Chapter 69
“Still, you’ve got yourself a good team member.”
The stormy announcement of the Legendary Title Holder was over.
The world was still buzzing, but that wasn’t very important to Hyuk-min.
“Or was it you who did well?”
In front of Black Label’s moonlit hideout.
He scoffed at the question from Hwang Ji-young, who had requested a private meeting.
“They’re the ones who are exceptional.”
“By any chance, do you have a subordinate or something in Black Label?”
A laugh escaped him at the out-of-the-blue question.
“No, but think about it. The timing of you revealing you’re a Legendary Title Holder perfectly coincided with the moment things slipped out of our hands.”
“I figured as much. You guys showed me your trust, so I couldn’t just ignore it, could I? Right, partner?”
“Partner, my ass. We don’t keep partners. As you well know, for an Information Guild, once the mutual interests are gone, we become strangers, or worse, enemies.”
It was a sharp remark, befitting the leader of an Information Guild.
But even as he heard those words, the smile never left Hyuk-min’s lips.
“If you can, then go ahead and try.”
“Anyway! That bastard Park Chung-ho used the Haeundae Guild to put pressure on us.”
“I’m sure he did. There are a few guys among Park Chung-ho’s lackeys who know how to use their heads.”
As soon as the Forced Dungeon Development Experiment began, Hyuk-min’s party had raided the place.
No matter how the experiment plans had been leaked midway, it was nearly impossible to predict the exact date the experiment would yield results, given the various materials required.
‘They must have naturally grown suspicious about the material supply.’
The materials had been procured quickly by squeezing the Shadow Broker.
The exact moment all the materials arrived at the lab.
Park Chung-ho and his cronies must have concluded that there was no one in South Korea other than Black Label who could pinpoint that time.
And they were right.
“Is Black Label called Black Label for nothing? I solved the Legendary Title Holder problem for you. Cleaning up other messes is no big deal, is it?”
Hwang Ji-young’s eyebrow twitched.
Frowning for a moment, she looked straight at Hyuk-min and asked.
“According to my investigation, the reward for the Dungeon that was forcibly opened this time didn’t fall into Park Chung-ho’s hands. Did you take it?”
Hyuk-min’s expression, which had held a constant smile, faltered for the first time.
The black orb he had taken from the Dungeon.
‘Sealed Rebellion.’
That item, which had shattered at his fingertips, was something he couldn’t grasp even after searching through the memories of his past life.
As the orb came to mind, so did the memory of the excruciating headache and the unfamiliar System window he had seen at the time.
“You did take it, right? That’s it, isn’t it? What in the world was it? Everyone was making such a fuss.”
“It was a black orb. It broke by our mistake.”
“It broke? So it’s gone? An item from a Dungeon broke that easily… You weren’t the one who broke it, were you? For real?”
Completely different from the current System with its white background and blue border…
An unfamiliar System with a black background and a red border.
“Why would I lie to you about—”
It was then.
“Agh…”
Was it because he had recalled that terrible headache?
Suddenly, a throbbing, unfamiliar pain began to pound inside his skull.
“Right, you even told me you’re a Legendary Title Holder, why would you lie about something so trivial.”
As he gently pressed his temples, Hwang Ji-young clapped her hands as if she had suddenly remembered something.
“Ah! Jeonsin suddenly came to Korea.”
At the mention of Jeonsin, the throbbing pain intensified, just like that time.
“Kngh…”
The sudden, unwelcome guest paralyzed all of Hyuk-min’s senses.
The headache—so intense he couldn’t even scream—was identical to the pain he had felt when the black orb shattered.
“Was there something urgent? I heard he came to Korea in a hurry without notifying the media or the Korean authorities…”
Hyuk-min clutched his head and slowly collapsed.
His face flushed red as his knees buckled.
Just like that time.
All he could do was cling to his consciousness, which felt like it was about to fly away.
Yet, as if she hadn’t noticed Hyuk-min’s condition, Hwang Ji-young kept talking about her suspicions regarding Jeonsin’s sudden visit.
It was at that very moment.
[Ting.]
An unfamiliar System window with a black background and a red border appeared before Hyuk-min’s bloodshot eyes.
‘That’s…?’
And it wasn’t the clear, high-pitched female voice of the current System.
The voice of a young man—the one he’d heard on the day he collapsed—echoed in Hyuk-min’s head.
‘It’s that voice!’
[Synchronization is complete.]
‘What in the world could this be?’
The moment the young man’s System voice cut off, the unfamiliar System window vanished.
“Kuaaah! Hah… Hah…”
Along with the headache that felt like it would burst his head.
