The Way of Life for a Terminal S-Class Hunter - C92
[The guild master of Korea’s Ihwa Guild, Kang Seo-heon, was attacked at the airport. Kang Seo-heon, who arrived in Italy yesterday, was immediately surrounded and attacked by several hunters upon entry. Though Seo-heon suffered a severe abdominal wound in the incident, he captured all the attackers and handed them over to local police. Although immediately transported to a hospital, Seo-heon reportedly refused treatment and headed to his next destination.]
The news speculated about the recent issue related to Assemblyman Kwon in Korea, suggesting that politician’s influence may be involved.
My mind went blank.
“It’s fortunate for you, hyung. They’ll probably postpone the search a bit since he’s in a mess now.”
Lee-han coldly analyzed while watching TV.
“Fortunate… is it?”
In contrast, I couldn’t take my eyes off the TV even after it moved on to the next news item.
“It’s not a major injury, right?”
“Probably not. If it was, it would have been bigger news. Even if it was serious, a skilled healer would have treated him.”
Lee-han responded even more indifferently. It would have been nice if I could adopt such an attitude, but my heart was racing uncontrollably from the shock. Unable to stand it anymore, Lee-han turned off the TV.
“Hyung, if you’ve decided to abandon that person, don’t even look at him. You don’t need to care even if he dies doing this.”
But I hadn’t intended to abandon Seo-heon. Rather, it was closer to wanting to stop him from doing reckless things. I couldn’t explain that to Lee-han. My hands were sweating. The image of Seo-heon collapsing from his injury flashed before my eyes.
“Lee-han. Is it okay if we talk tomorrow?”
I needed time to collect myself.
After that, I frantically checked on Seo-heon’s safety. The one fortunate thing was that because Seo-heon was a celebrity, traces were left the moment he arrived somewhere. A quick internet search revealed his destination after the injury. Being in pursuit of me, he didn’t seem to have the presence of mind to silence the media.
So did he get his wound treated?
On the other hand, I was frustrated that I couldn’t find out other detailed information. From the combat footage I saw, it wasn’t a minor injury, and I was worried whether he was moving after getting treatment. I sat in a corner of the training room checking the news.
“He went all the way to India.”
India was the first place we had stopped over. It seemed the Italian ticket was fake, and they had discovered we used teleportation. It felt like I was being pursued right on my heels. Separate from wanting to know his well-being, I didn’t want to be caught.
Because I’m more harmful to Seo-heon than those injuries.
“I deliberately left magic traces only up to the second location.”
A husky low voice addressed me. Looking up, I saw Antonio, whom I had rarely heard speak before, casually swinging a practice wooden sword.
“Ah, did you finish the conquest well?”
“I just transported them there.”
Antonio shut his mouth after giving just that answer. I was about to ask how they returned but stopped myself. Probably either another guild member brought them back, or Antonio went out again at the appointed time. More importantly, there was something else I needed to know.
“You mean you left almost no magic traces from the third stopover onwards, right? Then would it be difficult for Seo-heon to realize I’m here?”
“That’s right. Unless I intentionally left magic traces, I’ve never been tracked so far.”
Antonio showed confidence based on his skills. It was more trustworthy because he was simply stating facts.
“Thank you.”
“How do you know Halo?”
Antonio brought up an unexpected person. Although both were quite famous hunters, I had no idea they knew each other since they didn’t have many points of contact.
“We got to know each other through work, and he took quite good care of me. May I ask why you’re asking about that?”
“He contacted me yesterday.”
As always, Antonio said exactly what he wanted to without any explanation before or after. Rather than being annoying or unpleasant, it felt good because it was so like him.
“You must be close if he called. I didn’t know because I’ve never seen news of you working together.”
“Well, we’re cousins.”
It was a series of unexpected answers. Although cousins don’t necessarily look alike, their impressions were so different. From appearance to speech and personality, there was nothing similar between them.
“I had no idea.”
“I’ve never mentioned it anywhere. There’s no need to go around advertising it.”
His stoic face crumbled slightly, forming a faint smile.
“Please tell Halo I’m grateful for his concern. Thanks to him, I managed to escape well.”
“He said greetings aren’t necessary, just take care of yourself.”
He even prepared an answer anticipating what I would say – it was just like Halo.
“Did you come to tell me that on purpose?”
“It’s been a while since he cared this much about someone. It’s a bit troublesome, but he is family after all.”
