20 – No! Don’t drink!
“Sojeonga…… She said she’s not in Seoul…..”
Jihoon, who had just spat out the tea he was drinking, gazes out the window and mutters to himself.
His actions, calling out for Sojeong, who had already left the office to consider their feelings, made him seem like someone who had lost his mind.
If he had just listened to her and taken a taxi to Seoul Branch, he could have met Mr. Do and initiated the negotiations well ahead of time.
But… he couldn’t bring himself to resent her for making him go through all this trouble.
Their connection from when they had met the president, Lee Kangcheon, when they were young. Even if he had to use him, Sojeong had driven herself all the way here just to support him.
Friend.
In modern times, aside from his childhood friend Jinhee, whom he thought of as more of a plaything than a friend, there was no one he could call a friend.
Now, whenever he thought about having a friend, Sojeong came to mind.
‘Still, I should at least treat her to a nice dinner. A little goodwill… No, that’s not right…’
“No… Wait a minute… Are you surprised that there’s a Seoul Branch of the Ares Guild now?”
Jihoon, disappointed, begins to think about something else.
The president, Lee Kangcheon, watching his expression, feels even more perplexed.
“Kang Hunter… Do you know what a Reawakening is?”
Jihoon, who regains his composure, replies.
“Yes, I do. I’ve been hearing that word a lot lately.”
“…?”
Lately, Jihoon had been suspected of being a Reawakened person for no apparent reason.
Not knowing the background, President Lee raises a curious expression, then starts speaking again.
“I hear that the Heart of Exgel can… Reawaken a Hunter.”
“Yes, I understand it perfectly.”
Thump, thump.
President Lee, feeling frustrated by Jihoon’s indifferent reaction, taps his chest.
Why is he more surprised by the fact that there is a Seoul Branch of the Ares Guild than the fact that there is an item that can Reawaken a Hunter?
“Well… You seem quite unimpressed, so I’m a bit puzzled…”
“Ah… It seems like a very valuable item.”
With a faint smile, President Lee realizes Jihoon’s awkward attempts to sound enthusiastic.
“You… seem completely uninterested,” he said.
“Yes. It’s not something I need,” she replied.
Could any hunter in the world say that they didn’t need an item that could resurrect someone?
But Jihoon was different.
There was a reason why Jihoon absolutely needed his movement skill to change through resurrection.
Yeonhwa.
In order to meet her again and travel to a different dimension, his skill had to stay the same.
“Ahem… That’s a hard thing to believe, but… anyways, it worked out well.”
What did he mean by “it worked out well”?
Seeing that Jihoon had expectations in his eyes, the representative’s expression became incomprehensible.
“If the fact that Aegel’s heart is in our Ares guild were to spread, we would definitely become targets of the Black Hunter group.”
“…Why are you telling me such an important fact?”
Jihoon’s question was valid.
“I want to… ask Kang Hunter for a favor.”
“…No… I just have to meet a person named Doi Sa. What kind of favor?”
That’s when it happened.
Tingling.
Jihoon sensed something intense through his instincts and stopped talking, alternating his gaze between the representative’s office door and window.
Knock knock.
“Who is it? I told you not to let anyone in…”
The confused representative and Jihoon, who silently stared at the door
Finally, before the representative could give permission, the office door opened by itself and a young man entered.
“Huh? Im Hunter! What are you doing here? Weren’t you in the United States?”
The representative greeted the man who entered the room with a delighted expression on his face.
“Representative. It’s been a while.”
“Oh, let me introduce you… This is Im Hanyoung Hunter, one of our A-rank hunters. hahahahaha, I said the New York Gate exploration would take a long time… It’s good to see you!”
The representative introduced Im Hanyoung to Jihoon, unable to hide his proud expression.
The representative stepped closer to approach Im Hanyoung.
That’s when…
“Just wait a moment.”
Jihun’s words bring Chairman Lee to a halt.
Chairman Lee, who looks at Jihun without understanding English.
“The person below isn’t coming up?”
Chairman Lee couldn’t comprehend Jihun’s question.
Right now, Jihun was addressing the question not to him, but to Im Hanyeong.
“Oh? How… Ah, so it was you? You caused a ruckus at the entrance.”
Im Hanyeong’s mouth curled up slightly.
“The person below isn’t a guy, it’s a girl. Well… She should be coming up soon, shouldn’t she?”
Chairman Lee Kangcheon, who had no idea what the two were talking about, simply alternated his gaze between Jihun and Im Hanyeong.
After a while, a young woman bursts in through the open door.
“Oh? Yuhunter! Have you come too? Who is this person? Where are they hurt… Sojeongah!”
From Noble mtl dot com
Chairman Lee exclaims in surprise, calling out Han Sojeong.
The woman who was brought in releases Sojeong, who was being supported.
“Yu Sooyoung, Hunter! What in the world is happening!”
The woman addressed as Yu Sooyoung answers Chairman Lee’s question.
“I’m sorry, Chairman. Please understand that this was the best option.”
