Chapter 41
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: Seo Na-rin
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Popcorn utterly ruined by a direct hit from the spring sprinkler.
Su-hyeon sat there sullenly, hugging the tub that was as big as her torso.
The theater had decided it couldn't continue operations for the day, so everyone who'd bought tickets got full refunds.
"You can always buy more popcorn."
Ga-eun said, stroking Su-hyeon's damp hair.
For some reason, her freshly moistened locks felt soft as they slid through her fingers, and she tilted her head up with a little "twang."
Su-hyeon unwittingly nodded at the kind tone, then quickly shook her head.
"Yeah... No, it's not about that."
"Disappointed you couldn't watch the movie?"
"……."
Right on the money.
Well, yeah, she'd been looking forward to it so much.
I'd tried to handle it quietly because I had a feeling something like this might happen, but I never dreamed that psycho had system-control powers—and that he'd trash the entire theater with them.
With abilities like that, he could've been treated like royalty anywhere. So why was he stalking us?
Putting aside the injustice of it all, now was the time to comfort Su-hyeon.
"Aww, what a shame. You were really looking forward to it, huh? Bummed you can't see it today? Sob... Oh."
She'd meant to console her, but Su-hyeon was so adorable she slipped into baby-talk without realizing it.
"Hmph... ."
Su-hyeon's lips started to pout again at the teasing tone.
She huffed through her nose and slowly turned away, giving Ga-eun her back.
"Eep, heh... !"
Look at that.
How could anyone hold back a laugh at this?
As she wriggled her butt and twisted around, the popcorn tub stuck out right by her side.
Her chubby little cheeks were the cherry on top.
Ga-eun held back her laughter with all her might, but Su-hyeon finally exploded.
"Just laugh already!"
"Heh-heuk... ! Sorry, I can't help it, eheheh! Heh, haa... ."
Ga-eun was laughing so hard she was practically sobbing.
Su-hyeon jumped down from the chair and stormed off in a huff.
Her waterlogged shoes left little wet footprints with every step.
Why was she clutching that popcorn tub like it was treasure, anyway?
"Ah, wait! I'm sorry! Really sorry!"
Su-hyeon was quickly caught by Ga-eun. Not because of the footprints, unfortunately.
"It's fine. This isn't your fault anyway."
Ga-eun had only tried to help, after all.
Though it did feel like incidents kept popping up whenever she and Ga-eun went out together...
Once the chaos had mostly settled, Ga-eun explained.
Apparently, that guy had been stalking me and acting like a paparazzi.
She'd caught the stalker, but she was worried about the videos that had gone up online and whatever the reporters were up to.
When I told her Brüel had cleaned it all up without a trace, Ga-eun finally breathed a sigh of relief.
It touched me a little, feeling how much she'd been worrying about me.
"Anyway, we should do something about how soaked we are."
Ga-eun said.
She'd tucked both my hands under her armpits and hoisted me up so I couldn't run off again.
"Well, yeah, go home and take a shower."
I flailed my limbs a few times before giving up on resisting.
But if I seemed to forgive her too quickly, I'd look too easy, so I deliberately grumbled in a surly voice.
That act melted away in an instant thanks to Ga-eun's next words.
"Right, let's go to my place. It's nearby anyway."
……?
"……Pardon?"
"Shower at my house, then watch something else on Netflix. We'll order delivery too."
"Ah……?"
Without waiting for my reply, Ga-eun started walking with me in her arms, as if it were already decided.
Later, at the police station...
"D-Do you know who I am? Can you—can you afford to do this? I'm a B-rank hunter from Mystic! If I could just use my powers, I'd wipe scum like you off the face of the earth! Untie me right now or... !"
Jae-hyeok ranted and raved with a fierce glare.
Locked in the holding cell, he was harassing the cops by throwing around his Mystic Guild affiliation and B-rank hunter status.
The police were growing exhausted from his nonstop power-tripping and tantrums.
"Hey, even if you're from Mystic Guild, that doesn't change anything. You think we'd just let you slide? B-rank or not, you're just a terrorist caught red-handed right now! Cooperate quietly! We even called your lawyer—what's the problem?"
"You—you—you dare? Who do you think you are, defending me!? Me!!? You powerless losers who can't even make Guard rank... ! I don't have time—untie me now!!"
The watching officers sighed for the umpteenth time.
It had already been hours.
