Even though I had lowered my body and taken a ready stance, I hadn’t meant to attack immediately, but perhaps because I was so sensitive and on edge due to my impatience, my power surged unconsciously, making crackling sounds and creating a threatening display.
Most of those who felt the disparity in power just from this lost their will to fight and retreated, but Father was different.
Without any change in his expression, without even blinking, he continued to smile as he looked at me.
Seeing that face made my stomach churn.
I was keeping an eye on Father and checking the path, planning to truly ‘break through’ if necessary, when an figure suddenly cut in front of me.
The man covered in bandages.
It was Cha Taeyang.
“Hey! Im Taehwan, are you crazy! Break through what, agh!”
I wondered how, in that state, he managed to let out such a loud voice that echoed throughout the area, but just as expected, he couldn’t finish his sentence and groaned in pain.
It was clearly visible that Vice Guild Master Boo Gil-ma, who was supporting him, was sighing deeply.
Seeing him in person, Cha Taeyang’s condition looked even worse.
He couldn’t even support his own body and was sweating profusely.
Nevertheless, he stood in front of me.
Then, holding his head up straight, he looked at my Father, no, the Director of the Hunter Management Bureau, and clearly stated:
“Jehee doesn’t know who the ‘Grey Coat’ Hunter is. She hasn’t met him during recent activities either. I will vouch for her.”
“Regarding this, our guild can also provide data.”
Vice Guild Master Boo, who was supporting Cha Taeyang, also ended up backing his leader, even though he had initially sighed heavily as if frustrated.
Following suit, others who seemed to be ‘Sun’ Guild members began raising their voices one by one.
They, too, could vouch for her.
If Jehee had seen this scene, wouldn’t she have been so moved that she’d be teary-eyed?
…Anyway, they were truly amazing people.
No other guild could beat their unity or their ability to act.
That was why I could entrust Jehee to them.
However, while I found them reassuring, I was also feeling uneasy.
I was grateful that ‘Sun’ was taking my side, but I didn’t think this alone would resolve the situation smoothly.
There was something they had overlooked.
They knew too little about my Father.
“Well now. Didn’t the three of you have a video call right before arriving here? What guarantee is there that this ‘vouching’ you are doing now isn’t just a coordinated story you agreed upon then?”
“No, that is…”
He spoke words of doubt without hesitation, all while smiling.
I saw the two ‘Sun’ Guild Masters visibly flinch and become flustered.
It left a bitter taste in my mouth, but I had expected it.
If it were an issue that could be resolved that easily, Father wouldn’t have stood in my way in the first place.
Should I really just break through?
I wanted to resolve this as peacefully as possible, even if just to avoid displeasing Jehee.
“Excuse me, Director. May I offer an opinion?”
But then Han Jihye suddenly interjected.
“Please speak.”
“I would like to request permission for Hunter Im Taehwan to intervene as the ‘Grey Coat’.”
“What is your reasoning?”
“Because it is the most probable method. As they are the same rank and he is the one who has watched her from the closest distance, he will be able to deal with the situation with the least amount of harm.”
“…”
“We cannot just wait forever. If the cause of Jung Jehee’s rampage is the stimulation of her childhood trauma, there is no guarantee that she will stabilize no matter how much time passes. In fact, there is a high possibility that it will progress in a bad direction. It would be better to move sooner rather than later. I understand your concern as this involves your son, but…”
Han Jihye rapidly spoke her piece.
However, my damn Father’s expression didn’t change even slightly.
“Does it look to Ms. Han Jihye as if I am shielding my son from doing a dangerous thing?”
“Ah, th-that is not what I meant. I was merely…”
Han Jihye was visibly flustered.
It was an uncharacteristic slip-up for her.
She probably knew, too.
What my Father had done to Jehee thirteen years ago, claiming it was for my sake.
With no mental space to spare amidst all this, her true thoughts must have carelessly slipped out.
The truly fortunate thing for Han Jihye was that my Father didn’t really hold grudges.
You could tell just by the way he smiled as if to tell her not to be flustered.
However, the words that came out of his mouth were something I could not welcome at all.
