The Weight of Truth

"......Yeah?"

Her throat felt clogged, like it was blocked tight.

Yul bowed her head.

"I see."

"......"

"Dad... acted just like a dad."

"......"

"At least Mom's alive. That's a relief."

The words she spat out tasted bitterly on her tongue.

And they filled her with just as much hatred.

'Why did you do it?'

She wanted to grab her already-dead father and demand answers.

Why? Why did you abandon Mom? If we were family, even if you couldn't sacrifice ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠your life for us, you should've run away together.

Every image of her father she'd seen so far felt like a lie, leaving her confused.

And full of hate.

Was that truly what he meant to do?

"......General. Can we talk for a sec?"

And the worst possible answer to that question was waiting.

The truth that Ryu Shin-ah, after hesitating for days, carefully revealed.

"It was a monster with mind-control powers. That snake... basically, that was its hunting method. When there are multiple prey, it manipulates one to bring the others to it......"

Ryu Shin-ah couldn't bring himself to say more.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Of course, monsters had abilities too. The gap varied by rank, but in this case, the monster could only control one target at most.

"......Dad didn't do it on purpose."

Just like any civilian, he'd fallen victim to the monster's power.

Yul didn't know if she should be happy or sad about this fact.

She just felt empty.

"......Tell Mom. Tell her that wasn't Dad's real feelings. He got hit by the power, so... the Dad she knew is the real one."

"......"

"Make that clear at least."

So she wouldn't suffer from the sense of betrayal.

Just resolving that would lighten her heart a little.

Ryu Shin-ah followed her words, and one dawn, Yul overheard Kang Young-hwa's sobs through the door.

"Gonna sort out Mom's shop."

And soon after, Kang Young-hwa decided to head down to Busan.

Yul, who knew her mom had always loved the sea, naturally approved.

"Might open a café there. I'm getting old now—time to take it easy."

"Busan's great. Want me to come with?"

"Nah. How're you gonna go to school? Just keep living on your own."

Kang Young-hwa scowled and waved her off.

Yul felt uneasy leaving her mom, who'd been through so much emotional turmoil, alone.

"I wanna be on my own a bit now too."

Her face looked so forlorn as she said it that Yul finally nodded.

I'll visit often instead, she added pleadingly, but Kang Young-hwa smacked her back, saying, Yeah, right ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you will.

"Ow, that hurts."

"Hurts my ass. You think you can just live like a slob on your own? Eat properly! And study a bit!"

"Got it. You worry about where to open your café!"

"No studying? Then get a part-time job!"

They couldn't return to their old routine.

But like that, they began a new everyday life.

Yul had thought about it dozens, hundreds of times.

Did she fail to save her father in that moment—or did she choose not to?

Looking back, had she subconsciously not reached out to save him?

"Don't think weird stuff, General. Why would it be your fault?"

Of course, Ryu Shin-ah didn't see it that way.

"It wasn't Dad's fault, or yours. Even as an enhancer, you couldn't have stopped the fall right then. Maybe if you had agility traits."

"......"

"So just cry it out, General."

Ryu Shin-ah readily offered his back.

Yul pressed her forehead against it and shed silent tears.

"Never tell."

"......"

"Never tell Mom. No, I won't."

She had to protect her mother's silence.

Protect the heart of the mom who'd even lied to her daughter.

Keep quiet about the truth she couldn't bear to share, fearing it would worry her child.

"......Playing with people's hearts is the shittiest thing."

"......"

"Fucking dog of a trick......"

The scheme that stole away the one person who'd stay by her side no matter what.

The king's hatred for it began then.

Yul gazed at the seaside.

The daytime sea sparkled dazzlingly under the sunlight.

"Not sleepy?"

The sound of footsteps crunching on sand approached, and Ryu Shin-ah stood beside her.

Yul shrugged without turning to him.

Yul let out a soft chuckle and rubbed her eyes.

Her constellation had been worrying about Kang Young-hwa just as much as she had since that day two years ago.

Of course, number one was always Yul herself, no matter how you looked at it.

