Chapter 8

Chapter 8

While Wang Juyeol was conversing with Choi Junho, Jung Dahyun was summoned to the Director's office by Jung Juho.

"Excessive force, acting first and reporting later, bypassing your direct superior—you pulled off quite the spectacular list of infractions."

"......"

A heavy sigh bled into Jung Juho's voice.

"Still, I managed to smooth it all over somehow."

"How did Team Leader Wang react?"

"He's raising hell. Demanding an explanation for why you went ahead with the operation without him. Never mind that he's a team leader himself—he's complaining to the Director."

"I'm sorry."

"Choi Junho, I can excuse—he's a bomb waiting to go off. But I never expected this from you."

"......"

Jung Dahyun clamped her mouth shut. Jung Juho's gaze drilled into her persistently, but she did not open her lips in the end.

"You were the one who said you'd handle Choi Junho, Dahyun. Tell me why you did it."

"It's true that Junho is twisted. But at the same time, he's also right."

"Do you hear what you're saying right now?"

"If we hadn't gone ahead with acting first and reporting later this time—could we have wiped out the drug organization in one sweep?"

"......"

"You saw the ledger. From guild officials to high-ranking public servants and the children of chaebols. If we hadn't delivered it to you, Director, it never would have become public like this."

"What I'm talking about is a matter of procedure."

That was the same issue Wang Juyeol was raising hell about.

But on that point, both Jung Juho and Jung Dahyun knew.

That if the ledger had gone to Wang Juyeol, it might never have reached Jung Juho.

He was the leader of the Special Team that faced villains on the front lines, but there was no one who didn't know he was a corrupt public service Hunter.

"Someone I know once said something."

"What?"

"Public servants don't get fired for this kind of thing."

Jung Dahyun gave a dizzying smile.

* * *

Jung Dahyun, who had finally gotten the Director by the scruff of the neck, had never felt so refreshed as she did today.

From a short distance away, Wang Juyeol was shooting her a terrifying glare, but since he was someone she'd clashed with at every turn from the start, it didn't bother her much.

If anything, she was filled with a sense of accomplishment for having completed the mission from beginning to end.

That feeling carried her all the way home. The drug organization sweep she'd carried out alongside Choi Junho left an afterimage so vivid it lingered in her mind.

It was, without question, a continuous string of actions that exceeded her authority—excessive force, acting first and reporting later.

Yet a single sentence from Choi Junho had solved everything like magic.

"Public service Hunters don't get fired."

Exactly. A public service Hunter is, quite literally, a public servant. Unless it's a truly serious offense, most cases end with a light disciplinary measure.

Case in point: Wang Juyeol, who was certainly rubbing shoulders with big corporations and taking bribes, was strutting around making a fuss. So the odds of being dismissed over a minor reporting omission during a mission were zero.

Patrolling the streets, spotting a villain, and having it lead to the takedown of a drug organization. It was preemptive, bold, and fast. After becoming a public service Hunter, the frustration she'd felt toward the rigid system was washed away all at once.

It was all thanks to Choi Junho.

True, a record would remain that she'd ignored the system—but who cared?

The place she'd transferred to after leaving the Shinseong Guild, where wealth and honor were guaranteed, was the National Guard Bureau. If she hadn't had the conviction to catch villains, she would have been content playing a part in the Shinseong Guild.

In the end, the reason you become an obedient subordinate is so you don't go against the will of the one who holds your personnel file.

But what if you give up on promotion?

Then you can act freely according to your own convictions.

Leaving the Shinseong Guild had already meant giving up hundreds of billions she could have earned in the future. Giving up anything else was easy.

Why had it taken her so long to realize something so simple? She felt like an idiot.

"To catch a monster, you have to become a monster."

Now she understood.

* * *

I want to be a brother Yunhee can be proud of.

The sins I committed in my past life were so grave that I had a strong desire to atone. So, for the sake of image-making, I became a public service Hunter and even bragged about my first achievement.

A brother who works diligently as a public servant without causing trouble.

What a wonderful phrase that is.

That is—until Yunhee came over with a tablet.

"This is about you, right, oppa?"

On the screen she shoved in front of me was a list of article headlines somewhat different from what I'd talked about yesterday.

"Public Service Hunter, Excessive Force Controversy?", "Drug Organization Takedown—the Violence Hidden Behind It", "Left Crippled", "Where Are the Villains' Human Rights?", "National Guard Bureau Silent on Excessive Force—'Controversy'"—they were forcing a controversy out of nothing.

The highlight among them was an article titled: "The National Guard Bureau's Self-Serving Cover-Up to Protect an Awakened Individual Lacking Ethics!"

"Go Yejin? I'll have to remember that name."

Yunhee muttered in an eerie voice, then turned her gaze on me.

