Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The beautiful woman smiling before me caught my eye. She was stunning enough to erase the presence of the intimidating bodyguard standing behind her.

Her dizzyingly high heels, the black H-line miniskirt that emphasized every curve of her figure, and the white chiffon blouse that offered just a teasing hint of what lay beneath—it all stirred the imagination.

When her face was expressionless, she gave off an unapproachable, haughty air. But when she smiled, her lips curved softly and gently disarmed any man's defenses.

I knew exactly who this woman who had come to me was.

Lee Sehee, second daughter of Shinseong Group.

The chairman's second daughter, and the formidable woman who would one day hold both Shinseong Group and Shinseong Guild in her hands.

Charismatic as an owner and an exceptional Awakened in her own right, she was also South Korea's top celebrity. Using her influence, she had driven up the market share of armaments produced by Shinseong Guild to a terrifying degree.

The armaments made by Shinseong Guild—their performance was impressive, sure, but apparently they had "emotion" or something.

I never thought marketing terminology used for smartphones would end up applied to an Awakened's armaments.

Her current level was a staggering 6.

She was one of the top ten talents of the younger generation. But her dazzling beauty and refreshing eloquence overshadowed her skill, and people rarely mentioned it.

"You're Choi Junho, correct? Could we talk for a moment?"

The gazes of those around us converged. Gazes laden with all sorts of meaning. They pressed down on me subtly, and every bit of that pressure had been orchestrated by Lee Sehee.

"Do you have some business with me?"

"I wanted to have a conversation with someone whose name has been on everyone's lips lately."

"Please, sit."

"Thank you kindly."

Lee Sehee pulled a chair over and sat across from me, crossing her legs. I could feel the surrounding gazes gathering once again, but I paid them no mind and simply watched her.

She was a black widow of a woman—get entangled with her the wrong way, and she'd be a nuisance for a long time to come.

"We owe you an apology for this incident. We should have managed our subordinate guild properly, but I'm afraid we were negligent in that regard."

"As long as it's been resolved, that's fine with me."

"Still, I'm sorry for putting you in an uncomfortable position."

This had all happened because I'd broken the cartel that had been quietly operating in the shadows.

If I hadn't stirred things up, none of this would have come to light.

"Team Leader Wang Juyeol was your superior, wasn't he? It can't have been easy for you."

Lee Sehee seemed to think that arresting my superior, Wang Juyeol, would have weighed on me.

But was it really a burden?

I'd never cared about hierarchy to begin with, so I'd felt no hesitation at all in taking Wang Juyeol down.

If Director Jung Juho's name had been in those ledgers, I would have arrested the Director too.

When I said nothing, Lee Sehee continued.

"Since this incident originated with us, we've apologized to the Director and promised that Shinseong Guild will supply the armaments used by the National Guard Bureau."

"That's welcome news."

"We can hunt monsters only thanks to the Villain Task Force maintaining the city's safety. This much is the least we can do."

Even the way she tucked her hair behind her ear with her hand was natural.

She was a woman who understood exactly how to act, how to project her charm, to command attention and move men. The National Guard Bureau officials around us couldn't take their eyes off her.

"And I'd also like to repay you, Junho."

"Repay me how?"

"You eliminated something that could have become a liability for us. That's what this is about. When you have time, would you visit Shinseong Guild?"

She gazed straight into my eyes and made her request in a subtle voice. If it felt natural to simply accept her words, that was no illusion.

"I have a rough idea what you're after."

I curled one corner of my mouth upward.

"But using your gift over and over is getting on my nerves."

"......!"

The moment I reached out without hesitation, shock spread across Lee Sehee's face.

Before my hand could reach her, the bodyguard standing behind her stepped in to block me. His muscles swelled as if about to burst, and a fist packed with brute force deflected the Arc Mine clinging to my hand.

So they'd already done their research on the gift I use. His first attempt had failed, but I twisted the trajectory of my deflected hand and coiled around his arm like a snake.

He couldn't shake off even my elaborate shift in trajectory and was caught by me. But the Arc Mine failed to shatter his arm.

"Kuhk!"