"Whew, B-rank means good stamina, I guess."
"Can't deal with this guy anymore... ."
Jae-hyeok showed no signs of tiring, still screaming and thrashing.
They'd restrained his limbs with help from some Guards, but interrogation was the police's job.
The cops exchanged awkward glances, at a loss.
One officer quietly said,
"He seems totally unhinged..."
"Should we call a doctor first?"
Another asked.
"Who're we gonna call like this? We contacted Mystic, so let's wait and hear their side first."
The ranking officer replied.
Moments later, a woman with a bewitching smile entered the station.
The police greeted her politely.
"Oh, Ms. Seo Na-rin, thank you so much for coming. We didn't expect you'd come all the way here yourself... ."
Truth be told, they were quite surprised.
They'd made the call, but they never imagined an A-rank hunter and head of a major guild would show up in person.
They'd even started developing a bit of a bias against Mystic Guild.
Just how much trash had Jae-hyeok spewed at them in that short time...
Being human, they weren't thrilled about the personal attacks poking at their insecurities.
If a mere B-rank like Jae-hyeok was so full of elitism, what must an A-rank star be like?
So they'd figured Na-rin would send a proxy or just a formal letter.
"No, no—the person in charge should step up. I'm the one who should apologize for letting you see such disgraceful behavior."
Na-rin, her hair falling over one eye, bowed politely to the police instead.
Meanwhile, Jae-hyeok paled at her arrival.
"You bitch, you think you'll get away with this? The guild master laying hands on her own guild member!! This is a crime, you psycho!!"
Na-rin raised an eyebrow at his outburst and smiled faintly.
"What did I do? Someone might misunderstand. I just came to tweak his mood a bit so the investigation goes smoothly."
"That's the same as messing with his brain!! Arrrgh!"
As her slender fingers slowly neared his head, he thrashed even harder.
"Messing with his brain? Such a gruesome way to put it."
Seo Na-rin sighed lightly.
"I can interfere with brain secretions and electrical signals—peek at memories a little in the process—but my role is purely as a buffer. I'd appreciate it if you dropped the mad-scientist analogies."
Grabbed by the head, Jae-hyeok trembled violently in his restraints and screamed.
"Gaaahhh—! St-stop thaaaa—ek!"
Then his eyes rolled back, and he slumped limply.
Na-rin looked down at him coldly.
"And who're you calling a criminal, you filthy pig? You thought I didn't know about your atrocities?"
Click. Crack.
"Oh, right—he's not even guild anymore."
From Na-rin's hand fell the Mystic Guild emblem marking his membership and his name tag, shattered and landing in a nearby trash can.
"Um, excuse me... ?"
The police felt like they'd seen something they shouldn't and glanced back and forth between Na-rin and Jae-hyeok.
"Ah! It's fine. Just a temporary brain overload. He'll recover in a few days. His personality might shift slightly? Interrogation's good to go right now, though? If any answers seem off, just ask me—I can glimpse memories with my power."
"Ah, y-yes... ."
The officers could only awkwardly thank the softly smiling Na-rin.
Afterward, she promised full cooperation from Mystic Guild in resolving the incident and all material and mental support for the victims' recovery.
As Na-rin left the station, she clicked her tongue.
A man who looked like a bodyguard leaned close as she got into the car.
"Prepare a press conference?"
"Mm, as soon as possible."
Click.
The car door shut, and Na-rin pulled out a long pipe and lit it.
Another man inside flicked his fingers.
A purple flame sparked at the pipe's tip, and smoke curled up.
The car filled with a soft, pleasant aroma.
Fwooh.
"Ahh—that one lunatic's turned everything upside down out of nowhere."
I'd known he was up to dirty tricks behind my back. But I never thought he'd lose it this badly.
He definitely wasn't like this at first.
A typical timid nerd type...
Then money and status happened, and his true nature leaked out without him even realizing.
I scouted his talent, put him in a high position, and this is how he repays me?
"Haa—I must have the worst luck with people. This is gonna cost us... Aah—!"
Na-rin snapped irritably, then threw her head back against the headrest.
Her long neckline gleamed, exuding a lascivious air.
I hadn't planned to overlook his dogshit antics, but he kept toeing the line without crossing it outright—hard to pin down. Was he just cowardly? Or did his arrogance come with surprising self-awareness?
Plus, he hadn't directly harmed the guild, so he was low priority.
