For Solidarity (5)
Geumwi Daejang, Park Yu-tae, came over and stopped in front of me.
Once I folded the newspaper away, I could finally see his face clearly.
He was a man with short hair and a well-kept mustache.
"What was that again?"
I had expected the stink of alcohol and cigarettes to cling to his mouth, but when he came close, all I caught was a clean, herbal scent.
My first impression of Park Yu-tae was simple: unexpected.
He had lost one arm, but his eyes were still fierce.
His back was straight.
Even with part of his body taken from him, he still carried a stubborn, almost savage grip on life.
The Dongbaek Guild members were still surrounding me. If anything happened, they looked ready to jump in and back their captain immediately.
Now I understood why so many people followed Park Yu-tae.
He’s attractive, even from a man’s point of view.
I spoke plainly. “Yeah. We’re not on the same team anyway, so I’ll talk casual too.”
I met Park Yu-tae’s eyes. “Harpy. Don’t you want to catch that bastard?”
His pupils trembled.
The Dio Guild took its call signs from Greek mythology.
Harpy was the monster from Roman legend, one of those so-called bird beasts—the child of Thaumas and Electra.
Park Yu-tae gave a dry laugh. “Of course I want to. That bastard wouldn’t be enough to just chew up and spit out, much less let him live. But I don’t want any help from the Dio Guild. Why the hell should I trust you?”
“I told you already. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and all that...”
“Bullshit. The Dio Guild is still a shitty enemy, period.”
The mood turned cold in an instant.
Park Yu-tae leaned in, his face close to mine. “What are you hiding? Say what’s really going on.”
Harpy had cut off Park Yu-tae’s arm and then quit the guild without permission.
After that, he became a wanted criminal, committed every filthy thing he could, and vanished.
Back then and now, the same story held true: the Dio Guild had plenty of human trash in it.
Well, doesn’t matter to me.
I kept my face blank and spoke as if this were obvious. “Harpy did a lot to ruin the Dio Guild’s image. You should make him pay for it.”
Just as Lee Yu-seol had done with me, the Dio Guild had an unspoken rule: if someone attacked Dio, they paid it back with interest.
Park Yu-tae couldn’t possibly be unaware of that.
That made my proposal sound a lot more believable.
If I could help Park Yu-tae, then that meant I’d also created a situation where I could ask him for help in return.
Park Yu-tae stared at me for a moment, then turned on his heel.
“Come on. You bastard.”
Outside, sparring practice was in full swing.
We were in the Dongbaek Guild office.
Park Yu-tae set down a paper cup with one hand, then tore open a packet of instant coffee, poured in hot water, and stirred it with the wrapper.
“I’ve got nothing to offer you. Drink that if you want.”
He Da-yeong, who had been standing nearby, jumped in. “Oh, thank you! This is more than enough. Wow, the coffee smells so good—ah! Hot!”
While He Da-yeong fussed over the coffee, Park Yu-tae sat down across from me.
Silence stretched between us for a while.
Then Park Yu-tae stared at me as if he meant to bore a hole through my skull and said, “Dio, was it? You’re not a face I know.”
“I’m here on a short-term dispatch.”
“Hmph. A parachute appointment, then.”
Park Yu-tae didn’t smoke, and he didn’t drink coffee either.
Instead, he poured himself some tea he’d just steeped.
A fragrant scent drifted through the cramped room.
It was the same strange aroma I’d caught from him earlier.
That’s...
Mandrake.
It was a plant-type monster that screamed when its roots were pulled free.
Park Yu-tae was drinking tea made by steeping dried mandrake root in water.
“Want a cup?”
I shook my head.
Mandrake had powerful restorative properties, which was why it was used in potion-making, but if it wasn’t properly processed, its toxicity was severe.
If an ordinary person drank it, they might end up with a paralyzed face or black out instantly.
Park Yu-tae had already downed several cups of mandrake tea in a row.
I’d heard the rumors, but still.
Impressive.
Park Yu-tae set the cup down. “So. Harpy or whatever. Where’s that dog bastard?”
“Before that, I need you to promise me something.”
“What promise?”
“In three days, I want the Dongbaek Guild to join forces with the Dio Guild and carry out the operation together.”
“......”
Park Yu-tae closed his mouth tight.
For Dongbaek, Dio was practically a blood enemy.
There was no way he’d want to team up with the guild that had turned him into a cripple.