Resisting the Arc Mine that had burrowed inside him, he glared and swung his other fist to push me back. I grabbed that arm too, planted another Arc Mine, let the recoil carry me backward, and quietly watched him.

An Arc Mine that has burrowed inside is like a virus. To neutralize it, you either crush it with vastly more force than was injected, or dismantle it with delicate control.

The bodyguard could do neither, so his choice was to gather the Arc Mines rampaging inside him into one point and detonate them.

Kwadeuk! Kwadeudeuk!

The Arc Mines, gathered at a single point and detonated, cleanly snapped the bones of both his arms.

"Kkeueuk!"

He'd managed to stop what should have been completely pulverized with mere fractures. It had been the optimal judgment in that split second.

But a bodyguard with two broken arms was in no shape to do his job. When I took a single step forward, Lee Sehee stepped in.

"I'm sorry. I'll apologize. I just wanted to make a good impression on you, Junho."

Seeing her bow her head, I lowered my hand. My guess was that Lee Sehee's gift was most likely a mental-type ability like Fascination or charm.

The odds were high that she'd been trying to win my favor and recruit me into Shinseong Guild, and since that was indeed the case, I didn't sharpen my edge any further. If it had been hypnosis or brainwashing, I would have dealt with her far more harshly.

"I'll accept it."

"Thank you. Jinhyeong, use this."

The bodyguard sprayed a recovery potion on his broken arms and swallowed a pill-type recovery potion. As the fractures visibly healed, he quietly took his place behind Lee Sehee. But in his eyes directed at me, a faint fear lingered.

It was a look I'd seen often when I was the Blood Lord. In my past life, I would have twisted his neck just for not liking the look in his eyes, but in this life I was in my right mind, so I let it pass calmly.

Lee Sehee's face, turned toward me, was no longer as composed as before.

"You're much tougher than I expected."

"If you don't pull any tricks, this won't happen."

"That was my mistake. I should have just thanked you."

"Recognizing the situation quickly and correcting course is also a skill. I'll give you credit for at least not dragging things to the worst possible outcome."

"...I don't know whether to take that as a compliment."

Lee Sehee's voice, as she shook her head, had lost its edge.

"So, anything else?"

"How could there be? I wanted to gently reel you in and bring you to our guild, but it seems like if I'm not careful, my head might get crushed."

"There's no difference in status when your head gets crushed."

"I do want you, Junho, but I shouldn't make a move when I'm underprepared. Anyway, thank you for cleaning house in our subordinate guild. I'll properly repay you next time."

"......"

With the other party apologizing and even reflecting on her actions, I felt a bit awkward. If she'd kept scheming and struggled to the bitter end, the solution would have been simpler.

I deliberated on how to wrap things up in a situation like this, reached my own conclusion, and asked.

"Should I cover the cost of that recovery potion?"

"Even your two years' salary wouldn't cover it."

"That expensive, huh."

"No, did you think a recovery potion with that kind of effect would be cheap? Anyone listening would think our premium recovery potions were bargain-bin stuff."

I must have touched a nerve, because Lee Sehee's face flushed red. Since what mattered with recovery potions was how quickly they healed, I knew their value well.

"To be fair, the effect did look impressive."

"Of course it is! This is world-class. Made from years of research by South Korea's finest doctors using byproducts from the highest-difficulty monsters—a masterpiece among masterpieces... Ah, I didn't come here to say all this."

Having completely lost her composure, Lee Sehee roughly tousled her own hair and let out a sigh.

"If I'd known this would happen, I should have contacted Dahyun before coming."

"You're close with Dahyun?"

Come to think of it, I recalled that Jung Dahyun had been at Shinseong Guild before transferring to the National Guard Bureau.

"I think we're close. Dahyun finds me burdensome, though. Seriously, there was a time I ate nothing but soybean paste stew for a whole month trying to get close to her, and then she up and left for the National Guard Bureau to catch villains. Ha!"

Suddenly my impression of Lee Sehee improved.

Self-deprecating and talking up a storm on her own, Lee Sehee rose from her seat.

"I hope the next time we meet goes better than today."

"Just don't clumsily use your gift, and you'll be fine."

"I won't!"