“Hah… Hah…”
“What, what’s wrong!?”
With ragged breaths, cold sweat streamed down his entire body.
At the sight of Hyuk-min suddenly flailing his hands in the air, Hwang Ji-young could only tilt her head in confusion.
‘What the hell is this.’
That voice, and that unfamiliar System, had taken away the horrific headache.
‘What in the world was all this?’
= = =
He went home late in the dead of night, after his family had fallen asleep.
He didn’t want to disrupt his family’s daily life with the situation that had arisen because of him.
He deliberately got up early in the morning, when his family would be starting their day.
‘I wonder what happened to the other shoe.’
It was the first thought that came to mind as soon as he opened his eyes.
At the same time, he recalled what No Death had said.
That even Jeonsin, who was close to an absolute being, was afraid of his own family.
It was a perfect description.
He was scared.
He couldn’t easily open the door, worried the other shoe had dropped in a bad way.
But it had already happened, and it was a situation that was bound to come someday.
This time, when he had to be away from his family for a while, was the most opportune moment.
He squeezed his eyes shut, wanting to confirm where the other shoe had landed.
“You’re up?”
His mother’s voice greeted him with a bright smile, no different from usual.
Pausing for a moment, Hyuk-min nodded with an awkward smile.
“Yes.”
“Hurry and eat. You came out right on time.”
His mother wasn’t the only one who was the same as usual.
His father also pointed to Hyuk-min’s seat with a bright smile.
“Huh? What are you doing here at this hour?”
His sister should have been sleeping, or long gone to school by now.
When he expressed his puzzlement at her being at the table, his sister—still not fully awake—muttered in a drowsy voice.
“It’s the school’s anniversary. Hurry up and eat. It’s getting cold.”
He joined them at the table with a gentle smile.
And he looked around.
The scene was no different from their usual morning breakfast.
Just from their expressions and small gestures, Hyuk-min could tell.
This peaceful breakfast scene was something his family had created out of consideration, so as not to burden him.
“I’m sorry.”
In response to his family’s consideration, Hyuk-min also had to express himself.
The first to answer was his father.
“It’s alright. As long as you’re okay, that’s all that matters.”
“I’ve taken measures so that no harm comes to the family.”
“Let’s eat.”
Instead of many words, his father handed him a piece of mail that had arrived at the house.
As he slowly tore it open, he found an official passport and a plane ticket prepared by Black Label inside.
“You’re not planning to leave for good, are you?”
His father, who seemed to already know, spoke as casually as possible while eating.
Hyuk-min nodded.
“Yes, I’ll only be gone for about three months.”
“I’m sorry.”
Thump.
The heavy weight he hadn’t known where it had gone suddenly struck Hyuk-min’s heart.
“Why are you—”
“How hard it must have been for you, all alone.”
It was then.
His mother, who had been washing the dishes, came over and hugged Hyuk-min from behind.
“You rascal! If something like that happened, you should have consulted with your family first.”
“I’m sorry. I had a lot to do, and I didn’t want to cause any trouble.”
“Why is that trouble! It’s something that happened to our son! We should protect you. Who else will protect you!”
A smile naturally formed on his face.
‘You’ve already protected me….’
All the memories from his past life flashed by like a panorama.
The heavy weight continued to pound on his chest.
Thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump-thump.
He forced a smile and said.
“Still, I’ve made a lot of good people around me. Thanks to them, I’ve achieved a lot of what I wanted, too.”
His father smiled as well.
“It seems so. I saw it on the news. I felt relieved that there was someone who worried about you.”
He could tell just by the twitching muscles in his father’s face.
His father was crying on the inside.
The fact that someone else had been by his son’s side when he had struggled, instead of him.
He was deeply relieved by that alone.
“We thought a lot about it as a family yesterday. And we decided. We’ve never been able to support what our son wants to do his whole life, so we should do it for him this time.”
Thump. Thump-thump.
His father’s warm hand enveloped Hyuk-min’s.
“But if things get really tough, will you reach out to us, too?”
His father’s face.
His mother’s face.
And finally, his sister’s face, head bowed.
After checking every family member’s face, Hyuk-min smiled more brightly than ever and nodded firmly.
“Of course. You’re the only family I’ll ever have.”
“Right, that’s all that matters.”
His father’s hand over his.
His mother’s hand patting his shoulder.
The warm love of a family.
Unconditional love.
A desperate love he hadn’t been able to feel in his past life, drowned in regret.
Feeling that love, Hyuk-min spoke in a sincere voice.
“Please wait just a little longer. I… I will change everything.”
As his choked voice echoed, his mother and sister finally burst into the tears they had been holding back.
