jae-hyeok, who had caught on, chuckled under his breath. Park Jeong-a, who had not, looked puzzled at Yeon’s sudden silence. Then she held out the tray of bread.
“Well then, I’ll pack these up for you to take. I set some aside for the Dongdae chief and Hunter Choi Heeseok too.”
“Ah… thank you for thinking of us. You’re busy enough with all the customers.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. You’re part of the reason we have so many customers now.”
“Me?”
“Ah. I was told not to say that.”
“……?”
“Mm. It’s nothing. Just wait a moment.”
With that, Park Jeong-a headed down the stairs. Anyone could see it was anything but nothing, yet Yeon stopped himself from asking. What good would come of annoying someone who was offering free bread? Better to accept it gratefully and leave.
Once she was out of sight, Yeon called to Jae-hyeok.
“Hey.”
“Yeah?”
“Since the owner’s packing bread for me, I’ll tell you something. A B-class Hunter came down from Seoul.”
“Ah, I know.”
“Don’t tell me he already came by.”
“No. He hasn’t shown up yet.”
“Then how do you know?”
“Director Park was blabbing about it at a company dinner and our kids overheard. Said some guy was causing a scene at Yangji Dungeon and got thrown out.”
“Why is he talking about me at their company dinner?”
“That I don’t know. I only heard it secondhand.”
“Ha…”
Yeon let out a hollow laugh. Come to think of it, the middle-aged hunter at Samseongyo Dungeon had also said he’d heard it from Director Park Choong-jae. Exactly how far and how often was that man spreading the stories? And more importantly—why was he talking about him at all?
“…Anyway. Back to what I was saying.”
“Mm.”
“The chief looked into it. Turns out Park Do-kyeong himself scouted that Yang Dae-geun guy.”
“The master of Pakator?”
“Yeah.”
“Heh. Didn’t know that.”
“If the guy had no skill, that old man never would’ve stepped in personally. Personality aside, the ability is real.”
And yet that same guy had been power-tripping and gotten kicked out of his guild. No matter how Yeon turned it over, it still didn’t make sense.
“So a B-class Hunter is still a B-class Hunter. Hmm, same rank as Choi Heeseok…”
“Same rank on paper, maybe. From what I saw, that guy got off on watching people scramble under his power trip. There’s no way someone like that is on the same level as hyung.”
“True…”
Jae-hyeok agreed with Yeon’s firm line. Sharing a rank didn’t mean sharing the same strength. Even without bringing Choi Heeseok into it, from Jae-hyeok’s perspective Yeon himself was on an entirely different track from other C-class Hunters. That didn’t mean he was at B-class level either, of course. If hunter ranks were more finely graded instead of lumped together, wouldn’t both Choi Heeseok and Choi Yeon have a plus after theirs?
While he was thinking, Yeon’s voice cut in.
“Still, maybe because he got expelled, he was watching for reactions.”
“You mean when he tried to call Park Do-kyeong and you stopped him? That was a bluff, right?”
“Of course it was a bluff. How would I know Park Do-kyeong’s number? Wait—Director Park even told that part?”
“Yeah.”
“Ugh…”
Yeon sighed despite himself. Next time he saw the man, he’d have to tell him to stop talking about him. If he wanted to gossip, he could at least talk about rescuing kids in an in-dungeon. Why spread the kind of story that would only make things annoying if it reached Pakator’s ears?
“Yang Dae-geun won’t come all the way to a packed place like Byeokondang just to throw a tantrum. Still—”
“He might elsewhere, so keep an eye out?”
“Exactly.”
“I’ll remember. Thanks.”
Jae-hyeok answered with easy grace. Even after being warned that a B-class Hunter might cause trouble, his mood didn’t rise or fall in the slightest. It was probably because he was confident—confident he could handle even a B-class Hunter without trouble.
“…….”
An image of Cha Jae-hyeok rose in Yeon’s mind. Not the one sitting in front of him, but the one from six years ago, on the day they had fought so fiercely. After Yeon had taken down the other Nubyeok members and finally faced Jae-hyeok—
“…Ah, right.”
A piece of information suddenly surfaced. Yeon whipped his head around and stared at him. Unusually serious eyes, Jae-hyeok thought. The pupils themselves weren’t visible behind the squinting lids, but still.
“I heard Modni came to Byeokondang.”
“So I hear. Why?”
“If he shows up again, contact me. Twice.”
“……Ha!”
Jae-hyeok burst out laughing at Yeon’s shameless demand. Park Jeong-a, who had just come back up with the packaged bread, tilted her head at the sight of the two of them.
Cha Jae-hyeok rested his chin in his hand and gazed out the window. Choi Yeon, paper bags in both hands, was disappearing down the alley.
“Jae-hyeok. Why’d you do that?”
“Do what?”
“The information. You knew everything and still wouldn’t tell him.”
“Aaah. That was for Yeon’s sake.”
“Not telling him was for his sake?”
“If I told him, the fun of figuring out the whole story himself would be gone, wouldn’t it?”
“…….”
Park Jeong-a’s eyes narrowed. Moments like this made it clear her boyfriend’s personality was not exactly excellent. Would Yeon call that “fun”? Not a chance. Knowing him—
“He’s going to be mad at you for making him take the long way around.”
“That’s fun too. After the fact.”
Jae-hyeok smiled as he said it. Sunlight from the window settled on his face and bloomed into a dazzling white smile. Park Jeong-a’s mind went a little blank at the sheer brilliance of it.
So what if his personality isn’t great? My boyfriend is this handsome.
“…Well, I guess it’s fine, but.”
She shook her head hard, twice, and pulled herself together.
“I’m asking you—just don’t let any damage come to Byeokondang.”
“Hm?”
“If any damage shows up here, I’ll turn Byeokondang into plain old Ondang. Got it?”
“That won’t do. I’ll keep it in mind.”
Jae-hyeok inclined his head slightly and even laid his right hand over his heart, as if engraving the vow deep. The pose made him look like a knight kneeling before his queen—
Smack!
Park Jeong-a slapped her own cheek. She’d almost fallen for it again. Jae-hyeok’s eyes widened in mild surprise.
“What was that for all of a sudden?”
“…It’s nothing.”
“Are you sure you’re okay? Your cheek’s red.”
“I’m fine. My mind just wandered for a second. I’ve got it under control now. Mm, mm. Good. I’ll pour this firm resolve into baking bread!”
“…Ah. Right. Noona.”
Jae-hyeok called to Park Jeong-a as she was heading down the stairs. She turned back.
“Yeah?”
“Yeon said a B-class Hunter from Seoul might come throw a fit on our street.”
“A B-class? Isn’t that a huge problem?”
“Eh. It’ll be fine.”
He gave a little shrug. Unlike his shoulders, the pitch of his voice didn’t rise or fall at all.
“One B-class Hunter alone can’t take us.”
“Oh my. Remind me who got completely wrecked by Yeon alone six years ago when he was still an E-class Hunter?”
“…Us.”
“And you’re still talking big?”
“Mm, mm.”
Jae-hyeok averted his gaze, looking faintly embarrassed. In the clear glass of the window, a faint image appeared in place of his face.
Choi Yeon from six years ago.
“…It really will be fine. A B-class Hunter.”
Jae-hyeok muttered it almost to himself.
Yes. It would be fine. Compared to facing those eyes again, dealing with a B-class Hunter was nothing at all.