NOVEL NEXT #098
#098
“Huh?”
Heo Sang-yeon’s face immediately turned quizzical at the conflicting answers and he asked again.
“No, I mean. Are you two planning to enter gates together in the future?”
“No.”
“Yes.”
Only then did Yoon Pa-ran give Dan Joo-hyuk a puzzled look. Dan Joo-hyuk was also looking down at him with an unreadable expression.
“…Haven’t you come to an agreement?”
As the strange standoff continued, Heo Sang-yeon this time asked Dan Joo-hyuk.
His tone was quite close to a reprimand, so Yoon Pa-ran just nodded halfheartedly as if agreeing.
“We will. I don’t order people around arbitrarily like you do, Heo Sang-yeon.”
“Sigh… Alright. I’m sorry.”
The words Dan Joo-hyuk leisurely uttered were, as expected, nonsense.
Before Yoon Pa-ran could say anything, Heo Sang-yeon struggled to continue speaking.
“Okay. Let’s say that’s the case, and since I’ve met Hunter Dan, I’ll make one request. Actually, it’s a favor Minister Byeon asked of me…”
“Let’s hear it.”
Dan Joo-hyuk spoke indifferently without even looking at Heo Sang-yeon. Then he crossed his legs in the opposite direction from where his knee had been touching Yoon Pa-ran’s.
He looked like someone who wouldn’t grant a favor even if you asked while fighting monsters. Yet Heo Sang-yeon persisted.
“Enter some gates with the at-risk hunters. Even healthy ones are having seizures, so the Hunter Management Office is strongly advising against those who’ve been injured from returning.”
“Isn’t the reason for their advice clear?”
“I know. But we still need to see if they can return to work. With Hunter Dan, he could handle any situation immediately. Unfortunately, I’m not available on the day that gate needs to be resolved.”
“Why aren’t you available?”
“Remember the S-rank gate Hunter Dan handled before going to Russia?”
“I do.”
“Originally, Kim Sang-deok was supposed to handle that gate first, and if he failed, I was going to go. But Hunter Dan took care of it, so Kim Sang-deok was assigned elsewhere. An A-rank gate.”
“Ah. I think I saw the official document. He failed again, right?”
“Sigh… Yes. So I have to go clean that up. For some reason, there are reports that the monsters are unusually strong for an A-rank gate, so it works out.”
Yoon Pa-ran, who had been listening quietly thinking it wouldn’t be much of a favor, let his eyes slowly roll to the floor. As he heard the increasingly serious conversation, he wondered if he should have left with the lawyer earlier.
By the way, the monsters have gotten stronger? Could it be another anomaly gate?
Dan Joo-hyuk seemed to consider this for a moment before casually saying,
“Send Hunter Kim Min-ji. You’re close, aren’t you?”
“No… Min-ji’s been busy with something lately. Sigh… And asking Min-ji to watch the gates in the safety district is already too much. I told you before, didn’t I?”
Strangely, there have been many hunters suffering from injury aftereffects specifically at the gates in the safety district.
Once again, Yoon Pa-ran focused on the word “safety district” that kept coming up in these incidents.
“It’s fortunate that the hunters’ seizures are concentrated in Seoul. Otherwise, we’d have to requisition every helicopter available right now.”
Even to Yoon Pa-ran, the situation sounded very serious. Yet Dan Joo-hyuk didn’t seem willing at all.
Just when Yoon Pa-ran expected Dan Joo-hyuk to wash his hands of it and leave,
“What’s in it for me?”
He unexpectedly asked as if he’d suddenly become interested.
“Tell me what you need.”
“Hmm…”
Thinking it was another of his whims, Yoon Pa-ran looked at him strangely and their eyes met.
The curve of his smiling eyes somehow felt ominous.
“Later. I’ll keep it as a debt.”
“Alright. …Can I have your business card?”
“That’s not necessary.”
Dan Joo-hyuk flatly refused and stood up. Yoon Pa-ran also rose awkwardly from his seat, following him.
Only after seeing Yoon Pa-ran fully stand did Dan Joo-hyuk start walking with long strides. This time, Yoon Pa-ran followed behind him like a goldfish’s poop.
As Dan Joo-hyuk approached the door, he suddenly stopped without warning.
“Those hunters.”
“Ow.”
Due to the small office, Yoon Pa-ran’s face bumped into Dan Joo-hyuk’s unnecessarily broad back. While rubbing his nose slightly, he glared at the back of Dan Joo-hyuk’s head, but Dan Joo-hyuk’s gaze was fixed on Heo Sang-yeon.
“If they’re dangerous, you mean I can dispose of them as I see fit, right?”
How would he dispose of them? Forcibly retire the hunters?
“Sigh… It’d be good if you could be lenient when possible. We’re running out of A-rank seeds as it is.”