“The Dirty Kraken is coming,” I said. “A huge octopus is going to attack the surface. It won’t be the main body in the sea that comes up, just its tentacles slipping onto land... Anyway, I’ll explain the details as we go.”
“What rank?”
“Higher than Ruins-grade.”
Park Yu-tae’s eyes darkened.
Any hunter knew exactly how dangerous a monster on par with Apocalypse-grade would be.
“Think it over. I’ll wait.”
I got up from my seat and walked around the room, looking things over.
Behind Park Yu-tae was a bookshelf.
The books lined up there were things like Advanced Healing Magic, Herbology, Healing Philosophy, Knowledge of Traditional Healers, and The Great Healer’s Path.
That was right.
Park Yu-tae was a healer.
The only S-class healer in Busan, in fact.
When he was younger, Park Yu-tae had served as a soldier overseas, and after witnessing too many comrades die, he developed deep psychological trauma.
Exhausted by endless death, he eventually returned to Korea and settled in Busan instead of Seoul.
“For this operation, Geumwi Daejang, I really need your help.”
Even if we prepared for everything, there would definitely be casualties if a monster on par with Apocalypse-grade came down on us.
Right now, the Dio Guild Busan team didn’t have a healer anywhere near Park Yu-tae’s level.
We needed his cooperation badly.
“Hmm.”
That was the first time Geumwi Daejang had let out a low sound.
If I push a little more, I think he’ll cave.
Then a voice drifted in from outside the door.
“Ten-minute break!”
I checked outside through the window.
Everyone had collapsed in place, panting hard.
Then they started sharing something and drinking it.
Not some stamina supplement.
They were pouring water from a battered plastic bottle they’d filled from the purifier and gulping it down one after another.
Right. That’s it.
An idea to persuade Park Yu-tae flashed through my head.
“For the record, this is a personal favor. It has nothing to do with the Dio Guild.”
Park Yu-tae looked up at me.
“Yeah. What I said before was a lie. I don’t actually care about revenge on anyone who touches Dio or whatever.”
In negotiation theory, there’s a term called BATNA.
It refers to the best alternative you can take if the negotiation falls apart.
The more BATNAs you have, the stronger your position in the negotiation.
Which meant the move I needed to make with Park Yu-tae was this:
“Even if you refuse my offer, the Dirty Kraken is still going to invade Busan. If you fight it separately without any information on the monster, the Dongbaek Guild is going to take damage no matter what.”
I sped up my tone.
“Of course, I’ll pay handsomely for your cooperation.”
To fix the poor conditions of guilds in the provinces, money was essential.
“I’m not only asking Dongbaek for help. I’ll be contacting other guilds too, so we don’t have much time. Decide.”
Knowledge, money, connections, time...
I threw everything I had into my BATNA.
Park Yu-tae covered his tea with the lid.
“Why?”
The steam rising over the cup disappeared.
“What can you gain from this, Dio Guild? No—what can you gain? Money? Fame? Do you just want to become famous?”
It was true that I’d planned this partly for the sake of notoriety.
But the real answer was different.
Because I was a hero.
Because it was something I should do as a hero.
Can’t exactly say that.
As I walked toward the bookshelf, I muttered, “...If you ask me why.”
I pulled one book out of the shelf.
I opened to the first page.
I swear by Apollo, Asclepius, Hygieia, Panacea, and all the gods and goddesses as my witnesses that, according to my ability and judgment, I will fulfill this oath and this covenant.
Amusingly enough, it was an epigraph about Greek mythology.
And this was...
the Healer’s Oath.
I skimmed the page with my eyes.
Then I read one line aloud.
“I solemnly swear to devote my life to treating the injured equally.”
I closed the book.
Looking at Park Yu-tae, I said, “I’ll save the world. In the meantime, you save the people.”
He Da-yeong, who had been silent the whole time, swallowed hard.
This was an important moment.
“I thought your face looked familiar... and now I remember.”
Park Yu-tae pointed at me with the fingers attached to his one arm.
“You’re Choi Yongki, the hero of Gangnam.”
“Heh. So that’s what fame gets you.”
Park Yu-tae stood up and walked over to me.
He held out his single hand and offered a shake.
“Fine. Deal.”
I took Park Yu-tae’s hand.
My body tilted forward.
He’d pulled me in.