How cautious it had been back then.

Now that she thought about it, it was almost funny how careful and attentive the constellation was about everything.

All to avoid hurting Yul even a little.

"If I sleep now, I won't at night. Hold out a bit and crash early."

"Yeah. But Seo In-ah and Park Sa-ha are the problem."

"Ah, those two."

Ryu Shin-ah scratched his head.

Seo In-ah had already turned the hunter forums and international hunter channels into a frenzy.

A new S-rank had appeared.

And another one with unknown identity.

Overseas forums and channels were baffled, asking if Korea was the land of hidden powerhouses.

"With only fourteen S-ranks worldwide now, another country with two or more......"

"Nothing to do but hope Park Sa-ha's rank stays low."

"Fuck, that'd be a dream. Even if it leaks later, no backlash."

"We don't even know if they've contracted yet."

But things in the world never went smoothly.

Ding-!

A cheerful alert cut Yul off.

A translucent blue status window appeared before them.

And its contents were...

"......Holy shit."

Ryu Shin-ah let out a hollow laugh.

He pointed at the status window and turned to Yul.

"This... that's them, right?"

"Probably......"

Yul answered awkwardly.

Low rank my ass. Both had started in the heavenly realm.

Ryu Shin-ah and she exchanged glances.

This is gonna be chaos when it gets out......

Mutual agreement.

At this point, that overseas hunter N's joke about Korea having a ley line might be spot on.

The isolation cells on the management bureau's lowest floor were for holding illegal hunters.

Illegal hunters fell into two main categories.

First, those who hadn't registered as hunters.

Second, those who'd maliciously used their powers on civilians.

If a hunter harmed or killed civilians, bureau hunters would subdue and transport them.

They'd be imprisoned in hunter-only facilities.

Until then, they were isolated here.

Or for newly awakened hunters who couldn't control their powers due to rampage.

The place was equipped with top-tier gear.

The lowest floor even suppressed mana...

But.

"What the hell. Why's that doing that?"

A monitoring hunter muttered.

The isolation cell window, reinforced with top-grade spells, was vibrating faintly.

The hunters confirmed it, drew weapons, and manipulated the control panel for emergency measures.

But.

"Easy peasy."

The cell they stared at was already empty.

Kim Jae-won muttered as he strolled past them leisurely.

His body was still a wreck, but his face was calm as ever.

He rolled his stiff shoulders and smirked.

Weeeng, weeeng.

Red emergency lights spun, and alarms blared.

When facing a mental hunter, doubt every sense, even your own thoughts.

'Assuming I couldn't use my powers against such a tricky target was their mistake.'

Kim Jae-won's eyes, glowing faintly gold, flicked to the ceiling.

Anyway, he'd met 'her' and said what needed saying.

"Wonder if the boss is ready by now...... After all my hard work."

Gazing at something beyond, he slipped out of the bureau casually.

A few days later.

At Guild 'Daewhanjang' headquarters.

Gu Se-ji's room was flooded with bills and reports nonstop.

"Main stadium damage repair claim......"

"Illegal hunter recruitment and press conference request for the incident......"

"Guild master, compensation from the Hamsurok-kkun hunter......"

......Fuck.

Anger and frustration boiled over.

The sudden bill barrage was all because of the concert incident.

The bureau demanded compensation for damages, and as the head of the guild Kim Jae-won had been part of, he couldn't dodge responsibility.

"Why should I pay? The stadium was wrecked by LeeSunj......"

"By Lee Sunjwa hunter, but Kim Jae-won provoked him. You know his affiliation well."

He'd tried to weasel out, but guild master ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was that kind of position.

Seeing the amounts on the bills and reports made his neck stiffen.

Ah, blood pressure.

'Giving the disease and selling the cure, huh......'

All the rewards promised by the bureau were worthless now.

The dungeon stolen long ago, A-rank auction items sold off before he could grab them.

Not even breaking even—straight loss.

Gu Se-ji ground his teeth thinking of the culprit, Kim Jae-won.