The Pot Calling the Kettle Black
"Now what are you going to do about this!! What are you going to do about it!!"
Kang Seunghee’s shriek filled the training hall.
Clutching Janus's Earring—its surface blackened now, its performance cut in half—she screamed like she’d lost her mind.
But Kim Woojin’s expression was ice-cold.
Even with those piercing cries ringing in his ears, he didn’t so much as blink.
"Ha. Unbelievable, seriously. Hey, didn’t I warn you it was dangerous?"
"B-but still... it could’ve worked! You’re the only Enhancer, aren’t you?"
"Enhancement’s a gamble. Didn’t you know that? You were the one who pushed it. I clearly said we should stop at +3, didn’t I?"
"B-but still! I don’t know! You fix it!"
A vein throbbed on Woojin’s forehead.
"You want me to teach you a lesson? Or should I just announce to the whole world that you’re a woman?"
"...Go ahead and try. I won’t let you get away with it."
"Huh? Look at this bastard."
"What? You think that pathetic level of skill can do anything to me? A noncombatant like you?"
"...Huh?"
Woojin had every intention of putting this outrageously brazen maniac in her place.
But he held back.
There was no need to stir up trouble if he didn’t have to.
Good was good enough; he was going to let it go for now.
By all rights, Woojin had already shown superhuman restraint.
Then Director Jeong, who had been silent until now, cleared his throat and cut in.
“Ahem. Kim Woojin. It is true that Hunter Kang Seunghyk let greed get the better of her, but it is unfortunate that matters ended up like this. A Mythic-grade item, one of the nation’s precious assets, has been damaged. Wouldn’t it be best if you took responsibility and wrapped this up here?”
That was the trigger.
Woojin’s brow twitched.
Responsibility?Wrap it up? Slowly, he turned to look at Director Jeong.
The man’s face wore all the shamelessness of someone saying, It’s your fault, so you clean it up.
These guys are really something else... they think I’m a sucker.
Woojin let out a short, incredulous laugh.
"Tsk..."
Apparently, he’d been far too compliant up to this point.
"Director Jeong, you seem to be laboring under a rather serious misunderstanding. The fact that I came here and handled this enhancement for you was a favor to the country. Do you not understand that?"
Director Jeong’s brow furrowed.
“I understand, but the fact remains that the value of the Mythic-grade item has dropped. From the nation’s perspective, this is an enormous loss. You should have been more careful.”
These damn bastards... all the way to the end.
Woojin realized that any more talking would just waste his breath.
This was past the stage where words could solve anything.
Without another word, he took out his phone and dialed a number.
“Yes, oppa.”
"Hey, Jihyun. It’s me. I’m at Kang Seunghyk’s training hall right now, and I’m dealing with something seriously unfair and infuriating. These people are giving me a hard time. Yeah, they’re treating me like a sucker."
[Where is it? Which bastard dared—!!]
Yu Jihyun’s furious shout exploded through the speaker.
Woojin gave a brief reply.
"I already sent you the location on the map app. Hurry up. I’m scared."
He ended the call and flashed Director Jeong a thin smile.
Cold sweat broke out on the director’s back as a terrible premonition sank its claws into him.
“K-Kim Woojin? Who exactly did you just call...?”
"You’ve been standing there acting all quiet, so I guess you think I’m easy to push around. This seems like a good chance to make it crystal clear who I am—and who’s standing behind me."
And exactly two minutes later—
BOOOOM—!!
Before Director Jeong could even react, the reinforced concrete ceiling of the training hall was ripped apart as if it were paper, and a thunderous explosion tore through the air.
Through the billowing dust, a silver flash cut across the wreckage.
The javelin Yu Jihyun had hurled slammed into the floor and released a shockwave, and the two women who had ridden down along the shaft landed in spectacular fashion.
It was Yu Jihyun and Eileen Benedict, descending on the spear like warriors dropping straight out of the sky.
They stood there radiating a cold killing intent, as if battle itself had come to the world in human form.
Blue lightning danced in Yu Jihyun’s eyes, while around Eileen, mana swirled so violently it seemed to distort space itself.
"Who was it? Who’s been messing with our Woojin oppa?"
Yu Jihyun’s low, chilling voice froze the entire training hall.
Kang Seunghee instinctively stumbled back.
E-Eileen Benedict! And Yu Jihyun!
She carried the title of Korea’s No. 1 Hunter, but ever since Yu Jihyun had awakened and returned, that spot had already been taken in all but name.
And now Eileen—who, according to gossip, stood shoulder to shoulder with Yu Jihyun as one of the strongest women in the world—was here too.
The moment Kang Seunghee saw them, she knew it.
I... I can’t win. These aren’t opponents I can do anything about!
Their presence was on a completely different level.