Among his many regrets, the one that had been deepest in his heart.
It was the moment that regret disappeared.
= = =
They say you can fathom ten fathoms of water, but not one fathom of a person’s heart.
Sometimes, people make choices that are impossible to understand.
Even more so when the vested interest of love is involved.
‘My family was stronger than I thought.’
That resilience his sister had shown in his past life.
Today, he could clearly see where it came from.
To think they would cheer for the profession of an hunter—something that could never be easily understood or accepted.
Even though the other shoe had dropped in a good place, Hyuk-min wondered if he could have been that supportive so easily if he had gone through it himself.
The decades of his past life spent as an avenger.
The stubborn one, the desperate one, the tenacious one.
Hyuk-min, who had heard countless nicknames, could instantly understand where that nature came from.
Hyuk-min’s family had always been strong.
They had just been caught up in an unfortunate accident.
Knock, knock, knock.
He knocked on his sister’s door.
“Come in.”
As soon as he entered, he took out his phone and asked.
“You use Choco Bank, right?”
“If you’re giving me an allowance, fine. Besides, you’re busy right now, Oppa. Buy yourself some gear or something.”
“This Oppa is a lot stronger than you think.”
He abruptly grabbed his sister’s wrist.
And then he imprinted the Dark Ring he had collected from Jang Han-bit onto her.
“What’s this?”
He patted his surprised sister’s shoulder and said.
“It’s an item that will connect you and me. If anything happens, you have to be there. That’s the only way I can come to you.”
His sister, stroking the Dark Ring that had appeared on her wrist, nodded without showing the slightest hint of displeasure.
Even though a tattoo she never had before had suddenly appeared.
“Okay.”
“You really are amazing. You’re a cool sister.”
“What’s that all of a sudden? That’s embarrassing.”
“So you do use Choco Bank, right?”
“Alright, I give up. Give me the allowance. I use Choco Bank.”
He gave a meaningful smile and took out the OTP card he had kept in his [Inventory].
His sister, who didn’t know what an OTP card was, tilted her head in curiosity, so he silently entered the security number and completed the transfer.
“You’ll probably have to go to the bank and get one of these, too.”
Ding.
As the transfer button was pressed, an alert sounded from his sister’s phone.
Her eyes, upon seeing the amount, widened more than ever.
“500 million…!?”
“Shh.”
Glancing toward his family outside, he said,
“I’m sending it because it’s you. Use it if you need it, and if anything happens, solve it with this.”
“No, Oppa, where did you get this kind of money…”
“I’m a Legendary Title Holder. Your Oppa has a lot of money.”
His sister, fiddling with her phone, couldn’t hold it in and spoke in a choked voice.
“I don’t think I can spend this easily.”
“What’s wrong? Why are you suddenly like this?”
“You know what hunters do. It’s money you earned by risking your life… How can I spend it easily?”
He quietly approached and patted her.
“I’ve never risked my life. A Legendary Title Holder is pretty strong. It’s a cheat.”
“I hope so.”
Only then did she manage a smile.
He pulled away and wiped her tears.
Then he smiled brightly and said,
“See you in three months. By then, I’ll be strong enough for you to brag to your friends. For real.”
“If things get tough, contact me. If you can’t tell Mom and Dad, at least tell me.”
“Okay. Ah! Tell Mom and Dad that I’ve paid off all the debt. So they shouldn’t bother sending money to the bank.”
He didn’t wait for an answer.
“Oppa!”
He knew it would be nagging that started with nagging and ended with nagging.
When he came out to the living room, the empty space left by his parents—who had already left for work—felt cold.
“It’s three months… I’ve endured for decades. If it’s something I have to go through anyway… let’s just get it over with. Before they suffer more.”
As soon as he stepped out of the house, he stirred his mana.
[You have used ‘Body-Transfer’.]
The scenery changed in a flash with the power of the Dark Ring, bringing Hyuk-min to the airport.
“Uncle!”
“You’re a little late?”
Another sanctuary—not quite family, but just as precious.
At their welcoming, bright smiles, he clenched his fists and said.
“Let’s go, to become a monster. And…”
His determined steps toward the plane.
No Death and Hyun-jung followed behind him.
As if making a vow to himself, Hyuk-min’s low voice echoed through the airport.
“To win the war.”
This time, he would not lose anyone.
Now that he had so much to protect.
He would become stronger than anyone else and overturn all his regrets.
He would become stronger than even Jeonsin.
Vowing and vowing again, Hyuk-min’s steps moved with determination.
‘This time, I’ll go see you not as Water Rat, but as Hyuk-min.’
Chang-kyung.