Chapter 362

It would’ve been nice if I could’ve spent a little more time and set the whole board up with greater precision, but unfortunately, there was one thing I had to keep in mind.

‘Kwon Taehan.’

At the very least, I had to wreck the Hunter Association badly enough that even after he came back, it would be impossible to recover.

‘The good thing is that Im Haekyung is cooperating.’

They had opposed a few points, but in the end, things would go the way I wanted, so it didn’t matter. After all, when it came down to it, I was the only one who could give Im Haekyung the ‘confirmation of the truth’ they wanted.

“Good. Then come provide backup.”

-Secretly?

“Secretly. Be careful.”

-The plan stays the same?

“Same as before.”

I had no intention of exposing Im Haekyung at the forefront anyway. Especially after they had already handed Haeseong’s materials over to the Hunter Association, if they got too deeply involved, there was no telling what kind of public reaction it might provoke.

‘Just have them show up as backup at the end.’

Still, the reason I needed Im Haekyung was clear. I needed them to tamper with the Hunter Association side’s minds a little so their stories would line up. While they were at it, there were also some unnecessary memories that needed to be erased.

“Are you inside Haeseong right now?”

-Yes.

“Aha....”

So was this just a call to check in?

“Anything else you wanted to say?”

-No.

“Okay, then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

With that, I ended the call and stepped back into the room.

The faint murmur of conversation that suggested they had actually been talking cut off instantly for a moment.

“Finished eating?”

“We just started.”

I glanced at the plates, already about half empty, then sat back down. Sung Uijae ate while occasionally glancing sideways at Do Yehyun or Kang Sojeong and talking to them.

“You’re with Haeseong, right? I think I saw you with Hunter Seo back then.”

“.......”

“You really only listen to Hunter Seo? Hey, what did you even do to this kid?”

Instead of answering Sung Uijae, Do Yehyun turned his head and looked at me. Rather than respond, I alternated my gaze between Sung Uijae and Kang Sojeong and gestured toward them.

“Did you two manage to talk?”

“We did.”

“.......”

Kang Sojeong sure didn’t look like they were happy about it.

Well, that was understandable. Kang Sojeong didn’t particularly like Hunters in the first place. It wasn’t simply because of what had caused their former lover’s death... they were the type who disliked the fact that someone could suddenly gain certain rights just because of an ability they happened to possess.

‘Life does get fucking easy.’

I took a sip of water and wiped the moisture from my hand with a napkin as I spoke.

“Then let’s get going.”

“.......”

“.......”

What lukewarm reactions.

“We didn’t actually come here to eat anyway. I just arranged this so you could see each other’s faces while I gave you notice, so let’s call it.”

“You already finished your meal, though?”

At Kang Sojeong’s sarcastic remark, I answered without much concern.

“Should’ve been quicker.”

* * *

Kang Sojeong caught me from behind as I was about to head downstairs to pay.

“Talk to me for a minute.”

“Sure.”

I jerked my chin at Do Yehyun to tell him to wait outside for a bit, then went into a bent section of the hallway and spoke briefly with Kang Sojeong.

“I don’t want to work with Hunter Sung.”

“Why?”

“.......”

Kang Sojeong pressed their lips tightly together, their brow twitching with displeasure.

“Aha....”

“.......”

“Because Hunter Sung is S-rank? Or because Hunter Sung, the ‘person involved’ I went through all that trouble to find for you, doesn’t understand what you’re thinking at all and instead tries to lecture you?”

“.......”

“Judging by that reaction, it’s both. But did you really not expect that?”

Kang Sojeong, who had been leaning against the wall and pressing at their forehead with one hand, looked down the hallway before lowering their voice.

“I want to cooperate with ‘you.’ Why drag Hunter Sung into this and create a situation like this? I never trusted Hunters in the first place.”

“I’m awakened too.”

“I don’t trust you either.”

Ah, that’s what they meant?

I took one step back to put some distance between us and continued.

“Well, I don’t trust you a hundred percent either, Ms. Kang Sojeong. And that’s not what I want. Of course I don’t trust Hunter Sung either. That’s why I used a contract with an external binding effect. An artifact.”

“.......”

“Hunter Sung has... never really had much he’s lacked, and the one thing he did lack was peace of mind over his own humanity. That’s an important enough point to determine Hunter Sung’s entire identity. Put another way, it means he can’t understand something like Ms. Kang Sojeong’s revenge. Resentment toward the Hunter Association? Sure, he has that too, but it points in a different direction from yours.”

“You knew that and still arranged this?”

They really sounded like Joo Seowon.

The two of them had fundamentally different foundations, so they probably wouldn’t be able to cooperate for very long in the end. Still, I had a rough idea of how the two of them had worked together before.

“Was I not supposed to?”

“.......”

