S-Class Awakeners
Inside the van heading from Incheon to Seoul, Juhyuk gave the steering wheel a lazy twist and said, “You two must be tired, so get some rest. I’ll wake you when we get there.”
Jung Myungchul, the head of the Far East Group, wore a bitter smile on his bloodstained face. “Hunter Kang Juhyuk, thank you. I’ll never forget this kindness,”
They had escaped, but his expression was far from relieved.
He had saved his daughter from the edge of life and death, yet when he thought about what lay ahead, a sense of helpless dread settled over him.
This isn’t over.
White Tiger would definitely come back for Heeyeon.
If they had gone so far as to kidnap him too, then it was clear their master, Hwang Geumgang, had given the order himself.
This is bad.
Even if he was alive for the moment, that was not the real problem.
What came next was.
Once White Tiger moved openly, there would be nowhere left to run in South Korea.
Then there’s only one thing I can do now.
He would have to either join forces with a guild hostile to White Tiger, or ask a talented independent hunter to protect them.
“I’m not a hunter. Just call me Juhyuk.”
“Ah, understood, Juhyuk.”
“Anyway, I heard you’re the head of the Far East Group. Why did White Tiger drag you off?”
Juhyuk asked as he checked the rearview mirror.
And even before he heard the answer, he had already guessed it.
It was definitely over money.
Even in the other world, villains kidnapping rich people had been a common enough sight.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t really tell you the details.”
“Why not?”
“I’m grateful that you saved us, Juhyuk, but if word gets out, it could cause serious trouble.”
Juhyuk gave a short nod.
Then he shrugged and replied, “Really? Then get out.”
“…What?”
“If you don’t want to talk, get out.”
“?!”
“Do you know how many people I had to fight to drag you out of there?”
How could he not know?
They had seen them on the way out of White Tiger Guild headquarters—people collapsed unconscious everywhere along the route.
There had to be at least a hundred of them.
“If you won’t tell me why you got taken by those guys, then when I talk to White Tiger later, I won’t even be able to argue I had any justification.”
“Justification….”
As Jung Myungchul’s eyes trembled wildly, Juhyuk curled one corner of his mouth and said, “I’m kidding. Your face was too stiff, so I thought I’d mess with you a little. Justification, my ass—they kidnapped you without reason in the first place.”
“Hoo… I thought you were serious.”
“Half serious, actually. I didn’t expect the person I saved to refuse to tell me why he got dragged off. That’s dirt cheap, if you ask me. For the price of a life, I mean.”
Jung Myungchul, chairman of the Far East Group, had never experienced a conversation like this before.
It felt as if he were being toyed with.
Is this what young people call pushing and pulling?
Awkward silence followed.
Myungchul sank into thought.
He wanted to keep quiet as much as possible for his daughter’s safety, but the way Juhyuk was acting made it impossible to stay silent.
Should I just explain it briefly?
In truth, as long as he left out the part about Heeyeon’s ability, there was no problem in explaining the reason for the kidnapping.
He was only being careful because he worried he might slip up in the middle of the conversation.
As Myungchul agonized over it, Juhyuk said, “Forget it. You don’t have to tell me. It’s not like we’ll be seeing each other again anyway.”
He said it as casually as if he were doing them a favor.
Only then did Myungchul finally breathe out in relief.
Thank goodness.
Just as the conversation was about to end naturally, Jung Heeyeon, who had been quietly reading the mood, carefully joined in.
“May I ask what organization you belong to, Juhyuk? If you’re not a hunter, are you with the military or the police?”
Juhyuk tapped the steering wheel lightly with his fist, sounding the horn.
Honk.
He checked the side mirror and answered, “Why do you want to know?”
“Because I want to know. I’ve listened to everything you said, and I understand you were hired through a request from the NIS, correct?”
“Yeah, but what does that have to do with my affiliation?”
Looking at Juhyuk’s face reflected in the mirror, Heeyeon answered, “Kang Juhyuk.”
“Yes?”
“I’ll keep this brief. I’d like to hire you. I’ll pay whatever you want, so could you take over our protection from now on?”