“Even putting that aside, I find it hard to agree. Everything you just said is only relevant if the ‘Grey Coat’ is not classified as a ‘rampage-related person,’ is it not? However, the ‘Grey Coat’ was also found to be with Jung Jehee at the recent stalker incident. Even if you disregard that incident, having a person who has clearly had plenty of private contact approach the rampaging individual simply does not comply with regulations.”
“…You son of a b—.”
I barely swallowed the curse word.
If Cha Taeyang hadn’t been blocking me, no, if he hadn’t been injured, I might have charged at my Father already.
Han Jihye, seeing my state, grew anxious and quickly opened her mouth.
“But losing an S-class Hunter like this is by no means a good outcome, is it? We must at least attempt whatever we can…”
“That is true. Ms. Jung Jehee is an S-class Hunter, so she is naturally a valuable existence. But she is also equally dangerous. Right now, what is the probability of subduing her without damage if she comes out of the Gate while rampaging?”
“Th-that… would depend on Jung Jehee’s condition, but based purely on the data measured internally… it is less than 1%. If the rampage is not suppressed early on, the scale of the damage would be considerable. But doing absolutely nothing and just leaving her alone like this is also definitely not…!”
“Yes. As you say, major damage is expected. But she is also not an existence worth risking that much for, is she? She is not the only valuable S-class, after all. Since we might lose both of them if we make a mistake, wouldn’t it be better to choose the safer option rather than take a dangerous gamble…”
“Shut up!”
The moment I heard those words, my mind caught fire.
I could not, under any circumstances, tolerate Jehee being abandoned because of me—not twice.
In the first place, wasn’t the reason Jehee was rampaging in there ultimately because of me?
Because I dragged her into the Gate, because I was carelessly neglecting her, and ultimately, this incident was also caused by people who held a grudge against the ‘Grey Coat.’
Knowing that plainly, and even having sins committed against Jehee, my Father had no right to say such a thing.
“Director!”
“Hey, you crazy bastard!”
When I came to my senses, I was already grabbing my Father by the collar.
I didn’t even realize what I was doing.
My mind had just turned bright red; I was unbearably angry.
I had to make my Father shut up.
I had to save Jehee.
I couldn’t leave Jehee alone.
I had to go to Jehee’s side.
Only those fragmented thoughts filled my head.
And so, I pulled out my weapon.
I held it against my Father’s neck and yelled at those around us.
“Nobody move!”
“…”
It wasn’t an action committed with some grand plan, but the surrounding Hunters, as well as my Father, obediently raised both hands.
That miserable mouth also didn’t open again.
There was no sign of him trying to amplify his power.
I was uneasy about what ulterior motive he might be hiding, but right now, getting to Jehee’s side as quickly as possible was paramount.
“Everyone step back! Don’t try anything.”
“Th-that… that…!”
In the deathly quiet area, only Cha Taeyang could be seen mouthing silently.
I generally knew what he wanted to say.
Perhaps something like, ‘What crazy unfilial son takes his own father hostage?’
But to me right now, this man didn’t look like my Father.
If I were to lose Jehee because I was prioritized over her just for being this man’s son, I’d rather renounce being his son.
Perhaps my sentiment, along with the electric current I scattered across the area, was quite intimidating, as most of the Hunters didn’t resist and obediently followed my command.
I moved my steps back to the Gate entrance, which was being controlled so that no one could allow their back to another.
It wasn’t easy to keep an eye on both the surrounding Hunters and my Father, but I succeeded nonetheless.
‘…What is this?’
However, confusion outweighed the joy of achieving what I wanted.
The reason was that I had achieved my goal too easily.
I had arrived at a distance where I could immediately jump into the Gate.
Both my Father and the Hunters who were guarding me were excessively compliant, which actually flustered me.
My Father was always a man with an ulterior motive.
A thorough individual who never made a single meaningless move.
He must have anticipated that I would react violently to his words, so it was obvious he was controlling the surroundings by sharing a signal with the Hunters that I was unaware of.
I couldn’t understand why such a person was following my will without any resistance.
Does he have another hidden agenda?
Could it be that Jehee isn’t inside this one…?
What if it’s the wrong Gate?
My mind became complicated, and even standing in front of the Gate, I hesitated and couldn’t enter, when my Father suddenly spoke.
“Taehwan, you need to go in quickly.”
