#208
Once again, Yoon Pa-ran disappeared in a blaze of anger. Hearing his angry voice made Dan Joo-hyuk’s spine tingle and his lower abdomen feel heavy, putting him in quite a predicament.
At this rate, he might develop another strange habit.
Anyway, Dan Joo-hyuk only moved after confirming that Yoon Pa-ran had safely entered the orphanage with his security team. There was somewhere he needed to go before others began thoroughly investigating.
“…”
The place he arrived at was none other than Kim Sang-deok’s residence.
Kim Sang-deok had made the top floor of a building in Gangnam his home. Though the police and Gate Management Office were controlling the building following the official announcement of his death, Dan Joo-hyuk infiltrated with ease.
Unlike other S-ranks, Kim Sang-deok hadn’t cleared out the people in his building.
Though the presence of others might have been irritating, he actually didn’t shy away from TV appearances promoting the prime Gangnam building for tenants. The more Dan Joo-hyuk thought about it, the less it made sense, but he didn’t expend more mental energy on that fact.
Rather, before formally cooperating with the investigation, he wanted to personally check if there was any problematic information or items.
Above all, if those who had manipulated Kim Sang-deok were still around, they would likely come here like he had. They would want to erase any traces left behind.
“Ha.”
Upon entering Kim Sang-deok’s residence, Dan Joo-hyuk couldn’t help but let out a mocking laugh.
Everything was gold to the point of vulgarity. Even the ceiling moldings were gilded, making Dan Joo-hyuk grimace in disgust.
In the past, the house of Kim Sang-deok that he had burned down also contained quite a bit of gold, but not to this extent.
Contrary to what was publicly known, his burning of Kim Sang-deok’s house wasn’t just out of boredom. It was more like retaliation for being backstabbed in a gate.
It was the first time he had entered an S-rank gate with Kim Sang-deok. Though the principle was that only one S-rank hunter should enter due to syndrome issues, the government made a special request because an S-rank gate appeared in the heart of Seoul.
Kim Sang-deok’s mere existence was already irritating. And his skills were pathetically inadequate. For someone bearing the title of S-rank, his carelessness in not even properly understanding cooperative formations didn’t even warrant a scoff.
‘If you’re going to act like that, why not just retire? Did you get your S-rank title through lobbying?’
‘Y-you…!’
Amusingly, that seemed to have struck a nerve. Later, while defeating an S-rank boss monster, Kim Sang-deok attacked him from behind.
Even that failed.
At the time, his attack was clearly laden with killing intent. Naturally, not being one to let such things slide, Dan Joo-hyuk appropriately warned him by completely burning down the house he cherished.
Afterward, Kim Sang-deok’s behavior seemed to intensify, even changing his name and covering everything in gold, but that wasn’t Dan Joo-hyuk’s concern.
“…”
Anyway, though Kim Sang-deok was petty and incompetent, he wasn’t careless. When he decided to backstab Dan Joo-hyuk in front of a boss, he had put in his best effort to finish the job conclusively.
How did he collaborate with Kim Tae-jun? And what did he hope to gain in return?
Dan Joo-hyuk surveyed the interior with indifferent eyes. Even as he walked through the silent top floor of the building, his eyes showed no interest. He was here solely for Yoon Pa-ran’s safety.
Gold bars were placed in the living room like trophies or decorations. The wallpaper seemed to be interwoven with gold thread, making the interior shimmer to the point of dizziness.
According to rumors, claiming to have a gold attribute, he cultivated the energy of gold. Could that be true? If it was, it was truly a foolish act.
“Hmm.”
Dan Joo-hyuk picked up a golden pig figurine in front of him.
Should he bring it for Yoon Pa-ran?
If Yoon Pa-ran found it burdensome, it might be good to give it to Min-woong. Last time, he seemed to quite like these animal shapes.
Only after that thought did Dan Joo-hyuk look around Kim Sang-deok’s residence with fresh eyes.
He had no family or relatives. So his inheritance and this building would likely revert to the state.
It might not be bad to “persuade” Minister Byeon to give it to Yoon Pa-ran.
“…”
Having pocketed just one small golden pig, Dan Joo-hyuk resumed his careful search of the interior.
Someone like Kim Sang-deok would certainly have created a hidden space. Just as he had.
