๐๐ก๐๐ฉ๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐๐: ๐๐ก๐๐ง ๐ ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐จ๐ญ
“Let’s go in.”
“. . .Do we have to meet today?”
“When should you meet then? Ten years later?”
“Oh, really! Master!”
Kang Yeo-hwa couldn’t calm her nervousness.
She hadn’t even greeted him properly in the past few years.
They had always passed each other in the conference room like strangers, and she couldn’t even say a simple hello because she was branded a traitor.
And now she’s suddenly here to see him?
Kang Yeo-hwa couldn’t bring herself to move forward, afraid of the awkwardness, embarrassment, and judgmental looks.
“It doesn’t matter anymore.”
“ButโI’m still scared.”
Siwoo ruffled Kang Yeo-hwa’s hair.
“Ouch! Why do you keep doing that!”
“What does being the Guild Leader of a large guild or a ranker in South Korea matter? You’re just a wimp who can’t express your true feelings.”
“. . . Th-That’s different!”
“Do you think you’ll be able to date someone like that?”
“W-Why are you suddenly talking about dating!”
“I’m worried about you as a master. I wonder if you’ll ever be able to meet a man. . . .”
“That’s fine! I’ll take care of my own love life!”
Kang Yeo-hwa walked ahead, pouting.
But that confidence vanished like smoke the moment she faced the front door.
Min Si-joon was on the other side of that door.
That one sentence weighed heavily on her steps.
‘๐๐๐ก๐ก ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ก๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ค๐ง๐?’
It wasn’t as if she hadn’t thought about it in the past.
If what she had done in the past was for the sake of the Master, would he believe her?
Could the stigma of being a traitor be so easily removed?
All sorts of thoughts and terrible outcomes raced through her mind.
She wanted to run away from this place.
As she hesitated in front of the door, Siwoo wrapped his arm around her shoulders, offering warmth.
“Huh? Huh??”
Kang Yeo-hwa blushed as red as an apple, looking alternately at the hand on her shoulder and her teacher’s expression.
She liked it better when they had more physical contact than before, but she couldn’t help but feel flustered at times like this.
“W-Why are you . . . going in like this?”
“What’s wrong?”
“What do you mean ‘what’s wrong?’ His older sister who hasn’t made contact in years suddenly walks in with his older brother!”
“He’d probably ask, ‘Are you two dating?'”
Kang Yeo-hwa couldn’t follow her master’s train of thought and shut her mouth.
She was ready to meet Min Si-joon and have a fierce fight with him.
Out of the blue, it’s a couple cosplay.
Of course, cosplaying as a couple with her master was great. . . but it would be better if it wasn’t cosplay.
“Are you feeling a little less nervous now?”
“. . . Yes, I think so.”
Siwoo entered the password and opened the front door.
There was a moment of silence, and then someone emerged from the living room.
“You’re back. . . Who’s this?”
“Long time no see! Master!”
Siwoo, who had expected Si-joon to appear, had a puzzled expression on his face when a different person greeted him.
Shin Ji-soo.
“What the! Why are you making such a face when such a pretty lady is greeting you!”
“. . . . . . What is that, Master?”
Kang Yeo-hwa glared at Siwoo, openly expressing her dislike.
“Oh my, what’s that! You’re being rude to someone you’re meeting for the first time!”
“I said that because a stranger was talking nonsense to ‘my’ master.”
Shin Ji-soo and Kang Yeo-hwa growled at each other with piercing gazes.
At that moment, someone broke between the two of them and hugged Siwoo tightly.
“Has Sion been doing well?”
It was Sion, a tall and beautiful girl.
“Long time no see. You’re late.”
“Sorry. I had a lot to do.”
“Master . . . ? Who is that?”
Kang Yeo-hwa asked hesitantly, seeing the girl who seemed so close to Siwoo.
Surely, no. It can’t be.
Living somewhere else for 10 years. . .? No.
But why is her name Sion? Master has no siblings other than Si-joon.
Ominous thoughts flashed through her mind at the speed of light.
“Sion~ Oppa must be tired, so don’t bother him.”
Shin Ji-soo scolded Sion and carefully pulled her away.
‘๐ผ๐ . . . ๐๐๐ฅ๐?! ๐ฟ๐๐ ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐ช๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐๐จ๐ฉ๐๐ง ๐ฅ๐๐ฅ๐?!!!’
Kang Yeo-hwa, lost in her own delusions, misheard the word ‘Oppa’ as ‘Papa.’
She looked at Siwoo and the others in turn with teary eyes.
Looking at it this way, they did seem like a well-matched family.
“But where’s Si-joon? โis Kang-hwa crying?!”