Her meaningful words. Sojeong, who had come in, looking wounded. Im Hanyeong’s mouth now appears treacherous upon a second look.
“Hoon… Kang Jihun… run…”
Sojeong, lying weakly on the floor, spits out the words with all her remaining strength.
“Didn’t I ask what was happening?!!”
Chairman Lee’s angry voice echoes through the office.
“The heart of Exel. We will take it.”
Thud
Chairman Lee Kangcheon’s heart falls to the ground.
Not for a moment, not even a little, did he doubt.
It is true that an uneasy atmosphere pervaded the guild after obtaining Exel’s heart.
Factions emerged that had never existed before, teams split, and internal battles were frequent.
But conflicts and differing opinions were nothing new, and aren’t we all family?
Unlike ordinary office workers, guild members share life and death, grow together through long hours of camaraderie.
We are not just ordinary colleagues; we are literally family.
Such a family member… President Lee could never have imagined being betrayed by them, not even in his dreams.
“Why is the entrance completely wrecked, and even the regular combatants are all chattering away… What’s going on?”
Im Hanyoung asks Jihun with a sly smile.
“Well… there were some circumstances. Why bother asking when you’re not curious anyway?”
Jihun tosses his words at Im Hanyoung as if spitting them out.
“This guy is really peculiar, hehehe… Anyway, thanks. Things will be much easier because of you. Is this what they call a bloodless coup? hehehehe.”
Jihun looks at Hansojeong, who is lying there, turning his gaze away from Im Hanyoung’s smirking smile.
“Don’t worry too much about this friend. I just calmed him down a bit since he was running wild.”
“Ugh…”
Sojeong’s groans intermittently continue.
“Is this what mothers are like?”
Squish.
Yusoyoung’s forehead wrinkles a lot.
“Do you… want to die?”
“hahahahaha, what the hell is this guy doing for real?”
While listening, Im Hanyoung grabs his belly and laughs. This time, Yusoyoung’s fierce gaze turns towards Im Hanyoung.
“Ah, sorry sorry… first calm down. After all, we’re here for the heart of Iggel, right?”
Im Hanyoung talks to Yusoyoung, trying to calm her down.
“How… can you guys do this?”
The representative Lee Kangcheon stammers out the words in shock.
“Mr. President, we already have the heart of Iggel. It’s only going to be a poison to our guild. Please don’t make a fuss and just hand it over peacefully.”
Yusoyoung speaks with a pretense of courtesy, but the content is far from polite.
The A-class hunters of Ares Guild, Im Hanyoung and Yusoyoung, are currently robbing Lee Kangcheon, the guild representative, of the heart of Iggel.
“We… a guild… can continue to be called ‘we’ even after doing something like this?”
“…I will resign from Ares Guild. I’m sorry, Mr. President…”
With Yusoyoung’s words as the last, Im Hanyoung throws something to Jihun.
Jihun raises his hand to catch it.
“Is that the tea the president gave you? It’s delicious, right? Drink it in the tea I gave you.”
“Do you not want to ruin good tea?”
Hearing Jihun’s reply, Im Hanyoung draws one of the two swords stuck in his waist and stabs it into Hansojeong’s thigh, who is lying down.
“Ugh… No! Don’t! Don’t drink it!”
Seojung, who was weak and couldn’t even scream loudly, tried to stop Jihun.
Realizing that Jihun was using Seojung as a bargaining chip and threatening him, Jihun obediently complied with his demands.
Jihun carefully opened the small vial containing an unknown liquid and drank it as it is.
Then, he picked up the teacup and drank the tea again.
“We just have to eat it, right? There’s no need to ruin this delicious tea.”
“hahahahaha, you crazy bastard… Yeah, that’s right, we just have to drink it.”
“Are you carrying around two swords?”
“hehehe… Pay no mind to it.”
Im Hanyoung and Yoo Soyoung confirmed that Jihun drank the liquid from the vial and immediately walked away, leaving Seojung collapsed on the floor.
Jihun stood up and approached the fallen Seojung.
Im Hanyoung and Yoo Soyoung were heading towards the back shelf of the representative’s room as if they didn’t care about Jihun at all.
Jihun lifted Seojung’s injured body and leaned her against himself, then put his hand on her wrist to check her condition.
“Fortunately, there are no major injuries, and your energy level is okay. I’ll stop the bleeding in your thigh. You’ll have a scar.”
Jihun quickly moved his hand to stop the bleeding in Seojung’s thigh.
“You idiot! I told you not to drink it! Sob”
Tears fell from Seojung’s eyes, like pitiful droplets.
Despite her injured and tired state, she continued speaking, doing her best.
“That’s Bellcreon’s poison. It’s highly toxic when the magic power is increased. Even a slight increase in magic power will spread throughout the body, causing instant death. Forget about fighting, be careful not to release any magic power!”
“… Ah, really?”
Jihun briefly lifted his head and looked at Im Hanyoung and Yoo Soyoung, who had reached the front of the bookshelf.
Looking at their relaxed expressions, as if everything was going smoothly.
