#50
Woo-bin had been frantic since morning. As soon as he came to work, phones started pouring in from police and other departments, making his head dizzy.
It hadn’t been long since the Myeongwol guild member died. Another victim had appeared. Of course, they couldn’t know if the perpetrator was the same guy as before, but with high probability—no, it should be considered almost certain. Moreover, this incident was different from the first case. The Myeongwol guild member was murdered in a place with very few people, so it was relatively easy to hide and restrict information.
Of course, they had barely convinced Baek Han-bit, the guild leader of Myeongwol, that it would be better not to inform outsiders about this matter. If the perpetrator of this series of incidents was that guy who artificially manipulated dungeons, if it was that guy from 10 years ago, there were many problems that could arise. If people became interested in these murder cases, all that information would be revealed in succession, and then the public would also learn that there was a possibility of the catastrophe from 10 years ago being recreated.
So they had barely blocked the information……
“There are already no joke numbers of reporters on the streets.”
While riding in the car, one team member sighed deeply and said. At those words, team members were worrying about how to conduct investigations while breaking through those leech-like reporters. Compared to Woo-bin’s concerns, such worries felt comfortably trivial.
The second incident happened in the early morning, and moreover, it occurred openly on a street with heavy foot traffic. It meant they couldn’t cover it up like the first incident. Since he had already explained the situation to Cha Do-hyeok, it seemed they needed to quickly establish follow-up plans.
“This is Yoon Woo-bin from Team 1 of the Hunter Management Bureau Central Management Department.”
So Woo-bin began doing what he had to do at the crime scene. While investigating the situation and finding clues about the perpetrator, he inwardly searched with blazing eyes to see if that perpetrator had left any notes or evidence like before. If there were any, he himself should be the first person to discover them.
“Is that all the evidence found in the surrounding area?”
“Yes.”
But there was no note anywhere. Had they not left one this time? Or had they failed to find it? While he was pondering this, he saw a familiar face in the distance.
“Cha Do-hyeok?”
The guy he had called earlier was entering the scene area and looking around as if searching for something.
“Cha Do-hyeok. What are you doing here? Even if it’s you, if you carelessly enter here……”
“Do Ha-seong.”
When he approached Do-hyeok, his expression seemed somewhat strange. He looked unusually urgent.
“What?”
“Haven’t you seen Do Ha-seong?”
“Why are you looking for Ha-seong-ssi here?”
His words after suddenly appearing were somewhat random.
“Really haven’t seen him?”
“What’s going on?”
Do-hyeok’s expression looked quite serious, so Woo-bin also felt tension. Then Do-hyeok’s phone rang.
“……”
He looked at the text without saying anything and soon raised his head.
“I’ll talk to you later.”
“Hey, Cha Do……”
It was before he could even finish calling his name. Do-hyeok ran out like an arrow as if he had a set destination. Woo-bin, bewildered about what was going on, had no choice but to leave that spot when a team member called him.
[Sangho Building rooftop shows up as Ha-seong-ssi’s last location. It’s a building within the item street and I’m sending detailed location below. Ah, and I told the Vice Guild Leader that the Guild Leader suddenly got a stomachache and couldn’t attend the meeting. Please note.]
Do-hyeok recited the location and accelerated his running speed. And before long, Sangho Building came into view. There wasn’t a single ant around the building. The Hunter Management Bureau had probably controlled this entire street. He opened the building door carelessly and quickly ran up the stairs. There was an elevator inside the building, but there was no time to wait for it.
In front of the rooftop door reached at tremendous speed. Do-hyeok grabbed the broken door handle.
“……”
But strangely, his hand wouldn’t move. Had something really happened to Ha-seong? If so, he would need to discuss with Yoon Woo-bin about redoing the plan from the premise. But the faint pounding of his heart right now didn’t seem to be just because of that.
Do-hyeok closed his eyes tightly once, opened them, and threw open the rusty iron door.
And at the sight he saw, Do-hyeok froze in place for a moment. Ha-seong wasn’t on the rooftop. Forget him, not even an ant could be seen like outside the building. However, the reason Do-hyeok froze wasn’t because of that.
A pool of blood was visible in the middle of the rooftop. It was an amount that suggested considerable bleeding. And a phone fallen beside it. Do-hyeok could easily tell it was Ha-seong’s phone. It was because of the screen showing dozens of missed calls that Do-hyeok had made.
“……”
Do-hyeok looked around broadly, but there was no sign of anyone. Then his gaze turned back to the floor soaked with blood. Whose blood was it?
Ha-seong had used force to subdue the perpetrator, and some unknown perpetrator was injured. It could be blood from that. If so, that would be fortunate. But what if it wasn’t? What if that liquid came from Ha-seong’s body? Damn it, only then would all this series of situations make sense.