And his powers were solid—hard to replace.
Handing his solo workload to dozens overnight would shake us up in capital, manpower, everything.
So I'd been grooming a successor, planning to cut him loose all at once.
I'd even borrowed outside help for it.
Tsk—fwooh.
'Then why'd I even tell that jerk?'
I'd swallowed my pride and borrowed a secretary from that obnoxious prick...
Before I could execute, he snapped and spectacularly self-destructed.
Fine if he'd gone alone, but no—he terrorized a theater and went out in a blaze of glory.
Now Mystic Guild was stuck with a massive shitbomb.
At least he wasn't in his right mind—small mercy.
If he'd had any rationality left and seized the central systems for a chem attack, or trapped people for bombs, Mystic might not have survived.
...When the IT chief reported going AWOL yesterday, I'd thought, Here we go, he's finally cracking. Turns out "cracking" was an understatement.
"Ah, seriously... My head hurts."
What could she do?
It was all on her for poor judgment.
Letting the rotten branch linger for convenience was the mistake.
Na-rin burned inside thinking of the losses ahead.
Worse, she could already hear that flighty man's laughter echoing—made her stomach churn.
After Na-rin left, a politician visited the station.
One cop burst in, flinging the door open.
"Hey hey hey, a National Assemblyman! Rep. Lee Jung-woo is here!"
"Pardon...? Who?"
"National Assemblyman! Clear this up quick!"
An elderly man strode in slowly, his sharp gaze like he wouldn't bleed even if stabbed.
The man was Assemblyman Lee Jung-woo.
Born into a political dynasty, he'd entered politics young and was now on his fourth term.
Wealth, power, talent—he was the epitome of a national heavyweight.
He'd shown up unannounced with his chief of staff, throwing the station into chaos again.
"Oh, Assemblyman! Keeping well? What brings you here?"
The chief rushed out to greet him, voice tense.
Seeing two bigshots in one day meant sweat never stopped beading on his brow.
"You've all been working hard."
Lee Jung-woo nodded calmly in return.
The other officers gulped nervously.
"Nothing major—just wanted to see the terrorist suspect's face. Things have been so rough lately."
Lee Jung-woo said mildly.
The cops inwardly groaned, figuring it was pressure to work harder.
"Ah, yes! Of course. This way."
The chief led him in. The other officers bowed deeply as he passed.
Seeing Jae-hyeok drooling like an idiot, Lee Jung-woo asked,
"This the suspect?"
"Yes. Mystic Guild's master artisan, Hunter Seo Na-rin, came by to assist with questioning and promised cooperation."
One officer answered cautiously.
"Hmm, Mystic Guild... ."
The chief of staff approached the drooling Jae-hyeok, checked him over, and shook his head slightly.
A step too late. Should've harvested sooner. Even after drawing out his true nature, this is all he amounted to?
Lee Jung-woo couldn't hide his disappointment at Jae-hyeok's petty behavior.
As he stood silently, the chief approached, thinking an explanation was needed, and filled him in.
"Yes. The suspect was from Mystic Guild too, apparently. Expelled immediately, though. Probably stepping up aggressively to show no ties."
"I see."
Lee Jung-woo clucked his tongue quietly.
"Even got the press involved, but no results—and I picked wrong again. Same with the last ones. No eye for talent, that's me."
"Pardon?"
"Nothing. You've all done great working this late. Thanks to you, citizens can sleep soundly. Just a bit more effort, please."
"Yes, sir!"
Lee Jung-woo encouraged the police and left.
A luxury sedan pulled into a mansion.
Owning a place this size in the capital region took more than ordinary wealth.
The car stopped, and the driver swiftly opened the door. Lee Jung-woo stepped out, straightening his collar.
He opened the door, and his young daughter ran to greet him.
"Welcome home, Daddy!"
His ironclad demeanor melted away.
"Oho, my girl—how was your day?"
He scooped up his approaching daughter with a gentle smile.
In front of her, he was just a father.
"Yes, Daddy! It was great!"
"Good. What'd you do today?"
"Yes, Daddy! I read a book in the garden while eating snacks!"
"Heh heh, spring's here, but the air's still chilly—be careful."
"Yes, Daddy!"
"Hungry? Shall I have the maid cut some fruit?"
"Thank you, Daddy!"
His smile as he stroked his daughter's back seemed just a touch bitter, or perhaps it was a trick of the light.