#152
What is this?
It was a strange feeling. Unable to find the cause, Yoon Pa-ran unnecessarily scanned the orphanage with his eyes. Nothing appeared to have changed.
But the uneasy feeling, as if gum were stuck to the back of his head, wouldn’t go away. So Yoon Pa-ran slowly looked around the spacious orphanage building.
He personally checked all the rooms where the children slept. However, contrary to his feeling, there didn’t seem to be anything unusual.
Is my body still tired?
Thinking that way, it also seemed like nothing special. Yoon Pa-ran, messing up the back of his head, stopped moving around restlessly and headed to Min-woong’s room.
Maybe it was because he received Dan Joo-hyuk’s call on the way. Perhaps he was tense from being told to go to the gate at dawn. Strange.
Anyway, he was considering whether it would be better to leave the orphanage before the younger siblings woke up.
“Hunter, are you looking for something?”
The security company director approached Yoon Pa-ran as he was wandering around.
He had just greeted him at the entrance when coming in. He seemed curious after seeing Yoon Pa-ran appearing at dawn and checking various parts of the orphanage.
“Just checking if my siblings are doing well. Are you about to get off work?”
“Yes. Today’s my last night shift, and I’ll be on days for a while.”
“Ah. Be careful on your way home.”
“Nothing unusual is happening, right?”
He asked Yoon Pa-ran as if confirming. Since it was awkward to say he just had a bad feeling, Yoon Pa-ran simply nodded.
After sending off the director, this time a text came from Dan Joo-hyuk.
I’m eating breakfast. I’ll come slowly.
“…”
Yoon Pa-ran’s brow furrowed subtly without him realizing.
On the phone earlier, he acted like he would come right away. Did something happen on the way?
The question crossed his mind momentarily, but Yoon Pa-ran put his phone in his pocket. Since things turned out this way, he might as well prepare breakfast for his siblings.
It was a peaceful winter morning that seemed to have a thin layer of ice.
❖ ❖ ❖
“I’ll come pick you up.”
After saying that, Dan Joo-hyuk hung up the phone.
It seemed Yoon Pa-ran had no particular schedule today, as he readily agreed to meet. Unlike before, he didn’t seem inclined to avoid him, which was fortunate.
Yesterday, he saw Minister Byeon after a long time. The minister, having returned from Russia, handed over an item along with information obtained there.
It was additional compensation he had set aside to give to Yoon Pa-ran.
Dan Joo-hyuk examined the blade of the A-grade longsword in his hand, then gauged if the length would be appropriate. Since he could now tell Yoon Pa-ran’s arm length even with his eyes closed, the judgment was quickly made.
This sword was suitable for a ranged attacker. The sword had a skill that assisted in movement within a 3m range, allowing one to quickly create distance even after engaging with monsters.
Even without that skill, the sword’s performance itself was good. Yoon Pa-ran, who also excelled in close combat, wouldn’t have a better main weapon.
“Not bad.”
After inspecting the item, Dan Joo-hyuk sheathed the sword. He had also had Minister Byeon completely remove the curse on the sword.
With this level of performance, he could tell him to stop using that damn cursed sword.
At some point, Yoon Pa-ran’s main equipment, the sword, had begun to subtly bother him. Nevertheless, he knew that as an A-grade hunter, those curses wouldn’t affect him anyway.
During the linked anomaly incident, he had even cleverly used that curse to counterattack. Though it was a good improvisation, having personally seen corpses killed by the curse, Dan Joo-hyuk couldn’t help feeling uneasy.
Since Yoon Pa-ran usually worried about his siblings touching his equipment, he’d probably be happy to receive this.
“…”
At that passing thought, Dan Joo-hyuk unconsciously rubbed his chin once.
Anyway, a long conversation with Minister Byeon had continued until just now, dawn. More precisely, it meant they had interrogated the Russian prisoner officially brought in.
The guy didn’t spill any useful information. Despite persuasion that crossed between legal and illegal methods, the yield was small. It was certain that the Tsar was involved, but Dan Joo-hyuk wasn’t curious about such obvious information.
Nor was the guy keeping quiet out of loyalty. After all, it was the Russian side that handed him over to Korea.
The guy really seemed to “know nothing.” Even the memories after Dan Joo-hyuk threw him into contact with the [■■■ Fragment] appeared to have been almost erased.
“…”
Dan Joo-hyuk’s eyes narrowed as he recalled that level of pristine ignorance. It seemed that whoever was behind all this had a method of erasing memories. Yoon Pa-ran had also mentioned that after meeting Kim Tae-jun, he felt the man had a skill that affected the mind.
Later, when Minister Byeon wasn’t around, he’d need to try using Yoon Pa-ran’s skill on the prisoner. He was also very curious about the Tsar’s current state.
