#20
“It could have been a serious incident if it had been someone else, so please make sure to handle the follow-up thoroughly.”
“Yes. Please don’t worry about that part.”
The security guard bowed his head and answered Seo Yi-young’s request.
“This is not something we can resolve at our level, so it seems we’ll have to hand it over to the police. Could you spare some time until the police arrive? We also have a few things to check with Hunter Seo. We’ll finish quickly.”
The question of whether he had to do this right now crossed his mind. These people were just following procedure and weren’t at fault. Seo Yi-young sighed and nodded.
He watched from a distance as they lifted the collapsed man and took him somewhere. Since the man was quite hefty and unconscious, even the two well-built security guards seemed to struggle as they supported him.
What on earth had just happened?
Seo Yi-young looked down at his hand again, then clenched it into a fist.
A sigh escaped involuntarily.
Suddenly, fatigue washed over him. He was experiencing all sorts of things in a single day. He resolved to go home and not leave his bed for the rest of the day.
“Hunter Seo Yi-young!”
He saw the driver running toward him.
He remembered parking the car farther away. It seemed that the driver had come out due to the commotion, realized something had happened to Seo Yi-young, and rushed over.
“What happened? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“No. I’m fine. I was just waiting because they said there’s something that needs to be handled.”
“What?”
The driver’s face hardened. After making a call somewhere and exchanging a few words, he walked toward the security guard.
“Are you in charge here?”
After exchanging a few words in a rigid tone, the driver returned to Seo Yi-young in a short time.
“They say you can leave right away. Shall I take you to your residence?”
“Ah.”
He didn’t know what kind of conversation had taken place. While he was happy to be able to leave immediately, he was somehow concerned about the security guard. He had mentioned having things to check with Seo Yi-young. He had also said it wouldn’t take long. Above all, it felt unsettling not knowing why all this had happened.
“How long did they say it would take?”
“Just a couple of things to check.”
The security guard immediately responded to Seo Yi-young’s question.
A couple of things.
That didn’t seem like it would take too long.
“Let’s wait then.”
“No. Since I also serve as Hunter Seo Yi-young’s legal advisor, I’ll handle it.”
Seo Yi-young almost choked on his saliva at the unexpected revelation about the driver’s career. He wondered why someone qualified to provide legal advice was working as a driver. While they say there’s no shame in any profession, there’s still a certain social perception.
Staring blankly at the driver stepping forward, Seo Yi-young rubbed his forehead.
“Please return to the car and rest.”
“What? No, but…”
“I’ll guide you to the car.”
“No, no. It’s fine. I don’t think anything else will happen. I can go to the car by myself.”
He declined, waving his hands. Nothing else would happen.
The car wasn’t far away, just around the corner from here. It felt unnecessary to be escorted by the driver as if he were a child.
It was just as Seo Yi-young, who had adamantly rejected the driver’s offer to escort him, turned the corner.
The door of a black sedan parked nearby opened, and someone got out.
Normally, he would have dismissed such a coincidence, but today was different. Perhaps because so many incidents had occurred on this particularly eventful day, what’s colloquially called a “hunch” activated.
The timing was too perfect to not be suspicious. Didn’t the door open as if the person had been waiting for Seo Yi-young?
The unidentified man who stepped out of the car quietly stared at Seo Yi-young. He appeared to be in his 40s at a glance. His neatly tailored suit, well-groomed hair, and gentle impression were immediately likable.
Even Seo Yi-young, who had little knowledge about clothing, could tell at a glance that the man was wearing expensive attire. A golden badge gleamed on his suit collar.
It wasn’t something worn merely for fashion.
What comes to mind when you think of a golden badge? Of course, it’s that.
A member of the National Assembly.
While Seo Yi-young was bewildered by the sudden appearance of a lawmaker, the man spoke.
“Hunter Seo Yi-young. This is the first time we’re meeting alone, isn’t it?”
“…”
It’s not strange that he knows Seo Yi-young’s name since probably no one doesn’t know him. But that statement just confirmed it. The man had clearly been waiting for Seo Yi-young here with some purpose.
“I was worried you might have company today, but I’m glad. It would have been complicated otherwise. Two hunters would be a bit burdensome.”
Seo Yi-young couldn’t understand what the man was saying as he scrutinized him.
Company?
He wasn’t referring to the security guard. “Two hunters”?
He was speaking as if Seo Yi-young routinely went out with another hunter.
Simultaneously, he recalled what Choi Do-jun had said in the hall earlier. He had told Seo Yi-young to go home alone or something like that. Was that related to what this man was referring to as “company”?
The original Seo Yi-young of this dimension wasn’t a child, and it wasn’t like he needed someone to accompany him home because the way was lonely. So what could it mean? Surely not.
…Surely not.
Had Seo Yi-young been taking it for granted to leave events with a guard from another hunter?
That would be a plausible action for Seo Yi-young, a support-class hunter who, although stronger than ordinary people, was much weaker than combat-class hunters. Given the previous misdeeds of the original Seo Yi-young in this dimension, it was a highly probable assumption.
So that’s why Choi Do-jun had gotten so heated and told him to go alone? Recalling his stubborn and rude personality, a truly plausible hypothesis was formed.
