The Strange Incident (3)
Choi Yeon let out a sigh as he watched the tattooist flop into her chair like a rag doll.
She grabbed the hand fork from the reception desk, leaning against it in a way that made it look like she was about to collapse. Her slender fingers danced across it, spinning the tool in lazy circles.
Whoosh. Whir.
The hand fork spun with surprising grace, nothing like the clumsy clatter one might expect from such a simple tool.
“What brings a Dongdae Hunter like you here? Anything unusual going on around here?”
“There was.”
“Oh? Well, I don’t know anything about it. I mean, the studio—er, this building. I’ve never even stepped outside.”
“That’s fine.”
“Fine? Why?”
The tattooist’s brows drew together in clear disapproval.
Choi Yeon, who’d just offered a casual greeting to a stranger, was supposed to act like he knew nothing. That was oddly suspicious.
Was she really that oblivious, or was she playing it up?
Choi Yeon reached into his pocket and pulled out a photo of Lee Chae-young, sliding it across the desk.
“Does this person ring any bells for you?”
“I remember them. They were my customer from last weekend when I inked their tattoo.”
The moment the tattooist saw the photo, her answer came instantly.
Did she remember every single customer? Or…
“They’ve been living pretty lukewarm for the past couple of months. Then they got this fire tattoo and said they were going to live with real passion now.”
“…”
“…I thought they sounded like an idiot, but they really meant it.”
“Ah. You must have sensed how sincere they were and decided to give them that tattoo.”
“A tattoo…?”
The hand fork stopped spinning in her fingers.
She set it down on the desk with a loud clack and rose to her feet. Her eyes were sharp, her voice even sharper.
“What do you mean, ‘my tattoo’?”
“Excuse me?”
“That was my masterpiece—carefully drafted over several days, every single line perfected. If you call that ‘just a tattoo,’ I’ll be seriously annoyed.”
“Ah…”
“So the person didn’t like it? Is that why they came looking for you?”
“That’s not—wait, you said they were extremely satisfied? They kept laughing and smiling the whole time? Oh, I get it! Their parents hated it? They tricked them into getting the tattoo, right?”
“…”
Choi Yeon simply stared at her, letting the silence stretch just long enough to see how she would respond.
After a few seconds of quiet, exactly as he’d hoped, she broke the silence.
“It’s not that, is it?”
“No, it’s not.”
“Then why did they come here?”
“You really don’t have any idea?”
“I wouldn’t ask if I did.”
The tattooist shrugged.
There was no trace of the usual stiff tension that came with acting. She really did seem completely clueless.
Choi Yeon decided honesty might be the smarter play.
“The reason I’m here is because the tattoo you made for that person allows them to use their skill.”
“A tattoo…? That skill applying to a tattoo… uh!”
Clack!
The tattooist’s mouth snapped shut the second she realized what she’d almost said out loud. She’d tried to cover it with her own hand.
Choi Yeon had just witnessed her nearly slip up. That was the truth he’d been waiting for.
…She really had no idea.
“You have a related skill, don’t you?”
“…”
The tattooist gave no answer.
She already knew she’d spilled the beans. There was no getting out of this now.
Still…
“Silence isn’t always the best medicine. The more you stay quiet, the more tangled things get.”
“Lawyer—”
“Would you like me to call a lawyer for you?”
“…!”
Her eyes went wide at the sound of his words. She hadn’t expected a Dongdae Hunter to volunteer to handle something like this himself.
“I can get one for you if you’d like. Or if you already know a lawyer, you can call whoever you want. I’ll wait here.”
“Why?”
“What?”
“Normally, when something like this comes up, they try to solve it before the lawyer even arrives, right? They want to rack up some points or something.”
“There’s always that possibility.”
Choi Yeon answered her curious question in his usual relaxed tone.
“But I don’t care about points. Raising them just makes me more tired….”
“What?”
“And even if a lawyer shows up, it won’t change anything. They’ll just tell you to answer honestly.”
“…”
“You really think so?”
“I don’t buy it. Could it be my sleepy eyes?”
