SWNOVELXO 87.
87.
“Isn’t Hyunsu done yet? I wanted to go eat something delicious together. You both worked hard on the exam.”
“He’s hopeless.”
“What do you mean hopeless?”
At the puzzled voice, Sehun smiled, remembering Hyunsu’s face from earlier. He got up from the embrace he wanted to stay in and held hands instead.
“He didn’t study at all, thinking he could cheat off my exam with his clairvoyance ability, but we ended up taking the test in different classrooms. He probably barely got 50 points.”
“…Oh dear.”
Knowing Hyunsu’s habit of slacking off when it came to studying, Jian decided to give up waiting for him.
They went to an Italian restaurant near the guild building. After treating Sehun to plenty of delicious food, they returned to find Hyunsu being scolded by Hyunwoo, holding an exam paper marked with 51 points, just as Sehun had predicted.
“How can you possibly think about climbing the Tower when you can’t even study properly? Tell the truth. You half-heartedly studied because you were planning to use your ability.”
“…Yeah.”
Hyunwoo sighed deeply at the honest answer. He was frustrated with his immature brother.
“Has Hyunsu eaten yet?” Jian, who had been watching, asked casually. It was nearly 2 PM. Seeing the dejected Hyunsu made him feel sympathetic.
“Brother, I’m hungry…” Seizing the moment, Hyunsu clutched his stomach with a pitiful expression. With perfect timing, Jian shook the shopping bag in his hand.
Feeling guilty about only eating delicious food with Sehun, he had packed some food from the restaurant.
“Hyunsu, you’re going to be re-educated starting tomorrow. Understood?”
“Yeah…”
Lest Hyunwoo change his mind, Jian quickly placed the packaged food on the table.
“You haven’t had lunch either, right?”
“Thanks. I was just wondering what to order since the cafeteria lunch hours are over.”
“Eat quickly before it gets cold.”
“Oh, it smells delicious.”
Hyunsu’s expression immediately brightened as he grabbed a fork and sat down. While Hyunsu and Hyunwoo ate, Jian and Sehun drank the coffee they had been holding.
Jian quietly waited for Hyunwoo to finish eating. As Hyunwoo was cleaning up the containers, he casually asked, “I heard on my way up that the government will soon be recruiting for a fourth team. Is that true?”
“Who told you that?”
“Jihwan.”
On their way up in the elevator, Jihwan had greeted Jian warmly and shared some fresh information about the Tower.
While Sehun was receiving new hunter training, the government and Hunter Management Bureau had formed three teams to send into the Tower.
Yeon Siyun led the second team, and Yongho led the third team, resulting in clearing up to the 30th floor.
It took about a day to clear the first 5 floors, but progress gradually slowed after that, taking three days to clear the final 30th floor.
There were casualties. Only one person died, but quite a few were seriously injured. Still, there had been no dungeon break where monsters from inside the Tower escaped to the outside.
“That’s right. I need to submit the list of names by tomorrow.”
Hyunwoo pressed his brow tightly, looking troubled. After Jian and Sehun had entered as the advance party, other A-rank hunters from Dark Net Guild had taken turns entering with the second and third teams.
Hyunwoo, who needed to lead the guild, was the only one who hadn’t entered yet.
“You two, could you go buy some desserts? Get enough for everyone in the office.”
“Suddenly sending us on errands?”
“I have something to discuss with Jian.”
Hyunwoo took a card from his wallet and gestured to Hyunsu and Sehun. Despite his reluctant expression, Hyunsu accepted the card.
Sehun just sipped his coffee, acting as if he hadn’t heard anything. Unable to stand it, Hyunsu nudged Sehun’s side with his elbow.
“The older ones need to talk.”
Instead of answering, Sehun turned to stare at Jian, who smiled awkwardly. As Jian was wondering how to persuade him, Sehun stood up.
“I’ll be back.”
Three pairs of eyes followed Sehun’s back as he left the guild master’s office. Hyunsu hurriedly followed after him.
“Sehun’s being unusually compliant today. Feels suspicious.”