Dan Joo-hyuk examined every corner with sharp eyes. He scrutinized everything from misaligned furniture to minute gaps in the wallpaper, eventually heading to the innermost room assumed to be Kim Sang-deok’s bedroom.
Upon entering the attached bathroom, he noticed something unnatural. Despite being a bathroom in a bedroom, there were suspiciously few signs of use.
Sensing he was on the right track, Dan Joo-hyuk tapped the bathroom wall tiles, searching for a hollow sound. In this way, he eventually discovered the secret space Kim Sang-deok had hidden.
“Aha.”
There was a subtle gap in the floor tiles in front of the sink. Lifting it at once, he found a safe inside.
Dan Joo-hyuk crouched down and effortlessly broke the safe. Even the toilet being made of gold made him feel a bit disgusted.
“Hmm.”
The inside of the safe was simpler than expected. Perhaps because gold bars, which would normally be kept in a safe, were already displayed everywhere.
There were several jewelry items, but Dan Joo-hyuk’s face remained unimpressed. They weren’t items Yoon Pa-ran could use, so he had no interest.
Then, he noticed some documents at the bottom, hidden behind the items.
“…”
His eyes lit up as he lifted them.
The first thing he found was a map marking certain locations. Looking closely, it showed the Seoul metropolitan area.
As he gauged the marked locations, Dan Joo-hyuk’s face gradually hardened. Many overlapped with safety special zones.
It was now confirmed that the safety special zones were Kim Tae-jun’s scheme, but he hadn’t expected Kim Sang-deok to be involved. Especially concerning was the fact that he had put this map in his safe.
It meant even he judged this information to be dangerous.
“…”
Among the marks were also locations that weren’t safety special zones. Dan Joo-hyuk carefully examined several places where no known anomalies had been reported.
The next item was a passport. Wondering why it was in the safe, Dan Joo-hyuk opened it.
Inside was a convincingly disguised photo of Kim Sang-deok and a fake identity. It meant he had to enter somewhere illegally without government cooperation.
Slowly, he examined the entry and exit stamps of places he had visited. The most recent one was none other than Russia.
“…”
Of all places, Russia.
Suspicions that he had visited the Tsar strengthened. It seemed necessary to go to the Tsar’s palace to gather information, if only to clear these unsettling feelings.
Deliberately ignoring the sharp premonition his instincts were giving him, Dan Joo-hyuk thoroughly searched the safe. There might be a secret compartment inside the safe itself.
However, there was no other compartment, and only one slender object at the very bottom caught his hand.
“This is…”
What he pulled out was a necklace. He thought it might be an item, but it was just an ordinary necklace.
However, this necklace emanated the energy of the [■■■ Fragment].
“…”
It was a different shape from what Kim Min-ji had been wearing. If hers was a crescent, this was closer to a circular black ring.
Looking closely, it had a peculiar structure: two crescents attached top and bottom to appear like a circle.
“Hah…”
It was frustrating, not like he was chasing a riddle.
After gathering all the seemingly dangerous items, Dan Joo-hyuk stood up. As the premonition that he needed to go to Russia strengthened, strangely, only Yoon Pa-ran’s face flickered before his eyes.
❖ ❖ ❖
Around the same time.
Yoon Pa-ran had changed clothes, returned to the orphanage, and was now embracing Min-woong.
“Brother, are you sleeping here today?”
“Yes. I’m going to sleep with Min-woong and leave tomorrow.”
“Hehe.”
When the child, who had been playing in the yard, clung to him, Yoon Pa-ran simply embraced him and entered the room. Today, he just felt like holding his little brother tightly.
Though he had been happily playing before being brought in, Min-woong just smiled sweetly. It was cute how he firmly held onto Yoon Pa-ran’s arm.
After rolling around in front of the TV with Min-woong for quite some time…
Min-woong looked up at him with clear eyes and asked:
“Brother, when is the big brother coming?”
At that question, Yoon Pa-ran was momentarily speechless. It wasn’t as if Min-woong had realized that the reason for his agitation all day was precisely because of Dan Joo-hyuk.
Moreover, the way he asked as if it were natural for Dan Joo-hyuk to come to the orphanage was a bit perplexing.
“…Big brother doesn’t live with us, you know.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