Choi Yeon’s lips curled into a smirk.
“Just because of my appearance—”
“Psyche’s Breath.”
“What?”
“That’s the skill’s name. It lets you give power to anything you put real effort into.”
“Things you make?”
“I just learned today that tattoos count as well. This is the first time I’ve heard of something like this happening.”
“Indeed…”
Choi Yeon nodded twice.
If the skill description mentioned “things,” tattoos probably didn’t qualify. It made perfect sense that she’d assumed they did.
“If I told you I don’t know anything, I’d be lying. At least two more cases like this have happened recently.”
Cha Jae-hyeok had passed along that Lee Chae-young had accepted clients like Lee Sung-jun this time.
At least two more people.
“Two more recently…”
The tattooist muttered to herself, already deep in thought. Recalling the details didn’t take long.
“A couple got tattoos this month. They’re probably the ones.”
“A couple?”
“When I put that much effort into a tattoo, it’s only a handful of people.”
“Just three, then?”
“I don’t always give my all. Oh, and that doesn’t mean I’m sloppy—don’t get the wrong idea.”
“I understand. I’m a working guy myself.”
Choi Yeon answered with a small smile.
He was the kind of person who only did the bare minimum. He had no right to criticize.
“And my client base isn’t huge. Maybe I should get a neck job?”
“You’re right, that doesn’t suit me.”
Choi Yeon agreed immediately.
It fit the tattoo studio near the livestock market perfectly—something Lee Sung-jun would have guessed instantly.
“…”
The tattooist shot him an annoyed look.
Even if she’d thought it herself, hearing someone else say it out loud stung.
Choi Yeon noticed the shift in her expression and changed the subject.
“What about the skill rank?”
“You’re trying to steer the conversation again?”
“If you don’t want to answer, I won’t—”
“S-rank.”
“What…?”
Choi Yeon’s mind short-circuited.
What did I just hear?
“What did you say just now?”
“S-rank.”
“…”
Choi Yeon’s mouth fell open in slow motion.
He’d assumed it was an A-rank skill since it granted power. Even if she was bad at it, B-rank should have been more than enough.
He hadn’t expected the word S-rank at all.
“S-rank?”
“Yes.”
“That’s… one of the rarest ranks in Korea—hell, in the world.”
“I don’t know how rare it is. I’ve never looked it up.”
Choi Yeon let out a dry chuckle.
It was too unbelievable to be real.
Maybe she was joking?
The thought crossed his mind, but her face stayed completely calm when she denied it.
She was telling the truth.
“You don’t have to believe me. Just listen.”
“Why are you a tattooist working in a place like this?”
“…The nuance’s different, but it’s a fair question. I haven’t seen an S-rank skill in my entire life—only a handful at most.”
“Mmm… honestly, I just didn’t have the talent.”
“What?”
Choi Yeon was so startled he almost asked.
She’d hidden herself away because of her past—something he couldn’t imagine, let alone the “no talent” excuse.
“I made pottery, ceramics, metalwork, sculptures, carvings, anything. Everything came out F-rank. The skill didn’t work, or if it did, it was at the lowest level…”
“Ah…”
“The only thing I had any real skill in was engraving, so my friend suggested I use it. And then…”
She lifted her arm, pale hands pointing toward the studio.
“Somehow I became a tattooist.”
“I see.”
Was this a story that should be laughed at or cried over?
Choi Yeon honestly didn’t know, so he answered flatly.
“…Is this case going to be serious?”
“What?”
“If it isn’t, keep it a secret. You can see I don’t use my skills well enough anyway.”
“Mmm…”
“I just want to live quietly like this. Help me.”
“Quietly like this?”
“Please.”
The tattooist bowed her head.
Maybe it was the genuine look in her eyes, or maybe she truly wanted to live quietly. Either way, Choi Yeon felt like helping her wasn’t a bad idea.
“That might be a little difficult.”
Choi Yeon knew the difference between public service and personal help, though. There was no way to hide anything he’d agreed to.
