#119
Something was stuck in his throat, not coming up. After moving his lips a few times, Dan Joo-hyuk finally answered with a sigh-like tone.
“I said I’d ask before setting up schedules from now on, didn’t I?”
“Ah, well…”
Yoon Pa-ran awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. His gaze involuntarily fell on Dan Joo-hyuk’s face, which had become even stiffer than when he first entered the house.
Seeing that expression, it really didn’t seem to be Dan Joo-hyuk’s doing. Yoon Pa-ran, who had come to confront him about arbitrarily setting up schedules again, awkwardly turned his head away.
The Gate Management Office had made a sudden request. They informed him of a gate schedule that he needed to enter today.
It was unusual for hunters to be summoned so urgently. So naturally, he thought Dan Joo-hyuk had set up the schedule to drag him out. The atmosphere had been quite tense on the way back from the hospital.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt he had come here too hastily without considering things. Feeling a bit awkward, Yoon Pa-ran couldn’t look directly at Dan Joo-hyuk.
Every time he slightly raised his gaze, Dan Joo-hyuk’s eyes fixed on him were quite sharp.
“Anyway, it wasn’t you?”
“No, it wasn’t.”
“I see…”
Yoon Pa-ran frowned slightly as he drew out the end of his words.
Then was it just an assignment given by the Gate Management Office?
“Who contacted you?”
Dan Joo-hyuk asked in a slightly sharp voice.
Since he had come to confront the wrong person, Yoon Pa-ran unconsciously fumbled with his phone as he answered.
“Uh… It was just a civil servant from the Gate Management Office…”
“Call them back.”
Dan Joo-hyuk said decisively as he stepped closer. Thinking he might have discovered something suspicious again, Yoon Pa-ran also felt uneasy.
“Alright.”
He dialed the number that had contacted him earlier.
Because it was on speakerphone, the cheerful voice of a male civil servant flowed from the phone.
“Yes! Hunter Yoon Pa-ran!”
“Uh, well…”
He had made the call, but what was he supposed to say?
Unconsciously, Yoon Pa-ran looked up at Dan Joo-hyuk with eyes seeking help. In response, he mouthed briefly, ‘Tell them you can’t go.’
Surely he wasn’t trying to prevent him from entering the gate again?
A faint doubt arose, but this time he pushed it down well. Since he felt bad for doubting Dan Joo-hyuk earlier, he decided to trust him just this once.
“About that gate you mentioned earlier, I called because I don’t think I can enter…”
“Oh no, Hunter Yoon! You said you could enter so we put you on the list, did something happen?”
The civil servant’s voice was almost tearful. It was the first time he had agreed to go to a gate and then changed his mind, so Yoon Pa-ran was a bit flustered too.
He hurriedly looked up at Dan Joo-hyuk again. After thinking deeply about something, he typed something into his phone.
Yoon Pa-ran recited verbatim the screen that suddenly appeared before him, with a dazed expression.
“Uh… My original schedule isn’t finished, so, if it’s okay to be about two hours late, I might be able to…”
“Two hours? Of course we can accommodate two hours! Please, Hunter, I’m begging you. We really don’t have anyone else available right now.”
“Hmm…”
After hearing the civil servant’s words, Dan Joo-hyuk quickly started contacting someone. Because Dan Joo-hyuk wasn’t telling him the next move, Yoon Pa-ran became very anxious.
Even though he stared intently, Dan Joo-hyuk remained silent. Flustered, Yoon Pa-ran unconsciously grabbed his arm and shook it.
“……”
Dan Joo-hyuk seemed startled, as if he had been concentrating.
He finally nodded to Yoon Pa-ran, indicating that he could end the call.
“Okay, I got it. I’ll go.”
“Hunter! Thank you so much.”
Even as he hurriedly answered, Yoon Pa-ran couldn’t shake off his doubts. What exactly did he figure out from this?
Seeing him still contacting someone, it seemed like he was investigating something.
“Actually, it’s already a shame to contact you so suddenly on the same day, but thank you so much every time. We really have no one but you, Hunter Yoon Pa-ran! It would have been so much harder without you!”
“Uh, yeah…”
The civil servant, seemingly overwhelmed with work, showered him with forced praise. Yoon Pa-ran awkwardly responded and quickly ended the call.
Dan Joo-hyuk was lost in thought, his expression even more severe than before.
“What’s wrong? Why did you have me say I’d be two hours late?”
“Just a moment.”
Dan Joo-hyuk’s phone rang again. With a serious expression, he continued exchanging messages with someone.
Out of curiosity, when Yoon Pa-ran peeked at the screen, there was a strange document titled “Civil Servant Organization Chart.”
“……”
Unable to understand the document, Yoon Pa-ran stood blankly, rolling his eyes.
In front of the busy Dan Joo-hyuk, he awkwardly fiddled with his phone. Eventually, he stepped back a few paces.
Turning his back slightly to Dan Joo-hyuk, he fell into thought. Should he go look at the terrace outside?