“I didn’t arrange this because I wanted Ms. Kang Sojeong and Hunter Sung to become friends. I told you already. I set the whole board up entirely around myself. I need Ms. Kang Sojeong’s information, and I need the semi-forced havoc Hunter Sung is going to cause from here on out.”

“.......”

I rolled my wrist once, lowered my gaze to the floor, then continued calmly.

“I introduced you because I thought Ms. Kang Sojeong’s existence would act as a certain trigger for Hunter Sung during that process. What other reason would there be? Hunter Sung is someone who cares a lot about having justification.”

“You must be close. You know him really well.”

“I’ve known him for quite a while. I’ve known Ms. Kang Sojeong for quite a while too.”

“I’d rather deal with a bastard like you who causes havoc in every direction for his goal. You’re equally rude to everyone and equally threatening.”

Was that an insult or a compliment?

I grinned, lowered my head, and met Kang Sojeong’s eyes again.

“Don’t worry about it. Ms. Kang Sojeong’s role is over, and anyway, since our objective is the same... if you just sit still, you’ll get to watch the Hunter Association’s funeral.”

“.......”

“I’ll make that happen for you.”

“It’s your objective too, but you really make it sound like you’re doing it for me.”

“So you’ll feel better?”

I answered simply and glanced at the time.

‘I should probably get going soon.’

Well, before that, I should cut off one variable.

“Ms. Kang Sojeong.”

“What?”

“Let’s make one thing clear. Anyway... since our objectives are the same, there’s no reason for me to stab you in the back. Ah, you said you don’t trust me, right? Well, trust me anyway. I don’t lie.”

“You do.”

“Sometimes. Not right now. So what I’m saying is... stop hiring weird informants on your own and poking around the Hunter Association. Don’t screw this up.”

When I emphasized the word informants, the corner of Kang Sojeong’s eye twitched.

Well, hiring an informant privately was something anyone was free to do, but if they reacted like that....

‘They’re working with Joo Seowon.’

When I tilted my head slightly, Kang Sojeong sighed.

“Seowon is better.”

“Seowon? That’s a pretty nice way of addressing them.”

I gave a disbelieving laugh, and Kang Sojeong lowered their voice as though warning me.

“Hey. Bring me proper results.”

“Of course. So lock yourself inside your house and wait.”

“.......”

“I’m warning you too. I only cooperate with Ms. Kang Sojeong while you’re useful to me, you know?”

“Same here.”

Trying to take the upper hand, huh.

I lightly inclined my head and left first.

When I collected Do Yehyun, who had been waiting outside, and headed downstairs, I saw Sung Uijae waiting for me.

‘Ah.... Fuck, what a pain in the ass.’

I’d called them all together at once because talking to each one separately was annoying, but now they were whining about how they didn’t like this and didn’t like that, making me go through the fucking hassle of explaining everything two or three times.

“I paid.”

“Oh.”

Well, talk like this was fine.

I swept my hair back and took the receipt from Sung Uijae’s hand.

“Good job.”

“You only pick expensive restaurants.”

“The food isn’t what matters. The space is. Like a place where nobody asks for your autograph even if I’m eating with Hunter Sung.”

I crumpled up the receipt and tossed it into a nearby trash can, then glanced toward the car.

“Want a ride?”

“You should’ve offered that to the other one earlier. She’s a woman.”

“Hunter Sung is a foreigner.”

“.......”

“I have to explain how tomorrow’s Dungeon is going to work on the way anyway, so get in.”

As I drove toward Sung Uijae’s hotel, I began giving him a simple explanation.

“The Dungeon we’re entering tomorrow is one I set aside arbitrarily.”

“Was it assigned to Haeseong?”

“No.”

I’d set it aside after talking to the Hunter Association chairman, but there was no real need to explain that, so I conveniently left it out.

“The important part is that tomorrow, Hunter Sung is going to enter that place ‘by coincidence.’ Later, the Association will go in to clear it as well... but the two of us aren’t going to acknowledge that we know each other.”

“...What am I supposed to do once I’m inside? No, who from the Association is coming?”

“You’re better off not knowing. It’ll get awkward if you do.”

Maybe he caught the implication between the lines, because Sung Uijae leaned forward from the back seat and abruptly grabbed the passenger seat. I saw Do Yehyun flinch and looked at Sung Uijae through the rearview mirror as I added,

“I’m not going to ask Hunter Sung to kill anyone, so don’t worry so much.”

“Any job you give me makes me nervous.”

“Ah, Ms. Kang Sojeong also said she doesn’t really need much financial help.”

“.......”

Meeting Sung Uijae’s eyes directly through the mirror, I continued clearly.

“If you handle this one thing properly, Hunter Sung... will have ‘repaid’ them.”

“.......”

“Admirably.”

I pressed down on the accelerator and turned my gaze back to the road.