Siwoo was startled to see Kang Yeo-hwa, her upper lip trembling as she shed tears like raindrops.
What in the world was she crying about at this moment?
She wouldn’t be crying because she had a small fight with Shin Ji-soo, would she?
‘๐๐ข๐ข? ๐๐, ๐๐จ ๐๐ฉ ๐๐๐๐๐ช๐จ๐ ๐จ๐๐’๐จ ๐จ๐ค ๐ฃ๐๐ง๐ซ๐ค๐ช๐จ ๐๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐ข๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐-๐๐ค๐ค๐ฃ?’
Siwoo, having come to his own conclusion, patted Kang Yeo-hwa on the head.
How much did this strong guy care for her that he would even cry like this?
But as Siwoo comforted her, Kang Yeo-hwa’s crying only got louder.
“Sobโsobโhuhuhuhuhuhuhu!”
“Kang-hwa . . . No, Yeo-hwa. It’s okay, it’s okay.”
“Huuuuhuuuuhใ ก Ah, I hate yooooou!!”
“This is funny, Sister. Are you friends with Oppa?”
“HeeeheeeheeeโPapa!”
Siwoo tried hard to comfort Yeo-hwa, but to no avail.
Shin Ji-soo looked as if she had seen enough of the crazy woman, and Sion watched Kang Yeo-hwa with sparkling eyes.
“Uh . . . I just got out of the shower, so what’s going on. . . .”
Just then, Min Si-joon appeared, drying his wet hair.
“Hyungโno, Hunter Kang Yeo-hwa? What brings you here?”
“Eek?! That crazy woman is . . . Oh, I didn’t realize it was you, Hunter Kang Yeo-hwa? You look so different!”
“You have no manners, sister.”
Siwoo glared at his younger brother with sharp eyes.
“W-What did i do?”
“Kneel.”
“. . . Huh?”
“Kneel, you punk.”
“???”
“Kneel down quickly and apologize to Yeo-hwa.”
“M-Me? Why should I suddenly apologize to a strong Hunter like Kang . . .”
Siwoo snapped his fingers with a smile.
A sign to come closer.
Min Si-joon cautiously approached his older brother.
He had no idea what was going on.
“Si-joon.”
“Uh . . . ?”
Bam!
A resounding slap landed on Min Si-joon’s head without any mercy.
“Aaaagh!! What the hell!!”
“You little shit. When your older brother tells you to kneel, you kneel.”
“Waaaaaaagh!”
“Sister, this is fun.”
“Master, can I get Hunter Kang Yeo-hwa’s autograph?? Can you just take one picture of us together?! Even crying is pretty!”
ใ๐๐ก๐๐ซ๐’๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฒ ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฐ ๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ก๐จ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ฅ! ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ ๐ฆ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐ก๐ข๐๐ค๐๐ง ๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฌ!ใ
Siwoo felt regret for the first time since returning from the other world.
๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท๐ท
แด๐ฌ๐๐s๐ต๐๐ฃiฬฬ๐๐จ.๐ ๐ฌแด
Realizing the truth, Min Si-joon deeply apologized to Kang Yeo-hwa.
The fact that everything was done to bring his older brother back hurt Min Si-joon’s heart.
It must have been a difficult time for Kang Yeo-hwa, who was both prideful and very fond of his older brother.
And, on top of that, she became a subordinate to the person she hated the most and received all sorts of criticism.
Kang Yeo-hwa smiled brightly through her puffy eyes, laughing and chatting with the others.
It was good to be reconciled with Si-joon again, and best of all, Sion was not his master’s daughter.
And she was relieved to know that Shin Ji-soo was ‘just’ a disciple.
“Big Sister! I’m your fan! Gosh!! Should I not call you Big Sister?? G-Guild Leader-nim!”
“It’s okay. Weโre just fellow disciples of the master. Feel free to call me Big Sister.”
Shin Ji-soo looked at Kang Yeo-hwa with sparkling eyes as if she was looking at a celebrity, and Kang Yeo-hwa looked very relieved.
“Fools.”
Siwoo went up to the rooftop for a moment and took in the cold wind.
The sight of the lively living room warmed his heart a little.
‘๐๐๐ฃ-๐๐ช๐ฃ, ๐’๐ข ๐จ๐ค๐ง๐ง๐ฎ. ๐๐’๐ง๐ ๐ก๐๐ช๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฉ๐๐ค๐ช๐ฉ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช.’
Siwoo felt both regret and bitterness at the thought of his disciple who had gone before him.
“Well then . . . let’s start sorting things out one by one.”
He hadn’t expected to get in touch again, but since things had gone so smoothly, he should let them know what he knew.
Siwoo picked up his phone and called the HSIU headquarters.