Do-hyeok first took a deep breath. Whether that was Do Ha-seong’s blood or not, he had to find him first. He put the phone in his pocket and quickly came out of the building. Was he hiding his body? Or had he already left for somewhere else? If he had gone to the guild, Han Shin-woo would have contacted him.
“Where are you?”
It was when Do-hyeok was biting his lips.
Tap-
Suddenly a hand popped out from a narrow alley beside Sangho Building.
“……!”
Do-hyeok, who had been lost in thought and hadn’t noticed, was caught by that hand. Was it an ambush? Before Do-hyeok could recognize it, he was quickly led into the alley by that hand.
Do-hyeok tried to quickly activate his skill, but as soon as he knew whose hand it was, he realized there was no need.
“……Hyung.”
It was morning, but the small alley created between high-rise buildings was a bit dark with shadows.
“Ah, good timing. Why are you only coming now?”
Ha-seong’s face reflected in the shadows wasn’t clearly visible. Was he okay? His voice was the same as usual. Then Ha-seong wasn’t hurt? That blood on the rooftop wasn’t his? Thinking that way, he felt his rapidly beating heart gradually finding stability.
“Hyung, how……”
Then Do-hyeok felt something alien from the hand caught by Ha-seong.
“……”
Do-hyeok slowly lowered his gaze to look at his palm.
“I was wondering what to do if you didn’t come. Cha Do-hyeok, I’m really at my limit now.”
It was blood. What was on his palm was abundant, dark red blood. It was the same as what he had seen on the rooftop earlier.
“This time it’s not a joke, it’s re, really……”
The voice he thought was fine was now trembling slightly. Ha-seong’s body gradually tilted toward the floor while gripping his sleeve.
“Don’t abandon me and take me with you.”
With those words, Ha-seong’s body completely collapsed to the floor. After that, only deathly silence remained in the narrow, dark alley.
“Hyung.”
Do-hyeok slowly bent his knees with an expressionless face. He called “hyung” once more, but there was no echo in return.
“Do Ha-seong.”
It was when Do-hyeok was supporting Ha-seong’s body. Much more blood than what had gotten on his palm earlier was on his clothes. Blood was still flowing out little by little continuously.
“……Do Ha-seong. Wake up.”
It felt like his blood was cooling. Dark shadows fell in Do-hyeok’s pitch-black pupils. His expression had nothing in it to a degree that would be difficult to express with the word expressionless.
“Do Ha-seong.”
Why did this moment overlap with that time? It was definitely like this then too. It seemed like young him had embraced a body larger than his own and shouted for them to wake up. A fragment of the past that had been buried somewhere in memory—no, that he had tried to bury—suddenly popped out and was stabbing his heart.
How was it then? Certainly that person didn’t get up even after time passed. So he was left alone. In that place where wind blew resembling this silence.
Do-hyeok looked down at Ha-seong’s face sleeping soundly like that for a long time.
* * *
“Really, is something going on?”
Shin-woo tilted his head while confirming there was no response from Do-hyeok. Or had something happened to Ha-seong?
While thinking that, a message suddenly appeared.
“Huh?”
[Guild Leader: Open the intensive care unit and have Seo Ha-jun on standby. And from now for one hour, get everyone out of the building and don’t let anyone in.]
The text from Do-hyeok was a bit—no, very random. Have a doctor on standby? Did someone get injured? Moreover, telling him to send out all employees. What was this about?
Of course, it wasn’t that difficult. At Nameless, they occasionally conducted crisis response training by suddenly sounding sirens and practicing how quickly they could deploy in wartime or national disaster situations.
This wasn’t something only Nameless did. It was suddenly implemented at all guilds and was a directive from the Hunter Management Bureau. It was a custom that arose after experiencing that incident 10 years ago.
Shin-woo found it strange but got up from his seat and did as he was told. After separately contacting Seo Ha-jun, the treatment room team leader, he turned on the crisis response training siren and broadcast. Sure enough, hunters and guild employees who thought it was ordinary training were all quickly running out of the building.
The interior became quiet. Shin-woo called Do-hyeok and reported the situation. Then he said to wait in front of the treatment room.
And after a while, while pacing in front of the treatment room, the elevator opened and Do-hyeok came out.
“Guild Leader……”
Before he could ask what was going on, Shin-woo’s words were cut off.
“Open the door.”
Cha Do-hyeok, who had become thoroughly chilled, was carrying the blood-covered Do Ha-seong on his back.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
Ha-seong really gets nerfed by his restrictions in public huh 🥲
Thank you for the update!