“Wait. What are you going to do when you get here? Do you have a plan?”
“I have to go in.”
Into the Gate. To Jehee’s side.
It was the obvious answer for me, but Cha Taeyang’s breathing grew rough, as if I was frustrating him.
“No. I mean, do you have any other move besides hoping for a miracle where Jehee snaps out of it in time with the power of love and friendship? Is there any guarantee that you’ll be different? You, of all people, could get seriously hurt or even killed by Jehee! If that happens, even if Jehee is rescued, do you think she could bear that reality?”
“…I have no choice. She must be waiting for rescue.”
“No, what is a person in a state of rampage waiting for…!”
“When she had a similar panic attack before, she told me. To me. She said she didn’t want to die, so please take her out.”
“…Ha.”
“She can’t see anything, and she can’t walk, so she can’t get out. If I go and bring her out, she’ll be okay.”
I asserted this, but in truth, there was no guarantee that Jehee was in the same state as before.
It was more likely that she was in a worse state.
The place where Jehee was isolated back then was just a normal mountain that was a bit dark, but this time it was a Gate, which was the very trauma itself.
I couldn’t be sure that Jehee would stop attacking obediently at my call, as she did in the mountain.
Unlike back then, the current me is definitely not a warm presence to Jehee.
I’m just a damn bastard who took away all her innocence without even accepting her feelings.
Of course, if Jehee’s memory has regressed to the past, as before, she might not remember the recent events… but if the wounds or resentment remain deep in her heart, it could subtly influence her.
However… even assuming the worst like that, I had no intention of changing my decision.
“I won’t leave Jehee alone in a place like that.”
I didn’t want a second time.
I didn’t want to go back to being the 12-year-old Im Taehwan who could only helplessly pray for Jehee’s safe return.
Now I was an adult, my body and mind had grown unbelievably, and there was so much more I could do.
All of this was for the sake of doing even one more thing for Jehee.
That’s why I could choose without a moment’s hesitation.
I would rather die by her hand than leave Jehee alone.
As I stubbornly stayed silent, Cha Taeyang sighed heavily.
He glared at me with a troubled face and then spoke with difficulty.
“…Hey. But you, anyway—”
“I’m here. I’m hanging up.”
“No, hey! This is important, just listen to me…!”
I hung up the video call without listening to what Cha Taeyang was trying to say.
There was no point in letting ‘Sun’ know that I was also being informed about the situation on site.
When I arrived at the scene and presented my Hunter license to the Agency staff controlling the area, their eyes widened, and they hastily opened the gate for me.
But it wasn’t entirely smooth sailing.
As soon as I parked the car in a suitable spot and stepped out, I was met with an unwelcome face.
“Taehwan.”
“…Father.”
“You know, don’t you? People with a deep relationship with a berserk Hunter are forbidden from entering the site.”
“…”
I know. Of course, I know.
Intervention is generally forbidden because a person, whether intimately close or holding a grudge, is likely to have a negative effect on the berserker’s state.
This is not a unique policy in our country but a regulation recommended by the World Hunter Organization.
As Cha Taeyang said, in fairy tales, one might resolve all crises with the ‘power of love and friendship,’ but reality was different.
People in intimate positions are often prone to making wrong judgments due to their various emotions toward the berserker.
Obstructing rescue activities out of fear that the rescue team might harm the berserker was common, and there were many cases, intentional or not, of escalating the berserker’s emotional state.
There were also countless cases where people thought they were close but actually harbored deep-seated grudges, and in such cases, the worst results were often inevitable, making this an unavoidable decision.
Cha Taeyang and the ‘Sun’ guild members were likely able to enter the Gate as a rescue team because they did so before confirming the berserk state.
Now that the rampage was confirmed, they couldn’t re-enter, which is probably why the overly meddlesome Cha Taeyang was calling me directly instead of directing or running the scene.
Haa. A deep sigh escaped me naturally.
I ran my hand through my hair and straightened my back.
“So what. Jehee is rampaging inside the Gate, and I should do nothing?”
“A regulation is a regulation, isn’t it? I would appreciate it if you complied willingly.”