Just then, Yoon Pa-ran’s phone vibrated.
It seemed the civil servant had sent a text with the changed schedule. With such a light thought, Yoon Pa-ran picked up his phone, but his expression immediately crumpled.
“What the…”
The sender was none other than Hunter Park Jung-hoon.
“I hope we can have a drink together sometime soon.
Feel free to contact me anytime if you’re bored.
It’s a nice sunny day, hope you enjoy it.”
Is he crazy?
That was the only thought that came to mind. The bastard who had set a trap to kill him was sending such a message.
It was clearly mocking him, so Yoon Pa-ran turned off the screen with an angry expression.
“What’s wrong?”
Dan Joo-hyuk approached abruptly, seemingly curious about Yoon Pa-ran’s sudden reaction.
Then, as if interrogating, he looked down at Yoon Pa-ran’s phone and asked.
“What kind of message is it?”
Yoon Pa-ran, who was about to answer reflexively, unconsciously retorted gruffly.
“Why don’t you explain first?”
Even as he said that, Yoon Pa-ran prepared to turn on his phone.
It wasn’t really important information. Dan Joo-hyuk not explaining things properly to him wasn’t anything new.
However, Dan Joo-hyuk stiffened at his words for some reason.
Surprised by that reaction, Yoon Pa-ran looked up at him. Dan Joo-hyuk’s face was as stiff as the day they returned from the hospital.
Yoon Pa-ran raised his guard at his inexplicable reaction.
However, unexpectedly, what Dan Joo-hyuk offered next was a quiet explanation.
“I asked you to say you’d be two hours late to see how desperate they were. I was curious if they would wait that long for a B-rank hunter.”
“Ah…”
Indeed, time was always of the essence in gate processing.
Having never been late himself, Yoon Pa-ran had never experienced it, but no attack team would wait for a lower-ranked hunter who was late. While they might wait for an A-rank hunter, there were always replacements for B-rank hunters.
Moreover, when they first called him, they clearly explained that it was an urgent gate that needed processing.
“From what I’ve investigated so far, there’s no evidence that the civil servant who called was bribed by someone. There’s no trace of them receiving a large sum of money recently either.”
“Really…?”
Dan Joo-hyuk had only seen the civil servant’s phone number moments ago, yet he had found out so much so quickly.
Surprised by the speed, Yoon Pa-ran looked dazed, but Dan Joo-hyuk continued speaking without concern.
“Park Jung-hoon is currently near a gate on the outskirts of Seoul.”
“The outskirts?”
“Yes. I confirmed he was there until just now, and he didn’t respond to the government’s summons this morning. I filed a complaint against him for assaulting another hunter, but his family is completely denying the charges.”
“Uh…”
“And Kim Tae-jun is currently in the provinces. There’s a publicity event at a market.”
“……”
Perhaps Park Jung-hoon sent that message out of anger at being reported?
Anyway, Yoon Pa-ran hadn’t expected Dan Joo-hyuk to explain in such detail. As more substantial information poured out than he had anticipated, he felt awkward again.
“So. What was the message about?”
He asked again after finishing his long explanation.
Before the atmosphere could become more serious, Yoon Pa-ran quickly turned on his phone and showed him the message.
“……”
As soon as he read the content, Dan Joo-hyuk’s expression crumpled just like Yoon Pa-ran’s had.
Then he took the phone with a subtle expression.
“He’s insane.”
When the phone returned to him, all traces of Park Jung-hoon had completely disappeared.
“Hmm.”
Even to a crazy person, Park Jung-hoon seemed out of his mind.
By the way, why did he arbitrarily delete someone else’s contact?
Upon inspection, not only Park Jung-hoon’s number but also the call history and messages had all vanished. Although he had been planning to block it anyway, Dan Joo-hyuk’s action was baffling.
“So, are you going to the gate?”
“Well…”
Yoon Pa-ran, feeling somewhat strange, wiped his cheek with the back of his hand. Then he just put the phone in his pocket.
Well, it wasn’t really an important matter anyway.
“I guess I should go.”
He made the decision to go to the gate rather easily. The pitiful voice of the civil servant made him feel uneasy.
Moreover, after hearing Dan Joo-hyuk’s information, the orphanage seemed safe. It appeared that those who might target the orphanage in his absence were unable to move rashly.
“……”
Looking down at the small nodding face, Dan Joo-hyuk fell into thought.
Should Yoon Pa-ran go to that gate?
Yes. His intuition was telling him so.
But strangely, his mood was terribly foul. It was rare for his intuition and feelings not to align, so Dan Joo-hyuk was troubled.
Was it because of Park Jung-hoon’s message with its petty tricks?
Then Dan Joo-hyuk quickly organized his thoughts. The solution was simple, wasn’t it?
If the gate was a problem, he could just enter together.
“Let’s eat first, then.”
“Huh…?”
At Dan Joo-hyuk’s quite unexpected conclusion, Yoon Pa-ran narrowed his eyes.
Why does he keep feeding me?
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
