16화
It is unlikely that Kyle’s information is wrong.
‘I’ve drawn unnecessary attention to myself. Even that convenience store part-timer….’
Before the incident with Sang-hyuk, Kim A-rang had been attacked by a Demon.
‘Kyle said two Demon corpses were discovered.’
In the end, the second battle had also ended in a victory for the Hunter who used ice.
After that, Kim A-rang quit her part-time job. It wasn’t hard to guess that the aftereffects of that day were the cause.
‘If even a guy like Sang-hyuk can be thrown into such a panic….’
Just as he was thinking that, Jae-hee came up to the second floor.
“Am I late?”
Jeans, a shirt, and a cross-body bag. She asks nonchalantly.
“No, I just got here myself.”
After telling her to wait a moment, he bought her order as well and sat back down.
Burgeria is still crowded with people during the weekend lunch hour.
That meant countless eyes were fixed on her.
“I wanted to treat you to something better.”
“This is enough.”
She replied bluntly.
At some point, they had naturally started speaking informally to each other.
This was only the second time they had sat face-to-face to talk.
Was it because they had been conscious of each other during the classes related to Demons?
It felt as natural as if they had known each other for a long time.
Twenty-three-year-old Jae-hee is a sophomore, two years younger than Seung-chan.
He had heard her grades weren’t good, but that was because she lacked the required attendance. In fact, she often skipped class suddenly.
‘The goddess of Chamberlain University remains a sophomore because she can’t fulfill her credit requirements.’
A story every student at the school had heard at least once.
“I wanted to say thank you again. Even though I ended up buying the burgers.”
“You don’t have to be so grateful. It wasn’t a big deal.”
“…….”
Perhaps this woman is socially inept in a different way than Ji-eun.
He was having that thought while watching her start to tear open her wrapper.
“What are you staring at?”
Perhaps his gaze was bothersome, as she was the first to call him out.
“Just because.”
“……?”
“I was curious about what kind of person you are.”
It was a remark with various implications.
“You won’t find anything good if you look into it.”
‘She has a creative way of telling me to mind my own business.’
He couldn’t help but chuckle, thinking of the countless men who must have been rejected by her in this exact way.
Just then.
“Whoa~ the atmosphere is nice, isn’t it?”
“Isn’t that Ms. Han Jae-hee?”
Two men approached them.
They looked to be in their mid-to-late twenties.
Judging by their bags and appearance, they weren’t office workers.
“Do you know them?”
Seung-chan asked, sensing immediately that they weren’t on good terms.
“…….”
Jae-hee didn’t answer right away.
“So the guy she’s dating after turning down someone like me is just a guy like this? I’m disappointed.”
“You idiot. It means she doesn’t even consider guys from Myeongseong University worth her time.”
A situation he couldn’t help but understand, even if he didn’t want to.
If it was Myeongseong University, that was another prestigious private university nearby.
‘Ah.’
These must be the men who had hit on Jae-hee and been rejected.
Jae-hee, having finished her thoughts, opened her mouth.
“They’re just trash.”
That remark provoked the men.
“We let you get away with it because you have a pretty face.”
“You think we’re a joke, don’t you?”
“That date was only because I had no choice due to a prior commitment. Is it such a huge sin to express that I wasn’t interested?”
“Ha, haha….”
“Do you even know who their father is?”
‘Father….’
He could only let out a dry laugh at the sudden turn of events.
The reaction was pathetic for guys who had just been rejected on a blind date.
‘No.’
Looking at their tone, they might just be low-class to begin with.
While he was thinking that, the men were spiraling out of control on their own.
“…….”
Harsh words erupted toward Jae-hee, who was staring at them calmly.
‘Being pretty isn’t all good. Not if it means attracting gnats like these.’
How should he intervene?
While he was thinking that, Jae-hee stood up first.
And.
“Huh?”
The fist she swung landed squarely on the man’s face.
The man shouted and tumbled over from the sudden attack, and the surrounding gazes, which were already glancing over, were instantly fixed on them.
“You crazy…!!”
Jae-hee’s actions continued.
She kicked the other guy in the knee.
*Crack.*
The sound of something twisting.
“Argh!!”
The man’s scream echoed.
The hall became chaotic.
“Wow.”
Seung-chan whistled before he realized it.
He almost applauded at the clean movement.
She had subdued two men with just two moves. Even if the opponents weren’t particularly large, it was astonishing.
‘She didn’t just learn self-defense as a hobby.’
“Get lost.”
She muttered lowly.
One of the men grabbed his nose and stood up, spewing rough profanities.
He tried to lunge at her again, but he was struck in the face once more by a follow-up kick.
“Vermin.”
The murmuring around them grew louder.
Some people even held up their phones to record the scene.
“You…!!”
“You, you!”
Only then did the men, finally grasping the situation, back away.
“Just you wait!!”
“This isn’t over!!”
“Tsk. Tsk, tsk.”
Seung-chan clicked his tongue lightly and watched the men run away.
For some reason, it felt like incidents were happening exclusively around him lately.
He felt a strange sense of guilt.
After the men disappeared and the surrounding crowd glanced at her for a moment, the attention soon died down.
“You’re good at fighting.”
With so many witnesses, it was only a matter of time before the ‘legend of Han Jae-hee’ was exaggerated and spread around.
“It’s not the first or second time.”
Her indifferent tone made it clear that she had been plagued by this often.
‘Surely Hyun-ah isn’t dealing with things like this outside, is she?’
