[<Breaking News: Hunter Association President Found Dead>]
[Hunter Association President Believed to Be Murdered… Police Investigating]
[Late at night, Moon Yeon-jun, president of the Hunter Association, was found dead in his office. The police are currently investigating under the assumption of homicide…]
I couldn’t lift my head, my face buried in my hands.
[<Exclusive> Who Did Hunter Lim Chang-joo Name as the Suspect in the President’s Murder?]
[…With the investigation facing difficulties, Hunter Lim Chang-joo, who discovered the body, pointed to Baek Tae-beom of the Hansung Guild as the culprit.
…As a result, the police are proceeding with the investigation based on that testimony…]
“Are you alright, Choi Ga-hyeon? Please drink a little more water.”
“No, no… I’m fine.”
“You really don’t look fine at all.”
Even with Lee Myung-won’s concern, I couldn’t pull myself together. Everything felt distant—like I was submerged in someone else’s nightmare. My eyes shut tight, I stared into a void of endless darkness, barely managing to lift my gaze to meet Lee Myung-won, who was watching me with obvious worry in his eyes.
The people who had banged on my door at dawn were none other than the police and members of the Hunter Association. They’d come to arrest Baek Tae-beom as a suspect in the murder of the Association President. He’d resisted at first, of course—until he saw Lim Chang-joo’s face.
It was just like Kang Si-hoo’s—blank, like a puppet with its strings cut. Completely brainwashed.
‘I didn’t account for this.’
I hadn’t considered that if we made a move, Kang Si-hoo would move as well. Or rather, I hadn’t expected them to pull such a filthy trick.
There wasn’t any solid evidence, so Baek Tae-beom would be released soon. But what if Angrboda made her move before that? What could I do without him?
‘Get it together, you dumb bastard.’
I clenched my fists until my knuckles ached. My lower lip was already bitten raw, and I let out a long, shaky breath. On any other day, Baek Tae-beom would’ve told me to stop biting my lip like that. But that voice didn’t come.
[Comments]
[Anonymous3888: Huh? Isn’t this article totally unethical?]
[Stella98: I mean, Tae-beom might be an asshole but he’s not the type to just go around killing people;;;]
[FDGka: They’re investigating with zero evidence????]
[Anonymous5427: But still, it could be him lmao. Lim Chang-joo said he saw the killer]
[Anonymous689: Honestly, the security at the Hunter Association must be insane;;; No way anyone less than an S-rank gets in lol]
[MishaMisha: Wait, so Baek Tae-beom really did it? LOL people are terrifying]
Bastards swarming like gnats.
[Title: Rest in Peace.]
[Author: SnowyWinter
Views: 35,623 Recommendations: 325 Bookmarks: 78
He seemed like a decent person… What a shame.
But did Baek Tae-beom really kill him?]
[Comments]
No way that’s true.
┖But it’s possible, right? There are only so many hunters who could’ve snuck in there.
Weren’t the Association and Hansung always beefing? What if Park Gil-seon ordered it?
┖That’s pure delusion.
┖But it kind of makes sense too;
┖Idiots, the Hunter Association didn’t get along with any guilds, not just Hansung.
The Association always had a shady image lol; still didn’t think they’d actually kill their president.
┖But it’s still under investigation—what if it was suicide?
┖Nah, my friend works at the Association, and they said it’s definitely murder. The place is a goddamn war zone right now.
┖So who becomes president now? The vice-president?
┖Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Honestly, even if Baek Tae-beom did do it, he’d probably get off scot-free. Big-name hunters always do lol. He’s committed enough crimes already.
┖That was him beating up those Red Apple punks, dumbass.
┖He also beat up a random passerby, remember? Should’ve gone down for assault.
┖Is this guy nuts?
┖Leave him be. Looks like he’s still out here defending that rotten apple.
When my teeth clenched so hard they made a cracking sound, Lee Myung-won flinched.
“Choi Ga-hyeon!”
“I’m fine.”
“Fine, really?”
“I’m just sick of this proud little culture that turns anything remotely entertaining into public gossip.”
“Th-that means you’re not okay….”
Ahn Ki-yoon spoke with a twisted grimace. Just a few moments earlier, he’d walked into Lee Myung-won’s office—right as I had stormed in, ready to tear the door off its hinges.
When I shouted, “Baek Tae-beom’s been taken!” Ahn Ki-yoon looked like he couldn’t make sense of what he was hearing, and Lee Myung-won had immediately scrambled to confirm it.
While they were reacting, I slumped down onto the sofa—cursing out the police, checking my phone, throwing back an entire glass of water. Eventually, I managed to calm myself down.