This wasn’t merely a gap in rank. It was a difference in kind.
"I asked who was bullying our Woojin oppa!!"
At Yu Jihyun’s lion’s roar, the mana stones in the training hall trembled.
Woojin watched the scene and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
Having girlfriends this strong really is reassuring.
At some point, in his head as well, they had been promoted from scary women to my dependable girlfriends.
Director Jeong went pale and frantically waved his hands.
“J-just a moment! W-what are you doing? This is a national security zone—”
"You’ve been treating me like an easy sucker because I stayed quiet."
Woojin pointed at Kang Seunghee with his chin and asked Yu Jihyun,
"Jihyun. How many seconds do you think it’d take you to drop her?"
Yu Jihyun glared at Kang Seunghee with eyes full of murderous intent.
"Who’s this bitch? That one? One-tenth of a second would be plenty. Should I kill her?"
WOOOONG—
The pressure was so intense the very air in the training hall seemed to thin out in an instant, and Kang Seunghee sagged under it.
She could hardly breathe, let alone scream.
“Ku... kuhk...!!”
"...Kill? What do you mean, kill. You’re starting to sound like Eileen."
As Woojin pretended to rein her in, Eileen stepped forward next.
With each step she took, the mana stones beneath her feet crumbled into powder.
“Explain yourself, Director Jeong. Why were you pressuring our Woojin oppa? If you can’t give a satisfactory reason, then as of today, the Korean government will lose quite a lot. That will be the price of laying a hand on Woojin oppa.”
Only then did Director Jeong realize the magnitude of his mistake.
Kim Woojin cooperated with the Korean government not because it controlled him, but purely out of Kim Woojin’s own consideration and goodwill.
And he had forgotten that behind that consideration stood two dragons.
“N-no, that’s not it... we were only concerned about the value of the Mythic item—”
Just as Director Jeong started scrambling for excuses—
Tsupat—
Yu Jihyun’s body shot forward so fast she was almost impossible to see.
Then—
CRACK—!
Her kick struck Kang Seunghee squarely in the solar plexus, and Kang Seunghee shot through the air like a cannon shell, slamming into the wall.
“Khuuugh—!!”
Kang Seunghee didn’t even manage to react.
KUGUGUGUNG—!
The reinforced wall collapsed in on itself, burying her body beneath the rubble.
One blow.
The Hunter who had been praised as Korea’s best was knocked out cold without even managing a single scream.
"Be grateful you got lucky. I didn’t kill you because of oppa. But you still have to pay for acting up."
Yu Jihyun said it coolly, sweeping her hair back.
It had truly all happened in a tenth of a second.
Director Jeong nearly collapsed on the spot under that overwhelming display of force.
Instinct told him one thing now: he had to raise the white flag, and fast.
“I-I was wrong! Kim Woojin, I misunderstood and took your great consideration for granted. C-could you let this matter go this once? Please, I’m begging you.”
Woojin snorted and walked toward him.
"Of course you should. You seemed to be under a rather serious misconception, so I had to use a rougher method. You understand, right?"
“O-of course! Of course I understand! I’m sorry, really sorry!”
"And from now on, I’d appreciate it if you stopped dragging me around whenever you feel like it. If you need something, come to me yourself. Even when I’m trying to be accommodating, you people still treat me like this. Honestly."
“Y-yes, of course! I’ll remember that!”
Woojin nodded, then picked up the black earring that had fallen to the floor.
"And this is confiscated."
“T-that’s a national asset—!”
Director Jeong blurted it out on reflex, but the instant Eileen’s chill gaze landed on him, he clamped his mouth shut.
"How long do you think popularity built on lies is going to last? Just make it public and tell him to work proudly and openly. Why do you not understand that if a lie keeps growing, it’ll eventually become impossible to control? I’ll study this earring for a bit and then decide whether or not to return it."
In the end, Director Jeong gave up and bowed his head deeply.
“...Understood. I’ll do as you say.”
Woojin shoved Janus's Earring into his pocket.
It was eroded, so it couldn’t perform at full strength right now, but Woojin had already decided he would cleanse it and enhance it later.
In other words, he’d just gotten his hands on a Mythic-grade item for free.
"Let’s go. I’m hungry. Let’s head home and eat."
At Woojin’s words, Yu Jihyun and Eileen’s expressions brightened in an instant.
“Yes, oppa. I’m planning to make abalone samgyetang for dinner.”
“Oh, samgyetang sounds good.”
The two women hooked their arms through Woojin’s as if they had never been radiating murderous intent a moment ago.
Woojin was practically dragged as he walked out of the ruined training hall.
Left behind, Director Jeong looked at the devastated hall and the unconscious Kang Seunghee, then let out a long, hollow sigh.
“...I picked a fight with monsters. I really picked a fight with monsters.”