“…I don’t think so.”
“Hunter Im Taehwan.”
A woman interjected between my father and me, exchanging cold, frozen stares.
A face I hadn’t seen in a long time: Han Jihye.
It seemed she had come all the way here because of Jehee’s situation.
Unlike my father, who wore a composed expression, not much different from when we met in front of my house, she seemed to have suffered greatly.
Her usual expressionless face looked unwell.
“We are doing our best in the rescue effort. So, please remain calm and wait for us…”
“Doing your best at what?”
My lips curled up almost reflexively, and a sarcastic voice came out.
Of course, Han Jihye had done nothing wrong.
She was merely following regulations.
And every regulation clearly has a reason.
Even knowing that, I absolutely detested this situation.
Several hours had already passed since the incident occurred.
Now, with no sign of a solution and the countdown to the worst-case scenario having begun, how dare they step forward so shamelessly?
They must know how terrifying the memory of being trapped in a Gate was for Jehee.
How could they know what kind of trauma every single minute passing right now was inflicting on her?
Above all, the fact that ‘Father,’ of all people, was blocking my way in this situation was utterly unforgivable.
My lips twisted.
The boiling rage spilled out of my mouth without a filter.
“From what I can see, the rescue team seems to have given up and is all outside the Gate. What are you doing besides waiting, that you’re saying that? Are you holding a ritual for Jehee to stabilize before the Gate disappears? Will her ancestors rush in and calm her down then?”
“Th-That…”
Han Jihye pressed her lips together with an embarrassed look.
Judging by her expression, she hadn’t expected me to be this aggressive.
I, too, let the words I was about to unleash scatter into the air with a sigh.
I knew that further cornering Han Jihye would not help Jehee in the slightest.
Besides, Han Jihye was clearly worried about Jehee, judging by her expression.
What good would it do to take my anger out on her?
It would be better to introduce a negotiation card here.
Thinking that, I turned my body.
“I truly have no faith in this, but I understand for now. If ‘Im Taehwan’ can’t go in, then there’s nothing to be done.”
Also, it was frustrating and annoying, but I agreed that it would be better if ‘I’ didn’t appear before the current Jehee.
‘Im Taehwan’ was someone who had wronged Jung Jehee too much, so stepping forward unnecessarily would likely only backfire.
I, the person involved, knew that better than anyone.
Han Jihye’s expression brightened considerably at my words.
“That’s, a good decision. If there is any progress, we will certainly inform you first.”
“But that doesn’t mean I’ll just sit still.”
“…What?”
Receiving gazes full of the question, ‘Then what are you planning to do?’
I opened the trunk of my car.
“It just means ‘Im Taehwan’ can’t go in, right?”
I had left the house in a frenzy right after hearing the news about Jehee, so I didn’t have time to pack anything separately.
Fortunately, the items that ‘Grey Coat’ used were already loaded in the car from long ago.
I thought one hero, Jehee, was enough, and since ‘Grey Coat’ had been rejected by Jehee anyway, and ‘S-Class Hunter Im Taehwan’ was already registered separately, his existence was no longer needed. So, I had been planning to talk with my father soon and burn the related items in some remote place… I didn’t expect to use them like this.
“Is this acceptable now?”
After putting on the trademark grey coat and mask, confused voices of ‘Uh, uh’ could be heard from all directions.
Some may have noticed the identity of ‘Grey Coat’ and were agitated, but it was not important to me.
I had to get to Jehee’s side. By any means necessary.
“Since I’m not ‘Im Taehwan’ anymore, can I go in now?”
“…Taehwan.”
“And if this appearance still isn’t allowed…”
I calmly scanned my surroundings.
The moment I became ‘Grey Coat,’ almost every Hunter gathered at the response headquarters was focused on me.
Some were even wary.
But even if they all rushed at me at once, I was confident I could achieve what I wanted.
I didn’t need to defeat all the Hunters on site, I just needed to reach the Gate.
It wasn’t a long distance either.
I was confident in reaching extreme speed in a short moment.
“I will break through and go in.”
