#118
Three days had passed since Dan Joo-hyuk had taken Yoon Pa-ran to the hospital without much thought.
He had kept a watchful eye on Kim Tae-jun, but the man had been living like an ordinary human. There were no signs of him transporting suspicious stone fragments or loitering around gates. The same was true for his close associates.
From a different perspective, it was very strange. For a non-hunter like him to handle suspicious stone fragments, a hunter’s help would be essential.
However, fortunately, there was one gain.
A figure that looked like Lee Tae-jung was unexpectedly spotted in the vicinity of those monitoring him.
In fact, it wasn’t certain whether Lee Tae-jung had gone specifically to meet Kim Tae-jun. Since Lee Tae-jung was well-known as Heo Sang-yeon’s close associate, the possibility of it being a coincidence was higher.
However, Dan Joo-hyuk felt something off when he saw the blurry CCTV photo of him.
He decided to check Lee Tae-jung’s location, thinking he’d at least confirm it. Surprisingly, he discovered that according to the departure records, Lee Tae-jung should still be in China.
‘How’s Hunter Lee Tae-jung these days? I heard he was going to sell some decent items.’
‘Oh? Really? Was it an item that Hunter Dan would be interested in?’
Dan Joo-hyuk casually asked Heo Sang-yeon about Lee Tae-jung’s recent activities, pretending to be interested in the item based on a rumor he’d heard recently.
Unexpectedly, Heo Sang-yeon readily said that Lee Tae-jung was currently in China. It was unclear whether she was hiding his return or if she was unaware of the fact.
It was a clue he wouldn’t have found if he hadn’t been so focused on protecting Yoon Pa-ran. It was a miracle that a hunter of Lee Tae-jung’s caliber had been caught on camera while moving secretly.
The thought of investigating crossed his mind. However, there was one problem. If it was Lee Tae-jung, one of the top A-rank hunters, it wouldn’t be easy to follow and investigate him unless Dan Joo-hyuk went personally.
After pondering, Dan Joo-hyuk made a phone call somewhere.
“I’d like to entrust you with an investigation for a while.”
―An investigation? Me?
As soon as the call connected, Dan Joo-hyuk blurted out. Kim Sin-cheol, on the other end of the line, reacted as if he was used to getting straight to business without greetings.
However, even Kim Sin-cheol couldn’t help but feel tense at the words that followed.
“Yeah. Don’t you have any A-rank hunters around who could move with you?”
―There… are, but. No, is this a job that requires two of us to move?
Kim Sin-cheol seemed flustered and started whispering in a very low voice.
It seemed someone was nearby, so Dan Joo-hyuk also calmly lowered his voice.
“Yeah. Keep an eye on Lee Tae-jung for a while.”
―Oh boy.
Kim Sin-cheol groaned when he heard who the target was.
Just then, a voice near him asked, “Is it Joo-hyuk?” The familiar voice was that of his mother, Congresswoman Lee Sun-young.
As soon as she confirmed that the caller was Dan Joo-hyuk, she seemed to have hastily snatched Kim Sin-cheol’s phone.
―Joo-hyuk, I heard some strange rumors recently.
“Go on.”
―It’s about that Kim Tae-jun fellow…
Coincidentally, the topic she brought up was about Kim Tae-jun.
Dan Joo-hyuk narrowed his eyes and quietly waited for her words. Then, some quite unexpected information came through.
―Would you believe it, that greedy old man is using his own fortune to sponsor some orphanage.
Dan Joo-hyuk’s eyebrow rose crookedly at the mention of an orphanage. It reminded him of Yoon Pa-ran.
Of course, the orphanage that man was sponsoring wouldn’t be Yoon Pa-ran’s orphanage. He already knew that Kang, who used to be Kim Tae-jun’s aide, had visited several orphanages for show-off charity.
However, what Lee Sun-young had found out seemed to be in a different direction from Dan Joo-hyuk’s expectations.
―Well, of course, sponsoring an orphanage is a good thing. It’s something everyone does to keep up appearances. But the scale of the money moving here was oddly large, so it was suspicious.
“And?”
―Given that man’s personality, I thought he might be embezzling the sponsorship money, so I investigated, but that wasn’t the case. He was really using his personal assets to sponsor an orphanage.
“…”
Again, Dan Joo-hyuk thought of Yoon Pa-ran. Even though there was no way Kim Tae-jun would do such a thing with pure intentions like Yoon Pa-ran.
Dan Joo-hyuk had been suspecting that Kim Tae-jun might have been contaminated by the [■■■ Fragment] like the Russian Tsar. Of course, there had been no sign of it when they met most recently, but based on Yoon Pa-ran’s description, it seemed clear.
If so, how was that possible?
Even in the surveillance company’s footage, the man looked fine. There were no signs of him having seizures from touching the stone, like the hunter Dan Joo-hyuk had caught in the Russian gate.
