IH Ch 53

Chapter 53

 

[Let’s try contacting Fungjin first. No, wait. We need to stop what they said from spreading first…]

“Leave it. It was something that needed to blow up eventually.”

[…]

“I more or less expected this to happen.”

Ahn Yuna was one of the few people who knew about the connection between Hwang Jae-i and Fungjin. Since she would end up handling the aftermath anyway, it made sense for her to be informed to this extent.

“Still, I didn’t expect them to come out and declare I wasn’t one of theirs right away. I thought they’d keep it hidden until the end and try to bargain with me.”

He had planned to completely crush them if they had come to him with nonsense like: “We’ll keep the secret that you’re not our blood if you help us.” But now that entertainment was gone, and Jae-i spoke calmly.

“Fungjin might be in chaos now, but I don’t care. Whether or not I’m their blood, the fact that I’m an S-Class doesn’t change.”

Even with the revelation that he was an illegitimate child, nothing truly changed. His reputation wasn’t great to begin with. This would just be another tag added to the list. There wasn’t a single thing he’d lose. Just as that thought settled in, Ahn Yuna sighed deeply and addressed him.

[You and I both know this happened because of Hwang Hajin. They’re probably still colluding with him behind the scenes.]

Hwang Hajin was Jae-i’s father. It was uncomfortable to bring up his name in front of Jae-i, but it couldn’t be avoided for the sake of this conversation.

[If Fungjin keeps backing him, Hwang Hajin might eventually be able to reenter the country. And if that man can, he’ll definitely come looking for you. I know you wanted to sever ties with those people once and for all, and that’s why you exposed it like this… But people will only push harder to hurt you now.]

Hwang Hajin had already stepped out of the spotlight, and no matter what Fungjin tried, they could never match the name value of Hwang Jae-i. Even now, the entire country was already in an uproar because of the words Chairman Lee Yonggeon had blurted out earlier.

The prolonged situation involving Im Myunghwan had just wrapped up, and she thought things might finally quiet down—but now such an enormous bomb had dropped. After a long exhale, Ahn Yuna spoke once more.

[For now, relocate. Your current house might be safest, but if reporters and people start to swarm, the neighbors will complain about the noise again. It’ll be hard for us to come and go, too. Would you rather come to the guild? That might actually be better.]

“……”

[Why the silence again? You know, working with you every day has always been a thrilling ride, but this tops everything. Feels like I’ve just boarded a roller coaster straight to hell. So—]

Hwang Jae-i cut the call in the middle of her sentence. He then powered off his phone and tossed it to the floor. With a soft thud, the phone landed corner-first and slid across the floor until it touched Dohwa’s toes.

“……”

Dohwa stared down at the phone beneath his feet, then slowly stepped back. Seeing him gauging his reaction, Jae-i walked over to the sofa and slumped down onto it.

Perhaps Fungjin, realizing that attacks were closing in from all directions, had decided they couldn’t go down alone and tried to drag him with them. People would find his story far more entertaining than whatever Fungjin was involved in.

Why had they passed off an illegitimate child as a grandson? Why had they consistently mentioned him and tried to profit from the association, even though he wasn’t truly related? Now that they’d used him up, why reveal it this way? No one would care about the dirty intentions of Fungjin. They’d only latch onto him and tear him apart. But he didn’t care. He was used to it. From now on, he’d do as he pleased without caring about others’ eyes. If he was going to be condemned no matter what, he might as well live recklessly. Hwang Jae-i sneered to himself and shifted his posture.

That was when his gaze landed on a drawing placed atop the table.

“……”

Looking at it with darkened eyes, he called out, “Hey.”

Sensing Dohwa’s gaze, which seemed like he’d been waiting for it, Jae-i opened his mouth again.

Hwang Jae-i, the twenty-year-old S-Class Hunter, was—as always—hot news. It would’ve been nice if it were because of popularity in a good sense, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

“Do you think that old man is telling the truth? He lies every time he opens his mouth. I can’t trust a word he says anymore.”

“Everyone’s probably thinking the same. But this time, it’s not something you could easily lie about.”

