* * *
‘The man before him no longer resembled the president of anything.’
“S-Spare me…”
Begging for his life with a pitiful face, he was a far cry from the dignified man he once pretended to be.
A man who once wielded power with pride had become this wreck in mere days.
“Didn’t I tell you I hate hearing that?”
Woo Jaehyun sat with legs crossed in the iron chair at the center of the warehouse.
He leaned back casually, staring directly at the man’s throat.
The suspended body spasmed violently in response.
Without legs, his convulsions looked more like a flailing tuna than a human being.
“Hiiik! O-Okay, okay, I get it!”
Afraid even to lose his voice, the former Hunter Association president quickly shut his mouth and bit his lips.
A silent gesture to say, ‘I won’t speak again.’
Woo Jaehyun didn’t even crack a smile at the pitiful sight.
It had been amusing at first, sure—but by now, even watching the man writhe wasn’t particularly entertaining anymore.
“I met my hyung today.”
“……”
“I told him about you and, well…”
Woo Jaehyun trailed off, tilting his head slightly.
“He got really angry.”
His brows were furrowed in irritation, but the corners of his mouth curled upward in a grin.
‘Seo Inho, angry—especially when it wasn’t directed at him—was endlessly adorable.’
Honestly, if he could watch it forever, he would.
The memory of stealing his ice cream crossed his mind, and Woo Jaehyun couldn’t help but chuckle.
“If hyung had forgiven you, I was planning to let you go too…”
“I-I’ll go ask for forgiveness myself! Just give me one more chance! Please, I beg you!”
Maybe he saw a flicker of hope in Woo Jaehyun’s expression.
Jang Sucheol burst into frantic speech, desperate to cling to anything he could.
But it was nothing more than a delusion.
The faint smile that had curled on Woo Jaehyun’s lips fell away in an instant.
His gaze turned cold, sharp.
Sensing something was off, Jang Sucheol’s one remaining eye widened in fear.
Too late.
Blood gushed from his open mouth, and instinctively he clenched his teeth, trying to hold it in.
With his arms tied, there was nothing else he could do.
But there was no stopping the blood that burst forth from deep inside.
“Mmph! Ugh!”
“I told you—I don’t like being interrupted.”
Resting his chin in one hand, Woo Jaehyun lazily watched the scene unfold.
Even as blood sprayed, his posture and expression remained relaxed.
“Seems like a new Hunter Association president’s already been appointed.”
“So really—what’s the point of keeping you alive?”
With Jang Sucheol’s disappearance, the Association had quickly released an official statement:
The incident had been the work of one man—Jang Sucheol—and had nothing to do with them.
Within two weeks, the new president had been named.
The man still hanging here had officially been declared a fugitive.
Wouldn’t it be better for everyone if he simply disappeared?
“Mmm…”
Jang Sucheol had stayed silent all this time to preserve his life.
But deep down, he must have been crying blood.
After all, it was Woo Jaehyun himself who’d ordered the embezzlement.
Who had planted the rumors in the media.
But what did it matter?
‘This was simply the price of touching someone he never should have touched.’
“So, what do you think?”
Woo Jaehyun slowly leaned forward, lifting his gaze.
His eyes asked the question plainly: ‘I’m giving you a chance—say something if you want to.’
He waited quietly for an answer.
But all that came was more choking, gurgling blood.
“Looks like you’ve got nothing to say.”
“U-Urggh! Mmph!!”
The man’s bloodshot eyes seemed on the verge of bursting.
Desperately, he shook his head back and forth—
And then it was gone.
‘Like dust scattering into the air.’
The moment Woo Jaehyun flicked his hand, the man’s head vanished.
What remained no longer looked human.
‘Clang.’
The body, still strung up by chains, swung limply like a pig on a meat hook.
And yet, the man who had just blown his head off didn’t even blink.
“Everything that gets in the way… should be cleaned up.”
In Woo Jaehyun’s green eyes, there were no corpses—only the next thing to deal with.
Tweet.
It was a busy morning, preparing food ingredients with Dad for the first time in a while.
