A Familiar Voice in the Shadows
“Did you see that?”
“Yeah. Guy taking his daughter to the circus.”
“A single circus ticket’s gotta run over five hundred thousand won, right?”
The three men had hidden their bodies completely within the thick darkness, eyes fixed on a single target. No—two targets.
“Doesn’t look like they’ve got much money on the surface.”
“You think rich folks only come in one flavor?”
“I asked the staff at the shopping district visitor log earlier. They said he’s not even a hunter.”
Could there be a more delicious target?
And whether that child was his daughter or little sister, she would make for an incredibly valuable hostage.
“Running through the plan again. First, we kidnap both of them, squeeze out every last won they have, then send the father—or brother—back alone.”
“And then we demand a ransom for the hostage. Right?”
“Exactly.”
“But… that kid’s way too cute.”
When he focused his magic power into his eyes to check, he saw a child so lovely she was rarely encountered.
“…She really is, huh?”
“Wow, how can someone look like that?”
“Now that I think about it, the dad’s pretty handsome too…”
A sudden silence fell over them.
These men had kidnapped many people before. Their targets had included burly men, elderly people with little time left to live, and children—the complete opposite.
They would kidnap them, demand a ransom, and release them once it was paid.
After making sure to clean up thoroughly so they couldn’t cause any further trouble.
And if the ransom wasn’t paid?
Simple. They sold them to places that had use for them.
Since there were hunters with all kinds of abilities, there were just as many places that wanted them.
That was why they felt no guilt.
But as they looked at the child, a faint sense of guilt stirred even though they hadn’t properly begun yet.
Watching her bury her face in the shoulder of the man who might be her father or brother and make those soft breathing sounds, it felt like something that had never existed before was taking root.
“…What are you doing? Steel yourself. It’s not like this is our first time.”
“Yeah, I know. Feeling guilty at this point doesn’t suit us.”
“Right. Let’s go. They’ll be entering that empty alley soon.”
They had already finished preparing all their equipment.
It was the kind that prevented anyone from sensing magic power or presence within a certain range—and even blocked sight into that area.
On top of that, they’d been told the targets had no abilities. These were people they could simply reach out and take without any trouble.
“What are you waiting for?”
At that moment, a voice came from above.
Because they didn’t deal with hunters, the men had let their guard down.
They were just about to draw their weapons when—
“If you draw that, you die.”
It wasn’t a simple threat. The voice carried magic power, and from that alone they could tell how strong the speaker was.
“W-who are you?”
The hand that had moved to draw the sword stopped at merely gripping the hilt.
If you draw it, you die.
The answer that came to their question of who it was turned out to be completely unexpected.
“You don’t even recognize my voice?”
“What?”
Wondering what on earth that meant, they released the sword and turned around. A familiar face was waiting for them.
“…Boss?”
“What? Boss?”
“Why is the boss here…”
Though he wore a hood, they knew exactly what was hidden beneath it—white hair and golden eyes.
Because those were Kim Shin-uk’s golden eyes, the ones that glowed whenever killing intent filled them.
“No, where have you been wandering off to this time?”
“Without you around, our profits have dropped like crazy.”
Both welcome and resentment could be felt in their voices at the same time.
Before, they could kidnap up to two people a day. But after he disappeared without a word, it had become one person every two or three days instead of daily.
“Well, it’s not the first time.”
“True, but… Boss, those two look like they’ve got money. They just came out of the circus.”
“Yeah. A circus ticket costs five hundred thousand won each. The fact that both of them went? It’s obvious.”
“Listen to me. Don’t do anything.”
Kim Shin-uk’s firm expression and words continued, but they still didn’t seem to fully understand.
“……”
They couldn’t comprehend it. The two looked like they had a lot of money and couldn’t put up any resistance.
Besides, it wasn’t just about the ransom.
Both of them had appearances that were rarely seen. They thought the pair would be useful in many ways.
“Ha. If you really want to do it, kill me first and then go.”
“No, Boss. Why are you going this far?”
“If you target those people, it won’t end with just your deaths.”
“Even you… would be in danger?”
“Are you saying there’s an S-class hunter hiding their power or something?”
He couldn’t explain in detail.
It seemed that was what they wanted.
But the meaning wasn’t all that different.
“Something like that.”
“Ah, understood.”
“We’ll give up.”
“From now on, never touch those people again. Got it?”
“…Yes.”
“And it’d be good if you helped make sure nothing happens to them.”
If that was the case, it was better not to dig any deeper.
Knowledge was power, but learning more here would only put them in danger.
All of them instinctively felt that.
If they didn’t have at least that much sense, they wouldn’t have survived in this line of work.
“Use this to drink or something. I’ve got something to take care of real quick.”
A pouch dropped with a thud.
From the clear clinking sound, it seemed to contain quite a generous amount of magic stones.
“Thank you, Boss.”
“Thank you!”
“We’ll enjoy it well.”
“Enough. Now get going.”
““Yes!””
With that answer, they all disappeared. Kim Shin-uk stayed in place for a moment before slowly rising to his feet.
“Hoo…”
It seemed like everything was over, but it wasn’t quite finished yet.
In truth, he had known from the beginning that his subordinates had chosen that father and daughter as their target.