To begin with, why were non-hunters like Kim Tae-jun or the Tsar affected by the stone?
Was it really Lee Tae-jung who handed over the stone, or was it Heo Sang-yeon?
“Don’t meet with Congressman Kim Tae-jun alone for a while. Father too.”
―Alone…? Why?
“I’ll explain the details to Kim Sin-cheol later.”
―Alright, I understand.
After this warning, Lee Sun-young sounded bewildered but followed Dan Joo-hyuk’s words. It had happened several times before when he gave such warnings, and there had always been reasons.
Dan Joo-hyuk ended the call after wrapping up the conversation with Kim Sin-cheol as well.
The uneasy feeling continued.
“…”
Should I start by catching Lee Tae-jung? If Heo Sang-yeon’s resistance was a problem, sending her abroad might be an option.
In fact, Dan Joo-hyuk wanted to apprehend Kim Tae-jun immediately, but that wasn’t easy. Since Dan Joo-hyuk had intensified his surveillance, the man had started attending only public events with many civilians. He was clearly wary of Dan Joo-hyuk’s potential attack.
Dan Joo-hyuk was also uncomfortable with the fact that Kim Tae-jun had noticed his surveillance, even if only slightly. Kim Tae-jun was indeed a more dangerous person than Dan Joo-hyuk had thought.
So, should he have properly warned Yoon Pa-ran from the beginning?
“…”
Dan Joo-hyuk’s gaze fell back to his phone screen.
Yoon Pa-ran, who had holed up in the orphanage, had been quiet ever since sending one text message.
Let me know how much I should send for the hospital bill.
Dan Joo-hyuk understood it meant he didn’t want to be in debt, but he had no intention of accepting it. To his brief reply of “It’s fine,” Yoon Pa-ran sent another message.
Why.
Strangely, it took quite some time to answer that question.
Finally, after much deliberation, Dan Joo-hyuk attached an appropriate reason.
Because I’m partly responsible for their attack on you, Mr. Yoon Pa-ran.
In fact, admitting responsibility wasn’t a particularly good strategy. Nevertheless, Dan Joo-hyuk found himself answering that way without realizing it.
This time, Yoon Pa-ran didn’t reply either.
Dan Joo-hyuk suddenly rubbed his throbbing forehead with his fingertips. For the past few days, whenever he had a moment, thoughts of Yoon Pa-ran had been pricking his mind.
He knew he had said some rather sharp words on the way back from the hospital. And that it must have angered Yoon Pa-ran, who cherished the orphanage so dearly.
However, he still disliked the idea of Yoon Pa-ran jumping into danger because of that orphanage.
“…”
His gaze turned back to his phone. He wanted to call right away to find out what Yoon Pa-ran was doing, but strangely, he hesitated.
“Hah…”
After days of being plagued by ambiguous feelings, Dan Joo-hyuk finally just put away his phone.
Perhaps it would be better to let him rest at the orphanage for now. He could strengthen the security around the orphanage himself.
Thinking this, he was about to head to his study.
A faint sound reached his ears. It was the sound of the elevator coming up to his home.
The only one who could move that right now, besides himself, was Yoon Pa-ran.
His footsteps stopped abruptly. As he stared at the elevator door with a tense expression, sure enough, it was Yoon Pa-ran who came out.
“What? Why are you standing there like that?”
Yoon Pa-ran, entering the house, noticed him and asked curiously.
Dan Joo-hyuk stared, as if entranced, at the pale face he was seeing after a few days. Yoon Pa-ran’s expression was stiff, just like the day they had parted recently.
He entered and stared at Dan Joo-hyuk with a somewhat crooked posture. That gaze, still piercing straight through him without hesitation, kept making Dan Joo-hyuk’s mouth dry.
After a long while, Dan Joo-hyuk finally managed to ask.
“…Why did you come?”
“You told me to enter the gate, didn’t you?”
Yoon Pa-ran answered with an even more indifferent expression. He threw his gaze to one side as if something was unsatisfactory.
As his gaze moved away from him, Dan Joo-hyuk felt strangely anxious this time.
“The gate?”
He quickly asked back, catching Yoon Pa-ran’s gaze. As intended, Yoon Pa-ran sent a direct gaze back at him.
Unexpectedly, with a tone full of certainty.
“Wasn’t it a schedule you set?”
“…”
The clear, innocent eyes showed no particular doubt. Ironically, this made it look like solid trust.
It also meant that Yoon Pa-ran didn’t believe at all what Dan Joo-hyuk had said. Even though he had said he would discuss all future schedules with him before setting them.
Moreover, Yoon Pa-ran didn’t seem to find this fact very strange. As if he had expected Dan Joo-hyuk to do this someday.
Dan Joo-hyuk’s expression gradually hardened as he quickly understood the situation.
Suddenly, he felt a faint throbbing sensation near his solar plexus.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