With that, Lee Sehee gave a slight bow and left. Judging only from my memories of my past life, I'd thought she was a cold-hearted businesswoman, but she was surprisingly human.

* * *

Lee Sehee's footsteps didn't waver once until she reached the underground parking garage. But the moment she arrived in front of the car, her legs gave out entirely.

"Miss!"

"I'm fine."

Raising a hand to stop her bodyguard, Lee Sehee gasped for breath.

She'd acted unbothered while in that room, but in truth her heart had pounded as if it would burst.

'He tried to kill me without a moment's hesitation.'

It wasn't fear—it was astonishment. Her gift, Fascination, was one that won everyone's affection. With the backing of being a Shinseong Group royal family member and her painstakingly cultivated natural beauty, Lee Sehee had lived her life obtaining everything she wanted.

As a result, Shinseong Guild had been on a path of success not just in South Korea but around the world.

Jung Dahyun, whom she'd had her eye on, had left midway, but that was a trivial variable.

But Choi Junho was different.

An Awakened of Level 5 who had appeared like a comet. With his hesitation-free ruthlessness and his bold, unflinching actions, he had thrown the National Guard Bureau into upheaval. And he'd even taken down his superior, Special Team Leader Wang Juyeol.

Lee Sehee didn't believe he was Level 5. So she'd wanted to confirm, and she'd wanted to bring him to Shinseong Guild.

And in today's meeting, she'd gained her answer.

"...At least Level 7."

No, perhaps even higher. Even Lee Sehee had never seen such a high-level Awakened at such a young age.

If that was the case, she had to recruit him by any means necessary.

Sitting in the car, Lee Sehee picked up her smartphone.

"Increase the number of equipment items we're supplying to the National Guard Bureau. Gift a recovery potion to Choi Junho as an apology. And... investigate everything there is to know about Choi Junho."

* * *

Yunhee's training was going smoothly. By my judgment, she was approaching Level 3, and she'd risen to a skill level where she could comfortably pass even Shinseong Guild, South Korea's number-one choice.

But one's greatest enemy is always complacency. So that Yunhee couldn't let her guard down, I created a different crisis scenario every day and pushed her to her limits.

Yunhee screamed about whether this was really helping her pass, but I dismissed it flatly, saying it was a surefire way to raise her skill.

Every time training ended, she asked if I had some kind of grudge against her. Absolutely not.

Well, probably not.

After a fulfilling training session, Yunhee came out of the shower and said to me.

"I heard Lee Sehee came to the National Guard Bureau?"

"How'd you find out about that?"

"I saw the article, obviously."

According to Yunhee's explanation, Lee Sehee—the General Operations Team Leader of Shinseong Guild—was not only an exceptional Awakened but also a celebrity admired by all, leaving a trail of buzz wherever she went.

"Did you get to talk to her too, oppa?"

"Yeah."

"Really? With Lee Sehee?"

"Is that so surprising?"

"Of course it is! It's Lee Sehee, of all people! Every woman's role model! What was she like in person? Pretty?"

If she was said to be pretty, then pretty she must be. But that seemed insufficient to describe Lee Sehee.

She knew how to deploy her beauty at the right moment, advancing boldly when the situation called for it, and retreating and bending when things went awry.

"She's a sly one."

"What kind of assessment is that?"

"She just is."

"Well, it's not like you got ignored when you tried to talk to her, right?"

If anything, there'd been a physical clash, but I didn't bother mentioning that.

Yunhee either wasn't interested enough to push further, or she'd moved on, because she pulled up another article in front of me.

"But this article is a bit much."

The headline read: "Treating Villains Like Vermin? Controversy Surrounding the National Guard Bureau's Special Team!"

"Isn't this a hit piece on you, oppa?"

"Seems like it."

"The same person keeps writing them. This one's by Reporter Go Yejin too. No, seriously—public service Hunters in the Villain Task Force are working hard, so what do they want them to do by nitpicking like this?"

At that, I looked through the articles Go Yejin had written. Yunhee wasn't getting worked up for nothing—the woman had a gift for crafting headlines.

"If I ever run into her, I'll give her a proper lesson."

"Okay, um. But don't kill her."

"Would I kill her?"

"You're clenching your fist right now."

"......"