However, he couldn’t forget the smile that had lingered on his lips for the first time in a long while, and he had agonized over it quite a bit.
That was why he had tried to stop them.
“I should go. They’re releasing their power so blatantly.”
Not long after he had dissuaded his subordinates, he felt this power.
They had probably been waiting until he revealed himself.
They must have known of his presence from the start.
When he headed toward the source of the power, not one but two people were waiting for him.
“I wondered who it was. So it was you.”
“You’re Kim Shin-uk, correct?”
It was a voice he had heard before.
He had only heard it a few times, but how could he forget?
The voice of an S-class hunter.
“Are you perhaps Elder Park Geon-su and Hunter Seong Ye-eun?”
“That’s right.”
“Yes.”
The silence that followed was heavy.
They had released their power—directed solely at him—and come all this way, yet they didn’t even state their business.
That was what it meant to be an S-class hunter.
The insurmountable wall between an A-class hunter and an S-class hunter.
They were making him feel it with his own body.
To them, he was someone who couldn’t even be clearly labeled as an ally or enemy.
“…I will make sure there are no problems going forward.”
“Hm. Is that all?”
“Apparently so. Surprisingly.”
The killing intent they emitted was enough to make his skin sting.
Along with the prickling sensation, his body began to ache all over, instinctively sending him continuous warnings.
To leave this place immediately.
“I will also… provide compensation.”
“Heh heh, he doesn’t seem like the type to accept that easily.”
“He really is an interesting person.”
It meant to compensate on his own, with discretion.
And without the other party noticing.
“And you.”
“Yes?”
“Wouldn’t ‘reparations’ be more fitting than compensation?”
“…Yes. That’s correct.”
It meant to clearly acknowledge it.
His own wrongdoing.
When an S-class hunter said so, what choice did he have?
“You may leave now.”
“Yes. I will take my leave.”
As he watched Kim Shin-uk quickly depart, Park Geon-su let out a small chuckle.
“Quite a lot of people are getting tangled up in this. Don’t you think?”
“Yes. It seems even worse than with us.”
“Flowers are bound to attract all kinds of insects, after all.”
If the father and daughter were flowers blooming or young sprouts, then Park Geon-su was already a fully grown great tree.
A great tree whose shade could easily cover everything.
“We should head back as well. It seems we won’t need to worry about this street anymore.”
“Yes. That’s a relief.”
Just what was it about that powerless father and daughter that kept drawing more and more people to them?
Even now, although Kim Shin-uk had obediently withdrawn, he would probably go back and conduct a separate investigation.
Of course, he wouldn’t be able to lay a hand on them.
Because he knew that if he did, neither Park Geon-su nor Seong Ye-eun would stand by quietly.
It didn’t matter who was behind Kim Shin-uk.
With two S-class hunters present, who could possibly do anything?
Naturally, Jungwoo and Seia had no idea any of this had happened.
Jungwoo patted Seia’s back in a steady rhythm as they climbed into a taxi.
They had originally planned to look at the night view.
But Seia had fallen asleep, so it looked like they would have to save it for later.
The time when Seia fell asleep was simply too early to enjoy the night scenery.
“We can see it next time.”
In winter, the days were short.
By six o’clock, it would be dark enough that you couldn’t see far ahead.
The night view at that time would be nice too.
The next day.
Today there was restaurant work to do, but there was one more thing he needed to prepare.
The person Elder introduced me to is coming, he said.
He didn’t know exactly when, but judging from Park Geon-su’s words, it wasn’t an opportunity that came easily.
One might think lunchboxes weren’t all that important.
But Jungwoo believed everything had its proper order.
If the goal was 100, you didn’t start by trying to make 100 right away.
First you achieved 10, then 20.
And when you had some breathing room, you reached for 50. That was what he thought.
Selling lunchboxes from a street stall might not seem like much, but if he couldn’t even do that properly, he believed he wouldn’t be able to do anything else right either.
“I should make some lunchboxes to match when they arrive.”
At the very least, they should know what was inside what he made, shouldn’t they?
He was confident.
The customers’ reactions had been good, and he thought the price was reasonable too.
“For now, I’ll keep the side dishes the same and make one main dish at a time…”
“Daddy!”
He was sitting on the edge of the bed, muttering today’s plans to himself, when Seia came from behind and hugged him.
Usually she had to be woken up, but today it seemed her eyes had opened on their own.
“Haha, you’re awake?”
“Yes! What is Daddy doing?”
“I was thinking about what I need to do today.”
“Seia knows too!”
“Hmm? You do?”
She had only just woken up, yet Seia answered without the slightest hesitation.
That she knew what they had to do today.
“What is it then?”
“Making something yummy for Seia, of course!”
Another chuckle slipped out.
She had just woken up with messy hair and sleep still lingering in her eyes, yet the very first thing she said was about food.
“Alright. Of course.”
“Yay!”
“Then we’d better get going, right? To the restaurant?”
“Yeees—!”
She was already full of anticipation. What should he make today to live up to those expectations?
It wasn’t like he had to make something new and delicious every single time, but the combined responsibilities of being Seia’s dad, the restaurant owner, and the chef made it impossible for him to settle for anything less.
Delicious! Healthy! New!
Unless the menu met those standards, Jungwoo found he could no longer satisfy himself.