Seung-chan worried about Hyun-ah while looking at Jae-hee.
“I’m sorry for getting you caught up in a bothersome situation.”
“It was fun.”
“Fun?”
“I didn’t even do anything, did I?”
“…….”
“Did you learn self-defense or something?”
“A little.”
“You won’t tell me if I ask, will you?”
“…….”
Her silence served as the answer.
“Then I guess I should talk about something else.”
He took a bite of the burger, which had started to go cold.
“How about Demons?”
“…….”
Jae-hee’s expression seemed unchanged, but Seung-chan noticed a subtle shift.
“The information on Demons and Hunters used in presentations. May I ask where you get that kind of information?”
“Same goes for me.”
Jae-hee didn’t reveal her cards easily.
“How do you know such information?”
‘Answering a question with a question, huh.’
If he wanted to have a deeper conversation.
‘I suppose I have to show my hand first to get information.’
It wouldn’t be a problem if it was slightly different from the truth.
“There’s a site run by enthusiasts.”
“A site.”
“High-level information related to Demons and Hunters is traded there. Well, I’ve always had an interest in that area.”
“Interest?”
Jae-hee’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Seung-chan.
“About the origins of Demons and Hunters. A sort of intellectual curiosity, you could say.”
Seung-chan bluffed convincingly.
“I see.”
Jae-hee nodded as if she understood.
“I think it’s my turn to get an answer.”
“Someone I know works at the Association.”
This time, Seung-chan’s eyes lit up.
“They tell me this and that when we meet occasionally.”
This was an unexpected connection.
“Knowing a Hunter in the field. That’s impressive, isn’t it?”
“It wouldn’t be good if it got out, so I’d appreciate it if you kept it a secret.”
An era where the existence of Demons and Hunters is ambiguous.
A world where even people like Professor Kang Jin-woo have to dodge responsibility with the word ‘imagination.’
“I’m actually quite good at keeping my mouth shut.”
Seung-chan mimed zipping his lips.
It was one of the expressions used when Demons in the shadows exchanged information. It was a gesture he used subconsciously, thinking Jae-hee wouldn’t know about it.
“Baek Seung-chan. Are you, by any chance, a Demon?”
“…….”
Jae-hee asked, staring at him with an expressionless gaze.
“No.”
Seung-chan shook his head with an awkward smile.
A while later, after they went outside, Seung-chan said.
“If it’s alright, could I have your contact information?”
“No. Just send me a DM like you do now.”
“If that’s more comfortable for you.”
Seung-chan made a sheepish face at Jae-hee’s firm refusal.
It seemed he would have to put off finding out about her connection to the Hunter until next time.
“See you in the next class. Let’s consider the debt from that day settled with this.”
“I’ve never considered myself in your debt.”
Her expression as she delivered the mechanical line seemed strange for some reason.
“Get home safe.”
Seung-chan smiled faintly and turned away.
Two hours had passed since she parted ways with Seung-chan.
Jae-hee boarded the subway.
‘Is it 3 o’clock?’
The subway was packed with people.
Jae-hee, checking her watch, looked every bit the college student.
She could feel the gazes of people around her glancing at her.
“Excuse me, I’ve been watching you for a while now….”
Someone even mustered the courage to speak to her.
“I have a boyfriend.”
Jae-hee replied firmly, as if this wasn’t the first or second time.
She didn’t actually have a boyfriend, but it was a line to block any further approaches.
“Oh, right. I’m sorry.”
‘Tiresome.’
In the rattling subway, she recalled the conversations they had just shared.
‘Baek Seung-chan.’
Talk of Demons.
Talk of Hunters.
Talk of class.
Talk of the Association.
She felt like she had talked about quite a lot with him.
‘It wasn’t bad.’
If it weren’t for those guys who suddenly appeared, it would have been a meeting that left a better memory.
‘But this is as far as it goes.’
She was someone special, belonging to an international organization. She couldn’t let her private life affect her mission.
In fact, wasn’t she failing to keep up with her school attendance properly as it was?
‘Still, maybe I should have exchanged contact information.’
Her head throbbed as she recalled the moment she firmly rejected Seung-chan’s request at the end.
Her face felt like it was burning, too.
‘What are you thinking, Han Jae-hee? It wouldn’t have worked out anyway.’
With her face flushed, she shook and nodded her head to herself.
People around her looked at her strangely at first, but soon they became captivated by her appearance and began to stare blankly.
*Screech—*
The subway had arrived at her destination before she knew it, and, shaken from her thoughts, she walked toward the exit with practiced movements.
Her disguised destination was Lotte World Tower.
Her real destination was the building towering right next to it.
The Seoul branch of the Hunter Association, which operated in secrecy.
As she entered the building, she pulled out her ID and showed it to the guard.
“Please, go ahead.”
The man bowed respectfully and stepped aside.
*Nod.*
Giving a slight nod, Jae-hee returned to her usual expressionless face.
Hunter Association, Seoul Branch.
The B-Team conference room on the 40th floor.
It was a space capable of accommodating over two hundred people.
About a hundred hunters were seated in the room, which served as both a seminar hall and a meeting space.
“Haa….”
Yoo Sang-chan, the B-Team leader, sighed as he looked at the empty seats.
‘So many have died.’
Considering that the B-Team had previously numbered over two hundred, less than half remained.
Struggling to hide his emotions, he projected the screen and raised his voice.
“These are the ones we need to focus on this time.”
The photos and names of five Demons appeared on the screen.
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