“We’ll see.”
Heo Sang-yeon replied with what seemed to be the heaviest voice he’d used so far.
And before Yoon Pa-ran could leave, Heo Sang-yeon called out to him in an awkward voice.
“Yoon Pa-ran.”
“……”
When Yoon Pa-ran just stared blankly without saying anything, Heo Sang-yeon smiled bitterly.
“Actually, I thought Hunter Dan was also keeping an eye on Hunter Yoon Pa-ran, so I assumed he had noticed something suspicious.”
“Ah.”
It meant that, knowingly or unknowingly, Dan Joo-hyuk was also partly responsible for the false accusations against Yoon Pa-ran.
To those unaware of the contract between the two, it would certainly have seemed strange for them to be together.
“And, um… Please keep an eye out for anything happening at the orphanage. I found records of Secretary Kang visiting several orphanages for some reason. Since he’s associated with a congressman, it seems like he might have just been visiting for photo ops or volunteer work… but I have a bad feeling about it.”
Despite the awkwardness, this seemed to be the reason Heo Sang-yeon had called him back, and he advised Yoon Pa-ran with a serious expression.
Yoon Pa-ran, who had been listening with moderate focus, became serious at the S-rank hunter’s words about having a “bad feeling.”
A hunter’s intuition sometimes made animal-like predictions. Especially if it came from an S-rank hunter.
Unable to dismiss it lightly, Yoon Pa-ran nodded carefully.
“Take care.”
It truly had been a day with too many incidents.
❖ ❖ ❖
The car ride back was silent.
Staring at the streetlights in the deepening night, Yoon Pa-ran maintained a serious expression throughout.
“……”
He was worried that the issues surrounding the orphanage seemed to be getting too serious. At this rate, wouldn’t it be better to move far away, safety district or not?
Lost in troubled thoughts, he found himself pondering while unconsciously holding Heo Sang-yeon’s business card. It was because of the advice Heo Sang-yeon had given at the end.
“So, are you planning to contact him?”
Dan Joo-hyuk, who had been silently focusing on driving as if he also had a lot to think about, suddenly asked out of the blue.
“What?”
“Hunter Heo Sang-yeon.”
“Ah.”
Yoon Pa-ran didn’t deny it and carefully tucked the business card back into his pocket.
Then Dan Joo-hyuk spoke again in a subtle voice.
“Why bother? You already have a contract with me.”
There was some logic to his words. Dan Joo-hyuk had been surprisingly diligent in providing protection as per their contract.
Especially earlier, it had been quite reassuring.
Even while thinking this, Yoon Pa-ran made a cool-headed judgment.
“Well, it’s good to have multiple options.”
“……”
Isn’t that obvious? If you’re about to be surrounded by monsters, it’s common sense to escape to a place with multiple escape routes if possible.
Dan Joo-hyuk then spoke in a somewhat crooked tone.
“Would someone who makes baseless suspicions really be helpful?”
At those words, Yoon Pa-ran burst into laughter. It had been quite funny how Dan Joo-hyuk had been speaking like that in front of Heo Sang-yeon earlier.
However, when he met Dan Joo-hyuk’s gaze, it was quite serious. He had thought it was meant to be funny, but apparently not.
In turn, Yoon Pa-ran had no choice but to point out the truth seriously.
“He seems similar to someone else who makes arbitrary appointments, so I think they’d be alike.”
“……”
Silence enveloped the car again. It seemed Dan Joo-hyuk had nothing to say in response to such an accurate statement.
Thanks to this, Yoon Pa-ran continued his contemplation. Now that things had come to this, should he perhaps consult with Heo Sang-yeon about the safety district?
Dan Joo-hyuk had said he’d look into it before, but it wasn’t really a relationship where Yoon Pa-ran could rush him. Especially since it wasn’t an immediate threat to Yoon Pa-ran himself, it was quite ambiguous whether he could demand it using the contract as an excuse.
Yoon Pa-ran tried not to confuse the protection guaranteed by the contract.
“Just throw away the business card. You don’t know what Heo Sang-yeon might demand in return.”
For some reason, Dan Joo-hyuk was being quite persistent. Yoon Pa-ran thought maybe something else had displeased him, but he couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason.
Anyway, Yoon Pa-ran had no intention of giving up this insurance, so he answered casually.
“It’s fine, I received it as a form of compensation.”
Of course, even saying this, he hadn’t let his guard down. It was just important to have the opportunity.
If a situation arose where Heo Sang-yeon’s help was desperately needed, it would truly be an urgent situation. In that case, he wouldn’t be in a position to be picky.
After all, even Dan Joo-hyuk’s diligence in responding to this contract could disappear at any time due to his capricious nature.
“Well, if he demands something in return, it can’t be helped. We don’t know how long our contract will last either.”