No joke, no matter how he thought about it, there seemed to be no flaw in this hypothesis.
But still, come on. Did I ask him to leave together? Did I ask him to do anything? I didn’t even ask him to guard me, so why did he have to speak like that? If Choi Do-jun were here, he would have questioned him, but that wasn’t possible right now.
However, he couldn’t verify his assumption with the man in front of him. It seemed like he could ask indirectly, but dealing with a lawmaker who looked like he could have ten cunning snakes coiled inside him didn’t seem easy.
That’s when the man spoke.
“I’m sorry. I wanted to meet you alone. But I didn’t expect him to have a weapon.”
Seo Yi-young’s furrowed brow instantly smoothed out.
He was left speechless by the shock, as if he’d been hit on the head. So what the man was saying was that he was connected to the person who had attacked Seo Yi-young. His wariness skyrocketed.
He had misjudged.
The man wasn’t surrounded by ten coiled cunning snakes; he was the cunning snake himself.
The man slightly shrugged his shoulders as he clearly saw Seo Yi-young’s expression harden.
“I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Han-pil Lee. A member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea.”
Seo Yi-young frowned. He couldn’t understand Lee Han-pil’s intentions.
If he was the one behind this incident, he would try to hide his identity, but instead, he was revealing it. If he had just kept his mouth shut, Seo Yi-young wouldn’t have known.
“It’s a bit disappointing that the first impression isn’t good, but I’ll make up for that gradually. But now you know, right? That I have nothing to hide from you.”
He speaks well.
But why wouldn’t someone who has deceived once be able to deceive two or three times?
He had enough intelligence not to blindly believe everything. As Seo Yi-young continued to regard him with suspicious eyes, the man greeted him.
“See you next time.”
“I don’t think that will happen.”
Seo Yi-young, who had been quietly listening without saying a word all along, finally retorted. Lee Han-pil withdrew his smile upon hearing the sharp response. Then, in a serious tone, he said:
“I apologize once more for today’s incident.”
“I don’t accept. The apology.”
Whether to accept an apology or not is up to the individual, isn’t it? Just because you’ve heard an apology doesn’t mean you have to accept it.
In response to Seo Yi-young’s cold retort, Lee Han-pil made a small sound, “Hmm,” and then soon smiled brightly.
“I believe this won’t be the only opportunity.”
He’s really persistent.
Seo Yi-young was just thinking that perhaps such a thick skin was necessary to become a member of the National Assembly.
“Hunter…!”
“Ah.”
The driver had returned.
“Isn’t that Assemblyman Lee Han-pil? Hello. What brings you here?”
He seemed to know Lee Han-pil. Judging by how quickly he recognized him, Lee Han-pil appeared to be a well-known lawmaker.
Indeed, there was no wariness in his attitude toward Lee Han-pil. Why would such a person go to these lengths to meet him?
“Ah. It’s nothing. I was just lost and asking for directions.”
“What?”
“But Hunter Seo kindly answered, so it’s resolved.”
Lee Han-pil gave such a response calmly, without even a twitch of his eyebrow.
“Then I’ll excuse myself first. Hunter Seo Yi-young, it was nice to meet you.”
He casually greeted Seo Yi-young and got into his car.
Watching his retreating figure, Seo Yi-young sighed.
He really, truly missed home.
The driver asked Seo Yi-young as he got into the car.
“Shall I take you directly to your residence?”
“Yes. Please do that.”
Nodding in response, Seo Yi-young buried himself deep in the seat.
To shake off the chilling moment of the man holding a knife to him, Seo Yi-young closed his eyes and leaned his head against the window.
*
“The work on the room you requested has been completed. Is this to your satisfaction?”
Seo Yi-young nodded at Butler Choi’s question. It wasn’t just satisfactory; it was excellent. Seo Yi-young looked around the interior, impressed.
Realizing there was no ability practice room in the house, Seo Yi-young had asked Butler Choi when he first came out of the dungeon. It was possible because there were many spare rooms in the house. The completed practice room had perfect soundproofing. It was a detail he had specifically requested because he might scream if he inflicted wounds on himself. It must have been an unusual request, but the butler hadn’t asked any questions. However, that wasn’t due to indifference, but rather because he considered unnecessary questions to be beyond his permitted duties.
“I wanted to practice using my ability a bit.”
Seo Yi-young spoke first. Butler Choi raised his eyebrows upon hearing this.
“In that case, I’ll arrange for a butcher.”
“What?”
“Pardon?”
Seo Yi-young and Butler Choi expressed confusion at each other’s reactions.
“I thought you meant you would practice your healing ability by making wounds on meat.”
“…Ah.”
Seo Yi-young just then realized that there was a way to practice without inflicting wounds on his own body. It was different from being in the dungeon where there was nothing but a knife. He could have just changed his perspective a little. He lamented his limited imagination.
“Then please arrange that.”
Butler Choi gave a slight bow at Seo Yi-young’s words.
*
S-Class Hunters are busy.
Really busy.
Just when he thought he could rest, he had to attend an event, and just when he thought he could rest again, he had to go to various gatherings.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