"I knew it."

"......"

I was about to say I was innocent, but after seeing Yunhee's expression, I gave up on making excuses. She clearly had no intention of believing me from the start.

"Jung Dahyun was there too."

"Don't tell me you dragged Dahyun unnie into this too?"

"Why do you put it like that?"

"No, if it weren't for you, Dahyun unnie wouldn't do something like that either. It's obviously something that happened because of you."

"Let's not talk about it. Let's just drop it."

"Whatever. I don't care what the reporters are yapping about."

"Huh?"

That was an answer I hadn't expected.

"Obviously the press is the problem here. Public service Hunters are bound to use some excessive force when arresting villains—and they're nitpicking that? Seriously."

"I didn't think you'd take my side."

"I mean, just looking at it, you beat up villains. So what's the big deal? The way I see it, the press is the biggest problem."

This wasn't an issue limited to public service Hunters—big corporations and large guilds dealt with it too.

"I thought about it carefully after hearing what you said. But large guild Hunters deal with the same thing. The press always attacks them for not considering collateral damage when hunting monsters. But think about it—hunting as fast as possible is the way to minimize damage, right? The damage that happens in the process is unavoidable. You were alone with Dahyun unnie, so you must have gone for a sure takedown. These report-trash didn't take any of that into account. Am I wrong?"

"You're right."

"If you get painted as the perpetrator for carrying out official duties, can you do your job properly next time? Tsk tsk."

"......"

Yunhee was more indignant than I was.

Still, I got one thing out of it for certain.

"Thanks."

"Why are you suddenly like this? You're making me nervous for no reason."

"Just because. And I was curious about something."

"What?"

"If a subordinate reports a superior's corruption, a public service Hunter won't get in trouble for it, right?"

I was obviously thinking of Wang Juyeol when I said it.

Perhaps sensing the context, Yunhee's face went pale.

"...What are you thinking right now? Don't tell me it's what I think it is? Right?"

Even if I said no, she wouldn't believe me, would she?

Instead of answering, I just smiled.

* * *

After the drug organization sweep, Jung Dahyun and I racked up several more achievements.

Perhaps the experience from that day had loosened the reins, because Dahyun changed.

Where before she'd let things slide as long as they were merely suspicious, she now began actively searching out people with suspicious behavior or suspicious clothing.

In the process, there were times we apologized to innocent citizens, but we also caught villains with attempted crimes or minor criminal records.

It was a positive change.

But the enemy was within. Wang Juyeol, to be exact. Even though the place we belonged to was responsible for the Special Team that arrested villains, he was keeping me and Dahyun in check more than necessary as we racked up cases.

Naturally, I had no intention of sitting back and watching that.

I quietly observed Jung Dahyun.

As the bearer of the Intuition gift, she possesses sharp senses. One of the gifts I made the most use of when I was the Blood Lord was the Intuition I obtained by killing Jung Dahyun, and it reacts sensitively to its bearer's senses.

This Intuition especially shows its greatest power in crisis situations.

I'd escaped dangerous situations using this ability more times than I could count.

And once he realized I'd obtained Intuition, he built an encirclement I could never escape from and tried to eliminate me.

Intuition can't help you avoid danger that's truly unavoidable, but if your capabilities support it, its utility is limitless.

I recalled Jung Dahyun's final moments from my past life.

Even though she must have known through Intuition that it was dangerous, she stepped forward to catch me. The sight of her willingly burning herself up to the very end left a deep impression.

The Blood Lord's personality scoffed at it as hilarious, but in the moments when I was striving to live an ordinary life, I came to understand that her sacrifice carried a noble meaning.

Honestly, I don't go so far as to empathize with it.

The only reason I accepted her offer and came to the National Guard Bureau was out of respect for her.

I simply believed that if my efforts combined with her upright justice, a life as the proud son of my parents and the proud brother of Yunhee would follow.

A life seeking peace. For that, the stability of my surroundings was essential. Wang Juyeol was the one disrupting that, so he had to be removed.

But Dahyun and I differed on that matter.

She thought that unless there was decisive evidence, it was better to leave Wang Juyeol alone.

Watching that, I decided to take action first.

I saw something on the internet. It said you can just catch them first and pay them back later. Wang Juyeol is a corrupt public servant—so catch him first and then find the evidence.

Perhaps sensing the strange current, Dahyun flinched.

"You're not, are you, Junho?"

"Of course not."

"Okay."

I was 100 percent certain. Jung Dahyun did not believe me.

This gap in thinking wouldn't be closed anytime soon.

After subtly dodging her persistent gaze, I returned to headquarters and clocked out.

Only, my destination wasn't home. Having left work later than Wang Juyeol for several days, I confirmed that he was moving differently from usual and followed him.

