Disaster
In front of a large sauna in Yangjae-dong, a man and a woman stood facing each other.
“This time, don’t screw it up. Do it right.”
“...Got it, boss.”
At the woman’s sharp command, the broad-shouldered man covered in tattoos shrank back a little.
They were Im Yeyeon and Jo Sanggwon of the White Tiger Guild, the same pair who had recently tasted a crushing defeat at Kang Juhyuk’s hands.
To make up for their earlier mistake, they had received a new assignment from their Master.
If you can’t bring him in, kill him.
If I can’t have him, then no one will.
That was the way to preserve White Tiger’s place among the four guilds that held up South Korea.
“Sanggwon, I’m counting on you. This time, don’t say anything useless. Just do as you’re told, all right?”
“Relax, boss. I’ll apologize for last time first, just like the Master said, and then present our offer.”
He paused, then added, “And... there’s a rumor going around. Not sure if it’s true yet, but apparently Kang Juhyuk handled Kim Honggyeom this time.”
“Honggyeom? The alchemist, Kim Honggyeom?”
“Yeah, so be careful.”
“Come on, boss. No matter how strong Kang Juhyuk is, Honggyeom’s too much for him. I don’t know what happened, but that’s definitely a bullshit rumor.”
Im Yeyeon gave him a half-lidded look.
“Don’t let your guard down. You’ll get burned again like last time.”
“...Got it.”
“By the way, where did you plant the bug?”
Jo Sanggwon lifted his gold necklace slightly and showed her the seam.
“Here.”
“It’s waterproof, right?”
“Of course. This is a custom-built wiretap device that cost three million won at Yongsan Electronics Market. The in-ear I gave the boss is top of the line too.”
“Good. Then get moving. It’s been about ten minutes since they went in, so they should be settled in the baths by now.”
“Understood, boss.”
* * *
As Kang Juhyuk slowly lowered himself into the hot bath set to forty degrees, immersing himself up to his neck, he let out a satisfied groan.
“Aaaah, that’s nice.”
Lee Minho, who had come with him, only dipped his legs in a little and shuddered.
“Uncle, isn’t it hot? I feel like my skin’s melting off.”
“That’s because you still have baby skin. Once you’re an adult, this’ll feel refreshing. I used to be the same way when I was your age—I couldn’t just dive into the hot bath all at once either.”
“Or maybe your senses are just getting dull because you’re old?”
“Could be. Even a dwarf elder in the Flame River, Ellion, bathes in lava water because his nerves are probably fried.”
Ellion was where, now?
When the old man sharing the bath with them cleared his throat awkwardly—
“Ahem—”
Minho, catching the hint, quickly pulled his feet back out.
“So, Uncle, why were you so angry on the way here? You suddenly started yelling and scared me.”
Juhyuk’s eyes flew open as if something had just clicked in his head.
“No! You remember what I told you while we were eating dinner yesterday?”
He did.
Juhyuk had been grumbling about how another guild broke the agreement and invaded his castle in the game.
“I found out who the culprit was.”
“Who?”
“White Tiger.”
“White Tiger?”
“Yeah. Those bastards wouldn’t be enough even if I tore them apart and fed them to a dog. Yesterday, they killed one of my party members while I was away, then ran for it. And now they want to pretend nothing happened!”
His tone grew more and more heated.
That trademark, escalating Juhyuk rant.
Minho thought, It’s just a game, so why is he making such a huge deal out of it? Still, he played along for the sake of the uncle who controlled the money in their household.
“Those crazy bastards. You just let them get away with that? If it were me, I’d have gone after them and paid them back in full.”
Maybe if he showed that much sympathy, his uncle would calm down a little.
“I was going to. But by the time I got there, those White Tiger bastards had already vanished. Damn it...”
Did that backfire?
His expression seemed even worse now.
“What did the guild people say?”
“The Master said this one won’t be brushed off. If White Tiger hasn’t made an official apology by tonight, he said we’ll gather everyone and crush them completely.”
“Tonight? That’s some serious efficiency. Making a decision like that in a single day.”
“Exactly. Those damned bastards had the nerve to touch a sleeping lion’s whiskers? If I meet them for real, I’ll kill them on the spot. I’ll never forgive them.”
...Maybe he shouldn’t have brought up the game at all.
With the hot water and his anger feeding each other, steam seemed to rise off his vein-throbbing uncle’s head.
Minho decided it was probably best not to keep talking.
“I’m going to head over to the salt sauna and sweat a bit. I tried it last time, and moving around between places helped.”
“Fine. I’m just going to bounce between the hot and cold baths, so come back when you’re done.”
“Okay. And Uncle, your blood pressure seems really high right now, so don’t overdo it. You’ll end up collapsing.”
“Got it. Then let’s wash up and meet in front of the snack bar in an hour. Banana milk after we’re done?”
“Deal. And since we’re at the bathhouse, how about some roasted eggs too?”
“Deal!”
Just as Minho finished speaking and was about to leave, someone sitting beside Juhyuk caught his eye.
A heavily built tattooed man with his head bowed low.
He had a towel draped over his head, so Minho couldn’t see his face.
The tattoos wrapped around his arms looked vaguely familiar, though.
...Who was that again?
* * *
Once Lee Minho had gone, the tattooed man, Jo Sanggwon, moved to an empty corner of the bathhouse.
Shaaah—
He turned on the water to mask the sound and lowered his voice.
“Boss, did you hear that?”
A woman’s voice came through the in-ear tucked into Sanggwon’s ear.
“Yeah. That husky voice from earlier—that was Kang Juhyuk, right?”
“Yeah. Looks like he’s furious with us. Did something happen yesterday?”
“...I don’t know.”
Even Im Yeyeon was hearing about this for the first time.