I knew Baek Tae-beom would be released soon enough—there wasn’t any solid evidence. I also knew Lim Chang-joo had been coerced, manipulated by Angrboda.
But even with all that in mind, I couldn’t stop the rage boiling inside me.
[CH. Private / Free Wind: boyfriend_got_arrested_angry_gahyeon.gif]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: You know I’m absolutely furious right now, right, Hermes?]
[CH. Private / Free Wind: Just trying to lighten the mood a bit.]
[CH. Private / Free Wind: But yeah, this really is a crisis. My bad.]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Choi Ga-hyeon. There’s no need to be angry.]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Didn’t I say he’d be released soon? Why are you so worried?]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: Think about it, Apollo. We’re talking about a police station. We have no idea what could happen to our sweet, tiny, innocent Tae-beom.]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: Would you not worry if Hermes got tossed into Tartarus right this moment?]
[CH. Private / Free Wind: Whoa, you’re throwing me into hell out of nowhere now?]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Tiny? Sweet? Innocent? Why are those adjectives even being used here?]
“Here, drink more water… calm down…”
“…But what were you and Lee Myung-won even talking about this early in the morning?”
Ahn Ki-yoon blinked wide-eyed like a startled rabbit, his fingers fidgeting nervously.
“I just… I wanted to help somehow… I mean, maybe I could be of help… so we were talking about what I could do….”
“I’ve already filled Ahn Ki-yoon in on what’s going on. He doesn’t seem like the type to go blabbing.”
“O-of course not!”
Ahn Ki-yoon clenched his fist like he was making a solemn vow.
I rubbed my eyes with one hand, then glanced at him before letting out another sigh.
“Then what do we do about the orphanage volunteer work? I was supposed to go with Tae-beom.”
We had divided the responsibilities: persuading the Association President was Lim Chang-joo’s job; investigating the Convergence and the ongoing dungeon rifts was assigned to the others. Meanwhile, Baek Tae-beom and I were supposed to infiltrate the orphanage funded by Gongmyeong to gather intel.
It was scheduled for today. We couldn’t afford to cancel—not when we were so close to making our move before Gongmyeong caught on.
“We’ll send another hunter with you from our side,” Lee Myung-won offered.
“W-wait a second.”
Ahn Ki-yoon raised his hand with sudden urgency.
“What do you mean by ‘orphanage volunteer work’?”
“Ah, that’s…”
After I explained the situation, I watched as Ahn Ki-yoon’s face slowly brightened.
“What if… what if I go in Tae-beom’s place?”
“You, Ahn Ki-yoon?”
“I’m not as well-known as the others… and I can make things on the spot if needed. Not just clothes, I can make simple items too. I know it’s not much, but… if we’re going undercover, I could sneak in and look at documents or something….”
I didn’t think it was a bad idea. In fact, it might even be the better option. Instead of teaming up with a complete stranger while Baek Tae-beom’s release was still up in the air, it felt safer to go with someone like Ahn Ki-yoon.
Lee Myung-won still looked uneasy, but in the end, he gave a small nod.
“Alright, we’re counting on you, Ahn Ki-yoon.”
And just like that, morning arrived at last.
[CH. Private / Horseback Herald: Ga-hyeon. Doesn’t the hat and mask combo look a bit too suspicious?]
[CH. Private / Free Wind: Shows what you know, old man.]
[CH. Private / Free Wind: This is the textbook look for effortless style.]
[CH. Private / One Who Guides the Dead: Effortless… what now?]
[CH. Private / Free Wind: Effortless style!
[CH. Private / Free Wind: You know, that “put together but not too put together” look~]
[CH. Private / One Who Weaves Euphoria: Looks like a criminal to me…]
[CH. Private / Free Wind: This is why I can’t with you fashion-clueless types. Right, everyone?]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: Can you all please just shut up for a second?]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: Also, if the whole plan is to stay undercover… shouldn’t you not be bringing your Contractor along?]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: Why not?]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: You think your Contractor’s the type who’ll look like a different person just by putting on a hat?]
[CH. Private / One Who Seeks to Prevent Destruction: I just thought he looked cute.]
[CH. Private / One More Dazzling Than the Sun: You’re insane.]
[CH. Private / Free Wind: Let him be, Apollo~ Love makes everything look cute, you know~]
After I got home, I got ready right away and met up with Ahn Ki-yoon at our designated meeting point.
We headed straight for the orphanage.
As we approached the entrance, I noticed how nervous Ahn Ki-yoon looked. I grabbed his arm and leaned in to speak.
“If something happens and you don’t see me—run. Got it?”
This was exactly the kind of situation where I had to stay razor sharp.
When I said it firmly, Ahn Ki-yoon nodded, looking even more tense than before.