“The civil servant must have already filed a report. An S-rank skill tattoo is extremely attractive.”
“Ah…”
A sigh slipped from the tattooist. Even she understood how compelling it was.
“Wait a second. You just said D-rank.”
“Yes.”
“A D-rank skill on a tattoo? Why?”
“Well?”
Choi Yeon shrugged.
Ask me? The skill was used on you, not me.
The tattooist added quickly, trying to explain herself.
“No, I’ve never once had a D-rank skill granted before!”
“Really?”
“Wow, crap…! They never even tried when I was about to die, and now it just happened? And it’s D-rank?”
“The usual rank—”
“F-rank! That was the highest and lowest record. Even after thirty-seven attempts, I barely got it to stick…!”
Ah. Now it made sense.
Choi Yeon finally understood why she’d given up on the artisan path.
Thirty-six failed attempts just to get an F-rank skill on something.
How many failures would it take to get a higher rank?
Probably at least three digits.
“…Sleepy Eyes.”
“My name isn’t Sleepy Eyes, it’s—”
“I’m going to give you a tattoo right now.”
“Oh? You want to test it?”
“Yes.”
“If you’re planning this casually, it’s not the kind of thing that deserves all that effort.”
“Ah.”
“And… hm?”
Whoosh.
Choi Yeon turned and looked out the dark window.
The tattooist noticed he’d gone quiet and gave him a puzzled look.
Why the sudden silence?
A few seconds later, he solved the mystery.
“A customer just arrived.”
“It’s Friday evening. People would normally come then. Why are you so serious about it?”
“No. That customer isn’t the one I meant. They came in, saw the sign, and left.”
“What? Why did you just move the sign?”
“It worked out perfectly.”
Choi Yeon walked to the door, opened it, and turned back to the tattooist.
“You’ll see for yourself. That’s the best way to decide what you need to do from now on.”
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
“Well?”
With that, Choi Yeon stepped out of the studio and left.
Alone, the tattooist stared at the open door in a daze.
“…”
Was it an illusion? Just a mood swing? It didn’t feel like the usual door she walked through every day. Stepping through it now felt like everything would change.
So she shouldn’t cross it, right?
She did anyway.
The tattooist left the studio, leaving only the hand fork sitting alone on the reception desk.
＊＊＊
The moment Choi Yeon stepped onto the first floor, he spotted Yang Dae-geun.
But his gaze wasn’t on Yang Dae-geun. It was on the luxury car parked behind him—a sleek black sedan that screamed wealth.
A man stood beside Yang Dae-geun with arms crossed, carefully opening the car door.
“…”
The person who stepped out of the car slowly was a middle-aged man.
His perfectly combed back hair was neat, and his tailored suit fit his sharp features like it had been made for him.
He looked like someone who’d just stepped out of a finished masterpiece.
“Park Do-kyeong… a hunter?”
“Long time no see, Choi Yeon. How’s Hyeok-do doing?”
“What brings you all the way here?”
“I came to see Chae-young. She’s inside.”
“You came personally?”
“I thought it was worth the trip.”
“…”
Choi Yeon fell silent.
His mind raced with a dozen questions.
Park Do-kyeong already knew about Lee Chae-young’s ability.
Right after the tattoo that granted skills was revealed, he showed up. That timing was far too convenient.
Was the civil servant’s report enough to make everyone suspicious?
Maybe not all of them. But Choi Yeon had misjudged the situation because of the man standing in front of him.
“Step aside. I’d like to talk to this person.”
“Of course. But could you wait a moment?”
“…”
Park Do-kyeong looked down at Choi Yeon in silence. The pressure felt heavy, even without words.
Inside that pressure, Choi Yeon simply met his gaze with a calm smile.
Time passed slowly.
“…”
“…”
“…You’re the one who showed up out of the blue.”
Park Do-kyeong spoke first.
Choi Yeon gave a slight bow.
“Thank you.”
“I can’t wait long, though.”
Of course he couldn’t.
“It’s enough.”
What he thought and what he said were two different things.