At first, things didn’t go smoothly because he was just a low-ranking employee in Korea, but once he asked to speak to someone by name, he was connected without a hitch.
Click.
“Long time no see, Edโ”
โYou son of a b*tch!!!
Siwoo held the phone a little further away from his ear at the other person’s deafening voice.
โYou f*cking bastard! I’d rather eat goblin stew than feed you!! An ogre’s panties would be cleaner than you, you son of a b*tch!!
Vicious curses flowed endlessly through the speakers.
ใ๐ ๐๐จ๐ง’๐ญ ๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐จ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ, ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ก๐’๐ฌ ๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐.ใ
Siwoo waited patiently with an awkward smile until the other person’s anger subsided.
โMay you choke on the bones of a skeleton that’s not even as intelligent as a troll! May you slip on orc shit and fall on your ass!
‘๐๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ ๐ก๐๐๐ง๐ฃ ๐จ๐ช๐๐ ๐๐ช๐ง๐จ๐๐จ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ข?’
After a while, Edward’s cursing stopped.
As only the sound of his heavy breathing could be heard, Siwoo opened his mouth again.
“Well, I’m glad to see you too.”
Edward let out a long, drawn-out sigh.
As if he were annoyed or relieved.
โGoddamn it. Are you okay?
“Thanks to you.”
โWhere did you go . . . Ha. There’s so much to ask that it’s hard.
Siwoo briefly explained his situation to his old friend.
Edward listened in silence, occasionally asking a short question, but his reactions were more curt than most people’s.
โI got the gist of it. You came back after rolling around with aliens in some unknown place for a hundred years.
“. . . . . . .”
Of course, it didn’t seem like he understood very well.
โAnyway, from the Korean HSIU’s point of view, it must be like ‘what the hell is this?’ I’m jealous.
“. . . Are you really talking about shit?”
โ? I said that’s what it’s like.
Siwoo nodded slightly.
“Choi Dae-soo’s case has been resolved. If it weren’t for you, I would have been fighting him until now. But how did you know?”
โThere are people at the headquarters who check the mana of high-ranking Hunters. When it looked like Choi Dae-soo was fighting someone, we thought it was an assassin, so we were about to dispatch HSIU Hunters. . . .
“And it turned out to be me.”
โThat’s right. I hurriedly contacted Branch Manager Baek Geon-ho and had him resolve the situation.
“I see. And I’ll repay my debt, so if there’s anything you want, let me know.”
Edward was silent for a moment.
Siwoo felt a little nervous, wondering how big a favor he would ask.
โTo tell you the truth, I don’t have many of my own people at the headquarters. Most of them are supporters of the former president or people from their own countries. The Europeans, North Americans, and South Americans are especially powerful.
Edward paused for a moment.
It was because what he was about to say could put Siwoo in a difficult position.
โWould you like to join the headquarters? I can arrange any position you want.
“Hmm, no thanks.”
โYou son of a b*tch?!
Edward burst out into a friendly curse, as if he hadn’t expected to be refused outright.
“No, you have to listen to the end of what I have to say in Korean.”
โDon’t blame your dirty tongue on your native language.
“I said no, I didn’t say I wouldn’t do you a favor.”
โOh, my dear friend! I pray that God’s grace will always be with you!
Damn it.
Siwoo swallowed the curse that was about to come out.
“Edwin, I’ll do as you ask. But on one condition.”
โWhat is it? Just say it, and I’ll listen to everything. Surely you’re not trying to ask for something dirty like money, fame, or power?
“. . . Then what do you want me to say?”
โI’ll say it first. I’ll listen and then decide.
Siwoo felt both amused and annoyed at his friend’s unchanging nature.
“I want my main area of activity to be Korea. I can travel abroad, but I don’t want to move too far away from my base.”
โThat’s no problem. My most trusted man is on my side, so that’s a small condition.
Edward answered readily, as if it were an acceptable condition.
“But why would you keep me as an aide if I’ve changed. It’s been over ten years since you’ve even seen my face.”
Trust between people is difficult to build and easy to destroy.
In the Hunter world, in particular, it was very rare to maintain trust.
Most of them trusted their own abilities and guilds, not their fellow Hunters, and didn’t fight back-to-back with them.
However, Edward’s words were a request that could only be made to someone he could ‘most’ trust, beyond a simple relationship of trust.
โYou saved my life before.
โNot once, but several times.
Edward continued to speak flatly, not waiting for Siwoo’s response.
โI don’t trust you
โI trust you because you are you.
โYou son of a b*tch.
โ. . . I’ll contact you later.
Siwoo couldn’t take his phone away from his ear, even after the call ended.
Was ‘buzzing’ the right expression to use in this situation?
“Thank you. You son of a b*tch.”