Antonio took out a cigarette from his pocket and waved it. It seemed he was asking if it was okay to smoke, so I nodded.
“You don’t smoke?”
“No. I tried briefly when I was young but quit soon after.”
After hearing my answer, he just held the cigarette in his mouth. Even though I told him I didn’t mind, he didn’t light it, just chewing on the filter.
“Anyway, if your location is discovered, it won’t be because of my teleportation at least.”
Saying “at least” meant there were other ways to find me. Since I had been keeping that in mind too, I nodded.
Still, thanks to Antonio, I can buy at least some time.
When tracking someone who has moved far away, the most intuitive and fastest method was teleportation tracking. Other methods required a lot of effort and time investment.
But I can’t just stay here indefinitely. No matter how much the contract includes a confidentiality clause, information can always leak if people talk. Five days – I need to create a method of movement and a place to escape to within that time.
“Would it be okay to ask for your help one more time when I leave this guild?”
“I charge quite a lot for missions outside the guild.”
“I have quite a lot of money too.”
Antonio finally put the cigarette back in its pack.
“Then there’s no reason I can’t do it.”
Antonio left his number on my phone, saying to contact him if needed, then disappeared saying he should go to the smoking area.
After talking with a relatively calm person, I felt more at ease. Some stability returned to my unsettled mind.
***
“Lee-han.”
At 11 AM, thinking Lee-han should be awake by now, I knocked on his door.
“Hyung? Wait a moment.”
Lee-han opened the door with his hair still wet but neatly dressed. After looking me up and down, he frowned as if doubtful and asked:
“Is your physical condition okay today?”
“Yes. If it’s alright, can I come into your room? I want to have the conversation we were going to have yesterday.”
Lee-han looked back and forth between me and the room, then shook his head.
“No. I think it’s better to talk outside.”
The room visible through the door crack looked quite tidy. Well, I guess he might not like someone else entering his room.
“Then shall we talk on the rooftop?”
“Okay. Let’s go.”
Lee-han came out immediately without hesitation.
“Is it okay not to dry your hair?”
“It’ll dry on its own at this point.”
As we came up to the open rooftop, I felt like I could breathe again. I took a deep breath in and out, then turned to look at Lee-han.
“What did you want to talk about? Are you going to tell me to leave again?”
“It seems like everyone around me knows me too well.”
“You’re just too easy to figure out.”
Since I had been thinking the same thing lately, I couldn’t argue back.
“I’m going to leave here in five days. I’ll get Antonio’s help and use an item to change my appearance. I’ll need to go to a country where using that item isn’t illegal.”
“What if I say I’ll follow you?”
“Then I’ll run away from you too.”
This time, I spoke with the thought that this was truly the end.
“I’ve received enough help from you. No, I’ve taken advantage of you excessively, so don’t feel any sense of debt anymore and go back.”
“I’m not staying by your side out of a sense of debt…”
“That’s why it’s even more of a problem.”
“I keep taking advantage of your feelings. I don’t want to do that when I can’t reciprocate.”
“I’m the one who pushed, so why are you feeling such guilt?”
Lee-han conveyed his intentions clearly without avoiding or feeling distressed. This time he was firm. No, he seemed to have been like this since I noticed the change in Lee-han.
“Your body is still not well, how can I send you off alone?”
My mouth, about to continue speaking, suddenly stopped.
“I don’t want to let you die. Try to understand my feelings too. I’ll leave when I see your will to live. Right now, I’m too anxious to do that.”
It wasn’t that I had no will to live, but that I couldn’t live without being parasitic. It was all my karma. I fiddled with the compass I had put in my pocket.
“Lee-han. Actually, I’m not fully recovered. I might not live as long as you think.”
“I know.”
“What? You know?”
Surprised, I opened my mouth, trying to read Lee-han’s mind. He shrugged as if it was no big deal.
“You weren’t surprised when you were sick, and rather seemed glad. I’d be an idiot not to notice.”
“Are you… okay with that?”
Lee-han’s mouth corners gradually drooped, and he made a lonely expression. There was a clear wound in his eyes. I thought I had handled it fairly calmly, but it seems that’s how it looked to Lee-han.
“Do you think I could be okay?”
As the guilty party, I couldn’t lift my head.
“Then I’ll make a promise with you. Last time, I said I wouldn’t at least give up my life on my own, right? This time, I promise I’ll try my best to find a way to live on my own. In return, leave after five days.”