IH Ch 123

Chapter 123

“Jae-i-ya.”

“…….”

Hesitating, Dohwa cautiously asked,

“Are you… in a bad mood?”

“……No.”

“You look like you’re in a bad mood.”

He was right — Jae-i truly was. He didn’t want to show it, so he said no, but such a clumsy excuse wouldn’t fool anyone.

Until now, he had never changed his expression for someone else’s sake. If something pissed him off, he showed it loud and clear. But now, doing that felt wrong. He tried consciously to smooth out his expression — and surprisingly, it was easy. The moment he met Dohwa’s round, worried eyes, the anger inside him unwound on its own.

For once, he was grateful he wasn’t alone. Having Dohwa beside him felt more reassuring than anything.

“I’m really fine. I expected this kind of reaction — it’s always been like this.”

Truly, nothing was new.

And just as he anticipated, the message from Ahn Yuna arrived:

“We received a request for a meeting with the Guildmaster regarding Lee Yong-geon’s death.”

Right after, a short video came in — and the one smiling brightly on screen was the very person Jae-i never wished to see again.

He looked even more refreshed and polished than when they had last met. Standing among a crowd, he waved to someone off-camera. Beneath him, massive text flashed:

[S-Rank Hunter Hwang Hajin — Emergency Return to Korea]

Hwang Hajin’s return sent a serious tremor through the Korean hunter world. They kept it quiet from civilians, but most hunters already knew what kind of man Hwang Hajin really was. Hiding his illegitimate child in a shelter for years was inhuman in the first place. The only reason he had thrown young Jae-i into that shelter was to quietly eliminate him once he became useless — without anyone noticing.

And when he learned that Jae-i was S-rank? He went straight to strike a deal with Pungjin and pushed the child into that cesspool of a family. Park Jaehwan had never wanted anything to do with a man like Hajin.

Hajin’s so-called “decision” to go freelance to help people with his abilities was nothing but an excuse — a way to flee the country.

Hwang Yugun — Jae-i’s grandfather, an S-rank hunter, and a man who fought to free hunters from government exploitation — had personally taken Jae-i away from Hajin, knowing how dangerous that man was. He intended to stay by his grandson’s side until adulthood, but seven years ago he suffered fatal injuries in an SS-Rank gate exploration and never recovered.

If only Hwang Yugun had lived a little longer… they would never have needed to see that shameless face again.

“You’re going to burn a hole in the screen with how hard you’re staring.”

Despite his secretary’s remark, Park Jaehwan only sank deeper into his chair and glared at the monitor.

Hajin’s face filled the screen — yet on the desk lay an absurd spread of Jae-i merchandise.

Because of Jae-i’s sudden explosion of commercial activity, all kinds of goods had been released. Jaehwan had ordered his secretary to buy every last piece; they had arrived just moments ago. Various pamphlets and photobooks sat piled around, collected not because he was a fan but because he wanted to tease the kid later — “Look, they even made this cup with your face on it” — but instead he ended up staring at Hajin’s disgusting face.

“Truly repulsive.”

Hajin always had a knack for twisting nonsense into something that sounded believable. He’d surely do the same again. At that moment, the secretary spoke up subtly.

“I heard he’s discovered a way to remove gates?”

“What? Who did?”

“Him. Word is he used that information to strike a deal with the government and Association and secretly returned to Korea without the Guildmaster knowing. This is fresh intel — I got it from someone in the government.”

“What bullshit. If such a method really existed, you think China would sit still?!”

“That’s just what’s circulating. They’re keeping it hushed for now…”

Jaehwan cut him short with a derisive snort.

“Think. If such a skill really existed, how would we hear about it? It’s clearly being leaked on purpose — like, ‘You’re the only one who should know.’”

“…That’s true.”

“And you think the parasites clinging to Hwang Hajin wouldn’t know? Of course they do. They’re pretending it’s real so they can milk every possible benefit before jumping ship.”

“……”

“They all know what he is. Why are they behaving like this? The government I can understand, but the Association? What’s wrong with Chairman Kimwi? If he’s siding with Hajin… does he intend to go against Hwang Jae-i?”

The secretary nodded at Jaehwan’s disgusted expression.

“Given how things are going, it looks that way. Both the government and Association seem to be siding with Hwang Hajin.”

“……”

“And public sentiment is heavily tilted against Guildmaster Jae-i. I heard they’re even trying to pin Pungjin’s death on him.”

“Ridiculous. Why would Jae-i kill trash like that?”

“My thoughts exactly.”

At the secretary’s calm response, Jaehwan gave a hollow laugh.

Anyone thinking clearly could see something was wrong with the current situation, but everyone seemed to be pretending otherwise — or perhaps genuinely falling for the narrative. People loved absurd conspiracy theories, after all.

“…What’s Jae-i’s guild doing?”

“No official response yet since the article dropped yesterday.”

“Probably busy trying to keep that kid from tearing the world apart.”

“Then that must be really hard.”

The secretary spoke sympathetically, but straightened up immediately when Jaehwan glared. He didn’t care about Jae-i or Hajin — he only did his job. Jaehwan shook his head. That attitude was exactly why he hired him, but still…

“Enough. Go.”

Yet the secretary didn’t move. When Jaehwan looked up, he began hesitantly,

“I wasn’t sure if I should mention this since it isn’t confirmed… It’s about the Pohang incident.”

“You believe that crap? What business would Jae-i have there? It’s all fabricated—”

“It is true that the Guildmaster was in Pohang that day. And it seems a beast showed up as well. Looks like someone else caused trouble to attack the Guildmaster or escalate the situation. With a beast involved, things get messy, so people are avoiding poking at it… but you should at least know.”

“…Jae-i was really there? Helping those people?”

“That’s how it ended up.”

“……”

The news called them an armed group, but Jaehwan didn’t care. What shocked him was that Jae-i moved for something other than a gate.

Even his recent spree of CFs seemed strange in hindsight.

Pale, he covered his mouth and muttered,

“…Is he dying or something?”

“Hardly.”

The secretary actually frowned — a rare sight. Embarrassed, Jaehwan cleared his throat.

“Something’s off.”

Perhaps he should be focusing on Jae-i rather than Hajin. Something explosive felt imminent — and the event Jaehwan dreaded happened the very same day, around 2 p.m.

From her office window, Ahn Yuna caught sight of the huge screen across the street. On it, Jae-i posed with a canned coffee by his cheek. Simple white shirt, tousled hair, just a single can in hand — yet he looked dazzling.

Yes. His appearance was undeniably good. Before, she had tried to be patient because of that face, but now she simply couldn’t.

“Director, everything is ready.”

Ahn Yuna turned around.

After being urgently summoned by Jae-i the previous day, she and several staff members had pulled an all-nighter. Yohan, who normally boasted about how all-nighters were easy, now had dark circles dropping to his jawline. His pitiful appearance somehow made her smile.

A true professional smiles even when exhausted.

And since they were being attacked from every direction, fighting back was the only option.

Whatever comes next was entirely the fault of the ones who picked this fight.

Squaring her shoulders, Ahn Yuna marched forward.