Jian was about to nod in agreement with Hyunwoo’s words but stopped himself.
“Is there progress with the investigation?”
If Hyunwoo wanted to talk to him after sending the kids away, it could only be about the Jeongho Association.
“Jian, this might be bigger than we thought.”
Seeing Hyunwoo’s suddenly serious face, Jian swallowed hard. A few days ago, Hyunwoo had said he’d finally caught a trail.
He had said he would share more once the information was more certain, so Jian had been waiting for a chance to meet with Hyunwoo privately.
“Do you know Keum Heon-jung?”
“…The Minister of Defense?”
“Yeah. It seems he’s involved with the Jeongho Association. Probably a high-ranking member. He might even be the one who created it.”
Jian swallowed at the information, which was more shocking than he’d expected.
“Is the information reliable?”
Since Hyunwoo had obtained the information himself, its credibility was high, but this was a bigger fish than anticipated.
“I don’t want to believe it either. But someone of Keum Heon-jung’s caliber makes sense. We’ve been chasing these guys for how many years now? A full 10 years. I thought they might be a ghost organization, but Director Shin only recently gave us the name ‘Jeongho Association.'”
Keum Heon-jung was one of the most influential people in South Korea. In the political sphere, he was definitely at the top.
Presidents changed with each term, but Keum Heon-jung maintained his position as Minister of Defense regardless of who became president.
This was possible due to the combination of his awakening as an S-rank hunter and the special circumstances of the current era, but even beyond that, his eloquence and image among the public were extremely positive.
“…What could he possibly be lacking that he’d experiment on children? Surely they aren’t still conducting experiments?”
One of the reasons Hyunwoo and Jian continued to pursue Header Researcher was their concern that they might be continuing their inhumane experiments somewhere.
It was partly to protect Sehun, but they also wanted to reveal the identity of the secret organization and ensure all involved were punished so that no more children like Sehun would suffer.
As for Header Researcher, Jian intended to deal with him personally.
“We haven’t found any places that look like research facilities since then. There have been no cases of mass disposal of bodies either. But who knows? They might have gone further underground because of us. If they’ve moved to an island or something, it’s practically impossible to find them, as we concluded.”
There were over 3,000 islands in Korea alone. Of these, more than 80% were uninhabited.
When they couldn’t find any traces, the two suspected that the group might have created a hideout on an island.
“Also, Director Shin has a close relationship with Keum Heon-jung. They’ve only met at official events, but their close associates seem to meet quite frequently.”
Jian clenched his fist on his thigh. Shin Yoonjae. A person who had only left him with tremendous confusion. Even now, just thinking of that refined face made his jaw tighten automatically.
How could he extract the information from that man’s head? Suddenly, Sehun’s ability came to mind.
“To find out for sure, we’d have to kidnap and torture either Keum Heon-jung or Shin Yoonjae… But I’d be the first one arrested. Plus, capturing either of them would be difficult in the first place.”
Hyunwoo clutched his head in frustration.
“I don’t know about Keum Heon-jung, but isn’t there some way to meet Shin Yoonjae?”
If Keum Heon-jung really was part of the Jeongho Association, they could be in danger anywhere, anytime if they remained as they were. And with Shin Yoonjae also under suspicion, it was as if the entire Republic of Korea was a field controlled by the Jeongho Association.
“Why? I could arrange a meeting, but do you have some clever plan? Are you hiding some skill from me?”
He did have something in mind, but it wasn’t his skill—it was Sehun’s ability. But he couldn’t tell Hyunwoo about that right now.
“It’s nothing definite yet. By the way, I’ll be joining the fourth team, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right. Starting from the 31st floor, it seems like it’ll be really dangerous, so we can’t just send A-rank hunters… Hyunsu might be included too.”
Seeing Hyunwoo’s face darken immediately, Jian smiled reassuringly.
“I’ll protect him. You know my abilities well. I can protect Hyunsu even if an S-rank monster appears.”
“…If only I were S-rank too. Why did Hyunsu have to awaken as an S-rank…”