Even as we were nearly ready to leave, Chirpy was still obsessively munching on almonds.
I couldn’t stand it anymore.
I gently tugged the almond from Chirpy’s tiny grip and gave him a look.
“Chirpy, that’s enough.”
The little spirit squeaked angrily, nipping at my finger in protest.
But even with his tantrum, the almond ended up in my hand.
When he started wailing and flopping on the floor, I shook my head firmly.
“That’s your second container already. What if you get a stomachache?”
Granted, I’d never heard of a spirit getting indigestion from overeating.
Still—finishing two whole tubs of nuts this early in the morning was definitely overkill.
After escaping from the EX Dungeon, thankfully, Chirpy was able to return to his usual spirit form.
However, he had developed quite the obsession with eating, constantly pestering me for nuts whenever he had the chance.
It wasn’t like eating actually filled him up, so I had no idea why he was so stubborn about it.
Even though it was now early winter, Chirpy wasn’t a real squirrel.
But the way he behaved around food, you’d think he was stockpiling for hibernation.
Given the situation, calming down a grumpy Chirpy had become part of my morning routine.
“Father, are you all set?”
“Yes, I think I’ve got everything.”
My father checked the shopping basket filled with groceries several times, then nodded in satisfaction.
Maybe boasting about his son yesterday had lifted his spirits—his complexion had noticeably improved overnight.
It had already been four days since I came home, but it finally felt like life was returning to normal.
“Shall we get going, then?”
Just as I was thinking it was a good day, the mood took a nosedive the moment we stepped out of the apartment.
Since my usual bike was still at the shop, I had planned to take a taxi today.
In hindsight, maybe I should’ve just taken that flashy, over-the-top bike after all.
“…Hedgehog?”
Standing confidently in front of the apartment was that Chinese hunter—Hedgehog—whom I was already sick of seeing.
For whatever reason, he was dressed to the nines today, in what was clearly an expensive suit, and had even doused himself in cologne.
The scent was so overpowering I could smell it from a hundred meters away.
He must’ve practically bathed in it.
“That guy’s Hedgehog? I guess he does kind of look the part.”
My father, trailing behind, peeked over when I suddenly stopped walking.
It wasn’t exactly a dangerous situation, since I was there—but something about it made me uneasy.
Trouble had a way of showing up unannounced.
“Father, wait here for a moment.”
Just in case, I led him to a spot where he wouldn’t stand out and deliberately made noise with my footsteps as I approached.
As soon as Hedgehog heard me, he turned around and waved like he was glad to see me.
“Seo Inho.”
“What are you doing here? How did you even know where to find me?”
My tone came out curt without meaning to.
This kind of sudden appearance was anything but welcome.
Hedgehog lowered his hand and raised an eyebrow, as if he couldn’t understand why I was acting so cold.
“You said to meet somewhere without people, didn’t you?”
He walked over with that signature smug expression of his and stopped just one step away.
Let me be clear—I never said yes to that.
He’d just told me unilaterally and acted like I had agreed to it.
He lifted his chin in that cocky way of his.
“Have you thought it over?”
“I’m not going to China. So give it up and go home.”
I hadn’t had the time—or the interest—to even think about it.
In fact, I had completely forgotten he existed until he showed up just now.
Where was all this confidence coming from?
It felt like the people around him in China had inflated his ego far too much.
When someone’s trapped in their own little world with warped ideas, they end up like this.
I turned to leave, seeing no point in continuing the conversation, but Hedgehog spoke up urgently, his tone genuinely baffled.
“Even after hearing the terms, you’re still saying no?”
“They weren’t all that impressive.”
“…”
And I meant it.
There was nothing remotely enticing about his offer.
If I had any intention of accepting, I wouldn’t have gone through all that suffering in North Korea.
I would’ve signed the damn contract long ago instead of being dragged off to jail.
With my arms crossed, I answered indifferently.
Hedgehog opened his mouth like he had more to say but fell silent, then blurted out something completely insane.
“Then I’ll just have to make you want to come.”
* * *