What kind of strength does a healer have...?
I could feel Park Yu-tae’s breath against my ear.
“Now then. Why don’t you tell me where that damn Harpy bastard is?”
I smiled thinly. “Come with me, you bastard.”
That night, Park Yu-tae and I arrived at a gambling den in Nampo-dong.
Dense cigarette smoke hung everywhere.
The gamblers shuffled hwatu cards with hollow eyes.
The windows were shut, so not a single ray of sunlight got in.
There wasn’t even a wall clock.
A rat slipped between the chairs.
Somewhere, a vile ammonia stink hung thick in the air.
So this is the real-life version of a dungeon.
Officially, we couldn’t let anyone find out we were here.
This mission was personal.
We’d come not as hunters, but as avengers.
I gave Park Yu-tae a glance.
Following him, I slipped into the deepest stall in the bathroom and shut the door.
“Let’s cover our faces first.”
“I brought this.”
Park Yu-tae had thrown on a crude mask made by cutting up a newspaper.
“How is it? Look good?”
“...Is that really the best you could do?”
“What did you bring, then?”
I covered my face with a purple cloth.
It was a handkerchief I’d gotten from a pregnant woman when I took down Big Lava.
Park Yu-tae clicked his tongue. “Just as cheap-looking as mine.”
I hadn’t brought the suit Karki made.
This wasn’t the Dirty Kraken, and there was no need to overdo it against civilians.
“Let’s go.”
We left the bathroom and headed for a room tucked away in a corner.
Park Yu-tae whispered, “You sure he’s in here?”
I’d gotten help from the Dio Guild headquarters intel team through Lee Yu-seol.
“It’s reliable information.”
In front of a door that looked heavy enough to need two people to move it stood a big guy.
“Hey. What are you two?”
Two men with their faces covered.
Anyone would find that suspicious.
The goon blocked our way.
I stepped up first.
“Is your boss here?”
“What? Are you drunk, you bastard? Get lost.”
The moment he reached out to shove my chest—
I kicked him in the gut.
The giant flew backward, smashed through the wooden door, and crashed to the floor.
I strolled past him and went straight inside.
Park Yu-tae followed behind me.
Inside, they were in the middle of counting cash.
Men covered in tattoos stared at us, each holding bundles of 50,000-won bills.
“W-what the hell?!”
The man seated in the place of honor shot to his feet.
One, two, three... six in total.
I didn’t know Harpy’s face.
I asked Park Yu-tae, “Is he here?”
Park Yu-tae checked them one by one.
“No.”
The guy in the silver suit glared at me. “Who the hell are you people!!!”
So he thought we were some gang.
Factory owner, hunter, hero—it felt a little unsatisfying to pick just one of my identities and introduce myself with it.
Maybe I should try out a new ID.
“We are...”
I lowered my voice as far as it would go.
“Robbers.”
Park Yu-tae tilted his head. “What kind of bullshit is that...”
Meanwhile, the thugs burst out laughing.
“Pfft—ha!”
“Did you two escape from a psychiatric ward or something? You crazy?”
They were clutching their stomachs, howling with laughter.
“......”
I was the only one who stayed serious.
I’d spent a long time coming up with this concept.
I was even proud of how perfectly it matched the situation.
And they were laughing at me?
The big goon I’d kicked in the stomach staggered back to his feet.
“You son of a bitch...”
He spat out the curse and charged at me.
Let’s keep it light.
I twisted my body and slammed a kick into his calf.
The technique was a calf kick, striking the front of the lower leg.
There was a sickening crack.
“Aaah!!!”
The giant wobbled and screamed like a little girl.
Then he clutched his calf and rolled on the floor.
One light kick had shattered the bone in his lower leg.
“......”
“......”
“......”
The room fell into a silence so deep it felt dead.
I hadn’t used Judgment of the Superhuman.
I’d only focused mana into my right foot.
My morning training is finally paying off.
Park Yu-tae, standing beside me, stared hard.
He must have realized from that single strike that I was no ordinary D-class hunter.
Still, where the hell was Harpy?
I’d brought Park Yu-tae all the way here with a big promise, and now...
This doesn’t look good for my pride.
Well, if I caused enough chaos, he’d probably crawl out on his own eventually.
“You punks. If you don’t want another beating...”
I pulled the purple mask up over the bridge of my nose.
“Stuff the cash into the bag.”