I really was clenching my fist without realizing it.

* * *

Public service Hunters are national civil servants. Belonging to the state, they protect citizens from villains and monsters, and keep large guilds in check, thereby forming the counterweight in the balance.

Indeed, several Third World countries that failed at this check ended up dominated by a handful of guilds.

That's why the central government desperately tries to maintain its national Hunter forces, and instead of offering better pay than the large guilds, what it grants them is public authority.

The public authority of a public service Hunter is stronger than it seems—if they choose to use it. If there's even a few suspicious elements on the spot, a field arrest is possible, and the right to self-defense is broadly recognized.

Though the trend was to avoid using it because penalties for misfires were harsh.

I was the exact opposite.

Public authority is good. As long as I have a legitimate justification, anything can be rationalized even if I use it. "In preparation for a villain's attack," "to prevent villain activity," "to study villain patterns," and so on.

It was also thanks to public authority that I'd found Oh Jongyeop.

To think I could track him down with just a name, age, and family details.

"Public authority really is wonderful."

I'd finally found him. Slash—Oh Jongyeop.

The friend who'd believed in me to the very end.

But I hadn't lived up to his expectations—at the last moment, I'd ripped out his heart.

My connection with Oh Jongyeop wasn't so pure. When he'd first become a villain, we'd joined forces to split the pursuit, and that's how we'd gotten to know each other.

We'd been the same age, and neither of us had fallen into crime from the start, so we'd been able to become friends.

Half-mad as I was, I'd managed to evade pursuit thanks to Oh Jongyeop's help.

"You're not crazy! Snap out of it!"

That's what Oh Jongyeop had told me more than anything else.

I hadn't been insane from the beginning either.

To be precise, it was the difference between being slightly mad and being completely mad. To gain greater power, I struggled desperately to suppress the instinct that craved blood.

To stop it, I tried all sorts of drugs—hallucinogens, stimulants, narcotics, everything. Eventually, I even chewed and swallowed raw byproducts from monsters notorious for their vicious toxicity.

Oh Jongyeop helped me through all of it. I did my best to live up to the expectations of the first friend I'd ever made, but—

It was all for nothing.

In the end, I couldn't even recognize my friend's face anymore, and I killed Oh Jongyeop with my own hands.

But even in that moment, with his heart pierced through by my hand, he didn't resent me.

"See you in hell, friend."

I'd lost my mind, yet I still remember that face clearly.

I'd returned to the past, not hell, but I remembered his words about meeting again—so I came looking for him.

The place I arrived at was Ansan.

Oh Jongyeop lived on the outskirts, not in the city proper.

At the time, he'd been preparing to become a corporate Hunter. But two things held him back—he hadn't awakened his gift yet, and his younger sibling was battling a rare illness.

He'd needed an astronomical amount in hospital bills, so he accepted an offer from a villain organization to cover the costs, and in the end, he became a villain.

This time, I'll make sure that doesn't happen.

The place Oh Jongyeop lived was a shabby old shack on the verge of collapsing.

"......"

I'd arrived in front of his house, but I couldn't bring myself to step forward.

Was it the guilt from my past life holding me back? Or was it the sense of sin from killing the friend who'd believed in me?

It surprised me that I could feel things like this. These unfamiliar emotions made me realize I was still sane.

As I stood there hesitating, a voice reached my ears—familiar, but much younger.

"Hey."

I turned my head, and there stood Oh Jongyeop, far younger than the last time I'd seen him.

"You. Who are you, standing in front of my house?"

"I have business with you."

"Business? What business?"

"I came to see you."

At my words, his eyes grew even fiercer.

"I don't know any pretty-boy parasite like you."

Come to think of it, I remembered him saying he'd been quite the rebel before becoming a villain.

He must have been hurt plenty by the world, so I understood.

Not that it made his habit of needling people any less irritating.

Anyway, Oh Jongyeop was the only friend who'd believed in me to the very end.

That's why even this side of him felt endearing. Or rather, I tried to take it that way.

"You looking for a beating?"

"......"

My gaze drifted downward for a moment, and I saw his fist clenched tight.

Right. Friends fight all the time.

For now, I needed to set the mood so we could actually talk.