I’ll have to visit Russia soon.
Anyway, after finishing his busy tasks, it was deep into dawn. Seeing the dark sky before sunrise naturally made him wonder what Yoon Pa-ran was doing.
He immediately checked his location. Surprisingly, Yoon Pa-ran, who hadn’t moved after entering his studio apartment yesterday, was heading somewhere from early dawn.
As soon as he realized this, Dan Joo-hyuk called him right away.
Hearing Yoon Pa-ran’s tired-sounding voice stirred the impulse again. The impulse to check directly if he had rested well yesterday.
“Haah…”
After showering to wash off the smell of blood, Dan Joo-hyuk carefully took the sword and headed to his car. Going without sleep for a day didn’t affect his movement at all.
Yoon Pa-ran seemed curious about why he needed to meet him, but there were many excuses to use. Giving him the sword was a good excuse, and sharing information from Russia didn’t seem bad either.
He also thought about taking Yoon Pa-ran to a restaurant a bit far away. He’d probably eat better at a place with a nice view.
Throughout his careful planning, his mood was strangely elevated. It was a sentiment that didn’t match the quiet dawn roads.
However, a phone call interrupted Dan Joo-hyuk’s hurried movements. It was Heo Sang-yeon.
“Speak.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Dan Joo-hyuk accepted the call.
It was quite early for Heo Sang-yeon to contact him, which puzzled him, but soon his doubt was cleared.
“Hey, Hunter Dan. I heard your meeting with Minister Byeon ended. Let’s meet for a bit.”
“Just tell me over the phone.”
It seemed he had obtained information about his schedule with Minister Byeon and was confident he’d be awake.
Anyway, Dan Joo-hyuk dismissively rejected Heo Sang-yeon’s proposal.
“I need to tell you face to face.”
But then a very firm voice came through.
At that stubborn attitude, Dan Joo-hyuk raised one eyebrow askew.
“Come to our guild office. It won’t take long.”
Heo Sang-yeon proposed again. Dan Joo-hyuk, who had been tapping the steering wheel with his fingers, soon accepted.
“Alright.”
If he was this insistent, he clearly had some useful information. Especially since he had previously asked him to monitor Russian movements, he might have obtained the current status of the Tsar, which he was curious about.
After ending the call with Heo Sang-yeon, Dan Joo-hyuk sent a quick text to Yoon Pa-ran. He had originally planned to feed him breakfast, but it seemed he’d have to postpone the schedule to lunch.
“…”
Although it was a rational decision in many ways, Dan Joo-hyuk felt a momentary surge of irritation.
Things were becoming increasingly bothersome. Those damn stone-related matters now felt more annoying than interesting. But ignoring them bothered him because they seemed deeply connected to Yoon Pa-ran’s power.
I need to resolve this quickly and get rid of it.
Anyway, Dan Joo-hyuk turned his car, which had been heading diligently toward the orphanage, and drove toward Heo Sang-yeon’s guild. As he moved, the sun began to rise bit by bit. After briefly looking at the brightening sky, Dan Joo-hyuk finished parking roughly in front of the guild building.
Heo Sang-yeon’s guild “Hanul” was located near the Gate Management Office. Befitting an S-grade guild, the clean building mostly had its lights off, as if most employees hadn’t arrived yet.
Having visited a few times before, Dan Joo-hyuk went up to Heo Sang-yeon’s office without hesitation. When he flung open the door of the guild leader’s office, he saw two people.
As he had expected since outside the building, Heo Sang-yeon was with Hunter Lee Tae-jung.
“You’ve arrived.”
“Hunter Dan, you’ve been working hard.”
Without responding, Dan Joo-hyuk slowly sat down across from Heo Sang-yeon. Lee Tae-jung stood behind him as if standing guard.
Noticing the subtle distance that Lee Tae-jung maintained, Dan Joo-hyuk smiled crookedly. That distance seemed to be what he thought would allow him to escape from Dan Joo-hyuk.
It was a stupid judgment, but rather fortunate.
According to the surveillance data Kim Sin-cheol had gathered on him, surprisingly, Lee Tae-jung showed no suspicious points.
Most of what he did was just his duties as vice guild leader. Normal tasks like leading guild members into gates or cleaning up after Heo Sang-yeon.
The only time he was spotted near Kim Tae-jun was in a single CCTV photo captured by chance. Had it not been for that coincidental evidence, Dan Joo-hyuk probably wouldn’t have paid attention to him.
However, only after meeting him directly today did Dan Joo-hyuk completely change that judgment. Face to face with Lee Tae-jung, he felt quite terrible, as if his instinct was warning him.
Just like having another S-grade hunter in front of him.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