Heeyeon was certain of it.
The Kang Juhyuk in front of her was stronger than anyone she knew. In Korea, he was so far beyond comparison that no one came close.
Who in the world could enter White Tiger Guild headquarters as casually as this man?
And on top of that—
She had seen with her own eyes the strength that had subdued a named hunter, Jo Sangkwon, in the blink of an eye.
Even Jung Myungchul, who had seen countless hunters in his life, could not deny that level of strength.
If Kang Juhyuk stayed by their side, there would be no need to fear White Tiger’s threats.
They had to secure him somehow.
The moment Heeyeon finished speaking, Myungchul bowed his head deeply.
“Please, Juhyuk.”
Juhyuk looked back and forth between Myungchul and Heeyeon, then smiled brightly.
“Nope.”
White Tiger Guild had entered an emergency state.
The company-sized force sent to Seoul to take revenge on Kang Juhyuk had been annihilated.
Not only that, but Jo Sangkwon, who had personally led the raid, had also vanished.
According to information obtained through the Hunters Association, Sangkwon had been arrested by the NIS and was being detained somewhere.
However, the location remained unknown, hidden in a place even senior government officials could not identify.
“Didn’t I tell you? Until the item was handed over to the Association, I told you not to cause any trouble.”
When Hwang Geumgang, White Tiger Guild’s master, showed an irritated expression, Gu Jinwoo lifted one shoulder and answered, “We were trying to keep it quiet, but Sangkwon hyung just went after them.”
“Even after you tried to stop him?”
“Yes. He got furious, saying White Tiger’s honor and pride had been insulted, and then he left, saying he wouldn’t let that woman’s ability slip through his fingers.”
“...You idiot!”
Geumgang slammed his fist against the armrest of his chair.
Bang.
The shattered wooden fragments scattered to the floor and the chair legs wobbled, so Jinwoo formed a water slime to support the broken frame.
“What are you planning to do?”
“So, what was that woman’s ability again?”
“True Sight. It’s a skill that sees through the target’s information.”
“Useful. It won’t help in battle, but if we can get our hands on it, it could work well in negotiations with China.”
“According to information obtained through the black market, the international association classified it as SSS-Class.”
“SSS-Class?!”
“Yes. They say there has never been another awakened with an ability like it publicly recorded. It must be that rare.”
Jinwoo traced lines in the air with mana gathered at his fingertip as he continued.
“If Kang Juhyuk hadn’t gotten involved, it would have been an ability we absolutely had to take, just like Sangkwon hyung said.”
“……”
“For example, if we could read the mind of the Hunters Association chairman we’re negotiating with right now? Then we could have ended this dragged-out deal much more easily.”
Geumgang adjusted his posture.
The SSS-Class ability that Jung Myungchul had tried to protect.
After talking with Gu Jinwoo, he realized that it was not merely useful—it was powerful enough to shatter the balance of competition between guilds.
But.
To take her back, they would have to clash not only with the NIS but also with Kang Juhyuk. Even for White Tiger, that was a risky choice.
“Who was the original owner of the ability?”
“We couldn’t verify it exactly. We only heard he was an American hunter.”
“American, huh. If word gets out that the ability came to this side, they won’t sit still.”
“Exactly.”
“How did it get here?”
“We haven’t figured that out.”
Geumgang propped his chin on one hand and thought for a while.
Then he slowly rose from his seat and lifted the chain wrapped around his wrist.
Clatter.
“Gu Jinwoo.”
“Yes.”
“Call up every force currently in Incheon. We’re going to rescue Sangkwon.”
Jung Myungchul arrived at Black Garden, the NIS Second Branch.
At his meeting with branch director Kim Jaegyu, he asked at once, “Who is that man?”
He didn’t say the name, but there was no need to explain.
The identity of the one who had rescued Far East’s chairman, Jung Myungchul, and his daughter, Jung Heeyeon, had already been reported.
“A private mercenary.”
That was all Kim Jaegyu could say.