* * *

Wang Juyeol, having quietly finished his workday, clicked his tongue. The recent string of events was deeply displeasing to him.

"These kids these days are nothing but trouble."

It started with Jung Dahyun, who'd been swayed by some petty sense of justice, kicked away her path to success, and joined the National Guard Bureau to catch villains.

To reject the full backing of the Shinseong Guild—the largest in South Korea, where one could earn billions every year.

On top of everything, Jung Dahyun was Jung Juho's first cousin once removed, which made her all the more troublesome.

She had skill, beauty, and backing—a thorn he couldn't touch even if she was his subordinate.

Still, Jung Dahyun was manageable. For all her shouting about justice and running around recklessly, she was just a brat who knew nothing of the world.

The problem was the one who'd come in as her subordinate. That one was the source of the trouble.

A guy who'd left ten villains crippled since his days as a public service Hunter applicant. He'd even crippled an interviewer during the practical exam for being too heavy-handed.

Had he improved after becoming a public service Hunter? Not in the least. On his first patrol, he crippled twenty-four villains belonging to a drug organization and completely ignored the reporting chain.

Usually, even a newbie with a rough temperament would adapt and be smoothed out by the organization—but this one exceeded all imagination.

On his first day, he'd even shown killing intent toward him. It was clearly directed at him.

"So those two didn't make a ledger?"

Any organization makes a ledger, if only for its own safety. They know full well that it can be used as a bargaining chip in a pinch. Yet Jung Dahyun and Choi Junho had made no report of any kind. Jung Juho, who received reports directly, showed no sign of anything either.

That was what made Wang Juyeol anxious.

Human imagination breeds fear—there's a reason the saying about suspicion creating ghosts exists.

Wang Juyeol, agonizing over an unseen truth, arrived at one conclusion.

"Jung Dahyun, Choi Junho."

These two were concealing evidence in some form and acting on their own.

Especially Choi Junho. That one had to be dealt with.

The people he was meeting today were part of that.

Small guild masters operating illegally behind the scenes. Pawns he could crush at any time if he so chose, yet could quietly make use of from behind.

What he mainly managed was the black market, illegal gambling dens, and drug distribution—and with one drug organization having been taken down this time, the fire had reached his feet.

'The only concern is that one's skill...'

For some reason, even he couldn't access the data on that guy's Level measurement.

Publicly it was announced as Level 5, but it couldn't be confirmed in the data.

"Jung Dahyun is running far too wild."

"At this rate, we can't make a move. Everyone's just watching and waiting."

"Team Leader, you need to step in."

The guild masters he'd met at a high-end Korean restaurant poured out their grievances. Since their main income was tied to the underworld, the Special Team Leader's cooperation was absolutely essential.

Wang Juyeol, who'd listened quietly, made up his mind. He would eliminate the unsettling Choi Junho. As for Jung Dahyun, wavering between hierarchy and justice—he was confident he could control her from his end.

"Of course I'll step in. In exchange, you'll eliminate one person for me."

"Surely you don't mean Jung Dahyun?"

"Even so, Jung Dahyun is a bit..."

When the guild masters balked, Wang Juyeol shook his head.

"Not Jung Dahyun. The newbie who tags along with her. He's the one whispering in her ear, making her run wild alongside him."

At those words, the three men's faces brightened. If it was a newbie and not Jung Dahyun, that was a different story.

Public service Hunters running wild on half-baked justice—they had experience burying plenty of those already.

"If it's just a newbie, we can eliminate him without a trace."

"We'll kill him and make it look like he broke into an organization's base."

"Just make sure you keep your promise to cover for us. We're trusting only you, Team Leader."

"Naturally."

Ssshhh.

Just then, the door to their room opened. A young man in his mid-twenties. He entered the room with a calm expression, as if it were his own home.

"Who the hell are you!"

"How dare you barge in—do you know where you are!"

"Get out!"

The guild masters shouted at the sudden intrusion. If those were shouts aimed at the uninvited guest, Wang Juyeol—who had seen the young man's face head-on—was aghast.

"Ch-Choi Junho! Why are you here...!"

"I told you my specialties before, didn't I? Pursuit, survival, escape, assassination—I'm confident in all of them. And recently, I gained a few more specialties I'm confident in."

Choi Junho had already reached Wang Juyeol before anyone noticed. Everyone froze at his ghostlike movement.

"Arresting criminals. And evidence collection."

"You bastard!"

Wang Juyeol, grinding his teeth, aimed for Choi Junho's throat with a movement unfitting for his bulk.

As befitting a man who'd reached Level 6, the movement was fast and powerful.

Crack!

With a sickening crunch, Wang Juyeol's shoulder caved in.