There had been a clash with Kang Juhyuk, and no one had reported it to her?
That was impossible inside the White Tiger Guild, which prided itself on its tight cohesion.
“I did hear there was some trouble in Bucheon. Maybe something happened that we don’t know about.”
“We’re checking the situation now, so wait a second. It sounds like there’s been some misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”
“The incident where one of Kang Juhyuk’s guild members was attacked. That was absolutely not something our guild did. Yesterday was a delivery day, so all the key personnel were at the harbor.”
“Ah! Right.”
“It makes no sense for there to have been a conflict with Kang Juhyuk’s guild on a day like that. Some other bastards probably pulled something and tried to pin it on us.”
After a moment of silence, Im Yeyeon replied through the earpiece.
“Don’t jump to conclusions. I still don’t know the details either. Wait until headquarters contacts us.”
“Understood. But what if he suddenly figures out who I am and comes at me? You only heard his voice from there, so you wouldn’t know, but that bastard’s killing intent is no joke right now.”
Those eyes, sharp and savage like a goblin’s.
That distinct musculature, and a body covered in scars.
And on top of that, skin flushed red from the hot bath.
An inexplicable, almost reverent fear.
Just by existing, Kang Juhyuk radiated overwhelming presence.
Far more threatening than the tattoos covering Sanggwon’s body.
But Sanggwon didn’t say that out loud.
He had learned that imagining an opponent’s strength before the fight was a bad habit.
“Boss?”
“I’ll figure it out as fast as I can, so stop rushing me. Just keep track of his position from a distance in case he disappears.”
“There’s nowhere for him to run in here anyway.”
“Jo Sanggwon, don’t make me repeat myself. Just do what you’re told.”
“......”
“If the plan changes and we have to kill him, I’ll signal right away, so keep your earpiece checked.”
Jo Sanggwon gave a small nod.
“And I called Jinwoo, who was waiting near Gangnam Station, over here. So even if you end up clashing with Kang Juhyuk, don’t worry.”
“Worry? As long as you give the order, I can handle him on my own.”
“You’re full of shit. Didn’t I just tell you? Don’t get cocky.”
“...Fine.”
With that, Sanggwon was just about to end the call and leave when—
“Hey.”
Someone spoke from behind him.
A heavy voice that grated against the eardrums.
Slowly turning his head and lifting his gaze, he saw Kang Juhyuk, steam rising from his red-hot body.
“Wanna die?”
* * *
Shaaah—
At the busy intersection near Gangnam Station, rain poured down in sheets.
During rush hour, a mysterious man stood in the middle of the jammed road, blocking traffic.
“Korea really is the best. Even the air smells different. The smell, I mean.”
He wore a bright white Hahoe mask, and a coat patterned with a chessboard across the back.
As he spread both arms and laughed boisterously—
“Kwahahaha!”
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Cars lined up behind him blared their horns.
“You insane bastard, you really wanna die that badly?”
The middle-aged fat man in the lead car got out and stormed up to the masked man, shoving his chest.
Thud!
“Hey, asshole. Can’t you see the whole line of cars backing up because of you?”
“I can. But you’ve got guts. Touching my body like that.”
“Guts my ass. Why don’t you get lost already?”
“I’m not leaving.”
“What?”
“Not yet.”
“Not yet? What the hell are you talking about?”
“I was told to keep the traffic from moving toward the Yangjae-daero side until I get a call from headquarters.”
The fat man froze.
“Headquarters...? Are you a Hunter?”
“I guess so.”
“I guess so? Are you messing with me, you little bastard? Hah, you’re completely nuts. I’ve heard there are plenty of young punks pretending to be Hunters these days, but to run into one here...”
“I’m not pretending.”
“Then you’re saying you’re a real Hunter?”
“Yeah.”
“Bullshit!”
The man in the Hahoe mask twitched the corner of his mouth slightly.
“You really have no idea who I am?”
“How am I supposed to know when it’s my first time seeing you today? Do you know who I am?”
“No.”
“Exactly! So I don’t know you either! It’s not like your name is carved into your damn forehead, so how the hell would I know?”
“......”
“Enough. I don’t have time, so get lost already.”
The masked man frowned deeply and rolled his eyes, then gave a short nod.
“I suppose someone like you from the lower classes wouldn’t know me.”
“Lower classes? What the hell is wrong with this guy?”
“It’s the truth. Otherwise, you would’ve recognized me at once. There isn’t a single Korean who doesn’t know my name.”
“T-H-E-N! Who the hell are you, bastard?”
“Me? Who am I, you ask—”
Vrrr.
His phone vibrated at his waist.
Im Yeyeon?
After checking the message, his eyebrows shot up, and he immediately extended his palm toward the fat man’s head.
“My name is Gu Jinwoo.”
“Gu Jinwoo?”
“Yeah, my name is Gu Jinwoo. I’m a Hunter from the White Tiger Guild.”
“White Tiger?! Y-you’re... no way...”
The fat man stumbled backward, panic flooding his face.
Only then did the identity of the ridiculous-looking Hahoe mask and the chessboard pattern on the coat finally click into place in his mind.
He was one of the figures constantly featured in the news until just a few years ago.
One of the Hunters known as the Seven Calamities of South Korea.
Rain Spirit, Gu Jinwoo.
So the owner of that rumor was this young man?
“Hold on. Wait, please. Sir, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Hunter Gu Jinwoo!”
Shaaah—
Raindrops gathered in Gu Jinwoo’s palm, taking on the shape of a bullet.
“Please, sir, just spare my life. I’ve got a wife and kids waiting at home!”
Bang!
With a thunderous crack, the shot blasted through the fat man’s forehead.
Thud.
“...Im Yeyeon, send me the address and the target photo by text. The hunt starts now.”