Kang Juhyuk was someone even within the NIS only partially disclosed.
“A private mercenary… for someone that incredible to be operating without a guild. Hard to believe.”
“What happened at White Tiger headquarters?”
Myungchul recalled Juhyuk flattening Jo Sangkwon in one blow.
“...Yes. I saw it myself. Just how strong the Kang Juhyuk you sent us is, Director Kim.”
There was no detailed explanation of the situation.
He simply said Juhyuk was incredible, but Jaegyu nodded with a faint smile.
“I haven’t seen him personally yet, but everyone says the same thing. That he’s monstrously strong.”
“He is. I still can’t believe he brought down that many hunters by himself… and! Honestly, I still can’t believe he rescued us from White Tiger Guild headquarters.”
Among businessmen, White Tiger Guild’s infamy was common knowledge.
Good or bad, domestic or overseas, if you paid them, they would do anything.
And on top of that—
If they kidnapped you, there was only one of two outcomes.
Either you complied with their demands, or you were found dead with a more than ninety-nine percent chance.
Which means—
Without Kang Juhyuk, Jung Myungchul would either have had to accept Heeyeon joining White Tiger Guild, or the two of them might have ended up dead and later discovered as corpses.
“I’ve met all kinds of hunters over the years as chairman of the Far East Group, but I’ve never met anyone as incredible as Juhyuk. To exaggerate a little, he didn’t even feel human. His presence itself was monstrous.”
“Monstrous, huh.”
“The first time I saw him, I felt like I was watching the hero of some movie step onto the screen.”
“That strong?”
“Yes. The flow of the air itself changed. It was like time had stopped. Friend or foe, everyone just stared at him dumbly.”
That matched exactly what team leader Choi Junhyuk had said too.
Just what kind of bastard is Kang Juhyuk?
As Jung Myungchul slurped down instant mixed coffee with his bloodstained face, Kim Jaegyu brought an entire pack of wet tissues over and asked, “By the way, I’m glad you returned safely, Chairman. Everyone was worried, enough that even the President personally contacted us.”
“It was all thanks to you, Director Kim.”
“Are you injured anywhere in particular?”
“Yes, I got hit a few times by that Sangkwon bastard, but I’m just sore from age. Nothing major.”
Myungchul wiped his face with the tissues and went on.
“Now then, that mercenary you mentioned earlier.”
“Kang Juhyuk.”
“Ah, yes. Kang Juhyuk. I’m sorry to ask this so suddenly, but could you perhaps assign him to the Far East Group as our mercenary?”
Jaegyu let out a troubled laugh.
“Kang Juhyuk?”
“Yes.”
“...I’m sorry, Chairman. If circumstances allowed, we’d like to do that too, but Kang Juhyuk isn’t an NIS agent.”
Even for Jaegyu, matters involving Juhyuk were difficult.
They themselves were in the position of calculating every possibility before they could ask a favor, and only then carefully phrasing the request.
How could they pass along private business through the NIS?
“Couldn’t you make it happen somehow? If necessary, I’ll increase the government donations. And that plot next to the Apgujeong department store you mentioned last time—I’ll turn that over to the state as well.”
“Chairman, we’d like to help you if we could. But Kang Juhyuk… he’s an independent contractor. He’s not someone we can simply command.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. To be frank, we can offer requests, but we’re not in any position to force anything on him.”
Myungchul clenched both hands, looking completely deflated.
He understood immediately what Jaegyu meant.
If an NIS employee used the word position, it meant that person stood on equal footing—or higher.
“Chairman, did you try making an offer to Juhyuk on the way here?”
Of course he had.
Not once, but dozens of times.
He had told him that if he stayed with Far East, they would give him as much wealth as he wanted.
But.
Juhyuk’s answer followed the same pattern every time.
“No. I only took this request because I needed money urgently this time. I’m not the kind of person who does this sort of work.”
He refused in a very unusual way.
Maybe that was why Myungchul had become even more interested in him.
“Chairman, I can’t personally ask Juhyuk for you, but I do know one way he might accept an offer. Would you like to hear it?”