Fungjin Trading Company’s Chairman, Kim Yonggeon. The nearly eighty-year-old man was a repulsive character.

Not all conglomerates were like him, but he was the kind of person who’d drink bleach if it meant satisfying his own greed. Someone like that wouldn’t claim Jae-i wasn’t his biological grandson just to survive the moment. Even if it were a lie, he’d insist Jae-i was family and push that narrative until the end.

“So, did they raise Hwang Jae-i while pretending he was the real grandson?”

“Raise him? Hardly. I heard Hwang Hajin took him after the divorce. Everyone hushed it up, but wasn’t it mostly his aunt, Hwang Suhyeon, who raised him?”

“There were already rumors when Hwang Hajin didn’t show up at Jae-i’s guild master inauguration. So he really was an illegitimate child?”

The whispers didn’t stop. It was the same chatter everywhere—asking whether Hwang Jae-i had truly been an illegitimate child, whether they had all been deceived. It was laughable.

“Deceived? About what? Why would that even matter?”

Whether Hwang Jae-i was an illegitimate child or not, the fact that he was an S-Class Hunter remained unchanged. That was the reason people were obsessed with him.

Even with all of Fungjin’s corruption and illegal activities coming to light, everyone’s attention was still focused on that one sentence from the old man. The irony of the situation was ridiculous. Thinking that maybe he was no different, Kim Inseok looked up. His eyes landed on a building standing prominently in the heart of Seoul’s prime real estate. It was sleek and solid in design, but otherwise unremarkable. Yet, that building was Hwang Jae-i’s home.

Having been hounded by the press since he was young, the spirited young S-Class had built his own fortress on this expensive land. Some called it a waste of money, but deep down, they were all envious. Living like Hwang Jae-i didn’t seem bad. With his face, his body, and his abilities, what was wrong with occupying an entire building by himself?

What was more pathetic was the crowd of people swarming outside now that news had broken that Hwang Jae-i was an illegitimate child. Fungjin had far more to investigate, but no one cared about that. Nine out of ten wanted more coverage on Hwang Jae-i. The problem was, it was all useless. No way Jae-i would show himself with all these reporters gathered. If it were him, he wouldn’t take a single step out of that fortress either. Kim Inseok fiddled with his camera.

“If only a gate would open right now. The higher the rank, the better. Then Jae-i would have to show up.”

“……”

Kim Inseok scowled. That wasn’t something you said out loud.

Looking in the direction of the irritating voice, he saw reporters laughing with cigarettes in their mouths. He stared at them and took a few photos. That’s when someone suddenly pointed outside and shouted.

“A car’s coming!!”

With that one shout, all the reporters rushed forward. Even Kim Inseok, who had shown no motivation to chase the story, quickly slung his camera over one shoulder and ran. But he only managed a few steps before he had to stop. Because the vehicle that appeared wasn’t one of Hwang Jae-i’s many luxury supercars. In fact, from a glimpse of the silhouette in the driver’s seat, it wasn’t even the person they were looking for.

As the others slowed down one by one, shaking their heads, they muttered:

“Jae-i wouldn’t be driving something like that.”

“He didn’t even come out of the building. It came from the back—”

With that, even those who had gotten closest to the delivery van stopped. But some, unable to give up, tried to shove their cameras toward the driver’s side when suddenly—

“There it is!”

A shout came from the opposite side. A sleek Aston Martin sped away from the other direction, and the reporters went wild.

“A decoy?!”

Even though they were the ones who’d been fooled into chasing the delivery van, the reporters slapped their foreheads as if they’d been tricked. They then chased after the rapidly disappearing car. Though high-speed chases on public roads were illegal, the desperate reporters moved fast. Despite regular complaints and traffic tickets, they had no qualms about hopping into illegally parked cars to pursue their target. Watching this, Kim Inseok sighed.

If he didn’t want to be criticized by his superiors, he needed to join that mob—but he really didn’t want to. With a hardened expression, he watched the shrinking delivery van.

“……”

Gazing at the license plate, Kim Inseok tilted his head. For some strange reason, he had a bizarre feeling that he should be following that vehicle. After a brief hesitation, he made up his mind and moved quickly.